"There it stood. I had walked past it several times and I had never seen it. It terrorised me. The idea that someone could have lived in this very building. The walls. So tall and never-ending, encircling me as if I was the victim  of an ambush. I then noticed almost forcefully, the empty space where a window would have stood, where shattered, sharp remains of glass still lie, threatening me like someone putting a knife at my throat..."

This is the beginning of the descriptive writing I wrote as a practice for my IGCSE exam, answering the following question: "You come across an abandoned building you never knew existed. Describe its exterior and surroundings before giving details of how you enter. Describe the atmosphere inside and everything your senses experience as you explore the building".

Click "Read more" if you are interested in reading my whole answer.

Whilst I was browsing through last years' english folder on my computer, I found this article that I achieved high marks on and I think is actually worth posting. The topic was on our perception of "success". Click "read more" if you are interested in reading it. 

Title: the Chaos Walking
Author: Patrick Ness
This sci-fi, action series sucked me in immediately. In the New World, a planet where people have settled and where streams of thoughts can be seen as images or words known as Noise, Todd Hewitt finds a place where there seems to be no Noise, and is immediately made to leave his town. Finding the source of the silence, he journeys away from Prentisstown to warn others about the Mayor’s treacherous plans.

Books in the series:
The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Ask and the Answer
Monsters of Men

Title: Harry Potter
Author: J.K. Rowling
If you haven't read this series yet, then you absolutely must! It's the most famous and most amazing book series in the world!!
Harry Potter is not just a famous book series. It has so many cunning and genius subplots, it makes you wonder how J.K. Rowling planned all this in the beginning or if she even made them up on the spot. It is written for readers of all ages.
This fantasy adventure series is set in Britain, following a young boy named Harry Potter who lives with his horrible cousin's family as his parents had died. When he turned 11, he learned that he was really a wizard, and should attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he meets many new friends and learns things about his past and his family which he never knew. However, the dark lord Lord Voldemort is after him: seeking to kill him to prevent a prophecy from coming true.

Books in the series:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (A.K.A Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S.)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows