personal recount essay topics secondary one

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• Aug 26, 2023

Personal recount Reflective model essay Secondary

Updated: Apr 27

Personal recount/Reflective model essay Secondary

Topic: write about a time when you did something to impress someone which you later regretted.

This is a common topic for secondary school students. Below you will find a Personal recount/Reflective model essay sample for secondary school students. You can use this as inspiration for your writing. Also, do not forget to download the FREE SAMPLE to our O'Level & Secondary Essay Writing Cheat Sheet .

I can never forgive myself for this. Till today, I regret this, and the memory haunts me. I was in Primary 5. It was the first day of school when Deaven waltzed into class. Her hair was unkempt, the buttons from her uniform were missing, and nobody liked her. Despite that, out of the kindness of my heart, I was drawn to her. She was lonely and often sat alone in the canteen. Soon, I would join her, and a friendship blossomed between us.

Fast forward a few months later, and things did not improve with Deaven. The bullying got out of hand, and Deaven was often the last one to be picked when it came to group projects. When she was finally 'forced' to join a group, she would be greeted with looks of disdain. Despite all that happened, I chose to hang out with Deaven until late August.

I was running for class president, and the support of my fellow classmates was important. I was pretty popular and doing well. However, one late Friday afternoon, things changed. As I was grooming myself in the bathroom, I was approached by a group of 'popular' girls from my class.

"Are you Deaven's friend?" Pricilia, the 'ringmaster' of the group, inquired.

"Yes!" I replied.

"Ew! I thought you were cool. If you are friends with her, I guess I'll just have to tell everyone not to vote for you!" Priscillia sneered at me. Soon after, they left. I did not think much about it. However, what happened the following Monday made me reconsider my friendship with Deaven.

The following Monday, I was given the cold shoulder by almost everyone in class. Whatever Priscillia was doing, she was succeeding. I was not popular, and I witnessed my votes dwindling. Feeling afraid that I would not be well-liked by everyone, I did something that I would regret.

During recess, Deaven approached to sit beside me. I did something awful. Before she could sit down, I pulled her chair away, and Deaven crashed onto the floor. While everyone started laughing, I joined in on the laughter. To add fuel to the fire, I pretended to drop my soda on her by 'accident.' Soon, the canteen was filled with hoots of laughter, but Deaven's face cascaded with tears. Eventually, I won the favour of my classmates back. I became the class president. I never really engaged with Deaven again. Months later, she left for another school, and I never saw her again. Though I became class president, my conscience pricked me. I can never forget the look of betrayal on her face when I pulled the chair from her. Years later, I am combing through different social media platforms to get a glimpse of Deaven so I can just tell her how much I regret hurting her. This is one regret I may have to carry for the rest of my life.

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Personal Recount: Using FATS to Develop Dilemmas

• Posted By Randall Chew

Hi everyone, I’m Ms Atifa, an English teacher at Lil’ but Mighty. Have you ever had a tough time in a situation where making a choice seemed impossible? I’m sure that you have, and you might also know that such a situation is called a dilemma.

A dilemma refers to a situation where a difficult choice has to be made, and often, both of the choices carry some form of undesirability. For instance, imagine you and your best friend won tickets to a concert by your favourite artist. When you asked your parents if you could go, they firmly told you that you couldn’t. However, your best friend told you that you could lie to your parents in order to attend the concert without their knowledge. Your mind was fraught with the question: Do you listen to your best friend and tell a lie to your parents, or do you listen to your parents and miss an opportunity of a lifetime?

When writing a Personal Recount essay, you can use this particular literary device to add depth to the incident that you are retelling. In case you have forgotten, let’s briefly recap what a Personal Recount entails. This particular type of essay requires you to recount an incident that you have experienced which is related to the topic. When writing a Personal Recount, you can use the following structure to organise your ideas:

• Introduction – start with an interesting hook to entice your reader
• Background Information – this is where you provide important information that willhelp your reader understand the recounted experience
• Recount • Rising Action – this retells the events the lead to the climax • Climax – this represents the most exciting part • Falling Action – this part recounts the events that resulted from the climax
• Reflections – this last paragraph usually shows what you took away from the recounted experience

The Climax of the Recount would be the most important part of your entire essay. This would be where the writer encounters a problem and displays some form of struggle that needs to be overcome in the Falling Action. Hence, the Climax is a great place for you to introduce a dilemma.

When writing a dilemma, you can use the F.A.T.S. technique, which stands for:

• F acial Expressions

Let’s see how we can apply F.A.T.S. to develop a dilemma according to the following essay question:

Write about a time when you did something just to impress someone which you later regretted. (O Level 2020 Paper 1 Section C)

First, think of a dilemma you would have that is relevant to the topic. To do so, use the 5W1H questions to help you, for example: Who did I want to impress? What did I do to impress him/her? Where did this incident take place? The resulting dilemma could be something like this:

The most popular student in school dares me to steal a book. Do I listen to him or do I refuse?

Then, plan how you can develop the dilemma using F.A.T.S. Take a look at the table below. In the left column are questions for you to consider to help you think of some ideas for each part. On the right are some examples of phrases you can use when describing the above- mentioned dilemma:

The final step is to put everything together. The paragraph should look something like this:

Take note of how the final choice made by the writer relates closely to the question, i.e. since the first part of the question is about doing something to impress someone, the writer makes the final decision to steal the book in order to impress Ben the bully. Remember this when you are crafting your dilemma for the Personal Recount that you are writing.

Now, it’s your turn to try! Using F.A.T.S. , think of a dilemma you would have for the following topic, and how you can apply F.A.T.S. to develop it:

Write about a time when you disappointed someone close to you.

Remember to follow the steps I have outlined above to help you get started. First, think of a dilemma that is related to the question. Use the 5W1H questions to help you brainstorm some ideas, for instance: Who was the person that I disappointed? What action did I do that disappointed this person? When did this take place?

Here is an example of a possible response:

While sitting for my end-of-year examination, I notice my best friend cheating and looking at answers from a slip of paper under the table. Do I tell our teacher about her actions and risk disappointing my beloved friend, or do I keep quiet and carry the burden of ignoring her dishonest actions?

Next, develop the dilemma using F.A.T.S. by using the questions below to help you. Remember to jot down your ideas next to the questions:

Putting everything together, you should have written something like this:

Again, remember to show how the final choice made is closely linked to the question, i.e. the writer makes the final decision to inform the teacher about her friend’s dishonest act and in this way, disappoints her friend who would have expected the writer to cover for her.

Also, notice how S (Speech) is not present in the dilemma. This is because the situation the writer finds herself in (taking an exam) does not lend itself to the use of speech. Hence, whilst using F.A.T.S. will help you to develop your dilemma, you should also take heed to ensure that its usage fits the situation in the recount. If you find yourself being unable to use any part of F.A.T.S. , you can try to describe more of the other parts, like how in the example above I have included more descriptions for A (Actions) and T (Thoughts), to ensure that the dilemma is still well-elaborated.

I hope you give this practice a try, and remember to explore using a dilemma in your Personal Recounts if it is relevant to the topic. Don’t forget to apply the F.A.T.S. technique to develop your dilemmas as well. Happy writing!

ENGLISH COMPOSITION PLAN? WHAT’S THAT?

Good writers plan. They think through what they want to write before they actually write.

Before writing a story, some good writers may write their plans down or draw a mind map.

Sometimes, they SEEM like they are not planning but actually, they already know what is necessary for a good English Composition (due to numerous practice!) and have formed a mental plan in their minds.

It all starts with a plan. With a good plan, half the battle is won before you even start writing.

• Find Out More

In her time teaching, she has incorporated elements of drama into her classes to engage her lower primary students. She tries her best to get to know all of her students and is always keen to find out each of their interests and hobbies. She believes that each student has personalised needs, and aims to make lessons fun and helpful for all of her students.

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How to Write a Personal Recount

Last Updated: January 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 134,756 times.

Writing a personal recount requires you to retell an activity or event that happened in your own life. You must structure your story in a way that makes sense while using language that matches the same purpose.

Considerations

• The first thing you need to understand is the writing prompt itself. If your teacher asks you to write about a favorite holiday memory, your recount needs to describe something that happened during a holiday. It should not describe a favorite memory that happened in school, after class on a normal school day, or during a normal weekend.
• Pay attention to requirements concerning length, as well. Your teacher may tell you how many words, pages, or paragraphs your recount needs to be. If these instructions are not included and you aren't sure about how long the piece must be, consider asking your teacher directly.

• Most recounts are meant to inform, entertain, or do some combination of the two. Personal recounts are generally written for entertainment, but if your teacher asks you to describe an event he or she was not present for—like what happened during your last sports game or during a time when a substitute teacher led class—you also need to make sure that you provide plenty of accurate information about that event.

• For classroom purposes, your recount will usually be written for either your teacher or your peers. Your teacher will want to see that you followed the instructions he or she provided. Your classmates will usually want to be entertained with a story they can enjoy or relate to.

• For example, if you need or want to write a personal recount about a fun summer memory, you probably shouldn't write about your best friend moving away. As a sad memory, describing the loss of your friend won't create the “fun” mood your recount is supposed to have.

• Choose something simple. For instance, a recount about your favorite pet might be titled, “My Favorite Pet.”

• Identify the participants. Even though a personal recount must retell a story from your own life, other people will probably be involved in your story, too. Mentioning these individuals early on will prevent the reader from being surprised or confused later.
• Explain when the activity happened and where it happened, as well. These details are crucial if you want your readers to understand the events of your story.
• For example, if you choose to write about a beach vacation spent with your family, consider starting with something like, “I spent the first week of July with my mother, father, sister, Uncle Eric, and Aunt Lydia. We stayed at a hotel on the beach.”

• For instance, if school was canceled for the day because of a major blizzard, you should mention the blizzard first, followed by the discovery that school was canceled. Write about what you did with your day off only after explaining why you had that day off.

• As a general rule, only describe events that the reader would not be able to predict. When writing a personal recount about your weekend, you could describe the games you played, the people you met with, and any special treats you may have enjoyed. You do not need to explain that you went to sleep each night or ate breakfast each morning, however, since those are things your teacher expects you to do every weekend.

• For personal recounts that cover an extended period of time, each paragraph might describe one easily separated portion of that time. A recount about your weekend might include one paragraph for Friday evening, one paragraph for Saturday, and one paragraph for Sunday. A recount about your summer might include one paragraph for May, one paragraph for June, one paragraph for July, and one paragraph for August.

• This is especially important when you are writing a personal recount about someone or something important. Personal recounts about your favorite pet should include a description of how your pet looks. Personal recounts about your grandparents should include descriptions of how your grandparents look and sound.

• Consider including a personal opinion about what happened. For instance, you might say conclude a personal recount about your Christmas with a statement like, “This past Christmas was very fun.”
• You may also need to conclude by describing the outcome of the activity. If you are telling a recount about your visit to the doctor, end with an explanation of what your doctor told you or what medicine he or she gave you. [3] X Research source

• For a personal recount, you need to describe how you felt and what you did. Doing this will be impossible if you do not tell the story from your perspective.

• The words “played,” “raced,” and “painted” describe the actions you and your cousin performed.
• It makes more sense to say that you performed these actions than to describe these events without saying anything about doing them. A description of the park you raced to won't make sense if you don't first explain that you raced to it.

• This means converting all of your verbs to the past tense. Instead of saying that you “enjoy” eating at your favorite restaurant, you will need to write that you “enjoyed” eating at your favorite restaurant.
• For most verbs, you can change them to the past tense by add “-ed” to the end of the verb. Examples include: enjoyed (enjoy), played (play), visited (visit), walked (walk)
• For some verbs, several letters within the word will change and no “-ed” is needed. A few common examples include: ran (run), ate (eat), went (go)

• Transitions describe the order of events. A few examples include: first, next, later, meanwhile, then, finally
• First , I did _________.
• Next , we went to the ______.
• Later , I decided to ______.
• Meanwhile , my parents were ______.
• Then , all of us ______.
• Finally , we ended the day by ______.

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• ↑ https://englishonline.tki.org.nz/English-Online/Planning-for-my-students-needs/Resources-research-and-professional-support/Features-of-text-forms/Recounts
• ↑ https://www.ziptales.com/pdfs/scripts/write-recount.pdf

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Exam Smart Tips for Secondary English Paper 1 and Paper 2

• Secondary School Composition

Secondary school English exams could be intimidating to a student seeing it for the first time. It tests your logic and ideas, challenges your comprehension skills and pushes the limits of your vocabulary.

However, the aim of secondary school English is, in essence, the same as primary school English. By the time you graduate, you should be able to express mature and developed ideas fluently and accurately.

Combined, Paper 1 and Paper 2 is worth 70% of your English grade. The exam may seem intimidating at times but don’t worry, here are some tips to help you navigate through it.

Before you carry on, you might want to download this really long article in PDF format first so you can refer to it later, or to use it for revision purposes…

Breakdown of Paper 1

Paper 1 has a total of 70 marks and is made up of 3 parts: Editing, Situational Writing and Continuous Writing.

Section A – Editing (Express English)

Students will be given a passage made of 12 lines. Out of the 12 lines, 8 lines will contain a grammatical error while 2 will not. You will need to circle the grammatical errors and write the correct word in the space beside the passage. For lines that do not have an error, put a tick. 1 mark will be given for each correct answer. Students can get a total of 10 marks.

• Read the entire sentence

You will feel tempted to study the passage line-by-line. However, the line may not contain the full sentence. A sentence can start halfway in line 1 and end only in line 2.

Reference from Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Mid-Year Examination 2016 Secondary One Express English Language Paper 1

Sometimes, the error jumps out at you once you see it, but you won’t know for sure it is an error unless you read the whole sentence and understand the context.

This section is designed to camouflage grammatical errors. Read the passage meticulously to spot the errors.

Know the technical grammar rules

Going by what ‘sounds right’ won’t work. You will doubt yourself because the errors may ‘look’ or ‘sound’ correct, and lines that don’t contain errors may ‘look’ or ‘sound’ incorrect.

You must be very clear on technical terms. You will need to know how to use the different tenses, singular vs plural, prepositions, articles, adverbs, conjunctions and spot Subject-Verb Agreement errors. These are the common grammatical errors in the Editing section, so be sure to read up about them.

Section B – Situational Writing

Made up of 30 marks, this section will be marked according to task fulfilment (15 marks) and use of language (15 marks). The writing has to be between 250 to 350 words.

Students will be given a visual stimulus. The question will contain the context and tasks for the situational writing. The ‘situations’ include writing recommendations, proposals, formal letters of complaint, blog posts, notices, announcements, speeches, and so on. Students are required to use either a formal or informal tone for their writing, depending on the audience and context.

The question will provide 4 key points that the writing must include. Information for some of the key points cannot be found in the visual stimulus, so students will have to make up hypothetical scenarios or plans.

Purpose, Audience, Context (PAC)

PAC determines the tone and language you should use and the appropriate direction for your writing.

The question will provide a detailed context to guide students. Study the context to sieve out appropriate information for your situational writing. Highlight key words and note down ideas you get while reading it.

The context also tells you to whom you are writing to and whose point of view you should be adopting.

Knowing what the reader is looking for will give ideas on what kind of information should be included. Try to ‘embody’ the perspective you are writing from.

Use your own words

Students are strongly encouraged to use their own words when extracting information from the visual. If you are able to adapt the information to fit your writing, it shows your strong writing skills.

Besides, the text in the visual tend to be phrased factually or in tones unsuitable for your context. Consider what the context is and paraphrase the text into the appropriate.

Highlight the information that you need

The information in the visual will not be so straight-forward. There will be information that you do not need to include in your writing. Be perceptive to identify the relevant information.

As you plan out your situational writing, highlight or mark out the details that you need from the visual. This will help you stay focused on what is required and remove distractions.

Section C – Continuous Writing

Section C is made up of 30 marks. Students will choose 1 out of 4 topics to write a 350 to 500-word essay on and no pictures will be provided.

Each topic tests a different writing style. The options include discursive, argumentative, personal recount or a hybrid that combines two styles – for example, a hybrid of personal recount and discursive writing.

Play to your strengths

If you are more confident in writing factual, non-descriptive text, then choose one of the discursive or argumentative topics. If you are more familiar with writing descriptive or recount essays, then you may choose a hybrid essay.

Highlight the keywords

After choosing which topic you would like to write, highlight the keywords in the question.

Make sure you understand every word in the topic so you know exactly what you should write about. If you misunderstand even one word, you may end up with an essay that is entirely out of point. Always go with the topic that you have fewer doubts about.

Dive deeper

Secondary school students are expected to display writing that is more mature in thought and skills.

Avoid “childish” language. Similes like “as fast as a cheetah” and “as quiet as a mouse” are acceptable in primary school compos, but they are no longer recommended in secondary school. Your language use should reflect sophistication in ideas and creativity. You can, for example, try coming up with your own similes and metaphors.

As far as possible, draw from personal experience. Writing about an experience or idea that is not your own will come off as stiff, generic and undeveloped. You have more personal insights to write about than you think.

On top of that, possessing general knowledge on a myriad of topics such as history, geography, science, etc, will give you the content necessary for to write secondary school essays.  Keeping up to date with current affairs will help greatly too.

Breakdown of Paper 2

With a total of 50 marks, each section of Paper 2 consists of 1 Visual Text segment and 2 Comprehension segments.

Section A is made up of 5 marks and a maximum of 5 questions. Students will be given a visual text, such as an advertisement, a poster, or a brochure.

This section tests your ability to explain the thought process behind creating the piece of advertisement. You will have to identify the purpose of the advert, explain how or why certain phrases or headlines are effective and show that you understand the underlying meaning of the text and/or visuals.

Look at the visuals and text as a whole

The visuals and words work together to form meaning. Study everything in context and understand how the visuals give meaning to the text and vice versa.

Put yourself in the shoes of the relevant party

When you are asked what the purpose of the text is, you need to see it from the point of view of the creator of the advert. What are the pictures and text trying to sell or promote? Who is the target audience of the advert?

When asked why or how a certain part of the advertisement is effective, try seeing yourself as the audience. If you were the target audience, what would catch your eye and why? What would you think when you see that certain headline, sentence or picture? You must be able to express and explain your thoughts concisely.

Section B & Section C

Section B is worth 20 marks, and the text you are tested on is narrative in nature. Section C is worth 25 marks, and the text is factual. Besides the few straight-forward questions you can get directly from the passage, you will mostly be tested on challenging questions that require higher order skills such as inferential skills or analytical skills to answer.

Read the title, author and the questions before reading the passage so you get an idea of what the text will be about. This orientates and prepares your mind to take in the information while reading later. Remember to annotate the text as you are reading in order to internalise the information given.

Answer in full sentences

Make sure you answer in complete sentences, but do not repeat the stem of the question. Your answer should be precise without additional details. You can take note of the number of marks for the question (usually in brackets). It will give you an idea of how many points your answer should include.

Build a strong vocabulary

‘Use your own words’ questions will explicitly state that students must use their own words to explain a phrase, word or expression from the passage. The easy part is finding the answer from the text. The tough part is rephrasing it in your own words.

Identify the keywords that you must include in your answer, then use antonyms or synonyms to replace them. You will need some basic vocabulary knowledge, so build up on your vocabulary for common words.

There will also be Flowchart questions that ask you to summarise parts of the text into one word or phrase, or to state the change in emotions that the character goes through in each paragraph. The question will prompt you to refer to certain paragraphs in the passage, and you must pick the word or phrase that best summarises or emphasises the focus of each paragraph.

The options may seem similar to one another. You must be aware of the slight difference in meaning and whether the words are suitable in the context of the passage. Although you don’t need to use your own words, a strong vocabulary is needed for this type of question as well to be able to grasp the subtle meanings of each option.

Exercise your inferential skills

Questions that require inference are the most common in English Paper 2.

You must be able to understand the point of view of the characters in the text or even the author of the text. Train yourself to ask “why” and “how”. Ensure that you can express your thoughts clearly and effectively in one or two sentences.

There will be questions that ask students to explain why certain creative or figurative expressions were used in the text. It can also be the other way around, where the question asks which figurative expression was used to create a certain effect on the reader and explain how effective it is.

Refer back to the text for the paragraph that the word, phrase or sentence can be found. The context of that sentence or paragraph will give you clues. After you have a good grasp of the context, analyse the effect of the expression. You will need to put yourself in the shoes of the reader or author identify its intended impact and then explain it in your own words.

Of course, this is easier said than done, and that is why honing your inferential and answering skills requires years of practice.

Summary question

One of the most challenging segments is the summary question in Section C. This question is worth 15 marks, which are broken down into 8 for content and 7 for style. You can only write a maximum of 80 words. Anything past that word limit will not be counted as part of your answer.

You will be asked to give a summary of the topic raised in the passage. This could be a summary of reasons, ideas, and advantages or disadvantages, just to name a few examples.

‘Style’ refers to sentence structure, grammar, phrasing, punctuation, and spelling. Students are encouraged to refrain from lifting text from the passage. You have to use your own words or paraphrase sentences without changing its original meaning.

Content refers to the 8-10 key points that your summary must include Feel free to include as many points as you can but remember that 1 mark will be given for 1 key point and the maximum score for content is 8.

The question will tell you exactly what you need to look for. Scan the passage and highlight the points that you need to include. A good rule of thumb to make sure you have at least 8 points.

Some information may seem relevant to the question, but it is up to you to decide whether to include it while writing your summary or not. One general guideline is to exclude the listing of examples that are usually stated to back up a main point.

You have probably figured out by now that both English Paper 1 and Paper 2 require you to flex your vocabulary and inferential skills a lot.

If you have just started secondary school, English will be more difficult than you anticipated, but it is a natural progression that takes some getting used to.

Don’t be disheartened. Keep building your vocabulary. Keep honing your writing skills. Learn from your mistakes… and sooner or later, your hard work will pay off.

All the best!

See more related articles and information on Writing Samurai:

• How to Write Argumentative Essays
• How to Write Discursive Essays
• Benefits of Secondary English Tuition
• Past O-Level Essays and Questions
• 7 Exam-Smart Tips For Language Editing

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Lower secondary Writing Series 1 – E04: Hybrid writing

Following Tr Rachael previous lessons about  analysing your essay questions ,   narrative writing  and  expository writing , here is a new lesson for you showcasing the Hybrid Writing technique.

Hybrid writing technique

In this lesson 4, the learning objectives are:

1. Be familiar with the structure of a hybrid essay 2. Know how to signpost your essay to show you have addressed both genres

What is a hybrid essay?

It refers to combination of 2 genres of writing in 1 essay.

What are the two types of hybrid essay?

Descriptive and reflective (expository).

• Describe some school-wide events that are held in your school. What are some lessons you can learn from them?
• Describe your experience of working with others. How has it helped develop you as an individual and team player?

Personal recount and reflective (expository)

• Write about a conflict you had with a close friend or loved one. What are some lessons you learnt from the experience?
• Write about a time someone inspired you to be courageous. In what ways did this experience grow you as an individual?

How do you organise/structure a hybrid essay?

Detailed explanation & hybrid essay example

In the video below, Teacher Rachael gives more details about this technique and shows an hybrid essay example (Option A).

DOWNLOAD THE LESSON’S HANDOUT (PDF FILE)

Hybrid writing assignment

If you would like more practice on narrative writing, download the assignment below.

DOWNLOAD THE ASSIGNMENT (PDF FILE)

Check the other articles from this section

• Tackling the Situational Essay (Part 3): Making Your Feature Article an Engaging Read
• Taking the Leap from Primary to Secondary English with Confidence!
• Secondary English Paper 1 components: Diagnosing your strengths and weaknesses
• Lower secondary Writing Series 1 – E05: Avoiding writing pitfalls
• Tackling the Situational Essay: Using persuasive speech techniques
• How to write a good Situational Essay: Analyse, Amplify and Apply the appropriate tone
• Narrative Writing: Tips and Tricks
• Post-Exam Reality Check in 3Rs
• From primary to secondary English: What’s new and challenging?
• Lower secondary Writing Series 1 – E03: Expository writing
• Discursive essay: Writing a well-developed body Paragraph
• 3 tips for tackling the summary Question
• Secondary 1 English: An introduction on how to create interesting characters
• Secondary 2 English – Editing through clue-finding
• A Sneak Preview of the Secondary English Writing in the Sec 2 class
• Lower secondary Writing Series 1 – E02: Narrative writing practice
• Lower secondary Writing Series 1 – E02: Narrative writing (or how to write good essays)
• Lower secondary Writing Series 1 – E01: How to analyse essay questions
• Sec 2: 5 tips to help you write great English expository essays

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How to Write a Recount Text (And Improve your Writing Skills)

WHAT IS A RECOUNT TEXT?

The recount text type retells an experience or an event that happened in the past.   The purpose of a recount is to inform, entertain, and/or evaluate.

A recount can focus on a specific section of an event or retell the entire story.  The events in a recount are usually related to the reader in chronological order; That is, in the order they happened.

Recounts are an excellent genre for emergent writers to cut their teeth on. Written mainly in the past tense, recounts offer younger student-writers the opportunity to tell a story in writing without placing cumbersome demands on their creative abilities to construct a well-structured storyline. To avoid the necessity for any research, personal recounts are often the best place for beginners to start. All they’ll need for their plot is a half-decent memory!

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING RECOUNT WRITING

MASTER RECOUNT WRITING  with this complete  EDITABLE UNIT  that ensures your students learn how to retell events with accuracy and energy.   covering  PERSONAL, FACTUAL, LITERARY  and  HISTORICAL RECOUNTS.

Teach your students to write AMAZING RECOUNTS in various styles with this COMPLETE 78 PAGE UNIT . No preparation is required.

WHAT ARE THE FIVE TYPES OF RECOUNT?

There are many different styles of recounting. Let’s take a look at the five main types before studying the recount text structure and features.

PERSONAL RECOUNT : A Personal Recount text retells an activity in which the writer has been personally involved. Personal recounts often build an intimate relationship between the writer and the reader. Some common types of personal recounts include anecdotes, diary & journal entries, personal letters, etc. While there are some differences, a personal narrative has much in common with a personal recount.

PROCEDURAL RECOUNT: A Procedural Recount records the steps in an investigation or experiment, thereby providing the basis for reported results or findings.  A procedural recount records events such as a science experiment or cooking. Procedural recounts present the events chronologically (in the order in which they happened). The purpose of procedural recounts is to inform the audience. They differ somewhat from a traditional procedural text .

FACTUAL / NEWSPAPER RECOUNT / HISTORICAL RECOUNT : Factual Recounts report the particulars of an incident by reconstructing factual information, e.g. police reconstruction of an accident, historical recount, biographical and autobiographical recounts.  A factual recount is an objective recount of an actual event by someone not personally involved in the situation. Its purpose is either to inform, entertain or both.

LITERARY RECOUNT: A Literary Recount retells a series of events for the purpose of entertainment.  A literary recount is like a factual recount in many regards.  Both provide details about what happened, including who was involved, when and where the event occurred, and what may have resulted. A literary recount can be about real or fictional events and characters.

IMAGINATIVE RECOUNT : Applies factual knowledge to an imaginary role to interpret and recount events, e.g. A Day in the Life of a German soldier, How I manned the first mission to the moon.  An imaginative recount is retelling events, usually in the first person. This style of recount allows for embellishment beyond facts and events- perfect for creative writing.

STRUCTURE AND FEATURES OF A RECOUNT

Recount structure.

ORIENTATION Explain the who, what, when, and where of the experience in your introduction.

FOCUS Only significant events are included.

CHRONOLOGY Events are described in the sequence in which they occurred.

ORGANIZATION Relevant information is grouped in paragraphs.

INSIGHT Include personal comments, opinions or interpretations of the recounted experience or event.

RECOUNT FEATURES

TENSE First and third person are used most frequently, and recall is always written in the past tense. Present tense can be used for analysis and opinion.

NOUNS Use proper nouns to refer to specific people, places, times and events.

VOICE Both active and passive voice is used in recounts.

CONNECTIVES Use conjunctions and connectives to link events and indicate time sequence.

HOW TO WRITE A RECOUNT

POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WRITING :

Writing a recount text in English is a deeply reflective process.  As such, students will want to spend most of their writing time organizing the events, refining the details, and fine-tuning the language. Here are some questions for students to consider before beginning the writing process .

• What are you going to tell your audience? What are you recounting?
• What information will the audience need early in the text?
• What are the important events or parts of the recount you want to describe? In what order will they occur?
• How will you let your readers know the order of events? What language will you use to link the events?
• What other information may it be helpful to include?
• How will you conclude your recount?

Students must recount the who , what , when , and where as the bare minimum. To help them organize their thoughts, encourage the use of graphic organizers and mind maps.

At this point, students should consider some of the questions their audience might ask while reading the recount. For example:

• What occurred?
• Where did it take place?
• When did it occur?
• Who were the main characters/people involved?
• Why did certain things happen?
• How did things happen?
• What were some of the reactions to the events that happened?
• What are the concluding thoughts or ideas?

HOW TO STRUCTURE A RECOUNT IN 5 PARAGRAPHS

In terms of structure, the 5-paragraph/hamburger essay framework is perfect for the beginning writer. 

This template suits most nonfiction writing genres and lays out a composition with one introductory paragraph, followed by three body paragraphs and one concluding paragraph. Check out our comprehensive article here to learn more about this effective format.

When used in the context of writing a recount, the 5-paragraph essay will look something like this:

The Orientation: Paragraph 1

In the introductory paragraph, the student will establish the setting and introduce the characters and the topic of the recount. 

The Events: Paragraphs 2-4

Using past tense verbs, the student will relate the events in chronological order in the body paragraphs.

The Conclusion: Paragraph 5

In the final paragraph of their recount, the students should typically make some sort of evaluative comment on what they think or how they feel about the events they have just related.

The 5-paragraph essay format is very flexible, as students can easily alter the number of body paragraphs according to their abilities and the complexity of the events they recount.

THE 5 PILLARS OF WRITING A RECOUNT TEXT?

For beginning writers, graphic organizers are extremely helpful tools to assist during the planning process. These can be built around the 5-paragraph essay structure as described above.

Another helpful planning tool to help students plan their recounts is employing The Five Pillars of a Recount .

Essentially, the five pillars comprise five questions students must answer in their recount. These are

• Who? Who are the main characters?
• When? When did the events take place?
• Where? Where did the events happen?
• What? What happened?
• Why? Why do these events matter?

The student will have a basic outline for writing their recount by answering each of these questions.

While the who , the when , and the where are usually addressed in the orientation or introductory paragraph, the what will be taken care of in the body paragraphs, with the why most often providing the focus for the concluding paragraph.

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT RECOUNT TEXT

• Keep the title simple to summarise the text’s central element, such as “ A trip to the Zoo.”
• Set the scene for the audience in terms of characters, setting and context. We refer to this as our orientation, and it will provide the reader with all the essential ingredients of the recount in the introduction by addressing the who, what, when and where.
• Keep everything in chronological order in a recount and use a variety of time transitional terms and phrases to keep your audience engaged throughout.
• Use a range of adjectives; try and avoid “And then, and then, and then.”
• Each new section will require a new paragraph. Be sure to check out our Every new section will require a new paragraph. Be sure to check out our own complete guide to writing perfect paragraphs here.
• Use the correct language and terms relevant to your recount. Consider your audience and the language they will connect with.
• If you are writing from a specific point of view , use the relevant language to match the perspective. Most commonly, in a recount, you will be recounting in the first person.
• Recounts are always written in the past tense, so be conscious of staying in this tense throughout. Everything has already happened, so ensure your vocabulary reflects this.
• The challenge in writing a good recount is to provide the audience with the story as it happened but to leave out incidental and dull information.  
• Ensure you also clearly understand your audience, as this will significantly impact the language you use.

Tools & Resources

Use your students’ resources and tools below to improve their writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

RECOUNT TEXT GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

RECOUNT WRITING PROMPTS AND TOPICS

Often, the topic of the recount will suggest itself in the form of a title. Recounts are great for forging cross-curricular links with other subjects. For example, you may want your students to write a historical recount on a topic they covered in social studies or create a procedural recount on an experiment they completed in science.

Generally, a recount’s focus is summed up in the title. For personal recounts, providing students with a title as a prompt is a great way to get the ball rolling without being too prescriptive, as it will still be up to the student to select the specific events they write about.

Here are a few ideas for titles for personal recounts:

• My Most Magical Moment Ever
• A Moment I Will Never Forget
• A Moment I Will Always Regret
• A Trip with My Best Friend
• My Favorite Memory
• The Biggest Surprise of My Life
• My Proudest Achievement

You’ll find more recount writing prompts for students below.

Recount Writing Example (Student Writing Samples)

Below is an annotated recount text example and student samples.  Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail.  Please take a moment to both read the different styles of recounting text in detail and also the teacher and student guides which highlight some of the critical elements of a recount to consider before writing.

Please understand these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a piece of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to improve student writing skills and deepen their understanding of recount writing.

We would recommend reading the example either a year above or below, as well as the grade you are currently working with, to gain a broader appreciation of this text type .

RECOUNT TEACHING RESOURCES

Easy recount writing activities for students.

ACTIVITY ONE: A SHARED VISUAL RECOUNT

Provide an image of a significant event all students could recount as a group. For example, this could be a school camp, the Olympic games, or a photo of a significant event within your community. Get students to work through the Who ? When ? Where ? What ? and Why ?

Once you have established these, students can start to place things in chronological order and prioritize what will be included in their recount draft.

At this point, get your students to collaborate on a recount of this shared event. You can use these as a starting point for comparison and analysis before students write their individual recounts.

ACTIVITY TWO: BUDDING JOURNALIST RECOUNTS

First, find a suitable video or a newspaper article. Set your students the task of taking notes on the KEY information. Make it clear to your students that they are writing a BRIEF newspaper article to share information with others and that personal opinions are not required for this task. The aim is to provide the audience with enough information to make their own opinions and inferences .

Let your students read or watch the article or video a maximum of twice. Notes should be brief. They are not trying to recreate the entire script or article.

When they have finished, check the chronology of their recounts. How successful were they in recounting the events in order?

ACTIVITY THREE: PAIRED FLOWCHARTS

When your students have created their own individual recounts, get them to share them with a partner. During this time, the reader will develop a flowchart of what happened and, if appropriate, be able to explain an action/reaction process, such as “You ate so much cake at your party that later that night, you got sick.”

By completing this conferencing process, students will hear first-hand if their recount makes sense to others.

RECOUNT WRITING CHECKLIST BUNDLE

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MORE GREAT RECOUNT WRITING ARTICLES

How to Write a Historical Recount Text

5 Easy Recount Writing Lesson Plans students love.

15 Awesome Recount & Personal Narrative Topics

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O’levels Paper 1: Continuous Writing (Sample Narrative / Personal Recount Essay)

O’levels Paper 1 Student’s Model Essay:

Question: Write about an occasion when an inconsiderate act leads to drastic consequences

“Bang, bang, bang, buzzzzz,” the sound of the relentless pounding of the drill reverberated throughout the walls of my flat. The cacophonous sound had jolted me from my deep slumber. Bleary-eyed, I dragged myself towards the main door, hoping to find out who or what is causing such a din.

I opened my door and was livid to find that the entire common corridor has been filled with tools, wooden planks, stacks of old newspaper and old furniture. A long extension ladder was also placed against the parapet. It turns out that my new neighbour Dashen has been using the common corridor like his own workshop.

“Oh my gosh! Can you please STOP?!” I yelled, my voice shooting up 50 octaves, my eyes flashing angrily.

“Why are you making so much noise so early in the morning? Don’t you know you cannot block the common corridor? You are obstructing everyone. This is very inconsiderate!” I hollered again. Rage gripping me and anger flooding through my veins.

Dashen darted me a baleful look, flicked his cigarette, turned his head, walked back into his flat, ignoring me completely.

At this point, I could feel a vein popped out in my neck, my jaw thrust forward with indignation. I stomped back to my room to put on some proper clothing so that I can confront him.

Suddenly, an acrid smell hit my nostrils. It was smoky campfire-ish smell. I raced to the front door only to find thick gray smoke billowing in. Like a monstrous beast, it wolfed everything in its way. Nothing was spared. Flames ripped across the ceiling as if they had been shot from a flamethrower. At the corner of my eyes, I caught a glimpse of a burning cigarette that landed on the pile of newspaper.

Immediately, everything clicked.

Our inconsiderate new neighbour, Dashen, must have flung his cigarette onto the newspapers that he had left outside. The cigarette must have stabbed into a tottering stack of cardboard boxes intermixed with old newspapers and an old cabinet that was missing a leg. The suffocating smoke jolted me to my senses. I quickly reached for my phone and dialled 995. As I put down the phone, a thought struck me like lightning. Oh no! I have to alert Auntie Wong, our recently widowed, octogenarian neighbour who is living alone. I knocked furiously and frantically at her door. Just as I thought, she was home and had just woken up too.

“We have to get out of here! There is a fire!” I bellowed. Mrs Wong was hyperventilating. I took her hand and helped her out of her flat. There was choking smoke, so black and thick that it seemed you could grab it by the handful. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard a lot sound. Crack! Thud! The ladder that Dashen left outside the corridor had fallen, landing on Mrs Wong’s left leg. Gasping for breath, I mustered all my strength and pushed the ladder away, almost tripping over the debris. I picked the frail Mrs Wong up and carried her down the stairs. Just as we were able to go down the stairs, a loud boom echoed behind me and we were hurled forward. At this point, the firemen had arrived and managed to bring the both of us to safety.

After battling with the fire for close to four hours, the fire was finally extinguished. The police had also arrived and told us that there some flammable substances such as cleaning agents and electronic items in the old cabinet that Dashen had left outside the corridor. Dashen was also questioned by the authorities and the police took him away to assist with further investigation.

Dashen’s terribly selfish, horribly reckless act endangered everyone. Lives could have been lost because of such thoughtless act and careless oversights. Dashen’s inconsiderate act has started a disastrous fire which took have taken a heavy toll on innocent lives.

What exactly do examiners look for in a well written narrative or personal recount essay?

Content: Students need a well-organized story will have all three parts, and the ideas will be presented in a clear and logical way. Your story must be credible and not too far-fetched.

Language: To get The paragraphs will be set appropriately, with colons and semicolons used as they should, and the ideas presented should be easy to connect and understand, making it a smooth read for the reader.

For more insider’s tips and sample essays, subscribe here . You can also reach out to our team of professional and experienced tutors to give you a head start today.

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7 Compo Topics to Give Your Students for Homework

[Depositphotos]

English paper one’s compositions (or essays) can be quite difficult for students to practice for. Not only is it difficult for them to self-mark and assess their progress, but there are also many topics for them to write about.

This is why they rely on us to assign them composition homework. But we too face the issue of not knowing what compo topics to give our students.

Fortunately, I’ve analysed all of the past compo questions in O levels and have compiled seven compo topics to give your students for homework, with sample questions!

Narrative essays are all about narrating a story. This is the essay type most common in primary school and creative writing classes. It strictly follows a plotline with a rising plot (climax) with a resolution and tends to include fictional elements.

Narrative essays are meant to be engaging and entertaining for you to read, so give your student topics that would excite them. Here are some sample questions:

1. Write about your experience of courage 2. Write about a time when you confronted someone 3. A story about losing a friend 4. Write about the time when you saved someone 5. ‘It was my proudest moment.’ Write a story based on this.

Personal Recount

Similar to narrative essays, personal recounts feature a retelling of an event. However, they do not include fictional elements and often relate to an event or experience which is meaningful or memorable.

With personal recount compo questions, you need to make sure that they allow your student to reflect on their experiences. The compositions should also focus on the impact and significance of an event or occasion.

Here are some questions you can give your students for homework :

1. Write about a task which turned out to be more difficult than you initially thought. 2. Write about a time when you caused great disappointment to a person. What did you do about the situation? 3. Write about a mistake you regret making. 4. Write about how you conquered one of your fears.

Descriptive

Descriptive essays are all about describing physical attributes, as well as feelings , thoughts, or a situation. It also involves reflecting on why something or someone is special or important. It should be written so readers can conjure vivid mental images while reading.

This compo topic requires students to write about objects, people, places, events or experiences in detail. Here are some sample questions:

1. Describe the possession that matters most to you and explain why you would never be prepared to part with it 2. Describe an event that you looked forward to which turned out to be disappointing. Explain why you were excited about it and why it didn’t live up to your expectations 3. Describe a friend you could never afford to lose 4. Describe a place that makes you feel safe

True to its name, reflective essays require students to reflect on themselves, like their personality or character . Usually, reflective compo questions include a telling of students’ personal changes or preferences and values .

Here are some sample questions:

1. What would you consider to be your best and worst qualities? 2. Some people like to stand out from the crowd; others just want to be part of it. Which do you prefer and why? 3. Write about some of the things you value most in life. 4. What are the type of books you enjoy reading ?

[Grammarly]

Expository essays are one of the more common compo topics your students will face during O levels . This compo type is identifiable through its exploration of different perspectives and opinions .

There are two types of expository essays in O levels: discursive and argumentative.

Argumentative

[Owlcation]

In argumentative essays , students are given an issue where they have to take a clear stand and present their arguments. The aim is to persuade the reader with strong points that the stand taken is right.

Usually, many of the issues presented are based on current world issues , so you might want to use examples from the news to form up your questions. For example:

1. ‘ Social media has destroyed communication.’ What is your opinion? 2. It is often said that people are too concerned with getting things and spending money. What is your opinion? 3. ‘People can only be happy if they feel they are treated fairly.’ Do you agree?

[Masterclass]

Discursive essays are similar to argumentative essays as both focus on discussing a particular subject or topic. But unlike argumentative essays, discursive essays don’t require students to take a stand. Instead, they are encouraged to explore multiple pathways and options.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media ? 2. Discuss the implications of permanently implementing home-based learning into Singapore’s school curriculum . 3. Most young people today are obsessed with fame and imitating celebrities. What are your views?

Two-part essays , or hybrid essays, comprise features of two different types of compositions. You’ll often see that in such questions, there are two separate parts of the question that students need to address.

In O levels, such questions tend to include reflective essays with descriptive essays or personal recounts. Here are some examples:

1. Write about a mistake you regret making. What lessons did you learn from it? 2. Describe ways to relax after you have been busy. Explain why it is enjoyable for you. 3. Write about a time you were misunderstood by others. How did you feel? 4. Describe an event that you looked forward to which turned out to be disappointing. Explain why you were excited about it and why it didn’t live up to your expectations

Assigning compo topics to our students for homework is a great way to let them practise their composition writing. But it is important to ensure that the topics we give them are relevant and similar to the O level syllabus.

This better prepares them for their exams and helps them be more comfortable with writing these compos.

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• Secondary 2 English

10 Common Secondary 2 Composition Topics And How To Achieve Good Grades?

• March 26, 2021
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Table of Contents

What are some of the most used topics? For secondary 2, the genre is always in descriptive and narrative writing with a hybrid.

Students are expected to write on a variety of descriptive/ narrative topics with hybrid topics comprising of reflective and personal recounts.

Below, we will explore some common topics which require the Secondary 2 student to write confidently and subjectively on several topics which are of personal interest.

Writing on all of these requires one to delve into personal experiences or imagining a personal experience that is relevant.

Secondary 2 Topic #1: What is the importance of honesty?

This topic is a narrative composition about an important value.

For this topic, the student needs to write a story that denotes how a situation evolved to reveal that the honest method was the only way to deal effectively with it.

It should show that to choose to be dishonest would lead to undesirable consequences and how the honest choice was the best as it was the most truthful.

Virtues, principles and the need to be truthful should be revealed as being important character accomplishments.

Secondary 2 Topic #2: Your first day in secondary school

This topic is a descriptive composition. The first day is all about observing important activities, encounters with people and learning within the education spectrum.

It should be informative, lively and above all, reflect one’s own engagement with others on different levels. There should also be observations made about learning some fundamental principles which will make an impact on oneself.

Secondary 2 Topic #3: A friend who helped you when you were in trouble

This topic is a narrative topic and it should have a well developed plot. A friend helping oneself is about providing a back story and tracing the path to a climax where something of great urgency developed.

Then, the gradual realisation of the great truth in finding that the friend was such an important and valuable person. All these should be reflected in the narrative story.

Secondary 2 Topic #4: How did a community event teach you important values

This topic is about a community event teaching one values. This is a hybrid topic where the community event is descriptive but the teaching of values is very subjective so it becomes reflective.

Describing a community event means to find a useful topic where the event can actually help one to realise these values. It can be a learning experience through active participation.

Eg. Learning how teamwork is very useful or realising that one’s neighbours can be very kind and helpful people.

Secondary 2 Topic #5: How an act of kindness affected you

This topic is a learning event. This is a narrative and reflective topic about an act of kindness shown by someone to you which made you realise something of great value.

It should reflect a truth and display how you matured and became more insightful. Compositions like these are some of the best ways to score really well if you choose to write on an original sounding story with a twist.

This will create that moment of realisation and sinking in of that truth.

Secondary 2 Topic #6: Write about a time when you experienced a difficult challenge

This topic is one of the most common topics. Practising this narrative composition topic really well will be of great use as it usually appears in examination papers even up till the ‘O’ levels.

The trick in this question is to choose that difficult challenge. It should not be too common or too easy to accomplish. Neither should it be too difficult or out of the bounds of the ordinary.

The challenge should reveal how it caused you moments of anguish when you had to work hard to overcome it.

Secondary 2 Topic #7: Write about losing something of value to yourself

This topic is a narrative topic and it should be all about that ‘thing’ of value. This should not be too simple and it most certainly should be a sentimental object.

How did losing it affect you so much that you could not bear to be without it? The topic says losing something of value to ‘yourself’. This means that it is personal.

Therefore, choosing a suitable item is very important.

Secondary 2 Topic #8: How did advice from a parent teach you something of value?

This topic is a reflective and narrative topic. It is about parental advice which was valuable.

A story should be written to show the flow from how it all began to the culmination of the climax where the realisation of that usefulness of that advice is seen.

The advice should reflect how useful it was to oneself and how that became such a help in the future. There should be gratitude and a sense of accomplishment by the end of this story.

Secondary 2 Topic #9: An unforgettable holiday

An unforgettable holiday is another very popular topic. It could be transposed with another unforgettable type of experience such as a birthday or trip.

Choosing that destination and ‘who’ goes along with oneself should be given careful thought.

A sketch of the outline of this narrative story should be done to avoid going out of point as is commonly done. It should not be too descriptive as the key word is ‘unforgettable’.

That means something of value happened which resonated with oneself. This means care should be taken to explore this.

Secondary 2 Topic #10: Write about some of the most important qualities you admire

This topic is also very common. Some of the qualities you admire are narrative and reflective. Why you admire it should be very subjective and therefore, narrative.

The reflective part is about the person or people who possess these values. Learning from them is a reflective experience and should prove to be a learning point.

It could be that one person or more but they should be in a ‘role model’ position or a place one could aspire to reach.

This concludes the subject of the most common secondary 2 compositions. These have surfaced time and again in tests, school exams and final exams.

Practising these will ensure that you have a firm control of the writing paper and your grades will be at the top range.

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[O levels] Sourcing for essay samples -A’s-

Hi taking o’s this year and I’m pretty desperate to get at least an A2 for English but hopefully an A1. I already know my oral is done badly (topic:music) since i wasn’t prepared for just that one topic and it had to come out so yea that’s that. As a result, im gonna be putting more focus on my other papers esp. paper 1 because it’s my strongest paper out of the 4 papers

Here are my goals if y’all are curious: P1- total: 55-58/70 , editing 9/10 sect. B 25/30 sect C 24/30 P2- 36-37/50 P3- 25/30

I’m gonna be focusing on descriptive/ personal recount for my Sect C essay and here I’m asking the good people of reddit; do y’all have any A level GP essays to share? Preferably in PDF format. Though I’m an o level student, I would like to read A level essays since it’s definitely a cut above the rest in terms of vocab and usage of phrases to concoct a beautiful yet memorable essay. However, if they are exceptional O level essays, I’ll love to read them too!:)

Please link it down in the comments or if u don’t feel like exposing it to the world, you can pm me instead . Thank you! 😊 good luck to those taking A’s and O’s this year jiayou 💪

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