Leave your personal revision notes outside the SEC oral examination premises as directed. A phrase bank, a prepared speech and a card of pronunciation reminders are revision materials. Silent preparation is the time to work with the prompt and resources that the exam staff provide or authorise.
SEAB’s 2026 GCE handbook required candidates to check their belongings before entering the examination premises and before oral silent preparation. For the 2027 Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC), read the directions for your exact oral paper. Whether you may make or carry notes during the session depends on those instructions.
- Finish using personal notes before entering the controlled area.
- Wait for staff to tell you when silent preparation begins.
- Use only the materials and controls authorised for your oral paper.
- Ask staff before taking any notes from preparation to the examiner.
Separate revision from silent preparation
A student may practise with a list of connectors on the journey to the centre. Before entering the examination premises, put the list away where the centre directs. Check jacket pockets and document folders, where a small sheet can easily remain. Follow the same approach for notes on a phone and the centre’s separate instructions for storing devices.
During silent preparation, use the prompt you are given. For example, the 2027 G3 English Language K300 syllabus includes preparation time in Paper 4, which assesses a Planned Response and Spoken Interaction. Use the current paper instructions to decide what you may do during that time.
Check what you may write and what you may carry
Separate three questions before the session. May I make notes? Where may I make them? May I take them to the next room or use them with the examiner? Permission to do one does not establish permission to do the others. Listen to the assistant oral examiner’s directions and ask if anything is unclear.
For practice, try preparing a point, a reason and a relevant example from an unfamiliar prompt. Rehearse the routine once with an allowed planning aid and once without it so you can adapt to the format your paper specifies.
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When the preparation stage ends
Stop when directed. Return or leave behind anything staff tell you to leave. If the oral task looks different from what you were shown during preparation, bring it to the examiner’s attention promptly so they can check the materials.
If you discover a personal note or device during reporting or preparation, notify staff immediately and let them direct you.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I take a memorised introduction into the exam?
You can practise ways to open a response. Build the actual response around the prompt you are given and leave prepared scripts outside the venue.
Can I write on the prompt?
Write only where and when the current paper instructions permit.
Can I take a note I made in the preparation room to the examiner?
Follow the component’s rules and staff directions about transfer.