Novel sample essay 2

"A brave man is not he who doesn't feel afraid, but he who conquers the fear". With close reference to the text, describe how this is portrayed by one of the characters and explain how this quality would benefit you.

          "A brave man is not he who doesn't feel afraid, but he who conquers fear". Based on the novel Dear Mr Kilmer written by Anne Schraff, the character who portrayed the statement is Richard Knight and the benefit I can get from this quality is to overcome fear.

          Every living things experience fear. Fear can be caused by da ger or by one's thinking. We need to keep in our mind that danger is real and fear is a choice. Richard Lnight is a character who portrayed the text above. As a prove, we know that in the beginning of the novel, Richard hid his interest towards poem. He didn't tell his family nor his own friends. Richard was afraid if he told them about it, he will be labelled as a sissy person, he thinks so. He started to make friends with Joyce Kilmer. Mr Joyce Kilmer was the person who encouraged him to tell others about his interest including his teacher, Mrs Hansen. It took some time for Richard to build up the truth about his interest to his family and his friends. Richard then felt satisfied with himself and feel more confident after telling his interest in poem to others. This tells us that, to succeed and become a better person, we need to be a brave person.

          Bravery is a quality that we need to have in ourselves. This is because of the benefits that can help us become a better person. For example, we can overcome our fear. By fear, it can be about danger or anything else. We need to overcome fear to keep moving forward. Stage fright is a common thing that happens to people around the world. Feeling scared to talk in front of people. If we are afraid to tell our feeling or our own idea, people will think that we are useless and a corward. This tells us that it is a need to be brave.

          To conclude, we need to build up courage in ourselves to be a proper human being who is always useful to the other creatures. This novel can be a proof and inspire ourselves to be so.

Essay written by:
1. Mohd Hazim Bin Hamardi
2. Mohd Naqib
3. Mohd Syahmi Izani

Novel Sample Essay

People are afraid of what they don’t understand. How far is this statement true? Support your answer with close reference to the text.

          People are afraid of what they do not understand because they don’t want to learn and accept the truth of something that had happened. Since people are different, they have different opinion. We can see this situation happening in the novel when Hannah and her family had been treated badly by some of the Turtle Lake’s villagers. They don’t understand that the Schermers were patriotic Americans. Instead, they perceived them as siding with German and became afraid of them.

          In the beginning of the story, the writer wrote that Hannah has German blood running in her veins but she was born in Milwaukee, America. Her familym the Schermers is such a kind and nice family. Before the war started, the villagers treated them nicely, but everything changed when the war started. The villagers treated them badly and did terrible things such as vandalising the tavern and boycotting them. Fortunately, some villagers who think differently towards the Schermers helped them and continued treating them warmly. For example, some villagers painted the Schermer’s tavern with white painting to cover the words ‘DIRTY HUN’. This act helps the Schermers to feel better.

          In another event at school, Mrs Hansen asked her students who were Hannah’s classmates to a sympathy card to express their regrets of what had happened. The popular kids said they didn’t want to sign the card as they thought the Schermers want the war to end with German’s victory. They even warned the whole class to not sign the card. Richard who had a different idea of the Schermers signed the card bravely. He knew some nice kids want to do the same, but they were too afraid of the troublemakers. After the school ended, Richard write something on the card with hope that it will make them feel better and sent it to the Schermers personally.

          On another day, Mrs Hansen made an essay competition to pick the winners for a beauty pageant competition in accordance to a Patriotic program. Hannah won the best essay for girls and was asked to read her essay out loud in front of the classroom. When she was done, no one clapped except for Richard. Even though her essay was brilliant, no one acknowledged her talent. As the winner, Hannah will play the Lady Liberty’s role while Richard will be Doughboy. Some parents went to school to show their protest towards Mrs Hansen’s decision. They absent-mindedly thought that it wouldn’t be patriotic for Hannah to play a significant role in the Patriotic Program.

          All the three events that I have written has proved that the people in Turtle Lake were aggressive towards the Schermers family because they do not understand the truth. Simply relating them to the Germans is a bit unfair, since Otto himself is fighting for America. If they are not patriotic, he sould not volunteer to be an American soldier. Because of the misunderstanding, they resort to violence and treated the Schermers’ family ver badly. Huns are nomadic, Mongolian horsemen who eventually overrun much of Europe. They have nothing to do with present-day Germans. Mr Higby has explained that in class but everyone refused to accept the truth. They wanted to put the blame and hatred on someone. The Schermers family became the scapegoat to their hatred.

          We can see that the current issue in te global world is very similar to what is written in the novel. People nowadays are also afraid of what they do not understand. For example, when Muslims defend their country, they are called terrorists. When Muslim students further their study to United States of America, they were afraid of the Muslim students and lavel them as terrorist. They do not understand that prejudice caused them to be afraid of something that does not happen. Their mind is poisoned by the potrayal in the media. When non-muslims attack other country, they are called heroes and the citizens aren’t afraid because they perceive that action as defending their country.

          To sum up, we need to learn to understand a situation so that we won’t misjudge. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. We need to study the truth so that we won’t hurt innocent people and always think positively. Hurting others for our own satisfaction won’t solve a problem. We should not be like Abner and Harry. For those who do understand, should stay and give encouragement, just like what Richard did to Hannah.

Essay written by :
1. Nurzarifah Hanim Bt Abdul Zahari
2. Hidayatunnisa
3. Laila Nur Baraqah Bt Rosdi
4. Syahidah Syahirah
5. Nurul Rabwah Bt Shaharuddin

Coming to you soon

Form 5 students of SMAD KLANA

25th March 2018

Based on the novel Dear Mr Kilmer by Anne Schraff 

What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out - Alfred Hitchcock

Hello 2018

It's still not too late for me to welcome 2018 right? I know it has been three weeks, but well, you know what they say - better late than never. This is the year where I did not actually have any resolutions to fulfill, because let's be honest - it never works! No matter how many times you say "it's a new year, let's start fresh!" you still end up not fulfilling your resolutions eventually. I sound like a bitter person, but that's just me being realistic.

The end of 2017 made me realise some new things that I could look forward to. For example, the joy of reading a book. You cannot believe how rare it is for me to pick up a book and just leisurely read these days. If I'm not working, I'll be playing games or scrolling any social media. That has caused my reading habit to deteriorate significantly. Then I discovered the wonders of Haruki Murakami and it reminded me of the simple joy in reading. I wanted to cry and share to every Haruki Murakami readers how much I could relate to his writings. It's like I fell in love with reading, all over again.

That, brought me to my second discovery - I can write, when I'm not pressured to do so. I remember a day in 2017 when I finally did not have any deadlines to fulfill. I told myself I'd use the weekend to write. There I was, on my bedroom floor, staring at my laptop and no words came out. I even forced myself to type nothing, but to no avail. It was freaking frustrating. Then I actually gave up trying to write. December came and I'm finally free. No papers to mark, no vacations to look forward to. I tried writing again and it flowed out naturally. Revelation - pressure is not good for inspiration. How do writers ever fulfill their deadline if my logic is true?

And finally I realise that all that matters are the relationships that I've built and will continue to seek. So I came to the conclusion of looking forward to these 3 things instead of listing down a few new year's resolution. They sound like resolutions, but they're just a bunch of things that I love and will continue to love. Back then resolutions used to be about gearing myself up to be a better me. Well it's not that I am finally a newly improved version of myself. I guess what it means is, I finally found the calling to enjoy my time walking instead of running to reach the end.

So here's to everyone who does not have any resolution in 2018 - may the year turns out great for you! To my students, I'm blogging again and can't wait to read yours. I hope you'll enjoy this journey. I have found new things about myself while blogging back then. I hope you'd be able to experience good things while blogging as well. Or, if it's the opposite, I hope it makes you wise and more mature in the future.

  

Sample Essay

Write a composition of about 350 words on one of the following topics.

1.      Describe ways to make school a fun place for students.

2.      Completing your first degree is no longer enough to secure a good job. Discuss.

 3.      Write about the advantages and disadvantages of taking selfies.

4.      Write an account of an incident that you witnessed while jogging.

Begin your story with: ‘I couldn’t believe my eyes …’

5.      ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’

Describe how this proverb has affected your life. 

Section B  (Question 4)

 I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was standing there, with a bunch of balloons in his hands, spreading him arms as if he was about to hug the child in front of him. My pace slowed down till I halted. That man standing in front of me, was he really the person I thought he was? He still had that charming smile on his face, his hair was still dark and brown, his suit still looked expensive, his height made people look like dwarves and that small dimple still appeared at his left cheek. It was him. It was really him. I dazed and my heartbeat was still beating fast from the jog. The heartbeat didn’t matter. What mattered was the painful ache I felt in my heart as I watched him happily playing with the child. The child could not be any older than three years old. Was that his daughter? I wondered to myself even though I knew the answer was crystal clear. Who else could it be? 

I didn’t notice when the teardrop fell to my cheeks. I didn’t realise my breathing was uneven. All I knew was it suddenly felt painful to breathe oxygen into my lungs. The normal act of breathing which happened so naturally every day, suddenly became complicated. I fell to my knees, my hands clasping the shirt I was wearing. I tried to calm down but it was so hard. All I felt was pain. Every single air that I breathed in felt like knife poking my lungs. What was going on with me? I could not even open my eyes. My vision darkened. 

“She’s having a panic attack!” I heard someone scream.

            I have only heard of hyperventilation before. I never imagined I would experience it. I could not take the pressure anymore. I felt like every breath I took did not supply any oxygen to my body. I stopped trying to fight. Maybe dying was not such a bad thing. The pain would stop right? Or so I thought. Apparently God decided it was not time for me to leave yet. I opened my eyes slowly and the first thing that I felt was how hoarse my throat was. I felt a hand passing a bottle of water to me. I drank it without waiting for a second to pass. And then I looked up to thank the person. I wish I didn’t; because now I could not run. He looked at me with a worried look on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

            I wanted to die that instant. How was I supposed to answer that question? Should I stay quiet? Should I open up the things I kept in my heart for the past nine years? Should I scream to his face and tell him he was the reason I was in pain? Should I just break down and let all the tears that I held inside flow out? Should I smack him hard? Should I just give him a smirk? Should I lie? All these questions floated in my mind and I uttered a single reply,

“I’m okay, thanks”.

            I tried to stand so that I could walk away. I could not see his face any longer but how I despised myself at that moment. As much as I felt a strong hatred towards this man in front of me, I also wanted to run into his arms, hug him, cry and say that I miss him. I miss him every second of my life. I miss him during breakfast, lunch and dinner. I miss him every time I see a father spending time with his daughter. I miss having him in my life. But I could not bring him back. I could not make my father be a father to me. He stopped becoming that the day he walked out of my life with his new wife.  

            I ran so that he could not catch me. I did not want him to notice it was me. It has been nine years; I wouldn’t be surprised if he did not know it was me. I was only six when he walked out of the house. I did not understand what was going on. I waved goodbye to him, not knowing that was the last day he set foot on that ground. After that I waited for him every day. I asked my mom again and again and she just said he was not coming back. He has a new life and I am no longer part of it. How could I digest all that when I was six? I grew to hate my mom. I hated her for not stopping my dad from leaving. I hated her for not trying hard enough. I had no idea the pain that she felt at that time.

            And then I grew up. I started to hate going to any social events. Birthdays, parties, sports day – it all reminded me that I was fatherless. I could never blame all these people around me. I could never get angry when Alice’s father immediately ran to her when she fell during the school marathon. I could not complain when Stacy’s father took a day leave from work to be with her on her birthday. I could not be jealous with Tania while she wrote letters with her father because he was in army. I could only be happy for them and long for it again and again. I long to be given just one chance to feel a father’s love again. Just one chance, but I was real enough to know it was just a dream that would never come true.

            Mom had a conference there. That’s why I was staying miles away from home. We were supposed to be there for a week. I accompanied her since it was school holiday. I never expect to see my father in the park. One day I saw the melancholy in my mom’s eyes and I knew I should stop blaming her for everything that happened nine years ago. It was hard enough to lose a husband, I should not be the daughter who hated her mom. That day I learned to be on my mother’s side. I have to be strong for her, who stayed in my life and never walked away. I grew to be protective of her. That’s why it hurts so much when I wanted to run into his embrace. I could not betray my mom. 

            I looked at my father from afar, hoping that he would not notice me. He played with his daughter with the balloons that he bought. I have always loved balloons. God finally answered my prayer. He was finally there, right in front of me. And he was euphoric. You could never escape from noticing that. He loved his new family so much. I let the tears stream down to my cheeks. There was no use holding it in anymore. I was erupting with emotions and crying was the only way to express the pain. This had to be God’s answer to my questions. I should really stop hoping that he would come back into my life. 

            I wiped my tears and turned around. The forlorn in my heart would never disappear, I understood that finally. I did not register myself to be a sad sack, but I would reign myself to overcome it. I guess this meeting was a closure. A closure that God had given me. I walked away from him, leaving all the memories and hopes that I built behind me. I did not want to push him from cloud nine. I would rather move on and accept the fact that he would no longer be part of my life. Through every foot step I took, I said goodbye. When I finally reached home to my mom, I hugged her and told her I love her. She looked at me with a weird expression on her face. I wish I could tell her what happened, but I did not want her to feel the pain that I felt. So I just said, “I was hoping you could cook my favourite food today” and she laughed. She had no idea...  

VOCABULARIES & IDIOMS
1. hyperventilation - the state of breathing faster than necessary
2. sad sack - an inept, blundering person (idiom)
3. cloud nine - a feeling of extreme happiness (idiom)
4. Closure - an occurrence that signifies an ending

Butterfly

Taare Zameen Par

Stars on earth. 

In this Hindi movie directed, produced and acted by Aamir Khan, each child in this world is referred to as "Stars". That's why the title of the movie is 'Stars on Earth'. When was the last time you stargazed? I just did a few minutes ago. Have you ever noticed how beautiful the skies are at night? Accompanied and manifested by the moon and stars, it's so breathtakingly beautiful, you wouldn't want the sun to rise so soon. Just when you thought the day has turned dark and gloomy, the stars and moon shine from above. How beautiful, how special, how wonderful. It's like a gift from God.

To describe each children in this world as stars, is to tell them how special they are. Yes, each child is special. How can they not be? They are the voice of tomorrow. They are our hope for a better future. Yet, they are stamped, crushed and wrapped in boxes just like products are made in factories. The bad products or better known as "defect manufacture" will be thrown and tossed aside while the rest will be ready to go into the market. What happen to those "defect manufacture"? Are they not worthy of a second choice? No, according to stakeholders. We have so many valuable products with high quality and value, why should we care for the "defect manufacture"?

What if you are the "defect manufacture"? What if one day, somebody decides you're not good enough? You don't have a value because you have nothing to offer to the world. What happens to you? Is it the end for you? The answer is No. Thanks to Aamir Khan, we can all breathe an air of relief because the world is not just about the big race. Starting from 3 Idiots to this movie, he is educating people movie by movie, about living life to the fullest and not caring about the mainstream idea that once you fail, you lose forever. We each have our own specialty, and we each have to be proud of who we are.

Before watching this movie, I never knew about Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a reading disorder. Both children and adult can have dyslexia, depending on different reasons. Adults usually have it after a traumatic brain injury, stroke or dementia while children might have it due to genetic and environmental factors. Simply put, people with dyslexia struggle to recognise and differentiate characters, causing them difficulty to read. Once reading is interrupted, it's harder for them to catch up on other subjects as well. People who do not know about Dyslexia often label these children as 'problematic', 'not trying hard enough' and 'having attitude problem'. How can a child like you survive in the real world? You can't even pass basic Math or English. Or so they say.

I have always believed that movie is a good way of educating people. This movie speaks for me. Every child is special. No matter what grade you get in school, you are special. Don't ever label yourself based on the result on your examination paper. What is written on the paper does not define your value. You are much more valuable than the grade on the paper. Even if you get straight As, it doesn't give you a guarantee that you will survive in the real world. Not everyone is born to be an academician. Some are good in music, some excel in language. We don't have to be the same as everyone else. We are special in our own way. :)

P/s : If you haven't watched the movie, get out of your shell and watch it!