PSLE Composition: Plan in Four Lines, Then Write
The most common thing that goes wrong in a PSLE composition is not weak vocabulary. It is a story that runs out. Paragraphs one and two are fine, paragraph three drifts, and the ending arrives because the time did.
Two minutes of planning stops that. Not a mind map. Four lines.
The four lines
- Where and when it starts. One line. “Bus stop, Monday morning, raining.”
- The problem. One line. “I realise my wallet is on the kitchen table.”
- The worst moment. One line. “The bus is pulling in and I have no fare.”
- What is different at the end. One line. “I check my pocket twice before leaving now.”
Now you know where the story is going before you write the first sentence. The worst moment is your longest paragraph. The last line is already decided, so the ending will not be “It was a day I will never forget.”
Check it against the theme
Read the theme again. Read your four lines. Does the story clearly connect? If the theme is a kind act and your four lines are about losing a wallet, someone needs to do the kind act — and it should be in line three or four, not squeezed in at the end.
One feeling, not five
Choose the one feeling your story is about. Panic. Relief. Guilt. Then show it — through what your character does — rather than naming it every paragraph.
Naming: “I was very worried and scared and nervous.”
Showing: “I checked my pocket a third time, though I already knew.”
Tonight
Take any theme. Write four lines. Do not write the story. Do that three times with three themes — six minutes — and on Thursday the planning will feel automatic.
Read next
- PSLE Composition: How to Choose Between the Three Pictures
- The Last Four Minutes: What to Check Before You Hand In
- Five Ways to Open a Composition
Free PSLE practice sheets download instantly, no checkout. The PSLE writing packs cover composition, situational and continuous writing with worked answers.
