Situational Writing Recount 
22 Feb 2015
Dear Mr Tan, I would like to inform you of an incident that occurred during recess in school today. I was heading to the Koi pond during recess at around 9.45am. As I walked past the music room, I heard the sound of a few pupils giggling at the staircase beside the music room. I walked towards the staircase and found three pupils surrounding a kitten. Upon further investigation, I realised that it had a string tied to its tail. At the end of the string was a tin can. Whenever the kitten moved, the tin can made a rattling noise. The kitten looked frightened as it started going around in circles to try to get rid of the can. The two boys were also poking the kitten with little sticks while the girl was laughing. After witnessing the entire incident, I ran to the nearest staff room. I saw Mrs Lee and immediately told her what had happened. I brought her to the staircase where I had last seen the three pupils. She rescued the kitten and reprimanded the bullies severely. She thanked me for informing her immediately. I hope that you address this issue as animal cruelty and bullying should not be allowed to take place in our school. I feel that they were very cruel to the kitten and even laughed when it was being hurt. I really feel that animals are to be loved, not to be hurt. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you need further clarifications, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Michelle (Grade 6)
Teacher’s comments: Michelle used the correct tone to inform the principal of the incident. It was professional and informative. Her use of past perfect speech (e.g. had last seen, what had happened) was also appropriate and showed that he understood the timeline of the events that took place. She was also able to express his feelings well (e.g. I really feel that animals are to be loved, not to be hurt) which brought a personal element to the letter. Furthermore, she was able to understand the context of the writing (e.g. using today instead of
Dear Mr Tan, I would like to inform you of an incident that occurred during recess in school today. I was heading to the Koi pond during recess at around 9.45am. As I walked past the music room, I heard the sound of a few pupils giggling at the staircase beside the music room. I walked towards the staircase and found three pupils surrounding a kitten. Upon further investigation, I realised that it had a string tied to its tail. At the end of the string was a tin can. Whenever the kitten moved, the tin can made a rattling noise. The kitten looked frightened as it started going around in circles to try to get rid of the can. The two boys were also poking the kitten with little sticks while the girl was laughing. After witnessing the entire incident, I ran to the nearest staff room. I saw Mrs Lee and immediately told her what had happened. I brought her to the staircase where I had last seen the three pupils. She rescued the kitten and reprimanded the bullies severely. She thanked me for informing her immediately. I hope that you address this issue as animal cruelty and bullying should not be allowed to take place in our school. I feel that they were very cruel to the kitten and even laughed when it was being hurt. I really feel that animals are to be loved, not to be hurt. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you need further clarifications, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Michelle (Grade 6)
Teacher’s comments: Michelle used the correct tone to inform the principal of the incident. It was professional and informative. Her use of past perfect speech (e.g. had last seen, what had happened) was also appropriate and showed that he understood the timeline of the events that took place. She was also able to express his feelings well (e.g. I really feel that animals are to be loved, not to be hurt) which brought a personal element to the letter. Furthermore, she was able to understand the context of the writing (e.g. using today instead of