Interesting essays are not a dime a dozen. For this reason, I only look forward to marking the work of certain students.
One of my students, Jazlina Jamal, is an example of a good essay writer. She is only in Standard 6 but she already writes like a novelist. Of course, this is only a half truth. She is sitting beside me as I am posting this so I am duty bound as her tutor to say good things about her work. Young people can be very sensitive and even the slightest tutorial faux pas can demoralise them for good.
Today, she has challenged me to better her in a composition entitled 'A Robbery' and as a writer myself, it is an invitation I cannot refuse.
Before, I present the essay, take note that students should take the chance to let their imagination roam free during writing sessions. This should not be hard, judging by the type of T.V. programs students watch today. I say, derive your inspiration from the very past time that keeps you from doing your homework because this is where you will get the best ideas.
Below, is a sample of what I would encourage my students to do with a title like 'A Robbery'.
A Robbery
When Louisa Chong came home from Langkawi Island after a two-week holiday, the last thing she expected was to find her living room ransacked and the body of her only daughter decomposing in a pool of blood.
Police who were called to the scene had found a hysterical Mrs. Chong clinging on to her distraught husband by their daughter's bedroom. The couple had returned home earlier from a vacation to find their front door ajar. Thinking that their 21-year-old daughter, Susan, had left the door open, they entered the house to find their living room ransacked.
Alarmed, Mrs Chong and her husband called their daughter's handphone and heard it ring from her bedroom. The couple rushed upstairs and found their daughter's body. She had been strangled and stabbed.
Police have classified the case as murder cum robbery. Among the valuables that were missing are Mrs. Chong's jewelry collection worth RM 55,000, a 50,000- year-old Chinese vase containing her pet chi hua hua's ashes, a Rolex watch belonging to Mr. Chong worth RM 500,000 and the latest spring collection from the Tiffany& Co. fashion line.
Neighbours who described the Chongs as likeable have come together to console the parents. Susan, who is CEO of her own company, was supposed to conduct a presentation on 'Self Defence for Women' this month to the ladies in the neighbourhood.
