4 Steps to Plan out Your Composition & A Preliminary Composition Model on the Theme Of An Opportunity

Composition planning is an essential part of the Paper 1 writing process. Every student who has scored AL1 for PSLE English has mastered the skill of planning before writing. No matter how good a writer a student may be, there is always a risk of going off-topic or missing out an important part of the plot if no planning is done.

At TF, our students begin learning how to plan their compositions from Primary 3. At the lower levels, teachers may guide students paragraph by paragraph, or leave certain paragraphs for students to plan independently. During our regular mock tests, students are expected to complete their planning independently within the 5–6 minute time limit.

In Primary 5 and 6, students are given three pictures that are not linked together. This allows them to create different plots and explore more creative storylines. This is where planning becomes extremely important, as students must choose the best plot and organise their story clearly before they begin writing.

What steps do students need to plan their compositions?

Step 1: Study the pictures and the theme

Ask yourself the following questions:

Regarding the theme:

• What is the theme?
• How can I develop the story from the Rising Action to the Conclusion?
• What is the main message or lesson of the story?

Regarding the pictures:

• What plot can I write for each picture?
• Which picture allows me to develop the most interesting plot?
• Which plot best shows my writing strengths?

Step 2: Character creation

• Who are my characters?
• Who is the main character?
• How can I make the main character interesting and realistic?
• What problem will the main character face?

Step 3: Map out a cohesive sequence of events

Using the Story Mountain (or any planning template you are comfortable with), map out each paragraph in a clear and logical sequence.

You do not need to write full paragraphs during planning. Simply jot down key points for:
• Introduction
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Conclusion

This will help you stay on track when writing and ensure your story flows smoothly.

Step 4: Watch the time

Planning should take no longer than 5–6 minutes in PSLE. Spending too much time planning will leave you with less time to write and check your composition.

Every June holiday, we give our Primary 6 students a list of past Preliminary Composition themes to plan. We advise them to use the Story Mountain as a planning template.

The purpose of this exercise is simple. While we cannot predict the exact PSLE composition theme, common themes often appear in school preliminary examinations. By planning different themes in advance, students are able to build a “bank of plots” that they can adapt and modify to suit different composition questions.

This is extremely useful for PSLE. Over the years, many TF students have successfully adapted plots that we practised in class for their PSLE compositions. They understood that plots can always be modified to fit the theme and the chosen picture. As long as the story is developed according to the theme, they will not go off-point.

One of the Preliminary Composition themes that we worked on was “An Opportunity.” That year, a student from that school scored 39/40 for his Preliminary composition — a strong example of how effective planning can lead to excellent results.

Below is how he planned out his Prelim composition & the model of his compo.

He used Picture 2 and wrote about a singing competition. One of my students in class this year, chose Picture 1 and wrote about friendship.

Two different pictures with the same theme. Both compositions are very different but they suit each student’s writing style.

Both scored well despite the use of different pictures, different plots, and writing styles because they planned out their compositions well and remembered to develop the theme given.

As you read the model composition below, keep in mind the way the student has developed the theme.

Composition Model on the theme of ‘An Opportunity’

An Opportunity

Lily and Sarah were best friends. In fact, they were the best of friends in the whole wide world. However, because of some ‘boy trouble’ their friendship fell apart. No, shattered. It was all because of that one boy, Buckler Sterling, who had shattered their friendship. One year ago, when Lily and Sarah were twelve-years-old, a new transfer student was welcomed into their class. His name was Buckler Sterling. When she saw him, Sarah immediately had a crush on him. It was like love at first sight.

Unlike Sarah, Lily hated him. She was utterly disgusted by him. There was no attraction at all. She hated the way he looked, walked, acted, and did everything. She hated every single part of his being. Unfortunately, Buckler liked Lily instead of Sarah. It was no secret. Every single day in class, Buckler would spend hours staring at Lily. Sarah always thought that he was staring at her as she was seated next to Lily. Sarah knew of the “rumors” that Buckler liked Lily. She refused to believe they were true. Once the “rumors” were confirmed by Buckler himself, Sarah’s heart shattered. She refused to talk to Lily, no matter what. Their whole friendship shattered too. Their daily conversations? Gone. Their weekly playdates? Gone. Lily tried to fix their friendship, but it was all hopeless. Sarah did not budge at all. Lily tried to grasp even a single opportunity to be best friends with Sarah again. However, nothing worked. Their friendship had gone cold like Antarctica level freezing cold. Over the year, Lily stopped trying to find an opportunity to mend their friendship. So, they just drifted apart.

Until one years later on a cold and rainy Monday afternoon. It was the end of the school day. Lily made her way to the school’s front gate to walk back home. She was her usual gloomy self, trudging every step of the way out of school. She hated school. Especially because she was alone everyday and school lessons had sucked the life out of her. Also because it was a Monday. She removed her umbrella from the side pocket of her bag as it started to rain heavily. She then opened her umbrella and started her journey back home.

Just then, she spotted a familiar figure. It was Sarah! She happily ran towards Sarah then abruptly stopped. They were not friends anymore, were they? Then, she realized that Sarah was standing under a small shelter to avoid the rain. Where was her umbrella? Did she forget it? “Ding!” A bell rung in Lily’s head. This was an opportunity to become best friends with Sarah again! However, she was in a dilemma. Was their friendship too far from saving? Or could it still be saved? She had to make a decision fast. First, she mustered all the courage she had and walked up to Sarah. Then, she asked her the question.

“Hello Sarah! I saw you were standing here without an umbrella. If you do not have one, we can share this one!” Lily said nervously while pointing to her umbrella.

There was a brief awkward silence but, Sarah nodded. Mission success! The walk was slow but, the both of them decided to initiate some small talk.

“Lily, I just want to say that… I love you! You are my best friend and always will be! I did not know what I was thinking last time, breaking off our friendship just because of that dumb Buckler! I hate him now. I absolutely hate him. I was thinking, could we be friends again?” Sarah had let out what she wanted to say to Lily for years.

Lily burst out crying happy tears. She knew the opportunity that she had grasped would work out this time. All because of that one opportunity, they had mended their friendship. She dropped the umbrella and tightly hugged Sarah. Although they were not as close as last time, Lily was happy that they were friends again.

After they reconciled, everything went back to normal. They had daily conversations and, they had weekly ‘study dates’. This was all thanks to an opportunity Lily had grasped. “The opportunities are endless. As long as you put the opportunities to good use, you will succeed.” Just like this quote, Lily succeeded.

Check our library of Paper 1 articles for Primary 6 students. You will find other models and useful tips to ace your PSLE.