Q: WRITE ABOUT A TIME WHEN YOU LEARNT A VALUABLE LESSON AFTER GOING THROUGH HARDSHIP

How to use this guide: !This guide is written for the secondary school level English examination format used in local schools. The paragraphs of the essay are divided for easy reference and further sub-divided into sentences (storyline prompts are in brackets). To write your own essay, develop your original answers to each question in the bullet points and connect each answer into a fluid paragraph. The question and answer method of approaching essay writing is basically a brainstorming mental model that will help students write easily and steadily. Each volume comes with a model essay for inspiration and learning. These model essays are written by our own students who are learning English as a foreign language. We hope you enjoy this series as much as we do.

20 DEC

Dunamis Advanced English Essay Writing Guide Volume 1

14

A:

Introduction:

1) Did you go back to your hometown in China during your last long vacation?

• no

2) What did you do instead and why did you do it?

• found a part-time job

• I could have my first work experience, not for the money

3) A few days later, you were hired. What kind of shop was it?

• hired by a dessert shop, called “Dessert Paradise”

4) Why did you start work immediately after the interview?

• they were barely coping because of lack of manpower

Paragraph 2:

1) Why was it convenient for you to get to the shop daily?

• lived near the shop so I did not take a long trip to work

2) What was the shop like?

• small, partitioned mainly into two parts - the kitchen and shop front

3) What did the manager teach you on your first day of work?

• he taught me the easiest job of being the cashier

4) What did the job require you to do?

• to take down customers’ orders, bill them and send orders to different kitchen departments

5) How did you find that job?

• learned the job rapidly

6) Then, what more were given to you?

• more and more duties were given to me - serve customers, wash dishes, make cold and hot desserts and cleaning

7) What was the only task you did not do?

• cooking

8) Who handled the work in that department?

• by a round-bodied manager and a senior chef

9) In short, how did you find the job? Were you satisfied with the salary they paid you?

• a good job for me / higher salary compared to other shops

Paragraph 3:

1) After some time, how did you find the job?

• slowly got used to the job / bored with mundane routine

2) Why were you bored?

• everyday, the same routine was repeated

3) What was your attitude?

• could do the job well without putting in much effort

4) What did you think of your attitude?

• soon realised that I was wrong

Paragraph 4:

1) One evening, you finished your job at about 10:30pm. How did you feel?

• Exhausted / took a bus home / almost fell asleep in the bus

2) On reaching home what did you do?

• took a shower / prepared to go to bed

3) What were your roommates doing at that time?

• playing computer games

4) What was your reaction? Why?

• very attracted to it / had no time to play since I started working

5) What reasons did you give yourself?

• convinced myself that my job was a piece of cake

6) What did you do as a result? What time did you go to bed?

• played with them / crawled into bed at two o’clock in the morning

7) What time did you wake up?

• half past ten in the morning

8) Did you panic?

• panicked / scrambled to the shop

9) What was the consequence?

• late for one hour

Paragraph 5:

1) How did the manager react? Why did she behave that way?

• looked as black as thunder / never breathed a word / was too busy during lunch time

2) For the first few hours, were you able to focus?

• was able to do my job normally

3) What happened to you later?

• was dozing off

4) What effect did it have?

• affected my job badly

5) What things did you do wrong?

• gave the wrong change to customers / forgot to deliver orders to the departments / even made wrong orders

6) What did the manager do to help the situation? Where did she ask you to go instead? Did it help?

• asked someone to take over the cashier job / went to the hot dessert department / still made mistakes

7) What other mistakes did you make at the hot desert department?

• desserts I made were always missing some ingredients

8) Luckily, who noticed your mistakes?

• waiter noticed before the desserts were served to customers

Paragraph 6:

1) Finally, what did the manager order you to do?

• wash a huge pile of dishes

2) Eventually, that work was over. How did your body feel?

• arms ached badly

3) Nevertheless, what positive feeling did you feel?

• felt relieved

4) What happened at closing time?

• called by the manager

Paragraph 7:

1) What did she order in an irritable tone?

• “All of you, finish your jobs fast and leave. Joe, you stay back, clean the washroom, mop the kitchen and shop front.”

2) Were you embarrassed? Why?

• my face turned red as a tomato / everyone stared at me

3) What did you intend to do? Why? Did you do it?

• was about to protest / felt it was unfair but did not dare retort

4) Though your pride was hurt, what was it that you had to admit it?

• pride was hurt / was culpable for all the wrongs I committed that day

5) Although the cleaning work proved laborious, how did you keep up?

• cleaning was a back-breaking task / persevered

6) When you were done with the cleaning, what did the manager say?

• extremely dissatisfied with me

7) What consequence did you have to face?

• reprimanded severely and half of that day’s salary was deducted

Conclusion:

1) Why did you think she was being kind to you despite deducting your salary?

• normally the salary would be deducted by half for lateness

2) What did you realise you had done wrong?

• what I did the previous night was wrong

3) Did you learn a lesson from that incident?

• did learn a valuable lesson through some hardship

4) What was the lesson?

• no matter how easy the job is, we should put in all our effort to do it well / be respectful and responsible towards our work and co-workers

Vocabulary Guide

a piece of cake - easy to do without problems

as black as thunder - very angry

culpable - in the wrong / at fault

Model Essay ! Last year, I did not go back to my hometown in China during my long vacation. Instead, I found a part-time job so that I could have my first work experience, not for the money. A few days later, I was hired by a dessert shop, called “Dessert Paradise”. As they were barely coping because of lack of manpower, I started working after the interview. ! I lived near the shop so it was not necessary to take a long trip to work. The shop space was rather small, partitioned mainly in two parts - the kitchen and shop front. On the first day, the manager taught me the easiest job of being the cashier. My job was to take down the customers’ orders, bill them accordingly and send these orders to the different departments in the kitchen. I learned that job rapidly. Gradually, more and more duties were given to me, duties such as serving customers, washing the dishes, making cool and hot desserts and cleaning. The only work I did not do was cooking the main dishes, which was handled by a round-bodied manager and a senior chef. In short, that was a good job for me and the salary they paid me was quite high compared to other shops.

! Soon, I found that I gradually became used to my job. Every day, the same routine was repeated. I was bored with the mundane job. I felt that I could do the job well without putting in much effort. However, it was a few days later that I found out I was wrong to think in this manner. ! One evening, I finished my job at about half past ten at night. Exhausted, I took the bus home and almost fell asleep in the bus. Upon reaching home, I took a shower and prepared to go to bed. However, my roommates were playing computer games merrily. I was very attracted to joining in the fun. Ever since I started working, I had almost no time to play. Thinking to myself, I convinced myself that my job was a piece of cake. I played with my roommates and only crawled into bed a two o’clock in the morning. When I woke up the next morning, it was half past ten. I panicked and scrambled quickly to the shop as I was late for nearly one hour. ! The manager looked as black as thunder but she never breathed a word to me when I entered the shop. Maybe she was too busy during lunch time to care about my lateness. For the first few hours, I was able to do my job normally. Later in the day, I was dozing off. That badly affected my work. Without realising, I gave the wrong change to customers, forgot to deliver orders to the departments and even made wrong orders. The manager asked someone else to take over as the cashier and sent me to the dessert department but I was still making mistakes. The desserts made by me were always missing some ingredients. Luckily, the waiters noticed before the desserts were served to the customers. ! Finally, the manager made me wash a huge piled of dishes. Eventually, the work day was over. My arms ached badly but I was relived. At closing time, the manager called me. ! She ordered irritably, “All of you, finish your jobs fast and leave. Joe, you stay back, clean the washroom, mop the kitchen and shop front.” ! Everyone started at me and my face turned red as a tomato. I was about to protest. Though I felt it was unfair, I did not dare retort. My pride hurt but I was culpable for all the wrongs I committed that day. Although cleaning was a back-breaking task, I persevered. When I was done, the manager said that she was extremely dissatisfied with me. I was reprimanded severely and half of that day’s salary was deducted.

I knew that she was very kind to me as the salary would normally deducted by half for lateness. At that moment, I realised that what I did the previous night was wrong. I did learn a valuable lesson after going through that day’s hardship. No matter how easy the job was, I should put in all my effort to do it well. In addition, I should have been respectful and responsible towards my work and co-workers.

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