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  • Vanita Pal

Secondary 3 English Singapore: How to use language for drawing attention to something.

DRAWING ATTENTION TO YOUR WRITING is the most important tool you have in your hand.



After all, you write to create some form of an impact do you not?

And when you do write, you have to make sure that the targeted source receives that impact or message.

The question which is festering in your mind right now is “HOW”?

First of all, you have to follow these STEPS.

i Attract attention immediately with well-crafted words

ii how to organise your ideas from A to Z


It will IMPRESS, be DYNAMIC and CREATE ATTENTION

At the end of it, you will Master the Art of Writing


How do you write in an original way?

Have you ever wanted to write something beautiful?

Something meaningful?

But you didn’t have the words for it?

You wanted to share something but you didn’t know how to write it.

I Step One – well-crafted words

This is a story about a girl who is unable to reach her parents as the Covid had broken out. She lives in Albania. Her parents were both fifty and were in an overcrowded hospital in Tirana, the city. Her only sibling, her brother was in the US, married and prosperous.

Silana mused as she gazed at the thick star lit sky laden with all the mysteries of the universe. She stretched her lithe sixteen year old body and gazed in wonder at the cluster of stars at the far end. How peaceful it all seemed. The hidden splendour of the universe so compatible with the stars, the rotation of the planets and the ceaseless gravity which kept everything in place. And yet here, all was mayhem. She sighed and lifted her chin from her hands which had cupped it. Her soft folds of black hair fell about her face like a curtain as she lay down on her pillow, prostrate and wept. She was all alone in her farmhouse. She could do as she pleased but she had never felt so abandoned in her young life.


This story is entirely original. I just thought of the Covid situation and imagined someone in a rather difficult position.

Note that the words used are as realistic as possible.

“thick star-lit sky” and “all the mysteries of the universe” are not really difficult words. They can be easily understood but I am using them as metaphors. The stars contain the mysteries of the universe. And the main character is looking at them, fascinated.

Words like these add to the attraction of the character and also create suspense. You wonder what sort of mystery or outcome may befall her.






Ii Step 2 - Organise your ideas from A to Z


Imagine you are the Captain of a Starship or a massive space ship.

“You are steering it across the skies towards another galaxy. You don’t know where you are going but you know if you follow your instincts and you have trust in yourself, you will be able to reach where you want to go.”

Firstly, think of the main character or protagonist (for a narrative or reflective essay)

Secondly, think ‘where’ the plot is going.

Fourthly, think of the relevance of the plot to the main character. Eg what will happen in the place where he is going to? How will he be affected?

And lastly, the Goal. What is to be achieved in writing this? What is the message?

You have the best instincts if you are good in writing. Your trust in yourself will be strong and you know that you will be able to use that skill to reach whatever goals you have.

The POWER of the written word is the most POWERFUL TOOL IN THE WORLD.




Iii Step 3 - How to get people excited with what you write

Lastly, Pick a topic which you think you can write well in. Then, write in an exciting way.

Below is a composition about “An account where something valuable was discovered.”

ADD IN A PINCH OF SUSPENSE, A GENEROUS DOSE OF REALISM AND YOU’VE WRITTEN A GOOD STORY.


“Thomaz was an ordinary Italian antipasta chef who spent all evening making pasta at the volcano hot oven but in the day time he was a different man.

He worked as a private detective and had a partner named Timmi, a girl with silky black hair and a fiery temperament to match. That morning had begun a string of suspicious events beginning with the arrival of a manila envelope announcing the rich millionaire’s eldest son’s disappearance. A prominent model with technically corrected features, his modelling agency had left a burning trail of magazines featuring his yellow Mongolian eyes.”

One of my favourite ways to begin is to choose a character, if it is not in the first person, who is rather ordinary. Then, I will build up that character due to the quirks in his circumstance and by the time I am done, he will appear to be rather enigmatic. Creating enigma is the best part of writing really well. After all, who wants to read predictable essays?

In the account above, there are 3 characters and each one of them is riveting in his/ her own way. Thomaz is different at night so there is interest in his alter ego.

Timmi is an enigma from the start as we have no idea what she will do. She has a fiery temperament.

Then the third, is totally in the dark. We only know that he has ‘yellow Mongolian eyes.’ That gives the character an eerie appeal.

These are the perfect backdrops for a really exciting story with twists and loops ahead.

Remember, you must hint at the promise of great mysteries which will be unravelled later. Without that promise, that suspense, no one will want to read your essay.

With all these, professional writing tips which I have shared with you, your writing will dazzle and capture the imagination of anyone who starts reading your work.


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