When I taught essay writing, I always thought about how to engage my students to write essays. One of the things that I can think of is to give them good and “interesting” examples of essays. As I browsed various books and magazines to get some ideas before writing the essays, I found myself feeling elevated and yet disappointed at the same time. I felt enlightened reading some good essays or articles but at the same time I felt there are something missing from the “story”. So, I ended up to compose some of the essays on my own, based on my own experience and story. It works! The students love it! And at the same time, they get to know me better (a little bit) from reading those essays. 2 in 1. Teaching content and instill values at the same time. Attaboy!
DESCRIPTIVE COMPOSITION
Tips and techniques
- You are usually asked to describe a person, a place or an event.
- There will be no points given to guide your writing unlike Directed Writing composition.
- You should be able to write clear and vivid descriptions to help the reader create a mental picture of what is being written.
- Describing is an important skill. You will need to describe people, places, scenes in many types of composition.
Write a composition of about 350 words about your favorite place.
Durham is a small university town which situated at the northeast of England. As a historical city, it became a centre of pilgrimage in medieval England in the 11th century. The cathedral and adjacent castle which were built around 11th century was designated as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Durham is a hilly city with steep riverbanks surrounded by densely wooded vegetations.
Other than its religious landmark, Durham is also home to Durham University. It was founded as the University of Durham in 18th century. It is claimed to be England’s third oldest university after the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Regardless of its splendid reputation, it was not the reason why I chose Durham to further my study for my PhD.
I never knew the existence of Durham University when I was searching for a place to further my study. One of my friends advised me that when selecting a university for a postgraduate study such as PhD, I should not look at the university’s reputation per se, but also the location where the university is situated. In this case, reputation alone does not guarantee the best learning environment needed by a postgraduate student. As a postgraduate student, what I needed most was a learning environment and culture that would help me get through the ups and downs of my PhD journey.
My friend suggested that I should consider Durham University as a place to further my study because Durham is also one of the most picturesque cities in England. I fell in love with Durham on the very first moment I set my eyes on the university campus, especially the School of Education. I could never thank enough my friend who gave me that advice.
Durham has witnessed various manic episodes of my life especially after my father passed away when I was in my second year of study. Had the gentleman who rode the bicycle did not stop me when I was contemplating to jump into the River Wear near the St Hilde and Bede college, I might not be alive now and be able to tell my story to my students about the hardship that I had endured as a postgraduate student.
If people ask me why I love Durham and could not help from talking about it countless times, I would just say that Durham is my favorite place and it will always have a special place in my heart as long as I live. [412 words]
