Composition Writing
ICSE Class 9 · English · Chapter 1
What this chapter covers
- The composition question: what it asks of you
- Planning before you write
- Organisation: paragraphs, openings and endings
- Narrative composition
- Descriptive composition
- Argumentative and persuasive composition
- Reflective and explanatory writing
- Picture-based composition
- Style and accuracy: syntax, punctuation and spelling
Key points
- The composition question asks for about 300 to 350 words on one topic chosen from several, drawing on experience or imagination.
- The examiner marks content and accuracy together: organisation, syntax, punctuation, grammar and spelling must suit the mode of treatment.
- Read every topic, pick the one you have most to say on, underline its key words and spend about five minutes on an outline of five paragraphs.
- One main idea per paragraph, introduced by a topic sentence and joined to the next by meaningful linking words.
- Open with a moment, a detail or a clear view, never with an announcement; close by rounding off, never by adding a new point.
- A narrative needs a beginning, a build-up, a climax and an ending, a steady tense, a consistent point of view and sparing dialogue.
- A description lives on precise sensory detail, a clear order and an overall impression, with figurative language used lightly.
- An argument states a thesis, develops one reason per paragraph, answers a counter-argument and concludes clearly; a persuasive piece adds an appeal to the reader.
- Compare-and-contrast topics are usually best organised point by point and must arrive at a conclusion.
- Reflective writing explores the meaning of an experience through honest personal examples; explanatory writing sets out steps or causes in logical order.
- A picture is a starting point for a story, description or discussion, with a clear link to it; never just list what it shows.
- Avoid run-ons, fragments, tense slips, confused words such as "its" and "it's", clichés and padding, and check your work in the last five minutes.
Questions answered
How long should your answer to the composition question be, and what does the examiner assess besides content?
About 300 to 350 words. Besides content, the examiner assesses the organisation of the material, syntax, punctuation, correct grammatical constructions, spelling, and whether the style suits the mode the topic requires.
Define a topic sentence and say where it usually appears.
A topic sentence is the sentence that states the main idea a paragraph develops. It usually comes first in the paragraph.
Name the mode of treatment for each topic: (a) "The day our village celebrated its first electricity connection"; (b) "Online classes can never replace a real classroom. Do you agree?"; (c) "The courtyard of your grandparents' house on a summer evening".
(a) Narrative, because it names a particular event; (b) argumentative, because it asks you to agree or disagree; (c) descriptive, because it names a place and a time to be pictured.
What is the climax of a story, and why should you spend more words on it than on the opening?
The climax is the moment of greatest tension or the turning point. It carries the story's interest, so giving it more words keeps the reader engaged, while ordinary parts such as travelling can be passed over quickly.
Rewrite as a single correct sentence: "I was tired, I went to bed early."
"I was tired, so I went to bed early." (Or: "Because I was tired, I went to bed early.") The original is a run-on sentence joined only by a comma.
Distinguish between a simile and a metaphor with one example of each.
A simile compares two things using "like" or "as": "Her voice was as soft as cotton." A metaphor says one thing is another without "like" or "as": "Her voice was a lullaby."
What is a thesis statement, and why does an argumentative composition need one?
A thesis statement is a single sentence that states the position the composition defends. It tells the examiner your view at once and gives every body paragraph a purpose: each reason supports the thesis.
Why should an argumentative composition include a counter-argument?
Raising and answering an opposing point shows that the writer has considered the issue fairly, which makes the argument more convincing than one that ignores all objections.
Past board exam questions
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 20 marks
(Do not spend more than 30 minutes on this question.) Write a composition (300 - 350 words) on any one of the following: (b) You mistakenly went to your school on a day which was a holiday. Everything was closed and the school was empty. Write a description of what you saw and heard. What were your feelings at the end of the visit?
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An Empty School
It was a bright Monday morning. I had woken up early, packed my bag and hurried to school, worried that I would be late for the first period. As I reached the gate, I noticed something strange: there was no crowd of children, no line of buses, no watchman shouting at the cyclists. The big iron gate was locked with a heavy padlock.
I peered through the bars. The playground, which is usually full of running, shouting children, lay silent under the sun. A few dry leaves rolled across it in the breeze. The swings in the junior section moved gently, creaking, as if invisible children were sitting on them. The windows of the classrooms were shut, and the long corridors looked …
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 20 marks
(Do not spend more than 30 minutes on this question.) Write a composition (300 - 350 words) on any one of the following: (d) Express your views either for or against the statement: “Life’s best lessons are learnt from friends.”
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Life's Best Lessons Are Learnt from Friends (For the motion)
We learn from many teachers: our parents, our schoolteachers, our books and our own mistakes. Yet I firmly believe that the lessons that shape us most deeply are learnt from our friends.
Firstly, friends teach us lessons that no classroom can teach, because we learn them by living them. Parents and teachers tell us to share, to be patient and to forgive; with friends we actually practise these things. When two friends quarrel over a game and make up the next day, they learn forgiveness. When a friend shares his tiffin with someone who has forgotten his own, everyone at the table learns generosity without a single word of …