THE BODY

The body of the composition is where you tell the actual story. It joins the beginning (introduction) to the ending (conclusion). In most cases, the body is the most important part of the composition, and in just about every case, it helps to decide whether you get an ‘A’ or an ‘A*’ for your composition.

This is the part where you can make use of beautiful, colourful expressions and bombastic words (vocabulary) to make your story come to life. This is where the why, what, who, when, where and how questions are answered. If you can keep the reader engrossed in your words, paint vivid pictures in his/ her mind, arouse feelings in him/ her similar to what you feel yourself as you write the composition, then you would have succeeded in writing a good composition. Doing this takes skill and practice.

There are many different styles of writing, although certain styles suit certain kinds of compositions better than others. Nevertheless, having a good grasp of the English grammar and a good knowledge of English words/ vocabulary certainly helps.

ADDING DETAILS TO THE BODY

When you are attempting to add specific details to your writing, you should begin with personal details – those sensory, memory and reflective details you have stored inside. These are the details that come to mind naturally, the kind you don’t really think much about. At times, though, it can be useful to stop and think about the kinds of details you are using.

The following may help you do that:

SENSORY DETAILS are those that come to you through the senses (smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight). Sensory details are especially important when you are attempting to describe something you are observing:

 I could feel the warmth of the kerosene stove and smell its penetrating odour even before I opened the squeaky door leading to his third-floor apartment.

MEMORY DETAILS are those that you recall from past experiences. Often, memory details will come to you in the form of mental pictures or images, which you can use to build strong, colourful descriptions.

 I can clearly recall as a kid how I walked the noisy, wooden stairway to his attic room and how he was always waiting at the half-opened door to take the newspaper from my shaking hand.

REFLECTIVE DETAILS are those that come to mind as you wonder about or reflect on something (I wish, hope, dream wonder etc.). Reflective details bring a strong personality to your writing and allow you to write about the way things might have been or may yet be.

 I wonder if he ever knew how frightened I was then and how I imagined there to be all varieties of evil on the other side of that half-opened door – beyond the kerosene stove.