What Our JC Students Say
Denyse, Raffles Institution
He was always willing to clarify any misconceptions I had and guide me in my understanding of even the most complex theories. I greatly appreciate how Mr Russell took the time to hold additional 1 to 1 consultations with me to clarify my doubts, on top of answering the numerous questions I had sent him through Whatsapp.
Moreover, Mr Russell taught us very crucial techniques and skills to tackle tricky questions in the GP paper that enabled me to feel more confident in my GP capabilities. This was something that was not really covered in school. I fondly remembered the drilling sessions on the different comprehension and essay drills which reinforced my foundations. I like how we had a good strategy for every single component of the paper, with step-by-step strategies to help us improve further.
My most memorable session would be how he explained how to introduce complex level essay structure at both the macro essay level and the micro paragraph level. It was fascinating learning different techniques to introduce complexity in the essay, and this is something that was definitely beyond what was covered at RI.
Besides that, TTT content notes are the absolute best. I love how they cover a variety of perspectives and offer numerous pieces of evidence which are not commonly used. Moreover, the notes also usually include very insightful evaluation of key points for each topic which allowed me to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the topic and in turn, write a more compelling and insightful GP essay.
I have absolutely no regrets joining TTT. Even though RI had a good syllabus, TTT’s notes and Mr. Russell’s lessons are really the best that one can possibly have. Lessons at TTT have constantly pushed me to be much better than my peers. I believe that anyone who has ever been a student of TTT would say the same.
Tiat Kai, Raffles Institution
I joined TTT at the start of J2 in search of a better tuition centre as I felt that my other GP tuition in J1 had not aided me much in improving in GP.
To my pleasant surprise, TTT was just the perfect tuition centre for me. For the P1 component, while I had examples to use in my essays, I was often “example-bombing” instead of sufficiently developing my explanation and evaluation within my paragraph.
The distinction between TTT notes and my previous tuition was the significant depth of content, rather than simply breadth like the notes provided by the other centre. Through the use of various philosophical theories, TTT content notes helped me to explore various perspectives on the same topic, such as Foucault’s idea of the everyday panopticon to symbolise modern day surveillance.
Furthermore, Mr Russell guided me through the thinking process of how to further develop my paragraphs, such as various argument structures and considering various stakeholders. Ms Sanusha and Mr Russell were willing to stay past lesson time to answer any queries, and were highly competent in their ability to conduct lectures on the various content topics.
The P2 component (comprehension) was another aspect of GP I struggled with, as I previously thought there was no proper technique to answering questions. However, the lessons at TTT helped expose me to various question types and how to answer them to score.
Overall, TTT has been instrumental in helping me improve in GP, which was a subject I thought I would never figure out how to study for 🙂
Rangi, Victoria Junior College
As espoused by many of the students, the notes provided and curated by TTT are cream of the crop. The level of evaluation and nuance in each topic covered is essential for any student who is looking to score an A. TTT also went above and beyond by creating a telegram group which provided us with not just news articles on issues plaguing the world today, but also further evaluation and ways that we can intertwine newer and relevant information into our essays. This severely shortened the time needed for students to research for their own content, giving us ample time to focus on our shortcomings instead.
In the ramp up for A levels, TTT provided us with multiple comprehension drills and practises, which focused on the plethora of questions types. TTT provided an easy to digest structure for us to score well for each question type. This certainly boosted my confidence when taking the paper as many of the question types Mr Russell had gone through before, such as Author’s Purpose questions, were encountered.
Mr Russell is the best GP teacher I have ever had (even considering the strength of the VJ GP department). His unwavering passion towards his craft can be clearly seen through his lessons and notes. I vividly remember after my first lesson, I was inspired by the evaluation and theories (such as Bentham’s Panopticon and Foucault’s Governmentality) he taught, and for the very first time, I realised that GP could actually be a fascinating subject. I immediately wrote an essay for Mr Russell to mark and comment. Whenever I have any queries after class, Mr Russell was always willing to stay back amidst his hectic schedule, ensuring that all my questions were answered. He also arranged additional consultations with me to provide feedback and comments on my practises.
The night before my A levels Paper, Mr Russell took the initiative to check up on me and even arranged an impromptu consultation to clear any of my lingering doubts. Even after the GP paper had ended, Mr Russell constantly checked up on me throughout my remaining papers and provided his own personal advice and moral support, despite not needing to do so.
Joining TTT was the best decision I ever made in my life. Under the guidance of Mr Russell, I was able to see huge jumps and improvements in myself, scoring an A grade for GP at the A level. Thank you for the wonderful memories!
Tyra, Hwa Chong Institution
What I appreciate most about TTT is the deep dedication that the teachers have. I can confidently say that TTT provides lots of support for all its students: offering consultations, exam paper reviews, and one-to-one feedback during class practices. My class even had multiple teachers such as Mr Russell, Ms Amy and Dr Chua to ensure that every student had adequate attention and help! The enthusiasm and sincerity that the teachers displayed were extremely heart-warming. Mr Russell gave me personalised feedback for my practices in class and school examination papers while Dr Chua pointed out a major mistake in my work (which boosted my skills greatly after I rectified it). Additionally, Ms Sanusha gave me valuable comprehension tips…the list is endless.
Moreover, the resources given to us every week were consistently of high-quality. Essay outlines had crystal-clear breakdowns on how to approach such questions and detailed examples for every paragraph. Impressive topical notes for popular GP topics were also provided (e.g., media, science and tech, politics). They were filled with interesting historical facts, philosophies and concrete modern examples. The sheer wealth of resources enabled me to gain both breadth and depth in multiple GP topics.
What is my biggest takeaway, academically speaking? Undoubtedly critical thinking. During tutorials, the students would make essay plans and discuss points with each other and with the teachers. Sharing and building on each other’s ideas greatly expanded my thought processes. Before, I would have adopted a black-and-white, all-or-nothing approach to answering GP questions, but TTT guided me to realise the multiple intricate, diverse ways to brainstorm and write. Thanks to TTT, I managed to achieve an A for A level GP.
Learning GP in TTT pushed me (and many others) to expand our horizons both in knowledge and in logical thinking, which I believe is the true essence of what GP should be as a subject. Attending TTT classes has been a fun journey of growth, and I am incredibly glad I joined 🙂
Maxim, Raffles Institution
To tackle Paper 2, I found it very helpful when TTT broke down the different question types we would face and taught us the relevant skills needed to address each of them. This simplified Paper 2 greatly for me and made me more confident when attempting the paper.
For me, the most memorable lessons are those where we get to collaborate with others in class when working on essays as it allowed me to listen to different perspectives which I feel later improved the way I analysed different questions. Furthermore, despite it being a group tuition, I always felt that I was given enough support as the teachers and the teaching assistants always made sure to give us individual feedback on our work.
I would like to thank Mr Russell for always being very enthusiastic in class and for making lessons really fun and engaging. I appreciate how he encourages us to take our writing one step further by introducing theories and philosophy. He is clear when explaining complex concepts, always takes the time to address our concerns and ensures that no one is left behind.
Overall, my experience at TTT has been amazing and I am grateful for how it has not only helped me improve in GP but also learn to appreciate the subject as well. Thanks to TTT, I managed to get an A grade for A level GP.
Benjamin, National Junior College
Without any mathematical formulae or scientific theorem to guide me throughout learning GP, succeeding in the GP subject could not be more elusive for a science student like me. Fortunately, joining TTT nearing the end of my JC1 year proved to be the right decision for me. TTT has taught me different strategies to tackle a wide variety of comprehension questions, each with their own unique requirements. Under the guidance of Mr Russell, I have also been encouraged to look beyond conventional viewpoints and develop complex and nuanced arguments of my own.
Mr Russell’s forte in international politics made lessons engaging and informative. The notes prepared by TTT went beyond mere examples as they delved deeper into political theories. From Michel Fouccault’s Everyday Panopticon in the National Security vs. Privacy lecture to Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract, the enriching theories that were taught were endless. The notes are crafted in such a way that it offers examples for both sides of an argument. Accompanying each set of examples is an additional paragraph of deeper evaluation, which seeks to further the analysis in relation to the broader picture. By following how Mr Russell evaluates his examples, I am able to take my arguments to greater heights in my essays.
Mr Russell’s lesson on how to introduce complexity into an essay was definitely one of the most memorable lessons, as these techniques had not been taught to me in NJ. To emphasise the significance of a particular scenario, he taught us to use examples across different time periods. He also taught us how to arrange our body paragraphs in a tiered manner such that our essay ended with the most complex and insightful argument. With such expert guidance, I was soon able to craft essays that stood out from my peers in school.
For the P2 component, the regular comprehension and AQ drills TTT gave was vital in familiarising me with the different question types in Paper 2, and the different strategies needed to counter each one of them. Though the timed drills seemed daunting and stressful at first, it was essential in my preparation for the national exams.
Beyond the notes and worksheets, Mr Russell and the other teachers (Ms. Sanusha, and Ms Amy) here at TTT are, quite frankly, the most helpful and wisest GP teachers I have ever met. They never fail to stay back beyond lesson time to clarify my doubts on the essays I have written and the comprehension questions I struggle with. This is in addition to the already hectic schedules they have and the countless consultation sessions they have with other students.
Joining TTT was not only a blessing to my GP grades, but also a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable experience in itself. I am beyond grateful to Mr Russell and the other teachers for all their help these two years. Thank you TTT for helping me to achieve an A at the A level.
Benecia, Hwa Chong Institution
When I first joined TTT, I really struggled with gaining any semblance of improvement in GP with my main issues being my lack of understanding of question requirements, as well as a lack of understanding on how to broaden my essay ideas and explore deeper concepts. TTT has definitely strengthened my ability through the clear and concise framework of defining keywords, examining assumptions, and looking at further complexity, which TTT incorporates in every essay outline.
Joining TTT allowed me to truly enjoy GP lessons for the first time, because the notes provided by TTT are comprehensive with relevant theories (e.g. social contract theories in Politics and Governance) being thoughtfully woven into the content. TTT places great emphasis on ensuring students truly internalise what the content is about, instead of merely memorising topic sentences and examples. Because of the high quality lessons and notes, I was able to internalise the key ideas of each topic well, and developed a great interest in topics I previously would never try to attempt (e.g. Science and Politics, Advertising, Science and Religion).
Dr Chua and Mr Russell who are experts at different topics, ensuring that the wide range of topical lectures covered by TTT are all of stellar quality and sufficient depth. Beyond just being knowledgeable, Mr Russell and Dr Chua are dedicated to ensuring students get the help they need, even if it is outside lesson hours. I am very grateful that Mr Russell has always encouraged me to write essay outlines for him to give me feedback on, going to the extent to schedule one to one consultations. Even for paper 2, TTT ensures that every student’s answer is reviewed and every student receives individualised feedback, which really helps me to improve since it is often hard for me to determine if my answer is awarded full credit based on the model answer given. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr Chua, who has been really patient and detail oriented when he reviews my work, giving me lengthy feedback for each piece I complete, as well as comments on how I can improve my work (AQ and essay). Dr Chua leads many discussions in class when it comes to discussing essay questions, which allows me to develop critical thinking skills because he challenges us to think deeper and examine more complex ideas.
I really improved tremendously under the guidance of Mr Russell and Dr Chua at TTT. I am happy to have achieved an A for A level GP. To me, GP is more than just a subject in school, for truly understanding what GP is about at TTT has made GP more meaningful, enjoyable and eye-opening.
Joash, Raffles Institution
I joined The Thought Tailor at the end of JC1, after my Promotional Examinations for which I scored fairly poorly for GP. Thankfully, under the guidance of Mr Russell, Dr Chua, Ms Amy and Ms Sanusha, my GP has improved tremendously since then.
TTT offers exceptional notes that encompass content mastery over a wide variety of topics and themes (e.g. surveillance, foreign aid, technology, arts, environment), as well as skills required to tackle short answer questions in comprehension, application question and essay writing.
The teachers are very friendly and always open to answering any burlington questions that you may have. They also provide consultation sessions for you to meet them either virtually or physically to discuss and review any additional work you may have submitted.
I am truly grateful to Mr Russell, Dr Chua, Ms Amy and Ms Sanusha as they have supported me tremendously throughout my journey here at TTT. Joining the centre was a blessing. I am thankful that they helped me to get an A for A level GP.
Xavier Hui, Eunoia Junior College
I still vividly remember the first time when I started English lessons with Mr Russell back in Secondary 3. That was a time where the centre wasn’t even a centre yet, and we used to have lessons in an obscure rented out unit.
Looking back at the 4 years I’ve been with TTT, it has truly been a wonderful and enriching experience learning both English (2019-2020) and General Paper (2021-2022) with Mr Russell. One of the defining features of the centre is its relentless support system for students. Back in 2020, I still remember how Mr Russell was working back to back supporting us in compre/essay drills. It was really quite a crazy time where some of us even decided to stay at the centre for the whole day just to prepare ourselves as much as possible. Even after that, Mr Russell and his team tirelessly continue to keep refining their lecture notes and tutorials, and they are really reliable to approach for consults.
The dedication the staff and teachers show in the centre is something truly eye-opening and remarkable. TTT is definitely a place where you reap more than you expect, and this is coming from me as a person who continually sets very high expectations for things. Another remarkable aspect of TTT is in it’s simple yet effective pedagogies. Each piece of material given is of substantial quality, distilled and refined such that it is easy to grasp. Many people have the perception that there is nothing to study for English and General Paper. I used to think that way, and I’m really thankful that TTT changed my perspective completely with the sheer amount of comprehensive material required for me to gain content and practice skills.
I think more than just improving my grade, Mr Russell is a teacher who I have been very inspired by, His work ethic and determination to help his students is something I have adopted into my own practice and my craft as a musician. Without meeting Mr Russell, I would not have been the very ambitious person today who constantly craves for success. This is to show that TTT has also impacted me emotionally and the people you meet here are people who are easy to look up to.
I strongly recommend those who are currently seeking help for English and General Paper to join the TTT family. Their attention to detail, strong support networks and the amazing staff here is unparalleled anywhere else. Thank you TTT for helping me to get an A for GP!
Meng Xuan, Hwa Chong Institution
Having grown up in an environment that is dominated by Chinese culture in the past caused me to have serious doubts in my English abilities. The General Paper in JC is definitely way more difficult and as expected, I continued to struggle in every way possible in this subject, until I joined TTT at the start of my JC2 academic year after being recommended to go for this centre by my friends.
Not only are all the notes given by TTT very detailed, rich with current affairs and nuanced arguments, the teachers, Mr Russell and Dr Chua are both amazing teachers who have a deep passion in teaching GP. They worked together to ensure a holistic learning structure that covers all aspects of the GP paper. Mr Russell drills essay skills with students while Dr Chua constantly throws thought-provoking questions at students to get us thinking more critically and he honed our writing skills. This helped to greatly improve our ability to dissect essay questions, craft our own paragraphs independently and have a deeper understanding of the comprehension passages.
With such professional guidance, my grades have improved from a ‘D’ grade in JC1 Promotional examinations to an ‘A’ grade in the JC2 preliminary examinations. Plus, I also achieved an A in the recent A level exams. This even allowed me to be one of the students in the 80th to 100th percentile of the entire JC2 cohort for GP. Such achievements would have been impossible without the help of TTT and I am forever grateful for the help provided by Mr Russell and Dr Chua who granted us these amazing learning opportunities that are unique to TTT.
Chloe, Raffles Institution
Although my time at TTT was quite short, it really helped to bolster my knowledge and helped me become more confident with GP. The essay outlines were a very useful tool for me to increase my knowledge on a large variety of topics, which helped me feel more assured in the range of topics I can tackle. What I appreciated the most, however, were the consults and advice the teachers gave. I was thankful for the opportunity to get personalized feedback in person, not just over google documents. This helped me understand where I did well and where I can do better, allowing me to put in more effort in areas I was weak in. Overall I am really grateful to TTT for helping me with preparing and achieving an A for A levels while also becoming more confident with GP 🙂
Titus, National Junior College
TTT served as an excellent auxiliary support for my studies and filled the gaps my school did not. They lightened my burden of trying to find appropriate and concise resources that were highly relevant to A-levels and provided high-yield lessons that accurately diagnosed and resolved my errors, especially in Paper 2 with its different question types.
I personally like that a lot of the content taught is constructed upon or includes philosophical theory and concepts, giving us the wherewithal to write unique and highly-developed essays with complex ideas and arguments. This is augmented by their easy-to-digest and comprehensive notes, providing a sprawling range of points and examples which proved quite valuable as I referenced them in my own essays. The lessons expose us to different dimensions of GP, and teach us the necessary evaluative tools that are crucial in scoring. The different approaches they teach at the centre, such as the multi-layered approach to essays or the step-by-step approach to answering Paper 2 are among some of the invaluable skill sets that the centre aims to develop in their student’s repertoire, which has been invaluable in allowing us to excel.
Mr Russell and Dr Chua are always willing to stay back and help students, even amidst some of their hectic schedules. They go the extra mile to ensure students understand what is being taught, and also arrange additional consultations with students to provide feedback and comments on their work.
TTT has proved to me time and time again that they are passionate about teaching, and have lessons that are second to none. Their highly efficient and personalised style of teaching has definitely allowed me to secure the results I desire, and I would certainly recommend TTT to everyone. Thank you TTT for helping me to achieve an A at the A level.
Suu Ann, Hwa Chong Institution
Before joining The Thought Tailor, I found GP to be a very challenging and boring subject. However, after attending the lessons conducted by Mr Russell, I started to develop a deeper interest in the subject. This is because they were able to communicate the skills and content necessary for tackling GP in a clear, effective and intriguing manner.
TTT has equipped me with crucial comprehension answering techniques and essay writing skills. It has also enabled me to master the content needed for both essays and application question responses. A series of rigorous comprehension exercises was provided. In each of those lessons, Mr Russell would look through our answers meticulously and provide personalised feedback which I found extremely effective in mastering my answering techniques.
Mr Russell also facilitates deep brainstorming sessions and class discussions for the essay topics. After we have brainstormed sufficient points, he also provides detailed and complex essay outlines which are updated with the most recent current affairs. In addition to providing us with the key arguments needed to tackle a myriad of essay questions, the essay outlines also include an additional segment with points that can be included to further boost the complexity of the essays. I found this especially helpful as it helped our essays stand out from the rest. To help us master our essay writing skills further, Mr Russell also provided ample paragraph writing practices that catered to a variety of essay topics. Mr Russell would then mark our practices and provide comprehensive suggestions on how we can better present our arguments.
Concise content packages for several major topics were also given to us. This helped us to remember the most pertinent examples for each major topic, saving us from having to go through the struggle of digging through thick stacks of school notes.
TTT has enabled me to gain confidence in doing well for GP as it has equipped me with the necessary skills to do so. With the guidance of Mr Russell and Ms Amy, I have been able to improve from a ‘C’ grade in junior college one to an ‘A’ grade at the junior college two preliminary examinations. Not only that, I had also achieved an ‘A’ grade in the recent A level examinations. Thank you TTT!
Elgin, Raffles Institution
The Thought Tailor has played a pivotal role in aiding my journey in GP. Prior to joining TTT, I struggled with GP as I felt that I lacked an effective revision plan to prepare for it. However, after enrolling in TTT, my grades exponentially improved, undoubtedly due to TTT’s meaningful lessons.
TTT’s notes are very detailed and offer thoughtful and insightful perspectives into various cultural and societal issues. TTT consistently provides a vast array of examples that are interesting, unique and detailed. This has significantly improved the quality of my essays, as well as helped me to continue providing original examples that stand out. Moreover, content notes are often equipped with deeper evaluative concepts such as philosophy and ethics, which were imperative in making my essays more complex and multi-layered. Additionally, TTT provides notes for paper 2 as well. These notes include detailed and effective approaches for tackling different comprehension question types, summary and the AQ. Overall, TTT’s notes clearly stand head and shoulders above the rest and were imperative in aiding my GP revision.
Besides TTT’s revision notes, TTT also ensures that students constantly practise essay and comprehension drills. Such drills were often practised under timed conditions which allowed me to practise under exam conditions. In particular, I truly appreciated TTT’s comprehension drills as these drills included systematic approaches in tackling different question types. As such, these regular practises instilled a sense of confidence in me when navigating through the nebulous terrain of paper 2.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Mr Russell and Dr Chua for their dedicated efforts in teaching GP. TTT has not only helped me gain a better grasp on GP, but also allowed me to develop a deeper understanding and awareness of the various complicated issues that are prevalent in our world. Most importantly, TTT helped me to achieve an A for A level GP. I am very grateful for this 🙂
Hannah, Temasek Junior College
Over the time I have spent with The Thought Tailor, I have learnt many different skills to tackle comprehension and essay questions as well as a variety of content to help me in my essay. I found the skills that TTT teaches especially helpful as my school either did not teach us such skills or simply briefed them during class. Consequently, prior to joining TTT, I knew next to nothing about the skills needed to score well for GP.
Besides that, the notes provided by TTT are highly comprehensive and precise which makes it easy for me to digest and apply what has been taught in class to my assignments and tests in school. I enjoyed learning different topics such as arts and culture, democracy, national identity, science and ethics, media and global hunger, and I like how the notes provided not just examples, but a broad range of examples across different contexts. There are also theories and philosophy which helped me to develop a rich understanding of each issue. Also, the teachers at TTT have been very approachable and patient in answering my questions, and have made me more confident in studying GP.
Despite the short amount of time spent with TTT, I have seen much improvement in my grades. Thank you TTT!
Kelly, Hwa Chong Institution
Having been taught by two teachers, Mr Russell and Dr Chua, during my time at TTT, I can safely conclude that both teachers are highly experienced and dedicated to their profession and excel at educating students with their unique teaching styles. Moreover, both of them are extremely eloquent and engaging teachers who are open to questions and consultations after class. I am extremely grateful for their willingness to clarify any doubts and provide highly personalised and constructive feedback to ensure that I learn from my previous mistakes and improve quickly.
Lessons at TTT are carefully planned out to better hone and develop our skills in the various aspects of GP and ensure that all bases are covered. Firstly, the essay content and lectures exposes us to a plethora of topics and question types. The lecture notes are strategically designed to provide us with structured answers that have clear topic sentences as well as relevant and concise examples for us to use. These are also complemented with evaluative points to help us increase the complexity of our essays and make our essay stand out from our peers. Secondly, TTT also dedicates lessons to paper 2 skills which include the necessary skills for summary and AQ components. The comprehension question type drills have also helped me to identify and answer question types more precisely and accurately, which was a huge gamechanger to me. Joining the centre was a blessing. I am thankful that they helped me to get an A for A level GP.
Overall, I am proud to admit that TTT has played a huge role in improving my GP grades. The regular writing practices and frequent check-ins with the teachers at TTT has certainly served to bolster my confidence in the subject. I have recommended TTT to many other friends and they too have found it extremely useful and helpful to their learning. Thank you TTT for the wonderful experience!
Xin Xiang, Raffles Institution
Before joining TTT, I was unsure of how to tackle Paper 1 questions adequately. In addition, I was unable to satisfactorily answer AQ questions in Paper 2, as I did not fully understand question requirements, and the distinguishing factors behind a better answer.
After joining TTT, my GP grade has improved tremendously. The provided essay outlines, which offer many arguments for both sides of an essay question, also contain many examples and a wide range of vocabulary.
In addition, Mr Russell and Ms Sanusha were willing to give personalised feedback on my school essays and AQs, and suggest potential improvements as well as point out aspects which were well executed. The prompt personalised feedback on my essays and AQ, as well as on additional essay outlines that I submitted, allowed me to work on flaws in question analysis and honed my critical thinking skills. This ensured that my future essays and AQs were written with relevant points with logical explanations that answered the question.
As for Paper 2, there were many Comprehension drills that reinforced the answering techniques required for different question types. This helps ensure that most marks were attained in the short answer question component of Paper 2, especially in the easier “standard” question types.
Thank you TTT for helping me to achieve an A in my A Levels.
Yu Fan, Eunoia Junior College
Before entering junior college, I thought that GP would be my most dreaded subject considering how I have never really fared well in English in secondary school. However, I am glad I joined The Thought Tailor early in JC1 as it has not only helped me lay a strong foundation in GP, but also allowed me to develop greater appreciation for the subject.
I really like the theme-based notes provided by TTT. They are comprehensive and span across a variety of themes. Besides providing us with relevant points and up-to-date examples, Mr Russell and Dr Chua also introduced various theories and philosophies that are pertinent to the respective topics. This has helped me to develop a greater understanding of the issues at hand, and it also became very handy in terms of providing an added layer of analysis to my essays. In addition to these topical content notes, TTT also provided us with well-crafted essay outlines. These essay outlines include further complexities to the essays and these help to elevate the quality of our essays when we incorporate them into our own answers. These essay outlines also serve as great references for us to understand how to write balanced and nuanced essays, both at the macro and micro levels.
Both Mr Russell and Dr Chua are highly dedicated and well-versed in several topics. They often go the extra mile to mark essays and are very willing to schedule consultation sessions to clarify our doubts despite their hectic schedule.
Over the course of this journey with TTT, I have gained greater confidence in the subject. These insightful lessons have also sparked my interest in current affairs and allowed me to have a broader understanding of the issues around the world. Thanks to TTT, I had also managed to achieve an A for A level GP.
Chen Xin, Hwa Chong Institution
I joined TTT in the middle of JC2. General paper has been my weakest subject and I have always struggled with it. However, after joining TTT, I became more confident about GP and have grown to like the subject more.
Firstly, the notes provided by TTT are extremely comprehensive, ranging from detailed essay outlines to well-structured skill mastery notes on comprehension questions and application questions. As for me, I find the notes on the relevant skill sets extremely detailed and helpful. The notes effectively guided me to improve on each particular question type. Additionally, for the essay component, the teachers will go through in-depth essay brainstorming sessions with the students so as to ensure that all students are able to tackle different questions and the relevant topics successfully during examinations.
Furthermore, Mr Russell and Ms Sanusha are also very willing and are always ready to take time out of their hectic schedules to help students clarify their misconceptions and provide additional feedback on their work. Personally, I am very thankful to Mr Russell and Ms Sanusha for giving me honest and comprehensive feedback on my essay outlines during the consultations. Through these consultation sessions, I was able to understand the key to writing a good GP essay.
All in all, I would like to thank TTT for curating the GP lessons such that it is well tailored to all students. Thanks to TTT, I have grown to like GP a lot more as a subject and also achieved an A for A level GP. Once again, thank you TTT!
James, Catholic Junior College
Prior to joining TTT, I was lost and dumbfounded on how to tackle GP like many other JC students. However, after attending the specifically curated lessons at TTT taught by Mr Russell, I was amazed and finally could appreciate GP as a subject. Thanks to TTT, I managed to achieve an A for A level GP.
For the Paper 1 component, the myriad of notes for topics such as Media, Environment, Arts & Culture and Science & Technology were not only in-depth but also highly enriching. These notes really gave me a better understanding of the topics and provided a panoply of examples that I could use for my essays.
For the dreaded paper 2 component, the constant practice and drilling of different question types helped me answer the questions in a more precise and accurate manner which allowed me to do well for short answer questions. Moreover, the Application Question lessons helped me to propel my marks beyond the 3-4 mark range to 7 and even 8 out of the total 10 marks allocated for this section. Slowly but surely, my paper 2 marks started to increase and I saw major improvement in this subject.
Overall, I could encourage not only struggling students but also students who want to push themselves further to excel constantly to join TTT. Mr Russell and the excellent teaching staff are always there to help and answer any questions. You definitely won’t regret it!
Wen Xin, Raffles Institution
After scoring quite poorly in my common tests and promotional examinations in J1, I wanted to find a tuition centre that would not only boost my writing skills but also allow me to think more critically. Safe to say, TTT did just that! Thanks to the teachers at TTT, I managed to achieve an A for A level GP.
Under the P1 component, TTT has provided very comprehensive notes and lectures, as well as teaching me critical evaluation skills that can enhance the levels of my numerous essays. Lessons at TTT always allowed me to broaden my horizons and dig deeper into the subject matter. Moreover, the lessons at TTT have also improved my vocabulary with the felicitous words and phrases they used in their sample essays. All these value-added to my P1 skills tremendously.
For the dreaded P2 component, TTT’s comprehension notes are also very detailed and structured, allowing us to fully grasp the skills, and be able to apply them confidently into our own answers. The teachers at TTT (Mr. Russell and Dr. Chua) are also very nurturing, and it is evident that they truly care for one’s progress. They are open and willing to look at multiple essay plans at any time of the day.
Overall, I would like to say a big thank you to TTT for allowing me to improve significantly in J2!
Hong Yi, Nanyang Junior College
Although I joined TTT rather late in J2, it was really nice of the centre to open up a new class to accommodate myself and my school classmates. The lectures conducted were in my opinion very unique as unlike many GP lessons taught elsewhere, a lot of the content taught was based on philosophical ideals and theory, leaving us with a strong foundation to evaluate our content which sets us apart from other candidates.
I really enjoyed learning about the theories behind governance and politics as I feel it made understanding the current and past political landscape much easier and allowed me to take on more deeper macro perspectives.
Before I joined TTT, I used to dread attending GP classes as I used to not be able to understand or even apply the concepts being taught in school. However, through Mr Russell’s engaging and meticulous planned out lessons, I was able to unleash my potential and strive for the coveted A in GP. Mr Russell is a phenomenal teacher where he has allowed us to understand these harder-to-digest complex philosophical concepts easily. This was especially helpful because most students find such concepts hard to grasp and foreign. I found the concepts that Mr Russell taught to be highly applicable to my GP essays, where I was able to apply different philosophers from Locke to Hobbes to improve the complexity of my essays. The revision drills before A-Levels were extremely helpful in my preparation for A Levels as the notes and practises being rolled out were more than sufficient. I even managed to get an A grade for A level GP.
TTT is more than just a GP centre – it is a place where we are able to strive for excellence, with our friends made alongside. Thank you for the wonderful memories!!! 🙂
Ishvaaryaa, National Junior College
I joined The Thought Tailor after JC1 and found it really very helpful.
Firstly, I would like to thank Ms Amy, Mr Russell, Dr Chua and Ms Sanusha for helping me throughout my journey here at TTT. They are really very affable which made it much easier for me to approach them whenever I had any doubts to clarify. Moreover, they highly encourage us to do additional practices and submit to them to receive personalised feedback. This dedication of theirs really helped me tremendously as the errors I made in the practices that I had submitted to them were pointed out and feedback on how I can improve further was also given. The one-to-one consultation sessions really allowed me to clarify any additional questions I had too.
Personally, what I liked most about TTT was the good balance between the skills mastery for both paper 1 (essay writing) and paper 2 (comprehension based questions) which was achieved through well planned lessons. This helped to ensure that I regularly honed both my paper 1 and paper 2 skills.
As for paper 1, well curated essay outlines that covered a plethora of topics were provided. This really helped me to gain more confidence in tackling certain topics which I was initially not as comfortable with such as politics and surveillance. The essay outlines had clear topic sentences which were bolstered by strong and recent examples. This allowed me to better tackle essay questions.
As for paper 2, I really liked the notes that were provided since clear frameworks that we could employ to tackle specific question types were given. These answering frameworks were indeed very effective as I recognized the question types more easily and could answer in a more structured manner, which helped me to score better in GP.
Moreover, the class sizes are kept small so that the teachers are better able to ensure that every student is on track and facilitate more insightful and deep discussions on essay topics. This also allows the teachers to provide customised feedback for the practices that we attempt in class and I found this very useful and unique to TTT.
I truly enjoyed my TTT experience and am very grateful for the support I have received. I am happy to have achieved an A for A level GP. Thank you TTT!!
Isa, Hwa Chong Institution
Joining TTT has not only deepened my understanding of GP as a subject, but has also boosted my confidence in tackling the subject. This was largely attributed to the detailed and well structured notes that TTT provided. The notes included a wide range of carefully curated examples and evaluative points that aided me in developing a more holistic and complex overview towards various issues and arguments.
Prior to joining TTT, the application question (AQ) was a component I struggled with as I did not know how to approach this component of the comprehension. However, under the guidance of Mr Russsell and the intensive AQ drills in TTT, I saw an improvement in my score for this section and was no longer apprehensive about tackling the AQ.
I am appreciative of the strategic and systematic approach that TTT adopts for every component of the subject to help us realise our true GP capabilities. Through the lessons and practices in TTT, I learnt critical techniques and skills to address challenging questions, allowing me to be more confident in my abilities.
Both Mr Russell and Dr Chua are clear in their explanations and do their best in making lessons more interesting by including personal anecdotes, which also served to make key points easier to understand. Even when lessons were held virtually, they made classes interactive by getting us to collaborate with each other in small groups. Listening to different perspectives aided me in broadening my view towards various issues. I am grateful towards the teachers and teaching assistants who always ensured that we are aware of our areas for improvement through individual feedback sessions, both during and after lessons.
Overall, I do not regret joining TTT and am thankful for the support that I received from TTT, which helped me scored an A in A level GP and further my appreciation for the subject.
Vincent, Raffles Institution
At the end of J1, I was struggling in this subject and was demoralised by my previous results. After joining TTT, I felt more prepared and confident about GP as a subject, as I had the necessary resources and guidance to improve on my GP grade. Eventually, I managed to get an A for GP for my A levels.
TTT’s notes are comprehensive and span across a variety of different topics – including relatively heavier topics like Politics and the Arts. Not only do these notes provide the latest real-world examples, they discuss the theoretical to give your essay greater depth. The essay outlines given out every lesson also provide a clear and manageable essay structure to follow, which definitely helped to improve my grades.
Furthermore, TTT also provides notes for Paper 2 as well. These notes included the necessary paper 2 skills to tackle even the most challenging questions (including AQ and summary), and the sufficient amount of practice questions we get ensured that we had the confidence to do well in Paper 2.
Both Ms. Sanusha and Mr. Russell are also extremely approachable and passionate, as they would always be willing to stay back after classes for consultations and essay reviews. The teachers provided personalised feedback during one-to-one consultations, and consistently gave useful pointers for us to pick up. I would like to express my heart-felt gratitude to the teachers at TTT for their guidance and support , as they have played a pivotal role in this journey.
Overall, TTT helped me to study effectively and not only improve in the subject, but also better appreciate it as well. Thank you TTT 🙂
Madhu, Raffles Institution
TTT is a professional and trustworthy tuition centre with skilled teachers like Mr Russell and Dr Chua and comprehensive materials that guarantee academic excellence. Mr Russell and Dr Chua are very dedicated in helping to clear our queries and cater to the ability of every student.
Ms Sanusha is an engaging and thoughtful teacher who makes her lessons fun and precisely targets our learning needs. She conducts her classes at an efficient and comfortable pace that allows us to ask questions and also hone our understanding on a variety of GP concepts.
Ms Amy is a patient and skilled tutor who never fails to make her lessons insightful and interesting. She ensures her students possess a wide range of examples and case studies for general paper which makes application easier in examinations.
Anthias, Catholic Junior College
Prior to joining TTT, I have always felt a strong sense of uncertainty going for examinations, unsure of how adequate my preparation was and simply hoping for the best. However, after enrolling in TTT, my grades improved tremendously and the lessons were really what helped me to secure an ‘A’ grade in the recent A level examinations.
A pivotal role in my GP journey were the notes provided as well as the insightful discussions conducted by Mr Russell and Ms Sanusha. Firstly, the notes were well structured in a way that enabled me to gain knowledge on current affairs while illustrating arguments in a clear and concise manner. I was also introduced to complexity and ways to deepen my essay arguments.This was complemented with lessons by Mr Russell where he went beyond the notes and explored concepts that veered off the generic ideas and broke down complex ideas for better understanding. This allowed me to explore new ways of unpacking a topic which came in handy when I was stumped with questions I was not used to.
For the dreaded P2 component, TTT’s comprehension notes really helped to break down the various key skills that we had to master which allowed me to ace the short answer questions portion. The clear framework provided for AQ and examples of general Singapore trends allowed me to dive deeper into unpacking how to contextualise a passage in Singapore’s context for any topic.
Overall, TTT’s engaging and conducive environment for learning really allowed me to enjoy attending the lessons. Thanks to TTT, I have grown to see GP as more than just a subject. I would definitely recommend TTT!
Iching, National Junior College
Thanks to TTT, I was able to view GP in a new light. Instead of it just being another subject in school, I started to develop more interest in this subject after attending TTT lessons. This is mainly due to Dr Chua and Mr Russell’s teaching methods, enlightening me about the complexity of different worldly affairs and the many different perspectives that can be considered.
After joining TTT , I was able to think more critically with much better evaluation skills. Discussions conducted during lessons were always engaging, ensuring that all of us were able to formulate our own arguments and opinions.
Attending TTT also enabled me to quickly correct any misconceptions I had and learn from any mistakes I made. There was also a wide range of notes spanning across a variety of different topics given. Each set of notes was rich in depth, and helped me to understand each topic and the background information of some issues better. I always looked forward to TTT lessons and I am sure you will too. Joining TTT was definitely one of the best choices I made in JC!
Thomas, Raffles Institution
TTT’s content lessons delved deep into world issues and provided valuable insight into current affairs and the human condition. It is not merely a GP lesson; it provides diverse and insightful perspectives into the working of our world, and develops a greater maturity of thought to prepare us for the complexities and nuances of our modern world.
It was a memorable experience covering the different topics and lectures including more notably, democracy, national security and national identity. The lecture content included interesting theories and examples which allowed students to develop a more thorough understanding of our everyday realities. I fondly remembered the engaging lectures in which we covered interesting concepts such as Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, Ernest Gellner’s functionalist understanding of nationalism, as well as the different branches of ethics and how to apply these political and moral philosophies in essay writing.
Learning at TTT was a truly enjoyable experience and I would recommend the centre to anyone who is truly interested in learning about current affairs and the human condition.
Edward, Hwa Chong Institution
There are a few reasons I love TTT. The first being the convenient location, the second being the content notes given and last but most definitely not least, the teachers. The teachers in TTT are engaging, patient and witty. Apart from trying their best to engage us in class, they also strive to provide a holistic education to us by scattering in random facts that always leave the class entertained and interested to learn more. The notes are always up to date with a wide range of examples for all topics.
The notes are categorised based on bigger topics such as environment, politics, ethics, etc so that we can refer to them with ease instead of having to sort them out by ourselves. I can confidently say that the notes are better than most notes given by schools and you will receive help specifically tailored to your learning style with teachers being there for you. This certainly has helped to quicken my personal learning process as I take quite a lot of time classifying notes by topics so I can decide which are the most useful for me.
During lessons, we learn how to use a multi-layered approach to generate complex arguments which helps to add flair to our writing and also shows maturity in our thinking. I am also exposed to different philosophies and ethics which has helped me to look at things from different perspectives instead of just one. For both essays and comprehension, the various evaluative tools taught by the teachers has also helped me score significantly higher marks.
Mr Russell is an erudite teacher who has lots of enthusiasm in his teaching. He always makes lessons interesting and fun. In school, I always struggled with paying attention and would sometimes fall asleep but at TTT, Mr Russell constantly leaves us paying rapt attention with his funny jokes and various videos that help deepen our understanding. He also provides us with personalised feedback on our work as well and helps us better tackle the struggles we may face in school.
Overall, I highly recommend TTT due to their well designed notes and knowledgeable tutors which has helped to improve my grades by leaps and bounds. Thanks to TTT, I managed to get an A for A level GP.
Chin Lee, River Valley High School
At first, the affordable tuition fee drew me to TTT when I was struggling to look for GP tuition due to family financial issues. Yet, TTT provided me with notes as high-quality, sophisticated and concise as other more expensive tuition centres. I personally found the notes especially useful because they include a wide variety of pertinent examples and context for each topic. For some of the notes provided , they were more outstanding and did not merely depend on the content that our schools provide.
Dr Chua, my tutor, was dedicated and genuine in conducting his lessons. He always managed to involve the entire class in the discussion of essay questions as well as answer our questions (no matter how basic) in a patient and comprehensive manner. Dr Chua often spent time after the end of classes to explain our “overwhelming” doubts about certain GP concepts and questions. He was very dedicated such that he was willing to look through and explain our GP work online and even at night too.
Truth be told, GP was always my weakest JC subject. However, I slowly gained confidence in it after choosing TTT. I especially like how TTT furnished us with extra essay skills notes to better equip us in analysing and answering different essay questions. These skills were frequently revised under the guidance of Dr Chua when another essay question was given during the class. Instead of letting us write the essay in class aimlessly, Dr Chua engaged us with a deep and sophisticated discussion of how to approach the questions better and generate concise topic sentences.
TTT helped to improve my Paper 2 skills significantly by teaching us skills to answer different types of comprehension questions. I especially like how TTT gave us practices with distinguished comprehension question types to arm us with specific skills in tackling certain questions.
Overall, I genuinely want to thank TTT and Dr Chua for their vastly helpful guidance during my challenging JC years in dealing with GP. Although the journey with TTT was not the longest. I have seen a clear improvement in my GP writing and answering skills!
Nikesh, National Junior College
Being with The Thought Tailor for 2 years, I have seen a significant improvement in my language skills. I was able to go from a B during my JC1 WA to an A during promos, and then to an A for A level GP. This is a result of the comprehensive lectures coupled with the individual essay practices that help us to identify our previous pitfalls and ways to better our writing skills by addressing them.
There were also numerous useful content lectures on topics such science and technology, global hunger and poverty. Moreover, I was also taught various evaluative techniques that I used to help me to achieve an A for my JC1 promo essay! For Paper 2, we are taught the different types of questions so that we can answer them effectively. With a holistic approach to both content and language skills, The Thought Tailor has helped me tremendously.
Mr Russell is very engaging and never fails to make even the most boring topics interesting through personal anecdotes and humour. He also provided excellent analytical insight that enabled me to develop my critical thinking ability. Languages have always been my weakest subjects and hence coming into JC, I was intimidated by GP. However, The Thought Tailor has managed to make GP not only less daunting but even fun. Thank you, TTT!
Shaun, Hwa Chong Institution
TTT has helped me to greatly improve in GP. In every lesson, practices that never fail to sharpen our answering and writing techniques are provided. Personalised feedback is also given to us immediately, which helps tremendously in bridging our learning gaps. Mr Russell is more than willing to render help whenever needed and his unremitting efforts in helping us improve is something that everyone here at TTT is truly grateful for.
For essays, I have learnt to look at issues and causes from various perspectives and think in a more insightful and critical manner. Personally, I was fortunate enough to have been taught by both Dr Chua and Mr Russell and they have helped me in crafting concise and cogent arguments to get my points across in a persuasive manner. They always facilitate fruitful discussions in class which help us to gain valuable insights. At the end of the discussions, the essay outlines given to us are always structured with clear topic sentences and strong examples. Overall, the notes given by TTT are reliable and helpful.
For comprehension, I am very grateful that TTT has taught us an easier way to answer comprehension questions by first identifying the question type and then applying the required answering technique specific to that question type. Substantial help was also given to us to tackle the application question, which tends to be the trickier aspect of comprehension for most students. We learnt how to think quickly on our feet and develop convincing arguments even if the passage and context is largely foreign to us.
I would highly recommend students who feel lost for this subject to come to TTT. GP is daunting, but with TTT, you will most definitely be able to ace this subject!
Bryan, National Junior College
Before joining TTT, I was struggling in every field of the subject. It is to the extent that crafting a simple paragraph in my essay was challenging and strenuous. As a student who did not find GP interesting, it was difficult to even cope with meeting the high demands of GP, much less score well for it. Hence, I really needed to find the right help for my GP.
However, after joining TTT, I improved my writing skills drastically thanks to their well-curated notes and essay outlines which enabled me to look at things from different perspectives. Also, the comprehension drills and practices provided have ensured that I can master paper 2 as well. Both Mr Russell and Dr Chua have helped me tremendously in my GP journey.
In addition, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the tutors in TTT are the best GP tutors out there. Besides ensuring every student learns well in class by ensuring everyone can share their opinions in class, they would even go the extra mile and provide additional consultations after class for weaker students, like me, to clear any doubts.
If you’re like me, who finds GP challenging, join TTT to know how simple GP can be and see your grades soar!
Sabitha, Raffles Institution
For instance, they would help students break down essay questions in a step-by-step manner, guiding students every step of the way. The teachers also provided us with numerous avenues for creative writing. A key form of help they provided was aiding us in understanding the intention of evaluation and the different ways in achieving levels of evaluation to bring greater depth to essays. The teachers aim to constantly expose students to different dimensions of the English Language so that we may incorporate multi-layered arguments as well as ethics and philosophies into our writing. Their devotion and passion motivated me to explore more on my own. Staying true to their mission, TTT really ensures that they tailor the thoughts of students rather than force students to memorise the behemoth amount of information that is being imparted to us. The teachers also plan out engaging lessons, including interesting videos of relevant events and discussions to help us to fully understand the examples that we were introduced to.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the teachers at TTT for being so caring, approachable and accommodating. In particular, I would like to thank my teacher, Mr Russell, for his guidance. Mr Russell, with his keen understanding of GP, had offered me a lot of insightful feedback and advice that really helped me feel more confident in GP. Thank you for the highly fruitful and memorable experience TTT!
Sean, Eunoia Junior College
Apart from that, TTT provides amazing notes. The notes contain very detailed examples with comprehensive formatting, which is often accompanied by clear explanations by the teachers in class. The notes also include detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to tackle particular comprehension question types or essay question types which allowed me to fully understand how to meet the requirements of the questions. This helped me to gain a lot more confidence during examinations. After just a short period of time at TTT, I already saw visible improvement in my grades. My favourite lesson at TTT was the lesson on ethics because of how it allowed me to develop much more complex and thoughtful responses for paper 1 and AQ.
Furthermore, despite the COVID-19 restrictions forcing classes to shift online, I found that TTT adapted very well to the situation. The quality of classes remained on par with when they were in person which I really admire TTT for. Moreover, lessons were all smoothly carried out.
All in all, I would like to sincerely thank Mr Russell for being so supportive and encouraging. I believe that TTT has built a very conducive learning environment that really helped with my learning and instilled a passion for GP within me.
Matthew, Yishun Innova Junior College
Joining TTT has truly been a unique experience for me. The teachers are able to provide valuable insights on a plethora of topics and their patience to constantly help us improve has been endless. I really like that the lessons are well structured. There would be a specific goal set each lesson, which is always achieved at the end of the lesson, making classes meaningful and productive.
Mr. Russell is very passionate and always keen on improving each student’s method of writing to make us stand out and get an upper edge against every other student in the nation. His essay crafting techniques – including sophisticated structures and highly-complex analysis are definitely one of a kind and not taught in schools, making it so unique and effective.
Despite having to attend some lessons on Zoom meeting, the lessons were still very effective. We used Google Documents to type out our essays for homework or classwork and they would provide comments on how it can be crafted better, which provided me with the help and encouragement I needed. The content videos that were shown helped me to gain a better understanding of the topics at hand, making me gain more interest in them.
I am very grateful for the teachers at TTT, for helping me achieve an A for the A Level Examinations. Prior to joining TTT, I was not very keen on studying GP as a subject as I felt that it was a very boring subject, but I was taken aback by how the teachers were able to make me change my opinion of GP. The teachers also make an effort to know us personally to cater to our needs more effectively, which has helped me in my improvement. I would like to thank the teachers as well as my friends for making each lesson enjoyable. I would most definitely recommend TTT to everyone as the experience and insights that you can gain here are one of a kind.
Gong Wang, Hwa Chong Institution
I used to be a former student of Mr Russell in school. After entering Hwa Chong Institution for JC, I continued to attend his GP classes.
Mr Russell taught me the various answering techniques and strategies necessary to tackle GP. I especially appreciated how he had categorised the different question types and components, and provided a step-by-step method to approach the question. It made it very easy for me to understand the various factors and components involved.
Furthermore, the resources and materials provided are very comprehensive and in-depth. The notes provided by TTT are better than all the notes provided by other schools, where news articles are just being dumped onto students. In contrast, TTT notes are filled with evaluative details, making my revision extremely simple and easy. The plethora of revision drills and essay plans improved and reinforced my foundation for GP.
In particular, I really enjoyed the lectures and tutorials for Arts and Culture. Different theories, such as Kant’s Aesthetics, were being taught to us in an engaging manner. Mr Russell’s ever-engaging and interactive lessons made the 2 hours always seem way too short. Even after the lesson, Mr Russell is always available to answer my queries and doubts.
I am grateful for the assistance and help Mr Russell has shown me throughout the years. I would highly recommend TTT for anyone to score that coveted A grade.
Nishita, National Junior College
I joined The Thought Tailor in the middle of my junior college two year and I am really glad that I made the right decision to do so. My understanding of GP as a subject has improved a lot since then. Initially, I used to despise GP as I did not know how to study and score well for the subject. However, with the help rendered by Mr Russell and Dr Chua, I have become much more confident in tackling essay questions and comprehension questions. Both Mr Russell and Dr Chua are really very patient and engaging. They have helped to clarify the doubts that I had and even provided one-to-one consultation sessions to better hone my comprehension and essay skills. Thanks to them, I managed to improve from an S to a B for GP.
The lectures on terrorism, media and globalisation were really informative and they have helped to deepen my understanding of those complex topics. The essay outlines that were provided to us encompassed many different arguments and strong examples which I found extremely useful. Through the class discussions that were facilitated by Dr Chua and Mr Russell for the different essay questions, I learnt to incorporate the different writing styles and the different types of arguments into my own essay writing too.
Having to complete the different practice questions under timed conditions seemed daunting to me at first. However, this greatly helped me to prepare for the actual examinations as I could write apt responses more quickly without getting too stressed.
I would like to thank Mr Russell and Dr Chua for their guidance and support. They have greatly helped me to master my essay writing skills too. The personalised feedback that they provided for every piece of work that I had submitted to them really helped me to improve on my weaker areas. Moreover, they also took the initiative to check in their students’ wellbeing and ensure that they are coping well at school. I am truly grateful for all the support they have provided.
Aditya, Saint Andrews Junior College
Honestly, when I first joined TTT, I did not know what to expect. It was my first time ever going for a GP/english tuition so I thought it would be the same as my plain mundane GP lessons in school.
However, I was pleasantly surprised as TTT was far more different than regular GP lessons elsewhere. I realised that the way teachers in TTT teach is far different from the way GP is taught in school. The lessons at TTT are far more intriguing and allow me to be more captivated by the lessons and their style of lessons. Through this, I have managed to progress far better in GP than I would have during regular schooling hours.
All in all, I would highly recommend TTT as a one-stop centre for quality GP lessons as it has helped me develop different viewpoints during essays and fine tune my answers for the comprehension components, which I would have never learnt at school. I would also like to give a special shout-out to Dr Chua and Mr Russell for teaching me during my time at TTT with their enriching lessons.
Dhanush, Anglo Chinese Junior College
I joined The Thought Tailor when I was in secondary four and due to the excellent lectures and intensive practice provided which were very effective for me, I continued with TTT for my JC1 and JC2 academic years too. The A level curriculum for GP is much more advanced and is of a higher level compared to the O level English curriculum.
Nevertheless, TTT managed to do a fantastic job with their concise lecture notes with up-to-date examples. This helped me to improve my essay tremendously. The personalised feedback provided by Mr Russell and Ms Amy was really very beneficial to me. I believe this to be the key reason behind my jump in grades from a ‘S’ grade to a ‘B’ grade at my J2 preliminary examinations.
Hence, I would highly recommend TTT to all my juniors and friends!
Aryan, Catholic Junior College
Prior to joining The Thought Tailor, I was completely lost and confused in GP. I thought that it was a Herculean task to score good grades for the subject. Initially, I was quite hesitant to join tuition for GP because I felt that it would be of little help to me. However, I am glad that I joined TTT. Thanks to the teachers at TTT, I managed to achieve an A for A level GP.
During the TTT lessons that were targeted at mastering essay writing skills, Dr Chua always guided us in breaking down the question requirements. This really helped me to understand the question requirements clearly and ensured that I did not go off topic while writing my essays. It also helped me to understand the different ways in which I can tackle the essay questions. This greatly aided me in writing more complex and well developed essays. Moreover, to further boost my essay writing skills, detailed essay outlines were provided to us. I found these essay outlines very eye opening. They helped me to elevate my essay writing skills by incorporating various writing styles and apt content for a myriad of essay topics.
There were also several lessons that were targeted at mastering comprehension answering techniques. I found these lessons especially helpful. This is because the various comprehension question types were categorised properly and each lesson would cater to tackling a specific set of question types. Several practice questions were provided for us to practise using the suggested frameworks in answering each of those question types. Mr Russell would mark all of our answers and provide personalised feedback on how we should better use the frameworks taught to us. Through these lessons, I learnt to recognise question types easily and employ the suggested frameworks in answering those questions. These frameworks have greatly helped me to score well for comprehension questions.
Overall, I have greatly benefited from the TTT lessons and I really enjoyed learning GP here.
Alyssa, Anglo Chinese Junior College
Before joining, I felt that I had reached a plateau in my preparation for GP. However, I began to level up just after a few months with TTT. Just 4 months at TTT had helped me secure my A for A levels! TTT delves into a range of topics and the teachers are constantly curating and refining their thought-provoking lectures based on changing events. The teachers also provide well-organised notes which are packed with evaluative tools and answering techniques to tackle various comprehension question types as well as essay-writing. Furthermore, their content-rich lectures also keep us abreast of current affairs, and teach us the strategies to weave such knowledge into our essay-writing to enhance it. TTT teachers are also passionate and the lessons are nothing short of depth such that we can set aside time for improving our writing skills.
I would like to thank Mr Russell for investing their energy into GP. TTT has been a great source of motivation for me in the lead-up to As.
Sathish, Raffles Institution
Learning at TTT has been an absolute joy, one that I can’t find anywhere else, not in the centres that i joined previously, and so much so that I have never skipped any classes.
I also adore the fact that the teachers provide personalised drills for essay writing, and there are frequent writing experiment classes, that are carried out on both Zoom and at the centre, to help us apply skills including how to write good hooks or an effective introduction. This is something that we do not really get to try in school, and I think it certainly helps me to work towards eliminating some of my bad habits in writing.
One thing that I found really interesting was that the teachers were also extremely competitive, and they helped me to be able to match the competition that I face in school. I learnt a lot from Mr. Russell and I am grateful that he has shared some of the study and essay writing strategies which enabled him to beat his peers when he was a student at the University of Cambridge. It was really fun exploring literary writing techniques for hook writing, and this enabled me to have the je ne sais quoi in my writing compared to my peers.
Learning at TTT has definitely been a privilege for me and I doubt I would have been able to jump from a C during MYE to an A for promos had I not joined TTT. Thank you.
Jia De, Hwa Chong Institution
I have attended some other GP tuitions during my JC time and I can safely say that the tutors in TTT have definitely impacted my learning the most.
Mr Russell has always been extremely enthusiastic about teaching. He provided us with avenues for creative writing that might not be so prevalent in schools. He also taught us how to apply varying levels of evaluation in our essays to give us extra depth of analysis.
During content building lessons, he would show us interesting videos of relevant events such as the Syrian war which allowed us to fully understand the examples that we could use to effectively bring out our point in essays. He also structured his lessons in a way to maximise the use of the limited lesson time so that we could learn the most within that 2 hours. His comprehension lessons were impeccable as we were all clear about the requirements and how we were supposed to answer in order to obtain the maximum mark.
Honestly, my only regret was not knowing about TTT earlier in JC1. Nonetheless, I genuinely do greatly appreciate TTT for helping me jump from a S during J1 CA1 to a B for prelims. My time at TTT has been very memorable and fun. I would definitely recommend joining TTT to anyone looking for GP tuition.
Aries, National Junior College
Before joining TTT, I was often worried about my preparation for GP due to my poor grasp of global issues and answering techniques for comprehension. In fact, I was close to giving up on preparing for this subject altogether.
Thankfully, with the help of Mr Russell and Dr Chua, I slowly mustered confidence in tackling GP. Given that they are individually well-versed in various topics, they were able to meticulously craft out exhaustive essay outlines and content notes for us. The bounty of resources provided by TTT allowed me to be well-equipped with all the topics regardless of their complexity. Rest assured, you will no longer need to spend countless hours searching for examples. Furthermore, the teachers always provide constructive feedback during class discussions, allowing me to recognise my blind spots and consistently work on refining my work. I am thankful that the teachers are always willing to review our examination scripts and any other additional pieces of work.
Moreover, the comprehension drills conducted in class have been very effective in helping me master my answering techniques.
Hence, I highly recommend TTT to all JC students!
Swee Kong, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
Learning at TTT has been a joy. The teachers here are passionate in what they do and they always go the extra mile to ensure that we receive all the guidance we need. Any questions we have are always promptly answered, and it is easy to set up consultations if we have any further queries. Lessons are never dull as the teachers are humorous and they make the learning environment extremely comfortable.
The content notes provided by TTT are fantastic, as they are the fruit of labour of the countless hours spent by the teachers, meticulously compiling all the best examples we can use for different topics. This enables us to craft complex, multi-layered essays that are supported with robust arguments, which sets us apart from our peers. The teachers also equip us with various writing techniques, such as how to write captivating hooks, impactful conclusions, and ways to structure our essays effectively. This allows us to level up our writing skills, and make our essays fun and interesting.
I would like to personally extend my gratitude to Mr Russell, who has been a splendid mentor thus far. Thank you Mr Russell for always believing in me and pushing me to unlock my fullest potential, as well as sharing different writing strategies with us to help add that extra spice into our writing. I am extremely happy that i managed to get an A grade for A level GP!
Stacy, Nanyang Junior College
Mr. Russell is a dedicated teacher. He has left a strong impression on me as he was always passionate in teaching us. He also made sure to fulfil all our learning needs nearing A Levels and allowed us to consult him, some even at ungodly hours.
I love the fact that the notes were very informative and filled with many examples to choose from, allowing me to understand the topics in detail. My favourite set of materials is the one on Arts & Culture. It has removed my initial apprehension in terms of doing questions regarding Arts & Culture and allowed me to undertake another topic to study for A Levels. It has helped me in my studies as prior to the lesson, it was difficult for me to research on this particular topic online.
The lessons are always packed with many learning points, whether it is content or answering techniques. My favourite lesson was on politics and governance. Mr. Russell conducted the lecture and it was taught in a very organised manner. Mr. Russell even brought up his own personal experiences which made it even more interesting. I really enjoyed the theories, points and examples on democracy and I felt that Mr. Russell and his team had put in a lot of effort to write the notes.
Thank you TTT for giving me a comprehensive strategy and structure to help me with my learning. I really enjoyed the lessons at TTT and I am sure this was the same sentiment that many of my classmates had. The fact that more than half of my class attended GP lessons at TTT is a testament to the excellent GP lessons that we had. Thanks to TTT, I managed to score an A for A level GP. Thank you.
Madhu, Raffles Institution
I joined TTT nearing my finals and it’s a decision that I will never regret!
The concise notes that the teachers prepare are straight to the point and are also well ranged such that they can be applied to various other topics easily. The notes also included thought-provoking theories and quotes that were very useful as they helped my essay to stand out from the rest. Lessons were always something that I would look forward to as the guidance the teachers give us is almost one-to-one as they would give us personalised feedback based on the answer that we had submitted.
Even though my classes were all held online, the lessons were very well executed by Mr Russell and often there were also other teachers on call to guide us through the lesson.
Mr Russell is a very patient and knowledgeable teacher. His style of conducting lessons made GP a subject that I was truly passionate about. Even when I would feel demoralised, Mr Russell would always encourage me and give me tips on how I can change my approach so that I can apply those skills while doing other papers. Just like Math and Science, I began to improve as I slowly started to see a pattern in GP and began to remember and apply the templated approach that he taught me during lessons.
My favourite part of lesson time would be the group tasks where we had to generate layers for an essay question. This really improved my brainstorming capabilities as I had to quickly think on the spot to generate points and examples for my group. Interacting with other students also helped me to feel more comfortable making mistakes. Feedback from other students during the group sessions also helped me to realise how I can change my style of thinking so that I can better approach my essay questions during exams.
A big thank you to TTT and Mr Russell for making me feel like scoring in GP is definitely possible!
Hui Xin, River Valley High School
Before I joined the thought tailor, I always struggled to score for my Paper 2. Fortunately, TTT provided ample practices allowing me successfully identify the question types and answer accordingly. TTT also taught me how to plan for essay questions preventing me from writing out of points and making sure I always answer the question.
Moreover, TTT also provide me with many examples for different topics such as media and politics. This helps me to save time searching examples online for my essays. Dr Chua’s and Mr Russell’s classes were very engaging as he frequently told us interesting information and opinions. In class, Dr Chua would always ask students questions and this allows me to learn about different perspectives and opinion which is very useful for essay writing.
In conclusion, I am very thankful for TTT for allowing to be more confident for GP!
Tania, Nanyang Junior College
Personally, I struggled a lot with writing clear and concise paragraphs. I found that there would often be holes in my elaboration. However, after submitting an essay to be marked, Mr Russell was able to quickly pick this up. He then held a 1 to 1 consult with me to teach me exactly how to craft clear and comprehensive paragraphs that maximised information I could put in. I sincerely doubt I would have been able to see such a quick improvement in my GP grades if Mr Russell had not picked up on my mistake when he did. Moreover, I also learnt how to write counterarguments that provided an alternative point of view without overriding the overall stand.
Paper 2 wise, I often struggled with meeting the question requirements and tended to end up beating around the bus with my answers. Thus, I really liked the set of materials that went through comprehension question types. They helped me to identify questions and effectively scope my answers accordingly. Consequently, I was able to have a clearer frame of mind when answering comprehension questions which were reflected in the increase in the number of my correct answers during exams.
Apart from all that, the next biggest thing I loved about TTT was the notes. The notes were highly comprehensive that thoroughly explained current affairs and clearly taught me how to write in a clear, concise and engaging manner.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Russell for his passion and enthusiasm for teaching. I definitely appreciate how he always sought to explain concepts in a fun and engaging manner. For instance, during lectures, he would use his own personal experiences to make difficult concepts easier to digest.
Personally, I recommended TTT to many of my friends which eventually caused more than half of my classmates at NYJC to also be my classmates at TTT, and everyone had nothing but positive reviews to give about their time spent at TTT. Learning at TTT was truly very fruitful and enjoyable, and I would highly recommend TTT for GP tuition!
Hui Ying, Saint Andrews Junior College
Classes with Mr Russell are always enjoyable. During lessons, Mr Russell would always bring fresh insights that have never crossed my mind during my self-study sessions. This not only included useful points and examples for GP topics, but also interesting perspectives and political philosophy which he picked up from his time at Cambridge, which made the analytical process even more interesting.
Besides, he is also very patient and passionate about his teaching, and he would always make an effort to be available to students whenever help is required. He pushes my intellectual limit and inspires me to take an interest in the subject. With his help, I am able to understand complex essay questions and I gained more confidence in my essay writing.
Besides the excellent lessons, the notes provided were also very informative and well organised according to the A Level format and syllabus requirements. Each key topic was taught in detail, with Mr. Russell covering not just the relevant content but also strategies on how to modify the content to suit different questions within a particular topic.
Also, the content of the notes given are very detailed and include a multitude of relevant examples, allowing me to provide a wide variety of information when revising for exams. I really appreciate how TTT teaches GP in a fun and exciting manner and I have undeniably grown fond of this subject even if it is one that I struggle with.
Haley, River Valley High School
Be it comprehension or essays, Mr Russell is highly competent in delivering answering and evaluating techniques. Having attended another GP tuition (which mainly stresses on putting all the eggs in one basket – Paper 2), I marvel at how TTT is able to provide extensive lessons that cover almost all aspects and topics in GP.
Zooming into essays, TTT supplies comprehensive and reader-friendly notes for various topics like Global Hunger, Poverty, Science and Technology, Politics and Governance, etc. What’s effective is that these notes provide topic sentences and versatile concrete examples that can answer various essay questions, with a bit of thinking and tweaking.
With a more solid understanding of various topics, such lessons have sharpened my evaluative skills where I am better able to discuss the question on a more macro level. Also, they hone my meta-thinking ability by showing me ways to question the question and thus craft a more evaluative essay.
Along the same vein, when it comes to preparing us to handle Paper 2, TTT provides plenty of drills for different question types, ranging from language use to in your own words types of questions. Practices on summary taught me concise writing and deepened my lexicon bank. What I love most would be time focused on honing AQ skills as I was able to work with buddies. Through that, I was able to explore and apply relatable Singapore knowledge in intriguing contexts of the passage and evaluate them further.
Overall, I find TTT’s learning style highly productive and manageable as teachers have always scheduled a smooth switch from focusing on essays to comprehension, and vice versa.
Isabel, Hwa Chong Institution
During my time at TTT, Mr Russell taught me a lot of writing skills, answering techniques as well as information on different topics. All these helped make GP so much easier to grasp. Moreover, the way Mr Russell explained topics made lessons very interesting and it allowed me to absorb and understand the information faster. He has also shared many tips on how to score when dealing with a variety of GP questions. This really provided me with a solid guide on what each question’s requirements were, thereby allowing me to score.
The resources provided at TTT are very concise and are categorized in a way such that it is very easy to access any particular information I want. Their resources also make it easy for students to link different topics together using similar examples. This allowed me to come up with many points for my essay as well as AQ. On top of the notes provided, the teachers often send us videos related to the topic we are discussing to allow us to have a deeper understanding about it. Class discussions and practices helped to boost my confidence in writing as Mr Russell often provided very constructive and helpful feedback.
Seeing the amount of effort that Mr Russell put into teaching us and ensuring that we understand all his lessons pushed me to work harder and put in more effort into GP. I really want to thank Mr Russell for making GP so much easier to handle and for constantly encouraging me to work harder.
Serene, Anderson Serangoon Junior College
I joined TTT since early Secondary 4 and have journeyed with them all the way till the end of A levels. TTT’s effective and concise drilling practices enabled me to polish as well as elevate my Paper 2 skills. TTT has very structured lesson plans to ensure that topics are covered in great depth and breadth which is why I would highly recommend joining TTT.
Besides TTT’s superb curriculum and consistency, the teachers at TTT such as Dr Chua and Mr. Russell have great profound insights regarding each topic. Not only do they give me an edge in terms of my content knowledge but they were also enlightening, making lessons more captivating. Both teachers’ personal insights regarding various topics also spurred my interest in further reading up on certain case studies outside of lessons. The teachers at TTT displayed a keen interest in the betterment of each students’ writing ability as they are always willing to provide specific feedback that enabled me to learn more effectively. Furthermore, Dr Chua was always open to consultations where he would provide personalised tips to further improve my essay writing skills.
I am really grateful to have chanced upon TTT and to have such passionate tutors guiding me throughout my A levels journey!
Sky, Raffles Institution
After joining TTT, I became more confident about General Paper as a subject.
The notes provided by the teachers at TTT are wide-ranging in terms of topics and examples that go beyond the notes provided by the school as well as other tuition centres. Unlike school notes which dumps a huge pile of articles on students, TTT compiles useful and relevant examples for each topic.
Apart from the examples, the notes also help students link these examples to the wider topic and help them see the issue from multiple perspectives allowing students to see the bigger picture. Another key feature of the notes that has been very useful in my A level journey is the list of essay questions which includes questions from past A levels and other JCs. For comprehension, the teachers will go through various comprehension skills and allocate class time to mark and go through each question in-depth with students to ensure that all students are able to understand the contents of the lesson.
The teachers at TTT are more than willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help students clarify misconceptions and mark additional work. During these consultations, the teachers will explain each comment in great detail to ensure that students are made aware of any areas of improvement. Through these consults, I was able to understand the thought process behind writing a GP essay and saw my grades improve, especially for essay writing. During the pandemic, the teachers at TTT were able to quickly adapt to a different way of teaching such that each student was still able to learn effectively during each class such as by splitting students into groups to facilitate the exchange of ideas for essay questions which allows students of different JCs to learn from each other.
Personally, I feel that Mr Russell cares deeply for each student and is always very friendly and open to consults. During lessons, he is able to clearly articulate the content in the notes and link these ideas to allow students to have a better understanding of the material. Even for complex concepts, Mr Russell is able to break them down such that it is easier for students to digest the content. When it comes to marking essays and comprehension questions, Mr Russell clearly explains the requirements of the questions so that students are clear in terms of what to look out for.
I would like to thank TTT and their teachers for making GP less intimidating and more interesting as over the course of this journey, I have grown to appreciate GP in all of its complexity and grew more fond of the subject.
Sui Ling, Anglo Chinese Junior College
The teachers at TTT are really some of the most funny and genuine people, who are very passionate in their job! They always contextualise lessons to real life, making it a lot more fun and relatable as compared to the dry lessons in school.
Their step by step strategies to break down essay questions and short answers questions in comprehension really helped me tremendously in being able to analyse questions more accurately and answer with precision, which was something that I had previously struggled with in school. Given that this is the very first language-based tuition I’ve attended (and I attended only in the second half in J2), it was honestly a very eye-opening experience to learn that GP is actually so much more interesting than what I thought it to be! I used to think that language based subjects never really required studying but after attending classes, I found myself to have an edge over my classmates in school as I started to see improvements in my overall score, namely my comprehension papers as in the past I had only managed to barely pass. I genuinely doubt that I would have been able to secure an A for A levels if I had not joined TTT. I would like to thank the teachers for letting me enrol even though I joined much later than the majority, but still taking the time to check my progress and to see how I’m doing. They also reply to my queries, which helps me to better progress with my revision towards the A Levels!
(P.S. I had friends come up to me and tell me that they regret not quitting their respective GP tuition centres after seeing TTT’s super comprehensive notes… so I don’t think you should look any further HAHAHA)
Rachel, Anderson Serangoon Junior College
The tutors at TTT are approachable and evidently knowledgeable about the topics they teach. They often include interesting real-life stories in between discussions. Prior to joining The Thought Tailor, I had weak essay structures and used minimal advanced vocabulary in my writings.
After using the notes given and following the step-by-step instructions on how to answer different types of questions, I became more confident in my grasp of General Paper.
Mr Russell was extremely effective and engaging in his teaching methods and definitely cared about all his students, always finding ways to better improve and update on the content and making sure that the students understood the key tensions and issues for each topic. Even outside of lesson timings, Mr Russell would encourage students to practice writing short paragraphs using the various techniques taught, and read through each student’s essays before giving valuable feedback and comments for students to improve on. The consistent writing practices have indeed aided me in my preparation for As and I’m truly grateful for them!
Le Yang, Catholic Junior College
Mr. Russell is someone who taught me how to strategise and prepare for the subject, and he would encourage me to continually strive for perfection even though I was already doing quite well. He was my tutor in secondary school, and I did very well for my O levels, clinching an A1 and top 3 in my cohort, and hence I decided that continuing with his classes was a very logical option to pursue.
His GP classes are very interesting. Besides the usual step-by-step comprehension drill strategies that I have already fondly grown accustomed to since the time when I took up his O level lessons, I think that what really sets TTT apart from other centres or schools in general would be the content notes. The content notes are very well-researched, covering not just points, examples, but also key arguments and broad-based analysis. His lessons were interesting, and he would often use different analytical lenses to evaluate issues, which means that I always received the best guidance and analytical insights that I could possibly have.
Thanks to TTT, I managed to do well for the General Paper examination. I even managed to clinch the top 5 percent in my cohort for General Paper.
Chloe, National Junior College
Before joining TTT, my approach to preparing for GP was often using examples that were either too generic, vague, or too specific to a particular subtopic that more often than not, did not come out for exams. This meant that I was usually left trying to ‘wing’ it through exams due to lack of content because my preparation was all over the place. TTT’s notes are extremely comprehensive, straightforward, and provide a clear direction, a stark contrast to the multitude of reading packages I’ve read in the past. They are written and organised in a concise manner that provides students with a plethora of relevant, interesting examples that don’t feel like content to memorise simply for the sake of regurgitation during exams. The time and effort saved on using the notes curated by TTT rather than spending time googling for examples blindly have definitely helped me tremendously.
During lessons, both teachers would often guide us through the various ‘drills’, lectures and essay outlines. From the material alone, you can really see the amount of effort that they put in to analyse the trends and different styles of questions in order to help their students. In particular, I really like how the two teachers take the time to break down certain essays written by students. They point out the flaws or strong points as well as analyse them from a new, more interesting, and unconventional point of view, which has allowed me to broaden my perspectives and see the bigger picture.
Both Mr Russell and Mr Lee are extremely robust during teaching and constantly cracking jokes to keep our attention on them, which I really admire because although I’m not a teacher, I think it is hard to constantly be energetic and teach with enthusiasm when the students may be lethargic after a long day of school and show up for their class. Both teachers often incorporate their experiences and stories when introducing or explaining the content during lectures. This made lessons more interesting, engaging, and also, strangely enough, helped me to remember a lot of the content in addition to making lessons enjoyable!
Regardless of the result, I would like to take the opportunity to thank both teachers for their undying passion and dedication. They were always very willing to extend their help and also constantly push students to think bigger and better whilst still patiently guiding us. Joining TTT has been extremely beneficial for me personally and I definitely recommend TTT to those who need help with GP! 🙂
Alvin, Nanyang Junior College
Whilst being Mr Russell’s tutee, I’ve learned a myriad of different topics and argumentative viewpoints that really broadened my way of thinking, and hence improved my ‘general knowledge’, which I believe is what most students would lack. At TTT, Mr. Russell covered different topics like media, politics, international relations, terrorism, science and technology as well as arts and culture, which helped me to develop a good understanding of different topics, giving me the ability to comfortably answer different questions that appeared in the exams.
Apart from helping to arm me with valuable viewpoints and ideas to crystallise my argument, as well as to sharpen the debates in essays, Mr Russell also helps to provide many tips and tricks that are handy for students to ace the examination, that is often not taught by your typical tuition centres. For instance, he broke down every single question type that could potentially come out during comprehension exams and provided me with highly comprehensive techniques to meet their question requirements. I find that this was something that really helped me to learn in a strategic and efficient manner.
Lastly, Mr Russell is also a very enthusiastic teacher that would readily be available to aid students in whichever way possible, be it consults, or WhatsApp help. Before exams, I would spam him with a variety of different questions and he would always do his very best to reply as soon as possible. Through his very detailed responses to clarify my doubts, I could also see exactly how well Mr Russell had comprehended the GP syllabus. My time at TTT has been very memorable and fruitful. I would highly recommend anyone looking for GP tuition to join TTT.
Claudia, Hwa Chong Institution
TTT is an amazing centre, and the teachers are my pillars of strength in my quest to perfect my skills and content knowledge for General Paper. Unlike the reading materials given in school and elsewhere, the materials provided at TTT are concise, informative and easy to apply, and I find that it has afforded me more time to focus on strengthening my argumentative and application of evaluative strategies, rather than just engage in a trivial search for examples to back up my points.
I enjoy the content lessons, especially the ones on politics, philosophy and science and technology and I think Mr. Russell provides excellent and interesting examples and perspectives which I can apply in my essay.
Mr Russell is really patient when he teaches us. He is also really encouraging and will always motivates us to keep trying harder whenever we face setbacks or problems. Even when we feel less motivated or worried, he will do his very best to encourage us to practice more and try again until we master the concept. Mr Russell is also a very funny person. He often makes jokes to lighten the atmosphere in order to make our lessons more engaging. This creates an intense, but lively and fun experience. Truly, GP is never boring when you are learning it at TTT!
I would like to thank the teachers for their patience, passion and effort in guiding us through this GP journey. Whenever we have examinations or tests, the teachers are more than willing to offer extra consultation sessions to clear our doubts and misunderstandings. Even though this takes up their extra time, they always put in a lot of effort to find time to help us so that we can achieve the best results. Thanks to TTT, I was able to jump from an S during J1 WA to a B from my promos.
Chok Joo, National Junior College
I used to dread attending English lessons as I always felt that it was hard to navigate the complex concepts and the ever-changing world around us. I decided to join TTT early in JC1, upon hearing my peer’s extolment of its comprehensive notes for paper 1 and the rigorous breakdown of how to answer comprehension questions in paper 2.
True enough, TTT’s impeccable organisation of facts and arguments in their lecture notes expanded my perspective, putting forth many new points of view that I have never considered. Persuasive and recent statistics supplemented by clear and concise topic sentences greatly bolstered the effectiveness of the arguments, allowing me to consistently score an A in my essays. Coupled with highly nuanced counter-arguments inserted strategically to elicit the point, their suggested essay outlines are often water-tight and well-balanced. My appreciation of GP and the complexities of the world has deepened thanks to the wide-ranging concepts introduced on a monthly basis,
I have always faced difficulty in paper 2, especially in answering the short answer questions and summary questions. Fortunately, the regular discussion of Writer’s Craft and answering techniques were enlightening and provided a helpful outline for tackling a wide array of question types. Equipped with the skills needed to score well in paper 2, I managed to answer them and score with ease.
Mr Russell and Dr Chua are greatly passionate in exploring the dynamic social, national and international scenes, eagerly engaging in discussion and analysis after class and online. The experience with TTT is truly one that transcends being just a tuition class that helped me consistently score well, it made understanding the world eye-opening, enjoyable and fruitful.
Wee Le, River Valley High School
In JC, GP has always been my weakest subject. It has always been a struggle to study for a GP and to do well for it. I have tried other GP tuition during JC1 but I don’t see any improvements. However, during JC2, I decided to join TTT to give it a try as A Levels was nearing. I believe this was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
At TTT, the notes provided are precise and easy to understand. The lessons are also very engaging and structured. I can confidently say that I managed to learn something after every lesson, whether in terms of skills or content.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr Russell for his patient guidance and constant support. He made the lessons much more interesting by adding his own personal experiences and stories to engage the class. He also played videos to better explain certain concepts. He helped me look through my essay writing and comprehension answering skills and suggested very detailed and relevant improvements to them. His emphasis on certain tips and tricks when writing essays and answering comprehension questions have really helped me to improve. I really like the step-by-step instructions provided and the use of a clear strategy helped me to see my learning journey in a more macro manner. Once again, thank you very much Mr Russell!
Li Hui, Saint Andrews Junior College
The notes TTT provided are very clear and in-depth with a lot of good examples already consolidated for you. This saves a lot of my time searching for examples especially when I do not know what to search for.
During lessons, time trials are given and it gives me an estimate of how fast I need to write in the exam and thus prepares me really well in the time aspect. Also in classes, there are usually more than one teacher in the class so that everyone will get their required help when the other teacher is teaching and this makes marking of assignments much faster and efficient. They were also able to reach out to more students and ensure that students understand where they are wrong. Lessons are also often prolonged with no extra charges because the teachers want to finish up what they teach instead of stopping on the dot regardless of whether they finished teaching.
Overall, the lessons taught by Mr Russell and Ms Sanusha were so enriching and a value-add to my A levels journey! 🙂
Lucas, National Junior College
What sets TTT apart from school lessons and other centres are their teachers and comprehensive notes. From the intricate P1 notes to help boost essay skills to the P2 packages that focus on practices to help excel, the materials provided at TTT were simply stellar.
Moreover, the teachers such as Mr Russell and Dr Chua knew how to effectively probe questions in students and stimulate deeper thinking and understanding, which becomes useful long-term, as well as for exams under timed conditions.
Apart from the amazing teachers at TTT, they also equip us with the necessary skills to introduce complexities into the essay to impress the examiners (especially important in the P1 component). The notes were concise and filled with many straightforward and equally interesting examples, something that schools do not provide. The notes help to save a lot of time and make studying much easier! Overall, the materials at TTT were amazingly crafted and useful in preparing for my school examinations and most importantly, the all important A levels!
Kester, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
During my time at TTT, Dr Chua and Mr Russell make lessons engaging by sharing personal anecdotes and like to ask questions to invoke our thoughts so that we are able to craft out good points.
Moreover, they give us time to share our own thoughts and opinions on the topics that we are debating about. Hence, this allows ideas to come together forming stronger arguments and stands for our essays.
Overall, the intricate lessons at TTT were extremely helpful in improving my GP.
Danelle, Saint Andrews Junior College
Mr Russell is a caring teacher who is very keen to transfer his knowledge and skills to his students. He patiently guides us to work on our weaknesses while strengthening our strengths so as to ensure faster improvements. He also takes extra steps to help us by providing online consultations and even arranging crash courses to better prepare us for examinations.
Apart from just teaching, Mr Russell also looks out for our well-being and constantly encourages us to strive for better performance.
Lessons are prepared and modified to fit the needs of students from varying schools, such as SAJC, RI, RVHS, HCI, ACJC, ASRJC and JPJC. Unlike how content is taught in most schools where students are given an overwhelming amount of news articles and sample essays to read, TTT teachers provide well-structured notes that are concise and simple to understand, as well as rich, informative videos to further assist in our learning. The step-by-step strategies and complex evaluative framework (e.g. GER model) taught are also easy to apply, especially after we practise them during lessons.
I would like to thank Mr Russell for investing his time and effort into creating high-quality notes and step-by-step exam approaches which are very beneficial for my learning. I greatly appreciate his care for all his students as well as his passion for teaching. This is clearly evident from how he constantly improves materials and teaching techniques so as to ensure that we learn effectively.
Like most of my classmates, I believe that TTT is the best GP centre in Singapore, and I believe that every student will definitely learn something that can help them trigger further growth in terms of both skills and content mastery.
Choon Ray, Anglo Chinese Junior College
During lessons, the teachers constantly exposed my class to different dimensions of the English Language that I did not know existed such as multi-layered arguments as well as ethics and philosophies. With their passion and zeal, I was able to enhance my writing and comprehension skills more effectively which made learning so much more enjoyable.
Every lesson material given by TTT is prepared thoroughly by the teachers who are always mindful of how to make our learning more effective. Through the different notes and worksheets, I had ample practices and was able to improve my skills quickly. TTT also has standard strategies such as evaluative tools for the different components in essay-writing and comprehension. Those strategies were constantly emphasised by the teachers throughout the year which made learning much more impactful.
I am deeply grateful to Mr Russell for all the help he has dedicated to my friends and I. He would always take the time to check our work even when we submitted them late at night. Even when I did additional practices outside of the lessons, he would never reject my request for his help. Outside of lessons, he would also occasionally send my class useful and relevant articles to aid in our learning to push my class to expand our horizons. During lessons, he also put in the effort to interact with my class so that he would be able to know us personally.
I would absolutely recommend TTT to everyone, even those who are already securing an A or B in GP. TTT can definitely push you further to guarantee your success. Personally, I went from a S during J1 Promos to a B for A levels. TTT is an experience that I would never forget and I hope that more students will get the opportunity to experience this wonderful TTT journey themselves. Do come and join the TTT family today!
Ler Han, Nanyang Junior College
At TTT, I received a lot of assistance from the teachers. The teachers were extremely patient and friendly, helping us whenever we needed help, whether with comprehension or essay skills. This allowed me to work on my weaknesses and issues, enabling me to pick up the skills quickly. In addition, the lessons were structured and well-planned, to provide effective lessons to maximise out learning.
The comprehension lessons provided were easy to follow, and it included a breakdown of the skills tested, as well as the strategies to tackle them effectively. Mr. Russell also covered not only the various skills for comprehension and essay writing, but also content for various topics like art and culture, media, politics, environment and science and technology. The notes had very detailed points and examples and this allowed me to expand my knowledge bank quickly and efficiently. After some lessons, I found that I was able to write clearer essays with good points and examples.
In the period that I took up lessons at TTT, I have seen improvement for myself, especially in terms of my understanding of the skills needed to do well for GP. I enjoyed my experience at TTT.
Thant Zaw, Catholic Junior College
Initially, I was concerned about my GP grades and thought that it was impossible for me to grasp an understanding of the fundamentals of the subject and its purpose in my future. My friend who shared the same worries as me, proposed that we should join The Thought Tailor together and see what the centre has to offer. I have to admit, I was quite hesitant and uncertain about joining as I thought it would be a time sink.
However, to my surprise, the centre has provided me with considerable support and offered various materials such as lecture notes and sample essays that I could use to improve on my papers. I felt that the benefits of joining the centre accrue over time and the time spent there was meaningful. The lessons were well organised and the teachers at TTT were proficient in guiding the students with numerous great tips and feedback. My school notes were confusing but TTT’s notes came to my aid and cleared up misconceptions and established rubrics on how to score.
Overall, I felt that TTT has taught me how to appreciate the subject and deepened my understanding of it. I do not regret joining the centre and would definitely recommend it to my peers!
Tian Yang, River Valley High School
Unlike normal GP lessons, TTT’s lessons give students a deeper understanding of global issues and local current affairs that allows us to apply it in our essays and comprehension. I enjoy the content lessons the most as the teachers give a detailed explanation and evaluation as to why global events happen.
The notes given are very helpful as they have a lot of examples and information that we can use in our essays. They are also very concise, making the notes very convenient to use. Lastly and most importantly, the teachers at TTT are very caring and understanding. Other than just teaching us skills and knowledge, they ask us about our school life and ensure that we are doing well.
I would like to thank the teachers for spending additional time outside of lessons to look through our work and give feedback relentlessly so that we can keep improving on our skills and accuracy. I also greatly appreciate how approachable the teachers are which makes asking questions very comfortable. Furthermore, instead of just giving us the model answers, they will guide us slowly on how to get the answer and improve our understanding. Learning at TTT was very memorable due to how structured and engaging it was. I would definitely strongly recommend TTT to anyone currently looking for GP tuition.
Yee Wei, Nanyang Junior College
Joining TTT has helped me tremendously in my preparation for the A level GP examinations as they have provided me with very concise and content-rich notes on various popular topics such as science and technology, media, international relations and many more. The notes have definitely helped me to study for GP more effectively, especially focusing on the more popular topics and helping me to gain knowledge on topics that I usually would avoid choosing due to lack of content knowledge.
Lessons here are well-paced and while we had most of our lessons online it was just as engaging and enjoyable. I think that the micro writing exercises during lessons have helped me to develop better writing skills in essays and the group discussions we had where we generated ideas on various essay questions has helped me to increase my confidence in my writing and development of paragraphs.
Mr Russell has also helped make lessons more enjoyable by sharing his experiences of studying at Cambridge and I thoroughly enjoyed all his stories as well as the moral and ethics theory lessons he gave us which taught me how to improve on the depth of my essay as well to incorporate these concepts into my writing. Mr Russell also taught us how to incorporate more complex analysis and how to write a more multi-layered essay which has helped to improve my thought process in my writing. Overall I am grateful for the time I had at TTT and for the teachers’ efforts in helping us in improving our GP.
Amanda, Hwa Chong Institution
TTT notes were really concise and well organised which made studying for content a lot faster and easier. I love the fact that there was a good mixture of topics covered such as politics, the environment, media, science and technology, global hunger as well as arts and culture. The notes not only provided good points to use in essay writing, but also a range of examples from different geographical contexts that enabled me to use a range of examples for my essays.
I also like that the notes provided also covered more complex theories and skills that were not covered in school.
I also appreciate all the help provided by the teachers at TTT. They gave regular practices, which allowed me to practice different skills including comprehension question types and also essay questions and question types, and also provided prompt replies whenever I had doubts and questions about my essays and comprehension. This enabled me to clear my doubts easily. Thank you also for the speedy review of my work!
Ethan, Anglo Chinese Junior College
TTT provides students with engaging lessons and detailed lesson materials to help us improve our essay and comprehension. Personally, the lessons I appreciate the most are the ones that teach the answering techniques needed to tackle the different types of comprehension questions the most since I always struggle with it. Mr Russell is a very friendly teacher and he often tells stories in class to make lessons more interesting.
He is also willing to spend extra time to finish up the lesson for the day even if it overshoots the allocated time so that students can fully benefit from the lesson. I think this is something that TTT does well as some tuitions will try to rush and skip some parts to end the lesson on time. All in all, if you are looking for help in GP, I would definitely recommend TTT!
Karel, Nanyang Junior College
As I joined the centre during covid restrictions, my lessons were purely via zoom. Even with this handicap of not being able to meet students physically, the teachers were able to adapt their lessons well to ensure we understood the material being taught. Group discussions were frequently conducted and encouraged as well. This enabled lessons to be more engaging and fun.
Personally, what I liked most about the centre is their comprehensive notes. Within each topic, content and examples were well organised and elaborated. It helped to cement our foundation in every topic which we then use to brainstorm evaluation points after each lesson. This method of teaching helped me as a student with little prior knowledge in current affairs. I delved deeper into the topics I found interest in and improved my overall awareness of global issues. All of this really helped me to better appreciate GP as a subject.
My teacher, Mr Russell, taught us multiple approaches to target a question to suit our strengths. He is always happy to hold one-on-one consultations even if it is late at night. Moreover, these consultations with Mr Russell helped me the most in understanding question types and the different approaches I should use, allowing me to do my best in every GP examination. I really appreciate Mr Russell’s dedication and passion towards helping me. I doubt I would have been able to have such a meaningful and fruitful GP tuition experience anywhere else, and would highly recommend all students looking for GP tuition to join TTT.
Crystal, River Valley High School
Even though I only joined TTT late May in J2, I still managed to benefit a lot from their GP classes and notes! The tutors in TTT are nice and patient, and they are able to explain key concepts well. I find myself learning a lot from participating in class as they provide useful feedback which allows me to fill in the gaps in my learning.
For paper 1, TTT goes through a wide variety of topics and content, which allows me to find out which topics I am stronger in, and hence focus on them to do better. For every topic, such as Politics and Governance and the Media, they provide in-depth notes which I frequently refer to, as they cover a wide range of examples and also provide important concepts and details. For example, the notes on the topic of Environment have substantial content on the environment and economy which is important information for GP paper 1 essays. Furthermore, the teachers will go through many, many essay plans prior to the preliminary and A-level examinations, which covers many examples, and I similarly referred to them during my revision as they help a lot for summarising key concepts and general knowledge useful for acing GP paper 1.
I was able to go through many paper 2 practices in TTT classes which not only allow me to gain confidence in answering short answer questions for GP paper 2, but also improve in the quality of my answers. TTT categorises SAQ questions based on question types, which is really helpful in allowing me to answer according to the question requirements, and I have since improved in my SAQ due to the strategies given by TTT for every question type. The application question in paper 2 is gone through quite thoroughly in TTT, as tutors mark gives critical feedback, allowing me to write better for AQ as I think in multiple perspectives.
Overall, I like that we are able to submit any relevant GP work to the tutors, which they will then mark and provide comments, as well as ask for short consults to answer any queries regarding any GP question that we have. Before joining TTT classes, I was always afraid of sitting for GP papers due to my lack of content and skills, but after joining TTT, I begin to enjoy GP as a subject, and even enjoy discussing contentious issues in GP lessons at TTT. Thank you TTT!
Bryan, Saint Andrews Junior College
When I first joined TTT, I was surprised to find the classes engaging and informative as I always thought that General Paper was a dry and boring subject.
The constant practice that the teachers issued to me, be it online or in class, allowed me to strengthen my writing skills. The feedback that they gave on every piece of work was detailed, helping me identify my areas of improvement. Additionally, the compiled notes were compact yet detailed, making it easier to absorb the information. While studying for exams, I would rely more on TTT’s notes rather than my school notes because of how much more comprehensive and concise they were.
I would like to thank my teachers for their dedication as they always try to reply to my queries online as soon as possible. I also appreciate how I was able to arrange 1 to 1 consultations with the teachers when I had huge doubts I wanted to clarify. In particular, I would like to sincerely thank my teacher, Mr Russell, for being so friendly and approachable as well as always trying his very best to help me improve. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at TTT.
Xavier Guo, Yishun Innova Junior College
Through my two years at TTT, I was able to build my foundation properly and pick up essential skills necessary for General Paper (GP). Dr Chua and Mr Russell were helpful in providing feedback on our written essays and comprehension practices to ensure that we are progressing on the right track.
Despite GP being a challenging subject which I often struggle with, I was able to achieve progress in my examinations. The key reason for this is the comprehensive notes and well-constructed essay outlines that were provided by TTT.
The comprehension notes really helped me to master my answering techniques through the intensive question type specific drills that we practised under timed conditions. The essay outlines were also extremely clear and highly relevant to the essay topics. Substantial number of strong examples were also well illustrated in all the essay outlines provided to us.
Rui Jia, Nanyang Junior College
Something that I really like about the centre is that it not only gives us sufficient hands on practice and discussion time, but the dedicated teachers are also extremely willing to help every student even beyond the tuition curriculum. They are just like our school teachers who we can text to ask any questions to improve our GP. I really appreciate how they have diligently marked the essays that I’ve done outside the tuition curriculum and have given very valuable and helpful feedback which build up my skills and confidence in GP.
My favourite material was on national security and the lecture was conducted by Mr Russell. It was my first time learning all the theories and philosophies so it was pretty confusing, but Mr Russell is very charismatic and knowledgeable, which made the lesson really fun and engaging. The theories became more useful and interesting the more I studied them, and I have been using it in my essays ever since I have learnt it, even during my A levels!
Ivy, Anglo Chinese Junior College
Firstly, the teachers in TTT are very approachable and engaging. Throughout the lessons, there were many thought provoking questions to guide us in areas such as essay writing. The lessons on crafting complex arguments were not only easily digestible but also interesting.
Additionally, there are also many timed practices to help us overcome the common problem of poor time management. The detailed and well organised notes provided is extremely comprehensive with examples from various aspects and in depth elaborations. From the Media, Arts and Culture to the Environment, there is a myriad of P1 notes that are specially curated.
For Paper 2, the comprehension drills on different question types to tackle and master specific comprehension skills had also help me to focus on parts I’m weaker in and have a clearly idea of the answering structure.
Overall, I would recommend TTT to anyone who is looking to excel in GP or improve from their current level.
Choon Hau, National Junior College
Studying at The Thought Tailor’s Novena branch has enabled me to grasp various complex and intangible ideas required to ace GP. This has helped me increase my confidence to score well in GP.
Personally, I found that the most unique and helpful aspect of lessons was the provision of categorised essay questions accompanied by detailed and extensive researched notes that helped to broaden my knowledge and interest in the various topics. Before exams, I tended to rely on TTT’s notes because of how much more comprehensive they were. There were numerous examples, points and even theories and insights from top professors and philosophers. Lessons wise, I believe that the lessons at TTT are very well balanced in tackling both paper 1 and 2 concepts and skills. They deconstructed the syllabus and used a step-by-step approach to cover all skills thoroughly, and this ensures that students are sufficiently prepared for both papers before their examinations.
However, all these alone would not have been able to help me improve my GP grades. The improvements I have achieved were only possible due to the expertise of and excellent teaching from Mr Russell. He is not only able to simplify and quantify many abstract topics for students but also help them to conceptualise and apply these crucial concepts. Mr Russell shines exceptionally in his 1 on 1 consults. He helped me to quickly identify and correct my mistakes. More than that, Mr Russell also went the extra mile to double check my corrected errors to ensure that I genuinely had a complete understanding of my mistakes. Thank you TTT for the wonderful experience!
Amanda, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
From dreading GP lessons to looking forward to using the knowledge I have acquired from TTT, TTT has provided me with useful content knowledge that my school was not able to offer due to time constraints. TTT not only provides us with content-heavy lecture notes to expand our content bank for essays but also provides regular practices for paper 2 comprehension questions to drill us on the necessary techniques needed to answer questions properly. Apart from the content provided at TTT, the tuition centre also focuses a lot on evaluation techniques to improve the complexities of our essays to ensure higher marks.
Mr Russell and Dr Chua are conscientious in ensuring that we perform to the best of our abilities by creating interactive lessons to facilitate questioning and learning. They also have an abundance of teaching experiences to know the requirements of both MOE and Cambridge which helps us get trained in a more targeted manner.
Through TTT I have improved from an ‘E’ grade in J1 promos to ‘B’ grade in J2 preliminary examinations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Russell and Dr Chua for helping me appreciate GP more. They also helped me to gain more interest in the subject by teaching us not to memorise content but to understand the happenings in the world and helping us remember it through engaging videos. Thank you TTT for making the subject GP an easier one, and help making this journey a fruitful one.
Nicole, Catholic Junior College
Despite not having joined The Thought Tailor for a long time, Mr Russel’s lessons have had a positive impact on my development with regards to general paper. Even from the first lesson that I attended, Mr Russel made the effort to ask for my weaknesses in both paper 1 and 2, so that he could better guide me in sharpening my skillset. The Thought Tailor is unlike any other general paper tuition centre, as the teachers and teacher assistants take the time to run through and give comments on our work during tutorial lessons. Apart from the micro level support, we are also provided with useful strategies to conquer the general paper. The constant rehashing of these strategies are what makes them ever so effective as it helps us students to remember it at the tip of our fingers.
For lecture lessons, we are given sets of comprehensive lecture notes which helps to shape and broaden our perspectives as it provides both micro and macro level views to tackle essay questions. Furthermore, Mr Russel also takes the time to source out videos with regards to the topic we are discussing in class to help us better visualise and understand the topic.
Jun Yu, Anglo Chinese Junior College
As a student who is extremely weak in GP, I have sought help from numerous GP tuition centres, and TTT is the best GP tuition centre that I have ever attended!
The content notes given to us by TTT allows me to gain valuable insights that I would not have come across with in my own college. They contained very detailed theories and a wide range of examples related to global affairs that are very useful when it comes to essay writing for GP paper 1. Similarly, the drill practices for GP paper 2 in TTT provides a very clear guide on the answering techniques towards questions commonly tested in GP paper 2.
With these learning materials that are very helpful in improving my foundations for GP, coupled with very patient and engaging lecturers in TTT, I have eventually scored a B grade for GP during my preliminary examinations, a grade that I would never have dreamt of achieving before attending classes in TTT.
All in all, I would like to thank TTT, especially Mr Russell and Dr Chua, for giving me the hope and confidence to tackle GP throughout my entire life in ACJC. TTT is definitely the best tuition centre out there, and hence I would highly recommend TTT for GP tuition!
Jia Hui, River Valley High School
Prior to joining TTT, I really struggled to figure out how to study for GP. Thus, when my friend recommended me to join TTT, I decided that there was no harm in trying things out, which I must say was a very good decision on my part.
On my TTT journey, I picked up a lot of critical skills and techniques needed to score well for GP for A levels. I particularly cherished the set of notes going through the various essay questions types that explained exactly how to tackle each essay question type as well as possible pitfalls to take note of. On whole, I would say that the TTT content notes are really one of the best. They are topical in nature and are highly concise and comprehensive. Thanks to these notes as well as the numerous lessons where Mr Russell would share random current affair facts, I managed to pick up a lot more ‘general knowledge’ that served to make me more aware of the complexities surrounding numerous topics.
Apart from all that, I must commend TTT for their adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic. I appreciate how we continued to engage in group work through zoom, which allowed me to gain many new insights from my tuition mates. Nearing A levels period, there were also numerous more intensive lessons that served to better prepare us for the exams.
My TTT experience has been very enjoyable. Thank you TTT for the fun and enriching journey!
Celisse, Yishun Innova Junior College
The one thing I loved about learning at TTT were the notes. The notes were very detailed yet concise, and the examples given were all selected carefully such that I was able to use them in most contexts during essays and was able to use the same examples for multiple topics.
The notes given were easily comprehensible. Besides that, during lessons, Mr Russell also would take the time to screen videos and gives us extra information on the examples given to help me understand them more in-depth. He also took the time to highlight certain keywords in the notes and then proceeded to explain them thoroughly which helped weaker students like me to understand where the main point was.
After attending Mr Russell’s lesson, I began to enjoy doing GP work and revising for it, instead of dreading and procrastinating it. He genuinely made the lessons very enjoyable and engaging by enriching the lessons with his own real-life experiences as well as things that were going on around the world. Certain strengths that Mr Russell possesses that help him to become a good teacher is that he tries to understand things from his students’ point of view and adapt his lessons to their learning needs. He also gives constructive feedback on how to improve on essays and teaches techniques that are easily understood to help you score in your papers. Moreover, he also takes the time after lessons to look through my personal work and helps me understand parts I don’t understand. I am very grateful to TTT for having helped me along my GP journey. I would not trade my experience at TTT for anything else.
Jia Hong, Anglo Chinese Junior College
Before joining TTT, I struggled a lot with GP since I had no idea how to develop my paragraph and make my points clear. Furthermore, I was unsure on how to find and pick out examples which really affected me a lot when I tried to write essays or AQs. However, everything turned around after I joined TTT.
The notes provided by TTT offered a plethora of useful examples for a vast majority of the topics that would be tested in the A levels, including both common and obscure topics. Furthermore, we were equipped with all the necessary skills that helped us to gain more confidence to tackle the A levels. Learning at TTT made it such that GP was no longer a scary subject to me. TTT was my first and only GP tuition, which is testament to the quality of the education.
The one lesson that left a strong impression in my memory would be the one on politics and international cooperation. That lesson was the first time that I realized that politics is such a broad idea which could technically be linked to practically every single topic in GP. TTT had successfully explained and interpreted the topic clearly to me, which really pushed me to think deeper when I encountered an essay question about politics.
Besides that, personally, I found the set of material about science and technology really useful. Instead of briefly talking about the usefulness of science and technology, the notes actually went deeper to expose us to the arguments that are associated with science and technology, such as the debates between science and religion. As such, the notes provided by TTT actually broaden the scope of topics and hence allow us to evaluate more in our essays, instead of just vomiting information out of our brain.
Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Russell for his guidance and support on my A level journey. Mr. Russell is a really outgoing and enthusiastic teacher. He made it such that I was always excited to attend class. Mr Russell also always sought to provoke our thinking. Whenever he lectured, he always ensures that our thoughts were not limited by the notes by giving us a deeper interpretation of the terms and examples in the notes.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at TTT. Thank you Mr Russell and TTT.
Jia Yi, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
I genuinely appreciate the teachers at TTT! They always ensure that the lessons delivered are clear and easy to comprehend. Mr Russell is very easy to approach for additional help which makes learning much easier. He will also approach me in class to ensure that I fully understood what was being taught.
When delivering content lectures, Mr Russell always tries to make it more relatable to our lives and share his experiences/viewpoint on that matter. This has helped me to remember the examples in my head effortlessly without having to really memorise them. Attending his lessons is always an eye-opener as I get to hear a variety of perspectives on the same issue through group discussions. As for the lesson materials provided, it is clearly structured and informative which makes it so much easier for me to refer to when needed. During paper 2 lessons, Mr Russell would always provide a detailed explanation of the answer (something that is generally brushed off by many school teachers) and teach us exactly how we should interpret the question in order to score the maximum marks. This had helped me tremendously in my recent promotional examinations and had enabled me to set a new record for myself for paper 2.
I would like to thank Mr Russell for being so friendly and approachable to the students as really made GP a less daunting subject for me. Through the things that I have learned in TTT, I am now more confident in tackling the various components in my GP paper and I am certain that I can make further improvements in the future. I am happy to be part of the TTT family and I really hope that potential students will join TTT to help them achieve success for GP 🙂
Cloris, Nanyang Junior College
The lessons provided by TTT are meticulously well-planned and structured, with an adequate mix of individual and group work. Students would never be shortchanged and are always ensured the full 2 hours duration. I love the TTT monthly content lectures as learning about current affairs is much more interesting to me, since I do not have the good habit of catching up with the news.
The notes curated by TTT are informative and well-written, containing a wide range of subtopics to address multi-layered complex essay questions. The comprehensive lecture notes for the major topics (eg. environment, arts, science and tech, social media, Singapore) are up to date and in-depth, containing useful essay examples to show proper elaboration and expansion of examples. The examples provided are succinct, making it easy to apply during the stressful limited exam time conditions.
Personally, the Arts and Culture notes have helped me tremendously for my A levels Paper 1, as there was a question solely focusing on the usefulness of arts today. Almost all the material in that particular set of notes was applicable and I could apply all that I have learnt appropriately. I could also easily recall all the relevant examples provided in the notes. Thanks to the notes provided by TTT, I have the utmost confidence in Paper 1.
In terms of paper 2, the model answers provided were beneficial in helping me brush up my writing ability and tackling different SAQ question types. During individual SAQ practice, Mr Russell would go the extra mile to individually mark and address each students’ mistakes, making sure we understand where we are lacking and what to look out for in the various question types.
Mr Russell is an excellent teacher where his articulation and breaking down of complex ideas has made learning GP much more enjoyable. He is extremely well-versed in the subject field of GP, and is constantly attentive to different student’s weaknesses. Despite the intensity of his lessons, he would occasionally share relevant videos or his own personal stories, allowing the classroom environment in the centre to be neither stifling nor boring, a welcome change compared to the usual lesson in school.
Xin Yu, Anglo Chinese Junior College
Before joining TTT, I felt that GP was an extremely difficult subject as I could not write a well-plotted essay and was unable to answer the questions in paper 2. Everything changed when I joined TTT.
The notes prepared by the tuition centre allow me to think outside the box. Besides containing a plethora of examples related to the real world, the notes also contain some interesting theories that help us expand our vision. Additionally, TTT has provided a very detailed answering guide related to paper 2 which helps me understand different types of questions and answer them in an interesting manner.
I would like to thank the teachers there as well. They always try to make the lesson interesting and helpful. Due to their enthusiasm, most of the time I could easily focus and learn many important lessons. Furthermore, they are always willing to stay back to clarify my questions. Without their help, my GP would not improve so quickly.
TTT is the best tuition centre for GP and the time I spent at TTT is very valuable and meaningful. Hence, I would like to thank TTT for helping me throughout my JC life!
Zayar, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
When I first entered JC, I was really clueless in school when it came to GP, I did not know how or what to study for GP. I could easily say that at that point in time, GP was my weakest subject in school. That was when one of my classmates recommended me to give TTT a shot, I decided to give it a go.
Ever since joining TTT, I quickly fell in love with the subject, as both Mr Russell and Dr Chua made lessons very enjoyable by engaging us and allowing us to discuss with each other to understand different viewpoints. Furthermore, both of them also teach us extra things that may not be included in the notes which helps us keep up to date with current affairs and that also inspired and interest me to read up more in order to further expand my general knowledge.
Dr Chua and Mr Russell are also very approachable and always give me detailed explanations while being very patient with me to make sure that I understand what they are saying be it through texts or in person consultations especially whenever i face doubts. I really like how the TTT give very detailed but concise notes that is really useful especially when it is nearing exam period as I can just read the notes briefly but still being able to absorb the important parts of the notes. TTT also is very helpful in providing us with any additional resources that we may need. The teacher assistant, Choon Ray is also very approachable and helpful in our work whenever the teacher is preoccupied with other students.
Overall, my time at TTT was extremely enjoyable and I loved the lessons here!
Natalie, Anglo Chinese Junior College
Prior to joining TTT, GP was my most dreaded subject as I never had a flair for the English language and struggled to express my ideas coherently. On top of that, GP demanded a strong understanding of global issues and current affairs, both of which I did not have much interest in. Fortunately, with the help of the teachers at TTT, I developed a greater interest in the subject and started to feel more confident in GP.
The notes provided at TTT were comprehensive and well-curated that helped me to develop a deeper interest in current affairs. The notes from each topic were extensive in covering different examples and events, which broadened my perspectives on different issues. Additionally, thought-provoking theories and philosophies were introduced which helped me provide a more in-depth analysis in my essay. TTT’s essay outlines also helped me to develop a more nuanced essay.
I would like to give a shoutout to Dr Chua who has been very dedicated in helping me improving my essays and answering techniques. I really appreciate his willingness to mark extra essays and also provide timed practices that helped me immensely in tracking my progress.
Rui Siang, Nanyang Junior College
Lessons at the centre were extremely engaging and comprehensive, covering not just a range of skills for comprehension, AQ or essay writing, but also in terms of equipping me with relevant content especially in the area of science and tech, religion, poverty, media and politics. What I really enjoyed most was that Mr. Russell put in a lot of emphasis on making sure that we are able to pick up the skills taught, especially in terms of identifying essay/comprehension question types, how to present the right answers and how to enhance the complexity of arguments in essay writing.
Mr Russell is an extremely capable teacher, and I really like that he was able to make the content interesting by injecting humour into his teaching style. This made the content lectures rather interesting and memorable. He used a number of personal anecdotes to introduce witty remarks and observations, and he also often connects some of his thoughts to that of the key theorists and philosophy that we cover in class. The lessons at TTT are amazing and I even grew to enjoy the subject, which made me even more attentive in class at NYJC.
I am very thankful for the one year under Mr. Russell’s tutelage. My one and only regret is not knowing about TTT in J1. If I had known about the centre earlier, I would have definitely done the full two years at TTT.
Jen Ming, Anderson Serangoon Junior College
I think my teachers genuinely care about our grades and well-being as they always ask us how we are doing. They also like to converse and crack jokes in class, making lessons feel very interesting and enjoyable. The teachers also look out for you and provide more complex writing skills and ideas than in school.
The notes that they provide are very detailed and rich in content and also gives clear examples on how to use them. I thought it was cool that all the examples that I would ever need for a topic are all in the content lecture notes, and it is very beneficial as it helps students like me to save time so that I can focus on either doing practices or on my H2 subjects. This is quite important for JC2 students because we often don’t have a lot of time, and we have to ace our GP while keeping an eye on our H2 subjects and time management as well. The notes are also well organised so it is very easy to comprehend and also to remember.
I would like to thank TTT teachers for always responding quickly to my doubts whenever I have them or being willing to schedule consultations whenever I needed them. I appreciate the step by step instructions provided for comprehension and essay writing. Learning the requirements of the different comprehension question types and how to address them was very beneficial. It enabled me to score for comprehension. The paper 1 strategies were also essential to my good grades. I have made tremendous improvements ever since I joined in JC1, jumping from a E during my promos to a B for my J2 MYE, and I am happy that I chose to join TTT.
Wendy, Victoria Junior College
Joining TTT has been a very enjoyable experience. I believe that one big reason for this would be the highly structured and well planned lessons. After each lesson, I can confidently say that I was able to learn something new, be it a new comprehension skill or an interesting new philosophy.
Another key reason I really liked learning at TTT was because of the highly comprehensive notes. The content notes were filled with a wide range of examples and evidence for us to use in our GP essays. The notes also brought up highly insightful evaluative comments that served to provoke my thinking.
On top of the content notes, there were also highly detailed technical notes that offered step by step instructions on how to approach particular comprehension questions and/or essay questions.
Finally, the most important reason I enjoyed my time at TTT is the teachers. The teachers are highly passionate about their craft. They are very dedicated and are always more than willing to help us. They often go the extra mile to make sure that all our doubts are clarified. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the teachers at TTT for their guidance and support. I would strongly recommend TTT!
Krishna, National Junior College
I joined The Thought Tailor in JC2 and I am really glad that I did so. My grades were really very stagnant throughout JC1 despite the amount of effort I had put in and hence, I was quite worried. However, I am very glad that TTT has helped me to study effectively and in a more targeted manner as this approach has really helped me to improve in GP.
Moreover, Dr Chua really helped me to master my essay writing skills and comprehension question answering skills. This really helped me to gain more confidence. His enthusiasm during every lesson has really changed my approach to learning GP. I began to look forward to my weekly TTT lessons instead of dreading the learning of the subject.
Dr Chua also promptly replies to all my questions that I send to him via WhatsApp even if it is after working hours. His willingness to arrange consultations for explaining my doubts or reviewing my essays is definitely something that I am truly grateful for.
Thank you TTT for the concise notes, thorough lessons and insightful consultation sessions! I really recommend TTT to all JC students! 🙂
Evan, Anglo Chinese Junior College
TTT has been greatly beneficial in providing me with extra practice and materials to improve my GP. This is coupled with the teachers who are very friendly and approachable. The teachers are more than willing to go the extra mile for their students, offering consultation till late hours and giving me detailed feedback on the numerous assignments I submit. Furthermore, the notes given in TTT are the cream of the crop. I really like how they are able to provide useful information, including multi-layered arguments, giving us the extra edge to do well in GP.
For me, there are two main things I love about TTT. Firstly, the tactics that they teach to aid me in tackling the GP papers. TTT has thoroughly broken down all the key components of the GP examination and figured out the exact skills and techniques needed to excel. I really like how the drill sessions enabled us to work towards ensuring that we are able to master all the skills required in an efficient manner. Secondly, I also love TTT because of the way Mr. Russell conducts his lessons, whether it be telling stories or making jokes during lessons to make them more interesting. His lessons are extremely impactful and a joy to attend. So, if you need help in GP, I would definitely suggest TTT!
Ezara, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
Mr Russell makes lessons much more enjoyable to attend because he genuinely cares about all his students’ progress. GP is a paper that relies heavily on details and awareness of current affairs. It is an overwhelming new subject but he has made it a smooth journey.
He answered every single one of my questions, be it minor queries or major misconceptions. I never felt embarrassed because TTT lessons were a safe space to clarify all my doubts and reinforce my foundation.
Even outside of TTT lessons, I could consult Mr Russell about random news articles I chanced upon, have discussions about current affairs and check my formatting; this helped me improve my GP skills exponentially. Each TTT lesson is packed with specially compiled notes on each topic and strategies to tackle GP Paper 1 & 2 question types, and they would go through these notes during topical lectures with supplement videos and thorough explanations. These notes were a godsend because they give multiple views on each topic and cover every point with accompanying examples.
In addition, the notes come with different essay questions that we get to plan for as homework. They place heavy emphasis on completing their assigned homework which was very helpful for me because it pushed me to put what I learned in class into practice. Moreover, they would personally go through essays and give out customised feedback for our writing. With the informative notes and their summary of strategies, I was able to craft multi-layered essays and AQs which allowed me to score during my Promotional Examinations! I was able to score B from promos after only scoring an E during my J1 WA.
Thank you for all your patience and help for the past year! I never expected that attending GP tuition would be so much fun. It feels like attending lessons with family because the environment is very pleasant and engaging. Studying for GP never felt dull, if anything, studying for GP became very enjoyable. Thanks Mr Russell for taking time out of your day to read through my panicked confusion and reading some of my own works and going the extra mile to always check up on me. Even during the challenging period of going through a pandemic, instead of asking us to print our notes, TTT made the effort to mail our notes to us so we could have a conducive tuition experience at home. Thank you for everything and more, I’m looking forward to continuing my exciting journey next year with TTT!
Roshini, National Junior College
I am really grateful to have been part of TTT’s family. Having found this caring team online, I signed up immediately, after hearing good reviews about their teaching. True to those words, the teachers in TTT, especially Mr Russell, have indeed been my helping hands in GP, from the beginning. Although COVID took a turn and I managed to only attend 2 face to face lessons at Novena centre, I really liked the aesthetic greenery ambience of the classroom, where I get to sit along with about 20 other peers and enjoy lessons together.
The teachers, including student mentors, engage us directly by giving personalised feedback during class and gladly entertain our inquisitive questions after class as well or even take them offline via WhatsApp. Once classes shifted online, there were in fact more opportunities for us to do group work in Google Docs. We have topic-based lectures, such as Science and Technology, Environment, Media which interested me the most, since I could see how much relevance they had and the massive impact they had on society. During lectures, the teachers will bring in personal examples and relevant video materials, articles to broaden our outlook on the particular topic.
The content-rich notes meticulously curated by them are the highlight of my learning in TTT as not only do they save my time finding my own evidence and case studies, but also enrich me with various perspectives and analytical frameworks. I was able to see some examples overlap across topics – like Global Hunger and Environment where I realised it is all in the writer’s ability to tweak and apply them wisely according to context, which is an added benefit since it cuts down on our memory work. During tutorial lessons, we work on unpacking essay questions and brainstorming outlines together in mini-breakout rooms. Collaborating in Google Docs in real time enhanced our learning process as we share our individual opinions and ideas and also get immediate feedback from mentors to improve the quality of our work. Here in TTT, we also learn as a class, as teachers will then consolidate all our common mistakes and address them together.
Mr Russell is definitely a one-of-a-kind teacher as he inspires me to keep learning and to think out of the box. Along with other teachers, he taught us how to unpack different styles of essay questions (eg, Given Context, Comparison), how to layer our arguments to bring complexity, how to weave in theories in essays, etc. He personally guided me in giving good quality answers for comprehension practices and never failed to hype the mood during lessons. I am very thankful to have passionate teachers like Mr Russell to support me in my GP journey and most importantly believing in me.
Isha, Anderson Serangoon Junior College
The Thought Tailor has helped me break through my barriers to writing. There is something about their approach that works for me like nothing else. Their techniques have genuinely excited me to write essays.
Moreover, the lessons here have changed the way I develop my arguments and write good conclusions. The Thought Tailor provides notes that are easy to understand and flawless to use.
The teachers are always there to help the students and always encourage the students to ask questions. The Thought Tailor has really changed the way I approach general paper.
Overall, the lessons are TTT were amazing and a huge value-add to my GP journey. Really recommend!
Jie Ying, National Junior College
Before joining TTT, I always thought that to excel in GP, one needed to have pure luck. I felt it was unlikely for me, especially as I had a weak foundation in English. However, after joining TTT, I have learnt the systematic ways to approach GP. I did not realise that there was a systematic method of picking up different skills. This was something that I did not learn in school or anywhere else.
I really enjoyed learning and applying them to different comprehension and essay question types, and gradually I realised that GP is actually a very fascinating subject.
The thought-provoking lessons have trained me to think critically and shed new light on current affairs. I love how the centre covered a range of topics such as media, politics and governance, science and technology, environment, global hunger, poverty, international relations, as well as arts and cultures. The notes not only covered points but also examples as well as broader insights from top academics and commentators. This gave me the content knowledge and the broader insights from top experts to excel in my work.
Furthermore, Mr Russell even goes the extra mile to provide late-night consultation sessions before A-Levels. I remembered requesting for last minute consultation sessions to clear my doubts before the A level, and Mr Russell kindly agreed and gave me many good tips and also addressed the concerns and doubts that I had. I am really glad that I joined TTT!
Jia Yu, Jurong Pioneer Junior College
Teachers at TTT teach lessons in a different way compared to other centres. They provide a lot of high-quality notes and did tremendous research before lessons. The concise content lecture notes were extremely useful and a wonderful contrast to the thick stacks of readings that we would get in school or the directionless GP essay outlines (that are limited in applicability to only specific essays) that I would get at other centres.
The notes gave a wide range of examples, points and evaluation strategies, which not only helped to give me the necessary content for the exams, but also made sure that I did not have to set aside too much time to do research, which allowed me to concentrate more on improving my essay and AQ skills, and also gave me time to focus on my other subjects.
The teachers were also very friendly and enthusiastic and it is clear that they enjoy teaching. Mr Russell also teaches in a very simple and structured manner, with clear strategies on how to answer each comprehension question type, as well as different strategies to structure essays or techniques for rebuttal. I enjoyed both the lectures and tutorials at the centre and I was able to make an improvement of one grade in just 1.5 months at the centre. I would like to thank my teachers for teaching me General Paper, as well as for the hope they have in me, and I hope to continue making further progress in the following year.
