Tips to Write a Factual Essay for Continuous Writing, SPM

EXPOSITORY COMPOSITION

When writing the expository composition, you are required to write a composition
which demands some knowledge of the topic. This topic requires the students to
investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea and present in a clear
and concise manner. The composition is based on fact such as real events or
happenings, real examples and real figures if any. If the topic is on a current
issue, you need to have read about it.

Guidelines in Writing Expository Compositions

Make sure you understand what you should write in your composition.
Since your composition is based on fact?, you need a good knowledge of the
topic.
Jot down the points that come to your mind on this topic.
Do a mind map in which you jot down all the points on this topic.
Arrange the points that you have jotted down.
You can use one of these presentations:

-definition example
-compare and contrast cause and effect
-classification process analysis
Try to add in your composition real figures, examples and names.
The points must be well explained or illustrated.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s
Have a good knowledge of the topic.
List down the points.
Define the issue or topic and give
examples.
Arrange the points according to
importance.
Give examples and figures.
Present your points in a clear concise
manner.
Sum up points in the concluding
Don’ts
Choose the topic if you do not have a
good knowledge of the topic.
Start writing without jotting down the
points.
Start writing about the topic without
giving a clear definition of it.
Jumble up your points.
Forget to give examples and
longwinded.
End your composition without a
conclusion.

Common Sense Reminders For Writing your Essay under Exam

Conditions:
Spend at least 5-10 minutes planning — a well-organised plan will provide the
general control of your essay and will determine its quality.
Spend the last 5 minutes editing and proofreading your
essay. Students tend to be careless under pressure and lose marks for common
grammatical, punctuation and spelling mistakes.
It might seem that spending only 45 - 50 minutes for your essay proper is
inadequate, but if you write 1 line per minute with 8 words per line, this means
you will have about 360 - 400 words which is a good length for an essay. (You
must write a minimum of 350 words, but of course, you can write as much as 500
words.)

Your essay must have an arresting introduction, a coherent body expressed in

linking paragraphs and a conclusive ending.
Sample Essay

Factual
How can television help students in their studies? (Continuous Writing, SPM
2006)

Children and teenagers love watching television. Most of them spend more time
watching television than doing other activities [general discussion]. Television can
help students in their studies depending on the types of programmes watched by
them [thesis statement].

First of all, there are many educational programmes on television which can help
students in their studies [stating first point]. These programmes are carefully
constructed by the creative producers to make them interesting. Besides, talented
presenters as well as interesting visual and sound make it easier for the students
to understand and retain the knowledge learned [elaborating first point]. ASTRO
Tutor TV is a very good example. There are revision programmes for every subject
taught in school. Students can learn many tips and do the exercises given in
effort to prepare for public examinations such as UPSR, PMR and SPM [providing
details and examples to support first point].

Apart from that, the students’ language skills can be improved by watching
television programmes [stating second point]. Watching English movies, dramas
and sitcoms will provide the students with the input which will help them improve
their English Language [elaborating second point]. “Oh My English”, a popular
programme on ASTRO, is a sitcom about a replacement teacher from England
trying to teach English to a group of mischievous students. While watching this
sitcom, students will have the opportunity to learn English in context where
common errors are highlighted and corrected in a fun way [providing details
and examples to support second point].

Last but not least, various documentaries shown on television can inspire the
students to do well in their studies as well as in their future lives [stating third
point]. Watching these documentaries can create interest in the subjects learned
at school [elaborating third point]. For example, watching a scientific
documentary about the stars and the universe can inspire the students to excel in
science subjects. Consequently, they might become scientists when they grow up
[providing details and examples to support third point].

In conclusion, watching good programmes on television including educational

programmes, movies or documentaries can help students in their studies
[restating main points]. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that students have
watching television as one of the activities in their daily schedule [emphasize the
importance of topic].
Argumentative

There is a lack of freedom given to teenagers today. Do you agree?

The majority of teenagers today complain that they are not given sufficient
freedom. Despite their complaints, I believe that teenagers are given more than
adequate freedom. Since teenagers are still dependent on their parents, too much
freedom can be bad for them.

There are many parents who are careerists nowadays. As they are too busy
working, they can hardly stay home to monitor their children. Teenagers often
take advantage of their parents’ absence to hang out with friends, watch
television, play video games, et cetera. Rather than studying and doing their
homework, they also spend too much time on social networking websites. Since
they have a lot of freedom and barely anyone to supervise them, they tend to
neglect their studies. Their negligence usually have an adverse effect on their
academic performance.

A lot of parents have no idea who their children hang out with. There is a
Chinese proverb which highlights the fact that spending time with decent friends
influences us positively while mixing with bad friends influences us negatively.
When teenagers socialise with true and sincere friends with positive character
traits, their parents’ minds are put at ease. On the other hand, if they spend time
with undesirable friends with ulterior motives, they can get into serious trouble.
They can be cajoled into doing things that are harmful to their health such as
smoking, drinking and doing drugs. They can also be pressurised into doing
things that are morally unacceptable like gambling and committing crimes,
among many other instances.

Teenagers today are also given a lot of freedom to work and earn their own
money. While working at a young age is beneficial to them as they can learn
about responsibility and the value of money, they may also spend their hard-
earned money on inappropriate things like cigarettes and drugs. Whether or not
teenagers can cultivate good spending habits actually depends on their
upbringing. Thus, parents who teach their children well about good values
normally do not have much apprehension about the way they spend.
Unfortunately, many boys and girls in their teens are provided with too much
freedom when it comes to spending. As a consequence, they spend their money
however they want and often end up making bad choices.
 Excessive freedom is also given to teenage children to surf the Internet. While
it is true that they are able to learn about many beneficial things, the opposite is
also true. They can, for example, encounter bad or unsavoury characters who are
capable of swindling and even harming them. Due to the fact that teenagers are
still young, immature and innocent, they are more vulnerable to tricks and scams.

In a nutshell, I disagree that there is a lack of freedom given to teenagers

today. Although teenagers need a certain amount of freedom to grow and
experience life appropriately, too much of it is definitely unfavourable to them.
Since teenagers’ freedom is generally controlled by their parents, the latter should
monitor and adjust the amount accordingly so as to maximise the benefits to the
former.

Studying the literature component is useful. Do you agree? The literature

component was made part of the Malaysian school curriculum in 2000. This move
was seen as vital as literature has untold benefits for language learners. I strongly
believe that studying the literature component is useful because it helps promote
language learning, exposes students to a variety of cultures, improves thinking
skills and gives us a better understanding of mankind. To begin with, studying the
literature component helps encourage language learning. Literature texts, be they
poems, short stories or novels, can be used to teach grammar and vocabulary.
Grammar and vocabulary exercises generated from literature texts are more
interesting and motivating. They not only help us improve our understanding of
the language but also help us learn new ways of using language. Exposure to new
words, interesting phrases and literary devices such as metaphors, similes and
personification show us how language can be used creatively. By learning the
various literary devices we can even create our own examples of such devices.
Next, it cannot be denied that literature texts expose us to a variety of cultures.
The short stories and poems studied in Form Four are written by foreign and local
writers and through these texts we learn to understand and appreciate cultures
and ideologies which are not similar to ours. The poem Monsoon History, for
instance, exposes us to the Baba Nyonya culture. The short story The Droverís
Wife exposes us to the hardships of people who live in the Australian bush.
Looking for a Rain God, which is based on a true story, exposes us to the
hardships faced by the people in Botswana and how one family in particular
succumbs to the old practice of ritual killing. These and the other texts expose us
to the lives of different people across the continents and also their ways of
dealing with circumstances. The authors force us to explore our beliefs and those
of other people and by doing so we are able to understand people of other
cultures. Moreover, studying literature also helps us improve our thinking skills.
When we actively engage with literature texts, we are forced to think about
characters, themes and issues raised by the author or poet. We learn to gather
information not only from the text but also from our own observations,
experiences, and reflections as well as those of others. We learn to view things
from different perspectives. All these help develop our critical thinking skills.
Finally, literature gives us a better understanding of mankind. Great authors have,
over the centuries, conveyed their insights into human nature through an
amazing assortment of characters from all walks of life engaged in a variety of
activities. These characters, from the virtuous to the despicable, help us 65
understand the people around us. We might recognise some women around us
who are materialistic like Mathilde from The Necklace or cruel like Raviís
stepmother in The Return. Seeing such similarities can help us to understand and
accept other people. We cannot deny that there are immense benefits to be
reaped from studying the literature component and Education Ministry should be
lauded for making a wise decision to include it in the English Language syllabus.
Someone once said, ìA man who does not read or reads little or reads only trash,
is a person with an impediment.î Literature texts, be they classics or modern texts,
help remove these impediments. They are living texts and we should not overlook
the incredible wealth they offer us. The above essay is convincing because the
writer has presented and argued his case well.
Practices

1. In our society, teenagers are faced with problems. How can

they overcome these growing-up pains?

2. What are some etiquette tips to help teenagers interact

respectfully with people outside of their home setting?

3. Unity is important to our country. Discuss what you can do to

promote unity.

4. School leavers should be allowed to choose and decide on

their own career options. How far do you agree with this
opinion? Explain why.
5. Paper and books are outdated sources of information. How
far do you agree with this opinion? Explain why.

6. The
Malaysian tradition of inviting guests to stay for meals is
neighbourly and should be practised more. Do you agree? Give
reasons to support your view.