How Not To Write A Dialogue or Conversation

Just the other day Maria rather tactlessly drew Kennot Waite's attention to the rashes on his left cheek. That made him blush and now the rashes seem redder than a red rose and so he decides he must make an appointment with a skin doctor (that's a dermatologist) before the rashes paint his whole face red. Here's the exchange on the phone with the clinic's receptionist:

KW: Excuse me, I want to make an appointment with the doctor.
Woman : Err...may I know...?
KW: Okay, my name is Kennot Waite. What time can I see the doctor?
Woman : Mr Waite, I'll put your name down for three o'clock. Is that alright?
KW: Yes, that's fine.
Woman: Mr Waite, we'll see you at three. Goodbye.

You'll notice that the customary greeting is missing at the beginning of the exchange. Kennot Waite appears to be rather polite by saying "Excuse me" before he 'requests' an appointment. Actually his request is more like a demand : I want to make an appointment with the doctor. He should have said : Excuse me, I would like to make an appointment with the doctor.

When the woman asks Kennot for his  name, he cuts her off. And the interruption is rather rude and abrupt although he guessed correctly that she was going to ask him his name. At times one may have to interrupt, but one has to do it politely. For example, you may say: Excuse me, if I may inteerupt/Sorry for interrupting... Then you proceed with what you are going to say.

Another shortcoming of this dialogue is that there is no proper close. This is the conclusion before you hang up the phone. Kennot Waite should have responded by saying something like this: Thanks. Goodbye.

So, whether you are writing a dialogue in the PMR English exam or SPM English exam, the features of a dialogue are the same. Apart from the fact that the speakers must respect each other, a dialogue is just like other forms of essay writing; it has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

SPM English 1119 Exam

spmenglish1119.comThe SPM English 1119 exam comprises two papers : Paper 1, which essentially tests students on essay writing, and Paper 2, which tests students on grammar, vocabulary, information transfer, reading comprehension, summary writing, and literature.

Generally, most students find questions that require writing skills the most challenging or difficult. I remember tutoring a group of science undergraduates of a public university and almost all the students I encountered had horrendous writing skills. The science essays and reports were almost incomprehensible because the content was often overwhelmed by the grammar mistakes and faulty syntax. So, it's no surprise that SPM students taking their English exam find essay writing the most challenging. In the SPM English exam essay writing skills are tested in Paper 1's Directed (Section A) and Continuous Writing (Section B) questions as well as Paper 2's Summary Writing (Section C) and Literature (Section D) questions. As you can see, there's quite a lot of stress on essay writing skills.

In subsequent posts, I'll be dealing with essay writing in the SPM (and PMR) English exam as well as the other sections. In the meantime, I'm  giving away one (1) "SPOT" Essay Question (2010) for the SPM English 1119 Examination which comes with guidelines, notes, an essay outline, and a sample answer to the first 100 readers who FOLLOW my BLOG and leave a comment.

Acknowledgement: I wish to thank Berlin for the breezy artwork. Her blog is at http://berlin-fashionunplugged.blogspot.com