A Composition A Week - Honesty is the Best Policy

In Learning Partners, composition writing is a very structured process. Each week, the pupils are given a theme to write on. We discuss the general structure for a story based on the theme before zooming into the exact content and vocabulary that would be used. Then the pupils are taught how to use the vocabulary given. Only after they have been taught the vocabulary do they begin writing.

We do this for a couple of reasons:

1.         Our pupils come in with varying standards of English. Some are excellent writers already. Such pupils are looking for ways to hone their skills. And then there are those who can barely string together a grammatically sound English sentence. Such a process helps to reinforce the structure of the English sentence for these pupils. Our experience shows that, generally, even very weak pupils show a marked improvement in the structure of their sentences within 6-9 months.

2.         Many pupils, even those with a firm grasp of English, do not know what to write. Other pupils have the tendency to recount an event in a very straightforward manner. Hence, if left to their own devices, they would finish a story in less than 100 words. There are also pupils whose understanding of the world is still immature and distorted. Such pupils tend to produce plots that are unbelievable or plain impossible. Thus the process they go through in Learning Partners is actually assuring and motivating for them because in the process, they not only write, but write a long story with all the bells and whistles. This actually boosts their confidence and at the same time, allows them to imbibe the story format along with the ideas and vocabulary for that particular theme.

Yet, this means that most pupils end up writing very similar compositions, which doesn’t say much for creativity. How we try to overcome that is to encourage the pupils who are stronger in English or who have a flair for the written word to personalise the story as much as they could by adding in more details/descriptions or using their own vocabulary. This week’s One Composition a Week is a great example of that – how an above-average writer customises the template that she has been handed and in the process, creates a stronger story than the original. The words in black are from the original template whereas the writer’s additions are in bolded blue.

Honesty is the Best Policy

The sun was shining brightly in the azure sky. Fluffy white clouds that looked like white cotton candy drifted across the horizon lazily. It was a pleasant morning. Ella had brought her pet dog, Mocha Chip, out for a walk in the neighbourhood park. Mocha Chip was Ella’s miniature dachshund and was brown in colour. Ella had had it since she was five. It was Ella’s most beloved pet. Ella looked forward to enjoying her stroll in the park. She took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air. Mocha Chip was sniffing left and right. There were many interesting things on the path.

All of a sudden, Mocha Chip yelped loudly. This was very unusual behaviour for the dog. Then, it broke free and dashed off. Ella was taken aback. Mocha Chip had never behaved that way before. She shouted at Mocha Chip to stop but to no avail.

Anxiously, Ella followed Mocha Chip. When she caught up with her dog, she yanked its leash tightly. Then, Ella’s eyes widened in surprise. She had discovered a brown bag among the bushes. She looked around for someone to claim the bag but there was not a single soul in sight. Out of curiosity, Ella opened the bag.

Ella’s jaw dropped. There were wads of notes in the bag! Stunned, Ella rubbed her eyes. She wanted to keep the money as she recalled an incident that took place the previous week. She and her mother had seen a beautiful sapphire necklace in a jewellery shop while they were window shopping. She remembered how Mother had looked at the necklace yearningly. Ella was tempted to keep the money to buy the necklace as a present for her mother as it was her mother’s birthday next week. But in the end, she decided not to.

After thinking for a while, Ella took the bag to the police station which was a street away. She related the whole incident to the police officers on duty. The police commended her for her honesty. Ella was glad that she had done the right thing because honesty is the best policy.

Gao Xiao Ni

Primary 4