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TIPS ON WRITING

NARRATIVE ESSAYS FOR


SPM ENGLISH
WRITING is a difcult skill. It is for this reason that continuous writing is
the bane of many students. Unlike directed writing, the students hae to
start from scratch and deal with content as well as language.
They hae to think of what to write and how to write. The !uestion on
directed writing gies them a conte"t within which to write, so they do not
hae to worry about their roles as writers or who their audience is.
With continuous writing, they hae to consider these two factors besides
haing to e"#lore ideas and watch out for language.
In continuous writing, candidates are gien $e to#ics, from which they
select only one. The to#ics can be categorised as follows%
Narrative
&e.g. Write a story ending with% I neer saw her again after that.'
Descriptive
&e.g. (escribe a isit to a night market.'
Factual/expository
&e.g. National serice should be com#ulsory for all. (o you agree)'
Aru!e"tative &e.g. It is better to study the science sub*ects than
the arts. (o you agree)'
O"e#$or% essays
&e.g. +eauty.'
Ge"eral ui%eli"es &or co"ti"uous $riti"
Read all the !uestions gien. ,ome students make the mistake of
selecting the $rst !uestion that they read, or -ooming in on a
!uestion they think is manageable only to realise, later, that they
could hae handled another !uestion with more ease
.
.hoose a to#ic you are familiar, or comfortable with, which is within
your sco#e of e"#erience, so you do not hae to struggle with
content
.
/#t for something that is within your linguistic ability. (o not select
a to#ic *ust because you think it is challenging. This is not the time
for e"#erimentation. 0s for weak students, it is generally adisable
to write a narratie
.
1lan your essay% the outline, #oints2ideas2thoughts and su##orting
#oints &if you are writing an argumentatie or factual essay'.
Remember to use a ariety of sentence structures &sim#le,
com#ound and com#le"'.
.om#etent candidates should use more of the latter as your com#etency
will be made obious by your ability to use these structures accurately. (o
not use too many sim#le sentences as, at ,13 leel, more is e"#ected of
you.
Use sentences of arying lengths. 0 short sentence can be ery
e4ectie after seeral long sentences
.
.hoose words carefully. 5ou should be able to use words with
di4erent nuances. 6or instance the word 7walked8 can be re#laced
with synonyms such as ambled, strolled, sauntered, staggered,
strode
.
Write out your essay in neat, legible handwriting. There is nothing
more annoying than small or untidy handwriting, or a combination
of both, as the reader has to s#end aluable time deci#hering what
you hae written
.
Write in #aragra#hs. 5ou may leae a line between #aragra#hs as it
is easy on the e"aminer9s eye
.
:dit and reise language if necessary. 0llocate ;< minutes for this
and make sure s#elling and #unctuation are accurate
.
(o heed the length of the essay. 5ou are re!uired to write an essay
of not less than =>< words. 0nything shorter would de$nitely be
#enalised. +ut do not write too long an essay. ,ome students can
easily write anything between ?<< and @<< words. Remember, the
more you write, the more mistakes you may make. Weak students
are strongly adised not to write a lengthy essay.
Narrative essays
Aet us begin with the narratie essay. Narratie essays are a faourite
among students as they are easier to handle. This ty#e of essay enables
the writer to use and share e"#eriences with the reader.
Gui%eli"es to re!e!'er $(e" $riti" a "arrative
essay
5ou hae to decide whether to write your essay from your own
#ers#ectie or someone else9s. The $rst #erson or third #erson
singular is the most #o#ular oice
.
If you choose to write from your own #ers#ectie, then use the $rst #erson
singular, that is, 7I8.
If you choose to write from someone else9s #ers#ectie, use third #erson
#ronouns &he, she, it'. +e consistent in your choice of #ronouns. (o not
switch #ers#ecties midBway through the essay.
:ngage your reader. 3ake the story real for him. Get him inoled in
your e"#erience
.
+ring your characters to life. 3ake them real. 3ake them
memorable
. It is always more interesting to read about Cawed characters.
Dae a sim#le #lot. 5ou will be better o4 using chronological order.
6lashbacks are a wonderful deice but you should only engage in
this if you can carry it o4
.
Use the sim#le #ast tense if you cannot handle the #ast #erfect
tense
.
Use erbs and ad*ecties to enable your reader to isualise things in
his mind9s eye
.
5ou may use dialogue but use it s#aringly and e4ectiely.
Remember, you are writing a narratie, not a scri#t
.
0oid using informal language
.
0oid clichEs
.
Sa!ple essay
Write a story ending with, 7I neer saw her again after that8. The gaunt
$gure that inched its way slowly towards the medicine counter looked old
and haggard.
Der drearyBlooking out$t did nothing to conceal her bleak and de#ressing
demeanour. 0nyone who looked at her would hae thought she carried the
world9s burdens on her shoulders.
Fuietly, she sat on one of the chairs and waited #atiently, like the rest of
us, for her number to be Cashed on the digital screen.
I was rattled. I knew I had seen her somewhere before G a younger,
ha##ier ersion. There was no way I could be wrong. Aike an arrow
released from its bow, the buried and forgotten memories #ierced my
heart with an unknown intensity.
It had to be 3ary 0nne, my best friend in secondary school. Then again,
this #erson looked old, much too old to be HI. 0nyway, I summoned
enough courage and went towards her. Dearing my footste#s, she looked
u# slowly. The Cash of recognition in her eyes told me I was not wrong.
7It is you, 3ary 0nne (anker, is it not)8
,he nodded her head silently as if embarrassed.
7Dello, John) 5ou are looking good.8
Der remarks reminded me of how beautiful she had been once. 3ary 0nne
had been the school beauty. :eryone had admired her for her looks, her
brains and her beautiful character.
3any had said, rather eniously, that God had worked oertime with her K
making her one of his master#ieces.
/ne day, 3ary 0nne had sto##ed coming to school. (eastated, I had
gone to her house, only to $nd it all locked u#. .hecks with neighbours
#roed futile. No one knew where the (anker family had gone and why
they had left so suddenly.
Taking a seat ne"t to her, I wondered what had ha##ened to the raishing
beauty I had once known.
7Why did you leae so suddenly, 3ary 0nne) Why)8
,he looked at me nerously, clas#ing and unclas#ing her hands in her la#.
I could sense that she was rather reluctant to talk, reluctant to e"#ose a
#art of her life which had #robably caused her a great deal of #ain and
su4ering. 0 #rolonged silence ensued. 6inally, she inhaled dee#ly and
started telling me her story.
Der mother had been diagnosed with endstage cancer and there was
nothing the doctors could do. They said that she had only three months to
lie. Der father thought it best to return to their hometown, to let her lie
in #eace in the surroundings she had grown u# in.
Der father, deastated by his wife9s death, started to neglect his own
health and three months later, he too died of a broken heart, leaing 3ary
0nne in the care of relaties.
Tears rolled down 3ary 0nne9s cheeks as she related the difcult years
with her aunt.
The old widow treated her badly, forcing 3ary 0nne to !uit school and to
work as a dishwasher in a restaurant. The cruel old lady often beat her,
and her cousins, *ealous of her beauty, were more icious than their
mother.
Now that the aunt was old and su4ering from cancer, her $e children had
deserted her when they realised that she needed s#ecial care. (es#ite her
aunt9s ghastly treatment of her, 3ary 0nne felt sorry for her.
7I cannot leae her. ,he has no one else,8 she said. 7I hae #romised to
take care of her till the end of her life.8
I looked at 3ary 0nne and saw her goodness. Instead of seeing a gaunt
and weary $gure, I saw an ama-ingly beautiful human being.
3y heart went out to her. Just then her number was Cashed on the screen.
,he got u# and collected the medicine which, I understood, was for her
aunt. Neer had I felt so hel#less and wretched. Der story reminded me of
something my late grandfather used to say,
7Aife is like an onion% 5ou #eel it o4 one layer at a time, and sometimes
you wee#.8
+efore leaing, 3ary 0nne turned and smiled sadly at me. I neer saw her
again after that.
&?LL words'
Aet us analyse the elements in the sam#le essay.
Si!ple plot
The story reoles around 3ary 0nne who leaes town when her
mother is diagnosed with cancer. Der #arents die and she is treated
cruelly by her aunt
.
0 chance encounter at a #harmacy reeals this to the narrator.
Setti"
3ost likely, a #harmacy2clinic
.
0 #ast eent &no s#eci$c time entioned'.
I!porta"t c(aracters
3ary 0nne
.
Narrator
.
The aunt
.
)o$ t(e essay see*s to e"ae t(e rea%er
Miid #ortrayal of the character through the use of erbs, ad*ecties and
aderbs.
The gaunt fgure that inched its way slowly towards the medicine counter
looked old and haggard. Her dreary-looking outft did nothing to conceal
her bleak and depressing demeanour.
Quietly, she sat on one of the chairs and waited patiently, like the rest of
us, for her number to be fashed on the digital screen.
Miid reminder of what the character had been like before.
Mary nne had been the school beauty. !"eryone had admired her for her
looks, her brains and her beautiful character.
6ocus shifts from loss of e"ternal to internal beauty.
# wondered what had happened to the ra"ishing beauty # had once known.
Then again, this person looked old, much too old to be $%.
Narrator9s realisation that she is still beautiful G on the inside.
# looked at Mary nne and saw her goodness. #nstead of seeing a gaunt
and weary fgure, # saw an ama&ingly beautiful human being.
Narrator9s thoughts and feelings.
nyone who looked at her would ha"e thought she carried the world's
burdens on her shoulders.
# was rattled. # looked at Mary nne and saw her goodness. #nstead of
seeing a gaunt and weary fgure, # saw an ama&ingly beautiful human
being. My heart went out to her.
E+ective use o& past a"% past per&ect te"se,
Her remarks reminded me of how beautiful she had been once. Mary nne
had been the school beauty. !"eryone had admired her for her looks, her
brains and her beautiful character.
Touc( o& (u!our,
Many had said, rather en"iously, that (od had worked o"ertime with her )
making her one of his masterpieces.
-(oice o& $or%s,
1recise2a#t K #itiable
Not re#etitie, e.g. 7treated her badly8, 7ghastly treatment8.
I"clusio" o& %ialoue,
Gies oice to the narrator and 3ary 0nne.
+reaks monotony of narration
.
Varie% se"te"ce structures,
# was rattled. &sim#le sentence'
Her mother had been diagnosed with end-stage cancer and there was
nothing the doctors could do. *compound sentence+
,ow that the aunt was old and su-ering from cancer, her f"e children had
deserted her when they realised that she needed special care. &com#le"
sentence'
.se o& repetitio" &or e!p(asis,
./hy did you lea"e so suddenly, Mary nne0 /hy.
."expecte% e"%i",
3ary 0nne does not desert her aunt in her time of need. The beauty of her
character shines through.
,ometimes, you can change a story to suit another to#ic. Why don9t you
mani#ulate the sam#le essay to $t the to#ic 7+eauty8)

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