Situational writing test (Sec 1/5)

By: Aloysius Poh

Aloysius
Blk 566
Pasir Ris st 51
#10-114
Singapore 510566

29 August 2006

Dear Kenneth,
How are you? I hope you are fine. I have just received your letter asking on how our school fun fair was. Well, I shall tell you every single thing there was and about what I did without missing out on a single bit of detail!

The fun fair was held to raise funds for charity. Our school joined other some schools in holding this event. Since it is nearing the end of the year, the principal is confident that many people would be interested in coming. Some upper secondary students would be setting up stalls too.

Now, I shall tell you what I did at the fair. Remember when you were still in Singapore, we all used to hang out with John and Joel almost everyday? Well, John, Joel and I toured around the entire fair. It was held in our school field, so it was a relatively big first stop.

We went to the candy stall and sank our teeth to the cotton candy and drank a couple of drinks. Next, we saw a gaily lighted up tent and went to look at it as it as so eye-catching. At the front of the tent, there was a poster. It read “Practice your archery skills to shoot down targets! The closer to the Bullseye, the bigger your prize. Only two dollars for three shots.” Excited, we went to try our luck. I was not very good at archery though. The first shot went to the side of the entire board, the second shot hit the far sight of the target, the last shot hit above the bullsye. Joel fired next. He was better. All three shots went directly to the Bullseye and stayed there, quivering. I walked out of the tent with a stuff dog and bear. Joel walked out with a gameset, a pair of binoculars and a bigger bear while John walked out with a monopoly gameset which was still in good condition, a shopping voucher and a brand new Nike limited edition water bottle.

After that, we finished our candy floss, and went to the next tent called “Haunted house. Enter if you dare…” We smirked, paid the small two dollars fee, and entered. As the doors closed behind us, a glowing skeleton dropped directly in front of me, hanging from a chain. I paled and sidestepped it. As we walked on, a box beside us sprung up from the lid and out jumped a half-skeletoned jack in the box! It leered at us and evil laughter from hidden speakles were heard. We had had enough. We dashed to the other side of the tent, while more and more traps sprung out. There, rag-dolls, holograms and even a coffin in which something jumped up and shook a fist at us! We dashed out to the bright and lovely sunshine, feeling utterly relieved.

We actually did many things but there were simply too many to relate. I think some of the most interesting stalls were these: “Haunted house”, “ House of ancient artifacts” (we visited that next) and “Paint ball house!” ( All entrance fees were two dollars) The paint ball house was held at the parade square.

At the end of it all, the main highlight as a magnificent performance by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore lion and dragon dance association, and even a play performed by all our teachers. It was really hilarious.

I totally liked every single activity at the fair even though the “house of amazing bird” was a little boring. But there was something I really disliked about it. WE SPENT OVER 20 DOLLARS ADDED ALTOGETHER! It was lucky that the money was our “Ang Pow” money.

Well, that should be it. That was almost all we did at the fair. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Best Regards,
Aloysius Poh

Teacher’s comments: Well Done, Aloysius! I too am very entertained reading your letter. It was truly engaging. However, you can work on writing more concise sentences--some rambling in your letter, particularly paragraph 4.

By: Chin Zhi Ru

Chin Zhi Ru
Blk 475 Pasir Ris Drive 6
#03-554
S (510485)

29 August 2006

Dear Kenneth,
How are you? I am fine. Well, as you know, while you were away, the school fun fair was held. It is such a pity that you did not attend the funfair. The funfair was to raise funds for the orphanage so as to give the orphans an opportunity to attend school as well as buy toys and necessities for them.

There were some interesting games stalls at the fair. For example, the ‘Pick-an-apple’ game requires participants to tie up his hand. He must then try to use his or her mouth to grab an apple in the water. It was really a challenging game as the person has to pick as many apples as he or she could within three minutes. There were many people lining up for this game. There was a boy who managed to pick five apples within the time limit.

I was helping out at the snack bar. There were many people lining up as they were either hungry or thirsty after the fun they had at the games stalls. There was utter confusion as there were only Shermaine and I tending to the stall.

The highlight of the fair was the magic show which was held in the tent. The magician did many wonderful tricks and pulled many things out of his black bowler hat as though the hat can keep as many things as a bag could! It was really the best magic show I had ever seen!

There were some things that I liked and disliked about the fair. The things I like were the magic show and watching the little ones playing on the inflatable castle bursting with energy. What I disliked about the fair was the rubbish which was strewn al over the place when the fair ended. All of us had to spend about an hour to finish clearing the litter.

I have to go now. Bye!

Love,
Zhi Ru

Teacher's comments: Very good piece of work, Zhi Ru! Now, work on your conclusion.

By: Wee Chia Yin

Wee Chia Yin
Blk70
Bedok South Road
#06-278
Singapore 400070

29th August 2006

Dear Kenneth,

How have you been? It has been quite a while since we last met and I hope that you are enjoying yourself back at Malaysia. However, you still do remember the funfair back here don’t you? Well, the funfair was just a holiday activity organized by the school to let us relax after all the exams and reward us for all our hard work. Other than that, I thought that it was a great chance for teachers, friends and students to meet and catch up on what was going on during the holidays.

There were also stalls et up by some of our classmates and the food that they were selling was simply fabulous. Here are some of the various food they were selling: lollipops, cotton candy, sweets, popcorn, crackers, soft drinks, chocolates and many more. If you prefer some hot food, you can try out some of the fried noodles, steamed fish, chicken, vegetables, roti prata, wedges, French fries, all specially homemade for this event. My mouth just waters thinking about it.

Enough of the food talking. There were also professional dancers dancing on the big stage, set up in the middle of the field, in front of all the stalls. The dancers were really great. They danced a variety of dances, from Chinese to Malay and Japanese dances. I guess this was the highlight of the event. I guess this was the main highlight of the event. It was amazing to see them dance continuously. You can even have a special request to choose a dance and they will perform it for you.

Do you want to know what I did at the fair? Well, I did not do anything in particular but walked around shopping for food and watching the dancers performing their wonderful dances. I also went to catch up with friends and teachers that I have known over the years studying there. Come to think of it, I will be really sad when I leave the school after the ‘PSLE’. After all, this is where I spend most of my time in other than my home.

Now, back to reality. Of course, how could I have forgotten to mention the movies in the auditorium? There were movies being screened at the auditorium and we got to bring any movies we would like to share with our fellow classmates. This was my favourite part of the event. I was at the auditorium most of my time other than buying of food. However, I really hated the fact that the funfair was held in the wet and muddy field. My shoes were so dirty after the fair, I had to wash them myself.

After all that I have said, does this tempt you to fast forward the time to next year’s funfair? I am sure it does. I really hope that you will be able to join me during the funfair for it will surely be better than this year’s. I do not want to tire you out reading all of this. I shall stop here. Take care and I hope to receive your reply soon.

Best Wishes,
Chia Yin

Teacher’s comments: Wonderfully written! It’s almost flawless. I must say that I too am tempted to join in the funfair after reading your letter!