This was something I have personally experience in my old Primary school.

Rumor has it that

the girls’ toilet on the second level is haunted. It is also the only student toilet to which has a
full view mirror facing the door way. The school at had a funny rule where student are to go
in two to toilet break, for some reason I never knew why. It is a very old school and in 2000
they pull down the school, it was called (BKPS) short form located at Kallang.

It was after Physical education (PE) where student than where required to change out of their
PE Attire to normal school uniform. As there were more than one class taking PE each time,
the toilet usually full, as everyone are changing out of their attire. Thus I went to the toilet
located at level 2. Now understand this I have use this toilet many time as it is one of the
cleanest toilet in school. However little did I know that day will be my last visit there. As
usually I went into a cubical to get change. While changing I heard someone from the next
cubical flushing the toilet. Which was weird as not many students use this toilet. Not paying
much attention to it, I continue to mind my own business.

After changing as a female, I admired myself in the mirror for a while, that was when it
happen. All the toilet started flushing one by one, convince that. Ghost? Does not appear in
day I walk toward the toilet cubical to make sure no one was trying to be funny with me, It
may be around 9 or 10 but I was no push over. That was when all at once all the toilet started
flushing together at once it was plain creepy.

I tried to rationalize the situation thinking to myself that in some shopping centre the toilet
also Auto flush, so I guessed that was not a problem for me. Therefore I turned and walked to
the door, as much as I wanted to run I told myself to keep it cool, once you show fear that! As
I was about to reach to the door it closed on me, panic I knocked on the door fiercely, only to
be greeted by the darkness that follow as the light in the toilet have too failed me. Helpless I
look around for an escape route, as I look around, I realize my reflection in the mirror was
off.

Remember the full length mirror I mention earlier? Will Yup that the mirror, it looked back at
me, but was funny was it me in the mirror, had blank eye (like emotionless) with totally no
facial expression at all! While here I am trying not to have a heart attack! It was then I saw a
bright light and was pulled out of the toilet. Only to see the cleaner aunty giving me a
disapproving looked. Speaking in mandarin she told me,”I have told you many time don’t use
this toilet but you never listen. See what happen if I never come quick maybe you will
become like the girl inside the mirror already!

Although after that incident I have many time tried to convince the aunty to tell me the story
of the girl in the mirror but have been rejected many time only to get a reply: kid don’t mess
with things you don’t know.
During my hostel days, my friend and I hung out in my room a lot. After she retreated to her own
room each night, I usually forgot to lock my door. One night around 2 AM, in my stupor, I heard the
door creak. I shrugged it off thinking my friend was messing with me, so I called out to her. But even
after a few minutes, the incessant creaking did not stop. So I stood up and walked towards the door.
To my horror, I saw a silhouette swoosh by. I also suddenly realized that it was not windy at
all, which could have explained the creaking. I nearly crapped my pants (and to think I love horror
movies and swear by Stephen King). Naturally, I ran out screaming through the hallway, and did not
sleep in my room that night."

I actually heard the sobbing too.

These things happened to me during my stay in Kota for last 2 years.

Kota is very famous for large number of coaching institutes and every year, lakhs of students
come to Kota to fulfil their dreams.

It was month of September (2013). I heard a group of girls talking about crying voices and
shrieks at night after 1 am. I ignored this and thought it must be rumours and these girls have
nothing much to do. I usually go to my bed at 11: 00 pm and had no idea of the noises they
were talking about.

One night when mom was with me in hostel due to my sickness, I had to go to hospital and
wasted a lot of time. So to compensate, I studied until 12:30 at night. My mom and I and slept
after 1:00 am. After 15 minutes of our going to bed, we heard horrible shrieks from outside as
if someone crying in pain. It was like someone is tortured or badly injured. Then I
remembered that so called "rumours" about those shrieks. I was quite frightened but happy
that my mom was with me that night. She too was alarmed by the voices but told me to sleep
and ignore it. Later on I convinced myself that some human is only responsible for this as
many other hostels were near my hostel and it is possible that someone there shrieks to scare
girls. Many girls complained to warden but nothing happened.

Not only this but many more things happened in my room. At late night one can easily hear
sounds of dribbling like those while playing basketball in my balcony. At first I thought it
was AC making noises so I stopped it. But the sounds of dribble didn't stop. The balcony
from which the sounds came was common to me and my friend next to me. I asked her if she
heard those voices but she said she didn't.

Another thing happened with me. I usually switch off my mobile before going to sleep and
that night too I remember I had switched it off. At late night, I don't know why it rang for
some time but I was too lazy to receive it. The next morning I was shocked to see my mobile
phone switched off.

After a year of stay in that hostel I went to PG. (not because of incidents that took place...
The room was very small...)

Whenever I closed the lights and go to the bed I'd always hear voices like- someone wearing
my slippers and walking in my room but it didn't scared me and I took that lightly.

My room is on the second floor of PG and it is middle one between the other 2 rooms. The
rooms are very close and one can easily hear if someone is talking or making noises in their
rooms. On the roof of the house is terrace which is not too strong and if anyone is playing or
running on it, the sounds can easily be heard in second floor rooms.

One day while studying at night I heard someone tapping nail inside wall. It was coming
from the roof. I thought maybe some work is going on on the terrace. The loudness of sound
was continuously increasing and I got disturbed and went to the rooftop to request them to
please reduce the noises they are making. When I went there I saw no one and maybe the
workers have gone. Back to my room I sat on the chair to study and the noises began again. I
was shocked.
Diwali vacations were about to come. My mom and my sister came to receive me. As usual I
and my sister were fighting. She was sitting near the window from which we can easily see
the balcony of the girl next to me. While we were fighting I saw a black shadowy man came
inside balcony and sat on the floor near my window. I ignored him and continued arguing
with my sister. I thought maybe the girl's dad has come to pick her.

When we came outside I saw lock on her door and remembered that she had gone a day
before me. I remember he was a tall fat man with shadowy features and body. But I decided
not to tell her when she comes as she would get scared and the owner may scold me.
Moreover vacations were important to me and I didn't pay much attention to it...

One night was terrible for me. I still remember I was scared to death that night. I went to bed
as usual around 11:00 pm and was fast asleep after a couple of minutes. I don't know why but
after an hour or later I woke up and tried to sleep again.

As I was about to sleep someone pulled my blanket and I heard someone breathing heavily at
corner of the bed. I removed the blanket to see who it was but I saw nothing but air and
darkness. The breathing sounds continued and I was so scared that instead of running outside
I covered myself with blanket and pillow on my face. After a few seconds I was covered with
sweat and I could hear my heartbeats. The voices were gone now and I somehow slept. I told
this to my mom but she said those might have been my imaginations.

Somehow I stayed there and I am happy now that those 2 years have now ended
What is a complex sentence?

The main problem here seems to be the word ‘complex’. Complex, in this situation, does not
mean complicated, long or impressive. This is a common misconception and leads to students
writing very long and grammatically incorrect sentences that are very difficult to understand.

For example:

‘In the modern world, global warming is one of the most popular topics causing many
environmental difficulties and tough challenges arising from its serious consequences.’

This is a very typical sentence from an essay that is trying to be overly complex. This student
has tried to put four simple ideas into one paragraph and the result is an awkward and
incoherent sentence. They have lost control of the grammar and this affects the meaning.
When meaning is affected it stops the reading understanding what is being said and that is
really bad for you IELTS writing band scores.

‘Complex’ sentences are not actually very complex; they are just simple two or more simple
sentences put together. Putting them together makes the essay more coherent and cohesive.

Let’s look at the first example again. In the sentence above there are four simple ideas that we
can put in to simple sentences:

1. Global warming is a common topic these days.

2. Global warming causes environmental problems.
3. There are tough challenges associated with global warming.
4. Global warming has very serious consequences.

If we write all of our sentences in the IELTS exam like this we lose marks because they are
too simple. What we need to do is put them together to make complex sentences.

Complex Sentence Examples

For example:

One of the most common environmental issues is global warming which causes many serious
environmental problems. There are tough challenges associated with this issue and its effects
have very serious consequences.

I don’t think there is anything ‘complex’ about these sentences, just simple ideas, simply put
together.

‘Complex’ is just a label, not a description.

What I have done is take each of the four simple sentences and put them together in two
complex sentences. This result is a grammatically correct, easy to understand paragraph.
When should I use complex sentences?

In general, we should use simple sentences when making main points; normally at the
beginning of a paragraph. We should then use complex sentences when expanding on the
main point, for instance when giving a supporting example or explaining your main point.

Example:

This is a question about whether ‘fast food’ or ‘junk food’ should be taxed at a higher rate
than normal food.

‘Increasing taxes would raise prices and lower consumption. Fast food companies would pass
on these taxes to consumers in the form of higher prices and this would lead to people not
being able to afford junk food. For instance, the cost of organic food has proven prohibitively
expensive for most people. Despite this, people in many developed countries, where the
problem is most acute, can afford price hikes and will continue to eat high-fat meals.’

The first sentence is the ‘topic sentence’ and makes the main point. It is therefore acceptable
for this to be a simple sentence.

The second sentence explains the main point and uses the word ‘and’ to link two simple
sentences together, to make one complex sentence.

The third sentence gives an example and uses the linking phrase ‘for instance’. The final
sentence makes a concession (shows the limitation of the argument) and is also a complex
sentence, linking more than one idea together.

This paragraph has a mix of simple and complex sentences and therefore satisfies the
marking criteria.

How do I make a complex sentence?

Remember that a complex sentence is just more than one simple sentence put together to
make one sentence. We therefore need to learn and become confident using the various
grammatical structures that allow us to do that. Below are a few ways we can link ideas
together in a sentence.

To make a complex sentence we normally should have two things- a dependent clause and an
independent clause. A clause is a group of words with both a subject and a verb.

An example of a dependent clauses is ‘….because the weather was cold.’ This is a dependent
clause because it has a subject and a verb but it doesn’t make any sense on its own. To make
sense we need to add an independent clause.

As the name suggests, an independent clause can make sense on its own. For example, ‘I
wore a warm coat.’ If we combine these two clauses we get a complex sentence- ‘I wore a
warm coat because the weather was cold.’

As you can see, ‘complex’ sentences don’t have to be complicated. Let’s now look at other
ways we can make complex sentences.
1. Relative Clauses

You can use relative clauses to give essential or extra information about a person, place, or
thing. This makes our writing more fluent and more coherent. We do this by using relative
pronouns like who, which and that. For example, ‘He’s the kind of person who is always
friendly.’

For example:

Air pollution can cause health problems. Air pollution is largely caused by motor vehicles.

We can convert these two simple sentences into one complex sentences by using the word
‘which’.

Air pollution, which is mostly caused by motor vehicles, can cause health problems.

For example:

There is evidence that some people are more likely to smoke. These people have parents and
friends who smoke.

We can link both of these sentences together by using the word ‘that’.

There is evidence that people who have parents and friends that smoke are more likely to
smoke.

2. Subordinate Clauses

A subordinate clause can describe nouns and pronouns; describe verbs, adverbs, and
adjectives; or act as the subject or object of another clause. They are made by connecting an
independent clause with a dependent clause with words like as, because, while, until, even
though, although, when and if.

3. Conditional Clauses

Also known as ‘If clauses’, they are used to express that the action in the main clause can
only take place if a certain condition is met.

For example:

If I had a million dollars, I would quit my job.

I will be really happy, if I pass the IELTS test.

These clauses are good for giving examples in IELTS writing part 2.

For example:

‘Increasing taxes would raise prices and lower consumption. Fast food companies would pass
on these taxes to consumers in the form of higher prices and this would lead to people not
being able to afford junk food. If the cost of organic food proves prohibitively expensive
for most people, they will simply not buy it. Despite this, people in many developed
countries, where the problem is most acute, can afford price hikes and will continue to eat
high-fat meals.’

They are also useful for talking about unreal situations or to speculate about results in the past
or present.

There are four different kinds of conditionals which I will outline below:

Zero Conditionals are used to talk about information that is true or facts. We can use if or
when to introduce the conditional.

Example: Nowadays when we travel long distances, we usually use air travel.

First conditionals are used to talk about things in the present or future.

Example: If the city’s population continues to grow, we will need to build more
infrastructure.

Second Conditionals are used to talk about things that are impossible.

Example: If the sun didn’t come up tomorrow, we wouldn’t have any life on earth.

Third Conditionals are used to speculate about past events. It is often used when we regret
something or to imagine a past unreal situation.

Example: The Second World War would have never happened if Germany had been given a
fairer peace settlement in World War One.

4. Compound Sentences

Compound sentences consist of two independent clauses linked together with a conjunction
such as ‘and’, ‘for’ or ‘but’.

Examples:

I really want to study, but I’m too tired.

She got to the test centre early, and she did really well on her IELTS test.

Some students think these sentences are too simple to count as complex but they are wrong.
Warning

The crucial thing is to understand and be able to use these grammar structures before your
IELTS test. Some students memorise lots of structures and try to insert them into their essays
without giving much thought to how they work or if they are accurate. This will only lead to
unnatural and incoherent sentences. Remember that your sentences need to also be error free
so only use structures you are confident using.

They key is to only use them appropriately. Concentrate on answering the question and if you
know how to use these structures they will flow naturally.

Next Steps

I hope this post has demonstrated that you can write your ideas down in a clear and simple
way and still satisfy the marking criteria for complex sentences.

When you are practicing IELTS writing questions try to think of what you want to say in
simple sentences and then think of how these might be linked into complex sentences. After
enough practice it will become a natural thing to do and your writing will really improve.
MANY students struggle with writing, more so with continuous writing as it is more
demanding in many ways compared to directed writing. Admittedly, writing is a complex
skill which cannot be learnt overnight. It requires practice as you need to explore ideas and
thoughts as well as experiment with language.

image: https://content.thestar.com.my/smg/settag/name=lotame/tags=all

The continuous writing section, like directed writing, in Paper Two of the SPM English paper
is also compulsory and carries 50 marks. Unlike directed writing, however, you have a choice
– five topics are given and you only need to select one. These topics can be classified in
following ways:

 narrative
 descriptive
 argumentative
 expository/factual
 one-word essays (For example: “Water”)

Each essay type entails different skills and techniques. Consider the following guidelines
when selecting your choice of essay type.

General guidelines

Read and consider all the questions given.

Choose a topic you are comfortable with or confident about – when you fail to do this,
precious time is wasted as you may have spent quite some time writing before you realise that
you want to change your choice of essay

Plan your essay – the outline/organisation, points/ideas/thoughts, and supporting points (if
you are writing an argumentative or factual essay).

This is the time where you may need to examine, reconsider, modify or rearrange the
ideas/thoughts

Write out your essay in neat and legible handwriting. Untidy handwriting is annoying as the
reader has to spend valuable time deciphering what you have written.

Do write in paragraphs – leave a line between paragraphs, and make sure spellings and
punctuation are accurate.

Edit and revise language if necessary – allocate 10 minutes for this.

The narrative essay

Let us look in detail at one of the types of essays in this section.

Many of you are familiar with the narrative essay as it is an all-time favourite among
students. A narrative essay, as its name suggests, is a story of an experience or event.

Here are some examples:

 My grandmother
 The helpful stranger
 The most exciting experience in my life
 Write a story ending with: I knew from her smile that she had forgiven me.

Here is a sample essay based on one of the above topics: My grandmother.

Sample 1

The frail old woman seated in the wheelchair slowly looks up when she hears approaching
footsteps. I look at the deeply wrinkled face and search for some signs of recognition but fail
to do so. She, on her part, looks at me blankly and after a few seconds continues doing what
she had been doing earlier – looking at her gnarled fingers and toying with the gold band on
her third finger. Sighing in disappointment, I wonder what is on her mind. It pains my heart
to know what Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis have done to this feeble woman.

Grandmother has not always been like this. She used to be an energetic woman who had
much love to share with those around her, be they her children, grandchildren or daughters-in
law. My mother, her eldest son’s wife, had not a negative word to say about grandma who
had welcomed her into their home. In fact, mum always says that she is blessed to have a
mother-in-law and not a monster-in-law.

Married at the tender age of 14 to a labourer, she had been a loyal and supportive wife.
Grandfather, when he was alive, would sometimes regale us with stories from his past. He
would fondly tell us that he was a lucky man to have married grandma although the
circumstances under which they got married were not so joyous. Grandma had been the
village beauty but when the Japanese invaded Malaya, my great grandfather, grandma’s
father, decided that marriage was the only solution to save her from the clutches of the
rampaging Japanese soldiers who went around raping and abducting young girls. “We did not
marry for love, but survival. Yet we are happy, unlike many young couples these days who
split even before the honeymoon is over!” Grandma always looked shy and demure when
grandpa was in his story-telling moods.
Blessed with three sons, they worked hard to bring up their boys. Grandpa and grandma, who
were both illiterate, made sure that their sons got the education they deserved so that their
lives would be different. Despite his meagre salary, grandfather was able to send his sons to
school and later to university. He did this by working overtime and taking on other menial
tasks. Grandma did her share by washing and ironing clothes for a rich “taukey” and his
family.

All three sons got married in due time and lived with grandpa and grandma in a double storey
house my dad bought soon after becoming the managing director of a local Telco. After
grandpa’s demise, however, my two uncles moved out due to work commitments. Grandma
continued to live with us as she could not bear to part with me, her first grandson.

I am fortunate as I have many fond memories of my grandmother. She babysat me when my

mum went to work. She accompanied me to school every morning during my primary school
years. She made sure I had my meals, cajoling me when I was reluctant to eat. She was there
to share my happiness and sorrow.

All this started to change when she had arthritis. It hurt me because there was nothing I could
do to ease her suffering although she put on a brave front despite the excruciating pain she
suffered when family members were present.

Six years ago, grandmother started showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. At first, she forgot
the little things – what she was doing, where she had put her glasses etc. Slowly the disease
took its toll. Now, she has forgotten everything. She cannot recognise her sons and their
wives; worse still, she cannot remember me. It pains me to see a woman who had once been a
bundle of energy reduced to this.

I slowly move towards her, bend down and take her hands in mine, hoping that somehow, in
the deep recesses of her faded memory, she can remember me. She looks up at me in
childlike innocence and smiles, not out of recognition but in the way one would at strangers
who show the slightest bit of caring. I know I have lost her forever.
Paragraph 1

Vivid portrayal of the grandmother:

- frail old woman, deeply wrinkled face

- gnarled fingers, toying with the gold band

Vivid portrayal of narrator’s and grandmother’s feelings:

- looks at me blankly, sighing in disappointment, pains my heart

Use of present tense:

- indicates grandmother is still alive

Paragraph 2

Looks at grandmother’s qualities before illness:

- healthy, energetic, loving

Use of past tense:

- indicates shift in story from the present to the past

Use of present tense:

- shows narrator’s mother still has nothing negative to say about grandmother

Touch of humour:

- not a monster-in-law

Paragraph 3

Continues with looking at grandmother:

- her qualities (loyal and supportive wife)

- her history (marriage to grandfather)

Choice of words:

- precise/apt – encompass so much meaning, e.g. regale, rampaging, joyous, invaded

- not repetitive, e.g. “my great grandfather” is replaced with “grandma's father”

Inclusion of dialogue:

- gives voice to the grandfather

- breaks monotony of narration

Paragraph 4

Continues with account of grandmother’s life after marriage:

- worked hard

Paragraph 5

Account of grandmother’s life after grandfather’s death:

- continued to live with eldest son, close to narrator

Choice of words:

- demise instead of death, telco

Paragraph 6

Role of grandmother’s in narrator’s life:

- took care of him

- played the role of mother

Use of repetitive sentence structure for emphasis:

- “She babysat...”

- “She accompanied me...”

- “She was there?”

Paragraph 7

Introduces grandmother’s illness:

- Arthritis and how narrator felt to see her suffering

Paragraph 8

Narrator tells us about her other illness: Alzheimer’s

Shift in focus from the past back to the present

Repetition of sentence structure to emphasise what Alzheimer’s has done to her:

- “...she forgot?”

- “...she cannot remember?”

Paragraph 9

Return to the present:

- Focus is on narrator’s feelings

- We can sense his frustration at her inability to recognise him.

The narrative essay is quite demanding as it requires you to engage your reader. The merits of
the essay above are pointed out in the margin. Although you are asked to write an essay of at
least 350 words, it is difficult to write an interesting story within this range of words. The
length of the above essay is 700 words. So go ahead and let your creative juices flow.

Avoid writing essays like the example shown in the excerpt below.

My grandmother is sixty-eight years old. She is thin and frail. Her skin is dry and withered.
She is a widow and she lives with us.
My grandmother was born in Kuala Nerang in 1939. She was the eldest of nine siblings. Her
father was a rubber tapper and her mother was a housewife. She did not go to school because
her parents were very poor.

The essay above is dull and boring because the writer has used only simple and compound
sentences. Sentences structures are often repeated – “She is?”, “She was?”

When writing a narrative, remember

You can make use of your own everyday experiences – at home, at school or in your
neighbourhood – as long as they are interesting, realistic and authentic. For instance, you
might want to write about your neighbours who abuse their maid or the rebellious teenager at
school who gets into all sorts of trouble just to get his parents’ attention. In your descriptions,
you may want to draw on your observations of people you know – their mannerisms,
habits, behaviours, ambitions or desires.

You can also make use of other people’s stories or experiences and make them your own.
For instance, you can draw on stories you have heard from others, or read about in the
newspapers, or even watched on television.

Make your essay vivid and engaging. Make your characters come to life – use words to paint
visual images. Describe their emotions and feelings.

Inject humour into your essay if you can, but let me remind you that this is a difficult skill.

Make sure your essay is not monotonous.

Pitfalls to avoid

Do not let your imagination run too wild. Do not turn an essay into a dream. Many students
write beautiful essays but the “oomph” disappears when they insert a sentence: “Suddenly, I
woke up and realised that no such thing had happened as I had been dreaming.”

Do pay attention to the sensitivities of our Asian culture. Avoid subjects like sex, violence,
horror and profanities and blasphemy.

Do not write out a draft as you do not have the time.

Avoid the use of too much dialogue/conversation. Remember you are asked to write a
narrative, not a dialogue/conversation

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2007/09/09/continuous-

writing/#UqqfXmEH1y1jr0VM.99