A Collection of Essays

I am sure many form five students are having jitters right now, some might be panicking not knowing what to do. Be calm. At this point, the best thing to do is to read and develop vocabulary and ideas from good sample essays. The following are some 'A+' sample essays that I used in my lessons. Feel free to download them and share. Please be reminded that these are not spotted questions.

Describe a sporting event at your school  

Describe the sights of a road trip  

Describe the sights and sounds of a school concert  

Describe a person who is very special to you  

Write a story which ends with 'Nothing would ever be the same'  

Write about an occasion when the police arrived just in time to rectify a problem  

Write a story which ends with 'he would always watch over her like how he had always loved her.'

Many youths today have become perpetrators or victims of cyber - bullying. What can be done to solve or prevent this?  

Good luck and all the best! 

Continuous Writing : Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology

The sample composition below elaborates the advantages and disadvantages of technology.  If you are preparing yourself to write a factual essay, the composition below will be very helpful. I noticed that many students are unable to write a good factual essay due to two reasons ; 

a) lack of knowledge on the subject 

b) lack of vocabulary related to the subject

If you are preparing yourself to write a factual essay, it is important for you to ensure that you are fully equipped with the knowledge and vocabulary. Without these two, your  written work will fail to impress your teacher. 

In order to do that, all you have to do is read on the subject related as much as you can. Besides, you also have to do the most important thing, which is practice your writing skill. The essay below has four parts ; the introduction,  advantages, disadvantages and  conclusion 

 The introduction. I very detailed introduction on technology which further leads to the advantages.

The next paragraph starts with the keyword 'The advantages', this shows that the writer is showing the he is going to elaborate on the advantages of technology. The phrases used in this paragraph are quite impressive.

The word 'however', indicates that the writer is about to elaborate the disadvantages of technology. I like sarcasm shown by the writer ; 'increasingly loud chorus of dissenting voices'. These phrases are to die for and it shows that the writer has demonstrated good writing skill and excellent use of vocabulary. 

The writer ends without the use of 'in conclusion' or 'to conclude'. However, as you read the first sentence of this paragraph you would find that it is the tone used in this paragraph and it is written in such a way that anyone who reads it would understand that it is actually a conclusion.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck in your SPM!

Sing to the Dawn (Sample Question and Answer for SPM)

This is a sample question and answer for the novel Sing to the Dawn.  Students are to write about a decision made by a character in the story and further discuss whether they agree with the decision by giving concrete examples from the novel. I hope the sample answer below will be helpful.

It is important to highlight the keywords in the question and use them while writing the answer. This will serve as a signpost to indicate that you are actually relating your answer to the question. 

It is important to give a clear picture of what you are going to write further by pointing out the main issue. It is advisable for you to do so in the first paragraph. Do not waste time by writing lengthy introduction and synopsis  (you do not get marks for that). The writer has highlighted the main answer for the question which shows that 'I am going to write about an important decision made by Kwai'.    

While writing your answer, it is also essential for you to elaborate the 'decision made' in detail. It is important to elaborate the situations that has led the character to make such a decision before moving on further. 

The next paragraph elaborates further on the decision made. It also ends with the writer's stand. In this case the writer agrees with Kwai's decision. Thus far, we have seen that the write has clearly explained 'the decision' made by Kwai by relating the decision to a few events in the story. Next the writer, has to elaborate the reasons for agreeing with Kwai's Decision. Let us look at the first reason. 

This is where your HOTS skills need to be used.  You have to relate the evidence to the decision made and wrap it up by including your own thoughts. Now let us look at the next reason. 

The coloured (in yellow) sentences are the 'singposts' which show the readers what the writer is going to do next. This is a good way to write as the essay will be more organised. 

The most difficult part in this question is to give reasons for the decision made by the character. This is because you have to link the decision to the reasons and justify the decision made. In this piece of work the student has given three reasons for agreeing with Kwai's decision which is well elaborated and beautifully justified with good examples from the story. 

I hope this is helpful... Good luck for your SPM. 

Credits to Ho Lee May (5S1)