Writing is not science. It is a little like an art. I am no expert. However, having read quite a bit and being in the teaching profession before, I might be able to help by telling you what we look for in a composition. I can tell you as much as I can, but you hold the key. You have to put the bits together. There is no secret too, that you will need a good array of vocabulary, good ideas. You can only get these from reading, reading or reading.
I told my P6 students - a P5/P6 composition is worth 40 marks. Average students normally score 20 to 27. That means more than ten marks lost! Write well and you have the chance of scoring an 'A'. Else, do not even think about it!
Most books I have read on composition writing will tell you about the same thing. That writers need a good structure:
- A gripping opening
- An interesting body with good descriptions
- An unexpected, normally happy ending
Do not try to ask me why endings are normally of the happy type. As a teacher grading a piece of writing, I frown at pieces that give strange endings. Or of people dying. Sad. We normally prefer one that throws us off the feet, that has all details sewn up tightly to arrive at an unexpected ending. There is just too much to write about conclusions - I shall leave this to another article.
Some books recommend a 'Hamburger Model' for writers. Where the 'top bun' provides an interesting opening to the story, the vegetables/cheese to 'spice up' the story, the beef patty as the most important part, and the 'bottom bun' to hold the story well.
Or they say a story is like taking a trip up a hill/mountain. You need to start readers off on the right foot, introduce the characters and the build-up to the problem along your way to the summit. The tip of the hill/mountain is the climax of the story - the problem. You then go on the way to descend the hill/mountain, by resolving the conflict and explain the actions after the climax. The last part is concluding - akin to resting a the foot, perhaps to look back at the climb and reflect on it.
I shall put it to you in simple words. Depending on the picture / pictures you get or the stage that is introduced to you, you need to plan your story. Sure, if you have to write according to the three or four pictures given, there leaves little creativity and imagination. You can still make the best of everything that is given, but it is not easy.
How do you plan your story? Easier said than done. You have to decide how to end your story. Yes, plan how you wish your story to end before you even start the opening. Heard of people saying, "Write with an end in mind"? This is what is means. If your story is going to end off with the main character, Peter, being saved by his friends, Tom and Jerry, then his friends cannot appear "out of nowhere". You probably introduce them before the climax. Or do that in the conclusion. They cannot just 'appear' without good rhyme or reason. Decide on your type of ending, then plan your story to reach the end.
If I were to plan to write about pickpocket striking on a bus and being caught in the end, I might write on where the main character was going, what he saw along the way, when the pickpocket appeared, if anyone noticed and got suspicious and how he stole, before writing about how he was caught, and a lesson learnt by the main character.
Perhaps it was a story about a fire at home. I might write about how lucky the main character escaped death after being saved by his neighbours. I will then plan for my story to include why my main character was at home that day and why he had decided to cook, if he was an expert or novice at it. Why did the fire start? What was the distraction? Why could the main character not put it out in the first place? How did the neighbours discover the fire and how did they save the main character? After describing in detail about how he was saved, do I want to write about a lesson learnt? A promise made? A reflection on how to avoid it in future?
Telling the story is about answering questions readers may have. If your readers read your story and put it down with many question marks, you have not done well. If you write with an expected ending, you may have just passed. Write and surprise the reader pleasantly, you might have scored well for content. Do this last part and use good vocabulary, you might just ace the writing test.
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