Composition skills feat. english

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

What is personal recount?

A piece of writing about a real/personal experience that happened to you, usually told in chronological order.

How to start?

🥇 1. Start with ACTION — safest + most versatile

Immediately puts the reader into the story.

I sprinted towards the classroom, my heart pounding as I realised I wasalready five minutes late.

Use when: something exciting, stressful, embarrassing, or dramatic happens.

Why I like it: Hard to go wrong, and it makes your opening less boring.

🥈 2. Start with DIALOGUE — great for conflict

Open with something someone says that matters to the story.

“You have to do it yourself.”
I stared at my father, unsure whether I was ready to take on the challenge.

Use when: there's an argument, advice, confrontation, challenge, or important conversation.

Why I like it: Gets straight into the situation and can introduce the main problem quickly.

🥉 3. Start with REFLECTION — BEST for reflective writing

Especially useful if the question asks about a lesson, experience, mistake, decision, or something you learnt.

Even after all these years, I still remember the lesson I learnt that day.

Then transition into the actual story:

It had started like any ordinary afternoon...

Use when: you know the story is going to end with a strong reflection.

🟡 2. What to put in the BODY

Don't just do:

Event → Event → Event → Event

Instead:

EVENT → FEELING → THOUGHT → WHY → REFLECTION

Event:
I walked onto the stage.

⬇

Feeling:
I felt extremely nervous.

⬇

Thought:
I was convinced everyone was staring at me.

⬇

Why:
I had always been afraid of making mistakes in front of others.

⬇

Reflection:
However, I later realized that I was worrying more about being judged than actually focusing on doing my best.

🔵 3. THE REFLECTION PART — WHAT DO I ACTUALLY WRITE?!

1. What happened?

2. How did I feel?

3. WHY did I feel that way?

4. What was I thinking?

5. What did I realise?

6. What did I learn?

7. How did I change?

8. What would I do differently?

🔥 4. THE GOLDEN REFLECTION FORMULA

WHAT happened → HOW I felt → WHY I felt it → WHAT I realised → WHAT I learnt → HOW I changed

🟣 5. Ways to START your reflection

Realisation

• I suddenly realised that...

• It was then that I understood...

• Looking back, I now realise...

• Only later did I understand...

Learning

• This experience taught me that...

• I learnt an important lesson about...

• From this experience, I came to understand...

Change

• Since then, I have...

• The experience changed the way I...

• I no longer...

• I have become more...

Looking back

• Looking back on the experience...

• Even now, I remember...

• Although I did not realise it at the time...

What you'd do differently

• If I could go back, I would...

• If I faced the same situation again, I would...

• Knowing what I know now, I would...

🔴 6. THE ENDING

Bring it back to the lesson / change.

Ending type 1 — Lesson

That day taught me that failure is not something to fear, but something I can learn from.

Ending type 2 — Change

Since then, I have approached difficult situations with far more confidence.

Ending type 3 — Full-circle

If you started with a question:

I had once wondered whether I was capable of overcoming my fear. Now, I finally knew the answer.

Ending type 4 — Reflective thought

It was a small moment, but it changed the way I viewed myself.