Composition Basics

In this topic of composition basics, we will be learning about:

• Parts of a story
• Ideas and inspiration 

English Concept: Part 1

Basic Structure Of A Story Has Three Parts

1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion 

1. Introduction:

This is how you start the story. Give your reader the information they need to understand what the story is about so that they won’t feel lost. 

For Example:

if you are writing about your holiday, then it might be a good idea to start by mentioning who you are travelling with and where you are going.

2. Body:

This is the main part of the story, where you go into detail about the events. If you are writing a fictional story, this is where the action gets exciting for the reader.

To continue from the examples before, this is where you might talk about the amazing room and what you did during the trip. You want to write it so clearly that the reader can imagine themselves there with you.

3. Conclusion:

This is the part where you end the story. A good story does not just end abruptly. Just like with exercise or a movie, you need to slow things down a little and make the ending feel nice. A sudden and unexpected ending can be very annoying for the reader.

In the example before about your holiday, you can perhaps end the story by reflecting on how grateful you feel for having had the opportunity to travel. 

“I hope we get the chance to go on another holiday.”

The end. 

As you get more experienced in writing stories, you will learn more about the parts of a story as well as different composition techniques.

For now, the important thing for you to do is to read and write more. Remember to also enjoy the process, as we do better when we are having a good time :)!

Feeling stressed out or having negative thoughts such as “I hate compositions” will only make the experience worse. 

Do yourself a favour and make things easy!

Question 1: 

You are writing a story about “The Magic Sofa”. Which of the following options can be used in the introduction?

1. At the end of the journey, we felt very relieved to be back home
2. I would like to tell you about my pet cat, Snowball. 
3. Have you ever seen a sofa with magical powers?
4. We decided to keep the Magic Sofa, but kept its powers a secret.

Answer:

3) Have you ever seen a sofa with magical powers?

Explanation:

Let’s look at the options. As you read the sentences, you see that 1) is a conclusion, 2) is not relevant to the question, as it talks about a cat and not the magic sofa, 3) looks more like the introduction of the story about “the magic sofa”, and 4) is again more of a conclusion. So the correct answer is 3) Have you ever seen a sofa with magical powers?

Question 2:

Let’s use some common sense:

If my story is made up of three paragraphs, how many paragraphs should the introduction take?

1. One paragraph
2. Two paragraphs
3. Three paragraphs
4. Four paragraphs

Answer:

1) One paragraph

Explanation:

The introduction is always the opening paragraph, so that is one paragraph of any story. The correct answer is 1) one paragraph.

Question 3:

You are writing a story about “A visit to the museum”. Which of the following options can be used in the conclusion?

1. On my birthday last year, my family brought me to a museum as a treat. 
2. Although he was fierce, I learnt many important lessons from him.
3. The boy laughed and shouted as he played happily with his friend.
4. It was a fun experience and I hope to visit again.

Answer:

4) It was a fun experience and I hope to visit again.

Explanation:

Option 1) looks like an introduction. Options 2) and 3) are from another story. Option 4) sounds like a conclusion for a story about “A visit to the museum”. 

The correct answer is 4) It was a fun experience and I hope to visit again.

Question 4:

In the previous question, we used the word, “hope” in our conclusion (I hope to visit again). Hope tells the reader that you want/wish for something to happen.

Which of the following is an example of writing about a “hope” in your conclusion?

1. “Hope” is a word that begins with the letter “h”.
2. At the end of the day, I felt grateful for my friends.
3. We had lots of fun! We would really like to visit that place again.
4. The moral of the story is that you should always be alert when crossing the road.

Answer:

3) We had lots of fun! We would really like to visit that place again.

Explanation:

We can end a story with a hope, a wish or a moral to learn from the story. Let’s look at the options. Option 4) is about learning from the incident. Option 3) is about the wish to go there again. 

So the correct answer is 3) We had lots of fun! We would really like to visit that place again.

Question 5:

You are writing a story about “A Happy Trip to the museum.” Which of the following options can be used in the body?

1. We waited anxiously for the ambulance to arrive. I kept glancing at my watch. 
2. We spent about two hours touring the entire museum. We stopped now and then to admire some of the displays.
3. As someone interested in history. I decided to visit the museum last week
4. When I finally left the museum, I felt satisfied with the time I had spent.

Answer:

2)  We spent about two hours touring the entire museum. We stopped now and then to admire some of the displays.

Explanation:

Let’s look at the options. 1) is not relevant to the story. 2) describes the main part of the story, so it looks like the body of the story. 3) is the introduction and 4) is the conclusion. 

So the correct answer is 2) We spent about two hours touring the entire museum. We stopped now and then to admire some of the displays.

Question 6:

You are writing a story about “An Exciting Day”. Which of the following options is best used as the introduction?

1. My father grinned from ear to ear as he pointed at the rope bridge
2. Looking back, I realise how lucky I was to have been able to go on that trip.
3. The river rushed beneath us, causing so much noise that we had to shout just to be heard
4. Of all the memories I have, one definitely sticks out as the most exciting experience in my life. 

Answer:

4) Of all the memories I have, one definitely sticks out as the most exciting experience in my life. 

Explanation:

Here options 1) and 3) are the body of a story. And option 2) is the conclusion of the story. Option 4) is the introduction of the story.

So the correct answer is 4) Of all the memories I have, one definitely sticks out as the most exciting experience in my life. 

Question 7:

You are writing a story about “My Best Friend”. Which of the following options can be used in the body?

1. The museum was quite huge, so I had to walk quite a bit.
2. I would like to tell you more about my best friend, Joko
3. Every weekend, we hang out together. Sometimes we even visit the library. 
4. I am grateful for my best friend. I hope we remain friends forever!

Answer:

3) Every weekend, we hang out together. Sometimes we even visit the library.

Explanation:

Option1) is not relevant to the story. Option 2) is not the body, it’s an introduction. Option 3) is the best description of the body of the story. Option 4) is a very good conclusion. 

So the correct answer is 3) Every weekend, we hang out together. Sometimes we even visit the library.

Question 8:

Read the following short story and answer the questions that follows:

Last Sunday, my family and I went to the nearby park. As the weather was beautiful, we thought it would be a good idea to spend the day outside. All of us were very excited as we hopped onto the bus.

At the park, we spent some time at the playground. My mother then led us on a short hike where we learnt about some plants and birds. We had so much fun! Finally, we sat under a tree for a nice picnic. It was lovely!

Which conclusion best fits this story?

1. It was such a horrible and exhausting day. My parents promised never to bring us to the park again
2. By the time we got home, my sister and I were exhausted, but extremely happy. We definitely would love to have another outing like that!
3. We headed home in high spirits. We all agreed that watching a movie at the cinema was quite fun.
4. There were sandwiches, a cake and a few small bottles of water and fruit juice. 

Answer:

2) By the time we got home, my sister and I were exhausted but extremely happy. We definitely would love to have another outing like that!

Explanation:

Let’s look at the options. 1) Clearly does not go as a conclusion for the story above. Option 2) looks like a good conclusion to the story. Option 3) does not relate to the story, as there was no mention of the cinema. Option 4) is not a conclusion.

So the correct answer is 2) By the time we got home, my sister and I were exhausted, but extremely happy. We definitely would love to have another outing like that!

Summarising our learnings

• Introduction: This is how you start the story
• Body: This is the main part of the story
• Conclusion: This is the part where you end the story. 

(We saw how we can use hope/wish or morals to end the story.)