Good Writing Samples for the 2009 SAT English

 Last week, I had my three classes write an essay describing only ONE picture. This type of writing task has been given only on the 2009 SAT. For the other SATs, three or four pictures were given, with the fourth only presenting a question mark in recent years. I checked my old blog entries and found that I didn't put the good writing samples for the 2009 SAT offered by CEEC on my blog. Click on the link and you can read not only 13 good essays in English but also 12 in Chinese. 

http://www.ceec.edu.tw/GoodWritingPieces/98SatGoodWritingPieces/98%E5%AD%B8%E6%B8%AC%E5%9C%8B%E8%8B%B1%E4%BD%B3%E4%BD%9C.htm

提示：請根據右方圖片的場景，描述整個事件發生的前因後果。文章請分兩段，第一段說明之前發生了什麼事情，並根據圖片內容描述現在的狀況；第二段請合理說明接下來可能會發生什麼事，或者未來該做些什麼。

You can visit the CEEC website to take a look at the picture.

http://www.ceec.edu.tw/AbilityExam/AbilityExamPaper/98SAT_Paper/98SAT_PaperIndex.htm

The following is one of the good works.

There was a house lying in the countryside, where people retreated from the hustle and bustle of city life. Originally, people living there led a low-paced life, and there is always a song in every heart and happiness in every step. However, all the things had gone different overnight. A strong earthquake struck the place seeming like a paradise at first, and houses started to shake. Due to the unstable construction, the house collapsed. As luck would have it, the owner of the house escaped from the house narrowly. He sorrowfully looked at his beloved shelter, which was filled with abundant memory.

Once recieving the sad news, the authorities concerned took emergency steps. The government supplied food and drinks to this earthquake-stricken area. Charity workers also came to help the victims search their family in the remains. After the news were received by the whole world, people started to donate money to the terrible region, hoping to do something for the victims. Most important of all, government should help them reconstruct their homeland, arrange sufficient place for them to stay in temporarily. And we all hope the victims will go through the difficulty, and that we can see the paradise sparkling again. (202 words) 

CEEC comments: 本篇文章根據提示，第一段描述地震發生之前後情形，並於第二段說明政府與慈善機構如何幫助災民度過難關。唯文中用字及文法部分稍有瑕疵，例如第一段第6行的“A strong earthquake struck the place seeming like a paradise…”；第二段第5行的 “the remains”、 “the news were received”等。

When reading the essay, please pay attention to the shift of the verb tenses, which is usually what troubles students most.