NCEA 2.4 Writing Portfolio Option 2: Being There

It is winter, a cold morning on top of the mountain, the freshly fallen slow gently covering the buildings. The sunlight slowly illuminates the hills, revealing the groomers trudging along as they prepare for a long day. You can see the chain of cars, steadily crawling up the winding ski road. The lights of the main building are turned on, and they flicker several times before they finally begin to provide light.

Listen, can you hear the ski lifts creak into action, the newly installed chairs begin their first journey, the first of many for the day, on the first day of many in the season. They look new now, but before long the leather seats will be worn, and the frame will slowly become disfigured. The chairlift queue swells, as people slowly filter across to it, eager to begin their day of skiing on the fresh powder. The rocks that can usually be seen to the sides of the trails are now invisible, hidden from the eye by the icy crust of snow.

If you look up the ski slopes, you can see dozens of small figures, whizzing down the hill at various speeds, recognisable only by the small splashes of colour on an otherwise plain background. There are small flicks of snow trailing behind the people, kicked up by the harsh edges of their skis

The murky grey clouds, slowly wander across the sky, covering and revealing the sun at will, changing the weather conditions dramatically whenever they shift. The sun is dim today, it lacks its usual intensity, and this is made worse by the thick fog is threatening to close in on the secluded valley, unaware of the front that is on its way, that is inevitable. The only sound is the ski lift, but aside from that the mountain is silent.

One Reply to “NCEA 2.4 Writing Portfolio Option 2: Being There”

  1. This piece matches the dimensions of the task very well. Your imagery is coherent and develops a strong atmosphere.

    Pay VERY close attention to tense and plurals and make sure your sentences make CLEAR sense. This will involve some slow and methodical reading aloud.

    Check the material on the board for further constructive advice.

    CW

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