Write about a time when you faced something you were very afraid of, only to find that you need not have been so afraid

after all.

West Spring Secondary School (2009)

Analysis of Question Requirements

• Write about a time when you faced something you were very afraid of,

an occasion / a single event the writer

the writer great fear

Analysis of Question Requirements

• only to find that you need not have been so afraid after all.

the writer

main theme: check out the relevant synonyms to avoid repetitious use of ‘afraid’

false alarm

Help from Microsoft Word

Help from Microsoft Word

Help from LDOCE

afraid adjective• frightened of someone or something

• frightened • afraid • scared • terrified • petrified • panic-stricken • live in fear • scared stiff/scared out of your wits/scared to death

• when you do not want to do something because you are frightened

• be afraid/be frightened/be scared • be terrified • dread • fear • be fearful • for fear of something • have a phobia about

Possible Plot

• An eccentric park ranger (therefore dirty tumbledown cabin) was on the way back to his ramshackle hut in the woods.

• The writer’s car broke down. He was not used to being alone in such an eerie (OR spooky) environment. He was anxious. Would there be wild man-eating animals around?

Possible Plot

• The park ranger noticed the writer’s difficulty from a distance.

• The former had to answer the call of nature, in the brush, so took some time before he could reach the stalled automobile.

Possible Plot

• By the time he arrived, the writer was no longer to be seen.

• Meanwhile, the writer was making his way through the thick vegetation towards the park ranger’s place.

• The forest was eerie in the half light (OR gathering gloom); the fact that it was stormy made the environment more scary. He was filled with dread.

Possible Plot

• The writer had the feeling that he was being followed. Unknown to him, it was really the park ranger. But his imagination began to play tricks on him.

• It was with some trepidation that he sought refuge in the park ranger’s rickety old house. He was petrified about the possibility of a homicidal maniac roaming the area. There had been a spate of murders in the vicinity.

Possible Plot

• To his horror, he detected the sound of approaching footsteps.

• In his desperation, he cast around for something he could use as a weapon to defend himself.

Possible Plot

• The suspense thickened as the knob turned on the door.

• The writer, heart palpitating, smashed a beer bottle on the intruder’s head as he came through the doorway.

Possible Plot

• After shining his torch at the fallen man, he realized he had made a mistake: he had known the man for quite some time, a harmless fellow who could not hurt a fly.

• The writer was shaken by the possibility of being responsible for the death of his friend.

• Life returned to him when the man regained consciousness.

Possible Plot

• The writer laughed at himself. He realized that what he had been very fearful of was actually something he need not have been so afraid about.