PT3 ESSAY - INFORMAL LETTER

Sample Question : Your brother spends too much time on the Internet and has done badly in his PT3 Trial Examination.Your mother has asked you to write a letter advising him how to divide his time wisely.

DON'Ts

• Stay Up Late - Chat -Internet
• Too Much - Time - Online games

DOs

• Have A Timetable - Study - Surf Internet
• Use Internet - Gain Knowledge

When writing your letter,

• You may use the words and phrases given above.
• Elaborate on your writing to make it more interesting.
• You may add other relevant information.
• Make sure it is not less than 120 words.

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How to answer this question

• Use the 6W 1H method
• Read the question carefully
• Use the information given in the question to write your opening.
• Use all the points given.
• Don't forget to add your own point(s).
• Write at least 200-250 words as time permits.

_______________________________________________________

[Simple Style Essay Sample]

322C,Taman Danau Maluri

53300 Kuala Lumpur.

20 August 2013. 

Dear Vince,

   How are you? I hope you are fine. Please send my regards to father and mother. I miss you all dearly. I heard that you did not do well in your recent PT3 Trial Examination. Mother phoned me a few days ago and told me about it. Father and mother are really worried about you spending too much time on the Internet. So, I am writing this letter to give you some tips on how to divide your time wisely.

   First of all, young man, don't stay up late.Don't burn your midnight oil chatting on the Internet. Go to bed early. Our body needs at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep everyday.Enough sleep will enable your mind to stay sharp and productive the next day.Therefore, instead of sleeping around 1 to 2 a.m. in the morning, call it a night around 10 p.m.

   Next, don't spend too much time playing online games. There is nothing wrong in playing online games but when it affects your studies then you should put a brake to it.My advice is leave all your online gaming activities until you have finished your PT3 Examination. Focus on your studies first, you can continue playing once you have finished your examination.

   Draft out a study timetable to help you manage your time wisely. On the timetable allocate one to two hours to surf the Internet. Now, remember, the Internet contains a lot of  useful information for everyone. It can be used to gain knowledge and to sift through  for information useful for your PT3 Examination. 

   Finally, join some outdoor physical activities rather than just being holed up in the house in front of your computer the whole day. Go cycling or walking around the park. Play football or badminton with your friends in the evenings. Physical activities help keep your body and mind healthy. You need a healthy body and mind to do well in your PT3 Examination.

   I wish I could write more but I have to stop here for now. I  have to prepare for my next week's final term semester examination. I hope you will take my advice and mend your ways. I wish you all the best in your PT3 Examination. Hugs and kisses.

Your loving sister,

 Bernice Gabriel.

______________________________________________________

(The sample essay above is roughly more than 350 words and I have used 5 idioms in the essay)

1. Burn Your Midnight Oil - doing something(working) for very long hours.
2. Call it a night - to end (stop) what one is doing at night.
3. Put a brake to it - to stop an activity.
4. Sift through - to remove something from something.
5. Holed up - hide and wait / just staying put in a place.

*Check out my Descriptive Essay - 

• Sample Essay - An Accident (Article)
• Sample Essay - Snatch Theft (Article)
• Sample Essay - Descriptive

SPM NARRATIVE ESSAY - TIPS FOR NARRATIVE WRITING (1)

In order to write a good narrative type essay, you'll need a good plot. What is a plot...? A plot is defined as the events that make up a story.A plot has 5 main parts / components.

 

 

 

1. Introduction / Beginning

 

It contains information about who, what, when, and where of the story.

 

2. Events

 

It contains incidents leading to the climax of the story.

 

3. Climax

 

It contains the most thrilling / exciting incident in the story which has a huge / life changing effect to the main character or the story.

 

4. Anti-Climax

 

It contains incident(s) leading to the conclusion of the story.

 

5. Ending

 

It tells us how the story ends / what happened in the end.

SPM ESSAY - DESCRIPTION / DESCRIBING PEOPLE

 

This is Mr.Seow. He is quite old and craggy looking, a senior citizen. He is short and fat.He has large funny looking eyes and a big prominent nose.He is toothless, he has to wear dentures when he wants to eat or speak.He uses a cane when walking.Although he is nearly eighty, he has good eyesight. He is a bit grumpy when he is not happy and likes to dig his ears when they are itchy.In a box, he is quite an interesting and amusing man who is loved and adored by all those that know him. 

 

This is my teacher Julia. She is 26 years old. She has a beautiful oval shaped face with soft, creamy complexion.  She has shoulder length beautiful blond hair. Her set of compassionate beautiful almond shaped eyes sparkle when she speaks. Her thin red lips will make anyone's heart falter. Her perfect hour glass body is the envy of others.She is the most kind-hearted soul I have ever met in my entire life.

 

This is Amy.She is kind and pretty. She is short and looks cute with her pulpy nose. Her set of beautiful dreamy eyes compliment her slim  sculpted figure. She is our school's top student. She likes the anime type hairstyle and dyes her hair quite frequently. I call her  "Rainbow Head" because she has dyed her hair in all the seven colors of the rainbow. She does this because she is into cosplay. During school holidays, she takes part in many of the competitions held locally and internationally. She likes the emo and the gothic style the best. Most students in my school think she is wierd but to me she is my best friend.

 

 

• Describing Places/Situation

Descriptive Essay - How to write a descriptive essay

Write about a person who has worked hard to succeed in life.
 

This is an actual SPM examination question for the year 2008. Descriptive type essays are easy to write. You must use adjectives,adverbs,phrasal verbs and strong verbs to write an interesting description.

In the above question, we need to find the focus point, which is 'a person' and 'worked hard in life to succeed'. Once you know the focus point - you can start drafting your essay. It is always advisable to write about a person whom you know very well and one who is close to you, for example your father / mother / grandfather / uncle etc. Try not to write about someone you are not familiar with.

There are many ways to start an essay. In order to get a good grade for your essay, try to think and write something which is out of the box ( be different ) - try not to follow the norm.

Always remember, introduction paragraph is very important because it gives the first impression about your essay. A good introduction will get the reader's attention and cause him/her to keep reading your essay with interest.

Introduction Paragraph - Sample

              As I gazed at the photo frame hanging on the wall of my parents home, tears of sorrow filled my eyes; quickly, I took my handkerchief to wipe away my tears; I did not want anyone to notice them, it would only cause them sorrow. I could still hear him telling me - "Success does not come in a silver plate, you must work hard for it, my child".It is a mantra which I hold dear to my heart and which has brought me success which I never imagined I could ever achieve.They were the words of a man who not only preached them but practiced them as well and proved to those who mocked him that only through hard work can a person succeed in life.

          He was born in Kelantan, in a small fishing village near the famous Sabak Beach.He was the eldest son in his family of five. He was a good natured and a hard working man.He became a fisherman very early in his life; to be precise at the age of 15 he was already an expert fisherman. His fishing fraternity called him 'Bob Ikan', because he was an expert in pin-pointing the exact location where fish could be found in abundance.All the praises just made him humbler. He was born into poverty, but never once was he grumpy nor glum.In contrast, he was always cheerful and affable towards others. Everyone in his village loved him and respected him.... 


* If you notice, in this intro I did not mention the person who I am referring to. This is just to build up the suspense for the reader. The reader will be making guesses as to who am I refering to. I will only mention the person in the closing paragraph.

In this style of writing - you must not give out any detail about the person in all your 'BODY' part of your essay. In the 'BODY' part, slowly build up his/her character and how his/her hard work had made him/her to succeed in life.You must know how to write them in a way which will keep the reader guessing -  'ALL THE BEST'

SPM DIRECTED WRITING - REPORT

2009 : Many of your schoolmates are not interested in sports. You have carried out a survey on the reasons for their lack of interest. Based on your findings, write a report to the Principal regarding the matter. In your report, give reasons for the lack of interest in sports and provide suggestions to overcome.

[ Start your report ]
To          : The Principal, SMK Syed Abu Bakar,Kedah
Subject : School students not interested in sports
Date      : (date)

[ Introduction ]
State about your survey.
When it was carried out.
The target audience [ School mates ]
What did you find. [ 30-40 words ]

[ Body 1 ]
Main Idea - The reason for the lack of interest
Supporting Details(1) - Why - Reasons / Factors
Supporting Details(2) - Why
Supporting Details(3) - How-Suggestion [ 30-50 words ]

[ Body 2 ]
Main Idea - The reason for the lack of interest
Supporting Details(1) - Why - Reasons / Factors
Supporting Details(2) - Why
Supporting Details(3) - How-Suggestion [ 30 -50 words ]

[ Body 3 ]
Main Idea - The reason for the lack of interest
Supporting Details(1) - Why - Reasons / Factors
Supproting Details(2) - Why
Supporting Details(3) - How-Suggestion [ 30-50 words ]

[ Closing ]
What do you expect
What is your hope for the students and school [ 30-40 words ]


[ End your report ]
Prepared By,

[ Signature ]
Name
Title (if any)
SMK Syed Abu Bakar

SPM DIRECTED WRITING - INFORMAL LETTER

 2010  :  Your cousin has been chosen to take part in the National Service Programme and is worried about going. You have decided to write a letter to tell him/her about the benefits of this programme and to encourage your cousin to go. 

(Your Name & Address)

Ginny Han

5, Jalan Tun Perak,

50050 Kuala Lumpur. 

(Date)
10 OCTOBER 2010.

(Salutation)
Dear Sam,

 

 

(Introduction)

How are you? I hope you are in the pink of health. I was thrilled when I got your letter. I read your letter eagerly .To be honest, I had mixed feelings after reading your letter. One was of happiness while the other was of sadness. Happy that you got chosen to go for the National Service Programme. On the other hand, sad , seeing  how worried you are to join this programme. I have penned this letter  to encourage you to go for this programme.

(Body 1)

Benefit 1 - One main point
                 - Two / Three supporting details
                 - Close
 

(Body 2)

Benefit 2 - One main point

                 - Two / Three supporting details

                 - Close

(Body 3)

Benefit 3 - One main point

                 - Two / Three supporting details

                 - Close

(Closing)

I hope my reasoning will convince you to go for this National Service Programme. To be honest with you, I am a bit jealous that I was not chosen for the programme. I surely would trade places with you if I could. I will keep my fingers crossed that you will take my advice and join this programme. Bye and have fun.

Your Cousin,

(Your Signature)

* [Name] is optional in Infromal Letter. It means you can choose to write your name or ignore it.

PMR ESSAY - INFORMAL LETTER