Picture Composition (3)

Tuning-in Question:
Have you ever done something you thought would be harmless but instead you have hurt someone badly?



For a picture composition such as the one below, it is important to have an introduction that would grab your reader's attention.

Looking at this picture, there are a few questions that comes to a viewer's mind. Take a few moments to think through and brainstorm your ideas before you begin writing.

Why does the culprit look shocked and guilty?
If so, what made him litter or throw the glass bottle down four storeys in the first place?
What do you think the passers-by would do?
What thoughts are running through the culprit's head? How does he feel on the inside?
What will happen next?
Will the culprit own up?
Will there be any consequences or punishment for the culprit if he does so?
What happens in the end?


Some examples of good ways to begin your composition. 

(1) DIALOGUE

              "Aiieeeeeeeeeee!" yelled Mr Gapret as a loud thud was heard, followed shortly by the sound of glass breaking. Mr Thiat's both hands clutched the top of his head tightly, trying hard to stem the flow of blood seeping down his forehead. 



(2) ACTION

             A few passers-by sprinted to the aid of a bleeding Mr Gapret, alarmed by the loud yell of pain followed by the unmistakable sound of breaking glass. They gathered around Mr Gapret trying to survey the situation as he moaned in pain, clutching the top of his head. 
             "Are you alright, Sir?" an urgent voice of an middle-aged plump lady called out, worry ringing clear in her voice.  


* These two introduction styles help your reader launch immediately into the thick of the action! 

Useful Tips for a Presentation

I can understand perfectly well that it can be scary giving an oral presentation as part of an assessment for Continual Assessment 2, as I also had my fair share of presentations in the past as a student.

Therefore, I have gathered some tips to help you.

Here are some do's and don'ts, as well as examples of transition phrases that I think you would find useful. 
(They are adapted from learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/exam-speaking/oral-presentation)

Do:

• Plan and prepare in advance what you are going to say
• Write notes in point form (or words just to trigger your memory) on your cue cards
• Speak in a more formal language
• Use short, simple sentences to express your ideas (so that your listeners can understand you better)
• Speak slower than you think you should and include in a pause between each idea
• Speak clearly and audibly
• Practice your presentation. It would be good to time yourself to see if it fits within the 1-2 minute time frame
• If possible, have someone listen to you speak, or you can record yourself and play it back to yourself to look for areas for improvement. Is your friend able to understand you?
• Make your opinions VERY CLEAR and use the right transition phrases before it to signal that you are stating your thoughts/opinions (some examples of them are below)
• Look at the people listening to you. TALK to them, do not read off your cue cards

Don't:

• Write and then memorise your entire script by heart :(
• Write your script and read it to your audience
• Use informal language
• Slouch or have an sloppy body posture as if you cannot be bothered with your audience
• Only look at your cue cards, ignoring your listeners completely :(((

Useful language for presentations

(After you have greeted your teacher and classmates)
Explain what your presentation is about at the beginning:
I’m going to talk about ...
I’d like to talk about ...
The main focus of this presentation is ...

I will be speaking from the point of view of Dawan/Kwai/Dawan's father on ....

Use these transition phrases to order your ideas:

First of all, ...
Firstly, ...
Then, ...
Secondly, ...
Next, ...
Finally, ...
Lastly, ...
To sum up, ...
In conclusion, ...

Use these transition phrases to introduce your opinion

I think... / I don’t think ...
I believe... / I don’t believe ...
In my opinion,
For me,
Personally, I think ..

Use these transition phrases to add more ideas from the same point of view:

In addition, ...
What’s more, ...
Also, ...
In addition to this, ...

To introduce the opposite point of view you can use these words and expressions:

However, ...
On the other hand, ...
Then again, ...

I hope these tips will be useful to you! All the best, champions!

How To Use 'Despite'

Despite / In spite of

'Despite' or 'in spite of' have to be followed by a noun or noun phrase. 


For example:

She touched the kettle. I warned her.

• She touched the kettle despite my warning (to) her. OR
• She touched the kettle despite the fact that I warned her.

• She touched the kettle in spite of my warning (to) her. OR
• She touched the kettle in spite of the fact that I warned her.

    http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/despite

Smiling at Similes

Similes are lots of fun! Language is so interesting in the way it creatively allows us to express ourselves.

To recap, a simile is a figure of speech comparing one thing to another unlike thing using either "as... as..." or "... like...".

Here are the lyrics from Lenka's Song 'Everything At Once' which was featured as the song of the advertisement launching the new Windows 8. Let's see if you're able to spot all the similes here? Are you able to creatively come up with your own similes to a similar tune like hers?

As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox
As fast as a hare, as brave as a bear
As free as a bird, as neat as a word
As quite as a mouse, as big as a house

All I wanna be, all I wanna be, oh
All I wanna be is everything

As mean as a wolf, as sharp as a tooth
As deep as a bite, as dark as the night
As sweet as a song, as right as a wrong
As long as a road, as ugly as a toad
As pretty as a picture hanging from a fixture
Strong like a family, strong as I wanna be
Bright as day, as light as play
As hard as nails, as grand as a whale

All I wanna be, oh, all I wanna be, oh
All I wanna be is everything, everything at once
Everything at once, oh, everything at once

warm as the sun, as silly as 
As cool as a tree, as scary as the sea
As hot as fire, cold as ice
Sweet as sugar and everything nice
As old as time, as straight as a line
As royal as a queen, as buzzed as a bee
As stealth as a tiger, smooth as a glider
Pure as a melody, pure as I wanna be

All I wanna be, oh, all I wanna be, oh
All I wanna be is everything, everything at once
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/everything-at-once-lyrics-lenka.html ]