Last Updated on November 3, 2026 by sanjjeett
What this composition helps you practise
This composition combines suspense, description and narrative explanation. It shows how to begin with a disturbing scene, delay the full explanation, reveal the cause step by step, and end with the impact the experience had on the narrator.
Composition Prompt
You walk home from school one afternoon to find the door unlocked and on entering you are shocked to see the house in total disarray. You call out but get no answer. Describe in detail what you saw, the reason behind your house being in total disarray, and how you found your family. Mention also how the experience ended and what impact it had on your life.
Composition at a Glance
Essay Outline
Model Essay
“Mummy, see what I have brought for you?” saying this, I left the bicycle in the driveway and raced up the stairs to surprise my mother with the present I had brought for her on ‘Mother’s Day’. To my surprise I found the front door unlocked. I pushed it open and walked straight into the drawing room. I stopped in my track, for before me the room was in total disarray. The showcase with all its articles lay on the floor or on the sofa. Sensing something terribly wrong, I loudly called out “Mummy, Mummy, where are you?” but got no response. I ran towards the bedroom to find the almirah wide open. The clothes and other articles lay on the bed and the floor, as though somebody had ransacked the house in a hurry. A cold chill ran down my spine, as horrible thoughts raced through my mind.
Panic stricken I ran out of the house and pressed the door bell of my neighbour. Narrating my plight to Mrs Sharma, I learnt that someone had come to the house an hour ago, after which my parents in an agitated condition had left in a hurry. Reassured of their safety, I asked her to call my father on his mobile. I heard my father heave a sigh of relief, on learning that I was waiting for them at home.
Coming out of the car my mother hugged and kissed me, as though I had come after a long time. My father called the police to report the burglary. Recalling the sequence of events to the police he informed, that one person had come to the house and told them that I had met with an accident and was in the emergency ward of the civil hospital. As a good samaritan he had come to inform them about this unfortunate accident. Shocked by this news my parents immediately locked up the door and left for the hospital. This person in all probability was behind the robbery.
While the police took down the report, I felt dejected for being the cause of the misery. In my eagerness to surprise my mother, I had not informed her of my plan to buy a present while returning from school. This irresponsible behaviour was the root cause of the unfortunate incident. The miscreant had observed my movement, and taking advantage of it, made my parents venture out to search for me, while he ransacked the house.
This incident impacted my life profoundly. I resolved to be more responsible in future and never trust strangers blindly.
Understanding This Composition
The opening creates immediate contrast
The narrator returns home happily with a Mother’s Day present, but that cheerful expectation is suddenly broken by the unlocked door and the disturbed house. This sharp contrast gives the opening energy and suspense.
Specific details make the disorder believable
The scattered showcase articles, open almirah, clothes on the bed and floor, and absence of any reply turn the phrase “total disarray” into a visible scene. Concrete details are more effective than simply stating that the house looked messy.
The explanation is deliberately delayed
At first, neither the narrator nor the reader knows where the parents are or what has happened. The neighbour provides only part of the information. The full explanation comes later when the father recounts how the stranger deceived the family.
Cause and effect are connected clearly
The essay links the narrator’s unexpected delay, the stranger’s false message, the parents leaving hurriedly, and the burglary. This clear chain of events prevents the plot from feeling random.
The ending answers the “impact” part of the prompt
The conclusion does not end with the police report. The narrator reflects on personal responsibility and resolves to communicate better and avoid trusting strangers blindly. This directly completes the final requirement of the question.
Useful Vocabulary and Expressions
Try It Yourself
Practice Prompt
You return home one day and immediately realise that something is wrong. Describe what you notice, how you try to understand what has happened, how the mystery is finally explained, and what you learn from the experience.
Write approximately 300–350 words.
Before You Submit
ICSE Composition Guidelines
For ICSE Examination Year 2027, the composition should be approximately 300–350 words. Question 1 carries 20 marks, and the specimen paper recommends spending no more than 30 minutes on it.
Official ICSE 2027 English Syllabus
Official ICSE 2027 English Language Specimen and Draft Marking Scheme