SET 1: A CHEATING INCIDENT

Activity 1
Read the sample essay
Adam was a lazy student. One day, his father told him that if he did not
pass his monthly test, his father would stop his guitar lessons. He loved his
guitar lessons but he did not like to study. Adam became very worried. He had
to find a way to pass the test.
Adam decided to cheat. During his History test, he hid a piece of paper
with answers inside his pencil box. He opened his pencil box and looked at the
paper when his class teacher was not looking. He quickly closed it when the
class teacher looked at him.

Each time his class teacher was not looking at

him, he quickly copied the answers from his piece of paper.

Mr. Chong, the discipline teacher was walking by Adams class. When he
looked through the window, he saw what Adam was doing. He knew Adam was
cheating. Mr. Chong entered the classroom and walked towards Adams table.
He took Adams pencil box. Adam was shocked and frightened. He stared at
Adam angrily. He told Adam to follow him to the principals office.
The principal telephoned Adams father. His father came to the school.
Adam was suspended from school for one week. His mother cried when his
father told her what had happened. Adam promised his parents he would not be
lazy anymore. His father stopped his guitar lessons. Adam had learnt his lesson.
He would never cheat again during a test.

Activity 2
Based on the sample essay above fill in the blanks with the past tense
Adam _____ a lazy student. One day, his father ______ him that if he ______
not pass his monthly test, his father would stop his guitar lessons. He ______ his
guitar lessons but he _____not like to study. Adam _______very_______. He _____to
find a way to pass the test.
Adam _______to cheat. During his History test, he____a piece of paper with
answers inside his pencil box. He ______his pencil box and ______at the paper
when his class teacher ____not looking. He quickly _____it when the
teacher ______at him.

class

Each time his class teacher ____not looking at him, he

quickly _______the answers from his piece of paper.

Mr. Chong, the discipline teacher _____walking by Adams class. When he
_______through the window, he _____what Adam _____doing. He ______Adam
_____cheating.Mr. Chong _______the classroom and _______towards Adams table.
He ______Adams pencil box. Adam ___________and__________. He _______at Adam
angrily. He _____Adam to follow him to the principals office.
The principal ________Adams father. His father ______to the school. Adam
___________from school for one week. His mother _____when his father _____her
what___________. Adam __________his parents he would ____be lazy anymore. His
father _______his guitar lessons. Adam _______his lesson. He would never cheat
again during a test.

Activity 3
Substitute the words in bold to write a similar essay.
Adam was a lazy student. One day, his father told him that if he did not
pass his monthly test, his father would stop his guitar lessons. He loved
his guitar lessons but he did not like to study. Adam became very worried. He
had to find a way to pass the test.
Adam decided to cheat. During his History test, he hid a piece of paper
with answers inside his pencil box. He opened his pencil box and looked at the
paper when hisclass teacher was not looking. He quickly closed it when the
class teacher looked at him.

Each time his class teacher was not looking at

him, he quickly copied the answers from his piece of paper.

Mr. Chong, the discipline teacher was walking by Adams class. When
he looked through the window, he saw what Adam was doing. He knew Adam
was cheating. Mr. Chong entered the classroom and walked towards Adams
table. He took Adams pencil box. Adam was shocked and frightened. He
stared at Adam angrily. He told Adam to follow him to the principals office.
The principal telephoned Adams father. His father came to the school.
Adam was suspended from school for one week. His mother cried when his
father told her what had happened. Adam promised his parents he would not
be lazy anymore. His father stopped his guitar lessons. Adam had learnt his
lesson. He would never cheat again during a test.

Activity 4
Based on the sample essay, answer the following questions.
1. Who are the people/characters in the story?
1)
2)

(main character)
3

3)
4)
5)
6)

2. Where did the events take place?

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Home
Classroom
Music Class
Principals office
School canteen

(Yes/No)
(Yes/No)
(Yes/No)
(Yes/No)
(Yes/No)

3. What did the main character do? (Paragraph 2)

Adam ____________________________________________________________________.
4. Why did he do that? (Paragraph 1)
His father ________________________________________________________________.
5. How did he do that? (Paragraph 2)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. What happened after this incident? (Paragraph 3 & 4)
i) The discipline teacher
__________________________________________________________
ii) The principal
__________________________________________________________________
iii)

His
father_____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_

iv)

His mother ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

v)

Adam (i)________________________________________________________________
(ii)________________________________________________________________
4

7. What lesson did Adam learn?

_________________________________________________________________________
8. What tense was mainly used in the essay?
___________________________

SET 2: A Road Accident

Activity 1
Read the sample essay.
I am a Form 5 student in Sekolah Menengah Pemancar. It is situated in the
town.There is another school opposite my school. It is a primary school called
Sekolah Rendah Pemancar. A road accident happened yesterday in front of my
school. The accident happened at 1.30 p.m. I had just finished school and I was
waiting for my school bus at the bus stop beside the front gate of my school.
There were many students there from both the schools waiting for their school
buses and parents to take them home after school. The road was very busy.
There were many vehicles on the road and along the road. There were school
buses, vans, cars, motorcycles and a few lorries on the road.
It was a very hot day. The sun was shining brightly. There were vendors
selling ice-cream and cold drinks along the road beside my school. Many school
children were buying ice-cream and drinks. Some of them crossed the road to
buy the ice-cream and drinks. A boy was crossing the road. He was running
while holding an ice-cream cone in his hand. As he was running, a motorcycle
that was moving fast knocked him down. The boy screamed loudly. He fell on
the road. He hit his head on the road. His head was bleeding. There was so
much blood flowing down his face. The motorcyclist did not stop. He sped off. A
few school bus drivers shouted at the motorcyclist. Some parents rushed to help
the boy. They carried him to the side of the road. He was crying.
The headmaster and a few teachers from Sekolah Rendah Pemancar came
to help the boy. A teacher said that the boy is a Year 3 student. His name is
Jacky. A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived. Two policemen on motorcycles
also arrived. They spoke to the headmaster and the teacher. The ambulance
5

driver and the paramedic carried the boy on a stretcher and carried him into the
ambulance. The ambulance driver switched on the siren. The policemen stopped
the vehicles on the road to let the ambulance drive fast to the hospital.
I was sad and felt pity for the boy. I hoped that the boy was alright. I also
learnt an important lesson about road safety. I realised that I must be careful
when crossing the road, especially on a busy road. When I went home, I told my
family about the road accident. I will never forget the accident.

Based on the sample essay, answer the following questions.

1. What were the places mentioned in the essay?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What did you see on the road and outside the school?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. What were the vehicles on the road?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. You saw the accident. What had happened?
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Describe the condition of the boy after the accident.
___________________________________________________________________________
6. What words were used to describe the weather?
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Who were the people who helped the boy?
___________________________________________________________________________
8. How did you feel?
___________________________________________________________________________
9. What did you learn?
___________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2
In a narrative essay, the past tense is used. Underline the past tense words in
the sample essay given in Activity 1.

Activity 3
Write a parallel essay by substituting the words in bold.
I am a Form 5 student in Sekolah Menengah Pemancar. It is situated
in the town.There is another school opposite my school. It is a primary school
called Sekolah Rendah Pemancar. A road accident happened yesterday in
front of my school. The accident happened at 1.30 p.m. I had just finished
school and I was waiting for my school bus at the bus stop beside the front gate
of my school. There were many students there from both the schools waiting for
their school buses and parents to take them home after school. The road was
very busy. There were many vehicles on the road and along the road. There
were school buses, vans, cars, motorcycles and a few lorries on the road.
It was a very hot day. The sun was shining brightly. There were vendors
selling ice-cream and cold drinks along the road beside my school. Many
school children were buying ice-cream and drinks. Some of them crossed the
road to buy the ice-cream and drinks. A boy was crossing the road. He was
running while holding an ice-cream cone in his hand. As he was running, a
motorcycle that was moving fast knocked him down. The boy screamed loudly.
He fell on the road. He hit his head on the road. His head was bleeding. There
was so much blood flowing down his face. The motorcyclist did not stop. He
sped off. A few school bus drivers shouted at the motorcyclist. Some parents
rushed to help the boy. They carried him to the side of the road. He was crying.
The headmaster and a few teachers from Sekolah Rendah Pemancar
came to help the boy. A teacher said that the boy is a Year 3 student. His
name is Jacky. A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived. Two policemen on
7

motorcycles also arrived. They spoke to the headmaster and the teacher. The
ambulance driver and the paramedic carried the boy on a stretcher and carried
him into the ambulance. The ambulance driver switched on the siren. The
policemen stopped the vehicles on the road to let the ambulance drive fast to
the hospital.
I was sad and felt pity for the boy. I hoped that the boy was alright. I also
learnt an important lesson about road safety. I realised that I must be careful
when crossing the road, especially on a busy road. When I went home, I told my
family about the road accident. I will never forget the accident.

SET 3: A RESCUE
Activity 1
Rewrite the following sentences. Add adjectives to each of the sentences.
1. My cousin has a house.
My rich cousin has a big house.
2.

The _________ car belongs to a ___________teacher.

_________________________________________________________________

3.

A ___________ man came to fix the ___________ refrigerator.

_________________________________________________________________

4.

The __________police found the ___________ jewellery.

_________________________________________________________________

5.

The ___________ man has a ____________ farm.

_________________________________________________________________

6.

The boy is my brother.

_________________________________________________________________

7.

My grandmother likes to eat fish.

_________________________________________________________________

8.

The bungalow is located on the hill.

_________________________________________________________________

9.

Suddenly, a bicycle appeared near the tree.

8

_________________________________________________________________
10.

As she ran towards the school, she heard a voice.

_________________________________________________________________

Activity 2
Use the words given to elaborate on the first sentence.
1. Early one morning, a fire broke out at a hotel.
(Bell-boy
saw smoke
hotel room)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. The robbers were spotted.
(they masks
held pistols)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Many people were at the party last night.
(Party - attended foreign guests
enjoyed themselves)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. The accident happened at 2 a.m. last night.
(many
seriously injured collision)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. A lorry swerved and rammed into the traffic lights.
(among
accident victims pedestrians)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
9

Activity 3
An essay on how a little brother rescued his sister.
Planning the essay
Introduction :

who

- Fatimah (main character), third person narrator

When - one Saturday

Body

What - had to look after younger brother

When - friends birthday

Part 1

Where - pool at friends condominium

Where at the swimming pool

What - wanted to show off swimming skills

Part 2
to friends
Who - main character
What - nearly had an accident
Part 3

How - had cramps

Conclusion: What lesson was learnt humility and appreciation

10

Fill in the blanks with the correct phrases.

Little Brother to the Rescue
Fatimah will never forget the holidays in
Flashba
ck

2010. She was fifteen and her little brother, Samad,

eight. Their mother had to work long hours because
their father was retrenched.
Fatimahs job that holiday was
______________________. As a result, she could not join
her friends in many of their activities. She felt like
__________________________________. Worst of all, it
was Mariams birthday that Saturday.
But Mother, Fatimah protested. Its a
___________________. Were swimming and and
Fatimahs mother ______________________ and she
____________________________. She knew what the

Part 1

look meant.
All along the way to

Use a simile
to convey
Fatimahs
feelings

___________________________ that evening, Fatimah

ignored Samad. So ______________________ and
clumsy. Fatimah shuddered. What would her friends
think?
Hey, big sister! She
_____________________________. His eyes were shining
with excitement. You know, I have just learnt
_______________________________.

11

They had reached Mariams condominium.

Fatimah snapped, Look, you
__________________________________. There!
But but he whispered.
And dont __________________! She interrupted
with a glare.
Her friends were already in the pool. Being
the best swimmer in the group, Fatimah was asked
to ______________________________. They did the
Part 2

butterfly stroke, then their own version of the

dolphin stroke, the duck and the shark. They had

Give specific
details of
what the
girls did

________________________ and
________________________________.
This is great, sighed Fatimah contentedly.
She looked for Samad. He _______________________
where she had left him. Fatimah
________________________________ to him and was
soon ____________________________________ to her
Part 3:
Climax

friends.
And then it happened. It happened so fast
that Fatimah did not even cry out. One moment, she
was swimming with powerful strokes to touch the
bottom of the deepest end of the pool, the next, she
_______________________, she could barely tread
water.
Fatimah surfaced, _________________________.
Her friends merely laughed and waved back. She
struggled to ___________________________________ but
only succeeded to
___________________________________. Her lungs
seemed as though they were going to burst.
Just then, she heard
__________________________, Hold on! Hold on! It
12

was Samad, her little brother. He ran towards her

_______________________. Sprawled
_________________________, he yelled, Grab it! Grab
the pole!
Fatimah managed to get hold of the pole but
she was afraid she would
________________________________. Where were her
friends? She saw his face _______________________. It
was useless. Fatimah could barely hang on to the
pole.
Suddenly, another voice shouted, Hold on!
A stranger grabbed hold of the pole and hauled
Lesson
learnt
Action
and
dialogu
es

Fatimah out. When Fatimah stopped coughing and

spluttering, she looked at her friends who were
paralysed by fear. She then turned towards her little
brother, so thin and little. Hugging Samad tightly,
she whispered shakily, Thanks for rescuing me,
little brother. Im so glad youre here.

Part 1
pool party

Part 2
paid no further attention

to do the crawl

follow me

to look after Samad

so much fun diving

skinny and scrawny

stay in the baby pool

a broken-winged bird

demonstrate her skills

stuttered to a stop
glanced at Samad

showing off more stunts

was standing
somersaulting in the
water

glared at her
Mariams condominium

Part 3
on the edge of the pool
keep her head above
water
white with fear and
fatigue
a Voice calling out
gulp large mouthfuls of
water
felt such pain
with a long pole
pull her brother in the
water too
thrashing wildly

13

Activity 4
Planning the essay
Introduction :

who

- _________ (main character), third person

narrator
When - __________( time, date, day)
Body

What - __________ (eg. had to look after

younger brother)
paragraph 2

When - _________( eg. friends birthday)

Where - __________(eg. pool at friends condominium)

Where ________(eg. at the swimming pool)

What - _________ ( eg. wanted to show off
Paragraph 3
swimming skills to friends)
Who - _________ (main character)

What - _________(eg. nearly had an accident)

Paragraph 4
How - __________ (eg. had cramps)
Conclusion: What lesson was learnt humility and appreciation
SET 4: HOLIDAYS
Activity 1
The past tense is used when writing a narrative essay. It is very important to
learn the past tense. Give the past tense of the verbs below.
1.

go

2.

is

went

11
pack
.
12
enjoy
.
14

3.

do

4.

are

5.

buy

6.

bring

7.

walk

8.

spend

9.

take

10
.

leave

13
.
14
.
15
.
16
.
17
.
18
.
19
.
20
.

return
have
feel
visit
look
reach
receive
check-in

Activity 2
Match A with B. Then, write the sentences in the space provided.
A
B
1. We went to

2.The children played

happily

3. They were so hungry

4. Mei and her cousins

spent

5. Ali felt very happy

because

6. The concert was held

7. The children were very

excited

8. Tom and his family

and ate a lot of food

Kuala Terengganu
two months ago
at the stadium last
night

at the beach

when they saw so

many animals at the
zoo
went jungle trekking
during the weekend
a lot of time
shopping at the mall
he had made a lot of
new friends

1.________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
15

3. _______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________________
7. _______________________________________________________________
8. _______________________________________________________________

Activity 3
Complete the sentences using your own words.
1. We saw __________________________________________________________________
2. There were _______________________________________________________________
3. Many people ______________________________________________________________
4. The bus station was ________________________________________________________
5. The scenery _______________________________________________________________
6. The journey _______________________________________________________________
7. During the weekend, ________________________________________________________
8. We had a lot of ____________________________________________________________

Activity 4
Read the passage carefully. Then, fill in the blanks with the suitable words given
in the box below.

16

Holidays
During the last school holidays, my family and I went on a trip to Pulau
Langkawi. It was a three-day and two-night ________ (1). The night before the
trip, I __________(2) my clothes. My parents and my sister also packed theirs. As
it was my first time visiting Pulau Langkawi, I felt very ____________(3) and happy
about the trip.
My family and I left for Pulau Langkawi by _______ (4) early in the morning.
We reached Kuala Perlis at noon and took the __________ (5) to go across to the
island. Once we reached the island, we headed to the ___________ (6) and
checked-in. After bathing and resting for a while, we went to the Underwater
World. We were so fascinated by the various types of fishes there. Some were
very big while others were very small. Many of these fishes were very
______________(7). In addition, my sister and I were so excited at seeing the
penguins. They looked very _________(8). Then, we went to Kuah to do some
shopping. We bought many types of imported chocolates as they were cheap
here. I _____________(9) some for my classmates. Besides chocolates, I also
bought some key chains for them. I was sure they would be very happy to
_____________(10) them.
The next day, we _________(11) to the cable car station. The ride was
exciting and _______ (12) for me. However, my ____________ (13) sister was a bit
scared. I had to persuade her to take the ride. Once she was ready, we took the
cable car up the mountains. All of us including my sister enjoyed the
_____________(14) scenery. We also bought some _____________ (15) there. After
that, we visited the tomb of Princess Mahsuri as well as the Black Sand Beach.
Both these places have some historical significance and we were lucky to see
them with our own eyes after having read about them in books. In the evening,
we __________(16) our time by the seaside, enjoying the scenery and the crystal
clear water.
The next day, after breakfast, we _________(17) Pulau Langkawi . It was a
very _______________(18) and enjoyable holiday for my family and I. We had so
much fun there. I hope my family will go on another trip during the next school
holidays.

17

trip,

fun ,

souvenirs,

packed,

ferry,

excited,

beautiful,

car,

went,

colourful,

younger, spent, interesting, left, hotel, cute, receive ,

Activity 5
Using the wh-questions, expand the sentences below.

bought

1. We went for a holiday. (where, when)

__We went for a holiday in Kuala Lumpurduring the weekend.___________
2. My family visited Petronas Twin Towers. (when, why)
_______________________________________________________________
3. I felt happy. (why, where)
_______________________________________________________________
4. My mother gave me some money. (why)
_______________________________________________________________
5. We went shopping. (when, where)
_______________________________________________________________
6. We had breakfast. (what, where)
_______________________________________________________________
7. My sister and I were tired. (why)
_______________________________________________________________
8. We left the place. (how, when)
_______________________________________________________________

18

Activity 6
Paragraph Writing
Use the questions below to help you elaborate your points. Start each
paragraph with the sentence given.
Paragraph 1
My family and I went for a holiday.
1. Where did you go for your holiday?
- state the place

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

2. How long was your holiday?

_______________________________________

- duration of your holiday

_______________________________________

3. How did you feel?

_______________________________________

- happy, excited

_______________________________________
_______________________________________

Paragraph 2
We left our house early in the morning.
1. How did you go there?

_______________________________________

- by car, bus, train, plane

_______________________________________

2. During your journey, how did you feel? _______________________________________

- happy, enjoyed looking at the scenery

_______________________________________

3. How long was your journey?

_______________________________________

- number of hours

_______________________________________

4. What time did you arrive?

- state the time

_______________________________________
_______________________________________

5. After arriving there, what did you do?

- checked in, unpacked

_______________________________________

_______________________________________
_______________________________________

19

Paragraph 3
After resting for a while, we went out.

_________________________________

1. What places did you visit? Describe them.

_________________________________
-

name

the

places

and

describe

them

one

by

one

_________________________________
2. What did you buy?
- souvenirs

_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Paragraph 4
At night, we packed our clothes because

_________________________________

we would be going home the next day.

_________________________________

1. How did you feel about your holiday.

Give reasons.

_________________________________
_________________________________

- sad to leave: reason missed the place,

_________________________________
had such a wonderful holiday, wished it had
not ended

_________________________________

_________________________________

- hope to visit another place with family

_________________________________

- next school holidays

_________________________________

20

Activity 7
Parallel Writing
Write an essay about your holiday in Penang using the short notes given.
Paragraph 1

visited Penang during the holidays

packed our clothes
happy and excited about the trip
left home in the morning
went by car journey took about two hours

Paragraph 2

arrived and checked-in at hotel

unpacked our bags
went out and visited Penang Hill, cool, beautiful view
Batu Feringghi beach, strolled along the beach, many tourists, swimming

Paragraph 3

Botanical Gardens, many monkeys, fed them peanuts

ate many types of hawker food, delicious
e.g. char koay teow, laksa, nasi kandar
shopping

Paragraph 4

enjoyed holiday in Penang

visited many tourist spots
hope to visit Penang again during the next holiday

You can also use the sample essay for the following titles
1. Write about a place that you have visited during your holidays
2. Describe the most wonderful holiday you have ever had
3. Describe a place you would like to go for a holiday
4. Describe the happiest moment of your life
5. An Unforgettable Experience

21

SET 5: AN INCIDENT AT THE BEACH

Activity 1
When writing a narrative essay, the verbs used are mainly in the past tense.
This is because you need to describe an event or experience which had occurred
in the past.
Complete the table below with the correct verb form.
NOTE: Regular verbs usually add ed in the past form where as irregular verbs
usually have a different verb form.
REGULAR VERBS

PAST TENSE

like
clear
pull
prepare
shout
enjoy
drown
IRREGULAR VERBS

PAST TENSE

swim
sing
say
know
hear
see
spread
put

22

Activity 2
Expand the notes given below into correct sentences.
1.

last weekend went Pulau Pangkor family

_____Last weekend, I went to Pulau Pangkor with my

family__________________________
2.

swam water

__________________________________________________________________________
3.

Ipicnic family

___________________________________________________________________________
4.

Suddenly heard shout, Help! Help! Someone is drowning!

___________________________________________________________________________
5.

There - a child drifting water

___________________________________________________________________________
6.

I swam fast child

___________________________________________________________________________
7.

I grabbed child pulled him

___________________________________________________________________________
8.

I pulled the child to the shore still alive

___________________________________________________________________________
9.

childs sister Thank you, thank you. You are so brave.

___________________________________________________________________________
10.

crowd was clapping cheering me on

___________________________________________________________________________

23

The essay in Activity 3 can be used for the following topics.

An incident at the beach

Write a story ending with these words:

all of them were clapping and cheering him on

Activity 3
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in the brackets.
Gopal and his family like to ___________(go) to the beach during weekends
and school holidays. On some weekends, his parents ____________(bring) him and
his sister, Meena, to the seaside. Last weekend, they _____________(go) to Pulau
Pangkor.
After ___________(check) into the chalet, Meena ___________(say) eagerly,
Lets go ___________(swim).
She

and

her

brother

________(put)

on

their

swimsuits.

They

____________(walk) to the shoreline. They could _________(see) that the tide

_______(be) quite high. Happily, they ___________(walk) out into the water and
_________(swim). Their parents ___________(shout) at them to ________(be) careful
and not to ________(swim) too far out.
After a good swim, the whole family ______(has) a picnic under the coconut
tree. Their mother __________(has) ________(make) many types of sandwiches.
There ________(be) chicken, egg, tuna and sardine sandwiches. The sandwiches
___________(be) _______(spread) out on a mat on the sand. Next to the
sandwiches __________(be) bottles of mineral water. Their mother _________(has)
also ___________(bring) a flask of hot tea. She _______(know) their

father

________(like) a cup of hot tea after _________(eat) sandwiches. The whole family
__________(enjoy)the sandwich meal. Somehow, they ________(be) thinking that
those ____________(be) the best sandwiches they _________(has) ever tasted.
After eating, Gopals mother _________(clear) the cups and bottles on the
mat. Suddenly, they __________(hear) someone ___________(shout), Help! Help!
Someone ______(be) _______(drown)! Gopal _________(look) far out into the sea
and

______(see)

wave______(be)

child

__________(struggle)

__________(sweep)

the

child

in

the

away.

water.

The

child

The

strong

______(be)

24

_________(drift) in the water. It _______(be) obvious that she could not

_________(swim) and there ________(be) no lifeguards around.
Gopal could _________(hear) more shouts. A girl _____(be) _________(say)
between sobs, My little sister ________(be) _________(go) to __________(drown).
Please _______(save) her!
The girls standing around her also ___________(start) crying. They
_______(be) helpless for they could not __________(do) anything to _______(save)
the little girl. Gopal ________(know) he must _______(act) fast. He _______(run) to
the sea. He ________(swim) as fast as he could to the child. In a few minutes, he
__________(reach) the little girl. With his strong arms, he ________(grab) child and
________(pull) her to him.
Meena and her parents ________(be) ____________(stand) on the shore. They
______(be) ____________(worry) for Gopal. No doubt he ________(be) a good
swimmer but the waves __________(be) very strong. But they __________(feel)
relief when they __________(see) him __________(swim) back to the shore with
the child __________(hold) onto him.
There ______(be) a big crowd of people by then. They _______(see) Gopal
_________(carry)the little girl towards a deckchair. She ________(be) still alive! The
girls

sister

__________(run)

to

her.

She

___________(thank)

Gopal

for

_________(save) her little sisters life.

She ________(keep) on _________(say), Thank you, thank you! You
______(be) so brave. The crowd of people ________(hear) this. They too
____________(admire) Gopals bravery and quick action. Soon all of them
_________(be) ______________(clap) and _____________(cheer) him on.
(Source: 131 Model Compositions & Summaries, Anita Lim)

25

Activity 4
Parallel Writing
Write an essay following the same storyline as the above but using other
details.
Parallel
Writing

Introductio
n

Developm
ent of
Story
(Events)

Climax
(Most
interesting
part)

Falling
Action

Resolution
(Conclusio
n)

26

Setting
(Place,
Time and
Events)

- Redang,
Island,
- A month
ago
- chalets
- beach

Character
s

- Anna
-parents
- brother

-rested in
chalet
- had
lunch at
the
restaurant
- got
ready for
boat trip
- on the
boat,
watched
the waves
- saw a
turtle
swimming
- beautiful
scenery
- arrived
at
snorkelling
area
everybody
jumped
into the
water
- wore lifejackets
and
snorkeling
goggles
snorkelled
and
explored
the coral
reefs
- tourists
- scuba
divers

- saw
somebody
struggling
in water
-swam to
the man
-an old
man
without a
life-jacket
- old man
panicked
and
struggled
-old man
suffered
from leg
cramps
- old
mans
head hit
the coral
reef
-head was
bleeding
- pulled
the old
man up

-old man
regained
his
consciousn
ess
- boat
headed to
the jetty
- called for
ambulance
- son
thanked
Anna

-crowd
cheered
and
clapped

-old man
- son
- scuba
divers

- old man
- crowd

-crowd
-old man

27

SET 6: CRIME
Activity 1
Rearrange the jumbled word groups to form meaningful sentences. Use capital
letters and insert full stops where necessary.
1. tidy / he / up / began to / counter / the
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. blade / was / the robber / sharp/ a / holding
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. I / a small / on his / left / tattoo / arm/ noticed
______________________________________________________________________________
4. staggered / Bens / grandmother / in fright /back
______________________________________________________________________________
5. decided / before / Halim / investigate / calling / for help /to
______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2
Match the sentence part in Column A with Column B to form a complete
sentence. Write out the sentence in the space below.
Column A
1. Marlene was a chambermaid

2. She used to sing as her hands worked

3. As she entered the hotel suite,

4. With shock and terror, she rushed up to

butler,
Nazri,
5. Earlier on, he had brought up the luggage
of a
wealthy lady
6. Overwhelmed by the trauma,

Column B
but her singing was usually
drowned by the loud sound of the
vacuum cleaner
who had just emerged from
another guest-room with a
breakfast order
who was dressed in glittering
jewellery and branded apparel
from head to toe
whose job was to clean up the
hotel suites
Marlene could not finish her
sentence and burst into tears
she saw a hand and a leg sticking
out from under the bed

28

1.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________________________________________
5.
_______________________________________________________________________________
6.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 3
One word in each line has been omitted. The word that is omitted is marked
with a stroke (/). Write the omitted word in the right-hand column.

It was late at night and there / very few

customers
in the convenience store. Aiden was bored /
tired. His new colleague, Sean, had reported
sick, / Aiden was all alone. He began / tidy
up the counter. He was squatting down with
his back turned to / counter when he heard
Ding Dong! He looked / his watch. It was
2.50 a.m.
He stood / to face the customer who
had just entered. Aiden was /. He stared at
the robber in front of him. The robber was / a
sharp blade. The robber said that he would
not harm Aiden if Aiden / all the money from
his cash register. Then, a second / with a
bag and a blade as well walked / the store
towards Aiden. Aiden threw all the / into the

1.__________________
2.__________________
3.__________________
4.__________________
5.__________________
6.__________________
7.__________________
8.__________________
9.__________________
10.__________________
11.__________________
12.__________________
13.__________________
14.__________________
15.__________________
16.__________________
29

bag immediately. Aiden noticed a small

tattoo on / arm.

17.__________________
18.__________________

The men ran / without further delay

after getting what they wanted. Aiden
found / tattoo very familiar. He reported the
robbery to the /, telling them his suspicion.
Aiden was correct. The police soon / Sean,
who had been one of the robbers.

Activity 4
Write a story beginning with:
As Marlene entered one of the rooms of the hotel suite, she
saw
Use the guideline below to help you write the story.
You can imagine the situation of the story as in the picture below.

Paragraph 1
Expressions
What did Marlene see?
under the

What came into her mind?

a trick on her

Helpful
- a hand and a leg sticking out from
bed
- thought her eyes were playing

30

Did she believe her eyes?

slowly
What was Marlene doing on that day?

Paragraph 2
What was Marlenes job?
the hotel suites
Did she like her job?
work

- squeezing her eyes shut tightly

opened them again
- doing routine cleaning

- a chambermaid cleaned up
- in high spirits enjoyed her

tremendously
How did she show that she liked her job? - singing was drowned by the
loud sound of the
vacuum cleaner

Paragraph 3
What did Marlene do after the shock?
let out the

- tossed the vacuum hose down

involuntary scream of

sheer horror bolted

out of the room half
staggering half

Who did she meet?

from another

stumbling
- the butler, Nazri just emerged
guest-room with a

breakfast order
How did she express herself?
to the suite

- with a trembling finger pointing

could not finish her

sentence burst into

tears
What was the reaction of her colleague? - rushed into the suite to see for
himself what
had happened eyes
widened in horror at the
ghastly sight notified
his superior
immediately

Paragraph 4

31

When did the police arrive?

police arrived

- in less than ten minutes brought up discreetly

not wanting to alarm

the guests
- every corner of the room - checked
- Marlene had calmed down

What did the police do?

Did the police get any statement
statement
from Marlene?
How was the situation of the room after
few days
the incident?
ongoing

taken
- room remained vacant the next
investigations were

Paragraph 5
What was the result of the investigation? - revealed a porter had
committed
the cold-blooded
murder had a record of
armed robbery and
theft did not disclose to
the company was
known to be cheerful
and helpful towards
everyone
What made the culprit commit such crime?
- greed brought up the
luggage of a wealthy
lady dressed in
glittering jewellery and
branded apparel from
head to toe
What had the culprit done?
- victim had threatened the
culprit put up a
struggle in a
moment of panic smothered
her to death
Paragraph 6
What can you learn from the story?
cover

- a book cannot be judged by its

32