Continuous Writing – Past Years

FORMAT	QUESTION	YEAR
ARGUMENTATIVE	How can we help promote tourism in Malaysia?	2004
	How to keep oneself healthy?	2005
	How can television help students in their studies?	2006
	“Teenagers today are only interested in entertainment“ Do you agree?	2007
	Examinations – good or bad?	2008
	School children should not have long holidays. Do you agree?	2009
	‘The internet is mostly a good thing. “ Do you agree?	2010
	Should school students have part-time job? Discuss	2011
	Should parents give children more freedom? Discuss	2012
DESCRPTIVE	Describe a festival celebrated in your area.	2004
	Describe the biggest challenge in your life.	2005
	Describe an enjoyable weekend you have experienced.	2006
	Describe an embarrassing experience in your life.	2007
	Write about a person who has worked hard to succeed in life.	2008
	Describe an unforgettable incident that you saw on your way home from school.	2009
	Describe the most popular student in your school.	2010
	A famous person you admire.	2011
	Describe an outing with your friends	2012
NARRATIVE	Story completion: ..... “ We had never laughed so much in our lives”	2004
	An unexpected visitor.	2005
	Story completion: ..... “If only i had been more careful, that wouldn’t have happened.”	2006
	Story completion: ..... “Kim was nervous when the door opened .......”	2007
	Story completion: ..... “Now i realize the value of true friend.”	2008
	Story completion: ..... “We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.”	2009
	Story completion: ..... “It had been raining all day........”	2010
	Story completion: ..... “They looked at each other and smiled meaningfully.”	2011
	Story completion: .....”The teacher walked into the classroom. It was the first period..........”	2012
FACTUAL / EXPOSITORY	Clothes	2004
	Music	2005
	Food	2006
	Tomorrow	2007
	Stars	2008
	Beauty	2009
	Home	2010
	Peace	2011
	Cleanliness	2012
IMAGINATIVE	My ideal school	2004
	If you given a chance to be anybody who would you want to be and why?	2005
	What changes would you like to see in your life in the next ten years?	2006
	My early years.	2007
	My perfect future husband or wife.	2008
	My favourite day of the week.	2009
	What can we do to save the environment?	2010
	The best things in life are free.	2011
	Saving money for the future.	2012

ANALYSIS OF PAST YEAR EXAM PAPERS - DIRECTED WRITING

2003	Formal Letter	Write a letter informing the teacher on choice of class trip
2004	Report	Write a report about school cleanliness
2005	Informal letter	Write a letter to a friend about your experience at an outdoor activity camp
2006	Informal letter	Write a letter to your friend giving reasons why he/she would make a good Head Prefect
2007	Speech	You have been asked by your teacher to give a talk on a  science book that is useful for secondary students
2008	Article	At the camp, one of your friends was chosen as the best group leader under a leadership camp. Write an article about your friends for your magazine
2009	Report	Write a report to the principal regarding students ‘lack of interest’ in sports and provide suggestions to overcome the problem
2010	Informal Letter	Write a letter to your cousin encouraging her/him to take part in the National Service Programme
2011	Talk	Give a talk to the Red Crescent Society members in your school to upgrade their skills in giving first-aid treatment
2012	Informal Letter	Write a letter to your younger sister who is studying overseas to advise her on how to spend her money wisely

How about 2013??? An article or a report

The Curse - Character

Which character do you like or admire the most? Give reasons for your answer with close reference to the text.

I - Identify the needs of the question – character that you like
     or admire –

M - Based on the Novel The Curse by Lee Su  Ann, the character that I
       like or admire is………………….because ….(state 2 reasons)

E - What happened that make the character likeable/admirable? When did it happen?
      Where did it happen? (give 2 evidences for each reasons)

J - Justify why you say that the character is likeable/admirable? (Closure – relate it to
     our own life)


Based on the novel “The Curse” by Lee Su Ann the character that I like and admire is Azreen because of a few reasons.

The first reason is because Azreen is such a strong character that has great courage as she is open, positive and always fights for what she believes in.

Firstly, she ignores the warnings and prejudices of the Villagers by befriending the out casted Old lady. This is shown right from the time she dares to accept the challenge from her friends to approach the old lady to finally knocking on the door of the Old lady. In fact, she makes her, her precious confidante and counsellor.

Secondly, in defence of the Old lady she dares to confront Puan Normala’s mob outside Mohd Asraf’s house when Nek once again has fallen ill and died. Subsequently, she confronts a group of men led by Asraf who goes to the Old lady’s house to seek revenge after Nek dies as they believe the Old lady has poisoned Nek. Finally, when the Old lady died, trapped in the burning house, she confronts Asraf and physically attacks him as she believes Asraf is to be blamed.

Being open, positive, courageous to speak and act accordingly, and in addition always fights for what we believe in is important to us as we certainly help to make right what are wrong in the society, bring healing to wounded hearts and make the world a better place.

The second reason is because Azreen is such a good and loyal friend …………. (complete the task)

Writing a narrative essay

THE NARRATIVE COMPOSITION
A narrative is a story with a sequence of connected events. It could be about a personal experience or an imagined event or events.

Let’s look at some typical exam questions:
1. Write a story of a man who returns to his home after many years.
2. The day I lost my temper.
3. Write a story ending with, “I shall never forget this day for the rest of my life.”
4. Write about an occasion when you got into trouble.
5. Write a story beginning with, “I could not believe my eyes….”

How do I write a narrative essay for the exam?


ACTION PLAN: (1 hour)
A. Planning = 15 minutes
B. Writing = 35 minutes
C. Checking = 10 minutes
This plan is for those who are quite weak in English. For those who are proficient, you may only need 10 minutes for planning.

This is how we do it.

A. PLANNING
Let’s say you have chosen question 3, - Write a story ending with, “I shall never forget this day for the rest of my life.”

1. Read the question carefully and underline important phrases. Pay particular attention to the ending.
2. Brainstorm for ideas and jot down notes. For exam purposes, the simplest way is to divide it into three parts:
i. ii. iii.


B. WRITING THE ESSAY

Now that you have got the skeleton of your story, it is time to begin writing. Use linkers and phrases which link the events to move your story in a chronological order. Some phrases that are suitable are:
It was very dark….
I will never forget …..
A few minutes later….
Suddenly,…
When the disaster happened, …..

Use sensory details to reveal the events and to get the reader involved. Do not merely tell but show the events through words and phrases.

Example:
a. I went into the restaurant.
b. I walked into the restaurant.
c. I sauntered into the restaurant.

Sentence a. merely states that I went into the restaurant and sentence b. gives a little more information as to how I went into the restaurant. Sentence c. uses a more specific word to show clearly the idea of how I went into the restaurant. Sentence c. allows the reader to see what I am doing. The word ‘sauntered’ means ‘to stroll’. It gives the image of a person walking slowly into the restaurant. Thus, sentence c. is more effective in narrative and descriptive writing.

C. CHECKING

Read your essay once through and check for the following things:
• Is the spelling accurate?
• Is the punctuation appropriate? Did you use too many commas in a sentence?
• Did you vary the sentence structure? Are your sentences too long?
• Does one thought follow the next in a logical order?
• Did you stick to the topic? Did you use words so that your reader could experience the incident?
• Did you use the appropriate tense of the verb throughout?
Make any corrections neatly.