Trial SPM 2018 All States

#KAMICUBA #DMK #TRIPLEONENINE #KUSISS #SPMTRIAL #2018 #SMKAGAMAKUALASELANGOR #VIXXI
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Muhammad Nazim Syazwi bin Emran (5 Takwa)

Muhammad Aiman bin Mohd Amin (5 Amal)
SPM Trial 2018 - Negeri Sembilan

Question: Write about a difficult situation faced by one of the characters and how he
or she deals with it.
The novel that I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a boy named
Richard Knight who finds his love in poetry but has some obstacles hindering him to pursue his dream. I
would be describing the difficult situation faced by Richard and how he deals with it. The difficult situation
was when Richard is being the only friend who shows his support to Hannah whose tavern has
been vandalised by the irresponsible and prejudiced villagers just because she has German
descent.
Firstly, it is hard for Richard for being the only person who signs the sympathy card for
Hannah Schermers. Richard’s classmates were being unkind to the Schermers after the tavern was
vandalised. Mrs. Hansen brought the card to express regret for what had happened. Mrs. Hansen asked
the class to sign the card. The troublemakers like Abner, Harry, Peggy and Blanche refused to sign the
card. They warned other classmates not to sign the card. The boys were afraid Abner and Harry would hit
them. The girls worry that popular girls like Peggy and Blanche would not speak to them. However, Richard
bravely took the card from Mrs. Hansen after school. He wanted to give Hannah the card and Hannah
accepted the card reluctantly. Later, Hannah apologised to Richard for being rude. This was the beginning
of their friendship. Personally, I think that we must stand by our principles and do what is right. Be brave in
defending ourselves in spite of the turbulences and challenges we might face. I would like to stress again
that Richard bravely faced the situation by standing for what is right despite the threats he has to
endure for signing the card.
Furthermore, Richard tries his best to convince Hannah that he is different from other people
in the Turtle Lake. It is because Hannah sulked for thinking that Richard would not help her. Richard was
angry because some Turtle Lake people were being unfair to the Schermers. They vandalised the
Scermers’ tavern and painted ‘Dirty Huns’ all over the walls. They said that the Schermers were Huns.
Some Turtle Lake people believed that Huns were a barbaric clan originated from Germany. They said that
the Schermers were unpatriotic because they spoke Germany and served Hun food at their tavern while a
war was going on against Germany. On the other hand, Richard, being different from the rest of the
community fights against this prejudice and maltreatment. Instead of conforming to what the villagers
and his classmates do, he defies the odd. Even though it seems difficult for him, he disapproves what
others do to Hannah. He shows his support albeit some friends were making threats to him for befriending
Hannah. In my point of view, we must not judge the book by its cover. Despite the difference we have with
others, we must always help our friends in trouble. If I were Richard, I might not have the guts to muster up
the courage defending someone who is being labelled as an enemy to my own country. I might turn up
being as ignorant as the others for the sake of not getting blamed on. So, I would like to restate that
Richard worked hard to gain Hannah’s trust and preserve their friendship by showing Hannah that
he is not as prejudiced as the others.
Other than that, Richard wanted to support Hannah when Hannah won the role of Lady Liberty
despite the hatred and disapproval of other parents. To illustrate, people unfairly denied her role as
Lady Liberty. Mrs. Hansen asked the class to write an essay as one of the activities for a patriotic
programme which helped sell Liberty bonds. Many students were angry when Hannah won the role after
writing the best essay. They regarded Hannah as an unpatriotic German although she was an American
citizen. Some parents complained to the principal and demanded Mrs Hansen to choose someone else.
Mrs Hansen did not change her mind. Hannah told Richard that her essay started a little war in Turtle Lake.
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She did not want to cause any troubles. So she decided to decline the role of Lady Liberty.
However, Richard still supports Hannah for what she had done to the extent that he declined his role as
a dough boy for the sake of showing support to Hannah when Hannah refused to be the Lady Liberty. In my
opinion, as adults, we must be a role model to the others to show concern about anyone in our
surroundings regardless of the difference. Despite the disapproval and deluge of complaints made by the
parents, Richard stands on his principle by showing Hannah his support. He was not afraid of the situation.
Rather, he took the chance of declining the role to show Hannah that he was not as discriminative as the
others. In life, there will always be discrimination if we still have lower class mentality. It would eventually
change if we think positively of others rather than blindly judging them for whom we thought they are. I
would like to stress again that Richard supported Hannah when she won the roles of Lady Liberty.
To sum up, I admire and respect Richard because he has good personalities. Besides, although
Hannah Schemer and her family are mistreated by Turtle lake people, they remained calm and patient.
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Group members : Ainul , Nadhrah , Adrini 
SPM TRIAL 2018: TERENGGANU

“Determination will get you through anything.”
Write about one character who has such determination in the novel that you have read.
Support your answer with close reference to the text.
The novel that I read is Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a boy named Richard
Knight who loves to write poems but has some obstacles faced by him from pursuing his dream. Based on
the novel, one character who has such determination is Richard Knight.
Firstly, determination is shown when Richard expresses his true feeling by misfiring his first
buck purposely to show that he seriously does not want to kill the buck. Richard thought that hunting
is not important because animals are the beautiful creatures that should not be killed. It is proven when
Richard tells Pa that he feels painful and breaks into tears to kill an animal when Pa asks Richard why he
purposely misfires shooting the buck. Pa tells Richard not to go hunting anymore if he does not like it. Even
though he is torn between expressing his thought and following his father’s request, he decides to
choose the former regardless of the risk he has to face for failing to do so. As a result for misfiring the
buck, he does not mind facing the mockery his brother Gus throws at him. Although he is being
belittled with the name calling, “Small Fry” by his brother, he is determined to stand on his principle of
doing what is right, which is not to kill innocent animals. In my opinion, as a teenager, being determined in
expressing what you feel is not right is very difficult especially to your own family members who
supposed to understand but rather choose to ridicule your choice. In my opinion, if I were Richard, I will
stand for the right thing as we have to be a nature lover to keep God’s nature wholeheartedly. If Richard is
not determined enough to express what he feels, he will have to do what he hates most which is killing
the animal. To our knowledge, we need each other to stay survive in this world happily. Thus, Richard
shows his determination when he boldly speaks what his heart has to say which is to object his
father’s wish for hunting.
Next, the event that shows Richard is determined is when he fight prejudice and injustice
after being the only student who does not refuse to sign the sympathy card for the Schermers even
though his other classmates refused to sign it. It is shown when Mrs. Hansen asks the whole class to sign
the card for the Schermers because someone has vandalised the tavern owned by Hannah’s parents. They
paint ‘’Dirty hunt’’ all over the walls. So, Mrs. Hansen brings a card to express regret for what has
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happened. However, Richard is the only student who signs the sympathy card for Hannah because for him
we should befriend everyone and not to be racist. Richard is determined to stand up for Hannah while
the rest choose not to do so. Not only that, Richard is determined to show everyone that Hannah is not
supposed to be treated unfairly. Willingly, he volunteers to send the card by himself and rather chooses to
fight against Abner and harry who are mocking him. Fighting prejudice in his classroom is hard enough
for Richard, what’s more to go against the entire community he lives in with the double standard rules and
corrupted authority but he never gives in to the situation. In my point of view, being racist will make the
situation worse. So we need to befriend everyone without thinking about their races. Hence, I would
strongly restate that Richard portrays to others his strong determination when he fights against
prejudice and injustice his friend Hannah is facing.
Thirdly, the incident when Richard declines his role as a Doughboy to maintain his friendship
is one of the events that shows he is determined to do something that is right for his friend. This
occurs when Richard and Hannah win the roles as the Lady Liberty and the Doughboy respectively
because they write the best essays. Mrs. Hansen asks the class to write an essay as it is one of the
activities for the patriotic programme which helps to sell Liberty bonds. Many students are angry when
Hannah won the role. They regard Hannah as an unpatriotic German although she is an American citizen.
Hannah told Richard that her essay has sparked a little war in Turtle Lake. Since she does not want to
cause any problems, she decides to decline the role of Lady Liberty. Richard as a strong-willed person
also makes up his mind to decline his part as the Doughboy to support Hannah causing everyone to call
him unpatriotic and a traitor. These criticisms have never stopped Richard from being determined. I
would like to stress again that, we have to be determined to stop being unjust and prejudiced for the
innocent people around us especially those who are close to us. Maintaining friendship is very crucial in
this cruel world we live in so that more benevolent people will make this world a better place. Therefore, it
is undeniably true that Richard has portrayed his fortitude by standing up for his friend in the name
of justice.
In a nutshell, Richard is truly the best character who has such determination in his life. He teaches
us the teenagers to never give up on your dreams and never be afraid of being different from others if that
means to stand on your principle upholding the truth.
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SPM TRIAL 2018 (PERAK)
Question:
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about a theme that is important to one of the
characters in the story with close reference to the text.
By: NURFATIN ATHIRAH BT. AZMAN

LAILA NUR FARISHA BT. AZALAN
NUR ATIKAH NABILAH BT. AHMAD SHARIF
Based on the novel that I have read, Dear Mr Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff. This novel
has a very interesting and inspiring theme that is bravery. This theme is shown by the main character
Richard Knight in a few events.
Firstly, the interesting and inspiring theme which is bravery is shown when Richard told Pa the
reason why he misfired the buck purposely. It was in the winter when Richard, Pa and Gus went
hunting in the woods. They were waiting for a target and suddenly a male dear appeared. Pa told Gus to
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not shoot the buck as Pa wanted Richard to shoot it. Surprisingly, Richard had purposely misfired the buck.
Pa was really disappointed with him while Gus was really mad with him. Before Gus spilled out his anger,
Pa asked him to go back first. After that, Pa and Richard had a heart to heart conversation. Richard
bravely told Pa about his dislike towards hunting. Although he knew that Pa will be really crestfallen
with his opinion about the family tradition which is hunting, his braveness encouraged him to be honest
to voice out his opinion. Boldly, he expressed his feeling saying that he had no right to take an
animal’s life and it is cruel to do so. Even when he knew he had the risk of being scolded but his stood for
what he believe is right. In my point of view, Richard is really brave to speak out his opinion. It is very
essential to exert bravery in a person because it teaches us to stand for what is right. As in the
novel, Richard shows his compassion towards nature by being brave to be honest to his family about how
cruel it is to kill an animal. I would like to stress again the theme of bravery is clearly portrayed when
Richard misfired the buck.
The next event that shows the bravery of Richard is when he was protecting Hannah while the
others were being unkind to her. After the news of the Schermers’ tavern being vandalised, Mrs Hansen
had brought a card for the class to sign as a symbol of sympathy towards his misfortune. It was a simple
card, with white flowers and the words “With Sadness” on it. The bullies of the class had reacted negatively
to the card, inquiring whether or not they could refuse signing the card. When the card was passed to the
boys, all of them were too afraid to sign the card as they did not want to be beaten up by Abner and Harry.
However, as the card had been passed to Richard, he boldly signed it even though he had received
threats from Abner and Harry. This shows how brave Richard was to sign the card even though he had
the risk of being beaten up and ostracised by his classmates. Richard had shown this act of bravery
because he knew Hannah did not deserve such discrimination just because of her German descent. In fact,
Hannah was a patriotic American just like everyone. In my point of view, this is a very important value to
have in a person because it teaches us to be brave to stand up against discrimination and hatred
regardless of the circumstances. Therefore, I would like to stress again that Richard is a symbol of bravery.
The third event that portrayed the bravery of the character is when Richard told his family
and Mrs Hansen that he wrote poetry. Before telling his secret to his family and Mrs Hansen, Richard
wrote a letter to Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer was Richard’s penpal. Richard learnt about Mr Kilmer when Richard’s
English teacher, Mrs Hansen read a poem to the class. The title of the poem was “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer.
In his letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote poems too. However, he kept this as a secret from
everyone. Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s advice. He wanted to know whether he should tell his secret to
everybody. One day, Richard received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to be brave to
overcome his fear. Mr Kilmer advised Richard to share his poetry with people around him. When he finally
managed to gather his confidence, nobody was interested when Richard told his family about Mr Kilmer’s
letter and his secret. Neither Pa nor Gus believed that Richard wrote poetry and Mr Kilmer was a well-
known person. Richard was crestfallen when his family members did not want to read his poem as they
were not interested. Although Gus advised him to keep that as a secret and not telling everyone that he
wrote poetry, his passion on writing poetry emboldens him to be bold to share his poem with the class.
His braveness was worth as some of his classmates, including Blanche and Peggy, were deeply moved
by his poem. In my opinion, Richard is brave enough to share with people about his passion although
no one is likely to support him. He surely knows that he is the one who is capable of influencing himself.
I would like to stress again, the main character, Richard Knight has shown the act of the real bravery by
expressing his hidden talent.
In a nutshell, the theme which is bravery is clearly shown by the main character, Richard
Knight. It is really essential to apply bravery in our daily life in order to stand for what is right, fight against
discrimination and express his talent.
BY: AMAL FARIS , ASIM HISHAM
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SPM TRIAL 2018: LMS
Question:
Write about a theme of bravery and how the theme has helped you to become a better person.
The novel that I have studied is Dear Mr. Kilmer written by Anne schraff. The theme bravery which is shown
by the main character named Richard has taught me many important lessons to become a better person. I
think I could apply the act of braveness in my daily life.
First and foremost, Richard teaches me to be brave to stand for what is right in the incident
when he goes hunting for his first deer with Pa and Gus. It is portrayed by Richard when he deliberately
misfires the deer causing it to quickly disappear. We can see that he avoids killing the deer because of his
compassion towards animals. Gus is so furious at him and says that he could have killed the deer if Pa let
him take the shot. Being mocked and belittled by Gus does not change his opinion. Having the courage to
tell the truth, he confesses to Pa about what he feels for hunting. Richard says that he feels painful if he is
to take animal’s life. With his bold confession, Pa eventually tells him that he does not have to go hunting
anymore if he hates it. In my opinion, Richard is brave enough to tell the truth to Pa although he knows
that Pa will be disappointed. Despite being the total opposite of Pa and Gus, Richard still stands with his
principles. He also tries his best to convince Pa to accept the fact that he hates hunting. In life, there will
always be obstacles hindering us from standing on our own principles, but Richard teaches me to be
courageous in defending myself to become a better person. There are people out there who are being
inhumane towards nature doing illegal hunting and logging for their own personal interest. Nature should be
preserved and conserved for the future generation to appreciate its beauty not the other way around. Even
if we are still young, that does not mean that we have to blindly follow what the adult asks us to do. If we
think that it is wrong, then go against it and express what we really feel so that we do not have to torment
the creatures for the sake of pleasing others. I would like to stress that Richard has taught me to be brave
to stand for what is right.
Secondly, I also learn to be brave to fight injustice and prejudice from Richard in the incident
when Mrs. Hansen tells the class that a vandal has vandalised the Schermers’ tavern. She buys a card and
asks the class to sign the card to express their sympathy for what has happened to them. Unfortunately,
they are not co-operative. Some of them think that Schermers are not loyal because they still practise their
culture despite the war against Germany. In this case, Richard is the only one who is brave enough to
sign the sympathy card regardless of the mockery and threats he has to endure. Richard feels that his
classmates are being unfair to Hannah and her family. Other boys do not want to sign the card because
they are afraid that Abner and Harry will beat them up while the girls worry that popular girls like Peggy and
Blanche will not speak to them. After class, Richard daringly offers himself to give the card to the
Schermers. Then, the whole school knows that he is the lone signer of the card. Despite being teased for
the rest of the day, he still stands for what is right to him which is fighting the prejudice the others have
towards Hannah. If I were in Richard’s shoes, I will do the same as Richard and stands with my principles.
Fighting prejudice that has been set by the discriminative community is not easy but that is how Richard
shows me. He encourages a teen like me to oppose negative perception the society has set so that I
would not be as unjust as the others just to be accepted by the majority. I learn that in life, if someone is
being treated unfairly by the others, we have to defend them despite the challenges we might face.
Upholding justice will make me a better person and the world will be a better place to live in if we live
peacefully without having the wars against each other. I would like to restate that Richard has taught me
to be daring to go against the norm that is not right and to stand for what is right.
Last but not least, Richard teaches me to be brave in defending the innocent soul in the
incident when someone scrawls “Dirty Hun” all over Hannah’s book cover. Seeing Hannah cries alone in
the hallway, Richard braves himself by asking her why she is crying. Although, Hannah says that it is
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nothing, Richard still decides to confront the bullies Abner, Harry and Blanche. The three students
condemn the Schermers although they are American Citizens, because of the war against the Germans.
They think the Schermers are traitors because they speak German and serve Hun food like sauerkraut.
Being protective of Hannah, Richard audaciously tells them that they are the ones who are being
unpatriotic as they are rude and mean to Hannah although they are American Citizens too. In my opinion,
Richard is very brave to be protective of his friends and brave enough to fight against the society. He
teaches me that I have to protect any friends of mine from being harassed, mocked, bullied or treated
unfairly by some people who blatantly judge others without understanding them deeper. Our world will be
better if we do not judge the book by its cover. Richard has proven to me that having German descent
does not mean the Schemers are traitors to American because equality does not confine to having the
same race or nation, it goes beyond that. I would like to stress that Richard has shown me to be brave to
defend those innocent people despite being hated by the society.
In conclusion, Richard has taught me many reasons to be brave in this life to become a better
person. Richard is a brave person as he is not afraid to go against the norms by being compassionate
towards animal, protective of his friend and stand with his own principles. I think I could apply them in my
daily life to become a better person.
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Credit to Muhd Syukran and Hanif Danial
SPM TRIAL 2018 – BATU PAHAT

Question: “Friends are people who always support us.” With close reference to the text, how far is
the statement above true in the novel you have read?
Based on the novel I have read, Dear Mr Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff, a statement
“friends are people who always support us” is really suitable in this novel. There are some events that have
shown about it.
The first evidence to support the statement “friends are people who always support us” is when
Richard stands up for Hannah when she has been mocked by Abner and his gang. This is particularly
shown in the event when Richard volunteers to give a hand for Hannah’s family. Hannah has a German-
blood since her parents are from Germany. They are living in a racist community which need them to be
brave in facing this issue. There are some events that show the community cares too much about the race.
One of them is when Hannah’s tavern had been vandalized by some irresponsible people in the town they
live in. Brash words “Dirty Huns” really portray that some people in the community are racist and
discriminative towards the Schemers family. On the contrary, Richard is the only one who cares about this
family. Though not being in the same class with Hannah, but her natural kindness makes Richard willing to
stand up for what is right. Richard shows his support by signing the sympathy card for Hannah while the
rest of his classmates do not sign the card. The boys are scared Abner and Harry would beat them up while
the girls are scared that Peggy and Blanche would not talk to them anymore but Richard ignores it and
signs the card. This shows that Richard wants to be the emissary of justice by befriending Hannah and
pushing away all the negativity acts and racism among the students in his school. In my point of view, it is
very fortunate to have a friend who is willing to take our side in spite of being alienated by others. It is
undeniably true that Richard being supportive to Hannah when she had been mocked by Abner and his
gang is the very first evidence supporting the statement “friends are people who always support us”.
Next evidence that supports the statement “friends are people who always support us” is when
Joyce Kilmer and Richard always support each other’s passion and talent. They support each other in
a lot of things in their life such as in giving advice on how to keep Richard’s passion in poetry a secret. It is
clearly stated in the novel when Joyce Kilmer gives some advice to Richard to continue writing the
poems secretly even though his family and his friend did not like poem because to them poetry is for the
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sissy. Joyce Kilmer gives some words of encouragement to Richard because he is the one who likes to
write poem just like him. In fact, Joyce Kilmer is the driving force for Richard to love poetry. If it is not
because of Mr. Kilmer’s poem that Mrs. Hansen reads in the class, Richard might not be fond of poetry. The
next evidence that support the statement above is when Richard exchanges letters with Mr Kilmer
during the war to make sure he does not feel lonely and homesick. In my point of view, the fact that
Richard exchanges letters with Mr Kilmer is the best option to prevent the soldier at war feeling lonely and
homesick but to keep on having strong will and courage to fight. It is undeniably true that Richard and
Joyce Kilmer supporting each other is the second evidence that shows “friends are people who always
support us”.
Last but not least, the third evidence that supports the statement “friends are people who always
support us” is between Richard and Hannah, when Richard decided to put down the role Dough boy
after Hannah’s drastic decision to put down the role lady liberty. This particularly can be seen when
Richard could not be the Dough boy without Hannah been by his side. This all happens when Mrs Hansen
told her class to write the best essay for those who wanted to be crowned the title Lady Liberty or Dough
Boy. Everyone assumed that Peggy Mason would be Lady Liberty and Abner Lewis as the Dough Boy.
When the result came out, Richard won the title Dough Boy and Hannah being Lady Liberty. The best
decision made by Mrs Hansen to make Hannah the Lady Liberty has become an issue among the students
in the school. Even the parents assailed the office asking Mrs Hansen to find a new student for the role
Lady Liberty. Feeling blue, Hannah put down the role as she does not want to start a new war in Turtle
Lake. Showing support to his friend, Richard followed her step by putting down the role of Dough Boy
as he is disappointed with the discriminative and prejudice thought of the Turtle Lake neighbourhood. In my
point of view, it is not easy to eradicate unjust and prejudiced act among the people who merely concern
about their race. Richard is being the ambassador of justice protesting this act by putting down the role of
Dough Boy. It is undeniably true that Richard decided to put down the role is the evidence that support
the statement “friends are people who always support us”.
All in all, the evidences stated have proven that the statement “friends are people who always
support us” is true in this novel as the character in the novel has shown supportive act in their friends’ life.
The characters that are being persevere throughout the turbulences is the one who can overcome them in
life and make them a stronger individual.
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SPM TRIAL 2018 – SELANGOR

Question: “Teenagers face many challenges while growing up.” With close reference to the text you
have read, write about the challenges faced by the main character.
The novel that I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. The novel is about a boy named
Richard who faces obstacles in his life hindering him from pursuing his passion in writing poems. There are
a few challenges he has faced which only make him stronger.
The first challenge he encountered is when he has to go against his family tradition that has
been practised by his forefather which is hunting. To his family, hunting is a very manly custom a man
should be good at. This is particularly shown in the event when RICHARD PURPOSELY MISFIRES A
BUCK. In this novel, Richard, being the youngest son to his father is forced to do what he is against for. It
is very challenging for him to follow his father, Pa and big brother, Gus into the woods just to kill a
beautiful buck. To him, killing innocent animals which have the right to live as he does is very wrong. He is a
nature lover. Even though he is torn between expressing his thought and following his father’s request, he
chooses the first. He intentionally misses the shot because he cannot kill the beautiful creature regardless
of the risk he has to face for failing to do so. Richard boldly admits to his father what he truly feels. He
confesses that he does not like killing for fun or for whatever irrelevant reasons it has to offer. As a result for
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misfiring the buck, he has to endure the mockery his brother Gus throws at him. He is being belittled
with the name calling, “Small Fry” by his brother just because he stands on his principle of doing what is
right, which is not to kill innocent animals. In my opinion, as a teenager, expressing what you feel is not
right is very difficult especially to your own family members who supposed to understand but rather
choose to ridicule your choice. That is what happens to Richard. Pa seems to understand a bit as he tells
Richard not to follow him hunting anymore. But that too does not feel right to Richard as he somehow
thinks that he has let his father down. I would like to stress again that opposing a family tradition is the
very first challenge Richard the main character has to face.
The second torment for Richard is when he has to fight for prejudice and injustice in such a
racist community he lives in. This is portrayed when HANNAH’S TAVERN IS VANDALIZED with brash
words “Dirty Huns” by some irresponsible people in town who are racist and discriminative towards the
Schemers family just for being Germans. They have even been accused for being the German spies in
relation to the war going on. Mrs Hansen the class teacher has come up with an idea to show some support
to Hannah by asking her students to sign a sympathy card she has prepared. To her dismay, Abner and
Harry prevent any of the other boys from signing the card with their threatening looks and the girls in the
class do not want to sign, because they are afraid Peggy and Blanche wouldn’t talk to them anymore.
Sadly, being the most just and fair student among all, only Richard stands up for Hannah while the rest
choose not to sign it. Not only that, it is very difficult for Richard to prove Hannah that he is not as racist
as the others. Willingly, he volunteers to send the card by himself and rather chooses to fight against
Abner and harry who are mocking him. Fighting prejudice in his classroom is hard enough for Richard,
what’s more to go against the entire community he lives in with the double standard rules and corrupted
authority. Imagine ourselves being the only person who would fight for the so-called enemy of our
country. What Richard does is beyond what a teenager can think of. Personally, if I were him, I rather opt to
follow the majority for the sake of preventing myself from mockery and threat others would throw at me. But
Richard himself defies the odd. Through hardship, he still protects his friendship with Hannah by
showing his support to her despite the harsh treatment both have. It is undeniably true that, fighting
prejudice and injustice is the second torment faced by Richard Knight.
Last but not least, the third obstacle Richard has to face is when he confesses to others his
hidden talent that is not warmly celebrated in his community. It is not easy for Richard to ADMIT
THAT HE WRITES POETRY to his family members and friends who obviously would not support his
hidden talent. To the community, hunting is manly where as writing poetry is rather sissy. Writing a letter to
Mr Kilmer is the starting point for Richard to start pursuing his dream, though secretly. After Richard is
encouraged by Mr. Joyce Kilmer to confess, Richard takes the challenge to finally open up to his family
about his passion. As expected, he is given rather negative feedback from his family. Gus doesn’t
believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa doesn’t believe his son writes poetry. This is a sad
reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in his poems. Gus goes further to
advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his school friends. It is very heart breaking to see that,
rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing what he loves, Richard’s brother feels ashamed of
having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he urges him to stop doing it. Despite the drawback,
Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his teacher Mrs. Hansen. In
class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are moved by his poem. In my point of
view, it is very disappointing to have your family members turn their back on you when what you
expect them to do is just to support your talent. Every teenager has their dreams of becoming what they
want and doing what they like. The family members should be the ones supporting rather than demotivating
or downgrading their talents. Thus, I would like to restate that confessing a hidden talent which is not
encouraged by the community is the last obstacle Richard has to endure.
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All in all, Richard has proven that he is one of the teenagers who has successfully fought the
challenges he faces in his life. He does not bother the risks he has to take. Rather, he portrays that being
persevere throughout the turbulences is one way of overcoming them in life and making you a stronger
individual.
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Question 7 : MRSM
Based on the novel that you have studied which a character do you think deserves our sympathy?
Briefly describe the character and give reasons for your choice withy close reference to the text.
The novel that I read is Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. It is very interesting and exciting. The story
revolves around Richard Knight, a 15-year-old American boy who keeps his poetry writing hobby as a
secret. Then, Joyce Kilmer who is a famous American’s poet helps him to become a tremendous poet. The
character that I sympathized with was Richard Knight. There were some reasons why I had sympathized
him.
First and foremost, I think Richard deserves our sympathy because regardless of the criticism
others threw at him, he clearly defined himself in the value of standing up for what was right that
was shown in the event when he decided to decline the role of doughboy when Hannah turned down her
role as lady liberty. Richard’s eyes flashed with anger and resentment because it was very unfair for
Hannah to turn down the role as lady liberty as she won the best essay. However, the students in the
school were very angry at Mrs Hansen even some parents had complained to the principal because
Hannah had German descent. This made Hannah turned down the role because she did not want to create
a little war in Turtle Lake. In my opinion, Richard was right to decline his role as a sign that he supports
Hannah when others turned their back on her. If I were Richard, I will do the same thing as it makes the
situation better. It is clearly shown that Richard deserves our sympathy because he always stands for what
was right even though he needs to sacrifice himself. So, I would like to stress again that Richard who
clearly defined himself in standing up for what was right amidst prejudice is one of the events that
deserves our sympathy towards him.
Furthermore, the event that ought to have our sympathy towards Richard is when he faced
mockery and objection after trying to go against his family tradition . It is proven when Richard has the
audacity to express his feeling by misfiring a buck purposely. For his family going hunting was a must for
them since it is a tradition inherited from their forefather. Thus, it was definitely expected for Richard to turn
out like his fellow. It is stated in chapter 1 when Richard followed his pa and Gus for hunting at the forest.
Richard thought that no one has any right to kill an innocent animal without a solid intention as killing
animal will only snatch away the beauty of nature. As a result for misfiring the buck, he has to endure the
mockery his brother Gus throws at him. He is being belittled with the name calling, “Small Fry” by his
brother just because he stands on his principle of doing what is right, which is not to kill innocent animals.
In my opinion, as a teenager, expressing what you feel is not right is very difficult especially to your
own family members who supposed to understand but rather choose to ridicule your choice. If I were
Richard, I will do the same thing because every single living thing deserves to live their life without being
threatened by irresponsible human action. Hence, I would like to stress again that Richard, having had the
opposite opinion from his family gained our sympathy to him.
In addition, it was devastating when Richard had to hide his incredible talent that was writing
poem which he put it in a locked drawer where no one could find it. It is clearly stated in chapter 2
when he wrote a poem about his dislikes towards hunting but instead of expressing it out loud he chose to
keep it as a secret. He was hesitated whether to reveal his secret as he was afraid that people would
call him as a sissy. He even hid his aptitude from his family and it made him looked like a loner as he
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knew that Gus disliked something like that. This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his
family’s disinterest in his poems. If I were Richard, I could not stand that kind surrounding. In my opinion,
this event had shown enough that Richard does not get any support by anyone especially his beloved
family. I feel sorry for him to have his family members turn their back on him when what he expected
them to do is just to support his talent. Every teenager has their dreams of becoming what they want and
doing what they like. The family members should be the ones supporting rather than demotivating or
downgrading their talents. Hence, I would like to stress again that Richard’s choice to keep his talent has
gained our sympathy towards him.
In a nutshell, Richard as the main character had shown us his best actions throughout his
challenges. Those above mentioned have given us many lessons such as being brave in telling the truth. It
is shown that Richard deserves our sympathy as he had gone through countless adversities in order to be
a better person in serving rights against prejudice.
#wecandoit #moonjaazzie #prayforspm #strivesAinenglish #kamigempak
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SPM TRIAL 2018: KELANTAN

Question:
Describe an important event in the novel that has taught you to be a determined person.
The novel that I would like to choose is Dear Mr Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff. This
novel is very interesting and exciting. It is about Richard Knight, a 15-year-old American boy who keeps his
passion of writing poetry a secret from others including his own flesh and blood. The novel has taught me to
be a determined person in an important event which is when Richard started writing letters to Mr.
Joyce Kilmer. In an effort to pursue this passion, Richard made contacts with a poet, Mr Joyce Kilmer,
through letters. Sadly, Mr Kilmer died while fighting in the war.His determination has been the driving force
for him to pursue his dream though it was at first criticized by others.
Firstly, the reason why this particular event has taught me to be determined is when
Richard shows that we need to have the courage to start doing what we like. Richard started to be
fond of poetry after he listened to Mr. Kilmer’s poem “Trees” read by his teacher Mrs. Hansen in the class.
He is determined to write a letter to Mr. Kilmer to share his passion in poetry in the hope that Mr. Kilmer
albeit a renowned poet, would entertain him. Richard was ridiculed by some of his classmates for his poetry
writing. Pa also said that poetry has put crazy ideas in his mind. Despite all these objections, Richard
found his strength to pursue his interest. He made contacts with Mr Kilmer who motivated him to write
poetry. He also befriended the Schermers who supported him. Mr Schermer even persuaded him to send
his poem about Mr Kilmer to be published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’. Since then, he is a regular poetry
writer. From this event, it is clear that determination is important in achieving success.
Secondly, after making contacts with Mr. Kilmer, Richard’s success as a poetry writer in a
regular column in the local newspaper proves that poetry writing is an acceptable hobby in the
community unlike the claims made by the bullies from Richard’s classmates that poems are for ‘Sissies’.
At first, Richard was being mocked for writing poetry not only by his classmates, but by his own flesh and
blood too. Writing a letter to Mr Kilmer is the starting point for Richard to start pursuing his dream, though
secretly. After Richard is encouraged by Mr. Joyce Kilmer to confess, Richard takes the challenge to
finally open up to his family about his passion. As expected, he is given rather negative feedback from
his family. Gus doesn’t believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa doesn’t believe his son writes
poetry. This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in his poems.
Gus goes further to advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his school friends. It is very heart
breaking to see that, rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing what he loves, Richard’s brother
feels ashamed of having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he urges him to stop doing it.
Despite the drawback, Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his
teacher Mrs. Hansen. In class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are moved by his
poem. Thus, I would like to restate that confessing a hidden talent which is not encouraged by the
11
community shows how being determined can change your fate.
Thirdly, Richard’s friendship with Mr. Kilmer has taught him that being determined is
important because it patches the void in the relationship between a son and his father. Pa was
initially cold and distant towards Richard although they always work together at the farm. However, this
situation changed. Their relationship was strengthened after Mr Kilmer’s death in the war. The change
happened after Richard wrote a poem to commemorate his death. In that poem, Richard used the same
phrase that went through Pa’s mind during Uncle Roland’s funeral. The phrase was ‘A world is gone. A
world is dead and gone’. The poem was published in ‘The Turtle Lake Weekly’ and Pa was very impressed
of Richard. If Richard was not determined enough to continue writing poetry despite the rejection by
his own family, he would not have been a successful poet at the end of the story and he might not have
reconciled with his family members who once disagreed with his choice to write poems. So, Mr. Kilmer’s
death has turned a new leaf for Richard as he managed to keep striving for his passion and become
successful after all the journey he has been through.
All in all, the main character of the novel who is Richard has taught me the value of determination
through the event in the novel. He has taught me to be determined for your own good despite what others
think. I would like to stress again that this novel has taught me to be a determined person to pursue our
dreams.
created by:1)syamil.akrim
2)Amir Zulhilmi
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12
SPM TRIAL 2018 PAHANG:
Question: ”When you think positive, good things happen”
With close reference to the text, describe an incident that brings a change in a character. Give reasons
why the change is important to the character.
Based on the novel, Dear Mr. Kilmer written by Anne Schraff. This novel has a very interesting and
inspiring story. The incident that had changed the main character, Richard Knight was when he wrote a
letter to Mr. Kilmer. In his letter, Richard told Mr. Kilmer that he wrote poems too and asked for Mr.
Kilmer’s advice. There are three reasons why this incident is important in changing Richard’s thinking.
Firstly, this incident had changed Richard to be a brave person to express his talent. As an
evidence, on the last day of the school, Richard had decided to read his letter from Mr. Kilmer and his poem
in front of the class. Mrs. Hansen had announced that Richard had a special announcement to make.
Standing beside Mrs. Hansen, Richard had almost panicked when he saw his teacher sat down. Starting off
with a quivering voice, he managed to gradually gain confidence and when he was done, the class had
fallen into a profound silence. After that, everyone looked at him with a newfound respect. No one could
believe he was exchanging letters with someone famous. This event has brought about changes in Richard
when he finally opens up to his classmates about his hidden talent. He has proven to the bullies in his class
that writing poem is not for the sissy as they would have thought. Personally I think, this change is
important to Richard because it allowed him to express his passion. I would stress that the incident
when Richard wrote his letter to Mr. Kilmer had changed his life.
Next, this incident is important to Richard to overcome his fear by telling his family about his
secret. Exchanging letters with Mr Kilmer is the starting point for Richard to start pursuing his dream,
though secretly. After Richard is encouraged by Mr. Joyce Kilmer to confess, Richard takes the challenge
to finally open up to his family about his passion. As expected, he is given rather negative feedback
from his family as nobody was interested when Richard told his family about Mr. Kilmer’s letter and his
secret. Gus did not believe that Mr. Kilmer was famous. Pa did not believe that Richard wrote poetry.
Richard asked whether his family members wanted to read his poems. Nobody was interested. Richard
was sad. Gus advised Richard not to tell anyone he wrote poetry. He wanted Richard to fit in with other
people. Everyone called him a Hun Lover after he signed the card for Hannah. Despite the drawback,
Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his teacher Mrs. Hansen and
even the Schermers acknowledge his talent and support him all the way. Personally, I think this change is
crucial to Richard because even though his family does not support him, he still writes poems and Mr.
Kilmer would be the one who helped him improve his poem writing. This is the reason why positive thinking
is very important in life. If Richard were to be discouraged with the negative response from his family, he
would not have continued writing poem and he would not know that there are some who appreciate his
talent and respect him for the talent he has. Hence, I agree that exchanging letter with Mr. Kilmer is a
starting point to help Richard boost his self confidence in writing poems.
Lastly, this incident is vital to Richard because it transformed Richard to become a successful
writer by sharing his talent to the public although he knew that he will be criticised by the people.
As evidence, he published his poem dedicated to Joyce Kilmer in the Turtle Lake Weekly. After grieving
over the death of his confidante, Mr. Kilmer, he had written a poem for him out of melancholy. The
Schermers thought that it was a great idea if he published it. So he did. When Pa read it, he broke into
tears, telling about his brother, Rolland who had died during the war. The poem he wrote had helped Pa
overcome his grief towards his brother. In my point of view, this change is vital to Richard because it made
Richard to be a brave man by showing himself to the people. In my opinion, if it is not because of Mr. Kilmer
who had been the driving force for Richard to continue his passion towards poetry, Richard would not have
transformed into a successful writer. He might be taken down by the rejection he had for writing poems. In
life, it is essential for us to believe that every cloud has a silver lining. Albeit Mr. Kilmer’s death made
Richard extremely sad for losing his hero, he continued writing as he had the urge to acknowledge the
13
sacrifice and contribution Mr. Kilmer had done for the country. Thus, I believe that Richard’s friendship
with Mr. Kilmer has helped changed him to be a successful writer who is confident with his talent.
All in all, Mr. Kilmer had played a big role in changing Richard to be a better person who finally has
the courage to share his talent that was once hidden in the closet.
@DANISHHILMANROSLI
@MOHAMADZAINULARIFFINMOHDFAIZUN
#DANISHNA#11A+#1119/A+
‫ ملكا‬SPM Trial 2018

Question: Based on the novel that you have studied, choose one character that shows appreciation towards
the family ties. Give reasons why do you choose him/her with close reference to the text.
The novel that i read was Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff. One character that shows appreciation towards
the family ties is Richard Knight who, despite the conflict he has with his family members, manages to
foster the family bonding until the end of the story. There are few valid reasons for my choice.
The first reason I choose Richard Knight is because he is one obedient son who does not blindly
ignore his family though he does not fully agree with them. This is shown when he follows Pa and Gus
into the woods for hunting. Despite his disinterest towards this family tradition, he does not directly
oppose what his father asked him to do, which is shooting a buck. To his family, hunting is a very manly
custom a man should be good at. This is particularly shown in the event when Richard purposely misfires
a buck. In this novel, Richard, being the youngest son to his father is forced to do what he is against for. It
is very challenging for him to follow his father, Pa and big brother, Gus into the woods just to kill a
beautiful buck. To him, killing innocent animals which have the right to live as he does is very wrong. He is a
nature lover. Even though he is torn between expressing his thought and following his father’s request, he
chooses the first. He intentionally misses the shot because he cannot kill the beautiful creature regardless
of the risk he has to face for failing to do so. Richard boldly admits to his father what he truly feels in the
hope that Pa would understand his situation. He confesses that he does not like killing for fun or for
whatever irrelevant reasons it has to offer. In my opinion, as a teenager, expressing what you feel is not
right is very difficult especially to your own family members who supposed to understand but rather
choose to ridicule your choice. That is what happens to Richard. Pa seems to understand a bit as he tells
Richard not to follow him hunting anymore. Personally, I think many teenagers are being outspoken and
would disagree to what they think is wrong. But, Richard on the other hand wants to preserve his
relationship with his father. That is why he is reluctant to express what he truly feels. He is afraid that it
would offend his father and hurt his feelings. Thus, I choose Richard because despite the different
views he has towards hunting, he tries his best not to offend his father by following him into the
woods.
The second reason for choosing Richard is because he never holds grudge towards his family
members who oppose his hobby which is writing poems in order to maintain his family bonding.
With the words of encouragement by Mr. Joyce Kilmer, Richard found the courage to finally open up about
his hobby to his family over a dinner. It is not easy for Richard to admit that he writes poetry to his family
members who obviously would not support his hidden talent. As expected, he is given rather negative
feedback from his family. Gus doesn’t believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa doesn’t believe
his son writes poetry. This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his family’s disinterest in
his poems. Gus goes further to advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his school friends. It is
very heart breaking to see that, rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing what he loves,
Richard’s brother feels ashamed of having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he urges him to
stop doing it. Despite the drawback, Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem
with his teacher Mrs. Hansen. In class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are
moved by his poem. In my point of view, it is very disappointing to have your family members turn their
14
back on you when what you expect them to do is just to support your talent. However, being Richard, he
does not hate his family for opposing his passion. If he is a rebellious son, he might be running away from
home and seek refuge at the Schemers since the Schemers understands him better. Richard knows that he
cannot break the family ties he has. He even feels torn in choosing the poetry over his family. That is why
he keeps writing poem secretly rather than publicly. In fact, during the school holidays, Richard works so
hard at the farm to the extent that the workers were amazed at how hardworking he was. Thus, I would like
to restate that Richard shows appreciation to his family ties trying his best to please his father by
working hard at the farm though been given negative feedback for sharing his hidden talent in
poetry.
Last but not least, the reason I choose Richard as the character who appreciates family ties is
because, once he publicly published his poem, he tackles his father’s heart by writing about a topic
that is close to him, which is about farm life. One day, Richard received a bad news about Mr.Kilmer.
Mr.Kilmer was killed in the war between the Allies and the Germans. Richard wrote a poem as a tribute to
Mr Kilmer. In the poem, Richard likened Mr Kilmer to the world. The tribute was printed in the local
newspaper, "The Turtle Lake Weekly". Richard's father read the poem. Richard was afraid that his father
was angry at him. His father did not like Richard writing poems. After reading the poem, his father told
Richard about what happened to Richard's uncle, Roland. His father never told Richard about this story.
Roland was killed in a war in Cuba. His father regarded Roland as his world. His father was amazed how
Roland could use the same word in his tribute. Richard continued writing poems about farm life for the local
newspaper. Richard got his father's help as he was an experienced farmer. Every night, Richard read his
poems aloud. His father would correct or give suggestions to improve the poems. His father finally
supported Richard's passion in writing poetry. The saying blood is thicker than water is very true in this
story. After expressing what each other really feels, the void in the relationship between Pa and Richard has
finally been patched. Pa no longer prohibits Richard from writing poems. Richard is the happiest person as
he does not only achieve his dreams to become a writer like his hero the Late Mr. Kilmer, he also manages
to foster his relationship with Pa who once opposed his passion in poetry. Hence, I strongly agree that
choosing Richard as the person who appreciates family ties is undoubtedly relevant as he manages
to ameliorate/fix the misunderstanding and conflict he once had with his family members.
In conclusion, the bond in a family is strengthened when family appreciate each other.
By: Finding Nemo & Nassy
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SPM TRIAL 2018: SARAWAK

Question 3
Describe an important relationship in the novel you have read. With the close reference to the text, give
reasons why that relationship is important to the ending of the story.
The novel that I have read is entitled “Dear Mr. Kilmer” by Anne Schraff. The novel tells us about a
boy named Richard who faces many obstacles to pursue his dream to become a poet. One important
relationship portrayed in the novel is family relationship between a son and a father. There are many
reasons that show the importance of this relationship. The family bonding between Richard and his father
Pa was at first full of conflict. However, towards the end of the story, the camaraderie between them has
been strengthened. The conflict has too, been solved.
There are three reasons why family relationship is important to the ending of this novel. First, Pa
finally approves that poets have a role to play in the community. Richard’s success as a poetry writer
in a regular column in the local newspaper proves that poetry writing is an acceptable hobby in the
community unlike the claims made by the bullies from Richard’s classmates that poems are for ‘Sissies’. At
15
first, when Richard finally tells his family about his passion in poetry during dinner, as expected, the
reaction that he receives is negative. Gus doesn’t believe that Mr. Kilmer is a famous poet while Pa
doesn’t believe his son writes poetry. This is a sad reality Richard has to swallow. He is sad at his
family’s disinterest in his poems. Gus goes further to advise Richard, to keep his poetry a secret from his
school friends. It is very heart breaking to see that, rather than motivating his own brother to keep doing
what he loves, Richard’s brother feels ashamed of having a brother who writes poetry to the extent that he
urges him to stop doing it. When Pa and Gus asked him to stop poetry, he is upset and hurt but he knows, it
is wrong to put an end to his joy just because society would not accept him. Despite the drawback,
Richard does not stop there. He takes the chance to share the poem with his teacher Mrs. Hansen. In
class, Richard reads his poem out loud. Some of his classmates are moved by his poem. So, he continues
writing poems. The death of Mr. Kilmer has shed some lights in mending the relationship between Pa and
Richard. Mr. Kilmer was the one who told Richard that all poets play an important role in the society. Pa
later figured out why it is so after Richard started to publish his poems for the sake of consoling those
family members of the soldiers who grieve over their death. So, Pa reconciliation with Richard has
brought about an unexpected twist in the end of the novel when he finally acknowledges Richard’s
talent.
Secondly, towards the ending of the novel, on a few occasions Pa and Gus had a conflict and
Richard was the one who tried to mend the situation in order not to break the family ties. Even after
Richard was confronted by Pa for declining his role as the doughboy, but Richard did not become rebellious
towards him. He still helps Pa at the farm. When Pa and Richard were cleaning the barn, Gus walked in
announcing that he had been enlisted in the army. Pa was shocked and reminded him that he had work to
do in the farm too. Gus understood that Pa was just afraid of losing him, as he had lost Uncle Roland in a
previous war. Richard tried to fix the situation between Pa and Gus but it seemed that both of them were
adamant on their opinions. When Richard saw Gus walks off, he was afraid that he might never see him
again. Despite Gus’s mockery and bitterness towards him, he still loved his brother so much. Richard knew
that Pa was still bitter so he seeks peace by writing poems and letters to Mr. Kilmer. Mr. Kilmer told him that
Richard would be the next generation of poets. Touched by the letter, Richard wrote back, wanting to know
how poets and poetry could make the world a better place. Sadly, Hannah told him that Mr. Kilmer was
killed in the war. Thus, the conflict and tension between Pa and Gus has indirectly affected the
ending of the novel. Richard, being the peacemaker seeks for reconciliation by writing to Mr. Kilmer.
Lastly, the family relationship has played important role in the ending of the novel because at
last, the void in the relationship between a son and his father has finally been patched. Pa was
initially cold and distant towards Richard although they always work together at the farm. However, this
situation changed. Their relationship was strengthened after Mr Kilmer’s death in the war. The change
happened after Richard wrote a poem to commemorate his death. In the poem, Richard likened Mr Kilmer
to the “world”. The tribute was printed in the local newspaper, “The turtle lake weekly”. Richard’s father read
the poem. Richard was afraid that his father will be angry at him. As we know, his father did not like Richard
writing poems. Then, after reading the poem, Pa told Richard about what happened to his uncle, Roland.
His father regarded Roland is his “world”. His father was amazed on how Richard could use the same word
in his tribute. Richard continued writing poems about farm life for the local life for the local newspaper.
Richard got his father’s help as he was an experienced farmer. Every night, Richard read his poems loudly.
His father would correct or give suggestions to improve the poems. His father finally supported
Richard’s passion in writing poems. In my point of view, everyone has their own passion even in a family
we have different passion and we should respect every single talent of our family member. I would like to
stress again that supporting our family member is important to protect our family bonding.
In conclusion, strengthening family bonding is important in our daily life to foster our relationship. As
the saying goes, blood is thicker than water, no matter what troubles come into our life, we need to support
each other through rain and storm.
By: Irfan Nadawi@Dre & Zaim
16
SPM TRIAL 2018 – KEDAH
Question: ‘Maintaining relationship is important’. How is this shown by a character in the novel you have
read? Give reasons why it is so, with close reference to the text.
By: Faznur, Syadah, Jemilah and Raudhah
Based on the novel Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff, this story revolves a lot of incidents that
support the statement ‘‘Maintaining relationship is important’’ depicted by the main character, Richard
Knight. There are several reasons why this statement is true.
First and foremost, the way Richard maintains his friendship with Hannah is by showing her
some support when she is being tormented by the others. When Hannah’s parents’ tavern has been
vandalised by some irresponsible people in town who are racist towards the Germans, Richard shows his
support by signing the sympathy card for Hannah while the rest of his classmates do not sign the card.
The boys are scared Abner and Harry would beat them up while the girls are scared that Peggy and
Blanche would not talk to them anymore but Richard ignores it and signs the card. This shows that
Richard wants to be the emissary of justice by befriending Hannah and pushing away all the negativity
acts and racism among the students in his school. Maintaining a friendship is very important regardless
of the diversity of cultures and races. The reason is, if Richard chooses not to defend Hannah, he will be
like the rest of his friends who are being unjust towards one innocent soul. Hannah on the other hand will
continuously be oppressed by the low-minded society and might opt to isolate herself from the others for
just being her. Personally if I were Richard, I would do the same thing because that is what friends are
supposed to do. Thus, we should let others count on us and corroborate them when they are in need. I
would like to restate that, Richard is a supportive friend who does not want to break his friendship
with Hannah despite all the threats and criticism he has to endure.
Secondly, we can see clearly the way Richard maintains his family bonding with Pa as he still
follows Pa to go hunting although he hates this tradition. This is particularly shown when Richard
deliberately misfires the strong buck that Pa and Gus aim for. Gus is ready to shoot the buck since it is an
easy shot but Pa asks him to lower his riffle because this is Richard’s first kill. At first, Richard aims
perfectly on the buck but in the end of time, he changes his mind to purposely misfire it. When they start
their conversation, Richard is torn apart whether he needs to tell the truth that he does not like killing
innocent animals to Pa or just tell lies that he does not purposely misfire it. Hesitantly, he chooses to be
honest about his dislike towards hunting because he is a nature lover. Pa is disappointed because Richard
is totally the opposite of him but he still respects Richard’s decision as Pa gives choices if Richard wants to
follow or not, it is up to him. In my point of view in this buck incident, I love how Pa and Richard have a
heart-to-heart conversation to learn each other’s true feelings even they have different opinions about
hunting and to still keep the relationship between one another maintained. I would like to stress again
that Richard still follows Pa for hunting because he wants to maintain his family relationship with Pa. It
is important because blood is thicker than water; no matter what conflict we might have with our family
members, the tie is unbreakable if we lower our ego and tolerate each other’s opinions.
Last but not least, the statement “Maintaining relationship is important” is also shown by
Richard towards Mrs. Hansen, his English teacher. Richard has put his trust on his teacher as the
one who always responds positively towards her students. Richard perceives Mrs. Hansen as a person he
can rely on because she is one of the driving forces for him to achieve his dream despite the negative
feedback Richard has from his own family members. Mrs. Hansen the class teacher has been a good
supporter when she asks Richard to read confidently in front of his classmates. Even though the villagers,
his friends and also his family assume that writing poem is rather sissy than hunting, Mrs. Hansen as a
17
supportive teacher has made Richard shares his own poem with his friends in the class bravely. Not only
that, Mrs. Hansen has helped him to choose a poem that he would send to Mr. Kilmer. Richard feels that he
has to confess to others about his talent that is not warmly celebrated in his community due to the
strength and support from his teacher. As advised by Mrs. Hansen, Richard shares Mr. Kilmer’s latest
letter and his poem with his class and luckily some of his classmates are deeply moved by his poem and
Hannah suggests a better ending to Richard’s poem. It shows that, despite the drawback, Mrs. Hansen still
supports him even when everyone turns their back on Richard. Richard on the other hand, maintains his
relationship with his teacher by following her advice that he thinks helps him achieving his ambition.
The reason is, if he does not listen to his teacher’s advice, he might not only fail to continue his
passion in poetry, worse, he might lose someone who has put her trust on him, to see him succeed. In my
opinion, it is very lucky when we have someone by our side even when we have to endure the mockery
from others. It is undeniably true that, Richard maintains his relationship with his teacher whom he put
his trust on in order to achieve his dream that seems impossible to others, but not her.
In conclusion, I admire and respect Richard when he still maintains his relationship even when he is
facing many obstacles in his life.
SPM TRIAL PERLIS – 2018

“One must stand up for what is right‟
With close reference to the novel you have studied, describe events that support the above statement.
The novel that I have read is ‘Dear Mr. Kilmer’ that is written creatively by Anne Schraff. This novel
tells us about a boy named Richard who faces many obstacles in his life hindering him from pursuing his
passion is writing poem. This novel has a very interesting and inspiring value such as we should stand up
for what is right. The statement ”stand up for what is right” is portrayed by Richard in three different
events.
The first event is when Richard purposely misfire a buck when he goes hunting with Pa and Gus.
From the event, it shows us that Richard stand up for what is right for not killing animals as he is most likely
to be a nature lover. This makes Gus to be upset with Richard for purposely misfiring shooting the buck as
well as make as left Pa disappointed with Richard. When Pa asks Richard why he purposely misfires the
buck, Richard expresses his feeling by telling Pa that he has no right to kill animals. In my point of view,
Richard is doing the right thing by telling Pa that he does not want to kill animals. We have to be brave to
tell others about the things that we dislike although it is shameful. There are people out there who are being
inhumane towards nature doing illegal hunting and logging for their own personal interest. Nature should be
preserved and conserved for the future generation to appreciate its beauty not the other way around. Even
if we are still young, that does not mean that we have to blindly follow what the adult asks us to do. If we
think that it is wrong, then go against it and express what we really feel so that we do not have to torment
the creatures for the sake of pleasing others. From the event we know that Richard stands up for what is
right to him which is he tells Pa and Gus that he dislikes hunting.
Secondly, Richard portrays the value of standing for what is right in an episode of signing the
sympathy card for Hannah and her family. When Hannah’s tavern has been vandalized, Mrs. Hansen
asks the class to sign a sympathy card to show feeling of sympathy for what had happened to Hannah’s
tavern. However, everyone does not want to sign the card because they are afraid that they will be beaten
up by Abner and Harry. Richard is the only one who steps forward to sign the sympathy card. In my point of
view, Richard is doing the right thing by signing the card. We must fight against discrimination because
although we are from different races or religions, we still live on the same planet. I learn that in life, if
someone is being treated unfairly by the others, we have to defend them despite the challenges we might
face. Upholding justice will make me a better person and the world will be a better place to live in if we
live peacefully without having the wars against each other.This event shows us that Richard stands up for
what he thinks is right which is not to discriminate Hannah as a Hun.
18
Thirdly, Richard shows the value of standing up for what is right when he decides to decline the
role of doughboy after Hannah turns down her role as Lady Liberty. Richard felt sympathy for Hannah
when other students complain to Mrs. Hansen that Hannah does not fit for the role of Lady Liberty as she is
a Hun. Because of that, Hannah turns down the role of Lady Liberty as she does not want to create a little
war in Turtle Lake. When Richard declines his role as a doughboy, his family, school mates and the Turtle
Lake people criticize him for turning down the role and call him unpatriotic and a traitor. In my opinion, we
should show support to our friend who has been blindly ostracized just for being different. Thus, Richard
stands up for what is right when he turns down the role even though he has been criticized by other
people including his own family.
In conclusion, there are many other events that show us the value of standing for what is right .The
value is important to Richard because is defines him to be a person who is strong-willed.
Daus Fauzi @DG & Khair Zikri @Zik
QUESTION PERAK TENGAH

“WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GETS GOING”
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about the personal growth undergone by one character in
the novel and how it can relate you.
AISYA & ZHARIF
The novel that I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer written creatively by Anne Schraff.The
novel is about a personal growth undergone by Richard Knight who is the main character in the
novel. He faced some obstacles in his life hindering him from pursuing his passion in writing
poems. The personal growth that happens to Richard is when he has changed from a cowardly
person into someone courageous and persevere due to some challenges in his life that have
contributed to his well-being.
Richard is a persevere person when he has to go against the norm of his family tradition
which is hunting. Everyone in his family thinks that hunting is a dime and dozen activity that have
been a custom by his family since their forefather period of history. This is shown when Pa invites
Richard to the woods for hunting as it is family beliefs. Plus, Richard had been forced by his father
to do what he is against for which is shooting the buck. It is hard because Richard tried to act
unflinchingly to accomplish his father wish to shoot the buck. He is like a glutton of punishment at
first but, he purposely misfired the buck. He boldly expresses his feeling towards Pa even he is
being torn to choose between telling his father the truth and following his father request. Richard
tells Pa that he did not like hunting and he felt painful and sad to kill animals. He did not want to
feel remorseful if he shoots the buck. In my opinion, as a teenager telling the truth about what you
feel is not right is hard. In this word, they might have people to choose to shut their mouth rather
from telling the truth just to make sure their family or friends did not get upset. Especially when it
comes to someone who close to you. Though, we may say that they will understand us but
sometimes, nothing is within our control. This is what had happened to Richard as he loves Pa
and he do not want Pa to feel down or upset. I would like to stress again that the incident Richard
had to go against his family tradition had made Richard be a persevere person.
The second torment for Richard is when he had to overcome his fear when he wants to
reveal his hidden talents which is writing poems to people. This had turned Richard into a
persevere person because he had been hardly keeps his talent as a secret. He does not want
people to tease him as a ‘sissy’ boy but, he faced the challenge. He bravely shares his poems and
19
Mr. Kilmer latest letter in front of his classmates. Some of his classmates start to pull their leg by
calling him ‘sissy’ and belittled him. What a relieves some of his classmates had been moved with
Richard’s poem and they respect him. By that, Richard feels that he had triumphantly argued with
his fear. Another way of viewing this is when Richard boldly tells his family about his poems and
Mr. Kilmer. Sadly, he gets negative feedbacks from them. In other words, Richard has to endure
the mockery when his brother, Gus quipped Richard by denying that Mr. Kilmer is a celebrated
person and urges him to stop writing poems. The more sorrowful thing is when his family also do
not want to read his poem. Despite the drawback, Richard did not lose hope. In my point of view,
as a teenager, we should not give up on something that we have interest on. Every teenager has
their own dreams, things they like and dislike. Thus, we need supports from our family and friends
to make it comes true. But, sometimes things do not go the way we want them to but, we have to
face the challenge with perseverance just like what Richard did. So, I would like to restate that the
incident Richard has to overcome his fear to reveal his hidden talent had turned him into a
persevere person.
Last but not least, the third obstacle that Richard has to face to be a persevere person is
when he has to fight against prejudices and injustices that happen towards his best friend,
Hannah. This can be shown in the event of Hannah’s tavern is vandalized with harsh words, ‘Dirty
Huns’ by some irresponsible people in turtle lake. They discriminate Hannah’s family just because
they are Germans. Although people take a distance away from the Schemer family, Richard
bravely befriend with Hannah and protects her when people discriminate her. We could clearly see
it when Mrs Hansen suggest to make a sympathy card for Hannah to support her. Unfortunately,
most of his classmates refuse to sign the card especially Abner, Harry, Peggy and Blanche. They
threat other students if they sign the card, but Richard boldly sign the card even it is very difficult to
deny the threats. After that, Richard shows his bravery when he volunteers himself to give the card
to Hannah. Moreover, he bravely defends Hannah from the bullies when they write ‘Dirty Huns’ in
front of Hannah’s book. Richard boldly stands for what he thinks is right when Harry mocks him as
a Hun’s lover. From all these evidence, we can see that Richard is a persevere person and being
faithful towards his friendship with Hannah. In my personal opinion, as a teenager, we must
befriend with everyone even though we are living in a different race. Then, we have to fight against
prejudices and show our supports to those who are in the same boats with Hannah. Friend in need
is a friend indeed. So, if we are having a hardship we still have each other to protect our friendship
no matter what happens. It is undeniably true that, the incident Richard has to fight against
prejudices and injustice that happen towards his best friend, Hannah had made him become a
persevere person.
20
Spm trial 2018 :sabah { boleh bah kalakau }

Question:
“Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you”
Based on the above discuss how a character overcomes challenges with the help of close family
members/friends.
Support your answer with close reference to the text.
The novel I have chosen is Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff. It revolves around Richard, a 15 years
old American boy who keeps writing poetry hobby a secret. Later, Mr Kilmer, a famous American poet helps
him to become a poet.
The character that had overcomes challenges with the help of family and member is Richard Knight.
First and foremost, the challenge faced by Richard is when he purposely missed the buck. Thus, he had to
face his family when he decided to break his family tradition in which they must be good at hunting.
However, Pa, his father supported him to not go hunting again if he did not like to kill animals. Gus felt mad
towards him and asked him why he purposely misfired the buck even though he could shoot the buck
easily. Pa asked him why he misfired the buck. This is because, Richard had been trained by his family for
hunting before. This happened because he is a naturalist and he felt sympathy to the animals. He said that
he did not have a right to kill the animals without a reason and they have a right to live freely in the forest.
From my point of view, Pa was the person who understands Richard well. After confessing that he does not
want to kill animals, Pa though disappointed but told Richard that he does not have to go hunting anymore.
I would like to stress again that Richard became braver to face the challenge with a family support.
After that, the challenge faced by Richard is when Richard did not want to show his talent in writing
poems. It is because he was pretty sure that Pa will not allow him to pursue in his passion. This was shown
when Richard told his family he wrote poetry. Before telling his secret to his family, Richard wrote a letter to
Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer was Richard’s pen pal and he learnt about Mr Kilmer when Mrs Hansen read a poem
titled “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer to the class. In his letter, Richard told Mr Kilmer that he wrote poem too but
he kept it as a secret from everyone. Richard asked for Mr Kilmer’s advice. He wanted to know whether he
should tell his secret to everybody. One day, Richard received a letter from Mr Kilmer. Mr Kilmer advised
21
him to overcome his fear and share his poetry with people around him. Nobody was interested when
Richard told his family about Mr Kilmer’s letter and his poetry. No words could describe the secret agony of
his soul. Could you imagine what you feel when you have to tell the truth to your parents even though you
know that they will not agree with it. In the terrible condition, Mr Kilmer is the only person whom Richard
can rely on. In my opinion, Richard’s action is the best way to not being hypocrite in doing something that
he does not want to do. I would like to stress again that Richard is a courageous person because he could
be honest to tell the truth to his family about what he likes with the help of his friend, Mr. Kilmer.
Thirdly, the challenge that Richard faced is when his father read Richard’s poems in the newspaper
which he wrote as a tribute to Mr Kilmer who was killed in the war. Richard was afraid that his father was
going to be angry at him. Pa was amazed with Richard’s words choice. Richard continued writing poem
about farm life for the local newspaper. After that, Richard got his father’s help as he was an experienced
farmer and he would correct or give suggestions to improve Richard’s poems. His father finally supported
Richard’s passion in writing poetry. In my opinion, family has to support each other in making something so
that the relationship among the family members became strong. I would like to stress again that family
support can enhance the spirit of voicing out for what is right.
In the conclusion, Richard is a character who faced many challenges with the help of family and
member in his life.
#izzahuyaleka #goodluck spm # biA+ #studysmartnothard
SPM TRIAL 2018-SELANGOR SET A

Question;
With close reference to the text, describe how an incident in this story has influenced the main character
Based on the novel that I have studied, Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff, an incident in this story has
influenced the main character is when Richard signed the sympathy card for Hannah. One day, Mrs
Hansen asked her class to sign a card for the Schermers. Someone vandalised the tavern owned by
Hannah’s parents. They painted ‘DIRTY HUNS’ all over the walls. Mrs Hansen brought a card to express
regret for what had happened. The troublemakers like Abner, Harry, Blanche and Peggy refused to sign the
card. They warned other classmates not to sign the card. The boys were afraid Abner and Harry would hit
them. The girls worry that popular girls like Peggy and Blanche would not speak to them. However, Richard
was the only student who signed the sympathy card for Hannah Schermer. After school, Richard took the
card from Mrs Hansen. He wanted to give the card to Hannah. Hannah accepted the card reluctantly. Later,
Hannah apologised to Richard for being rude. This incident has influenced positive effects to the main
character, Richard
Firstly, the incident Richard signed the sympathy card for Hannah shows that Richard is a brave
person. This is proven in chapter 3 when Mrs Hansen asked her class to sign a card that she brought for
the Schermers to express regret for what had happened. Abner, Harry, Peggy, and Blanche refused to sign
the card and they warned their classmates not to sign the card. Nobody signed the card because they
afraid to Abner and Harry would hit them. When the card passed to Richard, Blanche whispered to him,
“Don’t do it, Richard. Nobody is signing. Don’t break ranks!” Richard do not care about the incitement and
he bravely signing it. In my opinion, Richard do the right thing as he signed the sympathy card for Hannah
without doubt. He felt not fair if he takes a decision to not sign the card as far as he knew, Hannah had
never hurt anyone. In our life, we must be courage no matter what like Richard which is he brave to sign
the card even though he know Abner and Harry will get mad to him. I would like to stress again that incident
Richard signed the sympathy card for Hannah has influenced Richard to be brave.
22
Next, the incident where Richard signed the card has influenced Richard to become a forgiving
person. This is proven in chapter 3 when Hannah thinks that all the American do not like the Schermers
when her tavern was vandalised. Her tavern was full with uglier message, “DIRTY HUNS!”. Then, Richard
come to her house because want to give the card to Hannah. At first, Hannah do not want to take the card
but Richard force her to just take and she accepted the card reluctantly. In chapter 4, Hannah met Richard
to apologise to him for being rude. “I can understand how you felt”, Richard said. After the incident, they
became friend. In my opinion, I think Richard was so kind as he accepted Hannah’s apologised even she is
being rude to him. In our life, we must have a positive thinking to other people and we need to forgive
people even though they do big mistake to us. I would like to stress again that incident Richard signed the
card has influenced him to became a forgive person.
Not only that, the incident has made Richard to be a person who stands for his right. This is proven
in chapter 3 when everyone in his class feel scared to sign the sympathy card but not Richard. When he
picked up his pen and dipped it into inkwell, he heard Abner and Harry cleaning their throats in warning.
Richard did not much like the thought of those two ganging up on him, but he had already made his
decision. His signed his name. For me, Richard do not make a wrong decision to sign the card because it is
shown that Richard support and back up the Schermers meanwhile everyone don’t. Richard also do
something based on what he want and what he feel right. In our life, we need to follow our own decision
and not because other people. We must to be like Richard which is strong also in his stand and would not
be easily convince by absurd ideas of Abner and Harry on not to support the Schermer. Thus, I would like to
hastate that incident Richard signing the card has influenced Richard to be a person who stand for his right.
In a nutshell, the part of the story have influenced the main character, Richard is the part when
Richard signed the card for Hannah. After the incident, Richard became brave, forgive person and also be
a person who stand for his right. It shows us that Richard has many positive traits.
Credit to Yasmine and Farrah
23

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Trial SPM 2018 All States

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#KAMICUBA #DMK #TRIPLEONENINE #KUSISS #SPMTRIAL #2018 #SMKAGAMAKUALASELANGOR #VIXXI

Muhammad Nazim Syazwi bin Emran (5 Takwa)

SPM Trial 2018 - Negeri Sembilan

Group members : Ainul , Nadhrah , Adrini 

SPM TRIAL 2018: TERENGGANU

SPM TRIAL 2018 (PERAK)

By: NURFATIN ATHIRAH BT. AZMAN

BY: AMAL FARIS , ASIM HISHAM

SPM TRIAL 2018 – BATU PAHAT

SPM TRIAL 2018 – SELANGOR

SPM TRIAL 2018: KELANTAN

‫ ملكا‬SPM Trial 2018

SPM TRIAL 2018: SARAWAK

By: Faznur, Syadah, Jemilah and Raudhah

SPM TRIAL PERLIS – 2018

Daus Fauzi @DG & Khair Zikri @Zik

QUESTION PERAK TENGAH

Spm trial 2018 :sabah { boleh bah kalakau }

SPM TRIAL 2018-SELANGOR SET A

Credit to Yasmine and Farrah

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