Writing

Here are some samples of my writing which include creative writing, essays, and  written work on discussing theme.

The First Day I Arrived at Camp

When my dad told me that we were going camping with the church, I was so excited because all I could picture in my head was me with my friends and family roasting marshmallows, kayaking, and swimming; having loads of fun as soon as we got to the camping area.

The next day, I went ahead and packed all of the things I needed to have for the trip because the next day we were leaving for Cultus Lake with most of the members of our church. I put all the necessities in my duffel bag, including my Gameboy Advance.

The trip there was exhausting. I felt like I was trapped, going round and round a never-ending track. After what had felt like countless hours, we finally arrived at Cultus Lake. I saw the kayaks, the mountains, the beautiful lake and all my friends and could not wait for the fun to begin. But, no one was outside, everyone was inside their cabins unloading all of their belongings. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to have fun doing all sorts of activities as soon as we arrived, but, I soon found out that I was staying in a cabin with all of my friends, and that cheered me up a little bit.

All of my friends and I entered the Dogwood cabin and immediately called dibs on the beds we wanted to sleep on. My friend turned on her stereo and put in a Backstreet Boys CD and blasted the music throughout the freezing cabin. As much as I wanted to go kayaking and swimming, we were not allowed because the adults had said no and by that time it was already 9:30 PM. Although it was upsetting, my friends and I still had fun playing card games, singing, and playing hand-clapping games. Curfew was 10:00 PM and so we all decided that it was pretty late and we should all go to bed, so we did. A few minutes later, one of the eldest of my friends said, “Hey, you guys want to go exploring outside?” All of us sat up in our beds and I was thinking about what would happen if we went outside. “But we’re not allowed to go outside, it’s 10 o’clock,” my other friend said. But, the eldest of us all said, “It’s okay. We won’t get caught.” So, we all agreed to go exploring outside because our cabin was super cold and we were all bored anyways.

Before going outside, all of us put on layers upon layers of clothing and we all slipped on our flip-flops. We slowly crept outside of the cabin and closed the door lightly. It was pitch black, so I quickly went back inside our cabin and pulled out a flashlight from my bag. When I went outside again, one of my friends whispered, “Hey, let’s go to the lake.” So, we decided to go to the lake. The lake was kind of far from our cabin so we walked at a fast pace. While we were walking, the eldest of us girls stopped and whispered loudly, “Hey, did you guys see that?!” “See what?” we said. “A ghost,” she replied “I saw it walk near the lake.” As we all stared at the lake with blank expressions on our faces, my friend yelled, “Ghost!!!” and screamed at the top of her lungs. We all were so frightened that we started sprinting back towards our cabin. It was so dark and I couldn’t see anything because my friend had taken my flashlight from me. As I was running, I looked back one more time at the lake to see if the ghost was actually there, but I didn’t see it. As I looked forward again, I couldn’t see any of my friends. The next thing I knew, I fell into something really squishy and could only think about the awful stench entering my nostrils. When I got up, I could see that all of my friends had managed to avoid the huge pile of manure that I had dove head-first in. All I could hear were my friends laughing at me and I noticed that I had lost one of my flip-flops. I walked over to my family’s cabin and my mom opened the door. I told her, “Mom, I lost my flip-flop.” She scanned me up and down and brought me to the camp washroom to get cleaned up. Five minutes later, my friend entered the washroom and said, “Hey Jill, I found your flip-flop.” She handed my drenched-in-manure flip-flop to me and we both began to laugh.

For the remaining days left of camp, we eventually got to kayak, roast marshmallows, and swim; activities that I wanted to do since the second my family and I had arrived at the lake. Although on the first day we didn’t get to do these activities, I wouldn’t change a thing from the first day we arrived at camp because I had a lot of fun just being with my friends and hanging out with them.

The Necklace – Theme

Link to copy of The Necklace – Neck.shtml

In The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant, the writer proves to readers that “Honesty is the Best Policy.” The Necklace tells the story of Mathilde Loisel who dreams of a life full of money, glamour, and happiness. In one night, she fulfills this dream, but it comes to an abrupt end when she loses the diamond necklace she borrows from a friend.

Mathilde Loisel shows her dishonesty by agreeing with her husband and not coming forward to Madame Forestier about the lost necklace. This is seen on page eight, when Mathilde Loisel’s husband tells her, “You must write to your friend and tell her that you’ve broken the clasp of her necklace”. Mathilde Loisel agrees to this and says, “We must see about replacing the diamonds”.  This phrase shows her trying to evade the problem at hand by coming up with a lie and pursuing it.

Because Mathilde Loisel and her husband do not tell the truth, it comes with the consequence of working for a long period of time like the servants Mathilde Loisel looked down upon. Evidence of this can be seen on page eight, when, “She came to know the heavy work of the house, the hateful duties of the kitchen.” Through this passage, the author shows Mathilde Loisel despises the duties of the kitchen. In spite of this, she is forced to do the chores to pay the debt for the necklace.

The lie Mathilde Loisel tells causes her and her husband to spend many years of their lives doing labour. This labour causes her to lose all her beauty and that is what she values most. The author describes her as an old woman now, “She had become like all the other strong, hard, coarse women of poor households.” Before this lie, she is described as, “one of those pretty and charming girls”, all that changes because she is forced to work in order to pay for the replacement necklace and becomes what she wishes never to become, clad like a poor woman.

Three significant parts of the short story demonstrate that “Honesty is the Best Policy”. First, Mathilde Loisel shows her dishonesty by agreeing with her husband and not coming forward to Madame Forestier about the lost necklace. Then, because she does not tell the truth, it comes with the consequence of both her and her husband to work really hard to pay off the necklace. And finally, the many years of labour causes Mathilde to lose all her beauty and clad like a poor woman. This lie eventually explodes and it could have been prevented if only she had told the truth about the diamond necklace.

TIPS ON ESSAYS – PARAGRAPH WRITING:

1. Choose a satisfactory subject
2. Discover your thesis/main point
3. Write a thesis statement and/or an outline
4. Write the paragraphs
5. Revise

When you choose a topic, make sure it passes the 4S test.

4S

• Is it significant? – something the readers needs or might want to know
• Is it single? – one idea
• Is it specific? – not general
• Is it supportable? – can do research on it, has evidence

Example of a topic that passes the 4S test would be: Water is necessary for photosynthesis in plants.

After choosing a subject, come up with a question in which your main points will revolve around.

Ask yourself: (with x being your subject)

1. How do you make or do x?
2. How does x work?
3. What are the main components of x?
4. What are the main functions of x?
5. What are important features/characterisitics of x?
6. What are the main types/kinds of x?
7. What are some significant examples of x?
8. What are causes of x?
9. What are effects/consequences of x?
10. What are similarities/differences between x and y?
11. What are main adcantages/disadvantages of x?
12. What are reasons for or against x?

After choosing a question appropriate to your subject, pick three main points that revolve around your questions, and will eventually form your three main paragraphs.

Example:

Subject: A good teacher

Question: What are the important characteristics of a good teacher?

Main points:

1. Knowledge of field
2. Communication
3. Respect for students

With these steps, you are on your way to writing a good essay! 🙂