HOLIDAY PACK; POINTERS; HANDWRITING

Dear Pupils:

I hope that you had a nice rest this weekend.  This week, you need to work on the holiday pack and the pointers. It basically means that you have to study everything that we have done in Fidge and Austwick. If you don't have a copy book for the holiday pack, you can do it on a sheet of paper, ready to hand in on 3 December.

At the same time, you need to keep up with the reading.

Below, I have an extract from an article on the importance of a neat and legible handwriting. Those of us who still do not form letters correctly, please read this and also practice your handwriting. During this exam we will be as strict as examiners in the international exams are. If all "a's" become "u's" and "haberdashery" becomes "huberdushery" you will definitely lose marks.

Studies have shown that the same mediocre essay could get a better mark if written in a legible handwriting.  (Pssssst here's a secret:   you can actually hide mistakes with a good handwriting: if the first part is correct and in a good handwriting, an examiner could be more inclined to assume that the rest is as spot on as the beginning.)



From:  uniball.co.uk/neat-handwriting-important/
Why is Neat Handwriting Important? And Can You Make it Neater?
With the help of two brilliant tutors we aim to discover just why neat handwriting is SO important.

1) Neat handwriting makes the best first impression
Sarah-Jane Page, an expert tutor from EASTuition, told us: “However much we might like to believe that we’re not judged on our appearance, we know that when someone meets us for the first time, all it takes is a quick glance for them to make their mind up about us, based on appearance, body language, mannerisms and how we’re dressed.”
She added: “It’s not dissimilar with handwriting. Illegible letters and a scrawled style might make someone think you can’t pay attention to details, or you go about things in a haphazard way.”
“Whilst science might not back up such theories, we can’t escape our human tendencies to judge quickly on what we see.”
2) Neat handwriting is incredibly important for students
When it comes to exams and coursework Sarah-Jane believes neat handwriting is really important, she describes messy handwriting as the ‘dread of all examiners’.
 “Marking is a tough enough job as it is, without having to decode every written word.”
“No matter how impartial an examiner tries to be, any struggle to read a student’s work will show up in the mood of the examiner, which could then translate to the mark.”
So . . . how can you make your handwriting neater?

1) Students! This is how to make your handwriting neater
To keep things clear, if you’ve been told you write a certain letter in a way that’s not clear, make conscious efforts to improve.
Also remember that the scanning process of exam papers does make your writing appear fainter and distant. Give yourself the best chance of getting your message across by using an inky pen.
Thanks to Sarah-Jane  for sharing her advice with us.