NARRATIVE ESSAY

Format of Narrative Essays Narrative essays are experiences written by you that you face during your life. It tells a story, which is meaningful and important to the writer, it can be real, or imagination based. It describes how a certain event can change a major part of the writer and their life. A good narrative isn't just an enjoyable or amusing story, but has a point to make, an idea to pass on. The writer uses details that are significant and merges them to build up a story line that is easy for the reader to follow. Features 1. The story should have an introduction that clearly indicates what kind of narrative essay it is (an event or recurring activity, a personal experience, or an observation), and it should have a conclusion that makes a point. 2. The essay should include anecdotes. The author should describe the person, the scene, or the event in some detail. It's okay to include dialogue as long as the punctuation is correct and avoid using too much dialog. 3. The occasion or person described must be suggestive in the description and thoughts lead the reader to reflect on the human experience. 4. The point of view in narrative essays is usually first person. The use of "I" invites the readers into an intimate discussion. 5. The writing in the essay should be lively and show some style. Try to describe ideas and events in new and different ways. Avoid using clichs. Again, get the basic story down, get it organized, and in the final editing process, work on word choice. Sample of Narrative Essay Attitude Is Everything Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life." "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combinations. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I said. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Writing informal letters

SPM SERIES: ENGLISH By JUGDEEP KAUR

LETTER writing is an important aspect of any writing course. This is because letter writing is a very important activity in our daily lives, be it for business or personal purposes. In the Malaysian secondary school system, students are taught to write two types of letters formal letters and informal letters although the latter is a dying art in this age of e-mails and text messages. Informal letters are easier to write in terms of format, language and tone. These letters are sometimes called social or friendly letters. Examples of informal letters include letters to family members and friends. Lets look at some important aspects of an informal letter.

In the accepted format, candidates must indent paragraphs use proper punctuation

 use capitalisation where necessary For example, the month of the date (10 January 2009), the salutation (Dear Maria) Under normal circumstances, it is perfectly acceptable to use informal language (e.g. stuff, jam-packed) and contractions (Ill, wont) in an informal letter, but this is usually not acceptable in the local examination system. 1. Some useful expressions on how to begin an informal letter Thank you for your letter which I received yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you. It was wonderful to hear from you after so long. Thank you for your letter. I was pleased to hear that you are in good health. It was really nice hearing from you. I am glad that you like your new school. I hope this letter finds you in the pink (of health). Thank you for the lovely birthday card. 2. Some useful expressions on how to end an informal letter I promise to write to you soon. I hope you will reply soon. Give my best wishes to your parents. I am looking forward to seeing you. I look forward to hearing from you. Do write and tell me how you are progressing. Do write soon. Let us take a look at a sample question. The question below is similar to the question in the previous weeks article in terms of content points. Only the text-type differs.

Dear Raihan, It was a lovely surprise to hear from you after such a long time. I know I lost a good friend when you moved to another town but I understand you had no choice as your father had to take up the new posting. In your letter you asked me for some advice on what you should do to become a successful student. If you want to be successful, you must set goals. People who set goals accomplish more than those who do not. Write these goals on a piece of paper and put it up on the wall near your study table. This way, you will be reminded of your goals every day.Moreover, you must be motivated. When you are motivated you will have a strong desire to do well and to achieve your goals. I have put up some inspiring motivational posters on the walls in my room. In addition,you must pay attention in class. Listen actively and focus on what the teacher is teaching. If you have disruptive classmates, sit in front of the classroom, away from them. Always ask questions if you do not understand. Seek clarifications from your teachers or your friends if you are shy to approach the former. Another important tip to being a successful student is to be organised. You can use a planner or notebook to write down all your assignments when they are given. This way you will not forget your homework, dates of tests or projects. Remember, if you are organised, you will be well- prepared and you will have less stress. You must alsocomplete your homework on time. Homework helps reinforce what you have learnt. It helps you understand and remember the information your teachers have conveyed in their lessons. To be a successful student you must prepare well for exams. A successful student is one who prepares for exams well in advance, and not at the eleventh hour. You must have diverse interests if you want to be an outstanding student. You should take part in co-curricular activities in order to become a well-rounded person. These activities help develop leadership skills and teamwork besides instilling values like cooperation

and tolerance. Discipline is an important aspect of our lives. No matter where you go or what you do, you will be subjected to rules and regulations. Hence, it is crucial that you obey the school rules. Besides, you must respect everyone. You must respect your parents, your teachers, the school staff and also your friends. You must respect other peoples feelings and opinions. There are also several things you must avoid if you want to be a successful student. You must avoid wasting time. These days many teenagers spend hours chatting online on social networks such as Facebook or playing computer games. These are a waste of time and will not benefit you in any way. Remember, Time and tide wait for no man. Also, avoid skipping school. Some students feel that school is a waste of time as they can learn better from their tuition teachers. This is not true. Your teachers are experienced and well qualified. They are also experienced examiners and they know how to impart knowledge effectively I have to stop here. I hope the above tips will come in handy. Till I hear from you, take care.

Dear Raihan, It was lovely to hear from you after such a long time. In your letter you asked me for some advice on how to become a successful student. If you want to be successful, you must set goals.Moreover, you must be motivated. Motivation makes you work hard. This will help you to achieve your goals. In addition, you must pay attention in class. Focus on what the teacher is teaching. You mustalways ask questions if you do not understand. You can ask your teachers to explain things to you. To be a successful student you must be organised. Use a notebook to write down all your homework. This way you will not forget to do your homework. You must also complete your homework on time. Homework helps you to understand and remember what the teachers have taught. Besides, you must prepare well for exams. You must not study at the eleventh hour. You should also take part in co-curricular activities. These activities help you becaome a better person. You learn leadership skills and values like cooperation and tolerance. Discipline is important in our lives. Hence, it is important thatyou obey the school rules. Lastly, you must respect everyone. You must respect your parents, your teachers, the school staff and also your friends. There are also several things you must avoid if you want to be a successful student. You must avoid wasting time. Do not waste time on Facebook. Also, do not play computer games all the time. It will not help

you in any way. Avoid skipping school. If you skip school, you will miss out on important lessons and you will find it difficult to catch up with your other classmates. I have to stop here. I hope you find the above tips useful. Till I hear from you, take care.

The sample above is meant to show weak students how they can get marks for format and content. Most of the sentences are simple sentences and the elaborations are simple. Remember when you write an informal letter: Do not use slang words Do not use words which are in a language other than English. This means you cannot write Dear Abah, or Dear Amma even if that is how you address your parents. Do not sign off with Love and Kisses. Keep that for your personal letters.

SUMMARY
You will be asked to write a summary of not more than 60 words in Section B of the PMR English Language Paper 2

Read the question carefully and identify the nouns in the question (Underline them as this will help you to detect the points) Then look at the 10 words given. Try to find the 10 words in the text, sometimes not the whole 10 words could be found in the text. If, the 10 words is no where in the text, look back at the question; words from the question could be in the text. (Usually the points are directly after the words and in the second paragraph) Read the text carefully to identify important facts/ points. Underline the important facts/points, leave out details like example or lengthy descriptions. Before you write your summary.. List down the points, write them down in your answer sheet and then, count the words. Name of people and places are considered as one word. Examples: Kota Kinabalu, Tun Mahathir Mohamad After that, do some cutting, pasting and joining; cut redundant words and try to join the points and re-organise them. Make sure that what ever you do would not change the meaning. Then, as far as possible write out your summary using your own words, but use the same tense as in the passage. You must use /begin your summary with the 10 words given. Use connectors or whatever suitable words to link the fact. Write your summary in not more than 60 words and in one paragraph. Don't forget to write the number of words in brackets as the end of your summary.

Sample Question (Section B, Paper 2 PMR 2006 ) Write a summary on why Zoo Negara has problems with the animals left at the gates. Your summary must:

not be more than 60 words, including the 10 words given below be in continuous writing (not note form) be written in one paragraph Use your own words as far as possible without changing its original

meaning. Begin your summary as follows. Zoo Negara accepts the abandoned animals but the dumping has .... The words but the dumping has could be found in Paragraph 2, line 2. Contents to why Zoo Negara has problems with the animals left at the gates:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

1.grown tremendously. 2.animals arrive at the zoo ill and malnourished. 3.Feeding and handling them incur costs. 4.They might even bring diseases and infect other animals (The animals are quarantined for three months before they can go into enclosures). 5.they take up the limited quarantined space the zoo has. 6.Primates (are released into forests as they) attack each other in shared enclosures. 7.The zoo does not accept species listed under CITES for illegal origins but these animals are also being left at the zoo.

Comment: Based on the points above, we could see that :

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

The first point directly connected to the 10 given word. The second point, is connected to the the nouns - zoo, animals and problems. The third point, is connected to zoo and animals; as feeding and handling is done definitely in the zoo and the pronoun them, refers to animals. While cost is the reference to problems. The fourth point, they refers to animals, bring diseases refer to problems and other animals refer to zoo. The fifth point, they refers to animals, limited quarantined spaces to problems, and there is the noun zoo. Point six, primates refers to animals, attack each other refers to problems and close enclosure is definitely zoo. Point seven, The noun zoo is there, so does animals and of illegal origins refers to problems.

In conclusion, if you have problems getting the points, try to find them based on the nouns in the question. TRY TO FIND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE 2 ANSWERS. Sample Answer 1: Zoo Negara accepts the abandoned animals but the dumping has ....// grown tremendously. (C1)Animals arrive at the zoo ill and malnourished. (C2) Feeding and handling them incur costs. (C3)They might even bring diseases and infect others. (C4) So, they are quarantined for three months before they can go into enclosures and thus take up the limited quarantined space the zoo has.(C5) Primates are // released into forest as they attack each other in shared enclosures. The zoo does not accept species listed under CITES for illegal origins but these animals are also being left at the zoo. Contents = 5 Style and Presentation = 3

Total = 8/10 Sample Answer 2: Zoo Negara accepts the abandoned animals but the dumping has .... // grown enormously. (C1)Animals of illegal origins,(C7) malnourished and ailing with infectious diseases (C2) and thus have to be quarantined are being dumped at its doorstep. (C4) Apart from having problem of inadequatequarantined space, (C5) primates also attack each other in shared enclosures. (C6) In addition, Feeding and managing them too incur costs. (C3) (56 words) Contents = 5 Style and Presentation = 5 Total = 10/10

1. 2. 3.

LOOK AT HOW POINTS IN SAMPLE 2 ARE REORGANISED; POINT 7 GOING UP WHILE POINT 3 AT THE END. CERTAIN WORDS, SUCH AS ILL IS CHANGED TO AILING. LOOK AT HOW POINT 7, 2 AND 4 ARE JOINED.

** Remember:If it is a story..
1.

2.

Remember to change the pronoun; I to he/she, me to him/her, mine to his/hers, he/she to what it refers to, we to they, us to them, our to their and etc.. The points in the summary must be written in sequence. (New)