WRITING 4 SPM CANDIDATES

1) DIRECTED: 

A)INFORMAL LETTER

Your friend in Singapore has written to you to inform you that his cousin in Penang was down with dengue fever. He would like to know the situation in Malaysia as he plans to bring his family over for the holidays in June. Write a letter to brief him about the current situation.

In your letter, include the following:

•     express concern over the health of your friend’s cousin
•     news about the situation
•     steps taken authorities
•     present situation

Do remember to:

•     use the informal letter format
•     use all the points given
•     expand each of the points given
•     write in paragraph

No. 34, Street of Fame,

Taman Bukit Bintang,

Bukit Bintang,

67500 Ipoh,

Perak

14 January 2011

Dear John,
           
            How are you? I’m sorry to hear that your cousin had dengue fever. This problem seems to have become very serious all of sudden. We always feel that the problem is not our concern until someone close to us is affected.

            My neighbour’s daughter who was in Standard 6 last year could not sit for UPSR examination because she was down with dengue fever on the eve of the exam. Fortunately, the authorities gave her an exemption so she is now in Form One. There were also a few students taking the examination in the hospital.

            According to the news, students made up nearly 30 per cent of the 1 500 suspected cases over the first three weeks of the year. About 53 per cent of 621 confirmed cases last year comprised children and youth under the age of 24. These statistics are quite worrying. This has prompted the health ministry to increase checks on aedes breeding grounds in school and public areas. The construction sites are largely to blamed. The problem is made worse by the rainy season. The stagnating water attract the mosquitoes to lay egg and breeding on the areas.

            The authorities have taken various steps to control the situation. Fogging has been carried out in many public areas and most of the housing estates. Contractors at the construction sites have been instructed to take appropriate actions and warned to clean up. They could be fined up to RM 3 000 for breeding aedes mosquitoes. Lot of campaigns through the television, radio and newspapers were taken to make people aware of the issue and take precaution rather than cure them.

            Before the long holidays for the Chinese New Year, schools all over Malaysia carried out a clean-up campaign of the school compound. The residents’ association in my housing are also organised a family day clean-up of the housing estate. There were huge piles of rubbish especially old tyres and containers littered by the hawkers near the might market site.

            The situation in Malaysia has improved since the end of January. There have been no reports of new cases of dengue. So, don’t worry. You can bring your family for a holiday here in June. I’m looking forward to seeing them again.

            Send my regard to your mom and dad. Do take care.

Yours sincerely,

Harun Din

387 words

B) FORMAL LETTER

Letter of Complaint

Raju a/l Lingam,
123 A, Lorong Bahagia,
Taman Sentosa,
07231 Bandar Baru Sentol,
Kelantan
_________________________________________________________________________

The President,
Bandar Baru Sentol Council,
Kompleks Utama,
07200 Bandar Baru Sentol                                                                             16 JUNE 2011

Dear Sir,

Uncollected Rubbish and Clogged Drains
I am writing this letter is to attract your attention to the above title. As the representative of the community, I am calling to tell you that the 300 odd residents living in Taman Sentosa are extremely unhappy about the lackadaisical attitude of the local town council towards the uncollected rubbish and clogged drains in our area.

2.         The rubbish in our area has not been collected for more than a week. The rubbish is supposed to be collected on alternate days but this has not been the case. The town council workers collect the rubbish according to their own whims and fancies. The uncollected garbage has attracted not only flies and mosquitoes but also wild dogs which had attacked the residents on several occasions. These stray animals also scatter the rubbish and make the roads dirty and smelly. As a result, residents have to bear the discomfort of stench from the garbage and risk their health.

3.         We are also disappointed with the town council workers for not clearing the clogged drains which are filled with rubbish. The drains would usually overflow when there is heavy rain and the rubbish would then flow into the compounds of our houses. Besides, putting up with the unbearable stench emitted from them, the residents have to spend hours cleaning their compounds of rotten vegetables, food leftovers and other rubbish.

4.         Due to dengue outbreak recently, we are really concerned about the residents’ health especially the children. Fogging service also was not done accordingly to the schedule. The fogging authority only did their job whenever a case of dengue aroused. They even fogging the neighbourhood late at night that caused us to leave the residents. They need to consider the residents who have babies and also to those who need to wake up early in the morning for work. The fogging also caused the people to have breathing problem when we were not told the exact time of fogging.

5.         We have made numerous appeals to the Municipal Council to look into our complaints but to no avail. We have been putting up with this predicament for more than a week. We hope the health authorities would do something to check these health hazards.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Raju

(RAJU a/l MANIAM)

380 words

Source: SPM SAMPLE OF ESSAYS - DIRECTED WRITING @ English For All

2) CONTINUOUS WRITING

Mobile Phones Should Be Allowed in Schools.  Do you agree?

     Mobile phones have become an indispensable tool to students.  The modern mobile phones have cutting-edge technology.  They are no longer just used for calling or texting.  These smart phones are able to access the Internet, take notes, keep reminders and have large memories to boot.  With these in mind, should mobile phones be allowed in school?  In my opinion, mobile phones should not be allowed in schools.  This will bring a host of problems to the school.

     Firstly, the mobile phones will be too much of a distraction to the students.  At present, many students are already spending too much time on social networking websites and online games.  What is going to stop them from constantly checking on their Facebook updates or posting their status?  This will disrupt their concentration in class and will definitely affect their studies.

     In addition, these smart phones are also an excellent learning resource.  However, this tool could also be used by students to cheat.  They could access websites to help them answer their exam questions.  Students have been found to use the mobile phones to contact each other for answers.

     Besides,  allowing mobile phones in school would create a social divide between the students.  Students who do not have mobile phones or less capable phone would definitely feel the pressure of keeping up.  Some who cannot afford it would resort to stealing.  This would open up a whole new discipline problem to the school.  Imagine the havoc when everytime some loses a phone, a spot-check has to be done on all the students.  This would disrupt classes and a waste of the resources of the discipline master and prefects.

      When used responsibly, a cell phone can be an excellent learning tool.  Students can use applications like the calculator, dictionary, maps and other online resources.  It is especially useful when students do not understand a word.  They can easily look up the word with their mobile phone.  Students love to use technology and tend to be more motivated when given the freedom to use their mobile phones.

     In conclusion, mobile phones  are very useful in a student’s life.  However, they cause too much disruptions in school and might create a social divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.  Our students have not reached the maturity and they are not ready for this responsibility.  Therefore, mobile phones should not be allowed in schools.

(Adapted from:  Reading and Writing, Nilam Pub, Jenny Ho and Rahmah Sayuti)