KEM ILMU SPM

ENGLISH PAPER 1
 SECTION B

NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS
 Narrative Compositions

Year Question
2010 Write a story that begins with:
“It had been raining heavily …”
2011 Write a story that ends with:
“The looked up each other and smiled
meaningfully…”
2012 Write a story that begins with:
“The teacher walked into the classroom. It
was the first period …”
 Narrative Compositions
Year Question
2013 Write a story that ends with:
“and so I become a better person …”
2014 Write a story about a fisherman that
begins with:
“The wind blew strongly. Out at sea …”
2015 Write a story about someone you know
who took a big risk and had a good result.
Begin your story with:
“Everybody said that the plan would never
work. It was far too risky …”
 The Advantages of Narrative Essay
• You will only write your essay in the past tense.
• You are to visualise the situation and allows you to
express your creativity.
• You can use a wide range of vocabulary to make
your story interesting
• You do not need to present any facts.
 How to Write a Good Narrative Essay
ACTION PLAN: (1 hour)
A. Planning = 15 minutes
B. Writing = 35 minutes
C. Proofreading = 10 minutes

•This plan is for those who are quite weak in English. For those
who are proficient, you may only need 10 minutes for planning.
 A. PLANNING

Let’s say you have chosen question 3:

Write a story ending with, “I shall never forget this day for
the rest of my life.”
1. Read the question carefully and underline important phrases. Pay
particular attention to the ending.
2. Brainstorm for ideas and jot down notes. For exam purposes, the simplest
way is to divide it into three parts:
i. Present the situation/characters/setting
•What day was it?
•Where were you?
•What were you doing?
•Who was there with you?
• Choose one event or day which is unforgettable. Many
students tend to describe a trip somewhere and the places
they visited but nothing much happened that could be
described as unforgettable. Do not describe more than one
day.
ii. Conflict/Complication
• - What happened first?
• - How did it happen?
• - Who was there with you?
• What happened that was unforgettable? Is it going to be a
funny day? Think how you will develop the story and how
the events will unfold.
• Use a simple time line (chronological sequence – first to
last event). Those who are more proficient may choose to
start from the final event (flashback).
iii. Resolution
• - What happened as a result of the complication?
• - What effect did this have on you?
• - What is the outcome of the action or complication?
• Point out a lesson learnt as the conflict is solved. Remember
to include the last line as given in the question.
 B. WRITING
Now that you have got the skeleton of your story, it is time to
begin writing. Use connectors to link the events so that it
flows well.

Some suitable phrases are:

•A few minutes later?
•Suddenly?
•Out of the blue?
Use sensory details to reveal the events and to get the reader
involved.
Example:
a. I went into the restaurant.
b. I walked into the restaurant.
c. I sauntered into the restaurant.

Sentence (a) merely states that I went into the restaurant while
sentence (b) gives a little more information as to how I went into
the restaurant. Sentence (c) is more specific as the word
“sauntered” means “strolled” or “walked slowly”. Thus, sentence
(c) is more effective in narrative and descriptive writing.
 C. PROOFREADING

• Read your essay through and check for the following:

- Is the spelling and the pronunciation appropriate?
- Have you varied the length of your sentences? Does one
thought follow the next in a logical order?
- Did you stick to the topic?
- Did you use words so that your reader could clearly visualise
the incident?
- Did you use the appropriate tenses throughout your essay?
• Make any corrections neatly.
• Now, read the following model answer and see if you can
identify the three parts of the action plan and the use of
sensory details to make the story come alive.
Presenting the situation
• What day was it?
• Where was the writer?
• What was she doing?

Events/complication
• What happened first?
• How did it happen?
• What happened then?
• The writer uses simple sentences here to emphasise the
event that took place quickly.
• Notice the sensory details used here (in bold) to make the
story come alive.
• Each paragraph introduces a gap in time and the next event.

Resolution
• What happened as a result of that event?
• What effect did this have on the writer?
• What lessons did the writer learnt from the story?
 Task

Write a story about a fisherman that begins with:

“The wind blew strongly. Out at sea …”

Sample Answer:
The wind blew strongly. Out at sea, the waves rocked a
small boat. There, Ali waited for a fish to bite. He felt a little
fatigued but he had to go out. He had to make a living for his
family. His hungry wife and child were waiting for him patiently
at home. His job as a fisherman was tough and dangerous. Even
though he lived in poverty, he never grumbled. He believed that
every cloud has a silver lining.
 How to Make an Interesting Paragraph

a. Use WH-Questions to provide sensory details (see, hear,

touch, feel, smell, taste) in order to explain the main idea.
b. Use a variety of sentences
c. Use sophisticated words and idioms to make your sentences
more vivid and interesting.
"Good writing does not just happen. The best
writers spend a great deal of time thinking,
planning, rewriting, and editing."
Elizabeth West