3 Things to Look Out for When Faced With a Composition Topic

Hmmm… Write a composition of at least 150 words about…
I’d better count the number of words I write! Let’s look at the pictures… oh! I want to use the picture of the park! We just wrote a story about a bee attack at the park!
begins to write furiously
gets back paper and failed
WHAT?!
Writing a composition can either be something that you love or you hate. Students are creative and have the urge to jump straight into writing a story. More often than not, students look at the pictures and decide what story to write. Unfortunately, many students fail to look at the TOPIC given.
Let’s rewind…
Hmmm… Write a composition of at least 150 words about…
PAUSE!
First and foremost, the key thing about writing a composition is NOT the number of words you write. Even if you are able to write a 1000 word essay, you will still be unable to score if you write completely off topic!
My advice to students is to focus on the topic without looking at the pictures first. Using at least one of the pictures provided is a requirement but if you fail to address the topic, you will still not do well. Pictures given are meant to help you develop the plot, but it should not be the key focus of the composition.
Today, other than reminding you to focus on the topic, I would also like to share some tips on how to decipher the composition topic to ensure your composition does not go off track!
1. Look out for articles.
Write a composition of at least 150 words about a commotion.
The first thing you should take note of is the “a”. This means that throughout the composition, there should only be one main commotion. Always look out for the “a” and the “an”.
For example, the topic is “an embarrassing incident”.
Some students tend to ignore the “an” and write a story about a series of embarrassing events.
In those cases, students will be marked down if the examiner is unable to pin-point which is the main embarrassing incident. We always advise students to focus on one main event throughout the composition to avoid going off topic.
In addition, hardly will you encounter topics that require you write about a chain of events. Stay focused!
2. Look out for continuous tenses.
Write a composition of at least 150 words about doing a kind deed.
AH HAH! A kind deed! I saw the “a”! I’m going to write about Jack who saw this man do a kind deed, and he went home to tell his mother!
PAUSE!
Does that plot really answer the topic? It sounds more like witnessing a kind deed.
Wouldn’t it be better if I wrote that Jack did a kind deed and went home to tell his mother?
When you see a verb in the continuous tense as the first word of the topic, always ensure that it is a main character who is doing/running/winning/saying etc…
On top of that, try to keep it to 2-3 main characters in the story and avoid having multiple characters in the story that do not play a role in developing the plot.
3. Look out for the “Y” pronouns - YOU and the YOUR
Write a composition of at least 150 words about overcoming your fear.
Easy! Overcoming… “-ing” verb… so main character overcomes fear! Alright… Mary has a fear of heights…
PAUSE!
Mary? Are YOU Mary?
When you see “you” or “your” in the topic given, be sure to write from the first person perspective. This means that I write as “I”! Many students tend to lose marks when they fail to notice these special pronouns.
Even though questions like “a day YOU were careless” are more common in the lower and middle primary examinations, do be wary of such topics and make sure you fulfil the question requirements.
So these are some tips I have for you. These 3 simple tips will ensure that you addressed your topic well! Have fun writing!
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