P6 Composition Being Late

Our last composition done in class was on the theme of being late. Using the Cause and Effect model for composition themes such as being late or being careless is very effective for planning. This is a quick and organised way to use the theme and pictures given in your story during the Planning stage.

Cause :

Being Late

Effect :

1)Late for school and exam

2)Ran out of the house without an umbrella

3)Drenched in the rain

4)Fell while running

5)Could not focus in the examination

Example of a Primary 6 composition Being Late

              “John Tan! Wake up! You are late!” The loud voice of my mother rang in my ear.

“Five more minutes minutes..” I mumbled sleepily, covering my ears with my pillow. I had a habit of being late to school every morning. Despite the repeated warnings of my discipline master and parents, I found it difficult to change.

“I have no time to drive you to school anymore. I need to get to work. Walk to school by yourself!” my mother said in annoyance as she hurried out of the door. As I was about to close my eyes again, realisation hit me. Today I was taking my Preliminary Mathematics paper. I glanced at the bedside clock. A minute before 7.30am. Oh no! I am going to be late!. I panicked as I jumped out of bed.

              I got changed, grabbed my school bag and ran out of the house like a bolt of lightning. Just as I was about to dash across the road, dark clouds filled the sky, looming above like a heavy curtain. I dug in my school bag frantically for an umbrella but to my horror, I had not packed one as I was late. Running now, I could see the school gate. Then, the heavens opened and I was drenched from head to toe. I glanced at my watch. I gasped as I was fifteen minutes late for school! What if the examination had already started? What if I was not allowed to sit for it because I was late? A plethora of questions popped in my mind and a chill went down my spine at the thought of missing the examination.

              Just as I was about to step into the muddy school gates, I slipped and fell backwards. A loud splash could be heard as I landed in the muddy puddle of water, attracting the discipline master’s attention. Shaking his head, he helped me up, telling me to hurry to class for my examination and he would see me at recess. Drenched and dirty like a sewer rat, I made a beeline for my examination room and realised that my examination was about to start. The moment the invigilator saw me, he stood with his mouth agape. I was truly a sight. I could hear gasps and snickers coming from my classmates. The invigilator ushered me to another room and the discipline master appeared with a new set of uniform. I thanked them profusely, changed and sat down quickly to my paper. I had lost almost 20 minutes of the total examination time.

              The moment I flipped open the first page, my mind went blank. I just could not focus as I began to sneeze. I scanned the next few pages and my mind was still a blank. Almost in tears, I forced myself to write down the answers. I had studied hard for the paper and because of my bad habit of being late, there was a chance that I would fail my Math preliminary paper.

“Time’s up. Stop writing,“ said the invigilator as I tried to squeeze in my last few words. I was disappointed in  myself and I knew that my marks would not be high.

 Why did this happen? I reflected. If I had been punctual this morning, my mother would have driven me to school and I would not have been caught in the heavy downpour. If I had been on time, I would not have had to run to school and fallen down. I would have also had time to settle myself down before the start of the examination. It dawned on me that because of my bad habit of being  late, I would do badly for my Math preliminary paper.

              Who knew that a harmless habit like being late could bring such drastic consequences? After this painful experience, I learnt the importance of being punctual and vowed never to be late again.