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FORM 5 SAMPLE ESSAYS

According to the latest format (SPM CEFR) New format starting 2021 The compilation of sample essays is done by: Cg Tong Mei Ling Cg Siti Noorhanisah binti Johaire Cg Siti Hasyimah binti Nordin Cg Jonathan Ong Ujang

PART 1: MODEL QUESTION 1 You received an email from your friend, Arun. Hi, Dad has finally agreed to take my family for an island visit. As you are always telling me about the thrilling moments you have during your visits, I would like you to suggest an ideal island trip for my family to go for a holiday. Is there any hotel that you would like to recommend? Do let me know the activities we can do there? What are the things that I need to take along? I’ll be waiting for your reply. Bye! Arun Now, write an email to your friend in about 80 words. Write your answer below. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Subject: Island trip Hi, Arun! How are you? Glad to hear about your family trip. Pulau Besar in Melaka would be the island that you are looking for. The Aseania Beach Resort has a lot of good reviews. This resort has comfort and mesmerizing view. On this island, there are many activities for you to venture. During your jungle trekking, you can embrace the exotic flora and fauna.Another adventurous activity you would undergo is island hopping onto other neighbouring island and enjoying secret that they have to offer. As you are a food lover, don’t forget to go to Kayu Manis restaurant where scrumptious food awaits you. Make sure you take your camera along to capture the breathtaking views. The most important things are your swimming attire, sun tan lotion, sunglasses as well as your hat. Hope you have a whale of time with your family at Pulau Besar. Send my regards to them! Your friend, John 2

PART 1: MODEL QUESTION 2 You received an email from your friend, Ramesh. Hi, Ismail! As the Assistant Head Prefect, I was asked to write an article for the school magazine about what students should do and should not do at school in order to keep clean, hygienic and safe. Could you give me some pointers, please! I will be waiting for your reply. Bye! Ramesh Now, write an email to your friend in about 80 words. Write your answer below. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Subject: Pointers to keep clean, hygienic and safe Hi, Ramesh! How are you? I hope you are doing well there. Here are some pointers that I could think of. Firstly, all students must arrive at school wearing a face cover or mask and continue wearing it all through, especially when in class, or doing any activity in groups. Remind all students not to exchange masks with others. In additions, every student needs to learn how to cough or sneeze into a tissue or elbow and avoid touching face, eyes, mouth and nose. Perhaps, schools can supply necessary equipment like gloves, face masks, hand washing soaps for sanitation. That is all from me! I will write to you more when I have more ideas. Regards, Ismail 3

PART 1: MODEL QUESTION 3 You received and email from your friend, Jay. Hi Rosli, I was down with fever and sore throat for the past few days. So, I missed the talk given by Mr Shamsuddin, our school counsellor. How was the talk? Could you tell me what was said about hobbies? Bye! Jay Now, write an email to your friend in about 80 words. Write your answer below. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Subject: The content of the talk given by our school counsellor Hi Jay, How are you? I hope you are feeling better now. Mr Shamsuddin had delivered a very insightful talk that day. Well, he talked about several hobbies. He said that collecting is a great hobby since it can involve collecting just about anything that appeals to us. Writing stories or poems can be a great hobby too. Building models is a great hobby because it has a wide appeal to all teens. Then, he mentioned that music promotes creativity, self-expression, and self- confidence. Finally, according to him, taking up photography as a hobby has never been easier or less expensive. These are the points that he talked about the other day. Feel free to text me anytime if you need more information! Take care and stay safe there! Best wishes, Rosli 4

PART 1: MODEL QUESTION 4 You received an email from your friend, Harry. Hi, My friends and I were talking about were modern teenagers go shopping the most. As you are living in the city, I would like to know your opinion on this issue. Where would you go shopping the most? Is it the sports shops, clothes shops, electronic shops or somewhere else? Tell me what kind of shop and what would you like to buy. Why is it important? I’ll be waiting for your reply. Bye! Harry Now, write an email to your friend in about 80 words. Write your answer below. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Subject: Where to shop Hi Harry, I just saw the email you sent. I hope you are in the pink. Based on my opinion, I would like to go to electronics shop because as you know, I am a tech freak. Since I was a kid, I always go to the computer shop every weekend just to window shop on the new arrivals for computer parts. The IT Tech is my favourite shop to go to. Currently, I want to get new graphics card for my desktop. I am planning to get the RTX 3090 which is the same price as RTX 2080Ti but it is more powerful. It is important for me to purchase this because I have a lot of online classes recently and my desktop is starting to lag due to my old graphics card. So, I have decided to get one! Sorry, I have to go now. I will call you when I am free! Hope you like my opinion. Bye! Warm regards, Charles 5

PART 1: MODEL QUESTION 5 You received an email from your teacher. New message To : [email protected] From : [email protected] Subject : Extension on Deadline for Assignment Hello everyone, Many of you have asked for an extension to the assignment due next Friday. If you need an extension, please email me, informing me officially that you cannot meet the assignment deadline, and explain why you are not able to complete it in time. Let me know what you will do in response. Thank you. Sincerely, Mrs Joseph Now, write an email to your teacher in about 80 words. Write your answer below. New message To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Subject: Request: Extension on Deadline for Assignment Hi Mrs Joseph, How are you? Hope you are safe and sound there. I am requesting an extension to the deadline. To be honest, I have unfortunately fallen ill after being exposed to the coronavirus. I have been having a high fever, and my throat is scratchy. I am aching all over as well. I am not sure how I contracted with the virus. Therefore, I am unable to meet the deadline for the English book analysis assignment. I had no energy to work on the task. All this while, I have been in isolation and resting at home. A soon as I can, I will complete the work and email it to you. Thank you for your kind understanding. Sincerely, Alib bin Aqwan 6

PART 2: MODEL QUESTION 1 (Theme: Science & Technology) Your class has been discussing the pros and cons of gadgets for students. Your English language teacher has asked you to write an essay about the advantage and disadvantages of mobile phones. Your essay must be written in 125 -150 words. In your essay, you should write about: PROS AND CONS OF MOBILE PHONES ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES • Keep up to date with current issues • Students become passive • Learn many new skills online • Neglecting their duties • Source of entertainment • Tendencies to commit crime is high Mobile phones is so popular today that now it becomes a necessity for everyone. Mobile phone is indeed a wonderful invention of man. It does not only help people to communicate but also to entertain. However, there are advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones for students. The first advantage is we can keep ourselves up to date using mobile phones. It keeps us informed of all current issues happening around the world. Information is shared throughout various platform such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Youtube where we can read news and watch video online. Secondly, we can learn many new skills using our mobile phone. There are many language teaching programs, baking and decoration classes online. We do not have to travel far to learn new skills. We can use Zoom, Google Meet or Skype to join a class and study. Thirdly, mobile phone is a source of entertainment. We can watch movies, drama, music videos, songs or play games after a hard day’s at school. We can relax at home and watch movies that we like without having to go to the cinema. Nevertheless, there are disadvantages of mobile phone for students. First, students gradually become passive in their action. It may prevent us from socializing with other people in real life. Students might prefer playing games or watching videos online rather than spending quality time with family and friends. Secondly, students have the tendencies to be neglecting their duties. They neglect their homework or revision because they are so keen on using their mobile phones. They also tend to refuse helping with house chores because they do not want to miss watching their favourite drama. Thirdly, the bad influence of mobile phones on the young generation is inevitable. It encourages them to commit crimes. Violence, nudity, and irrelevance trends can be accessed easily online. This can lead to robbery, theft, cyberbullying, spreading fake news and murder. In a nutshell, mobile phone is very useful in today’s world. However, as a student, we must know how to use mobile phone wisely. Be extra careful not to overindulge in it and use it sensibly. 9

PART 2: MODEL QUESTION 2 (Theme: Health & Environment) You watched a television program about animals and learnt about animal extinction. Write an essay expressing your opinion and feelings in the increase number of endangered species. Your essay must be written in 125 -150 words. CAUSES CONTRIBUTING TO ANIMAL EXTINCTION • POACHING – illegal international trade, increase in demand for exotic animal parts (trophies, fashion accessories), sale of live animals • LOSS OF HABITAT – less water and food sources • OVERHARVESTING MARINE LIFE – environmental issues Write the essay using all the notes and give your opinions and feelings on animal extinction. Man is in danger of destroying his own species and that of Mother Nature. A prevalent problem is the growing extinction of animal species. Animal lovers are unhappy that certain animal species are becoming extinct. Extinction occurs when species are diminished because of environmental forces or because of evolutionary changes in their members. There are several causes contributing to this issue. First and foremost, one of the causes which lead to animal extinction is the act of poaching. Many studies have also documented large declines in wildlife populations due to overhunting and poaching. For instance, the Blue Whale was almost plunged into extinction, losing 99% of its numbers as a result of poaching. The illegal international animal trade has prompted poaching and sale of exotic animal parts to make trophies and fashion accessories like crocodile skin bags, rhino talismans and medicinal concoctions. Some examples of illegal wildlife trade are well known, such as poaching of elephants for ivory and tigers for their skins and bones. Even captured live animals become exotic human pets. Secondly, forests are cleared for economic development resulting in loss of habitats and tree cover. Wild animals are bereft of food and water sources. When a habitat is destroyed, the carrying capacity for indigenous plants, animals, and other organisms is reduced so that populations decline, sometimes up to the level of extinction. Habitat loss is perhaps the greatest threat to organisms and biodiversity. A large number of animals would have problem surviving due to the loss of habitat. Moreover, marine life is also threatened by overharvesting marine resources. Overharvesting, or overfishing in the case of fish and marine invertebrates, depletes some species to very low numbers and drives others to extinction. In practical terms, it reduces valuable living resources to such low levels that their exploitation is no longer sustainable. The most-familiar cases involve whales and fisheries. Apart from that, some oceans and seas are environmentally polluted by both industrial and human waste which could threaten the lives of marines living in the sea or ocean. To sum up, I am afraid the global eco-system and the drastic climate change would be unable to meet the food and water demands for both human and animal survival. I fear for the end of human race. 10

PART 2: MODEL QUESTION 3 (Theme: Consumerism and Financial Awareness) You watched a documentary about the evolution of online shopping in Malaysia. Write an essay expressing your opinion on the benefits of online shopping. Your essay must be written in 125 -150 words. Write the essay using all the notes and give your opinions on the benefits of online shopping. CONVENIENT • SHOP AT ANYTIME AND ANYWHERE • BUY ITEMS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD VARIETY OF OPTIONS • ABLE TO VISIT NUMEROUS SHOPS AT THE SAME TIME • CHOICES OF DIFFERENT STYLES, COLOUR AND SIZES EXCITING OFFERS • GET DISCOUNT AND VOUCHER • COMPARE PRICES BEFORE BUYING FOR GREAT DEALS With the development of technology, human in today world can easily buy almost anything just by a few clicks. It is becoming a popular trend for purchasing in present time. Shopping online has many benefits. First, online shopping is beneficial as it makes shopping more convenient than ever. We can shop at anytime and anywhere. Customers do not have to drive a long way to shop or spend hours queuing up just to buy things that they need. They can also buy items that they want from different parts of the world. Some products are not available locally therefore online shopping is the best way to make the purchase. Secondly, online shopping offers variety of options. Customers are able to visit numerous shops at the same time to search for the same products. Online shops offers many choices of different styles, colour and sizes. Customers can just browse through the catalogue and make their purchase once they find product that suits their requirement. Lastly, online stores tend to have exciting offers for their products. Customers can get discounts and voucher which are very appealing. Buying items online also enables customers to compare prices before buying for great deals. Online shopping is gaining popularity as more people make use of computers, mobile phones and the internet. I believe that online shopping has many benefits. It is convenient, offers greater variety, and enables the customer to get the best price for the products. 11

PART 2: MODEL QUESTION 4 (Theme: People & Culture) Your class has been discussing on activities to do during holidays. Some of you plan to go on a vacation. Your English language teacher has asked you to suggest the best place to go during the holiday. Your essay must be written in 125 -150 words. In your essay, you should write about: • NAME OF THE PLACE/LOCATION – Redang Island - one of the largest islands off the east cost of Peninsular Malaysia - 45 kilometers from the coast of the city of Kuala Terengganu - known as Terengganu Marine Park • TRANSPORTATION TO GET THERE - accessed from Merang Jetty in Kuala Terengganu - flights from Kuala Lumpur to Redang Island • ACCOMODATION AND PRICES - 5-star luxurious resorts - stay in the tent at a campsite - RM200 to RM400 – travel package • INTERESTING ACTIVITIES – scuba diving, snorkeling, jungle trekking, visit Redang Marine Center, watch sunset, enjoy local delicacies Holidays are the most awaited time of the year. Imagine you are sitting on the beach, hypnotized by the repeated chants of the waves and tropical sea breezes against your skin. That is what you will experienced at Redang Island. Whenever it is school holiday, I will always go here to visit my grandparents. Redang Island is one of the largest islands off the east cost of Peninsular Malaysia. Redang lies within protected marine waters, also known as Terengganu Marine Park. It is located about 45 kilometers from the coast of the city of Kuala Terengganu. The island can be accessed from Merang Jetty in Kuala Terengganu. The boats to Redang Island are operated by the resorts there. Redang Island has its own airport too. For those who wish to save time, you can skip the long and tiresome journey and book flights from Kuala Lumpur to Redang Island. There are several accommodations to choose from at Redang Island. You can choose to stay at 5-star luxurious resorts or stay in the tent at a campsite. The price ranging from RM200 to RM400 depends on the travel package that you choose. Even though the package is quite expensive, it comes with attractive deals. Some package offers scuba diving and snorkeling activities. You can also go for nature walks or jungle trekking, enjoying the nature. Redang Marine Center is also a must-visit as it is the best place to see marine life. Other than that, you can just relax by the beach enjoying local delicacies and watch the sunset. In my opinion, Redang Island is a beautiful part of the world. I highly recommend it if you love stunning holidays with lots of natural attractions where it is simple to keep things easy and inactive or you can choose to be adventurous. 12

PART 2: MODEL QUESTION 5 (Theme: Health & Environment) Your class has been involved in “Save the Earth Campaign” held by Environmental Club in your school. Your English language teacher has asked you to write an essay about how to practice 3R (Recycle, Reuse and Reduce) in our daily lives. Your essay must be written in 125 -150 words. Write the essay using all the notes and give your opinions on 3R initiative. HOW TO PRACTICE 3R • Recycle recyclable items – gather systematically - saves natural sources • Reduce waste – bring own plastic/bottle/container – avoid using disposables • Reuse items – donate items – reuse items more than once The 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) is an initiative to help cut down on the amount of waste we throw away. This waste hierarchy is the guidance suggested for creating a sustainable life. It calls for an increase in the ratio of recyclable materials, further reusing raw materials and manufacturing wastes, and overall reduction in resources and energy used. A small change in our daily routine can actually help conserve our environment. First, we can start by recycling recyclable items. For example, papers, aluminum, plastic and glass are commonly used in schools, houses and offices. These recyclables need to be gathered systematically and separated from the rest of the trash to be sent to the recycling center. The second step is to reduce waste. A lot of our waste comes from items that are considered to be “disposable”. We have to avoid using disposable items such as paper cup, napkins, spoons and plates. We can bring our own plastic bag, water bottles, cutlery and food container in place of disposables. Lastly, we can start practicing 3R by reusing items. Instead of throwing unwanted items, you can start by donating them to a worthy cause. You can also reuse items for the same purpose or reuse products in different ways. For example, you can repair broken furniture instead of buying new ones or reuse old jars or pots as flowerpots. I believe 3R initiative helps to lessen the amount of waste going into landfills. We can contribute towards a greener lifestyle and community by changing the way we handle waste daily. This will help to create cleaner, safer means of waste disposal while reducing the impact on the environment and all habitats. 13

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 1 Your teacher has asked you to write a story for a school magazine. The story must have the title: Kindness Your story should include: • background information about the characters • how kindness is shown Write your story in 200- 250 words in an appropriate style. Kindness By Aminah Ahmad My name is Syafiq. I am a clerk. I have a neighbour named Puan Ramlah. Now, I would like to tell a story about me and and Puan Ramlah that had taken place 10 years ago. My neighbour is a very kind person. She lives alone. She likes to help other people. Everybody likes her. She is a retired English teacher. When I was 17 years old, I became a bad person. I took drugs and I stole other people’s things. I was a thief. All I knew was stealing. I stole money. I stole motorcycles and even chickens. One day, I was caught stealing a motorcycle. But, I was lucky because my neighbour Puan Ramlah helped to settle my problem. She asked the police to let me free and she would take care of me. She promised the police that she would make sure I behaved. If I was caught again, then the police could arrest me. The police agreed. I thanked my neighbour and promised to change my life. Starting from that day, I became a better person. I went to school to finish my studies. After school, I would help Puan Ramlah with her house chores because she was not well and old. I cleaned her house. I cooked for her and did/bought her groceries. I also cleaned her room. Since she was a teacher, she taught me English and other subjects. I took my SPM examination and I passed. Then, I became a clerk in Seremban. I would never steal again. I wanted to help teenagers like me. All these happened because of her – my best friend, my good neighbour. Now, I am a volunteer at Seremban Youth centre. I help teenagers to go through life. I do not want them to be criminals. I learnt a lot about myself by helping Puan Ramlah. 16

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 2 Your teacher has asked you to write an essay for a school magazine. The story must begin with the following words: His hands trembled as he placed the receiver. Your story must include: • a description of the incident • how the incident affected the character/ characters Write your story. The Terrible Truth By Abraham Wong His hands trembled as he placed the receiver. He could not believe what he had just heard. This could not be true. His wife, Susan, had been hospitalised and he could not be by her side. He was attending a seminar in Scotland when he got word that Susan was involved in an accident. His family beseeched him home. Home. Jason knew that he should be heading home. Susan would need him to be there. There was nothing he wanted more than to be with Susan, comforting her, nursing her and most of all ensuring the well-being of their unborn child. It hurt him not being there. All that was left to do at that moment was to fervently hope that both mother and child were not in a critical condition. He hastened and caught the next flight home. When he reached the airport terminal, his heart was beating very fast. He felt so nervous. He received a message from his sister-in-law that his wife was in coma. There obviously were some difficulties related to his unborn child forming bleak possibilities that Jason did not dare to put in too much hope. He jumped into a taxi urging the driver to drive as fast as he could. Alas they were caught in a traffic jam. Undaunted Jason urged the driver to hasten as he needed to be with Susan. She needed him. The taxi went fast in and out of traffic, zigzagging on the busy road. Suddenly a big lorry loomed into their path from the opposite direction. The taxi driver was going too fast that he failed to avoid collision. Everything happened at high speed. There was nothing much that could be done. Jason was sent to the hospital by passers-by. He was critically injured and there was no way to inform his relatives and family members. They tried to reach him not knowing of his predicament and to no avail. By this time Susan had regained consciousness. Though she was relieved to still be alive somehow she could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. Susan could not really patch the pieces. However doctors had to perform a C-section in order to save both Susan and her baby. She could not help smiling looking at the bundle of joy and yet that tugging uneasiness was still there cowering at the far corner of her heart. Her thoughts were definitely of Jason. 17

Just then her sister, Susie, came into the room. Susan lit up at the sight of her sister though it was quite the opposite on Susie. “Where’s Jason? I can’t wait to show him our boy. He has Jason’s eyes and my smile. I’m sure he would be glad to see our son.” Susan enthusiastically blurted to Susie. She however stopped when she realised the joy was only on her part. Susie was downcast and when she did look up tears could be seen welling up in her eyes. Susan was dumbfounded when Susie broke the news. Everything seemed bleak now that she knew Jason would no longer be there for her. She felt guilty knowing she was the reason he had rushed to his death. Tears just could not stop flowing but she had to embrace herself. She had to think of their son. He might not have a father but he would not be deprived of the love Jason had had for his son. She would do the loving for both of them. She would ensure that he grows up knowing love has no boundaries and it exudes Death. 18

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 3 Your teacher has asked you to write a story. The story must have the title: A Dishonest Boy Your story must include: • a description of the boy • the outcome of the dishonest act Write your story. A Dishonest Boy By S. Vagesh The night was dark and humid. Murphy tossed and turned in his bed, squirming uncomfortably. He remembered vividly Regina cynical expression when she finally had to return the silk gown that he promised to buy her, after the cashier told him that his credit card had reached its limit. Murphy jumped off his bed. He crinkled his bushy eyebrows and started to think on how to win back Regina. Being jobless, Murphy knew there was no way that he could have dated her, but the fact that he was the son of the former mayor had given him the chance Murphy tilted his head. It is then that the idea came to him. He smiled handsomely to the sight of his framed business administration diploma, which he acquired a little time ago. However, he did not bother to find a job with it, since his late father had left him and his mother with a lot of money and a lot of other properties. Murphy now knew exactly what to do, and his eyes was glimmering with hope. Only then he was able to sleep soundly. The next morning, while having breakfast with his mother, Murphy told her his made up story. There was excitement in his eyes as he spin a yarn, telling his mother his ‘plan’ to start a business. In order to start his business, he needed a hefty amount of money. At first, his mother did not believe him. But after he sweet talked her, she finally gave away. After all, Murphy was the only son of her, so she thought of giving him a chance. Murphy was so convincing that she thought he had turned over a new leaf and gave him the 10 thousand pound he asked for. His mother agreed to transact the money that afternoon. Murphy’s heart jumped with glee seeing his plan started to work. He immediately called Regina, asking her out for dinner, promising that this time she would be getting the specially designed silk gown. Regina agreed. Things were going smooth for Murphy. Little that he knew his plans were about to be shattered into pieces. It was 7 o’clock in the evening. Murphy checked his style from head to toe. He was looking dashing and cool, all ready to date Regina. He slid into his late father’s car, telling his mother he needed to settle several things before starting his business. It was a lie, of course. Murphy’s first stop was the bank. He needed to draw some money so that he would be able to buy Regina the silk gown. He smiled by himself as he walked back to his car, 10 thousand pound richer. Out of nowhere, two men attacked him. Realizing his predicament, Murphy tried to put up a fight, but was beaten black and blue, before the two men fled away with his money. 19

Murphy mustered all of his strength and made way into his car. In there, he thought of his next action. He finally found himself driving to Regina’s place. Upon reaching, he was told by Regina’s housemate that she had gone out with another man just 10 minutes ago, after Murphy had failed to show up. Murphy’s heart sank. All of his lies to his mother had taken toll on him. He was robbed, and Regina had dumped him. Murphy learnt his lessons the hard way. He now realized that honesty is the best policy. 20

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 4 Your teacher has asked you to write a story for a school magazine. The story must have the title: A Dream Comes True Your story should include: • a description of the dream • how the dream is achieved Write your story in 200- 250 words in an appropriate style. A Dream Comes True By Susanna Lee “Not so fast Lewis!” My immature ten-year-old voice yelled out at the fast disappearing figure before me. I knew the additional two wheels of my glittering silver-tinted bicycle had given me a disadvantage rather the advantage I thought I would have. I pedalled with all the force my undeveloped leg muscles could generate, but it only proved to be futile. I could not win this race. I had never beaten my brother, Lewis, in any bicycle race after that. He always seemed to be one step ahead of me, no matter how hard I tried. Lewis was a caring and understanding brother, but equally so was he competitive and determined. He was my role model and the person I respected most, but he was also my main rival. Our parents too supported our healthy competition. Races with Lewis were never short of passion and excitement, and soon I found myself getting more into cycling, determined to beat Lewis at our favourite sport. The years had gradually passed, and the both of us had found a new love, motorcycle racing. We had worked hard to make our mark in the sport, and both of us had succeeded thus far, winning respective races in different parts of the world. Yet, he had won many more titles than me. I could never surpass him, it seemed. Our rivalry was a race and it had become my dream to defeat him in one. Now, it was time for us to compete once more. Both of us had entered the widely- acclaimed “Moto GP” competition, and a showdown would be inevitable. We had not raced together for many years, leaving this race down to the tremendous amounts of hard work we had put in. The press had written countless articles about our coming race, and it was finally time for the big clash. I turned my head towards him, and I could see his eyes through the visors of our helmets. Eyes filled with a colourful mixture of nostalgia, happiness and determination. Then, the horn blared. We raced, neck to neck from the start. It stayed that way for the next seventeen laps, before the final lap. He sped in front of me, stretching his engine to the limit. It would be extremely difficult to attempt to rival his pace, and I tried my very best to reduce the gap as much as I could. As I saw him riding in front of me, I was gripped by a sense of déjà vu. “Not so fast Lewis!” I mouthed, for the sake of reliving our very first race. Only this time, I would not let history repeat itself. I flicked my wrist back, accelerating my vehicle. I 21

concentrated on the figure in front of me. I could feel the effect of pushing my engine to its limits. My gloved hands were feeling the heat from the overheating engine. We approached the last hundred metres. I was only half a motorcycle’s length behind him. With a final flick, we crossed the finish line. We looked up at the giant screen. A camera replay was being shown. It was too close to call a winner. “And the winner is Will!” the commentator boomed through the sound system. I felt immense relief and a massive sense of achievement. I had finally done it. I had won the cup. I had won a race against my brother. I had won the race to surpass my brother. It was truly a dream came true! 22

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 5 Your teacher has asked you to write a story for a school magazine. The story must have the title: An Unforgettable Moment in My Life Your story should include: • a description of the moment • why is the moment unforgettable Write your story in 200- 250 words in an appropriate style. An Unforgettable Experience in My life By Suriyati Samad The alarm clock rang at 6.00a.m. but it was meaningless for I had not slept a wink all night for fear of what I would be facing that day. The sudden burst of sunlight which cast shadows on the ground saw me dragging myself unwillingly out of bed. Having showered and breakfasted, I head out the front door which I made sure to lock before I left. The thought that I would be receiving my SPM results alone was anything but comforting. The walk to school that morning was the longest one I had ever endured. The sight of the school building made my heart pounded more wildly. I quickly made my way to the school hall, scanned the crowd for my friends, and hurriedly made my way towards them. Looking around the hall, I saw my peers, each dealing with their nerves in their own way. There were those who rocked back and forth on their chairs and there were those who sat, chewing on their fingernails. A sudden slamming of the door startled me and brought all our attention to the rear of the hall where we saw our headmaster, with a thick stack of envelopes in his right hand. The silence that enveloped us was so dense that I could have drowned in it. When he brought the microphone to his lips, I shut my eyes and held my breath, hoping, praying for the best. What I heard were the most beautiful words in my life. I had passed with flying colours! The world became temporarily mute to me as fireworks of joy and celebration went off in my head. I was ecstatic. The wave of happiness and relief that washed over me was as comforting and as satisfying as a hot bath on a cold day. I was in a proper state as I made my way home. My dancing, singing and skipping attracted curious, amused and even sympathetic stares from pedestrians, but I did not care. I could not wait to get home so that I could ring up my mother and break the great news to her. Her reaction would be the greatest gift of all. Unable to contain my excitement any longer, I broke into a run. As soon as I reached home, I hastily opened the front door and was greeted by my mother. I was so surprised to see her. She hugged me tightly and told me that on her way home that morning, my class teacher Madam Habsah had called and told her about my excellent result. I looked at her and she had tears in her eyes. She then smiled at me and told me that she’s very proud of me. To be able to hear those words from her had really made those busy 23

days and my sleepless nights worth it. That moment had become an unforgettable moment for me as I realised that I had made my mother truly happy. 24

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 1 You see this notice on the board outside the school office. Articles wanted! Famous Tourist Attraction in Malaysia • Where is it situated? • What attracts visitors to the place? • What is your impression of the place? Write us an article answering these questions. The articles will be displayed in the school magazine. Write your article. Unique Kota Tinggi Written by: Amisah Nordin If you are tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, well, you do not need to go far. Only a 40-minute drive from busy Johor Bahru, the weekend is always a good time for a trip to Kota Tinggi. This peaceful town is one of many popular tourist destinations in Malaysia. Kota Tinggi is a small town in Johor, situated on the road to Mersing. It is known as a historical town, where the Sultanate of Johor was established. There are many historical tombs of historical figures here, such as Sultan Mahmud II who died in 1699. If one is more of an outdoor person, one may go to Kota Tinggi Waterfalls at Lombong, which is located at the base of Muntahak mountain. The waterfall area is a great place to have picnics. However, gets crowded on weekends. The beautiful water cascading down and the view of the Muntahak mountain at a distance prove to be an attraction for outdoor and photography enthusiasts. To get to the waterfall, one needs to walk for about a half-an-hour. There are many food stalls in the area and barbeque pits are also available for those who want to barbeque. When I first went there, I found the area unbelievably beautiful. The picturesque scenery at the waterfalls is certainly the perfect spot for a quick getaway. There are adequate facilities there. However, the natural beauty of some parts was adulterated by concrete development and artificial landscaping. In conclusion, Kota Tinggi is a famous and highly recommended tourist attraction, bringing in both locals and foreign tourists alike. 27

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 2 You see this notice on the board outside the school office. Articles required for Lifestyle Section! Leisure Activities • What can you do to spend your leisure time? • What are the benefits of performing each activity? • Which leisure activity appeals most to you? Write us an article answering these questions. The best article will be displayed in the school magazine. Write your article. Leisure Activities Written by: Natalie Wong Leisure time is a time set aside for relaxation, where we can get away from studying or doing chores at home. While this is a fun time, teenagers should spend their leisure time wisely instead of involving themselves in dangerous pursuits such as illegal racing, loitering outside shopping malls, or taking drugs, to name a few. Reading books during leisure time is one activity which highly beneficial. Examples of books to read are such as science fiction, horror, mystery, romance, and magazine. Choose a reading material which you are interested in. Reading relaxes the mind, helps improve grammar and vocabulary, as well as keeps one up-to-date with current issues. One can download e-books from the internet which is very convenient. One can also join a reading club to share about the books one read and make new friends. Other than that, one may engage in physical activities in their free time. For example, jogging, brisk walking, and swimming. Taking part in physical activities can help control weight and prevent illnesses, improves one’s mood to make one feel happy, as well as to relieve stress. If one is adventurous and fit enough, one may take part in extreme sports such as bungee jumping, mountain climbing, or rock climbing. Besides that, one may also do charity work in one’s free time. Going to orphanages or old folks’ homes to help them there brings about a two-fold benefit, that is it benefits the receivers as well as the giver. The receivers will feel happy that they are being cared by the society, whereas the giver will benefit by learning to be grateful. Other than homes, one can also help in soup kitchens which distribute food to the homeless and less-fortunate. In conclusion, leisure time need to be spent correctly to not waste precious time. In my case, I enjoy reading during my leisure time as I love to imagine things as I read. 28

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 3 You see this notice on the board outside the school hall. Write your article. Articles required! Keeping Our Homes Safe • What measure can be taken to keep our homes safe? • When neighbours can help you? • How will a security system help to secure a home? Write us an article answering these questions. The best article will be displayed in the school magazine. Keeping Our Homes Safe Written by: Nardash Dani Lately there have been an increase in burglaries around residential areas in Malaysia. Certain measures need to be taken to reduce or prevent such incidents from taking place. First, never open the door to strangers. Keep gates and doors always locked. When a visitor arrives, identify them through a door viewer or through the CCTV before opening the door to them. If it is only for a quick visit, ensure that the metal gate is secured so that no one can enter and burglarise the house. At night, ensure that lights are switched on so that activities outside the house can be seen clearly. Second, neighbours come in handy when it comes to keeping watch for us when we are away from home. When we are away for a long period of time, it is important to ask their help to keep an eye on things. Other than that, they can also help to water the plants, take in the mail, as well as to draw the curtain to make the house look occupied. They can also help to contact the police should they see any suspicious characters around the house. Third, invest in a security system. Such an investment can keep our house safe even if it may cost a lot. We should buy it from a reputable security company as the system needs to be installed professionally to ensure that it works properly and effectively. With the use of the CCTV, one will have a peace of mind knowing that the house is constantly being watched and will be able to see suspicious characters around the house. In conclusion, the house is our very own investment. It is important find ways to keep our home safe from burglary. 29

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 4 You recently saw this notice in a travel blog. Write your article. Articles wanted! Why Every Child Should Experience Farming • What is the natural beauty children can experience? • What can children learn on a farm? • How can their experience affect future perceptions of their career? Write us an article answering these questions. The best article will be published in this blog What A Farm Can Teach A Child Written by: Yong Yi Farms can teach a child many invaluable lessons and values. It offers much, especially with the natural curiosity and wonder that a child has. The beauty of the farms around our country is legendary. There are the rolling hills of green grass, or the array of wildflowers displayed in all their glory. The meandering streams where cattle roam, and the delightful sounds of farm animals, all testaments to the rich life on a farm. Farms need to be more than an extract idea. A visit to the farm offers children hands-on experience. The farm provides children with hands-on experience of life, food production, and sustainable environmental practices. For instance, children benefit in life when they know where their food is coming from, how it is raised, and the amazing process of bringing food from the farm to their plate. Spending a day or a week on a farm will teach the children to have a greater appreciation for their food. Children who grow their own food are more likely to waste less and eat a greater variety of food. Besides, children can touch, smell, and taste the things they are learning about. The lessons from a farm field trip can run the gamut from alternative energy to vegetables, paddy fields, cows, chickens, and much more. The child will learn about farm practices, daily chores, animals, plants, the farm lifestyle, farm products, and agricultural economics. The classroom comes to life on the farm as they learn about history, math, science, art, music, and health topics relevant to their classroom curriculum. Children will learn about the people that run a farm and how much sacrifice and energy they put into producing food, milk, and meat for people. Children always think about wanting to be doctors and lawyers, but not often want to be farmers. Visits to the farm may change their minds. The experience on a farm is invaluable to the children’s educational growth and the future of farming as a profession. 30

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 5 You see this notice on the noticeboard outside the school library. Articles wanted! Cyberbullying • What are the forms of cyberbullying? • Why should cyberbullying be stopped? • How can we deal with the problem? Write us an article answering these questions. The best article will be published on the school Youth Club magazine Write your article. Cyberbullying: What Is It and How to Stop It Written by: Josh Carrot Cyberbullying is the act of using technology, such as text messages, emails, and social networking sites with the intent of hurting a person or a group. There are various types of cyberbullying. It includes sending or posting rude and hurtful comments, spreading lies and rumours about someone, sharing someone’s secret or embarrassing photo online, sending threatening emails or text messages. Cyberbullying should be stopped because it is a severe form of psychological abuse. It can cause both short-term and long-term damage to the victims. Victims of cyberbullying can suffer from a range of issues, including low self-esteem, depression, fear, anger, frustrations, and feeling ashamed of oneself. In addition, a bullied student will often avoid school, have lower grades, poor concentration, and become socially isolated. There have been numerous reports which show that cyberbullying has led to suicide in teens and children. In certain cases, students who struggle with depression, anxiety, and loneliness, will continue to live in this condition when they become adults. There are many ways to prevent cyberbullying. Firstly, you should stop talking to the person who is cyberbullying you. Secondly, block emails or messages from the bully. Do not respond to them. Thirdly, tell someone whom you trust like your parents, teachers, or friends about the matter. Finally, save the messages or emails that you receive from the cyberbully and keep the screenshots of any comments or images that have been posted online as all this can be used as evidence. 31

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 1 As Secretary of the English Language Society, you are required to write a report on an English Camp held in school during the school holidays. Your report should include: • The activities held during the English Camp • What members learned from te camp Write your report. English Camp 2021 During the last school holidays, the English Language Society had organised an English Camp at the school hall on the 4 to 5 December 2021from 8am to 5pm. Thirty members of the English Language Society participated in this English Camp under the supervision of two teachers. All the members of the English Language Society gathered in the school hall at 8am on Saturday. The teacher-in-charge gave a brief speech. Then, the committee members divided the participants into groups and conducted language games such as Charade, Guess the Word, Taboo Words and Letter Scramble. After lunch, there was a Treasure Hunt where members need to solve riddles to look for clues. On Sunday, participants were assigned to their new groups and each group worked together to produce a short drama script. After that, the members practised and performed their drama on stage with imaginary props. After lunch, we watched a movie and had a discussion on topics based on the movie. Before we went home, each member was given the opportunity to present a two-minutes speech on their feelings and opinions regarding the English Camp. Throughout the two days, members have improved their vocabulary by learning a lot of new words. They had a lot of practice on their speaking skills too and were more confident in speaking English with their friends. The English Camp has enabled them to learn language the fun way. The camp was a huge success and it is hoped that similar camps would be organised in the future. It would benefit the members greatly. Reported by, Xin Er (YONG XIN ER) Secretary, English Language Society 34

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 2 You are the Head Prefect of your school. You have been asked to write a report to the principal on the students’ complaints about the canteen. Your report should include: • Reasons for these complaints • Your recommendations on how to solve the problem. Write your report. Complaints about the canteen The students of this school are very unhappy with the food sold in the canteen and the rude behaviour of the canteen operators. Thus, the students have stopped buying food from the canteen. Firstly, there are no variety of food sold and the staple food here is curry noodles. The students have found the curry to be cold and the noodles were not blanched in hot water. Secondly, the food preparation is unhygienic. In fact, a student found a cockroach in the soup! When the student demanded for another bowl, the canteen operator hurled foul words at the student. Luckily, some teachers controlled the situation. Thirdly, the canteen operators are rude and shout at the students. They even short-change the students and said that they were lying. Thus, the students have decided to boycott the canteen and bring food from home. As the situation has accelerated, I would recommend that the canteen operator should be changed so that we have a new canteen operator. The students will not buy food from the current operator. I would also suggest that we have a group of teachers to oversee the preparation of food to ensure its hygiene and of high quality. Teachers should be around to ensure that the operators do not short-change the students. It is hoped that you would consider these complaints seriously and prompt actions should be taken. Reported by, Marina Muhammad (MARINAMUHAMMAD) Head Prefect, SMK Tun Teja 35

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 3 A quarrel had occurred in the library. As a prefect, you have been asked by the school principal to write a report on the incident. Your report should include: • How the quarrel started • The action taken by the discipline teacher Write your report. A Quarrel in the School Library On 16 October 2021, a quarrel between two students happened at the library. On that day, it was quiet as usual. The librarians were arranging books on the shelves while a group of students were reading at the tables. There was a queue of four students at the counter waiting for their turns to borrow books. A librarian was attending to them patiently. Suddenly, two boys from Form 4 Bestari started shouting at each other. They were Shankar Kumar and Kenny Chua. They were in the queue too. One of the boys accused the other of cutting the queue. They began to shout angrily at each other. However, the accused insisted that he did not cut the queue. The heated argument between the two soon escalated and they started shoving at each other. I was walking along the corridor when I heard the commotion. I ran into the library and tried to stop them. Meanwhile, the librarian, Zakiah binti Bakri, ran to call the disciplinary teacher, Mr Thirusamy who came in and intervened. He noted the boys’ names and the class they came from. Mr Thirusamy instructed me to accompany the boys back to his room as he wanted to interrogate them. Before leaving, Mr Thirusamy asked the other students if they had seen what caused the quarrel. The students told him what had happened and he instructed the librarians to monitor the queue carefully next time. Reported by, Hon Yong (LOK HON YONG) Prefect SMK Seri Serdang 36

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 4 Getting to school on time is very important but many students in your school often arrive late. The Principal has asked you to carry out a survey to find out why they arrive late. Based on your findings, write a report to the Principal. Your report should include: • Details of the survey • Reasons given by students • Ways to solve the problem Report on the Findings of a Survey Getting to school on time is very important but many students in our school often arrive late. To curb this problem, the Prefectorial Board of SMK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn had carried out a survey to find out why students arrive late to school. Arriving school on time is important so that students will not miss any updates given by the teacher on duty in the morning assembly. The survey was carried out on 7th May 2017. A total of 100 students were involved in the survey. Based on the outcome of the survey, majority of the correspondents cited waking up time as the main cause for students to arrive late to school. Many students stay up late at night doing revision or playing online games, thus, unable to wake up on time. Some students highlighted the issue of transport to school. Many of our students depend on school buses to come to school. The school buses are often late as the drivers have to go to many routes to pick students from different schools as well as to drop them all at their respective schools. Our school is usually their last stop as it is located the farthest from the residential areas. Another reason given by the respondents is the distance from their homes to the school. As their houses are miles away from the school, they have to face the heavy traffic jam every morning before reaching school. Besides, some of the students gave reasons that the parents need to go to send their younger siblings to the primary school first before heading to our school. To overcome this problem from further affecting our school’s image, the school can conduct an awareness campaign among students to bring in awareness on the importance of being on time. At the same time, the school should hold a discussion with the parents of the students who are often late. This can be alarming to the students too when parents meet their teachers. On the other hand, students themselves can take measures to manage this issue. Students should use alarm clocks to set their waking up time. Besides, they can ask their parents to wake them up every morning so that they can reach school on time. To summarise, the issue of students arriving late to school can be reduced gradually if both the school and students work hand in hand. The cooperation of parents, teachers and the students is crucial to ensure the success of our goal. 37

Reported by, Tharshadevi (THARSHADEVI) Head Prefect, SMK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn 38

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 5 During the last school holidays, your school hosted a week-long visit for international students. As one of the students involved in organizing the visit, you have been asked to write a report to the Teacher Advisor. In your report, include the following: • Reasons for the visit • Activities during the visit • Opinions from international students International Students Visit During last school holidays, our school hosted a week-long visit for the international students from 12th to 18th December 2020. 30 students from various parts of the world participated in the visit. They were from Japan, China, India, England, Australia and Scotland. Their age group was between 16 to 17 years old. The main reason for the visit was good for international relations. It was also aimed to expose our school students to different cultures in the world. The organizing team had arranged three beach-side bungalows to accommodate the international students. A number of activities were carried out during the visit. We had cooking lessons with the participants. A demonstration for making ‘roti canai’, a popular Indian cuisine, took place in which many international students excitedly joined in the trial lessons. Next, we had traditional games session. The foreign students learnt ‘congkak’ and kite-flying. To add excitement to the programme, a traditional dance show was held. The participants were put into groups with our local students to perform various traditional dances in Malaysia like ‘Joget’, ‘Zapin’ and ‘Ngajat’. All the activities were fun and filled with loud laughter. Majority of the international students commented on our beautiful beaches. Throughout the stay, they witnessed the beautiful sunset from their homestay. Many of them also expressed their admiration on our multiracial society living in harmony. The present organizing team would like to recommend a visit to Sabah for the future international visits. It would be a great place to observe the diversity of Malaysia closely. Reported by, Dev (DEV THARM) Secretary, The Arts and Cultural Club 39

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 1 (Book Review) You see this notice in a community magazine. Reviews required! Have you recently read a good book? With the holidays fast approaching, helpful reviews of books to read are welcome. Let us know what book you are reviewing. Provide a brief synopsis and let us know why you enjoyed the book and who would enjoy reading the book. Briefly explain where you obtained a copy of the book, so future readers know where to get a copy of it. The Holiday Book Review By Jacob Chiang The book I am reviewing is titled ‘The Holiday’ by Justine Haggard. The book is available at the most bookshops. I purchased my copy at The Popular bookstore. It is the perfect plan for the upcoming holidays, where one looks for activities to fill up the time. A good book is worth carving out time for. Three friends from university gather with their families for once-in-a-lifetime holiday. Unfortunately, events lead a crime writer, Lessa, into uncovering her husband’s secret activities. Lessa is not sure who to trust as her marriage and lifelong friendships unravel. Little does she know that the stakes are higher that she has ever imagined. Everyone, it seems, has a secret. The twists are fast and furious towards the end. It is a plot-driven book that will be sure to entertain readers who enjoy domestic thrillers. Lessa narrates most of the book. Her analytical point of view simultaneously helps her search for the truth about her husband and her secrets. She dissects each person’s actions and comments. While she slowly processes her thoughts and observations, the tension builds up a breaking point between the guests. What I enjoyed most about the story, besides the dreamy location, Mauritius, was the author’s ability to keep me guessing. To masterfully convey that ever so slight edge that had me second-guessing everyone. The book is accessible to all ages and has a precise but straightforward language that seamlessly makes the characters and events come alive. The print is easy to read, and even delightful cover keeps reader guessing. I highly recommend readers to pick up this book for the holidays. 42

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 2 (Place Review) You recently saw this notice in a Time Out magazine. Write your review. Review required! • Have you visited any nice cafés in your state lately? Send us your review. • Say what you enjoyed most about the café. • Would you recommend this café to your mates? Why? The best review will be published in the Time Out magazine (Not Just) Another Cup Café: Good Coffee, Delectable Dishes and Good Vibes By Hunter Hitzrald Those who are new to (Not Just) Another Cup café, welcome. A simple space furnished with dark wooden furniture further accentuated by the soft yellow hues. The cosiness brought by the surrounding enchanting drapery greens and potted plants is a pleasant touch to the café. For most city dwellers looking to sip good coffee, (Not Just) Another Cup café is definitely a must-visit. Joining the bustling Jalan Hang Jebat terrain, (Not Just) Another Cup is a café that is known for not only coffee but a wide variety of brunch fare. Do not forget to order the Iced Espresso Latte as it will undoubtedly make a good post on your Instagram. This café also deserves a shout-out when it comes to the coffee they serve. Did you know that the baristas here have won several awards? (Not Just) Another Cup café’s menu is a reflective of a contemporary Melbourne café with some delicious local influence. The kitchen team always takes no shortcuts, insisting on making everything they possibly can in-house and from scratch. My favourite dish is avocado smash. Homemade guacamole, feta cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and two perfectly poached eggs topped on a sourdough toast. A smear of cider beetroot puree completes the dish. The toping is rich and creamy with a burst of tanginess when bite into the cherry tomatoes. The cider beetroot puree provides a mild acidic note to enhance the overall flavours. Besides, I like the Superbowl before I have even tried it. It has got all of my favourite ingredients in one dish: quinoa salad, sweet potato, grilled sweet corn, dehydrated kale, four-angled beans, hummus, pistachio, Greek yoghurt, and basil oil. Superb! The team at (Not Just) Another Cup café is serious about their coffee, and I dare say they are among the best quality cups in the city. The contemporary food menu us indeed flavourful but gently so, allowing both food and beverage shine. Sincere café hoppers should add (Not Just) Another Cup café to their route. This quaint café makes it right, from smoothie bowls to pancakes, sandwiches and pastas. Drop by (Not Just) Another Cup café, enjoy your cup of coffee, and unwind in their beautiful setting. Highly recommended! 43

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 3 (Product Review) You recently saw this notice in a magazine. Reviews required! Have you heard about any writing app that helps you write more and write better lately? We are really curious about it. Send us your app review. Say what the app is all about. How does it help students and how does it help them write better? The best review will be published in our newsletter . Write your review in 200- 250 words in an appropriate style Start Write App Review By Selvan a/l Rajaratnam A teacher created the Start Write App. It is designed with students in mind and is very easy to navigate, even on smartphone. The layout is clean and bright. The animation is tasteful and helps with student’s engagement. Start Write app consists of hundreds of prompts and images that are appropriate for students of different writing levels. The prompt increase with difficulty as each student progresses, from one writing level to the next. Another exciting feature of the app is that students can create new prompt using their own images and ideas. Individual writing pieces are composed and saved within the app. Students can also share their writing with others using email. The prompts help students think creatively and they can practise responding critically using arguments and details. As they write, the app provides check-in questions to keep students engaged and help them keep track of their progress. For many students, just starting to write is the most challenging part; the more they practise, the better they will become. Start Write app is excellent at getting students to start writing. Furthermore, students can even search for writing prompts and images based on a keyword or category, or they could let the app randomly make the selection for them. The only thing I find lacking is that there is no autocorrect for simple writing errors such as spelling. It would be wonderful to have a sound-recording option for students with disabilities. Currently, the free version is good enough for the average writer. The app developer is releasing a paid version that allows for partner writing and group work, and tracking edits and progress. 44

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 4 (Movie Review) A local magazine is looking for individuals to send in their movie reviews. Write a review on a movie that you have watched recently. Movie Review • Name of the movie and its synopsis • Analysis of the movie (themes, characters that you like, storyline, moral values etc) • What is your opinion about the movie? Will you recommend this movie? Send your review to us and stand a chance to be featured in our magazine! Hidden Figures Movie Review By Tesvor Ram The movie, Hidden Figures (2016), not only serves as an item of good entertainment, but is also admirable in depicting the scientific changes in the USA in the 1960s, the social life issues of that era, and differences that existed in the country, especially among African- Americans. The movie centers around the lives of three women: Katherine Johnson, who is played by movie star Taraji P. Henson; Mary Jackson, who is played by Janelle Monáe; and finally, Dorothy Vaughan, as the mathematician portrayed by Octavia Spencer. In the movie, these three characters of African-American backgrounds play vital roles in society through their contributions while working at NASA towards the successful launch of a spaceship into orbit. As an informative movie, it shows the condition of African-Americans among the wider USA community and some of the issues they faced. These include gender imbalances, as well as racial discriminations. From a historical perspective, the film shows a depiction of the Jim Crow rule, which created ideologies of segregation where some buildings and facility spaces are separated to ensure that races were kept apart. The impact of such a rule is seen when Mary Jackson in facing opposition due to her taking a course in physics at the graduate-level. There is also a depiction of racial discrimination where there are separate toilets for white people and for colored people. Additionally, the film depicts differences in the social treatment of community members among various ethnic groups. 45

As seen in the movie, at the Langley Campus at NASA, even if African-Americans and white citizens work within the same vicinity, they are segregated. The African-Americans are shown using separate dining facilities and bathrooms. This can be seen when Katherine Johnson is seen running from her office just to visit the washrooms, sometimes even in the rain. The movie, Hidden Figures, also shows the social differences between men and women in American history. There is a sense of prejudice and workplace bias towards women from their fellow men counterparts. One scene from the movie depicts the character, Katherine Johnson, who is skilled in computing and at explaining information to the board, yet sidelined and prevented from being among the men by Paul Stanford, a lead engineer on the project. Rather, she is forced to relinquish her presentation files to men, as opposed to making the presentation herself. However, with changes and acceptance, Katherine is finally allowed to present, especially with the support of Al Harrison. The movie also shows the importance and impact that the three women played in shaping the subsequent events at NASA, and in shaping the whole community. Through power and determination, the women act as motivators for other women, especially African- American women. In the film, Dorothy works with other white women and commanding several computers, however she is bypassed for upcoming promotions within the company for the role of supervisor. Fellow co-workers and her boss also treat Dorothy maliciously. However, with perseverance, she encourages fellow African-American women to take up programming lessons as a way of preparing themselves for the changes in computing. I think the movie does an excellent job in portraying past issues faced by African- Americans, explaining scientific changes in USA, and in creating a vivid picture of the social differences in gender in the 1960s. I highly recommend this movie because there are so many things that we can learn from the dramatic prejudice and issues undertaken by these three women. 46

PART 3: MODEL QUESTION 5 (Game Review) You recently saw this notice in a STAR magazine. Review required! • Choose a favourite game of yours! • Write a review about the game – what is the game about? • How you feel about the game? • What you like and dislike about the game? The best review will be published in the STAR magazine. Shadow of Wars By Gordon Yeam My favourite game of the year is ‘Shadows of War’. ‘Shadows of War’ revolves around sieges. Mordor now comprises five regions: Cirith Ungol, Nurnen, Seregost, Gorgoroth, and one of the Gondorian cities–naming it would be a spoiler, I guess. Four of them are guarded by a stronghold governed by up to six war chiefs, and an overlord. Your goal is basically to conquer all the fortresses, using the whole lot of tools developers grant you with. The siege itself is represented by well-known “capture-and-hold” mechanics: your forces must break through the walls and gain control over several strategic points heavily defended by enemy captains and war chiefs. To do this, you must overcome numerous obstacles: poisoned traps and fire mines; enemy catapults wiping out your grunt orcs; beasts and archers defending the city within the walls; boiling oil or poison flowing on the heads of your troops as they try to climb the walls; and so on. As soon as you capture all the points, you will need to confront the overlord himself–and I must say, it can be a challenging task even for an experienced player. Regarding the game itself, I could just describe it in one word: fantastic. Flexible, versatile, engaging, and adapting to your pace as a player. I could not stop playing it: in about a week after I bought “Shadows of War,” my Steam statistics showed over 60 hours spent in the game. Capturing fortresses, fighting war chiefs, infiltrating strongholds, recruiting orc captains, flying fire-breathing drakes, collecting legendary gear sets–this is just a tiny bit of what you will need to do. I love the game so much because of the several reasons. I liked the online part of the game. Traditional vendetta missions, when you must avenge another player killed by an orc captain, are now complemented with sieges. In this mode, you must attack a fortress in another player’s world. You do not fight players, though–just their orc war chiefs and captains. Still, it is fun, as every user builds his or her own defenses, and the orcs possess different traits. Also, it is a nice way to find and capture (or kill) high-level, legendary orcs, which is awesome. Apart from that, the Nemesis system in the game is capable of creating them on the fly, and I think this is fantastic. The skill tree has become much more diverse. 47

All of your talents fall into several categories: Combat, Predator, Ranged, Wraith, Beasts, and Story. Each skill in each of these categories has two or three alternatives. Overall, it gives Talion incredible flexibility, allowing you to create any playstyle you wish. Like to stealthily infiltrate fortresses during the night and take out enemy captains one by one? Here you go. How about roasting everyone with flames while flying a drake? Mind-controlling archers and ordering them to fire at will? Terrorize your enemies so they flee in horror? You can play “Shadow of War” in whatever way you like. However, there are several aspects of the game that I disliked, though. The first and foremost one is the camera. It is awful. If you are in the middle of combat with multiple grunts and captains surrounding you, and plan to use your deadly execution to hit precisely–forget about it. Better use an area-of-effect ability, because you will never make the camera aim at the enemy you want to hit. Not in a large battle, at least. If you run past a wall you do not plan climbing on, be sure Talion will grab it and start climbing. I am using Steam Gamepad, but I never noticed such problems in other games. The other aspect I would like to rant about is the graphics. My computer runs this game at 60 FPS on ultra settings. Nevertheless, the graphics look blurry. Sometimes textures look like they have not loaded completely. Anti-aliasing does not completely eliminate pixel “ladders”–this can be easily seen when you fly towards your fort and look at it from the distance. This, as well as some bugs (I found myself stuck in textures several times) can somewhat spoil your impression. Overall, “Middle-Earth: Shadow of War” is a game that can catch your attention for a long time. The gameplay is extremely immersive and versatile, and the Nemesis system responsible for player-environment relationships works amazingly. After more than 60 hours of playing the game, I have still got things left to do in Middle-Earth, and gameplay mechanics to explore. I strongly recommend this game to everyone, really. 48

Guide on How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay Effortlessly

What is a 5-paragraph Essay

5-paragraph essay is a common format used in academic writing, especially in schools and standardized tests. This type of essay is structured into five distinct sections: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction serves to present the main topic and ends with a thesis statement, which outlines the primary argument or points that will be discussed. This format is favored because it provides a clear and organized way to present information and arguments.

The three body paragraphs each focus on a single point that supports the thesis statement. Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph, followed by supporting details, examples, and evidence. This structured approach helps the writer stay on topic and provides the reader with a clear understanding of the arguments being made. The consistency in structure also aids in the logical flow of the essay, making it easier for the reader to follow and comprehend the writer's points.

The conclusion, the final paragraph, summarizes the main points discussed in the essay and restates the thesis in a new way. It provides closure to the discussion and reinforces the essay's main argument. The 5-paragraph essay format is an effective tool for teaching students how to organize their thoughts and present them clearly and logically. It is a foundational skill that serves as a building block for more complex writing tasks in the future.

Guide on How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay

Writing a 5-paragraph essay becomes manageable if you follow these simple and effective tips below from our admission essay writing service :

1. Plan Before You Write: Before you start writing, create an outline to organize your thoughts and ensure a logical flow of ideas. This will help you stay on track and cover all your points. Draft an outline with headings for the introduction, each body paragraph, and the conclusion. Under each heading, jot down the main points and supporting details.

2. Focus on Main Points : Stick to your main arguments and avoid adding unnecessary information. This keeps your essay clear and easy to understand. If your thesis is about the benefits of exercise, each body paragraph should discuss a specific benefit, such as improved health, increased energy, or better mood.

3. Maintain a Smooth Flow : Use transition words to link your paragraphs and ideas. This helps the reader follow your argument seamlessly.

Examples : "Furthermore," "In addition," "Moreover," "On the other hand," "In conclusion."

Example Sentence : "In addition to improving physical health, exercise also enhances mental well-being."

4. Provide Strong Evidence: Use facts, examples, and quotes to back up your arguments. This makes your essay more convincing and credible.

Example : "According to a study by the World Health Organization, regular physical activity can reduce the risk of chronic diseases by up to 30%."

5. Vary Your Sentence Structure : Mix short and long sentences to keep your writing engaging. This helps maintain the reader's interest and makes your essay more dynamic.

6. Proofread and Revise : Review your essay for grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and unclear sentences. Make necessary revisions to improve clarity and coherence. : After writing your essay, take a break and then read it again. This helps you spot mistakes you might have missed initially.

7. Stay Focused on Your Thesis: Ensure that all your paragraphs support your thesis statement. If your thesis is about the importance of education, every paragraph should relate to how education impacts individuals and society.

8. Manage Your Time: Allocate specific times for planning, writing, and revising your essay. This helps you stay organized and avoid last-minute stress. For example, spend 10 minutes outlining, 30 minutes writing, and 10 minutes proofreading for a 50-minute essay task.

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5 Paragraph Essay Format

The five-paragraph essay format is designed to provide a clear and straightforward structure for presenting ideas and arguments. This format is broken down into an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion, each serving a specific purpose in the essay.

Types of 5 Paragraph Essay 

There are several types of five-paragraph essays, each with a slightly different focus or purpose. Here are some of the most common types of five-paragraph essays:

• Narrative essay : A narrative essay tells a story or recounts a personal experience. It typically includes a clear introductory paragraph, body sections that provide details about the story, and a conclusion that wraps up the narrative.
• Descriptive essay: A descriptive essay uses sensory language to describe a person, place, or thing. It often includes a clear thesis statement that identifies the subject of the description and body paragraphs that provide specific details to support the thesis.
• Expository essay: An expository essay offers details or clarifies a subject. It usually starts with a concise introduction that introduces the subject, is followed by body paragraphs that provide evidence and examples to back up the thesis, and ends with a summary of the key points.
• Persuasive essay: A persuasive essay argues for a particular viewpoint or position. It has a thesis statement that is clear, body paragraphs that give evidence and arguments in favor of it, and a conclusion that summarizes the important ideas and restates the thesis.
• Compare and contrast essay: An essay that compares and contrasts two or more subjects and looks at their similarities and differences. It usually starts out simply by introducing the topics being contrasted or compared, followed by body paragraphs that go into more depth on the similarities and differences, and a concluding paragraph that restates the important points.

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5 Paragraph Essay Example Topics

Choosing a specific and interesting topic can make your essay stand out. Here are 20 more engaging essay topics that provide a good starting point for your 5-paragraph paper:

• Why Is Recycling Important for Our Planet?
• The Day I Met My Best Friend
• How Does Playing Sports Benefit Children?
• What Are the Challenges of Being a Teenager Today?
• A Time I Made a Difficult Decision
• My Most Embarrassing Moment
• How Can We Encourage People to Read More?
• How I Spent My Last Summer Vacation
• The Best Gift I Ever Received
• What Makes a Good Friend?
• My Experience Learning a New Skill
• How Do Video Games Affect Our Brains?
• Why Is It Important to Learn About Different Cultures?
• The Day I Got My First Pet
• How Can Schools Better Prepare Students for the Future?
• An Adventure I Will Never Forget
• A Time I Helped Someone in Need
• What Are the Pros and Cons of Remote Work?
• The Most Interesting Person I Have Met
• How Does Peer Pressure Affect Our Decisions?

General Grading Rubric for a 5 Paragraph Essay

The following is a general grading rubric that can be used to evaluate a five-paragraph essay:

Based on the points discussed, your paper needs to show a good grasp of the topic, clear structure, strong writing skills, and critical thinking. Teachers use this rubric to assess essays comprehensively and give feedback on what you do well and where you can improve. If you want to simplify meeting your professors' expectations, you can buy an essay from our experts and see how it can ease your academic life!

Five Paragraph Essay Examples

Final thoughts.

Writing a five-paragraph essay might seem challenging at first, but it doesn't have to be difficult. By following these simple steps and tips, you can break down the process into manageable parts and create a clear, concise, and well-organized essay.

Start with a strong thesis statement, use topic sentences to guide your paragraphs, and provide evidence and analysis to support your ideas. Remember to revise and proofread your work to ensure it is error-free and coherent. With time and practice, you'll be able to write a five-paragraph essay with ease and confidence. Whether you're writing for school, work, or personal projects, these skills will help you communicate your ideas effectively!

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Is a 5 Paragraph Essay 500 Words?

How long is a five-paragraph essay, how do you write a 5 paragraph essay.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

• Updated definition, writing tips and format
• Added FAQs and topics
• Secrets of the Five-Paragraph Essay | UMGC Effective Writing Center . (n.d.). University of Maryland Global Campus. https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/writing/secrets-five-paragraph-essay#:~:text=The%20five%2Dparagraph%20essay%20consists  
• Outline for a Five-Paragraph Essay . (n.d.). https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/FiveParagraphEssayOutlineJuly08_000.pdf  

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This form of writing goes by different names. Maybe you've heard some of them before: "The Basic Essay," "The Academic Response Essay," "The 1-3-1 Essay." Regardless of what you've heard, the name you should remember is "The Easy Essay."

Once you are shown how this works--and it only takes a few minutes--you will have in your hands the secret to writing well on almost any academic assignment. Here is how it goes.

Secret #1—The Magic of Three

Three has always been a magic number for humans, from fairy tales like "The Three Little Pigs" to sayings like “third time’s a charm.” Three seems to be an ideal number for us--including the academic essay. So whenever you are given a topic to write about, a good place to begin is with a list of three. Here are some examples (three of them, of course):

Topic : What are the essential characteristics of a good parent? Think in threes and you might come up with:

• unconditional love 

Certainly, there are more characteristics of good parents you could name, but for our essay, we will work in threes.

Here's a topic that deals with a controversial issue:

Topic : Should women in the military be given frontline combat duties?

• The first reason that women should be assigned to combat is equality. 
• The second reason is their great teamwork. 
• The third reason is their courage.

As you see, regardless of the topic, we can list three points about it. And if you wonder about the repetition of words and structure when stating the three points, in this case, repetition is a good thing. Words that seem redundant when close together in an outline will be separated by the actual paragraphs of your essay. So in the essay instead of seeming redundant they will be welcome as signals to the reader of your essay’s main parts.

Finally, when the topic is an academic one, your first goal is the same: create a list of three.

Topic: Why do so many students fail to complete their college degree?

• First, students often...
• Second, many students cannot...
• Finally, students find that...

Regardless of the reasons you might come up with to finish these sentences, the formula is still the same.

Secret #2: The Thesis Formula

Now with your list of three, you can write the sentence that every essay must have—the thesis, sometimes called the "controlling idea," "overall point," or "position statement." In other words, it is the main idea of the essay that you will try to support, illustrate, or corroborate.

Here’s a simple formula for a thesis: The topic + your position on the topic = your thesis.

Let’s apply this formula to one of our examples:

Topic: Essential characteristics of a good parent Your Position: patience, respect, love Thesis: The essential characteristics of a good parent are patience, respect, and love.

As you see, all we did was combine the topic with our position/opinion on it into a single sentence to produce the thesis: The essential characteristics of a good parent are patience, respect, and love.

In this case, we chose to list three main points as part of our thesis. Sometimes that’s a good strategy. However, you can summarize them if you wish, as in this example:

Topic: Women in combat duty in the military Your Position: They deserve it Thesis: Women deserve to be assigned combat duty in the military.

This type of thesis is shorter and easier to write because it provides the overall position or opinion without forcing you to list the support for it in the thesis, which can get awkward and take away from your strong position statement. The three reasons women deserve to be assigned combat duties--equality, teamwork, courage--will be the subjects of your three body paragraphs and do not need to be mentioned until the body paragraph in which they appear.

Secret #3: The 1-3-1 Outline

With your thesis and list of three main points, you can quickly draw a basic outline of the paragraphs of your essay. You’ll then see why this is often called the 1-3-1 essay.

• Supporting Evidence for Claim 1    
• Supporting Evidence for Claim 2
• Supporting Evidence for Claim 3

The five-paragraph essay consists of one introduction paragraph (with the thesis at its end), three body paragraphs (each beginning with one of three main points) and one last paragraph—the conclusion. 1-3-1.

Once you have this outline, you have the basic template for most academic writing. Most of all, you have an organized way to approach virtually any topic you are assigned.

Our helpful admissions advisors can help you choose an academic program to fit your career goals, estimate your transfer credits, and develop a plan for your education costs that fits your budget. If you’re a current UMGC student, please visit the Help Center .

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How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay

Last Updated: April 4, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams and by wikiHow staff writer, Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. 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 527,278 times.

Five paragraph essays are a common assignment throughout your school career, especially in high school and college. Since any subject can include a five paragraph essay, you’ll want to be good at writing them. Luckily, five-paragraph essays are really easy to write if you know the expected format and give yourself the time you need to write it. To write your five paragraph essay, draft your introduction, develop three body paragraphs, write your conclusion, and revise and edit your essay.

Drafting Your Introduction

• For example, you could phrase your hook like this: Nature’s life cycle is often used as a metaphor to convey ideas about the passage of life.
• If you are writing a persuasive essay, don’t include your stance in your hook.
• Don’t say “In this essay” or “I am going to show.” Instead, use the “show, don’t tell” technique using descriptive language.
• It’s often easiest to come up with your hook after you write the rest of your essay. If you’re struggling to come up with one, use a basic placeholder and then create a better hook when you revise your essay.

• Don’t reveal your main points yet.
• For example, you could say something like this: While spring compares with birth, summer can symbolize maturity, with fall and winter showing a descent toward death.

• This sentence depends on what type of paper you’re writing. If it’s an argumentative paper, introduce both sides of the argument. In an informative paper, mention the central idea and focus.
• As an example, you could narrow your topic like this: Writers often use nature metaphors in their work to show themes about life, such as the blossoming of youth.

• For example, your thesis could read like this: In the poem “Raspberries,” the author shows youth through the ripening berries, summer blossoming, and blushing color of the fruit.
• Each of the three examples provided in the thesis will become the topic of a body paragraph. For the example thesis, you would have body paragraphs about ripening berries, summer blossoming, and the blushing color of the fruit.

Developing Three Body Paragraphs

• You should include three body paragraphs, one for each supporting point.

• Your topic sentence is like a mini-thesis for just that paragraph.
• Use a quote related to your thesis and analyze it in the body paragraph. If you use a topic sentence, put the quote next.
• For example, your topic sentence could look like this: Ripening berries show youth in the poem “Raspberries” by reaching maturity and becoming ready for picking.

• Each paragraph should contain two to three examples or pieces of evidence.
• If you use research, cite your sources in the appropriate format that your instructor specifies.

• Include two to three sentences of commentary for each example or piece of evidence.
• Depending on the type of evidence or examples, it’s often best to alternate your evidence and commentary throughout the paragraph. For example, provide one example, then provide the commentary.

• For example, you could wrap up your paragraph like this: As the girl plucks the ripe raspberries from the bush and eats them, her actions represent her own youth and readiness to be “plucked” by someone.

Drafting Your Conclusion

• For example, you could restate your thesis like this: The poem “Raspberries” provides an allegorical representation of youth through a metaphor of ripening berries, summer blossoming, and blushing color of the fruit.
• If you're a beginning writer, it's okay to start your conclusion with "In conclusion." However, if you're an advanced writer, avoid starting your conclusion with statements like “In conclusion,” “To conclude,” or “In the end.”

• Use an authoritative tone as you restate your arguments so that your reader walks away knowing that you are correct.

• Include a call to action.
• Provide a warning about what could happen if your stance is ignored.
• Create an image in the reader’s mind.
• Include a quote.
• Make a universal statement about life.

Revising and Editing Your Essay

• Always reread your sentence to make sure that the word processor is suggesting the right word. If you’ve misspelled a word that is similar to another word, then it’s possible that your spell check could suggest the wrong spelling, such as “then” instead of “than.”

• Look for errors that your spell checker missed.
• If you can, ask someone else to proofread your paper. They will usually spot errors that you overlooked.

• Combine choppy sentences.
• Breakup long, convoluted sentences into shorter sentences.
• Rewrite fragments and run-on sentences.

• If you have cited sources, make sure that you include a reference page in the style chosen by your instructor.

Expert Q&A

• Never plagiarize an essay, which means copying someone’s work or ideas without giving them credit. Your teacher will deny you credit for the essay, and you may also get a discipline consequence. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/five-paragraph-essay/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/college-writing/
• ↑ https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/FiveParagraphEssayOutlineJuly08_000.pdf
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789530/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html

About This Article

To write a five paragraph essay, start with an introductory paragraph that includes a hook to capture your audience’s attention, and a thesis that explains the main point you’re trying to make. Then, use the next 3 paragraphs to explain 3 separate points that support your thesis. As you explain each point, use evidence from your research or examples in the text you’re discussing. Finally, conclude your essay with a paragraph summing up the points you’ve made and telling the reader how those points support your thesis. For tips on how to revise your essay to improve the flow and formatting, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The Ultimate Guide to the 5-Paragraph Essay

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• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

A five-paragraph essay is a prose composition that follows a prescribed format of an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph, and is typically taught during primary English education and applied on standardized testing throughout schooling.

Learning to write a high-quality five-paragraph essay is an essential skill for students in early English classes as it allows them to express certain ideas, claims, or concepts in an organized manner, complete with evidence that supports each of these notions. Later, though, students may decide to stray from the standard five-paragraph format and venture into writing an  exploratory essay  instead.

Still, teaching students to organize essays into the five-paragraph format is an easy way to introduce them to writing literary criticism, which will be tested time and again throughout their primary, secondary, and further education.

Writing a Good Introduction

The introduction is the first paragraph in your essay, and it should accomplish a few specific goals: capture the reader's interest, introduce the topic, and make a claim or express an opinion in a thesis statement.

It's a good idea to start your essay with a hook (fascinating statement) to pique the reader's interest, though this can also be accomplished by using descriptive words, an anecdote, an intriguing question, or an interesting fact. Students can practice with creative writing prompts to get some ideas for interesting ways to start an essay.

The next few sentences should explain your first statement, and prepare the reader for your thesis statement, which is typically the last sentence in the introduction. Your  thesis sentence  should provide your specific assertion and convey a clear point of view, which is typically divided into three distinct arguments that support this assertation, which will each serve as central themes for the body paragraphs.

Writing Body Paragraphs

The body of the essay will include three body paragraphs in a five-paragraph essay format, each limited to one main idea that supports your thesis.

To correctly write each of these three body paragraphs, you should state your supporting idea, your topic sentence, then back it up with two or three sentences of evidence. Use examples that validate the claim before concluding the paragraph and using transition words to lead to the paragraph that follows — meaning that all of your body paragraphs should follow the pattern of "statement, supporting ideas, transition statement."

Words to use as you transition from one paragraph to another include: moreover, in fact, on the whole, furthermore, as a result, simply put, for this reason, similarly, likewise, it follows that, naturally, by comparison, surely, and yet.

Writing a Conclusion

The final paragraph will summarize your main points and re-assert your main claim (from your thesis sentence). It should point out your main points, but should not repeat specific examples, and should, as always, leave a lasting impression on the reader.

The first sentence of the conclusion, therefore, should be used to restate the supporting claims argued in the body paragraphs as they relate to the thesis statement, then the next few sentences should be used to explain how the essay's main points can lead outward, perhaps to further thought on the topic. Ending the conclusion with a question, anecdote, or final pondering is a great way to leave a lasting impact.

Once you complete the first draft of your essay, it's a good idea to re-visit the thesis statement in your first paragraph. Read your essay to see if it flows well, and you might find that the supporting paragraphs are strong, but they don't address the exact focus of your thesis. Simply re-write your thesis sentence to fit your body and summary more exactly, and adjust the conclusion to wrap it all up nicely.

Practice Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay

Students can use the following steps to write a standard essay on any given topic. First, choose a topic, or ask your students to choose their topic, then allow them to form a basic five-paragraph by following these steps:

• Decide on your  basic thesis , your idea of a topic to discuss.
• Decide on three pieces of supporting evidence you will use to prove your thesis.
• Write an introductory paragraph, including your thesis and evidence (in order of strength).
• Write your first body paragraph, starting with restating your thesis and focusing on your first piece of supporting evidence.
• End your first paragraph with a transitional sentence that leads to the next body paragraph.
• Write paragraph two of the body focussing on your second piece of evidence. Once again make the connection between your thesis and this piece of evidence.
• End your second paragraph with a transitional sentence that leads to paragraph number three.
• Repeat step 6 using your third piece of evidence.
• Begin your concluding paragraph by restating your thesis. Include the three points you've used to prove your thesis.
• End with a punch, a question, an anecdote, or an entertaining thought that will stay with the reader.

Once a student can master these 10 simple steps, writing a basic five-paragraph essay will be a piece of cake, so long as the student does so correctly and includes enough supporting information in each paragraph that all relate to the same centralized main idea, the thesis of the essay.

Limitations of the Five-Paragraph Essay

The five-paragraph essay is merely a starting point for students hoping to express their ideas in academic writing; there are some other forms and styles of writing that students should use to express their vocabulary in the written form.

According to Tory Young's "Studying English Literature: A Practical Guide":

"Although school students in the U.S. are examined on their ability to write a  five-paragraph essay , its  raison d'être  is purportedly to give practice in basic writing skills that will lead to future success in more varied forms. Detractors feel, however, that writing to rule in this way is more likely to discourage imaginative writing and thinking than enable it. . . . The five-paragraph essay is less aware of its  audience  and sets out only to present information, an account or a kind of story rather than explicitly to persuade the reader."

Students should instead be asked to write other forms, such as journal entries, blog posts, reviews of goods or services, multi-paragraph research papers, and freeform expository writing around a central theme. Although five-paragraph essays are the golden rule when writing for standardized tests, experimentation with expression should be encouraged throughout primary schooling to bolster students' abilities to utilize the English language fully.

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Demystifying The 5-Paragraph Essay: Your Go-To Guide

Manavi Agarwal

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If the mere mention of “5-paragraph essay” makes you shudder with dread or sends you on a wild procrastination adventure, you’re not alone. Writing essays can be a bit like solving a puzzle, and the 5-paragraph essay is like the trusty map that helps you navigate your way through the labyrinth of words. 

The 5-paragraph essay has long been a staple of academic writing, from middle school book reports to college entrance exams. Whether you’re a seasoned essayist looking for a refresher or a newcomer feeling lost in the world of academic writing, this guide is designed to make the process clear, simple, and dare we say it – enjoyable.

In this guide, we’ll take you by the hand and lead you through the world of the 5-paragraph essay. By the time you’re done here, you’ll not only understand the 5-paragraph essay but also wield it like a seasoned wordsmith, ready to tackle any writing challenge that comes your way. 

The Birth Of The 5-Paragraph Essay: An Unexpected Origin Story

Let’s start with a fascinating historical tidbit. The 5-paragraph essay, a staple of academic writing, has roots that trace back to early American education in the 19th century. A man named Horace Mann , often referred to as the “Father of American Education,” played a pivotal role in popularising this format. He championed the idea of standardised education, and the 5-paragraph essay became a cornerstone of his vision.

The Structure Unveiled: What’s Inside A 5-Paragraph Essay?

• Introduction: Imagine this as your grand entrance on the essay’s stage. It’s where you set the scene, introduce the topic, and present your thesis statement, which is the essay’s central argument. Here’s a pro tip: Make your thesis statement clear and concise, like a roadmap for your readers.
• Body Paragraphs (x3): These are the heart and soul of your essay, where you dive into the details, evidence, and arguments. Each paragraph should focus on a single point that supports your thesis. Did you know? The “three-body paragraph” convention is not set in stone. In longer essays, you can have more, and in shorter ones, you might have fewer.
• Transitions: These often-overlooked heroes are like bridges connecting your ideas. Smooth transitions between paragraphs make your essay flow seamlessly. Spice up your writing by using transitional phrases such as “more importantly,” “likewise,” or “on the other hand.”
• Conclusion: Just like the introduction, the conclusion is crucial. It’s your final bow on the essay’s stage. Summarise your main points, restate your thesis (in different words), and leave your readers with something to ponder. Avoid introducing new information here; it’s all about tying up loose ends.

The Magic Of The ‘Rhetorical Triangle’

Ever heard of the rhetorical triangle? It’s a concept less known but incredibly useful when crafting persuasive essays. This triangle comprises three key elements:

• Ethos: This represents your credibility as the writer. To establish ethos, use credible sources, showcase your expertise on the topic, and build trust with your readers.
• Pathos: Pathos taps into your readers’ emotions. Use vivid language, anecdotes, and compelling stories to create an emotional connection that strengthens your argument.
• Logos: Logos are all about appealing to reason. Use logical reasoning , evidence, and solid arguments to convince your audience of your viewpoint.

By balancing these three elements, you create a persuasive essay that can sway hearts and minds.

Adding Flavor With Lesser-Known Rhetorical Devices

Sure, everyone knows about metaphors and similes, but how about these less-known rhetorical devices that can add flair to your essay?

• Chiasmus: A clever reversal of grammatical structures within a sentence. For example, “You forget what you want to remember, and remember what you want to forget.”
• Anadiplosis: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next. It creates a sense of continuity, like a literary baton pass.
• Polyptoton: The repetition of a word in different forms. For instance, “With great power comes great responsibility.” It adds rhythm and emphasis to your writing.
• Epistrophe: Similar to anaphora (repetition at the beginning of a sentence), epistrophe repeats a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. It’s like a persuasive drumbeat..

Quirky Essay Formats For The Brave

While the 5-paragraph essay is a trusted classic, there are quirky and unconventional formats for the adventurous writer:

• The Twitter Essay: Craft an essay in the style of tweets. Each “tweet” contains a concise point or idea, and you thread them together for a unique reading experience.
• The Graphic Essay: Perfect for visual thinkers, this format combines words and illustrations to convey your message. Think of it as a comic strip with a scholarly twist.
• The Audio Essay: If you’re a fan of podcasts or have a melodious voice, consider recording your essay as an audio file. It adds a personal touch and engages auditory learners.

The 5-Paragraph Essay: A Versatile Tool

Despite its structured nature, the 5-paragraph essay isn’t limited to academic writing alone. It’s a versatile tool that can be adapted for various purposes:

• Op-Eds: Newspapers and magazines often feature op-eds that use the 5-paragraph structure to present concise and persuasive arguments.
• Personal Essays: You can use this format to narrate personal experiences or share your opinions on a wide range of topics, from travel adventures to social issues.
• Business Proposals: A structured proposal can make a compelling case for your business ideas. Use the 5-paragraph format to present your plan succinctly.
• Creative Writing: Even in the realm of fiction and creative writing, this structure can help you organise your thoughts and keep your storytelling on track.

Empower Your Academic Journey With Mentoria

In the world of academia, mastering the art of essay writing is a skill that can open countless doors. It’s a tool for expressing your thoughts, analysing complex ideas, and persuading others. Throughout this guide, we’ve explored the structure and strategies that make up the 5-paragraph essay, a fundamental format that lays the foundation for effective written communication.

This is where Mentoria can be your trusted companion. Our educational platform is designed to empower students like you with the knowledge, tools, and personalised guidance needed to excel in your academic endeavours. Whether you’re looking to improve your essay writing, explore advanced writing techniques, or seek assistance with any aspect of your education, Mentoria is here to support you.

With Mentoria, you’ll have access to a wealth of resources, including expert-written guides, interactive learning modules, and one-on-one mentoring from experienced educators. We understand that every student is unique, and our platform is tailored to your individual needs and goals.

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Structuring the Five-Paragraph Essay: Examples of Five-Paragraph Essays

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• will help you to further your studies
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Ultimate guide to writing a five paragraph essay.

Are you struggling with writing essays? Do you find yourself lost in a sea of ideas, unable to structure your thoughts cohesively? The five paragraph essay is a tried-and-true method that can guide you through the writing process with ease. By mastering this format, you can unlock the key to successful and organized writing.

In this article, we will break down the five paragraph essay into easy steps that anyone can follow. From crafting a strong thesis statement to effectively supporting your arguments, we will cover all the essential components of a well-written essay. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned writer, these tips will help you hone your skills and express your ideas clearly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Five Paragraph Essay

Writing a successful five paragraph essay can seem like a daunting task, but with the right approach and strategies, it can become much more manageable. Follow these steps to master the art of writing a powerful five paragraph essay:

• Understand the structure: The five paragraph essay consists of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph serves a specific purpose in conveying your message effectively.
• Brainstorm and plan: Before you start writing, take the time to brainstorm ideas and create an outline. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your essay flows smoothly.
• Write the introduction: Start your essay with a strong hook to grab the reader’s attention. Your introduction should also include a thesis statement, which is the main argument of your essay.
• Develop the body paragraphs: Each body paragraph should focus on a single point that supports your thesis. Use evidence, examples, and analysis to strengthen your argument and make your points clear.
• Conclude effectively: In your conclusion, summarize your main points and restate your thesis in a new way. Leave the reader with a thought-provoking statement or a call to action.

By following these steps and practicing regularly, you can become proficient in writing five paragraph essays that are clear, coherent, and impactful. Remember to revise and edit your work for grammar, punctuation, and clarity to ensure that your essay is polished and professional.

Understanding the Structure of a Five Paragraph Essay

When writing a five paragraph essay, it is important to understand the basic structure that makes up this type of essay. The five paragraph essay consists of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Introduction: The introduction is the first paragraph of the essay and sets the tone for the rest of the piece. It should include a hook to grab the reader’s attention, a thesis statement that presents the main idea of the essay, and a brief overview of what will be discussed in the body paragraphs.

Body Paragraphs: The body paragraphs make up the core of the essay and each paragraph should focus on a single point that supports the thesis statement. These paragraphs should include a topic sentence that introduces the main idea, supporting details or evidence, and explanations or analysis of how the evidence supports the thesis.

Conclusion: The conclusion is the final paragraph of the essay and it should summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs. It should restate the thesis in different words, and provide a closing thought or reflection on the topic.

By understanding the structure of a five paragraph essay, writers can effectively organize their thoughts and present their ideas in a clear and coherent manner.

Choosing a Strong Thesis Statement

One of the most critical elements of a successful five-paragraph essay is a strong thesis statement. Your thesis statement should clearly and concisely present the main argument or point you will be making in your essay. It serves as the foundation for the entire essay, guiding the reader on what to expect and helping you stay focused throughout your writing.

When choosing a thesis statement, it’s important to make sure it is specific, debatable, and relevant to your topic. Avoid vague statements or generalizations, as they will weaken your argument and fail to provide a clear direction for your essay. Instead, choose a thesis statement that is narrow enough to be effectively supported within the confines of a five-paragraph essay, but broad enough to allow for meaningful discussion.

By choosing a strong thesis statement, you set yourself up for a successful essay that is well-organized, coherent, and persuasive. Take the time to carefully craft your thesis statement, as it will serve as the guiding force behind your entire essay.

Developing Supporting Arguments in Body Paragraphs

When crafting the body paragraphs of your five paragraph essay, it is crucial to develop strong and coherent supporting arguments that back up your thesis statement. Each body paragraph should focus on a single supporting argument that contributes to the overall discussion of your topic.

To effectively develop your supporting arguments, consider using a table to organize your ideas. Start by listing your main argument in the left column, and then provide evidence, examples, and analysis in the right column. This structured approach can help you ensure that each supporting argument is fully developed and logically presented.

Additionally, be sure to use transitional phrases to smoothly connect your supporting arguments within and between paragraphs. Words like “furthermore,” “in addition,” and “on the other hand” can help readers follow your train of thought and understand the progression of your ideas.

Remember, the body paragraphs are where you provide the meat of your argument, so take the time to develop each supporting argument thoroughly and clearly. By presenting compelling evidence and analysis, you can effectively persuade your readers and strengthen the overall impact of your essay.

Polishing Your Writing: Editing and Proofreading Tips

Editing and proofreading are crucial steps in the writing process that can make a significant difference in the clarity and effectiveness of your essay. Here are some tips to help you polish your writing:

1. Take a break before editing: After you finish writing your essay, take a break before starting the editing process. This will help you approach your work with fresh eyes and catch mistakes more easily.

2. Read your essay aloud: Reading your essay aloud can help you identify awkward phrasing, grammar errors, and inconsistencies. This technique can also help you evaluate the flow and coherence of your writing.

3. Use a spelling and grammar checker: Utilize spelling and grammar checkers available in word processing software to catch common errors. However, be mindful that these tools may not catch all mistakes, so it’s essential to manually review your essay as well.

4. Check for coherence and organization: Make sure your ideas flow logically and cohesively throughout your essay. Ensure that each paragraph connects smoothly to the next, and that your arguments are supported by relevant evidence.

5. Look for consistency: Check for consistency in your writing style, tone, and formatting. Ensure that you maintain a consistent voice and perspective throughout your essay to keep your argument coherent.

6. Seek feedback from others: Consider asking a peer, teacher, or tutor to review your essay and provide feedback. External perspectives can help you identify blind spots and areas for improvement in your writing.

7. Proofread carefully: Finally, proofread your essay carefully to catch any remaining errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting. Pay attention to details and make any necessary revisions before submitting your final draft.

By following these editing and proofreading tips, you can refine your writing and ensure that your essay is polished and ready for submission.

Tips for Successful Writing: Practice and Feedback

Writing is a skill that improves with practice. The more you write, the better you will become. Set aside time each day to practice writing essays, paragraph by paragraph. This consistent practice will help you develop your writing skills and grow more confident in expressing your ideas.

Seek feedback from your teachers, peers, or mentors. Constructive criticism can help you identify areas for improvement and provide valuable insights into your writing. Take their suggestions into consideration and use them to refine your writing style and structure.

• Set writing goals for yourself and track your progress. Whether it’s completing a certain number of essays in a week or improving your introductions, having specific goals will keep you motivated and focused on your writing development.
• Read widely to expand your vocabulary and expose yourself to different writing styles. The more you read, the more you will learn about effective writing techniques and ways to engage your readers.
• Revise and edit your essays carefully. Pay attention to sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. A well-polished essay will demonstrate your attention to detail and dedication to producing high-quality work.

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• How to write an argumentative essay | Examples & tips

How to Write an Argumentative Essay | Examples & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An argumentative essay expresses an extended argument for a particular thesis statement . The author takes a clearly defined stance on their subject and builds up an evidence-based case for it.

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When do you write an argumentative essay, approaches to argumentative essays, introducing your argument, the body: developing your argument, concluding your argument, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about argumentative essays.

You might be assigned an argumentative essay as a writing exercise in high school or in a composition class. The prompt will often ask you to argue for one of two positions, and may include terms like “argue” or “argument.” It will frequently take the form of a question.

The prompt may also be more open-ended in terms of the possible arguments you could make.

Argumentative writing at college level

At university, the vast majority of essays or papers you write will involve some form of argumentation. For example, both rhetorical analysis and literary analysis essays involve making arguments about texts.

In this context, you won’t necessarily be told to write an argumentative essay—but making an evidence-based argument is an essential goal of most academic writing, and this should be your default approach unless you’re told otherwise.

Examples of argumentative essay prompts

At a university level, all the prompts below imply an argumentative essay as the appropriate response.

Your research should lead you to develop a specific position on the topic. The essay then argues for that position and aims to convince the reader by presenting your evidence, evaluation and analysis.

• Don’t just list all the effects you can think of.
• Do develop a focused argument about the overall effect and why it matters, backed up by evidence from sources.
• Don’t just provide a selection of data on the measures’ effectiveness.
• Do build up your own argument about which kinds of measures have been most or least effective, and why.
• Don’t just analyze a random selection of doppelgänger characters.
• Do form an argument about specific texts, comparing and contrasting how they express their thematic concerns through doppelgänger characters.

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An argumentative essay should be objective in its approach; your arguments should rely on logic and evidence, not on exaggeration or appeals to emotion.

There are many possible approaches to argumentative essays, but there are two common models that can help you start outlining your arguments: The Toulmin model and the Rogerian model.

Toulmin arguments

The Toulmin model consists of four steps, which may be repeated as many times as necessary for the argument:

• Make a claim
• Provide the grounds (evidence) for the claim
• Explain the warrant (how the grounds support the claim)
• Discuss possible rebuttals to the claim, identifying the limits of the argument and showing that you have considered alternative perspectives

The Toulmin model is a common approach in academic essays. You don’t have to use these specific terms (grounds, warrants, rebuttals), but establishing a clear connection between your claims and the evidence supporting them is crucial in an argumentative essay.

Say you’re making an argument about the effectiveness of workplace anti-discrimination measures. You might:

• Claim that unconscious bias training does not have the desired results, and resources would be better spent on other approaches
• Cite data to support your claim
• Explain how the data indicates that the method is ineffective
• Anticipate objections to your claim based on other data, indicating whether these objections are valid, and if not, why not.

Rogerian arguments

The Rogerian model also consists of four steps you might repeat throughout your essay:

• Discuss what the opposing position gets right and why people might hold this position
• Highlight the problems with this position
• Present your own position , showing how it addresses these problems
• Suggest a possible compromise —what elements of your position would proponents of the opposing position benefit from adopting?

This model builds up a clear picture of both sides of an argument and seeks a compromise. It is particularly useful when people tend to disagree strongly on the issue discussed, allowing you to approach opposing arguments in good faith.

Say you want to argue that the internet has had a positive impact on education. You might:

• Acknowledge that students rely too much on websites like Wikipedia
• Argue that teachers view Wikipedia as more unreliable than it really is
• Suggest that Wikipedia’s system of citations can actually teach students about referencing
• Suggest critical engagement with Wikipedia as a possible assignment for teachers who are skeptical of its usefulness.

You don’t necessarily have to pick one of these models—you may even use elements of both in different parts of your essay—but it’s worth considering them if you struggle to structure your arguments.

Regardless of which approach you take, your essay should always be structured using an introduction , a body , and a conclusion .

Like other academic essays, an argumentative essay begins with an introduction . The introduction serves to capture the reader’s interest, provide background information, present your thesis statement , and (in longer essays) to summarize the structure of the body.

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how a typical introduction works.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

The body of an argumentative essay is where you develop your arguments in detail. Here you’ll present evidence, analysis, and reasoning to convince the reader that your thesis statement is true.

In the standard five-paragraph format for short essays, the body takes up three of your five paragraphs. In longer essays, it will be more paragraphs, and might be divided into sections with headings.

Each paragraph covers its own topic, introduced with a topic sentence . Each of these topics must contribute to your overall argument; don’t include irrelevant information.

This example paragraph takes a Rogerian approach: It first acknowledges the merits of the opposing position and then highlights problems with that position.

Hover over different parts of the example to see how a body paragraph is constructed.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

An argumentative essay ends with a conclusion that summarizes and reflects on the arguments made in the body.

No new arguments or evidence appear here, but in longer essays you may discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your argument and suggest topics for future research. In all conclusions, you should stress the relevance and importance of your argument.

Hover over the following example to see the typical elements of a conclusion.

The internet has had a major positive impact on the world of education; occasional pitfalls aside, its value is evident in numerous applications. The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. As the popularity of distance learning shows, students value the flexibility and accessibility offered by digital education, and educators should fully embrace these advantages. The internet’s dangers, real and imaginary, have been documented exhaustively by skeptics, but the internet is here to stay; it is time to focus seriously on its potential for good.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

The majority of the essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Unless otherwise specified, you can assume that the goal of any essay you’re asked to write is argumentative: To convince the reader of your position using evidence and reasoning.

In composition classes you might be given assignments that specifically test your ability to write an argumentative essay. Look out for prompts including instructions like “argue,” “assess,” or “discuss” to see if this is the goal.

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How to cite ChatGPT

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We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency as a new form of the virus spreads

This photo supplied by MSF (Doctors Without Borders) dated May 31, 2023, shows health workers educating children on the symptoms of the mpox disease in Goma, Congo. (Augustin Mudiayi/Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières via AP)

FILE - This undated image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md. (NIAID via AP, File)

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LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency on Wednesday, with cases confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading. Few vaccine doses are available on the continent.

Earlier this week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the mpox outbreaks were a public health emergency, with more than 500 deaths, and called for international help to stop the virus’ spread.

“This is something that should concern us all ... The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The Africa CDC previously said mpox, also known as monkeypox, has been detected in 13 countries this year, and more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in Congo. Cases are up 160% and deaths are up 19% compared with the same period last year. So far, there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 people have died.

“We are now in a situation where (mpox) poses a risk to many more neighbors in and around central Africa,” said Salim Abdool Karim, a South African infectious diseases expert who chairs the Africa CDC emergency group. He said the new version of mpox spreading from Congo appears to have a death rate of about 3-4%.

In 2022, WHO declared mpox to be a global emergency after it spread to more than 70 countries that had not previously reported mpox, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men. In that outbreak, fewer than 1% of people died.

Michael Marks, a professor of medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said declaring these latest mpox outbreaks in Africa an emergency is warranted if that might lead to more support to contain them.

“It’s a failure of the global community that things had to get this bad to release the resources needed,” he said.

Officials at the Africa CDC said nearly 70% of cases in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths.

Jacques Alonda, an epidemiologist working in Congo with international charities, said he and other experts were particularly worried about the spread of mpox in camps for refugees in the country’s conflict-ridden east.

“The worst case I’ve seen is that of a six-week-old baby who was just two weeks old when he contracted mpox,” Alonda said, adding the baby has been in their care for a month. “He got infected because hospital overcrowding meant he and his mother were forced to share a room with someone else who had the virus, which was undiagnosed.”

Save the Children said Congo’s health system already had been “collapsing” under the strain of malnutrition, measles and cholera.

The U.N. health agency said mpox was recently identified for the first time in four East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. All of those outbreaks are linked to the one in Congo. In Ivory Coast and South Africa, health authorities have reported outbreaks of a different and less dangerous version of mpox that spread worldwide in 2022.

Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of the deadlier form of mpox, which can kill up to 10% of people, in a Congolese mining town that they feared might spread more easily. Mpox mostly spreads via close contact with infected people, including through sex.

Unlike in previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet, the new form causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals. That makes it harder to spot, meaning people might also sicken others without knowing they’re infected.

Before the 2022 outbreak, the disease had mostly been seen in sporadic outbreaks in central and West Africa when people came into close contact with infected wild animals.

Western countries during the 2022 outbreak mostly shut down the spread of mpox with the help of vaccines and treatments, but very few of those have been available in Africa.

Marks of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that in the absence of mpox vaccines licensed in the West, officials could consider inoculating people against smallpox, a related disease. “We need a large supply of vaccine so that we can vaccinate populations most at risk,” he said, adding that would mean sex workers, children and adults living in outbreak regions.

Congo hasn’t received any of the mpox vaccines it has requested.

Congolese authorities said they have asked for 4 million doses, Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee, told The Associated Press. Kacita Osako said those would mostly be used for children under 18.

“The United States and Japan are the two countries that positioned themselves to give vaccines to our country,” Kacita Osako said.

Dr. Dimie Ogoina, a Nigerian mpox expert who chaired WHO’s emergency committee, said there were still significant gaps in understanding how mpox is spreading in Africa. He called for stronger surveillance to track the outbreaks.

“We’re working blindly when we’re not able to test all suspected cases,” Ogoina said.

Although WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.

Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious diseases expert at Emory University, said the last WHO emergency declaration for mpox “did very little to move the needle” on getting things like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to Africa.

“The world has a real opportunity here to act in a decisive manner and not repeat past mistakes, (but) that will take more than an (emergency) declaration,” Titanji said.

Associated Press writers Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, Congo and Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Apple Intelligence

• iPadOS 18.1

Apple Intelligence performance: How it runs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple Intelligence is available now in  developer betas  for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1. It will launch publicly to all users  later this fall . The device requirements  are strict , presumably to delivery a quality experience no matter what device you’re using. I’ve measured the performance of Apple Intelligence across my own devices, and here’s what I’ve found.

My hardware for testing Apple Intelligence performance

Currently Apple Intelligence only works on one class of iPhone: the 15 Pro line. So performance should be the same between the 15 Pro and Pro Max thanks to their identical chip.

With the iPad and Mac, however, there’s a lot more variability. Each platform supports Apple Intelligence starting with the M1 chip. The M1 first debuted in 2020, while the best-in-class M4 arrived just a few months ago.

My test hardware for Apple Intelligence has been the following:

• iPhone 15 Pro
• M4 iPad Pro
• M1 MacBook Air

I’ve used Apple Intelligence across these devices ever since the first 18.1 beta a couple weeks ago. The tests documented below were performed using developer beta 2, which was released on August 12.

Here’s a performance comparison for each device when using various Apple Intelligence features.

Photos Memory movie creation

My personal  sleeper hit  Photos feature in iOS 18.1 requires a lot of processing power to run. The feature lets you provide instructions for the type of Memory movie you’d like created. AI then searches your library to identify photos and videos that match the prompt, and creates a new movie on the spot.

When performing my latest timing test, I used the prompt, “My birthdays” for the movie. Here’s how long it took each device to create the new Memory.

• iPhone: 19 sec
• iPad: 15 sec
• Mac: n/a (macOS currently doesn’t offer this feature)

I’ve used this feature a lot, and have consistently found that my iPad Pro creates movies faster than the iPhone 15 Pro. No surprise there. But it’s noteworthy that the difference between devices isn’t huge.

Siri’s speed and responsiveness

I’ll keep this brief, because there isn’t much to say. 

Siri across all hardware platforms offers identical performance.

In all my tests , there was no discernible difference between Siri’s speed on the M4 iPad Pro and the M1 MacBook Air or iPhone 15 Pro. It has been fast and responsive no matter what device I’ve used.

Writing Tools

One of the tentpole Apple Intelligence features is its writing tools. While ChatGPT integration isn’t available quite yet , there are still a handful of solid Apple-created writing aids built into Apple Intelligence. You can  read about my experience using them here .

What I quickly learned when testing writing tools across my devices is two things:

• These are betas, and often bugs in the interface would delay performance, so keep that in mind
• As you would expect, the longer the text being analyzed, the more a device’s chip matters

For this article I wanted to test two different lengths of writing: a 100-word email, and a 600-word article.

Here’s how my devices fared when using the Proofread and Rewrite features of Apple Intelligence.

Email : 100 words

• iPhone: 2 sec
• iPad: 2 sec

Article : 600 words

• iPhone: 6.5 sec
• iPad: 5 sec
• Mac: 6.5 sec
• iPhone: 4 sec
• iPad: 3 sec
• iPhone: 21 sec
• iPad: 16 sec
• Mac: 20 sec

As you can see, with the email-length text, Apple Intelligence offered nearly identical performance across all platforms. It was very quick regardless of device, which is great because I expect most people will use AI for shorter content like this. Emails, text messages, and the like will receive near-instant AI support.

With the article-length piece, the amount of time required was more noticeable. There was also more of a difference between devices. These rewrites in particular raised a lot of UI issues and bugs in the iOS 18.1 betas. This leads me to believe the times will get shorter as those issues get worked out.

Safari summaries

Safari has  one small AI-powered feature  in iOS 18.1. You can get webpage summaries upon request. When opening a page in Reader view, you’ll see a Summarize button accompanied by the Apple Intelligence logo. Here’s how my devices fared summarizing  this article  about Villains Land coming to Disney World.

• iPhone: 3.5 sec
• iPad: 3.5 sec
• Mac: 3.5 sec

That’s right, every device offered identical performance. The summaries felt fast no matter the platform I was using.

Apple Intelligence performance conclusion

It’s still early days for Apple Intelligence. We’re only on developer beta 2 of iOS 18.1, so there are plenty of improvements to come before the public release— likely at the end of October . 

Overall, apart from some beta bugs, I’ve been very happy with the performance I’ve seen from Apple Intelligence across my devices.

Small tasks—Siri requests, Safari summaries, and email-length rewrites—have all been equally fast no matter my device. Which is fantastic. It’s great that my four-year-old M1 MacBook Air doesn’t feel any slower than my brand new M4 iPad, or the iPhone that I carry around in my pocket.

When Apple Intelligence launches to the public, most people will be doing these ‘small tasks’ most of the time. So Apple providing a fast experience regardless of device is a plus.

For the more processor-intensive tasks, the differences between devices starts to show.

It’s notable that my iPhone was generally the slowest device. Though just barely, it was beat by a Mac that’s several years older. That’s not surprising for a phone-class A-series chip, but I’m curious to see how iPhone chips get more optimized for AI tasks over time.

How has Apple Intelligence performance been for you? Let us know in the comments.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.

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The S&P 500 falling 5% has historically been a good buy-the-dip opportunity, Goldman says

• Goldman Sachs said the decline in the S&P 500 is historically a good buying opportunity for investors.
• Factors like the yen carry trade unwind, Buffett's Apple stake cut, and recession fears caused recent volatility.
• The likelihood of a recession is the key factor to determining if investors should buy the dip or not.

The S&P 500's 6% decline over the past three days represents a great buying opportunity for investors, according to a note from Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin.

An unwind of the yen carry trade, Warren Buffett slashing his stake in Apple, and concerns about an imminent recession all contributed to a sharp volatility event on Monday, with the S&P 500 dropping 3%.

However, despite the decline, the S&P 500 is still up nearly 10% year-to-date and the sell-off sparked a reset in valuations, with the index's forward price-to-earnings multiple falling to 20x.

That ultimately represents a good setup for stocks going forward, according to Kostin, who reiterated his year-end S&P 500 price target of 5,600, representing potential upside of 8% from current levels.

"Historical experience shows that investors typically profit when buying the S&P 500 index following a 5% sell-off," Kostin said.

Since 1980, buying the S&P 500 when it is 5% below its recent high generated a median return of 6% over the next three months, with a positive hit rate of 84%, according to Kostin.

Forward median returns 12-months later nearly double to 11% with a positive hit rate of more than 95%, according to the note.

The question for investors is whether the S&P 500's recent decline extends to more than 10%, as that comes with a different set of outcomes relative to a 5% drop.

"Corrections of 10% have also been attractive buying opportunities more often than not, but with weaker hit rates of outperformance than following 5% drawdowns," Kostin said.

The crux of whether a 10% correction in the S&P 500 represents a solid buying opportunity for investors is whether the economy is on the verge of a recession.

Without an imminent recession, the median 12-month forward return is 11% with a hit rate of just over 90%. But with a recession, the median 12-month forward return is just 1% with a positive hit rate of about 55%, according to Goldman.

Several indicators, such as the Sahm Rule,  have flashed, suggesting that a recession is looming,  while corporate earnings have been resilient, and recent US GDP prints show continued above-trend growth.

"Following the sharp recent move, the Cyclicals vs. Defensives pair now appears to reflect the roughly 2-3% real pace of GDP growth indicated by the 2Q GDP print and our economists' 3Q GDP tracker. Our economists forecast US real GDP growth will average 2.7% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025," Kostin said.

In other words, according to Goldman economists, a recession is unlikely between now and the end of 2025, and if that's the case, then this stock market sell-off represents a ripe buying opportunity for investors.

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