PART 1 DESCRIPTIVE ESSAYSCambridge IGCSE Guide English as a First Language: 120 Model Compositions Descriptive Essay 1 Describe your favourite place to relax in. Des De The quiet. The calm. The peace. The soft thudding of shoes against the smooth cement floor. ‘The hushed whispers. The rustling of pages; some yellowed over time and some as new asa baby. The library. My favourite place to relax is at the library near my house. It was recently renovated and has six floors for people to enjoy. Although all floors have something for everyone, my favourite floor is the top floor where the adult section of English and Chinese books are at. The floor is not frequented by many people and most of them there are either the elderly flipping through newspapers, or avid readers, like me, engrossed in a good book, The interior of the top floor of the library is amazing. It is spacious with white walls and grey cement floors. In the middle, there are chairs, sofas and a set of wide wooden tables for readers to relax. The area is carpeted, minimising the sound of shoes thudding against the otherwise cement floor. To further enhance the cosy atmosphere in the library, every wooden table is equipped with a small lamp giving out soft, warm light that can be switched on with a gentle tug on its pull switch. On an average day, you can see people either reading a book, flipping through magazines or taking a light nap on one of the comfortable chairs. My favourite spot in the library is a wide chair with a thick blanket placed over it. The chair is located next to the floor-length window. | can see my whole neighbourhood from that spot. Being able to people-watch is a relaxing pastime of mine. Not only that, gazing at the scenery when it rains can be breathtaking too; the view of the grey skies and emerald trees swaying slightly in the heavy rain is something | never fail to appreciate. This is especially so when the whole floor resonates with the sound of the raindrops hitting the rooftop and the windowpanes. | would curl up on the wide chair while taking sips of hot tea from my tumbler while my book draws me into another world. ‘As such, my favourite place to relaxis in the library. Its quiet atmosphere brings about serenity ‘and warmth which are enhanced by the solid furniture in the library. Being in the library brings mea sense of peace and comfort, thereby giving me time and space to relax. lex st ckPart 1 Descriptive Essays Descriptive Essay 2 Describe at \cident in which you were scared beyond your wits. For some strange reason, supernatural occurrences always seem to happen ina hotel at night. | experienced this once during a trip, just as | was about to hit the sack. My initially groggy brain was forced awake by pure fright and terror due to this strange occurrence. | was staying in a ryokan with a group of friends on our graduation trip. It was two in the moming and everyone was already sound asleep after a night of leisurely conversations over supper. | was still fumbling around for my toiletries. The interior of the ryokan was beautiful but old; the wooden walls were ornately carved with intricate flowers and walking on the tatami produced quiet shuffling sounds. The sliding doors were exactly like those | had seen in Japanese animations. was especially amused by the sliding doors as they made satisfying thuds whenever | shut it. After gathering my toiletries, headed into the bathroom, shut the wooden door, placed my toiletries near the sink and stepped into the bathtub. ‘While | was taking a bath, something unusual happened. To be more accurate, a series of strange events began to occur. First, someone started knocking on our ryokan’s main door. | shouted at my friends to check who was at the door and eventually heard the door open and close. The fact that my friends could hear me shouting across the ryokan while being sound asleep was surprising, But | did not think too much about it. Then, when I stepped out of the shower, the whole vicinity was awfully quiet. It was so silent that | began to feel creeped out. However, the familiar thuds of the doors sliding shut and the shuffling sounds made by someone ‘walking on the tatami somehow calmed me down. At that moment, | had assumed that one of my friends was awake and was probably heading towards the toilet. Finally, heard knocks on the bathroom door while | was brushing my teeth. “Ina minute; | called as | quickly gargled, grabbed my dirty clothes and opened the bathroom door. There was no one outside waiting for me. | found this unusual, but | was too tired to dwell on anything. So, | went straight to bed. The next morning, | asked my friends, “Did anyone knock on our door at around two in the morning?” "No, but why were you still awake at that time?" they responded nonchalantly. My heart stopped. *D-did any one of you go to the toilet around that time too? While | was bathing in there’ my question stumbled out of my mouth. “No, but | think Cheryl did go at around 6 am. Why?” ‘The fork | was holding dropped onto the table with a clang, What had actually happened last night?Cambridge IGCSE Guide English as a First Language: 120 Model Compositions Descriptive Essay 3 Describe how you felt when you received your latest school results. rible. My palms and forehead were sweating buckets due to the waves ings worse was that all 800 of us were made to Its, It did not help that the principal had been ‘our two-year journey in The wait was utterly hor of nervousness rushing over me. What made thi sit in the tiny, stuffy hall as we awaited our resul droning on and on for almost an hour about our overall performance, the school and our bright’ futures. “Alright, please line up according to your class register number before you collect your results from yout cvies tutors; announced the principal. Finally, the moment had come. | stood inline swith the rest of my classmates as we stared anxiously at the pile of result slips and report books tnaiting for us on the table. When my name was called, | stumbled towards my civics tutor with sweaty palms as my heart pounded in my chest. “Your efforts paid off, Megan’ my teacher congratulated me with a twinkle in his eye. [pprehensively,Itookmy report book from hishands, Really? Did pass? Will get into university? Plense let me get into a local university. Please. | do not want to fall any subject. Please. With my ind in a mess and all those doubts flooding my head, | walked toa comer of the hall and finally open my report book. 'AABB. The shock was immediate, My mind was blankas| stared at the results. A ABB.! could get into a local university! Infact, | could also get into the course of my choice! When my Brain finally registered that fact, streams of tears rolled down my cheeks. This was truly a miracle. | can still recall the worried looks on the faces of my teachers and classmates when they saw my crying face and pufy eyes. However, their looks of concern turned into confusion when | started laughing with joy. “Megan, are you happy or sad? | don't understand my bestfriend asked, baffied “Lam happy’ replied, "| am happy”Part 1 Descriptive Essays Descriptive Essay 4 Describe the time when you lost something/someone important to you. Once, when | was much younger and therefore more immature, | did something | came to regret. llost my best friend because of my childish feelings of hatred, envy and jealousy. However, that was what | was like back then, and how I wish | could turn back time to correct my mistake. In middle school, | was determined to achieve excellent academic grades and attain a prestigious scholarship. | participated in a variety of activities, joined a number of co-curricular Clubs and even held a couple of leadership positions. My grades were decent and | wasa teacher's pet. Naturally, everyone, including myself, thought that | would be a scholarship recipient. Both my bestfriend and | had applied for the same scholarship. She and | thought that | would be the recipient of the scholarship. On the day of the results, the two of us sat side by side with our eyes glued to our email inboxes on our phones. At exactly ten in the morning, my mailbox chimed. | tapped on my phone excitedly, expecting the words Application Successful’ to appear on my screen. However, what | saw put me ina state of shock. "Dear Lydia, we regret to inform you that your scholarship application was unsuccessful’ The dreadful words were written in bold, black capital letters. | was devastated. | stared at my phone screen for a full minute, speechless. Meanwhile, my best friend had a huge toothy grin on her face as she waved her phone eagerly in my face. ‘1 gotit! | got it! You did, too, right? Oh my, lam so happy for us! We can go for all those courses and study in all those countries together...” she blabbered on and on passionately, her arms waving about in the air wildly. Feelings of sadness, disappointment and self-hatred bloomed in my chest. Why didn't get it? What made me less worthy of that scholarship than her? Why? Subsequently, feelings of envy, jealousy and hatred directed towards my bestfriend arose as well. She obviously could not be better than me. She did not hold any form of leadership position nor were her results as good as mine, She should not have gotten the scholarship. She did not deserve it. When my best friend realised my silence and saw my confounded face, she immediately grabbed my phone, read the email, and opened her mouth to speak, “Lydia, |am so —" “Nos"| snapped, “Don't. You dor't deserve it. | should have gotten it. Sorry, but we can't be friends anymore" With that, | stood up and walked away from her. | have not spoken to her since then. Neither has she. Looking back at the incident now, | am still overcome with regret and shame. It was horrible for me, asa best friend and as a human being, to treat someone in that manner. | now realise that perhaps the interviewers saw my real character in that short span of an hour and decided | did not deserve the scholarship. My then-best friend did. And | completely agree.— _______ eee Cambridge IGCSE Guide English as a First Language: 120 Model Compositions Descriptive Essay 5 Descript Describe how you overcame your fear. Describ “All the best! Relax!"The tiny sign at the back of the auditorium was barely visible. | knew my My he ‘coach was trying his best to calm me down even though the competition was midway. He passed book. Re the sign to my junior before putting two thumbs up high in the ait. smiled. Up until now, he has travel at always had my back. Firstly it was my first debate competition. As | made it through to the finals, the hosting school break aft decided to invite their entire school and even members of the public to watch. | stared at the comfort: hundreds of expectant faces among the audience and gulped. A bout of the jitters ensued = it for me.T was my first time speaking and debating in front of sucha large audience. With my heart fluttering before 1 with anxiety and the thought of the 101 ways the compatition could go horribly wrong springing ofmine. up in my head, | opened my mouth and began to speak. Seco! ‘“T+this h-house b-b-believes.... believes in..." It was horrible. | was stuttering and my words in books left my mouth in a heap of primitive mumbo jumbo. “Stand straight, relax your shoulders and This allo ‘smile! Those were the words constantly repeated by my coach. However, that phrase flew out of Besides, the window in my state of panic. more et I can do it. | can do it. | paused and took a deep breath. With hands shaking feverishly the jour with nervousness, | stood up straighter, relaxed my shoulders and directed a big toothy grin Journeyi towards the audience. | can do it."This house believes in the provision of sanctuary towards the Lasth underprivileged...” places o Those eight minutes of speaking time flew by in a second. | could not remember a single modern word | said, nor did the content of my arguments make sense. All that was on my mind was the the past confidence | tried to portray, the clarity of my voice, the firmness of my tone and the wideness Despite of my smile Al that stayed in my mind was the deafening round of applause from the audience from th when [finished speaking and my coach jumping up and down in excitement at the back of the of my fa auditorium. All remembered was the grin that refused to leave my face as | walked off the stage. even ha Hen Idid not win. However, | did manage to overcome my fear. That was what mattered.Part 1 Descriptive Essays Descriptive Essay 6 Describe your hobby. My hobby is reading. it can be done anywhere and anytime. All it requires is a phone or a book. Reading is my favourite activity to engage in as it allows me to relax, unwind, learn and travel at the same time. Firstly, reading gives me the opportunity to spend time by myself, which is a much-needed break after a long day at school. It is peaceful to be able to curl up with a good book in the comfort of my bed. The cosiness and warmth, coupled with my favourite tea, isa form of self-care for me. This is especially so during the rare times | get to read into the wee hours of the morning before snoozing well into the afternoon the next day. Therefore, reading is a favourite pastime of mine. Secondly, reading allows me to become a better person through the characters | encounter in books. | love it when | am able to understand the characters who share similar traits as me, This allows me to better appreciate the depths and intricacies of the characters in the novels, Besides, the mistakes characters make or the epiphanies they have in the stories become much more etched in my mind, and therefore they are lessons for me to learn from as well. Through the journeys and character growths in books, | learn alongside characters as they grow while journeying through the story. This growth helps me to become a better person too. Lastly, reading takes me to whole new worlds that | have never been to before, from actual places on Earth to fantasy lands imagined by brilliant writers. Reading invites me to places, such as, modern-day New York and imperial China, and allows me to gain insights into the societies from the past, present and even, the future. Besides, the problems characters face can be fascinating. Despite not being able to relate to them, my eyes are opened to the vastness of the world. Apart from that, these fictional worlds are wondrous to me as the books let me travel into the minds of my favourite authors too. Therefore, reading leads me to an infinite number of places without even having to leave the room. Hence, reading is my favourite hobby of al.Cambridge IGCSE Guide English as a First Language: 120 Model Compositions Descriptive Essay 7 Describe your favourite sport. My absolute favourite sport has to be running, Running only requires a pair of good running shoes and, for me, good songs to listen to while running as well. There is no need for any form of gym equipment and you can run practically anywhere outdoors, as long as it is safe: Most importantly, running is a form of exercise that keeps the body healthy. Therefore, due to its convenience, accessibility and numerous health benefits, running is my favourite sport, Firstly, running gives me the opportunity to clear my mind, As | listen to music while runningy the activity allows my mind to wander and unwind after a long day. Admiring the greenery along the roads and people-watching while | run is extremely relaxing as well When | run in the morning, the sport gives mea burst of energy that fuels me for the rest of my day. Hence, running is my favourite sportasit allows me to zone out, calm down and also be energised al atthe same time, Secondly, running is aform of exercise and therefore beneficial to my health. It keeps my mind and body in great shape. Not only does it burn a lot of calories since itis a form of cardio, but it “iso de-stresses my mind and calms me down due to the release of endorphins when | exercise, ‘according to several scientific researchers, running is one ofthe simplest cardiovascular activities one can do, with benefits for neatly every part of the body. Hence, due to its immense benefits, running is my favourite sport as the positive effects can be felt almost immediately Lastly, unning encourages me to spend time with my friends as wel! On certain occasions, ‘invite my friends to run with me as we can then motivate one another to push on and finish long distances. Not only that, but the feeling of running with a friend is great as we can have conversations while running too. Therefore, it is possible to strengthen friendships through running. To sum up, my favourite sport is running as it allows me to sweat it out and release any pent up stress accumulated over the day. Not only that, but ithas immense mental and physical health benefits, and facilitates great bonding sessions with friends as well! PPart 1 Descriptive Essays ive Essay 8 Describe an interesting train ride you took. “We are never going to make it | groaned at my friend as the both of us watched a horde of Japanese commuters being shoved into the train by station officers on patrol. The train was already exploding with passengers, many of whom who had their faces pressed against the glass windows as the doors amazingly managed to slide shut. It was eight-thirty in the morning and therefore, itis the peek hour, where you could see throngs of smart-looking businessmen and women briskly walking past us into the station. In other words, the trains were packed with people like sardines in a can. It took us three tries to finally get on board. When the train first arrived, both of us stared at the tightly packed interior and our jaws dropped. How in the world were we supposed to get in? (On the second time, we observed how the locals did it. Interestingly, many of them took a small tun before squeezing themselves into the carriage at full force. To further pack as many people as possible into the train cabins, the station officers with white gloves would shove the passengers inwith all their might, like stashing clothes into an already-full suitcase, While this situation would be funny if caught on camera, the seriousness of the actual atmosphere was hardly worth being ‘amused at. This was serious business. it was either you get on the train and be at work on time, or be nice about it and end up being reprimanded by your boss for your tardiness. ‘When the third train came, my friend grinned at me and shouted over the loud ‘whoosh’ made by the incoming vehicle. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!” With that, both of us made a small run like the locals did and ran straight into the sea of people in the train cabin. | could feel the officer's arms pressing against my bag as he tried to compress us into the tiny space while the doors slid shut. With my face pressed up against another man’s jacket, I slowly swivelled my head around to see the state of my friend. Her face was pressed flat against the glass window. ‘That was an unforgettable experience. Where I come from, the passenger load on the trains during peak hours is never as bad as what | experienced in Japan. All that mattered at that point in time was that we got on the train. What a miracle!