The frequency of beautiful feeling phrases must be complemented by actions

The original writing was “Panic engulfed me, my hands were clammy and I was immobilized by fear”. A better writer would attempt to anchor these phrases in a magnification of the climax, so that’s what I did for my student:

I also have come to terms with the realisation that the PSLE is not the platform to flex one’s originality

For example, I suspect a line like “his smile became as wide as that of a child receiving gifts on Christmas” would receive less attention than “I flashed an effusive smile”
Because Singapore teachers are conditioned to tick vocab words. In this case, effusive

So when they give language marks, they might be influenced by the amount of ticks they have given the script.

He broke out in a cold sweat - no tick

Beads of perspiration dripped down my forehead like rivulets. - I’m sure most teachers will give a tick for rivulets

Beads of perspiration slithered down my forehead. - Similarly, a tick for slithered

But having said that, I reckon it is most important for the child to know how to answer the question. People can still score with simple language if the storyline is heartfelt and sincere