Do you like my haircut?

Before: the $60 Reds haircut

After: “sad and depressed”

Restyled: an improvement?

Comprehension• Question 1• The haircut took place just before the examinations, and might

have affected Ryan’s performance.• She did not know that her son’s hair would be cut beforehand/

She felt the teacher overstepped her authority.• The teacher threatened to deduct her son’s examination

grades if he did not cooperate.

Paragraphs 5 and 6“It ruined her son’s $60 haircut” – is this a valid answer?

• Question 2• She agreed that Ms Cheng should not have cut Ryan’s hair.• Ms Cheng’s motivations were good, as she wanted Ryan to

look neat for his examinations.

Paragraph 3“the teacher had no business cutting the boy’s hair”/ “… the

right intentions (…) The teacher cut the boys’ hair as she wanted them to look neat.”

• Question 3• Answer: (b)

Humiliated: Make (someone) feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and self-respect, esp. publicly.

Agitated: To make one feel upset or disturbed.Indignant: angered at something unjust or wrong.Vindicated: To clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt

with supporting arguments or proof; to avenge.

• Question 4• The series of questions suggests that cutting a student's hair is

not a decision that a school makes lightly.• The series of questions suggests that a school considers a

number of factors before it arrives at a decision.• The series of questions suggests that this principal is NOT in

support of cutting the student's hair when it was cut. (The questions make a reader think of the child's feelings as it is his hair and as he witnesses the teacher approach with the weapon. Without stating so, the principal has conveyed that he puts the student's feelings before all else.)

• Question 5• It is an appeal to pathos. Madam Ong is appealing to one’s

emotions, as she invites the reader to empathize with Ryan’s struggles due to his medical condition.

Ethos: an appeal to the authority/ honesty of the presenter. (“Take my stand as I am qualified to speak on this matter.” )

Pathos: an appeal to the audience’s emotionsLogos: a logical appeal (eg. Using facts, and figures)

• Question 6• False/ True/ False/ False

Source B Line 46: MOE provides “guidelines (…) schools may formulate their own rules”

Source B Line 7: “two other boys”Source A Line 40: “But they felt Ms Cheng’s approach of just

chopping it off was outdated.”Source a Line 31: “Mdm Ong spent another $60 getting his

hair restyled on Saturday.”

• Question 7• (a) Readers would most likely respond to the headline of

source A objectively, but may be influenced to take sides after reading the headline and subheading of source B

• (b) The headline of source A is informative in nature/ a summary of the main facts of the article.

• The headline and subheading of source B presents a side of the incident that is suggested to be unknown previously (“but learns of notice only after TNP visits flat”), thus sensationalizing the incident, eliciting an emotional response from the reader.