Write a story in which you were personally involved, ending with, 'if I knew he was that kind of person, I wouldn't have gone out with him."

Answer Details

Model answer: Story ending with 'if I knew he was that kind of person, I wouldn't have gone out with him.'

The story must be personal ('in which you were personally involved') and must end, word for word, with the given sentence. The plot should lead naturally to that regretful conclusion.

A LESSON WELL LEARNT

Chuka was the most charming boy in our neighbourhood. He was well dressed, generous with his words and always had a joke ready. When he invited me to accompany him to a birthday party across town, I felt flattered, and, ignoring the quiet warning of my elder sister, I agreed to go.

The evening began pleasantly enough. Chuka arrived in a borrowed car, complimented my dress and spoke so smoothly that my earlier doubts melted away. But as we drove, I began to notice things I had overlooked before. He drove recklessly, laughing at my fear, and boasted about how he had cheated a shopkeeper the day before. A small knot of worry tightened in my stomach.

At the party, the mask slipped completely. Chuka drank far too much, quarrelled loudly with an old friend, and used language that made me cringe. When a waiter accidentally spilt a drink on him, he flew into a violent rage and shoved the frightened boy against the wall. The other guests stared in disgust. I sat frozen, ashamed to be seen in his company, wishing the ground would open and swallow me.

Things grew worse on the way home. Chuka insisted on driving though he could barely see straight, and when I begged him to slow down he snapped at me rudely. At a junction he scraped another car and, instead of stopping, sped off, cursing. My heart pounded with fear until, at last, he dropped me at my gate without so much as an apology for the dreadful evening.

I stumbled indoors, shaken to the core. My sister took one look at my face and asked what had happened. As I poured out the whole miserable story, tears welling in my eyes, I shook my head and said the words that have stayed with me ever since: if I knew he was that kind of person, I wouldn't have gone out with him.

Note: Marks reward a well constructed personal story, a plot that leads logically to the fixed ending, the exact closing sentence, and accurate expression.