1. What is a Personal Recount?

2. A Personal Recount…
Lists and describes past experiences by retelling events in the order that they happened.
May be written to either inform or entertain an audience.
Involves YOU! The writer

3. Structure of A Personal Recount
Summarises the text
Title
Example: The Killing

4. This is background information
Setting/ Orientation
This is background information
Where?
Who?
Why?
When?
Example: As I unlocked the front door, I suddenly heard a scuffling of feet. I had not been home in the past 2 weeks. The house was supposed to be empty. I laid the suitcase down on the floor as quietly as possible and crept towards the kitchen. It was so quiet that I could hear my heart pounding.

5. Events are described in chronological order
Details should be included to help reader reconstruct the activity
Example: I walked to the kitchen. I paused. There was nothing in the kitchen. I turned around slowly as I thought I heard a sound again.
With details…
I crept slowly to the kitchen. As I inched my way forward, my heart seemed like it skipped a beat. A chill ran down my spine. I could not make out what was in the room as it was pitch dark. What little light there was came from the flats nearby. I paused and took a deep breath and forced my eyes to focus in the doorway of the kitchen. Nothing. But then I heard something the same sound again, this time coming from the room to my left. Heart beating fast, I turned around slowly, as I started for the room.

6. Conclusion
Conclusion to include personal opinions regarding the events described.
Example: I will never ever want to see the sight of a dead rat ever again, or two dead rats for that matter, in my house. The sight of two rats scuffling and the thought of them making me think that a killing was taking place in my house made me feel rather silly. An overactive imagination perhaps.

7. Language
A personal recount should be written in the past tense
There should be use of connectors such as next, later, subsequently, after that etc
Action words as well as words describing action words are to be used
There should also be the use of personal pronouns (E.g. I and We)

8. Interesting introductions
Straightforward, direct
E.g.
During the holidays, I went to Sentosa…
This kind of introduction answers to the who and what in the question.

9. 2. Using an exciting part of the story
Think of an introduction that arouses the writer’s curiosity.
E.g.
The woman made the daughter sit on the bed. Then she brought out a velvet box and said, “…”

10. 3.Use a striking first sentence/paragraph
An arresting beginning or a line will immediately force the reader to want to read on.
E.g.
I stared at the body and wondered if the blood would permanently stain Mum’s Persian carpet.

11. 4. Begin by saying what you think and how you feel about whole incident or experience.
Reveal the character’s thoughts and feelings
E.g.
It is now three years since the incident. But I will never forget it. Indeed, it still comes back to haunt me in my dreams.

12. 5. Start with the place where the story is set.
Describe the place!
E.g.
The house stood behind a long, overgrown garden in a quiet street off Upper Thomson Road. With the branches of old trees surrounding its grubby off-white walls…