a myth

1. THE FOUR-LEAF CLOVER TREE
A long time ago, when the sun shone at its brightest and the birds sang the most
harmonious melodies, there was an eleven-year-old boy named Zachary. He was
surrounded by nature and he used to enjoy exploring a forest near his house.
On the forest there were many tree species, but he had a favorite one: the one and only
Four-leaf Clover Tree. The tree was said to bring fortune to Earth, but nobody had seen it
before. Yet this wasn’t the only special thing about the tree, there was even more magic: a
chimpanzee was taking care of it.
After spending some days visiting the tree, Zachary and the chimpanzee became good
friends. Zachary and “The Little Big Eyed Chimp”, which was how the boy called him,
started to take care of it together. The tree was healthier than ever since they were
working hand in hand, and both the boy and the chimp were filled with joy and happiness.
One day, Zachary’s parents decided to move to another place without giving him any
explanations. Hence he didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to his friend. The next
day, the chimp was waiting for Zachary at the usual time, but he did not appear. The
sadness of the chimp was growing as the hours went by. Hours turned into days, days
turned into weeks and after a month, the chimpanzee fell seriously ill. The more the
chimp got ill, the more the tree became sick too, until one day both they finally died.
Legend has it that all the clovers from the Four-leaf Clover Tree fell on the ground and
they were spread by the wind around the world. Since the tree was cared with so much
love, every clover keeps the magic of their friendship, bringing luck to anyone who finds
one of them.
Laia Navarro Costa
Elena Rabade Serral

2. How well have we done it?
Decide how well the story satisfies the criteria by answering the questions in each
category. Give examples from your story to support your opinions.
Content
Have the instructions in
the question been
followed?
The instructions have been followed because
the myth is not credible, it has an unknown
origin and it has an unexpected factor (the
boy’s leaving). It also has the 5 steps (the
introduction, the background, the comment,
the problem and the resolution).
Range
Have a variety of past
tenses been used?
Is there a wide range of
vocabulary?
It has a variety of past tenses (past simple,
past perfect simple, past continuous), and it
also has a range of vocabulary (there are
many adjectives and it is used the synonymy).
We have tried not to repeat the same words
(connectors, prepositions, etc.)
Organization
Are the ideas and events
organised logically?
Are linking devices used
well?
The paragraphs follow the logical course of a
story. The story is told from the beginning to
the end and the resolution is not revealed
until the end. We have been used linking
devices well because we have used
connectors (a long time ago, after spending
some days, one day…)
Style and
format
Is the story written using
suitably neutral
language?
(neither too formal nor
too informal)
The story can be read by a large variety of
readers and the vocabulary is approachable
for everybody.
Target reader
Would the reader be
sufficiently interested to
want to read to the
end? Would it have a
chance of winning the
competition?
The story has attractive and interesting
characters and they want to know what
happens next while Reading because they do
not know the ending.