CEFR ALIGNED SPM 1119 WORKSHOP

FOR MRSM BALIK PULAU, PULAU PINANG

WRITING SPM 1119/2

13TH AUGUST 2022
8.30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m

PRESENTED BY : ENCIK ANUAR BIN TAHAR

PRINCIPAL/ EX-MASTER TEACHER
SMK BAHAU, NEGERI SEMBILAN
 QUALIFICATIONS
• B.A IN ENGLISH LITERATURE ,
• INDIANA UNIVERSITY, USA, 1987
• DIPLOMA OF EDUCATION,
• INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIV., KL, 1988
• MASTER OF EDUCATION,
• UNIV. OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA, 1996
• CERT. OF TRAINER TRAINING,
• THE UNIV. OF MANCHESTER, UK, 1997
• DIPLOMA OF NPQEL, IAB, 2013
 Overview of Writing Test tasks
Part 1 (Compulsory task)
Candidates have to write an email to a friend in about 80
words

Part 2 (Compulsory task)

Candidates have to write an essay in about 150 words

Part 3 (Candidates have a choice of task)

This part has three questions or tasks to choose from.
The task types may include an article, a review, a report
or a story and candidates have to choose one. They have
to write about 250 words.
SPM Writing Test Format (Part 1)
Part Task Number Task Format Relevance to curriculum (examples)
Type of Items
1 Informal 1 item Write an 4.1.2: Make and respond to simple requests
message (20 email to a and suggestions
marks) friend in 4.1.2: Explain simple processes
about 80
4.1.3: Narrate factual and imagined events
words
and experiences
4.1.4: Express and respond to opinions and
common feelings such as happiness, sadness,
surprise, and interest
4.2.1: Punctuate written work with moderate
accuracy
4.2.2: Spell written work with moderate
accuracy
4.2.4: Begin to use formal and informal
registers appropriate to the target audience in
familiar situations
 MARKING ASPECTS PART 1

• All content is relevant to the task.

Content • Target reader is fully informed.
• the correct text type (genre)/ must be written
Communicative
Achievement with the correct register and must be laid out,
accordingly
• Straight forward ideas and
• Ideas are clearly written reasonably appropriately
• Uses simple connectors and
Organisation
• a limited number of cohesive devices
appropriately
• Use simple grammatical forms with a good
Language
degree of control
• Use basic vocabulary appropriately
 Part 1 – Example task
You received an email from your new friend, Amy
who has just moved to your hometown.

Hi,
The school holiday is finally here! Let’s go for a picnic
with our friends. Where shall we go and what can we
do there? What should we bring?
I’ll be waiting for your reply.
Bye!

Now write an email to your friend in about 80 words.

Script 1 : part 1
 Script 1:Part 1
To: Amygirl@bookface.com
Subject: Picnic
Hi Amy (G/OF),
I am so glad that you have brought this up as I had nothing
planned for the holidays (R / IS). I am totally excited and I know
just the place for our picnic. It will be at Central Park (C1/T1) just
beside East Road. We could also play ball there (C2/T2) as the
park is huge. Don’t forget to bring an extra matt (C3/T3) to place
our foods on just in case I lost mine. Don’t worry about supplies,
I can handle them, though you could bring some snacks (C3/T3)
if you would like too. The more, the better. I was also thinking
that we could have Jack and David come (C3/T3). It will be more
fun with them around. Alright, do update me if something
comes up. Bye! (C/ CF)
(124 words)
 BASICALLY, YOUR EMAIL SHOULD HAVE:
GR123C

1. OPENING FORMULA/ GREET

2. INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE(S)/ RESPOND TO
EMAIL
3. TASK 1 + ELABORATION/ CONTENT # 1
4. TASK 2 + ELABORATION/ CONTENT #2
5. TASK 3 + ELABORATION/ CONTENT #3
6. CLOSING FORMULA/ CONCLUDE
 PART 1: E-mail
You received an email from your friend, Atiya, asking for your opinion.

Hi Nisa,
You know my daughter Maira is taking SPM this year. I’m thinking
of buying her a mathematics reference book. Which book should
I buy? Where can I get the book and how much does it cost?
Bye for now!

Now write an email to your friend in about 80 words. Write your answer
below.
 STEPS IN WRITING AN ESSAY

R.O.W.E

1. READING THE QUESTION

2. ORGANISE / OUTLINE RESPONSE
3. WRITE YOUR ESSAY
4. EDIT YOUR ESSAY
 READING THE QUESTION: PART 1

REMEMBER THE F.A.C.T.S:

• FORMAT – GENRE
• AUDIENCE – ADDRESSE
• CONTENTS – MAIN IDEAS
• TASK/TENSE – PURPOSE
• SUBJECT MATTER - CONTEXT
 UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION

REMEMBER THE F.A.C.T.S:

• FORMAT – Email
• AUDIENCE – Atiya (friend– Informal)
• CONTENTS – Which book to buy/ Where to get
it/ how much does it cost
• TASK/TENSE – To suggest (4.1.2)/ To inform
(Present)
• SUBJECT MATTER – Buying a book
 LET’S WRITE USING THE T.A.D METHOD
STEP TRANSITION ACTION DETAIL(S)
(COHESIVE (MAIN POINT) (ELABORATION/S)
DEVICE)
G/OF

R/IS

T1+E

T2+E

T3+E

C/CF
 Some Support You might Need
GREET RESPOND/ INTRODUCTORY COHESIVE DEVICES CONCLUDING
FORMULA FORMULA
Hi Atiya, I’m glad to hear from you. First of all, I hope to hear from
you soon.
Hello Ameer, Thanks for writing to me. Next/ Then/ Besides
Please do keep in
To Aslam, I received your email And/ but/ or/ yet/ So touch.
yesterday.
Dear Anisa, Lastly/ Finally I’ll be waiting for your
reply.

Write back soon.

Looking forward to
your next email.
 Some WORDS You might Need
ADJECTIVES NOUNS VERBS ADVERBS

POPULAR BOOKSTORE BUY/ PURCHASE USUALLY

WELL-KNOWN BOOKSHOP GET NORMALLY
ONLINE SHOPPING ORDER SURELY
DISCOUNT COST DEFINITELY
PUBLISHER(S) IS PRICED AT
PUBLICATION(S) IS PUBLISHED BY
AUTHOR
 LET’S WRITE USING THE T.A.D METHOD

STEP TRANSITION ACTION DETAIL(S)

G/OF Hi Atiya,

R/IS First of all, thanks for writing to me. I’ll be glad to help you.

T1+E I think you should buy the In fact, it’s very popular among
book published by Sasbadi students and teachers.
publications.
T2+E I’m sure you can get it at most but I prefer to buy online at
book stores Shoppe.
T3+E The book costs around RM15. If you go to MPH bookstore in
Seremban, you’ll get a 10%
discount.
C/CF I’ll be waiting for your next email. Bye.
 FINAL VERSION
Hi Atiya,

First of all, thanks for writing to me. I’ll be glad to help

you. I think you should buy the book published by
Sasbadi publications. In fact, it’s very popular among
students and teachers. I’m sure you can get it at most
book stores but I prefer to buy online at Shoppe. The
book costs around RM15. If you go to MPH bookstore
in Seremban, you’ll get a 10% discount. I’ll be waiting
for your next email. Bye.

(78 words)
PART 1: E-mail
SAMPLE ANSWER EMAIL SPM 2021
 EDIT YOUR ESSAY PART 1
CONTENT COMMUNICATIVE ORGANISATION LANGUAGE
ACHIEVEMENT
• DID YOU USE • DID YOU USE • DID YOU USE • DID YOU USE
ALL THE THE CORRECT CONNECTORS/ BASIC EVERY
CONTENT GENRE/ FORM CONJUNCTIONS DAY
POINTS? OF TEXT? APPROPRIATELY VOCABULARY
? APPROPRIATELY
• IS THE TARGET • DID YOU WRITE • DID YOU USE ?
READER FULLY STRAIGHT TRANSITION • DID YOU USE
INFORMED? FORWARD WORDS/ SIMPLE AND
IDEAS? PHRASES? COMPOUND
• DID YOU WRITE SENTENCES
• DID YOU USE USING THE WITH A GOOD
THE RIGHT CORRECT TENSE DEGREE OF
TONE? THROUGHOUT CONTROL?
THE ESSAY
 SPM Writing Test Format (Part 2)
Part Task Type Number Task Relevance to curriculum (examples)
of Items Format

Guided 4.1.2: Explain advantages and disadvantages of (i)

2 Formal 1 (20 writing ideas (ii) plans or (iii) arrangements
text marks) (essay) in 4.1.3: Explain the main points for and against an
about 125- idea or argument
150 words 4.1.4: Express and respond to real or imagined
opinions and feelings
4.1.5: Organise, sequence and develop ideas within
a text of several paragraphs on familiar topics and
some unfamiliar topics
4.2.1: Punctuate written work on a range of text
types with reasonable accuracy
4.2.2: Spell written work on a range of text types
with reasonable accuracy
4.2.4: Use formal and informal registers appropriate
to the target audience in most familiar and some
unfamiliar situations
 MARKING ASPECTS PART 2

• All content is relevant to the task.

Content
• Target reader is fully informed.
a mix of three things:
Communicative • the correct text type (genre)/ must be written with the
Achievement correct register and must be laid out, accordingly
• the intelligence of the ideas (ELABORATE) to hold the target
reader’s attention
• how clearly the ideas are explained appropriately
• Text is generally well-organised and coherent,
Organisation
• using a variety of cohesive devices
• Uses a range of everyday vocabulary with occasional
Language
inappropriate use of less common lexis.
• Uses a range of simple and some complex grammatical
forms with a good degree of control.
 Part 2 – Example task
You must answer this question. Write your answer in 125 – 150
words in an appropriate style.
Question 2
Your class has been discussing how they spend their money and
your teacher has asked you to write an essay about what you
would spend your money on.
In your essay, you should write about:
• what you would like to buy
• reasons for your choice
• where do you usually buy these things
Write your essay using all the notes and giving reasons for your
point of view.
 ESSAY
Essay noun [ C ] UK
UK /ˈes.eɪ/ US /ˈes.eɪ/
(US paper)
B1
a short piece of writing on a particular subject,
especially one done by students as part of the
work for a course:
For homework I want you to write an essay on endangered species.
Mr Jones thought my history essay was terrific
READING THE QUESTION: PART 2
REMEMBER THE F.A.C.T.S:
• FORMAT – GENRE
• AUDIENCE – WHO WILL READ IT
• CONTENTS – MAIN IDEAS
• TASK/TENSE – PURPOSE
• SUBJECT MATTER - CONTEXT
 UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION
REMEMBER THE F.A.C.T.S:
• FORMAT – Essay
• AUDIENCE – Teacher (formal)
• CONTENTS – What to buy/ Reasons for
buying/ where to buy
• TASK/TENSE – To inform/explain
(4.1.2/4.1.3)/ Present
• SUBJECT MATTER – Buying an item
 Script2: Part2
We all need money in order to buy something that we like. Nothing is free in this
world. Therefore, when we have money, we need to use it wisely. If it is spend on
the things that we don’t need, we will waste our money. There are a lot of good
and worthy things you can buy. For example, food, clothes and books.
As for me, if I have money, I would like to buy a guitar. An acoustic guitar has
been in my wish list since I started watching song covers on Youtube. I’ve been
dreaming on playing it but I haven’t had enough money to purchase it.
The reasons why I want to buy a guitar is because I love music. I know how to play
the piano before but I want to learn something new. It would be amazing if I get
to play more than one instrument. Moreover, I want to learn how to play the
guitar by myself. I can do that by watching tutorials on Youtube. In that way, I
don’t have to waste money on guitar lessons.
I usually buy my instruments at this music shop called ‘Yamaha’. They have good
quality instruments so their price is expensive. However, it is worth it because
it’s better than low quality instruments.
In a nutshell, I’d spend my money on guitar because that’s what I need to play a
new instrument. They said money can’t buy happiness but it can surely help me
achieve my goals.
PART 2
 READING THE QUESTION: PART 2

REMEMBER THE F.A.C.T.S:

• FORMAT (GENRE)
• AUDIENCE (WHO WILL READ IT)
• CONTENTS (MAIN IDEAS)
• TASK/TENSE (PURPOSE)
• SUBJECT MATTER (CONTEXT)
 READING THE QUESTION: PART 2
REMEMBER THE F.A.C.T.S:
• FORMAT (GENRE) - Essay
• AUDIENCE (WHO WILL READ IT) – teacher
• CONTENTS (MAIN IDEAS) – where to go/ reasons
for choosing the destination/ how long to stay
• TASK/TENSE (PURPOSE) – to share information/
Present
• SUBJECT MATTER (CONTEXT) – holiday
destination
 PLANNING USING THE T.A.D METHOD
STEP TRANSITION ACTION DETAIL(S)
(cohesive device) (main point) (elaboration(s))
OPENING
PARAGRAPH

TASK 1 +
ELABORATION

TASK 2 +
ELABORATION

TASK 3 +
ELABORATION

CONCLUDING
PARAGRAPH
 PLANNING USING THE T.A.D METHOD
STEP TRANSITION ACTION DETAIL(S)
OPENING My English teacher has asked me to write an essay about a holiday
PARAGRAPH destination that I would like to go to with my family.

TASK 1 + Firstly, where you would like to

ELABORATION Obviously, go

TASK 2 + Next, reasons for choosing that

ELABORATION As for the reasons destination

TASK 3 + How long would I stay how long you would like
ELABORATION there? to stay there

CONCLUDING Finally, I hope that one day, my family and I will get to go to
PARAGRAPH Lastly, __________. I am sure we will enjoy ourselves
To sum up during our stay there.
PART 2
SAMPLE ANSWER DW SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER DW SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER DW SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER DW SPM 2021
 WRITING INTRODUCTION

•2 BASIC WAYS:

1. YOUR WRITE YOUR OWN, ORIGINAL,

INTERESTING OPENING PARAGRAPH – 2 TO 3
SENTENCES THAT ‘HOOK’ THE READER

2. USE THE MODELING METHOD – STICK TO THE

RUBRIC AND JUST CHANGE AND ADD SOME
RELEVANT INFORMATION
 WRITING INTRODUCTION: ORIGINAL

Going for a holiday is one of my

favourite activities. In fact,
Malaysia has a lot of interesting
and fascinating places to visit. So,
where would be the best holiday
destination for me and my
family?
 WRITING INTRODUCTION: MODELLING METHOD

•Your class has been Our class, 5 UKM,

discussing the places discussed places to go
to go for a family trip for a family trip last
and your teacher has
asked you to write an week. You asked us to
essay about a holiday write an essay about a
destination that you holiday destination that
would like to go to we would like to go
with your family. with our family.
 WRITING THE BODY # PARAGRAPH 2

COHESIVE SENTENCE(S)
DEVICE
Firstly, I would like to go to ……… / TOPIC
Obviously, SENTENCE
Definitely, I would choose ………………..
……………..…..would be my choice

• Why? SUPPORTING
DETAILS
• What is so special about the
place?
• What can you do there?
In short, It’s a place to die for./ I’ll be very ENDING
To sum up,
happy there.
 WRITING THE BODY # PARAGRAPH 3

COHESIVE SENTENCE(S)
DEVICE
Next, I prefer to be there because ……….. TOPIC
SENTENCE
I choose ………….. because of ………….
(give at least 2 reasons)

Why? Elaborate SUPPORTING

DETAILS
What else? Elaborate

Clearly, The place has everything to make ENDING

Indeed, the holiday a memorable
Without a
experience.
doubt
 WRITING THE BODY # PARAGRAPH 4

COHESIVE SENTENCE(S)
DEVICE
How long Given a chance, I would probably TOPIC
should I stay stay there for ………………….. SENTENCE

there?

Why? SUPPORTING
DETAILS

Certainly, I hope to create beautiful ENDING

Naturally, memories with my family.

 WRITING CONCLUDING SENTENCE
OF YOUR PARAGRAPH:

• the last sentence in the

paragraph.
• usually restates/ reinforces the
topic sentence in different words
or summarizes the main points
of the paragraph.
• Ties everything together
 WRITING CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH:

• To sum up, I hope that one

day, my family and I will get
to go to __________. I am
sure we will enjoy ourselves
during our stay there. How
would you feel if your dream
vacation comes true?
 PLANNING USING THE T.A.D METHOD
STEP TRANSITION ACTION DETAIL(S)
OPENING Going for a holiday is one of my favourite activities. In fact, Malaysia
PARAGRAPH
has a lot of interesting and fascinating places to visit. So, where
would be the best holiday destination for me and my family?

TASK 1 + Obviously, I would like to go to the Maldives.

ELABORATION

TASK 2 + Next, I prefer to go there because I love islands.

ELABORATION

Furthermore, the island offers so many interesting water activities.

TASK 3 + How long would I stay there? Given a chance, I would probably
ELABORATION
spend at least a week there.

CONCLUDING I hope that one day, my family and I will get to go to

PARAGRAPH
To sum Maldives. I am sure we will enjoy ourselves during our
up, stay there. How would you feel if your dream vacation
comes true?
 EDIT YOUR ESSAY PART 2
CONTENT COMMUNICATIVE ORGANISATION LANGUAGE
ACHIEVEMENT

• DID YOU USE ALL THE • DID YOU USE THE • DID YOU USE • DID YOU USE A
CONTENT POINTS? CORRECT GENRE/ PARAGRAPHS AND RANGE OF
FORM OF TEXT? ARE THEY WELL- EVERYDAY
• IS THE TARGET PLANNED? VOCABULARY WITH
READER FULLY • DID YOU WRITE OCCASIONAL
INFORMED? STRAIGHT FORWARD • DID YOU USE ANY INAPPROPRIATE USE
IDEAS CONNECTORS/ OF LESS COMMON
APPROPRIATELY? CONJUNCTIONS? LEXIS?

• DID YOU ELABORATE • DID YOU USE ANY • DID YOU USE SIMPLE,
TO HOLD YOUR TRANSITION COMPOUND AND
READER’S INTEREST? WORDS/ PHRASES? COMPLEX SENTENCES
WITH A GOOD
• DID YOU USE THE • DID YOU WRITE DEGREE OF
RIGHT TONE? USING THE CORRECT CONTROL?
TENSE THROUGHOUT
THE ESSAY
SPM Writing Test Format (Part 3)
Part Task Type Number of Task Format Relevance to curriculum (examples)
Items
3 Extended 1 (20 marks) An extended 4.1.2: Explain advantages and
writing text (200- disadvantages of (i) ideas (ii) plans or (iii)
250 words). arrangements
There are 3 4.1.3: Explain the main points for and
tasks and against an idea or argument
candidates 4.1.4: Express and respond to real or
choose one. imagined opinions and feelings
Tasks may 4.1.5: Organise, sequence and develop
include, an ideas within a text of several paragraphs
article, a on familiar topics and some unfamiliar
review, a topics
report or a 4.2.1: Punctuate written work on a range
story. of text types with reasonable accuracy
4.2.2: Spell written work on a range of text
types with reasonable accuracy
4.2.4: Use formal and informal registers
appropriate to the target audience in most
familiar and some unfamiliar situations
 MARKING ASPECTS PART 3

• All content is relevant to the task.

Content
• Target reader is fully informed.
a mix of three things:
Communicative • the correct text type (genre)/ must be written with the
Achievement correct register and must be laid out, accordingly
• the intelligence of the ideas (ELABORATE) to hold the target
reader’s attention
• how clearly the ideas are explained effectively and with ease
• Text is generally well-organised and coherent,
Organisation
• using a variety of cohesive devices with generally good
effect
• Uses a range of everyday vocabulary including less common
Language
lexis.
• Uses a range of simple and some complex grammatical
forms with control and flexibility.
 Part 3 – Example task (Article)
You see this notice on the board outside the school library

Articles wanted!
My School Canteen

• What other types of food would you like to be served?

• What special facilities should your canteen have?
• How can you improve your canteen?

Write us an article answering these questions.

 ARTICLE
noun [ C ]
UK /ˈɑː.tɪ.kəl/ US /ˈɑːr.t̬ɪ.kəl/
article noun [C] (NEWSPAPER)

B1
a piece of writing on a particular subject in a newspaper
or magazine, or on the internet:
There was an interesting article on vegetarianism in the paper yesterday.
 SCRIPT 3: PART 3 (ARTICLE) CONTENT: types of food to be served, special
My School Canteen facilities, how to improve canteen
by Sabrina

The school canteen is a place where every student gather to buy

their food during recess time to fill their empty stomachs after
hours of learning in their classrooms. Therefore, it is important to
provide a quality canteen at the school premise. The question is
how to provide a high quality canteen?

Firstly, I would like to start with the food. The school canteen
should serve a well balanced meal for the students. This is
because students need to maintain a healthy diet. If the canteen
serves junk food such as fries, hotdogs and burgers, students will
make it a habit to eat junk food everyday at school. Junk food
should be banned.
 SCRIPT 3: PART 3 (ARTICLE)

Secondly, the school canteen should have separated sections for

each form. For example, the form 5 students can eat at their own
section. This way, the canteen will be less chaotic and more organized.
No food or drinks will be spilled and the canteen will remain clean. In
short, everyone can enjoy their break peacefully and comfortably

Lastly, the canteen can be improved by providing meals in trays and

students should bring their own containers to put their food instead of
using plastic. By doing this, we can reduce the usage of plastic and we
can teach students the importance of it. If they are unable to finish
their food, they can bring their food home using the container. So, no
food will be wasted.

All of the above are my suggestions on how the school canteen

should be in our school. I hope the canteen operator will upgrade it to
meet our needs. Every student deserves the best services the canteen
 PART 3: STORY

•Your teacher has asked you to write a story for

your school magazine. The story must have the
title:

• An unforgettable incident

•Your story should include:

•• a description of the incident
•• why it is unforgettable

•Write your story.

 STORY
noun [ C ]
UK /ˈstɔː.ri/ US /ˈstɔːr.i/
story noun [C] (DESCRIPTION)
A2
a description, either true or imagined, of a connected
series of events:
Will you read/tell me a story, daddy?
Martha chose her favourite book of bedtime stories.
He writes children's stories.
 Beginning
◼ Inthe beginning of your story, you should introduce
your characters.
◼ The reader should also know about the world your
characters live in (the setting) and the something
about each of the characters in your story.
◼ The beginning of your story is also the place where
your plot (the problem) is first introduced.
 Middle
Your story needs to build to something exciting, the climax.
Write about a simple conflict, a task that must be completed, a
question that must be answered, or a barrier that must be
overcome.
Climax

Rising Action
Resolution

Beginning
 Middle
◼ Include
◼ Actions
◼ Dialogue
◼ SensoryDetails
◼ Thoughts and Feelings
◼ Suspense (Remember to build to a climax.)
 The End

This is the big finish. The end

should reveal how you overcame
your problem. All conflicts are
resolved and everything goes back
to normal.
 HOW TO BEGIN YOUR STORY
• When you start a story, if the first sentence isn’t given to
you, you can use phrases like these:

• It all began…
• When I first…
• At the beginning…
• It was a hot/cold summer/winter day.

• Just to be clear, these are only some simple examples

which you can use, as there is no right or wrong way to
start a story. That’s the beauty of it!
 TIME PHRASES

•When writing a story, you need

to pay careful attention to the
time over which the story
develops. In order to define the
order of the events in the
story, we must use time
expressions or time phrases.
 TIME PHRASES (COHESIVE DEVICES)

• Then • a moment later

• After that • Later (that morning/ day
• Not long afterwards • Just then
• As soon as • Some time later
• While • A little later
• Meanwhile
• As

• ____ minutes later

 CREATING SUSPENSE

•When writing a story, the aim is not

to inform or to convey information;
the real purpose is to entertain the
reader, just like when you read a
novel you expect to be entertained.
For this reason, a story should aim to
do so: entertain. And a cool way to
entertain is to
create suspense.
 CREATING SUSPENSE

• Suddenly • Out of the blue

• All of a sudden • Out of nowhere
• Without warning • Right away
• Just at that moment • Straight away
• Unexpectedly
 USE DIRECT SPEECH
•In every story there are characters
and they usually interact with each
other, so it is always good if you know
how to use direct speech, that
is, reproduce the words the
characters actually say or think. The
tricky bit about this is the punctuation
and the verbs to choose, because
it’s good to use some verbs other than
“say”.
 USE DIRECT SPEECH

“ I’m coming with you,” she said.

• She said, “I’m coming with you.”
• “Do you like it?” he asked.
• “Don’t do it!” he screamed.
“ Watch out!” she shouted.
 CONCLUDING/ FINISHING YOUR STORY
• This paragraph, the resolution, should be separated from the rest,
and it’s a good idea to start it with one of the following expressions:

• In the end
• Finally
• When it was all over
• Eventually
• After everything that happened
• Luckily
 VERB TENSES
• One of the reasons why stories are particularly challenging
for students is that they tend to take place in the past,
which makes it necessary to use a range of past tenses
appropriately. The main three past tenses you should
really try to use are the following:
• Past simple (verb + ed / irregular form)
• Past continuous ( was/were verb + ing
• Past perfect (had verb + ed/en / irregular form)
 VERB TENSES

• Past simple and continuous:

It was midnight and I was trying to sleep.
• Past perfect and simple:
I had completely forgotten (that) it was my birthday.
• Past simple:
This time I picked up the phone quickly and shouted,
“Hello!”
 VERB TENSES
Please avoid a simple succession of past simple
tenses alone, like:

•I woke up and got out of bed. Then, I went to the

kitchen and made some coffee.
It’s not wrong, but it’s just not good enough for a
story.
 PART 3: STORY

•Your teacher has asked you to write a story for

your school magazine. The story must have the
title:

• An unforgettable incident

•Your story should include:

•• a description of the incident
•• why it is unforgettable

•Write your story.

 PLANNING A STORY: An unforgettable incident
TRANSITION ACTION DETAILS
After class, I wanted to eat pizza There were many customers.
for lunch with my We had to queue.
friend. My stomach was rumbling.
Finally, I was my turn to order Earlier, I saw there was the last piece of
pepperoni pizza.
I was excited.
Quickly, I ordered the last slice. Thanked God I got it.
However, it slipped out of my plate.
I was embarrassed.
Suddenly, Everybody in the café The server made a joke.
laughed. I saw best friend laughed too.
Then, I laughed with them
In the end, We turned an I would never forget this incident.
embarrassing moment I learned an interesting lesson
to a happy one.
 AN UNFORGETTABLE INCIDENT
Yesterday, I learned that laughter cures most problems, even an embarrassing one..
An incident that I would never forget happened when I wanted to buy my lunch at
a pizza café.
“Stay in line,” Mrs. Martin said. I knew right away that my friend Naomi wouldn’t be
able to cut the queue. I looked at Naomi and frowned. Soon, the line began to
move faster, and I followed along hoping that there would still be pizza. I could
hear the rumbling of my very disappointed stomach..
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw one last piece of pepperoni pizza. I got so
excited. “Pepperoni pizza,” I said politely. Mrs. Martin handed me the pizza. I took
the paper plate so quickly that the pizza slid off the plate. I tried to save it, but the
pizza landed in the pan of hot buttery mashed potatoes.
I could feel my face turning redder and redder. All I could hear was laughter from the
kids in line. As I looked at the upside-down pizza, I heard Mrs. Martin’s voice.
“Maria, would you like a side of mashed potatoes with your pizza?” I looked up
and saw Naomi. She was laughing too. With a nervous smile, I replied, “Of
course.” Mrs. Martin smiled and scooped the mash potatoes pizza on my plate. I
looked around at my friends, and we all laughed again.
To my surprise, the laughing made me feel good instead of just clumsy. This would
be in my mind for quite some time. (256 words)
SPM 2021 SET 1: STORY
SAMPLE ANSWER STORY SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER STORY SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER STORY SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER STORY SPM 2021
SPM 2021 SET 1: ARTICLE
SAMPLE ANSWER ARTICLE SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER ARTICLE SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER ARTICLE SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER ARTICLE SPM 2021
SPM 2021 SET 1: REVIEW
SAMPLE ANSWER REVIEW SPM 2021
SAMPLE ANSWER REVIEW SPM 2021
 EDIT YOUR ESSAY PART 3

CONTENT COMMUNICATIVE ORGANISATION LANGUAGE

ACHIEVEMENT

• DID YOU USE ALL THE • DID YOU USE THE • DID YOU USE • DID YOU USE A
CONTENT POINTS? CORRECT GENRE/ PARAGRAPHS AND RANGE OF
FORM OF TEXT? ARE THEY WELL- VOCABULARY
• IS THE TARGET PLANNED? INCLUDING LESS
READER FULLY • DID YOU WRITE • DID YOU USE ANY COMMON LEXIS
INFORMED? STRAIGHT FORWARD CONJUNCTIONS? APPROPRIATELY?
IDEAS?
• DID YOU USE ANY • DID YOU USE SIMPLE,
• DID YOU ELABORATE TRANSITION WORDS COMPOUND AND
TO HOLD YOUR WITH GENERALLY COMPLEX SENTENCES
READER’S INTEREST? GOOD EFFECT? WITH CONTROL?

• DID YOU USE THE • DID YOU WRITE

RIGHT TONE? USING THE CORRECT
TENSE THROUGHOUT
THE ESSAY
 IN SHORT

•REMEMBER T.O.I.L
•Understand TASK
•ORGANISE your response
•Write intelligent IDEAS
•Use good LANGUAGE
•ANY QUESTIONS?
Thank you!