Writing Feedback / "Respect everyone" is the most important school rule - O level [3]

O level November 2007 (If you were drawing up a set of school rules for a new school, what would they be? Explain which of these you think are the most important)

Rules, always a part of our lives, which have been imposed on us ever since we were born. School rules are no exceptions either, which can defer greatly from one school to another. The amount of defiant students in schools are rising and fights are occurring more frequently and I believe that most of this attributes to the school rules imposed by the school, which are fairly ineffective. I will be discussing about three school rules in this essay and they are as follow; "School uniforms are mandatory", "Students who are late should be punished severely" and "Respect everyone". I feel that "Respect everyone" is the most important school rule.

It is not unusual to see students, especially those in high schools or in junior schools wearing their school uniforms to school everyday. These school uniforms give the students a sense of belonging to the school whereas if for example students wore their own clothes to school every day, it doesn't make the student feel as though they belong to the school at all as wearing school uniforms help to foster unity among their schoolmates and pride towards the school. Moreover, the problem of students wearing sleazy or offensive clothes to school would be eliminated as they are forced to follow the school's dress code. This teaches the students to adhere to dress codes which they have to be following when they grow up to work in the society in the future. "School uniforms are mandatory" is therefore an important rule for any school in the world.

Students should be punished whenever they are late for school severely. The reason is very apparent because being late to school will hamper their learning in school. In addition, they will develop lazy habits and often come late to school giving excuses like they have overslept at home which can pose a risk to their character development and future. If these students cannot even wake up to go to school on time, these students would probably be not interested in learning anything in school and would most probably procrastinate at home. These students would therefore suffer in the future as they have lost their morals in the process which for example is responsibility. If they are not even responsible for their own learning, how can they even go out to work in the society in the future? They would most probably come to work late or do not put in any effort in the work that they would be producing. Therefore "Students who are late should be punished severely" is an important school rule because if students are punished severely, they would not try it again as they fear the consequences and this would correct their thinking as they grow up. There is a phrase that says "Once bitten twice shy". I believe that this applies to students.

Respect is a moral that I believe every single person should have. Every problem that occur is usually because of a lack of respect for the other party. As students are still very young, they should be taught how to respect everyone including their peers and especially other higher authorities like their teachers. Respecting each other will provide students an opportunity to understand each other to prevent arguments and conflicts from happening. Once respect is established among students, the school would be a conducive environment for students to study. I believe that students should bow their heads to teachers whenever they are present the first time and greet them politely as this would nurture their character positively like for example manners. An example is Japan which already has this rule imposed on students already. Statistics have shown that Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. I strongly believe that this is attributed to the character development that the Japanese students are exposed to. With respect, there would also be no bullies and fights. Therefore "Respect everyone" is the most important rule a school should be using.

"Respect everyone" is the most important school rule to have because if everyone respects one another, everyone would be able to understand each other and there would be no conflicts or disagreements. For example Albert Einstein says that "Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be kept by understanding" Conflicts and arguments among students would not exist if they understood one another. Respecting each other also helps to nurture other morals like integrity, responsibility and manners. Students can then apply these life skills in the future and be a responsible citizen in their country. If students respect their teachers, they would not be late as they would not be respecting the teachers if they are late and they would also not wear sleazy or offensive clothes to school as this would means that they would not be respecting the school.

All in all, rules are meant to be followed. With effective school rules implemented in schools, I believe we would be seeing a change in our future generations. Society will then be a better place for everyone to live in.

Writing Feedback / Write about an occasion when a furious argument took place [3]

Write about an occasion when a furious argument took place, based on a case of mistaken identity. (GCE 'O' Level)

"Yes!" I exclaimed with excitement as I leapt up with joy. The end of year examinations was now finally over. It was a grueling experience for me as I had sacrificed most of my weekends the past few months staying up late at home to revise. I felt a huge load off my body as I stepped out of the examination hall, gleaming with joy as I walked towards the nearest shopping complex to do some shopping.

I first went towards the department store as I was very eager to purchase some clothes. I brushed past the sea of people as I made my way there. Something suddenly caught my eye. I glanced and stared at that set of clothes taking some time to admire it. I walked up close to the dummy that was wearing the clothes and began to caress it to feel it's texture. It was designed by a famous fashion designer in America who had managed to set worldwide fashion trends. My friends were fanatics of her designs.

"Stop right there!" a booming voice commanded. She took heavy steps and walked furiously towards me as if I had done something wrong to her. I looked around to try and analyze the situation but to no avail. "Why do you still have the cheek to come back here after what u have done?" she questioned me. "I have done nothing wrong so why should I even leave? I protested. She was a lady in her mid thirties and was carrying a branded handbag. She then began to utter a lot of nonsensical words that I could barely make out from my limited understanding of English. However, I could tell that she was cheated out of her money by someone in this department store.

"I want you to pay me back every cent that you cheated out from me and I will also take you to the police station to face the music. Moreover, that incident has also caused me to feel insecure" the lady said firmly. I was beginning to lose my patience and I told her off by telling her that she had no right to accuse me of something that I did not do and that she had taken me for a wrong person. In spite of this, she held firm to her belief and was very stubborn. Vulgarities then began to come into the conversation between us. A crowd soon surrounded us, wondering what the commotion was about.

Blood was boiling in my veins as I began to recall what happened this morning when I took the exam. I left the examination room with a joyful face but it has been reduced to one filled with fury and anger right now. "Peter! What are you doing down here?" a familiar voice spoke. I saw a familiar figure walking towards us with a puzzled expression on her face as she had difficulty understanding the situation. She was an acquaintance of the lady and me. After a moment of silence, I began to explain to her the current situation that I was in and asked for her help to convince the lady. She walked gracefully towards the lady and talked softly to the lady and the lady muttered a few words back in response. By then, the commotion had already died down.

She shook her head a couple of times while talking to my classmate and began to apologize to me profusely soon after. She explained to me that she was cheated of her money by a man who resembled me and had mistaken me for him out of anger. I accepted her apology and we made up with a neutral friendship before I left. I then began to leave the department store along with my classmate towards the exit as we decided to catch a movie instead. Although this was not a good way to start my holidays, I was glad that I had found a companion to accompany me to catch a movie and do some shopping together later.

Writing Feedback / O level (Some people say that the Internet does more harm than good.) [5]

Topic is O level (Some people say that the Internet does more harm then good. What is your view? )

The Internet has been around us ever since the 20th century and it has grown to a huge network with a wide array of information available to us any time we log on to the Internet. Statistics and studies have shown that more and more people are using the Internet each year and the amount of information being shared around is increasing. It has also provided an outlet for people to voice out their opinions and the Internet has also greatly improved trade and communication around the world.

The Internet has a vast amount of information available readily distributed by many people around the world providing different opinions on many matters. This information allows us to know more about current affairs in the world and not be limited to only news broadcast by companies. People can also read books on-line, watch videos or go on a forum to discuss topics. This allows us to learn more about the world we live in and promote discussion among people with many different opinions as the Internet is available globally. It also enables us to entertain ourselves by logging on to the Internet to watch videos that can help us to reduce our stress level.

Many schools have started using the Internet to teach students by using educational games and teachers are also using the Internet as a e-learning discussion platform for students to pose a question to one another or to ask the teacher some questions. Moreover, students can engage themselves in meaningful discussions. Students will be more knowledgeable and bring learning beyond the classroom. Educational games will also help to capture a student's interest in the subject and they will then ask more questions about the topic and this will increase their knowledge bank.

Many people often log on to the Internet every day and this has encouraged entrepreneurs to set up their businesses online. Companies will also benefit by posting advertisements on the Internet which is cheap and this will get them a wider audience globally. Small businesses will be set up that will have a low capital which means that there will be a low risk. People can work from home and become their own boss which promotes entrepreneurship. This has caused trade in the world to grow significantly.

However, the Internet is also a platform for people to play online games together. Many of these people often log on to the Internet to play games and lock themselves in the room. This causes them to become addicted to games and withdraw themselves from their social life. If they are a student, this will cause their academic grades to drop and can pose a risk to the student's future. In addition, some games require us to pay every month in order to play the game. This poses a significant threat to their lifestyle.

As more information is distributed around the world by the Internet, pornography is more readily available to people and minors are able to view pornography which will distort their thinking and stimulate their sexual fantasy. Moreover, they might even view the opposite gender as nothing more but tools. This will also affect their marriage as their view of sex is different from what they experience and this can cause a rocky relationship to occur

All in all, the Internet has changed the way people live their life as information is easily distributed around the world. News of people setting up their business online are occuring more often. School projects have also encouraged the use of the Internet to search for information. This suggests that the Internet is beneficial. However, addicted gamers should be counselled to stop them from sinking deeper into depression