FREE WRITING ACTIVITY

This is a free-writing exercise. Write a paragraph (not exceeding 200 words) on any topic you like. Please be serious about this writing activity as I need to know exactly your personal style of writing. Do not cut and paste - I need to read a genuine piece of your own writing. You can start writing below.

Today, i had the worse nightmare in my life. I dreamed about a small boy, he was sickly-looking and had hideous scars on his arms and legs. It seems like he was half-crippled, slowly dragging body with his blistered and bloodied feet towards me.

It started out like this. It was a dark and stormy night, just like any typical nightmare, the wind was howling and the trees were scrapping the windows of my two-storey house, making scary sounds and creeping the hell out of me. I was comfortably snugged up in my bed and reading a storybook to distract me from worrying about my parents who were supposed to come back soon. I heard from the news that there would soon be a heavy thunderstorm tonight, so i quickly tugged myself to bed while waiting for my parents to come home.

Suddenly, I heard a glass shattering in the kitchen. I jumped up in my bed in fright. "Did I just heard a sound?",I softly whispered to myself. With my pajamas on, I stealithy walked down the stairs to find out the cause. While walking, my imagination was going wild, was there a robber in the house? Should I bring some weapon along to protect myself? I quickly grabbed a nearby baseball bat by the side of the stairs and walked towards the kitchen to find out. It seems like the sound was from there. I held up my baseball bat and walked slowly to the window in the kitchen, quietly and trying not to make too much noise. I looked around the kitchen, there were pieces of glass all around the floor. The window was shattered by the sudden branch that slammed into it.

"What a relief! And i thought there was a thief!", I quietly thought to myself. Just when I turned behind, a small boy was standing right in front of me.

He was wearing a queer-looking, long-sleeved shirt and long pants that reached the floor. "Who are you?!?", I screamed.

Comments:

Your captivating piece of writing kind of freak me out.

You have applied well from the books which you are reading.

I am impressed by the range of vocabulary that you have used in this writing. - Camarine

"It was a dark and stormy night" is Snoopy's line - and you should never use this cliche in your essay. A nice piece of writing though but it needs to be refined - some awkward phrasing here and there. Look through it again and see if you can improve it. BT

Two Paragraphs that i enjoy reading

It took a moment to get his bearings, only to see that the mule had backed right into the large staircase that led to the catwalk. Okay, only a little above average.At least the mule's more or less intact.

So why do I smell smoke?

Rolling over the deck, Mal saw flaming wreckage in the front of the cargo deck, followed by a second later by carbon dioxide jetting out from the floor to smother the flame. Must've been a piece of the Reaver skiff crashing into Serenity. ----Adapted from Serenity, by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Topic chosen: Repaying a kindness

1.Introduction

• Flashback (For your plan here, you should start with the present, move to the past, and come back to the future. Starting with the past and moving to the present is chronological, not flashback.)
• When i was university, I was in financial crisis due to my parents in debt. (I won't call this a financial crisis unless you add the word "personal"; otherwise, a financial crisis is more of a larger-scale crisis faced by companies. Financial difficulties would be more appropriate.)
• Someone 'helped' me by sponsoring for my studies. (Who? Some details needed here. Why did he/she wanted to help you? Why you of all people?)
• I never forget what that person has done for me.

2. Paragraph 1

• Setting in the hospital.
• I saw a patient walking pass me as his name was called out to proceed to the doctor's room.
• A memory suddenly struck in my mind (note that memory is rather permanent; it cannot just strike you like that. Perhaps a thought, an idea can strike you but definitely not a memory), his name was seemingly familiar to me.
• Suddenly, I realised that it was the exact same name that appeared in my sponsorship!

3.Paragarph 2

• After much research and calling up the university that i went to, I realised it was indeed the same person.
• It shocked me badly.
• I did not expect to actually see the person face-to-face.
• Because he helped me with my financial problems, I managed to graduate with honours and became a doctor.
• At that time,his helping hand ("his helping hand" doesn't quite fit in this sentence) has made me realised it was not the end of the world for me and acts as a motivating strength to work even harder than before.

4.Paragraph 3

• I felt so much gratitude towards him and wanted to repay him that is within my ability.
• I immediately asked the doctor-in-charge for his condition for specific details (for details on his condition), it was kidney failure.
• I searched for solutions and finally found a donor that is willing to donate one of her kidneys to the patient.

5.Paragraph 4

• The patient was very surprised at the news of a donor as doctors had warned him not to place high hopes on the donor waiting list due to the long quene, his doctor-in-charge told him to meet me without replying to any of his curious questions.
• I met him and told him the truth that I was the one who helped him.
• I told him my university years back then and how much his help meant to me at that time.
• He was touched and thanked me profusely, although i was only repaying his kindness that he has done for me.
• He went overseas and had the operation done and we meet regularly to further communicate with each other.

6.Conclusion

• I realised that good people do have their good deeds returned to them while evil people have their own retribution.
• I feel relieved at returning -back -his kindness and hope that his kindness can be passed down from me to the people around me.
• It is a blessing to bless (help?) other people and I rejoice at being able to do that!

Comments :

Your plan is very detailed. Better to have it in point form - you won't have the time to write full sentences for your plan during the exam.

We'll probably be able to find a few more essays with this story line - which means it is common. The question then is how you distinguish your story and your writing from the rest. Make it simple, make it believable. If you can have a twist to your story, so much the better.

Summary Outline.

Why the money developed by China proved so sucessful?

cheap metals guaranteed their value.

- convenient( strung together)

- Large quantities are available, due to low value

- Increase in merchants & traders

- Banknote- avoid the process of weighing out precious metals

- guarantee state value

Why the money produced by other countires are sucessful?

- Use of precious metals- metal coins

- Widespread reputation as money

- The production of coins made the cities flourished

Why the money today follows the Chinese model closely?

- The foundations of mordern money system follows China's banknote and coin

- Use of cheap metal in the end instead of precious metal

- People scrapped off valuable metals

- Buying power determined by government authorities

- Official guarantee to their value

Index No : 17

Name : Gladys Tan

3 Good sentence/starters for sentences :

- A sly smile comes over her face and she lets loose her secret weapon...

- It takes some convincing....

- She is polite and soft spoken

3 Good phrases to "borrow"

-small in size but not in spirit

typical teenage fashion

less mean fighting machine

November 2004 - Paper 1

Q2. Write about an occasion when a furious argument took place, based on a case of mistaken identity.

This was a perfect day for a holiday on a beach, the sun was bright and the wind gently tousled my hair. I was walking down the beach in my swimsuit when I noticed a huge crowd looking at me. "Did I wear something out of place? Why are they looking at me like that?", I silently questioned myself. It was weird, they were looking at me as if I had done something that offended them. I was just walking down the beach in my sandals, was there a rule that said I was not supposed to do so? From the crowd, a huge burly man walked out of the crowd and stalked towards me.

This was not a good sign, he looked furious and angry. I sensed a huge aura of anger directed towards me as he marched towards me. By now, spectators started to gather around us and my annoyance level started to rise. He looked at me with a menacing glare and shouted at me at the top of his voice, "Why did you cheat me of my money?". I was shocked, It definitely took me by surprise. "What did I do? I didn't cheat you of your money, I got sufficient money myself. Why would I need yours?", I retorted back at him. This was not a good start for my holiday, my patience had a limit. He started to gesture towards the crowd and told them a story of how I decieved him of his precious money. It was utterly ridiculous, I just stood there in disbelief and tried to explain that I was not the one that cheated him.

I tried to control my anger by counting to ten in my head, I had to, before I have a fight with him. I explained to him in a cool voice that he had mistaken me for another person and I was not that particular person that apparently cheated him. Obviously, he thought I was lying and took out his handphone to dial for the police. Now, it was getting from bad to worse. The worse has yet to come.

I demanded for evidence that proved that I was that person, he told me that he checked my name through the hotel staff which I was staying in, and found out that I was the same person that conned him through the internet. I was exasperated and tired of trying to provve my innocence. He based on my name to prove that I was the one who conned him? This was ridiculous, and it is a waste of my time. At least, a few hundred people in this world that has the name,"Gladys". He started to scold vulgar words at me and demanded me to return him his money. The crowd started to gather in number and some people started to believe the innocent 'victim'.

Two men in blue uniforms started to disperse the crowd and stopped the arguement by showing their badges. Immediately, the man started to tell his long story of me being the villain, pointing at me angrily and demanding them to arrest me at once. They stopped his blabbering and questioned me about my part in this scheme that he has said. I insisted my innocence and explained the whole situation to them, as simple as possible. It was really easy, I was mistaken by George who was still shouting at the top of his voice and was insulted by his rude lanuage towards me.

They listened patiently and politely asked George to calm down. After much noise from George, they finally said a statement that made my day a whole lot better. "I'm sorry lady, we would further investigate and get back to you. I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. Hope you would enjoy your holiday.", after making this statement, they brought George who was still hollering about the injustice of the government and the unfair judgement.

Now, after my holiday, as I sat down on my bed. I began to read the newspaper that was placed beside me on the small table. On a small column at the end of the Home section, it is printed in bold words "Escapee from mental ward, Finally found.". His name was George.

Xin Min Secondary School Paper Answer

Qn 1(a). They were trying very hard to row faster and using a lot of strength as well.

Qn 1(b). The bright light from the sun reflects on the surface of the ocean causing the villagers to have difficulty in watching the match. Thus, they have to squint to watch clearly.

Qn 1(c). It shows that they were very excited and eager over the match, trying to get the best view of the match.

Qn 2. The judges would be bias against their own village and it would be unfair to them as well, resulting in a fight. (when there is a tie/close finish)

Qn 3. There were loud shoutings from the two representatives and the rowing teams, and a fight occurred on the beach as well.

Qn 4(a). The word is "altercation".

Qn 4(b). The gentlemen was moving the eku quickly in circles among the sand, creating a whirlwind. (scooping sand very rapidly, causing sand to fly everywhere)

Qn 4(c). The rowers did not attack the gentlemen as he was not from any of the teams, thus, he could easily move to the centre of the uncontrolled mass. (He was a skilled martial artists)

Qn 4(d). He threw sand at the rowers that were fighting, causing them to cough and gag.

Qn 4(e). He stopped the fight easily without any casualties from any of the teams and moved away quietly.

Qn 5. The author was trying to imply that martial artistes should remember based on this story not to disable permanently or kill their opponents, instead they should not injure them but ending the fight effectively.

Qn 6. (

Qn 7(a). They pull techiniques, stopping themselves from being in contact with their opponent.

Qn 7(b).

Qn 8. We can understand ourselves better in the face of death.

Qn 9. (develop techniques, knowledge and character in practitioners)

CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary School Paper

Qn 1. The two surfaces that were painted in the early human age were on the beaten mulberry bark and on the walls of caves.

Qn 2. Paper was cheaper to manufacture and could be produced in great quantities.

Qn 3. The Chinese loved paper and even invented movable type. They were also not supposed to step on any paper that has writing on it.

Qn 4. It is this original idea of papermaking that has enable them to develop into mass printing for information to be easily known.

Qn 5. The word is "advent".

Qn 6. The printers, hundred years ago, used paper made of hemp and and linen rags, it is not destroyed easily compared to the normal paper.

Qn 7. The writer was amazed and enjoying looking at the canata, while Munn was not interested and treated it like a normal piece of cheap paper.

Qn 8.

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