A concise answer makes a point and backs it with one detail from the passage. An unsupported answer makes a claim and stops.
This lesson sits in reading-response development. The skill before it is separating quotation from explanation.
What earns the mark?
The marker looks for a point that answers the question and a detail from the passage that proves it. Length earns nothing by itself. A two-mark question needs two such points.
Worked example: a village flood
Here is an original passage.
மழைக்காலத்தில் ஆற்றில் வெள்ளம் வந்ததும் ஊர்த் தலைவர் உடனே ஒலிபெருக்கியில் அறிவித்தார். கிராமத்து இளைஞர்கள் மூட்டைகளில் மணலை நிரப்பி ஆற்றங்கரையில் அடுக்கினர்.
In English: When the river flooded in the rainy season, the village head at once announced it over a loudspeaker. The village youths filled sacks with sand and stacked them along the river bank.
Question (2 marks). How did the villagers respond to the flood?
| Answer | Tamil | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Concise and supported | ஊர்த் தலைவர் ஒலிபெருக்கியில் உடனே அறிவித்தார்; இளைஞர்கள் மணல் மூட்டைகளை ஆற்றங்கரையில் அடுக்கினர். | Two points, two details |
| Unsupported | ஊர் மக்கள் மிகவும் ஒற்றுமையாக இருந்தனர். | A claim with no detail |
| Padded | வெள்ளம் வந்தது, அது பெரிய பிரச்சினை, ஊர் மக்கள் அதைப் பற்றிக் கவலைப்பட்டனர், தலைவர் அறிவித்தார். | One detail buried in repetition |
The first answer is one line long and earns both marks. The second is a fair opinion, but the marker has nothing to credit. The third buries one useful detail in repetition.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to treat length as effort. A student writes five sentences where two would do, hoping one of them hits the mark.
A safer routine has three steps:
- Underline the words in the question that tell you what to find, here “how did they respond”.
- Find one detail in the passage for each mark.
- Write one sentence per detail, then stop.
The padded answer above fails step 3. It never stops, and the sentence about worry is not in the passage.
Check yourself
Question (2 marks): How did the village head act after the flood came? Decide which answer earns the marks, and why.
- (a) ஊர்த் தலைவர் பொறுப்புள்ளவர்.
- (b) ஊர்த் தலைவர் உடனே ஒலிபெருக்கியில் அறிவித்தார்.
Answer
Answer (b) earns credit. It quotes what he did: announced at once over the loudspeaker.
Answer (a) means “the village head is responsible”. It is a fair inference, but the question asks how he acted, so the answer needs the action. For the second mark, add the word “உடனே” (at once) and explain that he acted quickly.
What to study next
The next skill is developing an answer to a multi-part question. Then test all four skills in the reading-response practice set.
For a teacher to trim your answers with you, see online one-to-one SPM Bahasa Tamil tuition.