Some people think every school should have a vegetable garden that students plan, plant and look after. Write a persuasive piece for your school newsletter arguing for or against this idea.
Write a persuasive piece for your school newsletter arguing for or against this idea.
What students would learn outside the classroom
Who would look after it in the holidays
The cost, the space and the teachers' time
Turning lunchtime food scraps into compost
40
Takes one side in the first few lines and keeps to it
Gives two or three reasons that matter to students, teachers and parents, each with an example
Answers the strongest point from the other side before finishing
Every lunchtime, our school throws out bags of fruit peel and half-eaten sandwiches. Imagine if that waste fed a garden instead, and the garden fed us. A student vegetable garden would teach us more science, more teamwork and more patience than any worksheet, and it would cost far less than most people think.
Write a story that begins with a character finding a key that doesn't fit any lock they know.
Write a story that begins with a character finding a key that doesn't fit any lock they know.
A key hidden in second-hand furniture
A key a grandparent kept for years
A key that opens something outside, not a door
A character who decides not to use it
40
Keeps the cast small and the time span short
Builds to one clear moment where something changes for the character
Makes the key matter to the ending, rather than forgetting it halfway
开头：Mia在新家车库那张旧书桌底下发现一把用胶带粘着的钥匙，标签上写着'Try the garden'
试遍家里每一把锁，都打不开
花园：柠檬树下埋着一个旧铁盒
盒里：书桌第一任主人留下的信，她是1962年住在这栋房子里的一个女孩
结尾：Mia写下自己的信，埋起来留给下一个人
The key was taped under the bottom drawer of the old desk we found in the garage when we moved in. It was small and brass, with a paper tag that said, in faded pencil, "Try the garden." I tried it in every lock in the house that afternoon anyway. It didn't fit a single one.
Describe a place at the moment it changes. You might choose a beach as a storm comes in, a kitchen as dinner is served, or a school yard when the bell rings. You may choose a place of your own.
Describe a place at the moment it changes.
A school yard in the seconds after the bell
A beach as a storm rolls in
A kitchen as the family sits down
A street when the lights come on at dusk
40
Shows the place before and after the change, so the reader feels the shift
Uses exact nouns and verbs and more than one sense, not a list of adjectives
Has a shape, such as moving from quiet to busy, rather than a pile of details
At 12.59 the school yard belongs to the magpies. They stalk across the empty handball courts as if they own them, and a chip packet skates along the fence in the wind. Then the bell goes, and every door bursts open at once.
Explain how a person gets good at something that takes a long time to learn. Use one skill you know well as your example, such as an instrument, a sport, a language or a craft.
Explain how a person gets good at something that takes a long time to learn, using one skill you know well as your example.
Learning an instrument, from first squeak to concert
Why short daily practice beats one long session
What a teacher or coach adds
What to do on days you feel stuck
40
States the main idea early, such as "small practice, often, beats long practice, rarely"
Explains in a clear order, with each paragraph covering one stage or one idea
Uses one real example all the way through, with specific details
When I started learning the violin, it sounded like a squeaky gate. Three years later, I can play at the school concert without anyone wincing. Nothing magical happened in between. I got better the way most people get good at hard things: a little every day, with someone telling me what to fix.
这道题要求孩子解释一个过程，而不是讲故事或论证观点。常见陷阱有两种：要么列出泛泛的建议（"practise, don't give up"），要么写成一场音乐会的故事。好的答案先给出清晰的中心思想，再一步一步展开，并用孩子熟悉的一项技能作例子。
写作样题：反思、论证、讲故事、自选体裁
这一组更难。每道题留给孩子更多选择，比如站哪一边，或者用什么体裁来写。
题目为英文原题
讲解示例 5
Changing My Mind
Changing My Mind
Write about a time you changed your mind about something or someone. What made you change, and what do you think now?
Write about a time you changed your mind about something or someone, explaining what made you change and what you think now.
A classmate you misjudged
A food, book or sport you used to dislike
A place you didn't want to visit
A rule you once thought was unfair
40
Tells the moment briefly, then spends most of the words on what it meant
Sounds like a real person thinking, honest rather than preachy
Shows the "before" view fairly, so the change means something
For two whole years, I was sure that Arjun, the boy who sat behind me in Year 6, didn't like me. He never laughed at my jokes, and he always answered in one word. Then, on a camp hike, we ended up at the back of the group together, and I found out he was shy, not unfriendly. I've thought about that walk a lot since.
反思文要求写一件小事，以及它引发的思考。常见陷阱是几乎把时间都花在复述经过上，最后才加一句道理（"and that taught me not to judge people"）。好的文章听起来像一个真诚的人在想明白一件事，读者能听到作者自己的声音。
讲解示例 6
In Praise of Boredom
In Praise of Boredom
"Being bored now and then is good for young people." Do you agree, disagree or partly agree? Write a piece arguing your view.
Write a piece arguing whether you agree, disagree or partly agree with this statement.
Boredom pushing people to make or invent things
Screens filling every spare minute
Daydreaming and rest as useful, not lazy
When boredom really is wasted time
40
Takes a clear position; "partly agree" is fine if the line is explained
Backs each reason with a specific example, not a general claim
Deals with the obvious objection, for example that boredom wastes time
Last school holidays, our internet stopped working for four days. By day two, my brother and I were so bored that we built a marble run out of cardboard tubes that stretched across the whole lounge room. I'm not saying boredom is fun. I am saying it is useful, and that young people need more of it, not less.
Write a story in which two characters disagree about something small, and the disagreement turns out to matter more than it first seemed. Include some dialogue.
Write a story, including some dialogue, in which two characters disagree about something small that turns out to matter more than it first seemed.
Naming a new puppy
Whose turn it is to choose
Which way to walk home
Who gets the last piece of something
40
Sets dialogue out correctly: speech marks, punctuation inside them, a new line for each new speaker
Uses dialogue to show who the characters are, not to fill space
Lets the small disagreement lead to a real change by the end
"We're calling her Biscuit," said Lily, already writing it on the collar tag.
"We agreed we'd choose together," said Tom.
It was only a name for a puppy, Mum said. But to Tom, it didn't feel like only a name.
Bridges. Use this word as your title. You may write in any form you choose, such as a story, a poem, a letter, a speech or a reflection. You may take the word literally or use it as an idea.
Write a piece with the title "Bridges", in any form you choose.
A family bridging two languages
A bridge between an old friend and a new one
One real bridge seen across many years
A poem about building something that connects people
40
Picks a form on purpose and keeps to its shape
Makes the title matter to the whole piece, not only one line
Takes an interesting angle, such as a bridge between people or between two times
My grandmother speaks Vietnamese and I speak mostly English, so for years our conversations crossed a bridge called Mum. Mum sat in the middle of every dinner, carrying words one way and laughter back the other. This year, I decided to build my own bridge, one word at a time.
