Describe an incident when you misjudged someone.

Topic: Describe an incident when you misjudged someone.

Outline:
1. Describe how you were in need of advice and encouragement.
2. Describe how a friend helped you.
3. Describe how you thought that friend had an ulterior motive.
4. Describe how the misunderstanding was cleared up.

There is a saying that goes “You should not nudge a book by its cover.” Often, I have made that mistake and have regretted the consequences. Once, I misjudged a classmate’s kindness towards me. It happened last year, at the time when many sad events had occurred in my life. I had broken ties with a longstanding friend because of some misunderstanding. My grandmother, who was my confidante and best friend, had passed away suddenly. As a result, my studies suffered and I felt that life was indeed dreary.

At that time, my class was divided into project groups. My group had four members including myself and Tuan. The group completed the project with little help from me. Tuan covered up for my absence and lack of interest. He was extremely thoughtful and generous with his time, and he volunteered to help me with my homework. He was always ready with his advice and encouragement. At the beginning, I was very grateful to him. However, I soon began to question myself as to why he was so concerned about me. I recalled that he was a great favorite among the girls, being bold and cheerful. It did not take me long to jump to the conclusion that he was interested in me.

From then on, I started to avoid him. Soon, he sensed my changed attitude towards him. As a result, he too became cold and hostile. Later, I heard from a classmate that Tuan was being kind to me because he felt sorry for me. His own father had died in a road accident a year earlier, and he understood just how I felt.

I was sorry for misjudging Tuan. We soon made up. Since then, I have learned to be more careful in judging a person’s character.