Tips for composition

 Keep to the time schedule of 1 hr 5 min to complete the whole essay. 

 Read the question you have chosen and highlight or list down the keywords to avoid
"mental block" of ideas in the later stages of your writing.
 Analyse the way the question is phrased, paying attention to the directives/style.
 Begin with a strong thesis statement that introduces the main idea of your essay and
state key points
 Develop each key point in a complete paragraph, giving your supporing details.
 Use transitions to connect your points.
 Avoid using very definite statements when in doubt. Eg, can state "It took place in the
1980s" instead of stating "It took place in 1989" if you are not sure.
 End your essay with a summary of the main points. You can restate the central idea
and indicate why it is important. However, do not use the same words, paraphrase
instead.
 Generally, my advise is that you should try to spend about 5 to 10 minutes planning
your composition before starting to write. If you do not plan, you may find yourself
stuck at some point in your story wondering how to continue or trying to cover a
loophole you had overlooked. 
 Try to finish about 5 to 10 minutes before time to check through your writing and
correct any grammar mistakes. Check for:
o tenses (past, present, future etc)
o subject-verb agreement (singular, plural)
o punctuation (esp. for dialogues)
o verb forms
o etc
 Remember, keep practicing and you will improve! 
 Try to write one composition each week. 
 At the same time, read many books to improve your vocabulary and grammar! This
will also help give you ideas for more exciting and interesting stories. 
 Throw in as many descriptive words and expressions as possible (but not
excessively, of course). 
 Use your imagination to play out the story in your mind, and put these into words.
You are the director of your story. Make the reader feel the emotions and visualize
the scenes that you have in your mind. 
 Also remember to write neatly and make sure your paragraphing is clear. 
 Leave lines to make your writing more legible.

Main steps in writine a composition

 Choose a suitable topic - Consider the following factors
o Do you have many things to write about for this topic? Do you know enough
about this topic? Do you have good examples to substantiate your points?
o Do you understand the topic? If a topic seems ambiguous or unclear, avoid it.
o For narratives: do you have a good story idea in mind already? Is your writing
skills and vocab strong enough to tackle narratives?
o Take note of how many part each topic contains. Consider avoiding questions
with several parts because you may forget to answer one of the parts in the
question. It may also be difficult to allocate the time between 2-3 parts.
 Use the right format
 Find a clear theme
o A theme should consist of one or two sentences which summarise a
composition and which will be used to form a plan. (ie a "thesis statement"). 
o For one-word topics, the theme may not be clear. You may use the following
methods to develop your theme for such topics:
 Part in the life of man: Describe the part and perhaps importance
which the topic has in the life of man (Eg Food, Water, Discipline)
 Chronological order: Give a chronological or historical account of the
development of the topic (Eg Women's rights, Pollution, Computers)
 Factual: Give a factual account of the topic (and perhaps its uses or
causes) (Eg Electricity, Flying, Water)
 Advantages and Disadvantages: Describe the advantages and
disadvantages (or good and weak points) of the topic (Eg
Newspapers, Gambling, Fashion)
 Different attitudes: Describe different types of something or different
attitudes toward it (Eg Keeping fit, Dreams, Heroes)
 Collect your points
 Consider when, where, why, how, what happened as a result
 Arrange your points in a suitable order
 chronological/historical order
 in order of importance
 advantages, and then disadvantages
 different points of view
 according to different places/countries
 according to different methods/attitudes/types/reasons
 discuss problems and solutions to them
 describe the causes of an event, the action itself, and the results
 describe aims/hypothess, methods and conclusions
 etc
 Start
 Start with a statement of your theme
 Use dialogue (direct speech)
 Describe an action which is relevant to your theme
 Use a proverb or quotation.
 Develop your theme
 Finish
 by giving a summary of your main points
 by restating your theme as a reminder and summary of the whole
composition
 by looking into the future, speculating briefly about what may happen
in future
 by giving a happy or surprise ending to a story
 Check for mistakes
 check that your composition is long enough
 punctuation
 grammar
 spelling