Primary 5 SA2 English Composition Example: ‘A Lesson Learnt’

As the last school term of 2025 comes to a close and students receive their SA2 papers back, the teachers at Thinking Factory are proud of our students’ achievements. Our primary 5 students have put in effort this year to meet the demands of the all-famous P4 to P5 leap in English language.

The P5 SA2 is a great opportunity for us, teachers, to review the areas our new batch of PSLE students need to work on and celebrate their achievements of 2025.

This year, we are proud of our students for their composition results. Regular paper 1 writing requires tenacity week after week during our lessons, along with Paper 2 and Oral work.

Strong compositions are more than stories. One of our P5 students who was tested on the theme, “A Lesson Learnt,” demonstrates maturity in storytelling and language. Her use of techniques taught in our lessons – creative similes, idioms and proverbs, characterisation, and theme development helped her score 35/36. A big congratulations to her!

P5 Composition Writing – Theme ‘ A lesson Learnt’

Theme :
A lesson learnt

Pictures given :
a mobile phone, a clock, and a child with a broken arm in an arm sling.

Let’s explore why it deserves this score.

Planning – Clear, Logical Story Development

The story follows a coherent structure — beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, and ending, showing that she had planned out her story well. One of the first vital steps

• Beginning: Introduces the main characters (the narrator and his brother Jack) and sets the scene naturally.
• Rising Action: The dare to climb the tree provides tension and moral conflict — the writer skillfully explores peer pressure and internal struggle.
• Climax: The fall is dramatic, with strong verbs and similes (“shoot down like a comet from outer space”) that vividly convey danger.
• Falling Action: The hospital scene and heartfelt apology
• Ending : Lesson learnt and reflective conclusion

A Captivating and Descriptive Introduction

From the very first line — “It was a perfect day to be outside” — she sets the tone vividly. The paragraph immediately paints a picture of warmth and joy with sensory detail:

“The warm sun glowed and illuminated the clear blue sky. The flowers were blossoming into vibrant shades…”

She uses strong descriptive writing with imagery, adjectives effectively. She does not rush through her introduction but uses a descriptive introduction to immerse the marker in the setting.

The transition to “It was the first day of the holidays” connects the storyline, leaving no gaps in the story as to why the main character and her brother are at home.

Strong Use of Vocabulary and Figurative Language

She used a wide vocabulary and expressive phrases – WOW words. Examples include:

• “screams of joy escaping our mouths”
• “sharp, rough, exterior layer of bark scratched my fingers”
• “stood there, feet rooted to the ground, jaw dropping in horror”

The writer also uses similes and personification effectively (“gravity pulled me down, making me shoot down like a comet”), creating visual energy that elevates the scene.

Characterisation

The personal thought — “My mind screamed internally. What should I do?” — shows the narrator’s fear and hesitation realistically.

Jack’s teasing (“Chicken, chicken, chicken”) shows sibling rivalry, all of which are realistic characterisations in her composition

Excellent Grammar, Cohesion, and Transitions

She made very few grammatical mistakes in her compositions. Each paragraph also connects logically to the next with linking phrases like “Just then,” “On the other hand,” and “Little did I know.”

Theme Development

She ensured that the theme was developed well, one of the most important writing techniques that we teach at TF.

A Thoughtful and Reflective Ending

The conclusion neatly ties back to the theme of a lesson learnt. The writer reflects on regret and consequence without overstating it:

“I sighed, regret coursing through my veins. I would be missing my badminton National School Games… This was truly a lesson learnt.”

This ending is powerful because it shows growth — the hallmark of reflective narrative writing.

P5 Composition Writing Model – Theme ‘ A lesson Learnt’

It was a perfect day to be outside. The warm sun glowed and illuminated the clear blue sky. The flowers were blossoming into vibrant shades on the plants they were on. My brother, Jack, and I immediately ran outside to play. It was the first day of the holidays. With nothing to do, Jack and I sprinted outside, screams of joy escaping our mouths as we ran faster and faster.

               Just then we saw the neighbour’s tall oak tree and we stared at it in amazement. Just then, Jack thought of an idea.

 “Hey,” he called out to me, “Didn’t you say you were the fastest climber? Well in that case, I dare you to climb this tree, touch our neighbour’s window and go back down!” I hesitated.

Seeing my reluctance, he mockingly whispered, “Chicken, chicken, chicken.”

He flapped his arms up and down, imitating a real chicken.

               My mind screamed internally. What should I do? If I do not climb the tree, Jack will never let me live it down, I thought, looking at Jack still flapping his arms wildly. On the other hand, if I actually climbed the tree, there was a big change of getting injured. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, I still gave in to my brother’s request. Little did I know that this would result in a lesson learnt.

               “I’ll be catching you if you fall!” Jack shouted, showing me the trampoline that he had prepared in advance. I heaved a deep breath and my hand gripped onto one of the branches above me. Its sharp, rough, exterior layer of bark scratched my fingers, some parts of my skin even got splinters. I grimaced in pain, as I hurriedly tried to us my legs to push myself forward. “You can do it! You can do it!” Jack shouted repeatedly, looking like a little cheerleader. It was annoying but I was glad to have his encouragement. Gradually, I had made it up to the top of the tree. Almost there! My mind screamed internally as I reached out my arm to touch my neighbour’s windowsill.

               However, Lady Luck was not on my side. As I had reached too far, my foot slipped off the tree and I lost footing. I was flailing my arms wildly, almost like I was trying to fly. 

“Help!” I screamed as gravity pulled me down, making me shoot down like a comet from outer space! Jack, too stunned to move, stood there, feet rooted to the ground, jaw dropping in horror. Unfortunately, I had landed on the frame of the trampoline and landed on the ground with a hard thud. Pain coursed through me and through my blurry vision, I could see my arm was twisted at a weird angle. Tears streamed down my face from the corners of my eyes were. The last thing I saw was Jack repeatedly shouting my name before I passed out.

               Greeting me with a blinding white, I opened my eyes and saw all of my family members staring at me. “We were so worried about you!” my mother screamed, tears flowing like rivers as she embraced me in a tight hug. Jack immediately apologized to me for taunting me to do such a dangerous act. The doctor rushed in and said that my arm was broken and I had to put my arm in a cast for three months before my arm was healed. I sighed, regret coursing through my veins. I would be missing my badminton National School Games and could not participate anymore. This was truly a lesson learnt.

               That day, in the hospital bed, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep soundly. That day had given me an important lesson. Always be cautious and never reckless. That day was a day that was etched in my mind as it truly gave me a lesson learnt.