MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR

DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Introduction to communication skills
Lecture # 1

Sania Ratyal
(Jr. Lecturer)

Date: 15-05-2020
 COURSE DESCRIPTION

•
•
•
•
•
• A field-based course that focuses on instructional strategies and practices to
develop the written, verbal, non-verbal, and technical communication skills
of the middle-level learner.
• Examines the culture and dynamics of communication within the classroom
and the school.

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 COURSE DESCRIPTION
• Focus will include:
Øprocess writing; writing in all areas of the curriculum; communication
assessment; communicating with technology; and how to guide the
middle-level learner in asking critical questions.

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 COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Aims of this Course are:
1. Students will be able to understand and apply knowledge of human
communication and language processes as they occur across various contexts,
e.g., interpersonal, intrapersonal, small group, organizational, media, gender,
family, intercultural communication, technologically mediated communication,
etc.
2.
3. Students will be able to understand and evaluate key theoretical approaches used in
the interdisciplinary field of communication. i.e. students will be able to
explain major theoretical frameworks, constructs, and concepts for the
study of communication and language.
4.
5. To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches.
6.

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 COURSE DESCRIPTION
4. Students will be able to understand the research methods associated with the
study of human communication, and apply at least one of those approaches to
the analysis and evaluation of human communication.

5. Students will be able to find, use, and evaluate primary academic writing
associated with the communication discipline.
6. Students will develop knowledge, skills, and judgment around
human communication that facilitate their ability to work collaboratively with
others.
7. Such skills could include communication competencies such as managing
conflict, understanding small group processes, active listening, appropriate
self-disclosure, etc.

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 COURSE DESCRIPTION
6. Students will be able to communicate effectively orally and in writing.

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this one-day course, the participants will

have:
• Recognized different styles of communication and how to improve
understanding and build rapport with others.
• Reflected on different methods of communication and decided when
each is most suitable.
• Appreciated the role of body language and voice tone in effective
communication.
• Communicated their message in an effective and engaging way for the
recipient.

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 COURSE SCHEDULE

Till Mid Term

• Introduction to Communication skills
• Practice writing coherent paragraph
• Paragraph writing and kinds of Paragraph
• Introduction to Art of Writing Essay
• How to write a good essay (specific tips)
• Translation from Urdu to English and its types
• Practice of paragraph translation and simple sentences
• Course revision and discussion of selected topics
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 COURSE SCHEDULE

After Mid Term

• Reading skills: intensive and extensive
• Reading skills: skimming
• Reading skills: scanning
• Precis writing
• Minutes of meeting
• Practice on comprehension passages
• Letter and memo writing

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 COURSE TEXTBOOKS/ONLINE SOURCES

1. Practical English Grammar by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet. Exercises 2. Third edition.
Oxford University Press 1986. ISBN 0 19 431350 6 or Latest Edition.

2. Writing. Intermediate by Marie-Christine Boutin, Suzanne Brinand and Francoise Grellet.

Oxford Supplementary Skills. Fourth Impression 1993. ISBN 019 435405 7 Pages 45-53 (note
taking), or Latest Edition.

3. Writing. Upper-Intermediate by Rob Nolasco. Oxford Supplementary Skills. Fourth

Impression 1992. ISBN 0 19 435406 5 (particularly good for writing memos, introduction to
presentations, descriptive and argumentative writing), or Latest Edition.

4. Reading. Advanced. Brian Tomlinson and Rod Ellis. Oxford Supplementary, Latest Edition.

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 COURSE TEXTBOOKS/ONLINE SOURCES

• A Theory of Affective Communication: On the Phenomenological Foundations of Perspective Taking:

• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10746-018-09485-0
• Paragraph writing. Academia. www.slideshare.net
• College Writing Skills with Readings, by John Langan, McGraw-Hill, 8th Edition.
Oline\College_Writing_Skills_with_Readings.pdf
• For translation paragraphs https://www.zahidenotes.com/2018/10/urdu-to-english-paragraph-for-2nd-year.html
• TeachingEnglish https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/intensive-reading
• Skimming-owll-masseyuniversity https://owll.massey.ac.nz/study-skills/skimming.php
• Scanning-TeachingEnglish https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/scanning
• Hitbullseye https://gdpi.hitbullseye.com/precise-writing.php
• Meetingminutes https://training.businessmanagementdaily.com/3381/meeting-minutes-2/
• ReadingComprehension https://study.com/academy/lesson/reading-comprehension-literal-inferential-evaluative.html

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 GRADING POLICY

Quizzes: [10%]

Assignments: [10%]

Mid Term: [30%]

Final Exam: [50%]

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 GRADING POLICY

Quizzes: [10%]

Assignments: [10%]

Mid Term: [30%]

Final Exam: [50%]

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 Lecture Contents

Introduction to Communication Skills

How to be able to convey your message appropriately

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 Lecture Contents

Objectives
• Students will be able to understand Communication as a means to pass
information from one place ,or person to other.
• To communicate message clearly

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 Lecture Contents

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 Introduction to Communication skills

• The imparting or exchanging of information through speaking, writing or

some other medium.
•
• Non-verbal communication refers to gestures, facial expressions, tone of
voice, eye contact (or lack thereof), body language, posture, and other ways
people can communicate without using language.

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 Introduction to Communication skills

• Communication is both an art and a science.

•
• Involves acts of speaking and listening, reading and writing, but it also goes
beyond these and incorporates the transmission of non-verbal language, sign
language, codes transmitted electronically (e.g., Morse code), and physically
(touch; hormones; muscles, tendons, nerves), and Messages communicate
through music, and by other means.

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 Introduction to Communication skills

• Although you communicate simply by being in the world, developing good

verbal and body language skills involves learning and consciously using
your skills to improve.
•
• The act of communicating verbally serves to convey how we feel and how
we think to others. It is also the basis of how we relate with others, using
language as its medium.

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 Introduction to Communication skills

• To explain all the features required of good communicators, you need to

delve into the nature of verbal communication in its various modes.
• Basic questions are:
•
ØHow can you put yourself on a path that would make you into a better
communicator?
ØHow can you develop skills to overcome some fears or limitations?

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 Affective Communication

• Personalize the topic and tell how would you choose to represent yourself.
• The use of language as a subordinate.
• Appropriate behaviour in a classroom setting.
• Influence of body language and posture.
• Our appearance defines us.
• Impression we take from others.

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 Affective Communication

• Effective communication may be said to involve the transfer of values,

beliefs and thoughts from one person to another.
•
• To transfer a spoken message, it is obvious that speakers and listeners are
involved, with timing used for speedy transmission. Speakers use verbal
and body language to convey messages, looking towards listeners.

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 Affective Communication

• Sending a positive image of yourself through using right kind of body

language and countenance
•
• How to interpret others through the use of their language and
appearance.
• How to use communication by choosing the suitable vocabulary

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 Affective Communication

Affective communication refers to the expression of feelings about

things, others and themselves.
• In effect, expressions of positive, negative or even neutral feelings
about something or someone is also an expression of that individual
or group’s values and beliefs. 
• Affective communications are usually seen as opinions or judgments
about things.

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 Affective Communication

• Our values and beliefs give rise to our feelings and emotions towards
things, including other people and ourselves.
• When we express or disclose an emotion in our communication, this is
said to be an affective communication.
For example
• “I don’t like that team”, or “I love this car”, or even, “I am not sure
how I feel about this”.

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 Affective Communication

• Affective communications are disclosures of emotions and therefore

values and beliefs.
• However the relationship between an expression or disclosure of an
emotion often does not have a direct and simple correlation with an
individual or group’s values and beliefs.

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“You can dictate others’ opinion of you by choosing
right vocabulary and countenance.”
• Use of formal language according to situation
• Our behaviour influencing communication INTRODUCTION
• Utilizing the communication in your favour

• Use of formal language

• Use of informal language

• Creating a lighter atmosphere by playing on words

• Catching attention of listeners through powerful communication

• “First impression is the last impression” ?

• General statement and students’ opinion
• The eye-catching facets of one’s appearance
•
THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Communication in Professional setting

Lecture # 2
 Lecture Contents

Objectives
• Students will be able to understand communication in professional setting
• Will be able to decode messages according to the requirement.

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 Communicating at Work

• In many occupations, establishing credibility and trust is a significant

success factor.
• Using nonverbal behavior (like eye contact or hand shaking or warm
greeting for instance) can further demonstrate your sincerity and
engaging personality. 

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 Sending and De-coding messages
• Communication can best be summarized as the transmission of a
message from a sender to a receiver in an understandable manner.
•
• The importance of effective communication is immeasurable in the
world of business and in personal life.
•
• From a business perspective, effective communication is an absolute
must, because it commonly accounts for the difference between
success and failure or profit and loss.
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 Sending and De-coding messages

• It has become clear that effective

business communication is critical
to the successful operation of
modern enterprise.
•
• Every business person needs to
understand the fundamentals of
effective communication.

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 Sending and De-coding messages
• Effective communication is the most critical component of total
quality management.
• The manner in which individuals perceive and talk to each other at
work about different issues is a major determinant of the business
success.
• It has proven been proven that poor communication reduces quality,
weakens productivity, and eventually leads to anger and a lack of
trust among individuals within the organization.

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 Sending and De-coding messages
• The communication process is the guide toward realizing effective
communication.
• It is through the communication process that the sharing of a
common meaning between the sender and the receiver takes place.
• Individuals that follow the communication process will have the
opportunity to become more productive in every aspect of their
profession. Effective communication leads to understanding.
•

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 Sending and De-coding messages
• The communication process is made up of four key components.
• Those components include;
ØEncoding
ØMedium of transmission
ØDecoding
ØFeedback.
• There are also two other factors in the process, and those two factors
are present in the form of the sender and the receiver.
• The communication process begins with the sender and ends with
the receiver.
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 Sending and De-coding messages
• The sender is an individual, group, or organization who initiates the
communication.
• This source is initially responsible for the success of the message.
• The sender's experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skill, perceptions, and
culture influence the message.
• ‘The written words, spoken words, and nonverbal language selected
are paramount in ensuring the receiver interprets the message as
intended by the sender’.
• All communication begins with the sender.
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 Encoding messages

• The first step the sender is faced with involves the encoding process.
• In order to convey meaning, the sender must begin encoding, which
means translating information into a message in the form of symbols
that represent ideas or concepts.
• This process translates the ideas or concepts into the coded message
that will be communicated.

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 Contd.

• The symbols can take on numerous forms such as, languages, words,
or gestures.
• These symbols are used to encode ideas into messages that others can
understand.

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 Contd.
• When encoding a message, the sender has to begin by deciding what
he/she wants to transmit.
• This decision by the sender is based on what he/she believes about the
receivers knowledge and assumptions, along with what additional
information he/she wants the receiver to have.

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 Contd.
• It is important for the sender to use symbols that are familiar to the
intended receiver.
• A good way for the sender to improve encoding their message, is to
mentally visualize the communication from the receiver's point of
view.

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 Medium
• To begin transmitting the message, the sender uses some kind of
channel (also called a medium).
• The channel is the means used to convey the message.
• Most channels are either oral or written, but currently visual channels
are becoming more common as technology expands.

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 Contd.
• Common channels include the telephone and a variety of written forms
such as memos, letters, and reports.
•
• The effectiveness of the various channels fluctuates depending on the
characteristics of the communication. 

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 Contd.

For example, when immediate feedback is necessary, oral

communication channels are more effective because any uncertainties
can be cleared up on the spot. In a situation where the message must be
delivered to more than a small group of people, written channels are
often more effective. Although in many cases, both oral and written
channels should be used because one supplements the other.

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 Contd.
• If a sender relays a message through an inappropriate channel, its
message may not reach the right receivers.
• That is why senders need to keep in mind that selecting the appropriate
channel will greatly assist in the effectiveness of the receiver's
understanding.
• The sender's decision to utilize either an oral or a written channel for
communicating a message is influenced by several factors.
• The sender should ask him or herself different questions, so that they
can select the appropriate channel.
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 Contd.
ØIs the message urgent?
ØIs immediate feedback needed?
ØIs documentation or a permanent record required?
ØIs the content complicated, controversial, or private?
ØIs the message going to someone inside or outside the organization?
ØWhat oral and written communication skills does the receiver possess?
Once the sender has answered all of these questions, they will be able
to choose an effective channel

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 De-coding
• After the appropriate channel or channels are selected, the message
enters the decoding stage of the communication process.
• Decoding is conducted by the receiver.
• Once the message is received and examined, the stimulus is sent to the
brain for interpreting, in order to assign some type of meaning to it. 

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 Contd.
• It is this processing stage that constitutes decoding.
• The receiver begins to interpret the symbols sent by the sender,
translating the message to their own set of experiences in order
to make the symbols meaningful.
• Successful communication takes place when the receiver
correctly interprets the sender's message.

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THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Types of communication

Lecture # 3
 Lecture Contents

Objectives
• Students will be able to understand types of communication.
• To communicate message clearly creating awareness, imparting knowledge,
projecting an image and shaping attitudes.

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 Communicating at Networking Events

• When you're attending career networking events, your nonverbal

communication skills matter.
•
• If you come across as awkward or flustered, you'll be less likely to
make connections who can help with your job search or career.
•
• Practicing how you'll introduce yourself can make the entire process
go more smoothly so you can make the best impression.

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 Communication consists of 3 key elements

Verbal, Vocal and Visual. The total impact of face-to-face communication can
be well defined by Mehrabian‟3 “V‟s”

• Words should be simple and concise.

• Speak to the point and not „beat around the bush!!!‟
• Using voice is a very important part of communication. The tone of voice sends
thousands of signals – either to impress or repel.
• Gesturing is a powerful visual and impresses the listener with the speaker’s
sincerity and enthusiasm.
• Body language is the second part of the non-verbal component. It is the final dress
that polishes the words and tone.

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 Types of business communication

Communication can be classified into following types.

1. FORMAL AND INFORMAL

2. ORAL AND WRITTEN
3. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
4. VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL

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 FORMAL COMMMUNICATION

• When we consider style and purpose we can divide it into two sub groups,
formal communication and informal communication.
• Formal communication includes all forms of formal exchanges of
information.
• Business communication and corporate communication are some of the
formal communication methods.
• Formal communication is that which devices support from the organisation
structure.
• It is associated with the particular positions of the communicator and the
recipient in the structure.
• Formal communications are mostly of the written type such as company
manuals, handbooks magazines, bulletins annual reports and are designed
to meet the specific need s of the organisation.
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 INFORMAL COMMMUNICATION

• Informal communication is the opposite of the above.

• It is a form of casual conversation or exchange of communication.
• This type of communication happens outside of the business or corporate
community or between freely understanding parties.
• There are no strong rules or guidelines; the only rule is that all the parties
should be able to understand each other. This kind of communication does
not require a certain topic. It is just normal conversation between known
people
• This kind of communication does not require a certain topic.

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 Contd.

• It is just normal conversation between known people.

• Informal communication is based on the informal relationships that grow up
in an organization and is commonly referred to as "the grapevine".
• It may be conveyed by a nod, a glance, a gesture, a smile, and even silence.
• The two or more parties in concern should understand a common language or
method of communication.

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 ORAL COMMUNICATION

• Oral communication implies communication through mouth.

• It includes individuals conversing with each other, be it direct conversation
or telephonic conversation
• Speeches, presentations, discussions are all forms of oral communication.
• Oral communication is generally recommended when the communication
matter is of temporary kind or where a direct interaction is required.
• Face to face communication (meetings, lectures, conferences, interviews,
etc.) is significant so as to build a rapport and trust.
• Oral communication is not only time saving, but it also saves upon money
and efforts.
• Oral communication is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts,
disputes and many issues/differences can be put to an end by talking them
over.

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 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

• Written communication has great significance in today’s business world.

• It is an innovative activity of the mind. Effective written communication is
essential for preparing worthy promotional materials for business
development.
• Effective writing involves careful choice of words, their organization in
correct order in sentences formation as well as cohesive composition of
sentences
• Also, writing is more valid and reliable than speech. But while speech is
spontaneous, writing causes delay and takes time as feedback is not
immediate.

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 Contd.

• Written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies

and rules for running of an organization.
• Speech came before writing. But writing is more unique and formal than
speech.
• It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record
maintenance is required

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 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

• Communication within an organization is known as internal communication,

which is usually formal. •Internal communication helps in achieving an
organization's goals by informing the members of the general and specific
objectives of the organization either at the macro or at the micro level.
• It is only through internal communication that this information is distributed
to various departments and employees within the organization.
• Letters, reports, instructions, seminars, etc. are methods of transmitting
information.
 

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 EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION

• To expand the boundaries of business, a good relationship with other external

organization is a must.
• This requires a sound communication strategy.
• All official ,technical or professional communication with people outside the
organization is known as external communication.
• This mode is equally important, as it helps in achieving an organization’s
goals by coordinating with external agencies.
• External communication refers to interaction with shareholders, regulators,
vendors, service companies, customers, general public.
• This mode is equally important, as it helps in achieving an organization’s
goals by coordinating with external agencies.
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  VERBAL COMMUNICATION
• We can categorize verbal communication into two parts, oral communication
and written communication.
• Oral communication is when two or more parties communicate verbally with
words.
• The other type is written communication. Written communication can happen
through normal mail, e-mail, or any other form of documented writing.

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 Non-verbal Communication
• Nonverbal communication refers to gestures, facial expressions,
tone of voice, eye contact (or lack thereof), body language,
posture, and other ways people can communicate without using
language.

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 Significance of non-verbal Communication

• When you’re interviewing for a job or participating in a meeting, your 

nonverbal communication is almost as important as your verbal
responses.
ØCrossed arms can seem defensive.
Ø Poor posture may appear unprofessional.
ØA downward gaze or avoiding eye contact can detract from you being seen
as confident. 

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 Significance of non-verbal Communication

• Employers will evaluate what you do as well as what you say, and you can
use your nonverbal communication skills to make the best impression.
•
• If your skills aren't top-notch, you can practice them so you make a positive
impression on everyone you meet in the workplace and beyond.

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 Continued…
• Most candidates carefully 
prepare what they will say during interviews
 and networking meetings.
•
• However, knowing what you will say is
only part of the picture. Just as
important is having an understanding
of how to convey your messages
through your body language.

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75
 Continued…
• Your interviewing and networking success will be largely determined
by the impression people get of you, and how they respond to what
you say. 

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 Nonverbal Communication Skills Examples

• Want to brush up on your skills? Review this list of nonverbal skills and
work on any areas where you think you could improve.
•
• Avoid slouching. Sit with your back straight up against the chair or lean
slightly forward to convey engagement. 
•
• Steer clear of smiles or laughter when messages are serious.

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 Nonverbal Communication Skills Examples

• Display some animation with your hands and facial expressions to

project a dynamic presence. (But avoid talking with your hands
excessively, which can appear unprofessional and unpolished.) 
• Don’t bring your phone, a drink, or anything else that could distract
you during an interview or meeting.
• Eliminate fidgeting and shaking of limbs.

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 Nonverbal Communication Skills Examples

• Establish frequent but not continuous or piercing eye contact with

interviewers.
• Focus on the conversation.
• In a group interview, shift eye contact to the various speakers.
• Introduce yourself with a smile and a firm handshake. Be sure
that your palms are dry.

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 Nonverbal Communication Skills Examples

• Keep your hands away from your face and hair.

• Listen carefully, and do not interrupt.
• Maintain open arms—folded arms can convey defensiveness.
• Modulate your vocal tone to express excitement and punctuate key points.
• Nod to demonstrate understanding.
• Observe the reaction of others to your statements.

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THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Paragraph Writing
Lecture # 04

Date:---------- 2020
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Topic sentence

• Body

• Closing

• Focus

• Development

1.
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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To enable students for creating basic outlines for paragraphs with a
suitable vocabulary so they can express their ideas in a coherent
manner with supporting details.
Goals
•  Write the main idea with some supporting details on a given topic.

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 Paragraph Writing

• A paragraph is a brief piece of writing that's around seven

to ten sentences long. It has a topic sentence and
supporting sentences that all relate closely to the topic
sentence.
• The paragraph form refers to its overall structure, which is
a group of sentences focusing on a single topic.

1.

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 There are three mainParagraph Writing
parts of a paragraph:

• Topic sentence - it has the main idea

• Supporting sentence - details that relate to and support the
topic sentence
• Concluding sentence - a brief reflection or statement about the
main idea

The topic sentence is usually the first sentence but it can appear
at any point in the paragraph. The main thing is to be sure you
have a topic sentence because it gives your paragraph its focus,
similar to a thesis statement in an essay.
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 Topic Sentence

  Paragraph Writing
• The topic sentence tells your readers what your paragraph is about.
•
An interesting subject
+
A specific feeling or feature about the subject
=
An effective topic sentence

The average cost of a Hollywood film (interesting subject) runs

between $30 and $50 million. (specific feature)
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 The Body
Paragraph Writing
 
• The body is the main part of the paragraph. This is where you place all of
the information readers need to understand the subject.

The salary of a top star such as Tom Hanks or Brad Pitt can add
$20 million to the cost of a major film.

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 The Closing
Paragraph Writing
 
• The closing sentence comes after all the details have been included in
the body of the paragraph. It may:
1. Remind readers of the subject
2. Keep them thinking about it
3. Often rephrase the topic sentence
4. Link the paragraph to the next one if this is part of a longer composition

Anyone who has bought a movie ticket recently knows that the
consumer pays for these extravagant productions.

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 EXAMPLE
Paragraph Writing
Smoking refers to the process of burning tobacco or other materials and
inhaling the resultant smoke (topic sentence). The most common item for
smoking is cigarette(1st idea). Besides cigarette, people also smoke cigar
and pipes(supporting detail). Usually, teenagers start smoking
occasionally for fun(2nd idea). But by the time they reach their adulthood,
they find they are already addicted to it(discussion detail of 2nd idea).
Smoking is one of the leading causes of death(3rd idea). As it causes
several life-threatening diseases such as tuberculosis, lungs cancer, hear-
attack, etc(supporting detail). smoking is preventable(4th idea). The
government can pass stringent laws for the sake of cigarettes and other
tobacco products(support). Mass educational campaigns targeting
youngsters explaining the harmful effects of smoking can act as deterrent
for smoking(concluding line).

•
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•
 EXAMPLE
Paragraph Writing

Weather in Wisconsin has been especially fierce this week. It all began on
Tuesday, when a tornado swept through the St. Croix River Valley.
Wednesday evening another tornado dropped down on the suburbs of
Milwaukee. Then on Thursday evening, River Falls experienced a
torrential rain that flooded the streets. Many are wondering what
Wisconsin city will be next.
•

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How do I unify my ideas in a paragraph?
Probably the most effective way to achieve paragraph unity is to express the
central idea of the paragraph in a topic sentence.

Topic sentences are similar to mini thesis statements. Like a thesis statement, a
topic sentence has a specific main point. Whereas the thesis is the main point of
the essay, the topic sentence is the main point of the paragraph. Like the thesis
statement, a topic sentence has a unifying function. But a thesis statement or
topic sentence alone doesn’t guarantee unity. An essay is unified if all the
paragraphs relate to the thesis, whereas a paragraph is unified if all the sentences
relate to the topic sentence. 
How do I develop my ideas in a paragraph?
• Often, the body paragraph demonstrates and develops your topic
sentence through an ordered, logical progression of ideas.
• There are a number of useful techniques for expanding on topic
sentences and developing your ideas in a paragraph. 
• Illustration in a paragraph supports a general statement by means
of examples, details, or relevant quotations (with your
comments).
Example paragraph
In Harry’s world fate works not only through powers and objects
such as prophecies, the Sorting Hat, wands, and the Goblet of Fire,
but also through people. Repeatedly, other characters decide Harry’s
future for him, depriving him of freedom and choice. For example,
before his eleventh birthday, the Dursleys control Harry’s life,
keeping from him knowledge of his past and understanding of his
identity (Sorcerer’s 49). In Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets, Dobby repeatedly assumes control over events by
intercepting Ron’s and Hermione’s letters during the summer; 
Example paragraph
-by sealing the barrier to Platform 93⁄4, causing Harry to miss the
Hogwarts Express; and by sending a Bludger after Harry in a
Quidditch match, breaking his wrist. Yet again, in Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban, many adults intercede while attempting to
protect Harry from perceived danger, as Snape observes: “Everyone
from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep
famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black” (284). All these
characters, as enactors of fate, unknowingly drive Harry toward his
destiny by attempting to control or to direct his life, while
themselves controlled and directed by fate.
—Julia Pond, “A Story of the
Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter Series”
Reflection

• A paragraph has three major parts.

• Topic sentence, body, conclusion.
• Topic sentence tell what the paragraph is about, in body each claim is
supported by detail .
• The closing reminds reader about the subject.
• Often rephrases the topic sentences.
• Use of purpose, development and focus in paragraph writing.
• Purpose is one of the most important aspects of writing because different
goals are accomplished in different ways
•
THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Paragraph Writing (Contd.)
Lecture # 5
 LECTURE CONTENTS
• Focus

• Development

• Coherence

• Organization

• Coherence

• Audience

1.

2. Addressing the topic in paragraph writing

3. Choosing the right vocabulary

4. Types of paragraph writing

5.

Subject Name 102

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To prepare them to think critically and be able to write on miscellaneous topics.
Goals
To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 103

 Example Focus Sentences
Unfocused: Too many people treat animals badly in experiments.
Focused: The cosmetic industry often harms animals in unnecessary experiments
designed to test their products.

Unfocused: Grades are an unfair pain in the neck.

Focused: Course grades based solely on one term paper don't accurately measure a
student's knowledge on a subject.

Unfocused: Getting the right job is important and can lead to rewarding experiences.
Focused: Getting the right job can lead to an improved sense of self-esteem.

Unfocused: The Fourth of July picnic was a big success.

Focused: Everyone at the Fourth of July picnic ate well, enjoyed the swimming pool,
and had a chance to chat with old friends.
Focus
• Do not get off the subject
• Do not bring in material that is irrelevant
• It is like focusing a camera: you want to get a picture of something in particular,
with perhaps a little background or context, and you want the details to be sharp.
• How to help with focus:
• Take notes
• Outline
Example Focus Paragraphs

• When I first brought my cat home from the humane society she was a mangy,
pitiful animal. It cost a lot to adopt her: forty dollars. And then I had to buy
litter, a litter box, food, and dishes for her to eat out of. Two days after she came
home with me she got taken to the pound by the animal warden. There's a leash
law for cats in Texas. If they're not in your yard they have to be on a leash.
Anyway, my cat is my best friend. I'm glad I got her. She sleeps under the covers
with me when it's cold. Sometimes she meows a lot in the middle of the night
and wakes me up, though.
 Development

• Focus on the why and how.

• Use support, provide examples, give evidence, back up your
opinions, include specifics, etc.
• Having to develop your ideas (or, in the case of summary,
someone else's) ensures that you think them through
 Example Development Paragraphs

It was the worst movie I've seen in a long time. It was

really boring. The characters were undeveloped and the plot
was one cliché after another. I should have just stayed home.
I'm sorry I wasted six dollars on such a stupid film.
 Example Development Paragraphs

This movie is an insult to the intelligence of the

audience. We are supposed to accept one improbability after
another: that the hero, a private detective, is willing to take on
the case out of the goodness of his heart; that the police are
willing to freely share with him information on a case still under
investigation; that the villain just happens to be the man who
killed his parents when he was a boy. And of course the key
witness turns out to be a beautiful, rich, and unattached blonde
who is wildly attracted to the detective. The plot of the film was
underdeveloped and the actors did not perform well. My
favorite part of the movie was when the closing credits started
and I knew then that I could finally go home.
 Organization

Similar to cooking or following a recipe

•
• Your ideas MUST follow one another in a logical sequence so that
the reader knows how to make sense of what comes next.
• Sometimes the reader will be able to predict what comes next.
• At other times, they may be led to wonder about something just in
time to have it explained to them.

This is structural organization.

 Organization cont.

• Transitions help the reader see the structural organization by

using words and phrases to make connections between ideas.
•
• Other tips for organization:
• Have one main idea in each paragraph, and make sure that
everything in that paragraph has to do with that main
idea.
• When you start on a new idea, let the reader know by
starting a new paragraph.
• Make sure that each of these main ideas has to do with the
thesis or topic of the essay as a whole.
 Organization cont.

Do not write in the same way that you think.

How to organize your writing:

• Outline
• Write down each main point on an index card and shuffle them
around until you find the logical order
• Use a word-processor to cut and paste large chunks of text to get
them in the right order
 Coherence
Your writing must make sense.
(Don’t write like a person who “babbles incoherently”)
• To be coherent, your writing must:
• have enough supporting details
• be organized in a logical way
• use transitions well
• Ask someone else who can be objective to read your writing, or get
some distance from it yourself.
•
• Other coherence problems:
• writing isn't consistently in the same tense
• writing changes from singular to plural
 Example Coherence Paragraphs

For me, the worst thing about waiting tables was the
uniform. At the last place I worked, all the waitresses had to
wear an ugly brown striped jumper. Underneath it we had to
wear an even uglier polyester shirt. Sometimes someone I
knew would come in and I'd feel embarrassed by my outfit.
Now I have a job in an office, where I can wear my own
clothes.
 Audience

Influences every aspect of your writing

• How well you write depends on whether you communicate with the reader
• Different audiences need different things.
• For example, you would describe yourself differently, for instance, in a
letter to a pen-pal in a foreign country, in a job application, and in a
classified personal ad in the newspaper.
• Audience concerns also include:
• the vocabulary you use
• whether you're writing for “regular” people or experts
• what assumptions you share with your readers
• what tone you use
•
Types of paragraph writing

• The purpose of paragraph may be to persuade, amuse, inform, entertain, alarm, or

inflame the reader.
• Purpose is one of the most important aspects of writing because different goals are
accomplished in different ways. When you are given a writing assignment in a
class, you are basically being given a purpose e.g. write an argument essay.
Types of paragraph writing

• There are four paragraph types

ØNarrative
ØDescriptive
ØExpository
ØPersuasive
• Narrative paragraphs tell about a scene or event.
• descriptive paragraphs give vivid descriptions of one subject.
• expository paragraphs provide information.
• persuasive paragraphs try to convince the reader
Types of paragraph writing

The descriptive paragraph:

• This type of paragraph describes something and shows the reader what a thing or a
person is like.
• The words chosen in the description often appeal to the five senses of touch,
smell, sight, sound, and taste.
• Descriptive paragraphs can be artistic and may deviate from grammatical norms.
Contd.

The narrative paragraph:

• This type of paragraph tells a story.
• There's a sequence of action or there's a clear beginning, middle, and end to the
paragraph.
The expository paragraph:
• This type of paragraph explains something or provides instruction.
• It could also describe a process and move the reader step by step through a
method.
• This type of paragraph often requires research, but it's possible that the writer is
able to rely on his or her own knowledge and expertise.
Types of paragraph writing
The persuasive paragraph:
• This type of paragraph tries to get the reader to accept a particular point of view or
understand the writer's position.
• This is the type of paragraph that many teachers focus on because it's useful when
building an argument.
• It often requires the collection of facts and research.
• It important to point out that many paragraphs are a combination of these four
types.
 Example Paragraph
When I first brought my cat home from the humane society she was a
mangy, pitiful animal. It cost a lot to adopt her: forty dollars. And then I had
to buy litter, a litter box, food, and dishes for her to eat out of. Two days
after she came home with me she got taken to the pound by the animal
warden. There's a leash law for cats in Texas. If they're not in your yard they
have to be on a leash. Anyway, my cat is my best friend. I'm glad I got her.
She sleeps under the covers with me when it's cold. Sometimes she meows a
lot in the middle of the night and wakes me up, though.
 Reflection
1. The first priority is Purpose because it's the driving force behind the others.
2. Focus and Development are next because Focus has to do with choosing
and staying on a subject and Development has to do with saying
something meaningful about it.
3. Organization and Coherence come next, because they help make that
meaning more accessible to the reader.
4. A sense of Audience, in the particular sense, helps fine-tune this some
more.
5. And finally, Style and Mechanics are the forms that put a polish on the
content.

It is important to remember that a weakness in any one area makes it

hard to get all the others correct.
THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Paragraph Writing (cont.)
Lecture # 6
Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• Writing paragraphs takes practice, but what should students write about?
•
• Good paragraph writing prompts allow students to write about what they know
and like, so their focus can be on the writing process and using the four essential
elements. 

Subject Name 126

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• Paragraph writing prompts, such as Explain why ______ is your favorite activity,
• Encourage students to develop a topic sentence.
• Write supporting sentences in a proper order,
• Use transition words to achieve coherency.
• Conclude their paragraphs for completeness.

Subject Name 127

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

In a way, you could see each paragraph as a mini-essay.

• You introduce the topic
• You provide the contributing information
• You draw a conclusion
1.

Subject Name 128

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• You achieve the above mentioned four characteristics through using the three parts
of your paragraph wisely and with forethought.

• The first sentence in a paragraph is important, and it’s called the “topic sentence.”

• It should represent the overall idea that governs the rest of the paragraph’s content.

• It’s the same as your essay introduction leads into your essay. All the sentences that
follow will contribute to this topic sentence. 

Subject Name 129

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

For example, in this paragraph, I began by telling you that the paragraph starts with
a topic sentence. Now I am telling you what it is for, and how it relates to the other
sentences in the paragraph. If you do this well, you’ll achieve the first of our
characteristics: unity.

Subject Name 130

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• Your contributing sentences must lead logically to the concluding one.

• This means you need to present it in some kind of order.

• Will you choose chronological order, order of importance, or relate each

successive sentence to the other using logic?

• That depends on what you are writing about, but your aim is to make your
paragraph easy to follow from point A to point B to point C. 

Subject Name 131

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• Finally, you want to tie all your points together to underline the point you are
trying to get across.

• Order helps to convey the sense of what you are saying.

• If you confuse your reader, you have not written a clever paragraph.

Subject Name 132

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• Have you ever listened to someone talking, and it sounds like they’re just
babbling and not making any sense? They are speaking incoherently.

• When a person speaks coherently, each thought follows neatly from the previous
one, and it is easy to understand what they are saying. 

Subject Name 133

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

Although it’s not a must, using transition words helps to show how one thought
relates to another. There are many such words and phrases which include:
• Because
• In addition
• By contrast
• Next
• Afterward

Subject Name 134

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

• Accordingly
• No doubt
• Of course
• On the other hand
• Naturally
• Also
• After
• Before
Another important trick to remember is to keep all your sentences in the same verb
tense. It just makes it so much easier for your reader to follow your thoughts.

Subject Name 135

Writing Paragraph Prompts: Using the Four Essential Elements

Concluding Sentence:
• Don’t leave your reader wondering “So… what?” at the end of your paragraph.
• Pull your threads together into a concluding sentence.
• It should support your introductory sentence while acknowledging what you have
discussed in the supporting sentences. 
• This helps your reader to see how the supporting information relates to the topic.
You may think it is obvious, but your reader may not!

Subject Name 136

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Essay Writing
Lecture # 7
 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Introduction to essay writing

2. Thesis statement

3. Writing a good thesis

4.

1.

Subject Name 140

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Will be able to learn the rules of essay writing.
Goals
The goal is to create a good piece of essay writing.

Subject Name 141

 ART OF WRITING ESSAY
• Writing a university essay involves a lot of careful thinking about
beginnings, middles and ends.
• Some students begin thinking about it the day before it is due, find
themselves in the middle of a nightmare, and end up putting down
whatever they've scrabbled together at about 5am the next morning.
• This leaves too little time for thinking about the structure of the essay itself.
• Instead, you need to have done enough reading and research beforehand to
enable you to make a plan. It helps if this reading is directly linked to the
topic of the essay, rather than whatever books you happen to have lying
around.

Subject Name 142

 ART OF WRITING ESSAY

• A good way to make a plan is to jot down all your interesting thoughts on
separate pieces of paper as you research and then put them into a logical
order, adding any further thoughts that occur to you - discarding those
about your plans for lunch.
• When it comes to writing, the introduction is always a good place to start.
• This should show that you've got the right question and that you understand
what it's talking about.
• It should also give some pointers about how you are going to tackle it.

Subject Name 143

 ART OF WRITING ESSAY
• Many academics like you to give your answer in the introduction and then
explain it in the rest of the essay.
• Don't be tempted to catch them out by making the answer you give at the
beginning of the essay different from the one you give at the end.
• Now, the middle. This is where you have the chance to display your intimate
grasp of complex topics, your extensive reading, your use of evidence to
back up an argument, and your powers of analysis - or, alternatively, your
ability to waffle.

Subject Name 144

 ART OF WRITING ESSAY

• While it is always good to use quotes, especially from obscure primary

sources, to show that you have read widely, you should make sure that a
lot of the essay is written in your own words, otherwise you may be
accused of cheating.
• You may feel, when reading what someone else has written, that you
couldn't put it better yourself. Try.
• Better still, try to disagree.
• The main point of quoting what someone else has said is to launch an
interesting idea of your own.

Subject Name 145

FOUR STEPS IN A NUTSHELL

• Discover a clearly stated point

• Provide logical detail, support for your thesis
• Organize and connect your supporting material
• Revise and edit so your sentences are error free
 “If you don’t think clearly, you won’t write
clearly”
• Opening remarks to catch interest
• Thesis statement INTRODUCTION
• Plan of development (optional)

• Topic sentence 1 (supporting point) BODY

• Specific evidence

• Topic sentence 2 (supporting point) BODY

• Specific evidence

• Summary (optional)
• General closing remarks CONCLUSION
• OR Both
•
Thesis?

• The central idea, or point developed in any essay is called a thesis

statement.
• It appears in the introductory paragraph, and specific support appears in the
paragraph follows.
Writing a good thesis
• Begin with a subject that is neither too broad nor too narrow
• Narrow the subject (topic) until you have a thesis that you can deal in specific
detail
 MAPPING AN ESSAY

• Structuring your essay according to a reader's logic means examining your thesis
and anticipating what a reader needs to know, and in what sequence, in order to
grasp and be convinced by your argument as it unfolds.
• The easiest way to do this is to map the essay's ideas via a written narrative.
• Such an account will give you a preliminary record of your ideas, and will allow
you to remind yourself at every turn of the reader's needs in understanding your
idea.

Subject Name 150

 MAPPING AN ESSAY
• Essay maps ask you to predict where your reader will expect background
information, counterargument, close analysis of a primary source, or a turn to
secondary source material.
• Essay maps are not concerned with paragraphs so much as with sections of an
essay.
• They anticipate the major argumentative moves you expect your essay to make.
Try making your map like this:
• State your thesis in a sentence or two, then write another sentence saying why it's
important to make that claim.
• Indicate, in other words, what a reader might learn by exploring the claim with
you.
• Here you're anticipating your answer to the "why" question that you'll eventually
flesh out in your conclusion.

Subject Name 151

 MAPPING AN ESSAY

• Begin your next sentence like this: "To be convinced by my claim, the first thing a
reader needs to know is . . ." Then say why that's the first thing a reader needs to
know, and name one or two items of evidence you think will make the case.
• This will start you off on answering the "what" question. (Alternately, you may
find that the first thing your reader needs to know is some background
information.)

Subject Name 152

 MAPPING AN ESSAY
• Begin each of the following sentences like this: "The next thing my reader needs to
know is . . ."  Once again, say why, and name some evidence. Continue until
you've mapped out your essay. 
• Your map should naturally take you through some preliminary answers to the basic
questions of what, how, and why.
• It is not a contract, though—the order in which the ideas appear is not a rigid one.
• Essay maps are flexible; they evolve with your ideas.

Subject Name 153

 Reflection

• Mark any corrections on that copy, and then transfer them to the final draft.
• An essay has introductory para, body para and concluding paragraph.
• The central idea, or point developed in any essay is called a thesis statement.
•

Subject Name 154

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Crucial Points to Consider While Writing Essays
Lecture # 08
 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Errors in thesis writing

2. Examples of writing thesis writing
3. Developing a supporting detail
4. To develop writing, ask questions
5. List ideas

6.

1.

Subject Name 158

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Will be able to learn the rules of essay writing.
Goals
The goal is to create a good piece of essay writing.

Subject Name 159

Common Errors in Writing a Thesis
• Announcement rather than statement:
e-g: The subject of this paper will be my parents
I want to talk about the crime wave in our country
• Statements that are too broad:
e-g: my parents have been the most influential people in my life
Crime is a major concern in our country
• Statements that are too narrow:
e-g: My parents had only one child (dead-end statement)
• Statements that contain more than one idea:
e-g: my parents helped me grow in important ways, although in other
respects I was limited.
Sample question understanding the concept of thesis
Identifying the Parts of an Essay Each cluster below contains one
topic, one thesis statement, and two supporting sentences. In the
space provided, label each item as follows:

T—topic TH—thesis statement S—supporting sentence

a. Films based on historical events are sometimes shown in class.
b. Making history more interesting T
c. Some history teachers use innovative methods to increase student
interest. TH
d. Instructors ask students to write short plays dramatizing historical
events. S
Writing a thesis statement
Sample activity

• Write a thesis for each group of supporting statements.

Thesis: As you age your preferences and perspective towards life also change
also change

a. My first car was a rebellious-looking one that matched the way I felt and acted
as a teenager.
b. My next car reflected my more mature and practical adult self.
c. My latest car seems to tell me that I’m aging; it shows my growing concern with
comfort and safety
Important difference b/w Writing & Talking

• When you talk people may know you so, they might not ask ‘why’ and logical
reasoning.
• In writing, who read, may not know you, may not agree with you so reasoning is
important
So! any idea you advance must be supported by reasons or details
Evidence that supports a point followed by…

• Reasons
• Examples
• Anecdotes
• Personal experience
• Facts
• Studies / statics / opinion of experts
Example:
• Topic: ‘ The Hazards of movie going’

ØMovie fanatic
ØMy friends count on me to know movie trivia
ØAs I know every big Oscar awarded since I was in school
ØMy friends, though have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the
movies. While I love watching movies ever, the inconvenience of
going out, the behaviour of people, the temptations at the theatre are
reasons for me to wait and rent a video
 To develop writing ask questions to yourself

● WHY? ● WHEN? ● WHERE? ● WHO? ● HOW?

● Why I don’t like to ● When is going to ● Where are problem ● Who creates the ● How I can deal with
go to a movie? movie a problem? with movie going problem? the problem?
ideas?
- List the supporting ideas
- Clustering / Mapping

o ffice
ic getti ng to Line at box
Traff
theater
Too many
people
Noisy people
Chocolate box

temptat
ions
Coug
h
snee ing /
r n zing
Pop co yelling
 Steps of Writing a Great Essay
• Essays and research papers can invoke massive amounts of stress and anxiety.
• But no matter what classes you take in high school or college, you're going to have
to write an essay at some point.
• Whether you love or hate them, following these nine steps can improve your
essays and reduce your stress.

Subject Name 168

 Analyze the Essay Prompt
The most important step in writing an essay or research paper is to fully
comprehend the essay question. 
• An essay can be wonderfully articulated and thought out, but will still result in a
poor grade if it doesn’t adequately answer the prompt provided.
• Break the prompt down into two parts.
• What is the prompt directly asking?
• What is the essay topic?
• What research do I need to do to fully understand the topic?
• How long does the essay need to be?

Subject Name 169

 Analyze the Essay Prompt
• What is the prompt indirectly asking?
• Is the prompt asking for my opinion, the opinion of credible scholarly sources, or
facts?
• How can I relate this essay topic to what we have covered in class?

Subject Name 170

 Create a Thesis Statement
Start your essay with a thesis statement that will guide your entire paper.
•  Based on the prompt, what do you want to argue in your essay?
• Your thesis statement should be concise, but incorporate all the main points you'd
like to address in your paper.
• Continually refer to your thesis statement when writing your essay and make sure
to never stray from your main points.
• A good thesis statement can be the difference between an A and a B.

Subject Name 171

 Make an Outline
• Use an outline to plan out your essay/research paper before writing it.
• Working from your thesis statement, plot out how you want your paper to flow and
what information you want to include.
• This will make writing the full draft of your paper much easier

Subject Name 172

 Begin with the body, not the introduction
• Don't start with the introduction. 
• The introduction is where some students struggle the most, so to avoid getting
bogged down, create the introduction later. 
• This will allow you to fully form your thoughts and ideas and come back and
integrate the main ideas into your introduction.

Subject Name 173

 Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence
• Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, which expresses the main idea of the
paragraph.
• Each paragraph should contain quotes or contextual information to defend your
topic sentence and thesis statement.

Subject Name 174

 Use Credible Sources
• Quotes and contextual information are important for establishing credibility and
supporting your argument, so make sure that the quotes and information are
coming from credible scholarly sources. 
• Examples of scholarly sources include academic journals, peer-reviewed
articles, textbooks, books by accredited authors, and NPR articles.
•  Examples of unacceptable scholarly sources are magazine articles, open forum
submissions, encyclopedia entries, and unverified online sources.

Subject Name 175

 Don’t fake it !
• Teachers aren’t dumb.
•  They know when you don’t fully understand the essay topic and when you’re
rambling to make it longer.
• Don’t use fluff to bulk up your essay.  
• Instead, make sure that every sentence adds substance to your work. If it isn’t
absolutely necessary, cut it out.
•  Most teachers would rather have a well-written essay that doesn’t quite meet
the length requirement than a paper that meets the requirement, but is 80
percent fluff.

Subject Name 176

 Conclude your Essay
• Your conclusion should always begin by restating your thesis statement.
• This is your chance to tie all of your main points together and go out with a bang. 
• A good conclusion will address the main arguments of each body paragraph in
a succinct way and thoroughly prove your thesis statement.

Subject Name 177

 Proofread, then proofread again !
Reviewing is critical to composing a great essay. Some teachers won't even finish
reading essays if they're not grammatically sound or riddled with spelling errors.
Here are a few ways to make your essay/research paper more academically
acceptable and better overall.
•
• Take out all conjunctions (aren’t, don’t, couldn’t, etc.). This will make your paper
longer and is more appropriate for academic writing.
• Print out your paper, read it, and mark it up. You will notice more errors when
reading it this way than on a computer screen.

Subject Name 178

 Proofread, then proofread again !
• Have friends or parents read it. A second set of eyes can catch any mistakes you
missed.
• Read it out loud. This will help with grammar mistakes. If it sounds wrong, it
probably is.

Essays and research papers can be a challenge for writers of all skill levels, but these
writing tips can make the process a little easier and a lot less daunting.

Subject Name 179

Reflection

• Four errors in writing a thesis statement.

• Topic sentence contains introductory idea.
• Thesis statement has main idea.
• Supporting detail verifies the claim.
• To support a claim give reasons, examples, anecdotes, etc.
• Brainstorm, map and cluster the ideas.
• Ask possible questions related to the topic to yourself.
•
•
THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Types of Essays
Lecture # 09
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Will be able to learn the rules of essay writing.
•

Goals
• The goal is to create a good piece of essay writing.

Subject Name 184

• Effectively writing different types of essays has become critical to academic
success.
• Essay writing is a common school assignment, a part of standardized tests, and a
requirement on college applications.
• Clearly, students can’t afford to remain confused about types of essays.

Subject Name 185

 Four Major Types of Essays
• Distinguishing between types of essays is simply a matter of determining
the writer’s goal.
• Does the writer want to tell about a personal experience, describe
something, explain an issue, or convince the reader to accept a certain
viewpoint?
• The four major types of essays address these purposes:
•

Subject Name 186

 Four Major Types of Essays
1. Narrative Essays: Telling a Story
• In a narrative essay, the writer tells a story about a real-life experience.
• While telling a story may sound easy to do, the narrative essay challenges
students to think and write about themselves.
• When writing a narrative essay, writers should try to involve the reader by
making the story as vivid as possible. 
•

Subject Name 187

 Four Major Types of Essays
• The fact that narrative essays are usually written in the first person helps
engage the reader.
• “I” sentences give readers a feeling of being part of the story.
• A well-crafted narrative essay will also build towards drawing a conclusion
or making a personal statement.
2. Descriptive Essays: Painting a Picture
• A cousin of the narrative essay, a descriptive essay paints a picture with
words.
• A writer might describe a person, place, object, or even memory of special
significance.
• However, this type of essay is not description for description’s sake.

Subject Name 188

 Four Major Types of Essays
• The descriptive essay strives to communicate a deeper meaning through the
description.
• In a descriptive essay, the writer should show, not tell, through the use of
colorful words and sensory details.
• The best descriptive essays appeal to the reader’s emotions, with a result
that is highly evocative.
3. Expository Essays: Just the Facts
• The expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a
balanced analysis of a topic.
• In an expository essay, the writer explains or defines a topic, using facts,
statistics, and examples. 

Subject Name 189

 Four Major Types of Essays

4. Persuasive Essays: Convince Me

• While like an expository essay in its presentation of facts, the goal of the 
persuasive essay is to convince the reader to accept the writer’s point of
view or recommendation.
• The writer must build a case using facts and logic, as well as examples,
expert opinion, and sound reasoning.
• The writer should present all sides of the argument, but must be able to
communicate clearly and without equivocation why a certain position is
correct.

Subject Name 190

 Four Major Types of Essays

• Expository writing encompasses a wide range of essay variations, such as

the comparison and contrast essay, the cause and effect essay, and the
“how to” or process essay.
• Because expository essays are based on facts and not personal feelings,
writers don’t reveal their emotions or write in the first person.

Subject Name 191

 Sample essay

The Hazards of Movie going I am a movie fanatic. My friends count on me to

know movie trivia (who was the pigtailed little girl in E.T.: The Extra-
Terrestrial? Drew Barrymore) and to remember every big Oscar awarded
since I was in grade school (Best Picture, 1994? Forrest Gump). My friends,
though, have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the movies. While I
love movies as much as ever, the inconvenience of going out, the temptations
of the concession stand, and the behaviour of some patrons are reasons for me
to wait and rent the DVD.
[Introductory Para]
•

Subject Name 192

 Contd.

• To begin with, I just don’t enjoy the general hassle of the evening. Since
small local movie theatres are a thing of the past, I have to drive for
fifteen minutes to get to the nearest multiplex. The parking lot is shared
with several restaurants and a supermarket, so it’s always jammed. I have
to drive around at a snail’s pace until I spot another driver backing out.
•

Subject Name 193

 Contd.

Then it’s time to stand in an endless line, with the constant threat that tickets
for the show I want will sell out. If we do get tickets, the theatre will be so
crowded that I won’t be able to sit with my friends, or we’ll have to sit in a
front row gaping up at a giant screen. I have to shell out a ridiculous amount
of money—up to $11—for a ticket. That entitles me to sit while my shoes
seal themselves to a sticky floor coated with spilled soda, bubble gum, and
crushed Raisinets.
[1st supporting para]
•

Subject Name 194

 Contd.

Second, the theatre offers tempting snacks that I really don’t need. Like most
of us, I have to battle an expanding waistline. At home I do pretty well by
simply not buying stuff that is bad for me. I can make do with snacks like
celery and carrot sticks because there is no ice cream in the freezer. Going to
the theatre, however, is like spending my evening in a 7-Eleven that’s been
equipped with a movie screen and comfortable seats. As I try to persuade
myself to just have a Diet Coke, the smell of fresh popcorn dripping with
butter soon overcomes me. Chocolate bars the size of small automobiles seem
to jump into my hands. I risk pulling out my fillings as I chew enormous
mouthfuls of Milk Duds. By the time I leave the theatre, I feel disgusted with
myself.
[2nd supporting para]
•

Subject Name 195

 Contd.

Many of the other patrons are even more of a problem than the concession
stand. Little kids race up and down the aisles, usually in giggling packs.
Teenagers try to impress their friends by talking back to the screen, whistling,
and making what they consider to be hilarious noises. Adults act as if they
were at home in their own living room. They comment loudly on the ages of
the stars and reveal plot twists that are supposed to be a secret until the film’s
end. And people of all ages create distractions.They crinkle candy wrappers,
stick gum on their seats, and drop popcorn tubs or cups of crushed ice and
soda on the floor. They also cough and burp, squirm endlessly in their seats,
•

Subject Name 196

 Contd.

-file out for repeated trips to the restrooms or concession stands, and elbow
me out of the armrest on either side of my seat.
[3rd supporting para]
After arriving home from the movies one night, I decided that I was not going
to be a moviegoer anymore. I was tired of the problems involved in getting to
the theatre, resisting unhealthy snacks, and dealing with the patrons. The next
day, I arranged to have premium movie channels added to my cable TV
service, and I also got a Netflix membership. I may now see movies a bit later
than other people, but I’ll be more relaxed watching box office hits in the
comfort of my own living room.
[Concluding para]
•

Subject Name 197

 Body: Supporting Paragraphs

• Most essays have three supporting points, developed at length over three
separate paragraphs. (Some essays have two supporting points, others
four or more. For the purposes of this book, your goal will be three
supporting points unless your instructor indicates otherwise.)
•
• Each of the supporting paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence that
states the point to be detailed in that paragraph.
•
• Just as a thesis provides a focus for an entire essay, a topic sentence
provides a focus for a supporting
Subject Name
paragraph. 198
 Concluding Paragraph

• The concluding paragraph often

summarizes the essay by briefly
restating the thesis and, at times,
the main supporting points.
•
• In addition, the writer often presents
a concluding thought about the
subject of the paper.
•

Subject Name 199

 Reflection

• The introductory paragraph of an essay should start with several

sentences that attract the reader’s interest.
• Most essays have three supporting points, developed at length over three
separate paragraphs.
• The concluding paragraph often summarizes the essay by briefly restating
the thesis and, at times, the main supporting points.
•

Subject Name 200

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Descriptive writing
Lecture # 10

Sania Nawaz Ratyal

(Jr. Lecturer)

Date: April 23, 2020

 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. What is descriptive writing?

2. Developing a descriptive essay

3. Development through prewriting

1.
2.

Subject Name 204

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• It will explain and illustrate how to develop a descriptive essay.
Goals
• Ultimately, the goal is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way
that a picture is formed in the reader's mind using sensory details..

Subject Name 205

What is
description?
contd.

• When you describe someone or something, you give your readers a picture
in words.
•
•
• To make the word picture as vivid and real as possible, focus senses (sight,
hearing, taste, smell, and touch).
•
 Focus this!

● No appeal to the sense ● Rich in description

● “In the window was a fan.” ● “The blades of the rusty window fan
clattered and whirled as they blew
out a stream of warm, soggy air.”

• Sense impressions in this second example include

sight ( rusty window fan, whirled) , hearing ( clattered) , and touch
( warm, soggy air) .
 Developing a descriptive essay

Considering Purpose and Audience:

• Choose a topic that appeals strongly to at least one of your senses.
• It’s possible to write a descriptive essay, maybe even a good one, about a
boiled potato. But it would be easier (not to mention more fun) to
describe a bowl of potato salad, with its contrasting textures of;

soft potato, crisp celery, and spongy hard-boiled egg: the crunch of the diced
onion, the biting taste of the bits of pickle, the salad’s creamy dressing and its
tangy seasonings.
Contd.
• The more senses you involve, the more likely your audience is to enjoy
your paper.
•
• However, if you are presenting something new or unfamiliar to your readers
—perhaps a description of one of your relatives or a place where you’ve
lived—you must provide background information.
•
• Is your goal to make readers see the park as a pleasant play area, or do you
want them to see it as a dangerous place?
•
• If you choose the second option, focus on conveying that sense of danger to
your audience
Visualizing the Subject
• Physical description relies solely on
sense impressions
• If you like to draw or paint, make an
image of your subject before you start
writing about him, her, or it.
• If possible, use different colors to
reveal the complexity of your subject,
• Apply perspective to give your picture
depth and contrast, or add small
details like a tiny mole, a button on a
shirt, or a stain on a tie.
 Including People and Events in the
Description of a Place

• Discussing the type of people who are in a

place can sometimes give clues to its
character and help describe it.

Example:
a bar where middle-aged men quietly drink
beer and watch a hockey game on TV is one
thing.

a bar where young people dance to loud music

is quite another
Describing characters
Consider including dialogue.

Example:
Later, when another customer asks for breakfast, Lou says, “I’m reading the paper. .
. . Eggs are in the refrigerator.”
Development through prewriting

• Think about the topic thoroughly

• The physical surrounding, colors, sounds, evoke senses.
• You will go back and forth on the topic many times before creating the final
document
• Let the process happen
• It is only making your writing more strong.
Reflection

• Use sensory detail to be vivid in descriptive writing.

References:
• College Writing Skills with Readings, by John Langan, McGraw-Hill, 8th Edition.
https://1drv.ms/b/s!ApiKacQvk8n-gXMZZPzwM4bvxTWU?e=nvKR0g
•
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Descriptive writing continued
Lecture # 11

Sania Nawaz Ratyal

(Jr. Lecturer)

Date: April 23, 2020

 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. First Draft

2. Reader’s comments

3. Essay to consider

4. Final thoughts on the writing piece

5.
6.

Subject Name 220

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Students will be able to analyse the descriptive essay.
Goals
• Ultimately, the goal is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way
that a picture is formed in the reader's mind using sensory details..

Subject Name 221

Consider the provided essay

• Family Portrait
 First Draft
Family Portrait
I have a photograph of my great-grandmother that was taken seventyfive years ago,
when she was only twenty. She sent it to me only recently, and I find it very interesting.
In the photo, I see a girl who looks a good deal like I do now at twenty-two. Like most of
the women in her family, including me, the girl in the picture has the Diaz family nose,
waving brown hair, and large brown eyes. Her mouth is closed and she is smiling
slightly. That isn’t my great-grandmother's usual big grin that shows her teeth and her
“smile lines.” In the photo, Great-Grandmother is wearing a very pretty skirt and blouse.
They look like something that would be fashionable today. The blouse is made of heavy
satin. The satin falls in lines and hollows that reflect the light. It has a turned-down cowl
collar and smocking on the shoulders and under the collar. Her skirt is below her knees
and looks like it is made of light wool. She is wearing jewelry. Her silver earrings and
bracelet match. She had borrowed them from her sister. Dorothy eventually gave them
both to her, but the bracelet has disappeared. On her left hand is a ring with a big yellow
stone.
Reader’s Comments

• Was this the first time you’d seen it? Where’s it been? And “very interesting”
doesn’t really say anything. Be more specific about why it interests you.
• The “Diaz family nose” isn’t helpful for someone who doesn’t know the Diaz
family—describe it!
• Nice beginning, but I still can’t quite picture her. Can you add more specific
detail? Does anything about her face really stand out?
• Color? This is nice—I can picture the material.
• What is smocking?
• How—what are they like?
•
Contd..

• Making use of Reader’s comments and her own reactions upon rereading her
essay, a final draft was written.
 Example (Prewriting)

Great-Grandma is twenty in the picture. She’s wearing a beautiful skirt and

blouse and jewelry she borrowed from Dorothy. Looks a lot like me— nose,
eyes, mouth. She’s shorter than I am but you really can’t tell in picture. Looks a
lot like old photos I’ve seen of Grandma too—all the Diaz women resemble each
other. Earrings and bracelet are of silver and they match. Ring might be amber or
topaz? We’ve laughed about the “other man” who gave it to her. Her brown hair
is down loose on her shoulders. She’s smiling a little. That doesn’t really look
like her—her usual smile is bigger and opens her mouth. Looking at the photo
makes me a little sad even though I really like it. Makes me realize how much
older she’s getting and I wonder how long she’ll be with us. It’s funny to see a
picture of your great-grandmother at a younger age than you are now—stirs up
all kinds of weird feelings. Picture was taken at a studio in Houston to give to
Great-Grandpa. Signed “Sincerely, Beatrice.” So serious! Hard to imagine them
being so formal with each other
 Essay to Consider (Intro para and 1 st Supporting para)

Family Portrait
My great-grandmother, who is ninety-five years old, recently sent me a photograph of
herself that I had never seen before. While cleaning out the attic of her Florida home, she
came across a studio portrait she had had taken about a year before she married my great-
grandfather. This picture of my great-grandmother as a twenty-year-old girl and the story
behind it have fascinated me from the moment I began to consider it.
Contd..

The young woman in the picture has a face that resembles my own in many ways.
Her face is a bit more oval than mine, but the softly waving brown hair around it is
identical. The small, straight nose is the same model I was born with. My great-
grandmother’s mouth is closed, yet there is just the slightest hint of a smile on her
full lips. I know that if she had smiled, she would have shown the same wide grin
and down-curving “smile lines” that appear in my own snapshots. The most
haunting feature in the photo, however, is my great-grandmother’s eyes. They are an
exact duplicate of my own large, dark brown ones. Her brows are plucked into thin
lines, which are like two pencil strokes added to highlight those fi ne, luminous
eyes.
How prewriting works?

• How the essay is organized by the student.

• First she thought only of describing how the photograph looked .
• She thought her main points might be
(1) what her great-grandmother’s face looked like
(2) what her great-grandmother was wearing.
• But she was stuck for a third main point.
• Studying her notes again, it was noticed two other possible main points.
• One was her own emotional reaction to the photo—how it made her feel. The
other was the story of the photo—how and why it was taken.
• she began to write her first draft follows
Development through Revising

• Make someone read through your first draft

• Making use of your reader’s comments and your own reactions upon
rereading your own essay, make necessary adjustments.
• Making use of Reader’s comments and her own reactions upon rereading
her essay, a final draft was written.
Quick recap(short notes)

a. Like all essays, a descriptive essay must have a thesis.

• Here are some examples.
•
The pet shop was noisy.
The restaurant was crowded.
The bus terminal was frightening
Contd..

b. Once you have written your sentence, make a list of as many details as you
can to support that general impression.

For example:
Tired workers at counter
Rainy parking lot Vacant booths
Quiet Few cars in lot
Dreary gray building
 Contd..

c. Organize

Physical order — move from left to right or from far to near, or follow some
other consistent order.

Size —Begin with large features or objects and work down to smaller ones.

A special order —Use an order that is appropriate to your subject.

Contd..

For example:
• Organize in terms of physical order (from the parking lot to the entrance to
the interior);
• a secondary method of organization is size (large parking lot to smaller
diner to still smaller people).
•
d. Use as many senses as possible in describing a scene
e. Proceed to write the first draft of your essay.
•
References:
• College Writing Skills with Readings, by John Langan, McGraw-Hill, 8th Edition.
https://1drv.ms/b/s!ApiKacQvk8n-gXMZZPzwM4bvxTWU?e=nvKR0g
•
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Urdu to English Translation
Lecture # 12
 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Paragraphs for translation

2. Coherence

3. Suitable vocabulary

Subject Name 238

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To prepare them to think critically and be able to write on miscellaneous topics.
Goals
To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 239

 Use of Appropriate Vocabulary

• Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language.

• The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear
and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking
or writing.
Subject Name 240
 Use of Appropriate Vocabulary
• Every day you hear or read many
new English words.
•
• You also find them in your
dictionary when you are translating
from your own language.
•
• You can’t possibly learn all these
new words, so your first problem is
to decide which ones to
concentrate on.
•
Subject Name 241
 Which words to learn ??

• learn the words that are important to the subjects you are studying
• learn the words that you read or hear again and again
• learn the words that you know you will often want to use yourself
• do not learn words that are rare or not useful (your teacher can help you
with this)

Subject Name 242

 Learning vocabulary by reading

• The way you learned very many of the words in your own language
was by meeting them in the books and magazines you read.
• The context of a new word in a sentence or story was often enough
for you to guess the meaning.
• Meeting the word again and again in your reading helped you learn it
for use in your own speaking and writing. 

Subject Name 243

 Which words to learn ??

• Doing lots of extra reading for

pleasure - both fiction and non-
fiction - is an excellent way to
learn new English words, too.
• But choose books that you find
quite easy to read. Difficult stories
or texts that you struggle to
understand will not help you to
develop your vocabulary the
natural way.
• But remember:
• to learn new words from reading
you have to read a lot.
Subject Name 244
 Translation skills

• The purpose of practicing translation skills is to enable students to express

their thoughts in both English and Urdu language.
• One of the most important aspects of translation studies is that students get
familiar with the native expressions of language because different goals
are accomplished in different ways.
•
•

Subject Name 245

 ‫‪Exemplary Paragraphs for translation Skills‬‬

‫‪Paragraph 1:‬‬
‫رشوت ستانی اور بد عنوانی ہمارے معاشرے کا حصہ بن چکی ہے۔ ان کا تعلق کسی‬
‫ایک ادارے یا سوسائٹی کے مخصوص‬
‫حصے سے نہیں ہے۔ بلکہ یہ تو ہر محکمے اور ہر ادارے کا لزمی جزو نظر آتی ہیں۔ ‪ ‬‬
‫زندگی اب بالکل سادہ نہیں رہی۔ درمیانہ طبقہ دولت مندوں کی نقل میں اپنے راستے‬
‫سے بھٹک گیا ہے۔ ہم سامان تعیش کو حاصل کرنے میں اپنا بہت سا وقت صرف کر‬
‫دیتے ہیں۔ دوسروں کو نیچا دکھانے اور راتوں رات امیر بننے کی دوڑ‬
‫معاشرے کو رشوت ستانی اور بد عنوانی کی طرف دھکیل رہی ہے‬

‫‪Subject Name‬‬ ‫‪246‬‬

 Translation of paragraph 1:

Bribery and corruption have become a part of our society. These things
are not related to a specific part of a single department or a society. It
seems to be a necessary component of every department and
institution. Life is no more quite simple. The middle class has lost its
way in order to follow rich people. We lose a lot of time in getting the
luxuries of life. The race to defeat other and to become rich is pushing
the society towards bribery and corruption.

Subject Name 247

 ‫‪Exemplary Paragraph no. 2 for Translation‬‬

‫قوت ہے۔ علم کے زریعے ہمیں مادی دولت ہی نہیں بلکہ روحانی سکون‬ ‫علم ایک عظیم ت‬
‫بھی حاصل ہوتا ہے۔ ہمارے مذہب‬
‫میں علم حاصل کرنا ہر شخص پر فرض ہے۔ یہ ایک ایسی چیز ہے جسے کوئی چرا‪ ‬‬
‫نہیں سکتا۔ علم کے بغیر کوئی انسان اپنی ذات کو بھی نہیں پہچان سکتا اور یوں ہی‬
‫ساری زندگی اپنے مقصد حیات سے بے خبر رہتا ہے۔ علم حاصل کر کے انسان اپنی ‪،‬‬
‫اپنے معاشرے اور قوم کی بہتری کا سبب بن سکتا ہے۔‬

‫‪Subject Name‬‬ ‫‪248‬‬

 English translation of Paragraph 2:

Knowledge is a great power. Knowledge not only gives us not only money
but also spiritual satisfaction. In our religion, getting knowledge is obligatory
for everyone.  This is the thing that cannot be stolen. Without knowledge, no
man can recognize himself and is unaware of his objective throughout his
life. Having the knowledge gained, a man can bring about the betterment of
himself, his society, and his nation.

Subject Name 249

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Urdu to English Translation (Cont.)
Lecture # 13
 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Paragraphs for translation

2. Practicing translation in sentences.

Subject Name 253

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To prepare them to think critically and be able to write on miscellaneous topics.
Goals
To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 254

 ‫‪Exemplary Paragraph no 3:‬‬

‫اکستان ایک امن پسند ملک ہے۔ ہم اپنے ہمسایوں سے ہمیشہ دوستانہ تعلقات رکھنا چاہتے ہیں ۔ لیکن اس‬
‫کا مطلب یہ نہیں کہ ہم اپنے دفاع سے غافل ہو جائیں ۔ ہمیں اپنے گردو پیش پر نظر رکھنے کی‬
‫ضرورت ہے۔ ہمیں اتنا مضبوط ہونا چاہیے کہ کوئی ہماری طرف برری آنکھ سے نا دیکھ سکے۔‬
‫موجودہ زمانے میں مضبوط دفاع ہی امن‬
‫کی ضمانت ہے۔‬

‫‪Subject Name‬‬ ‫‪255‬‬

 Translation of Paragraph 3.

Pakistan is a peace-loving country. We always want to keep friendly relations with

our neighbors. But that doesn't mean that we ignore our defense. We need to keep
an eye on our surroundings. We should be strong enough that no can think of
harming us. In the present age, a strong defense is the assurance of peace.

Subject Name 256

 How to achieve coherence in the sentences

Coherence in translation is a very important aspect. Individual sentences

should make sense and paragraph as a whole should appear coherent.
Absence of cohesion hampers readability.
• Coherence is achieved when sentences and ideas are connected and flow
together smoothly.
• Use Repetition to Link Ideas, Sentences, and Paragraphs.
• Use Transitional Expressions to Link Ideas, Sentences, and Paragraphs.
• Use Pronouns to Link Sentences.

Subject Name 257

 Translation skills
• The purpose of practicing translation skills is to enable students to express their
thoughts in both English and Urdu language.
• One of the most important aspects of translation studies is that students get
familiar with the native expressions of language because different goals are
accomplished in different ways.

Subject Name 258

 ‫‪Paragraphs for practicing translation Skills‬‬
‫‪Paragraph 1:‬‬
‫تندرستی بڑی نعمت ہے۔ لیکن آدمی جب تک تندرست رہتا ہے اس نعمت کی قدر نہیں کرتا۔ جب کوئی‬
‫معمولی بیماریاسے آ کر گھیر لے تو اس کی قدر معلوم ہو جاتی ہے۔ اگر جسم کے کسی حصے میں‬
‫تکلیف ہو جاتی ہےتو سارا جسم اثر بھی قبول کرتا ہے۔ تندرستی ہو تو کھانے پینے‪ ،‬چلنے پھرنے اور‬
‫کام کرنے میں جی لگتا ہے۔ صحت خراب چیز میں مزہ نہیں آتا۔جو لوگ اکثر بیمار رہتے ہیں ان کی‬
‫زندگی خود ان کےان کے اور ان کے دوسرے متعلقین کے لیے وبال جان بن جاتی ہے۔‬

‫‪Subject Name‬‬ ‫‪259‬‬

 ‫‪Paragraphs for practicing translation Skills‬‬

‫‪paragraph 2:‬‬

‫ہمارے سکولوں میں بچوں کو جسمانی سزا دی جاتی ہے۔ اس کا مقصد بظاہر بچے کی اصلح کرنا ہوتا‬
‫ہے۔ لیکن یہ دیکھاجاتا ہے کہ سزا کی وجہ سے بچے خود اعتمادی کھو دیتے ہیں۔ ان میں جارحانہ‬
‫رویہ پیدا ہوتا ہے اور بغاوت کے جزبات پیداہوتے ہیں۔ نتیجے کے طور پر وہ استاد اور سکول سے‬
‫نفرت کرنا شروع کر دیتے ہیں۔ اور سکول جانا چھوڑ دیتے ہیں۔‬

‫‪Subject Name‬‬ ‫‪260‬‬

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Improving Translation Skills as a Language Learner

Lecture # 14
• As a language learner, you work hard to expand your vocabulary.
• You plough through new words every day, make long lists of words and
practice with flashcards.
• However, when it comes to speaking, the new words seem to fall out of
your head, so you resort to your old friends – words you already know
and have used many times – again and again.
• Remembering and using new words in speech is often a challenge for
language learners.
• Here are ten strategies to help you make words stick in your mind and use
them in conversation.

Subject Name 264

 1. No Random Words

• We remember what is relevant to us.

• Making lists or index cards with random words is not usually an effective way to
remember and use these words later.
• Word lists and index cards are great for revisiting vocabulary you have already
learned, but to make a new word stick in your mind, try linking it with something
meaningful to you.
• You will be more likely to remember a new word if it is used in a context you find
interesting or are passionate about.
• For example, if you are a football fan, there are more chances you will remember
the word 'unstoppable' in a sentence, such as 'Messi is unstoppable', rather than
just as a single word or in a generic sentence, e.g. 'Some people are unstoppable'.

Subject Name 265

 2.Learn in chunks and Scripts
• We retain words better when we learn them in small ‘chunks’ (i.e. small
phrases that combine several words) and ‘scripts’ (i.e. typical dialogues).
For example:
Øinstead of memorizing the phrasal verb ‘to come up with’, memories it as
part of the phrase ‘to come up with an idea’.
ØThis way, you make sure that you know how to actually use this verb in at
least one sentence.
ØSimilarly, instead of memorizing 33 ways of saying ‘hello’, learn it in a
script, such as: ‘Hello, how are you? – I’m fine, thank you’.
•

Subject Name 266

 3.Use your inner voice

• Learning is essentially an internal process.

• To learn a word, you need to get into the world of your inner voice.
• Try the following:
Ølisten to a word/phrase once, now listen to it inside your head, then say it
inside your head, then say it aloud.
ØRecord yourself saying it and listen to the recording.
Ø Does it sound the way you heard it with your inner ear?

Subject Name 267

 4.Visualize what the words or phrase look like

• Drawing what the word means, either on paper or in your imagination, will
help you recall the meaning of the word whenever you hear it.
• This method works well with idioms, such as 'to keep one’s mouth shut'
(informal), meaning, 'to not talk about something'.

Subject Name 268

 5.Create Mnemonics
• Try to create a funny phrase or story that will strengthen the connection
between the word and its meaning (known as a mnemonic).
• I find this technique especially effective when I need to recall words that are
hard to spell.
• Here are a few mnemonics created by my students:
•
§ ‘career’ – car and beer
§ ‘island’ – is land

Subject Name 269

 6.Use Spaced Repetition
• Repetition fixes new words in your memory.
• However, repeating them a hundred times over the course of one day will
not be as effective as repeating them a few times over a period of several
days or weeks (i.e., spaced repetition).
• Use the new word immediately.
• Then try to recall it in an hour.
• Review it shortly before you go to bed.
• Use it again one day later.
• Finally, review it in a couple of days after that.
•

Subject Name 270

 7.Dive Deeper into Etymology

• Before you look up the word in the dictionary, try to guess what it means.
• Look at its root, suffixes and prefixes.
• If you know a few languages, you will start recognizing new words that
share roots.
• Researching the origin of new words may help you retain new words better.

Subject Name 271

 8.Challenge yourself with Wordgame

• The perception of a challenge stimulates the brain.

• Games that help you discover new meanings and new words are a fun way
to expand your vocabulary.

Subject Name 272

 9.Write down a New word

• Writing down a new word (or, ideally, a sentence using the new word) helps
fix both its meaning and spelling in your memory.
• Make the sentences true about you or someone you know.

Subject Name 273

 10.Speak it into Reality

• It is not easy to actively recall a new word or phrase in the moment, even if
you have tried hard to memorize it.
• To change this, record yourself speaking for two to four minutes without
stopping.
• You could describe the world around you, or give your opinion on a
particular topic.
• Next, listen to the recording of your speech and notice which words you
used.
•

Subject Name 274

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Repetition and Revision of previous course

Lecture # 15
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• to make students practice already covered course.

Goals
•  to increase their understanding of the subject.

Subject Name 278

 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Topics chosen at the discretion of students

2. Repetition of the topics students find difficult

3.

1.

Subject Name 279

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Reading Skills
Lecture # 16
 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Extensive reading

Subject Name 283

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• Whatever the material is, the main objectives for reading remain the same:
• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, and writing). ...
• Reading to become a better reader. ...
• Read to develop critical thinking skills. ...
• Read for enjoyment.
Goals
• To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.
•

Subject Name 284

 READ

It isn't as if the words are

difficult to identify or understand,
but the spaces make you
pause between words, which
means your reading is less
fluent.

Subject Name 285

 What is Reading?
Reading means getting out of the text as near
as possible to the message that has been put
in by the writer.
• In order to do so, you will need to :
• Understand, interpret, meaning, sense
• Decode, decipher, identify
• Articulate, speak, pronounce etc
(C Nuttall)

Subject Name 286

 READING SKILLS
• Reading, despite being one of the four major skills of language learning, is
one of the skills that is most often neglected by language learners.
• Aside from reading the words and phrases that are presented in textbooks,
phrasebooks and grammar guides, most learners do not bother to regularly
engage in reading native texts in any meaningful way.
• For the language learner who wishes to reach the upper levels of target
language capability, this lack of reading poses a serious obstacle to the
expansion of one's vocabulary, as a limited vocabulary offers less capacity
to understand and, in turn, be understood.

Subject Name 287

 READING SKILLS

• In spite of all this, the question is not simply "to read, or not to read"—the
answer to that is a resounding "yes"—but what to read, and how.
•
• You see, although reading is an immensely valuable activity, not all types of
reading are created equal.
• Indeed, there are styles of reading that are more useful in some contexts,
and less so in others.
•

Subject Name 288

 Extensive Reading
• To read extensively is to simply read as much as possible, without
concerning oneself with the minutia of meaning and the occasional
unknown word.
• This is done by reading for large swaths of time, and looking up words only
when you deem it absolutely necessary to your understanding of the text.

Subject Name 289

 Extensive reading
• If the text you wish to extensively read is at the appropriate level, you'll find
that most unknown words can be deciphered by looking at their
surrounding context, making overt use of translations or dictionaries
unnecessary.
• While intensive reading requires a high level of focus and deliberate effort,
extensive reading is meant to be a fun and pleasurable experience,
requiring a low expenditure of mental effort.
• The more extensive reading you do, the more language you are exposed to,
allowing you to increase your passive knowledge of vocabulary quite
quickly.

Subject Name 290

 Extensive Reading
• Specifically, if you wish to read a text extensively, you must read texts that
are interesting, level-appropriate, of moderate length, to read when you
can dedicate longer blocks of time, and to do so when you are relaxed.
• Let's explore each of these aspects of extensive reading in deeper detail:
ØAs in intensive reading, texts for extensive reading must be interesting.
ØSince extensive reading is done for longer periods of time, you must take
care to select texts that hold your attention, and keep you coming back for
more, hour after hour.

Subject Name 291

 Extensive Reading
ØTexts for extensive reading must be level-appropriate.
ØSince you will not be attempting to understand every single word and
phrase (as in intensive reading), you must be able to understand a high-
percentage of a text before you even begin.
ØThe goal is to absorb unknown words through context; therefore, if you
don't understand the bulk of the context, the text is not yet appropriate for
you to read extensively.

Subject Name 292

 Extensive Reading

ØTexts for extensive reading must be of moderate length.

ØSpecifically, a text should be, on average at least 15-30 pages long.
ØTexts of this length are long enough to fully develop an idea or narrative,
and require you to keep mental "track" of ideas, concepts or characters as
they develop over time.

Subject Name 293

 Extensive Reading

Ideal learning materials for extensive reading include:

• Graded Readers
• Bilingual Books
• Monolingual (Native) Books
• Magazines
• Comic Books

Subject Name 294

 Extensive Reading

•
• Extensive reading must be done for longer blocks of time when compared
to intensive reading.
• This is because you will be reading longer texts, which naturally require
more time to read, allow you to get into the "flow" of reading, process the
material more deeply.
• When aiming to extensively read a text, it is best to do so for sessions of an
hour or more.

Subject Name 295

 Extensive Reading

• When extensively reading, it is best to stay relaxed.

• Reading in a relaxed, low-stress environment will help you associate
reading with pleasure, and therefore increase your willingness to read
more often, and for longer periods.
• Clearly, you don't want to be so relaxed that you fall asleep, but instead just
relaxed enough that you feel comfortable, and willing to absorb whatever
you're reading.

Subject Name 296

 Extensive Reading
• Involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop
general reading skills.
• It can be compared with intensive reading, which means reading in detail
with specific learning aims and tasks.
• A teacher reads a short story with learners, but does not set them any tasks
except to read and listen.

Subject Name 297

 Purpose of Extensive reading

• Extensive Reading helps learners to build reading speed

and reading fluency.
• In particular, developing reading speed is important because it helps
learners to understand language faster and better.
• One objective of Extensive Reading is reading for pleasure.
•
Examples of extensive reading material are magazines, graded readers,
novels and even comic books.

Subject Name 298

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Reading Skills (cont.)
Lecture # 17
 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Intensive reading

Subject Name 302

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• Whatever the material is, the main objectives for reading remain the same:
• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, and writing). ...
• Reading to become a better reader. ...
• Read to develop critical thinking skills. ...
• Read for enjoyment.
Goals
• To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.
•

Subject Name 303

 Intensive Reading

• To read intensively is to completely deconstruct a text, with the goal of

absorbing as much meaning from it as possible.
• This is done by taking a text, and systematically looking up every word,
phrase, or collocation that you do not understand.

Subject Name 304

 Intensive Reading

• This is an activity that requires great mental effort and focus.

• Because of this, the learner who engages in intensive reading must be
careful to follow specific guidelines, or else risk boredom and burnout.
• Specifically, if you wish to read a text intensively, you must take care to
read texts that are interesting and short, to read only for brief periods of
time, and to do so when you have the most mental energy.
•

Subject Name 305

 Intensive Reading
Let's explore these concepts in further detail:

• Texts for intensive reading must be interesting, because if you do not enjoy
what you read, you will quickly forget the content, and have more mental
resistance to the intensive reading process.
• Texts for intensive reading must be short, because the end goal is to
understand the text down to the most minute detail. The longer a text is,
the more laborious it is to complete such a deep analysis, so it is better to
stick to shorter texts in order to avoid mental exhaustion.

Subject Name 306

 Intensive Reading
Ideal learning materials for intensive reading include:
• News articles
• Wikipedia articles
• Short stories
• Blog posts
• You must intensively read for brief periods of time specifically to avoid
the mental exhaustion that is described above. It takes much focus and
effort to go from zero (or partial) understanding of a text to complete
understanding, so it is best to limit intensive reading sessions to 30-35
minutes maximum.

Subject Name 307

 Intensive Reading

• You must intensively read only when you have the most mental energy, in order
to further boost your capacity for learning, and to reduce the risk of mental
exhaustion that comes with deep analysis of even the shortest texts.
• Of course, mental energy levels fluctuate throughout the day—and even differ
greatly from person to person—so exactly you should intensively read is
something you need to determine for yourself.
•

Subject Name 308

 Intensive Reading

• It involves learners reading in detail with specific learning aims and tasks.

• It can be compared with extensive reading, which involves
learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop
general reading skills.
• The learners read a short text and put events from it into chronological
order.

Subject Name 309

 Intensive vs. Extensive Reading

• By now, you understand the how to read, what to read, and why to read of

both Intensive and Extensive Reading.
• Though you may feel more compelled to one style of reading over the other,
don't fall into the trap of thinking that one method is intrinsically better.

Subject Name 310

 Intensive vs. Extensive Reading

• Instead, it is important to realize that both styles of reading have their uses,
and you should use both styles in tandem (across different texts) in order
to bolster your vocabulary acquisition quickly and effectively.

Subject Name 311

 Intensive vs. Extensive Reading

• Remember that extensive reading and intensive reading are, at their very
core, simply tools.
• Whenever and wherever you read in your target language, if you know
which of these tools is the right tool for the job, you'll be able to maximize
your learning, and take your language skill to new heights.

Subject Name 312

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Reading Skills (cont.)
Lecture # 18
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• What is Skimming?

• Why to skim?

• How to skim?

• Skimming strategies
•

Subject Name 316

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, and writing).
• Reading to become a better reader.
• Read to develop critical thinking skills.
• Read for enjoyment.
Goals
• To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 317

Subject Name 318
 What is it all about?

• Reading Skill: Decoding.

• Reading Skill: Fluency.
• Reading Skill: Finding Key Ideas and Details.
• Reading Skill: Making Inferences.
• Reading Skill: Comprehension.

1.

Subject Name 319

 What is Skimming?
• Skimming refers to the process of reading only main ideas within a
passage to get an overall impression of the content of a reading
selection.
• Quickly running one's eyes across a whole text to get the gist. 
• It gives readers the advantage of being able to predicate the purpose of
the passage, the main topic.
• Skimming is a strategic, selective reading method in which you focus
on the main ideas of a text.
• When skimming, deliberately skip text that provides details, stories,
data, or other elaboration.
•
•
Subject Name 320
•
 What is Skimming?

• Instead of closely reading every word, focus on the introduction, chapter

summaries, first and last sentences of paragraphs, bold words, and text
features.
• Skimming is extracting the essence of the author’s main messages rather
than the finer points.

Subject Name 321

 Why Skim?
You need the “big picture” or main points when you’re reading. 
• Even if you’re going to do a more detailed reading of the text, skimming as a
form of previewing can help you better comprehend what you read.
• Knowing when and how to skim will help you become a more efficient,
strategic reader.
• You’ll become better at determining what parts of the text are most important.
• There may also be times when your professor wants you to understand the big
picture, not all of the little details.
• In these cases, skimming helps you understand the overall points of the text
and its relevance to your course without bogging you down.

Subject Name 322

 Contd.

Make the most of your time. 

• Sometimes you don’t have time to do everything.
• With skimming, you’ll be able to cover vast amounts of material more
quickly and save time for everything else that you have on your plate.
• Maybe you don’t have time to finish your reading before class, but
skimming will help you get the main points and attend class much more
prepared to maximize in-class learning.

Subject Name 323

 Contd.

You need to review a text you have read before. 

• Skimming is also an efficient way to refresh your memory of large amounts
of material before an exam.
• Skimming a text that you have already read helps you recall content and
structure.

Subject Name 324

 How to Skim?

• Read the title.

• Read the introduction or the first
paragraph.
• Read the first sentence of every other
paragraph.
• Read any headings and sub-headings.
• Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs.
• Notice any italicized or boldface words or
phrases.
• Read the summary or last paragraph

Subject Name 325

 Skimming Method
• Beginnings & endings: Read first and last sentences of paragraphs, first and
last paragraphs of major sections, and introductions and summaries of
chapters.
• Visual & verbal cues: Watch for signal words and phrases that indicate an
author’s direction (e.g., however, although, moreover, in addition to).
Things to focus on while skimming:
• Introduction and conclusion
• Chapter/section summaries
• First and last sentences
•

Subject Name 326

 Examples

•
• The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day)
• Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in
more detail)
• Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed)

Subject Name 327

 When to Skim ?

• There are certain texts that lend themselves to skimming better than others.
• It is typically less beneficial to skim novels, poetry, and short stories or texts
that do not have text features.
• Non-fiction texts, like textbooks, journal articles, and essays are typically
full of information and text features and are more suited for skimming.
• Skimming can also be a good tool for conducting research and writing
papers.
• Typically, when researching or writing, you will not need to read every
word of every text closely, but will benefit more from skimming while
evaluating your sources or identifying information important to your
work.
•
Subject Name 328
 Contd.

• Finally, know your context.

• There may be some texts that you are better off reading closely and
thoroughly.
• Some professors specifically tell you that they include small details from
the textbook on exams.
• You may have some classes that are just difficult to understand, and you
may find that reading closely helps you comprehend concepts better.
• Before skimming, spend some time thinking about your classes, professors,
and needs to determine if you have any texts you may need to read more
closely.

Subject Name 329

 Skimming Strategies
• When skimming, it’s important to continue to use active reading strategies.
• This keeps your brain active, engaged, and focused, and helps you understand
and retain information better and longer.
• Here are a few effective active reading strategies to pair with skimming:
• Set a purpose for reading. Instead of approaching the text as something you
just have to get through, identify a purpose for this reading.
ØWhat do you want to get out of it?
ØWhy are you reading it?

qKeep this purpose in mind as you read.

Subject Name 330

 Skimming Strategies
• Preview. Look through the text before started to read and focus on headings,
illustrations, captions, highlighted items, end of chapter summaries, etc.
These features give you an idea of the main concepts of the text and what
you should focus on while skimming.
• Make a prediction. Right after previewing, make a prediction about what
you think the chapter or section is going to be about.
• Activate prior knowledge. Make a list of what you already know about the
topic and what you want to know about it. Identify and write down any
questions you have.
• Annotate. Instead of copying down copious notes from the book, jot down
brief notes and thoughts (in your own words) in the margins of the text.

Subject Name 331

 Skimming Strategies

• Summarize the main ideas. After a section or page, stop and write a 1-3
sentence summary in your own words. This keeps your brain engaged and
ensures you are comprehending what you read.
• Generate questions. Ask and write down questions that you have as you
read the text and/or questions that you would ask a class if you were the
instructor. Try using different levels of questions.

Subject Name 332

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Types of Skimming
Lecture # 19
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Types of Skimming

Subject Name 336

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, and writing).
• Reading to become a better reader.
• Read to develop critical thinking skills.
• Read for enjoyment.
Goals
• To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 337

 Types of Skimming?

•
•

Ruler Method Middle Section Zigzag

Subject Name 338

 Types of Skimming

Preview skimming
• Most often followed by a second skimming or a thorough reading.
• preview skimming is used;
Øin selecting a book.
Øin surveying a chapter before reading or studying.
Øin finding appropriate material for use in research.
Øin sorting through correspondence before answering it.
• You preview in an effort to learn about the ideas presented and the structure
of their development.

Subject Name 339

 Types of Skimming

Method of Preview skimming:

• Read the first paragraph, and the headings and first sentences of later
paragraphs and sections.

Subject Name 340

 Types of Skimming

Overview Skimming:
• You use overview skimming to sample the reading material more thoroughly
than you do in a preview, as you may not intend to read the material at a
later time.
Method:
• As you do in preview skimming, you would read the first paragraph, the
headings and first sentences of paragraphs and sections, but in addition, as
you alternately read and skim, you alert yourself to the structure and content
of the material through an awareness of paragraph patterns, thought
transitions, and clue words.
• This awareness will help you to understand the content, to recall more
information, and to see relationships more clearly and quickly.
Subject Name 341
 Types of Skimming
Review Skimming:
• Your purpose with review skimming is to re- familiarise yourself with material you
have previously read thoroughly or skimmed.
Method:
• Prepare yourself by trying to remember as many of the ideas and details clearly.
• It may be that you already have a good grasp of the main ideas and will be stopping
primarily to note significant details - names, places, terms, etc.
• You may be trying to establish in your mind a sequence of events or a procedure, or
you may be attempting to fill in a skeleton outline to clarify the structure of the
whole.
• Familiarity with the material will enable you to skim over a great deal of it, stopping
only when necessary.
Subject Name 342
 Skimming

vSkimming is a speed-reading technique which enables the reader to cover a

vast amount of material very rapidly.

vIt is a process of reading over text with the purpose of getting only the main
ideas or the over-all impression of the content.

Subject Name 343

 Skimming

vReaders skim to get the information they need quickly without wasting
time.

vThey do not need to read everything which is what increases their speed-
reading range.

vYour skimming skill lies in knowing what specific information to read.

Subject Name 344

 Skimming

vIt is very useful to pay attention to the organization of the text.

vMain ideas are found in the first sentence of each paragraph and in the first and
last paragraphs.
vIn skimming, to get an over-all impression, ignore the details and look for the
main ideas.
vBe active all the time when you’re reading.
vYou have to work at constructing the meaning of the text in what you’re reading.

Subject Name 345

 Reflection

• Preview skimming
• Overview Skimming
• Method skimming
• Ruler method
• Middle section
• Zigzag
• In most academic writing, the paragraphs are organized internally.
• It is a coherent unit, which must connect to the previous and next paragraphs.

Subject Name 346

 Reflection

• In most academic writing, the paragraphs are organized internally.

• It is a coherent unit, which must connect to the previous and next paragraphs.

• In some reading materials, the text is organized through the use of headings and
sub-headings.

• This should help you get a feeling for the organization of the text and its content.

• You will find that familiar texts are easier to read when you are skimming a text
using section headings.

Subject Name 347

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Reading Skills; Scanning (cont.)
Lecture # 20
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• What is scanning?
• How to do scanning?
• Searching Vs Scanning
• Objective of scanning
• Example of scanning
•
•
•

Subject Name 351

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, and writing).
• Reading to become a better reader.
• Read to develop critical thinking skills.
• Read for enjoyment.
Goals
• To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 352

 Scanning !!!

• In academic contexts you will have much to read, and you will need to use
various reading skills to help you read more quickly. 
• Scanning a text is another example of such a skill (skimming and 
surveying a text are two others).
• This page explains what scanning is and how to scan a text.

Subject Name 353

 What is Scanning ?

• Scanning a text means looking through it quickly to find specific

information.
• Scanning is commonly used in everyday life, for example when looking up
a word in a dictionary or finding your friend's name in the contacts
directory of your phone.
• Scanning and another quick reading skill, skimming, are often confused,
though they are quite different.
• While skimming is concerned with finding general information, namely the
main ideas, scanning involves looking for specific information.
•

Subject Name 354

 How to do Scanning?
• Before you start scanning for information, you should try to understand
how the text is arranged.
• This will help you to locate the information more quickly.
• For example, when scanning for a word in a dictionary or a friend's name
in your contact list, you already know that the information is arranged
alphabetically. 
• This means you can go more quickly to the part you want, without having
to look through everything.
• For this reason, skimming can be a useful skill to use in combination with
scanning, to give you a general idea of the text structure.
• Section headings, if there are any, can be especially useful.
•
Subject Name 355
 How to do Scanning ?

• This approach makes scanning seem much more random than other speed
reading skills such as skimming and surveying.
• It is also a good idea to use your finger as you move down (or back up) the
page, to focus your attention and keep track of where you are.
• When scanning, you will be looking for key words or phrases.
• These will be especially easy to find if they are names, because they will
begin with a capital letter, or numbers/dates.
• Once you have decided on the area of text to scan, you should run your eyes
down the page, in a zigzag pattern, to take in as much of the text as
possible.
•
Subject Name 356
 Searching VS Scanning

• Sometimes you may be looking for an idea rather than scanning for an
actual word or phrase.
• In this case, you will be searching rather than scanning. 
• Skimming the text first to help understand organization is especially
important when searching for an idea.
• It is also useful to guess or predict the kind of answer you will find, or some
of the language associated with it.
• In this way, you still have words or phrases you can use to scan the text.
• As such, searching is part skimming, part scanning. 
•

Subject Name 357

 Searching VS Scanning

• For example, if you are reading a text on skin cancer and want to find the
causes, you would skim the text to understand the structure, which might
be a problem-solution structure; you might already know that exposure to
sunlight is one of the causes so you might scan for 'sunlight' or 'sun', and
because you are looking for causes you might scan for transition words
 such as 'because' or 'cause' or 'reason'.

Subject Name 358

 Objectives of Scanning

• This tool can help improve efficiency and productivity when used
appropriately and are useful speed-reading strategies.
• Scanning add flexibility and speed and can be helpful reading tools for
college students, business professionals or casual readers.

Subject Name 359

 Example of Scanning reading

• Scanning is commonly used in everyday life, for example when looking up

a word in a dictionary or finding your friend's name in the contacts
directory of your phone. 
• Scanning and another quick reading skill, skimming, are often confused,
though they are quite different.
• The "What's on TV" section of your newspaper.
• A train / airplane schedule
• A conference guide
•

Subject Name 360

 Tips: Better Scanning
Tips: better scanning:

• Don't try to read every word. Instead let your eyes move quickly across the
page until you find what you're looking for.
• Use clues on the page, such as headings and titles, to help you.
• If you're reading for study, start by thinking up or writing down some
questions that you want to answer.

Subject Name 361

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Classroom Practice of Reading Skills
Lecture # 21
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Assess Level
• Choose the correct level of maturity
• Choose interesting material
• Build background knowledge
• Work in groups
• Make connections
• Assess informally
• Assess formally
•
•
• Subject Name 365
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, and writing).
• Reading to become a better reader.
• Read to develop critical thinking skills.
• Read for enjoyment.
Goals
• To make them eligible to clearly state their standpoint.

Subject Name 366

 Assess Level

• Knowing your students’ level of instruction is important for choosing

materials.
•  Reading should be neither too hard, at a point where students can’t
understand it and therefore benefit from it.
• If students don’t understand the majority of the words on a page, the text is
too hard for them. 

Subject Name 367

 Assess

• On the other hand, if the student understands everything in the reading,

there is no challenge and no learning. 
• So assess your students’ level by giving them short reading passages of
varying degrees of difficulty.
• This might take up the first week or so of class.
• Hand out a passage that seems to be at your students’ approximate level and
then hold a brief discussion, ask some questions, and define some
vocabulary to determine if the passage is at the students’ instructional
level.
• If too easy or too hard, adjust the reading passage and repeat the procedure
until you reach the students’ optimal level.
Subject Name 368
 Choose the correct Level of Maturity

• While it’s important that the material be neither too difficult nor too
easy, a text should be at the student’s maturity level as well
• —it’s inappropriate to give children’s storybooks to adult or adolescent
students.
• There are, however, edited versions of mature material, such as classic and
popular novels, for ESL students, that will hold their interest while they
develop reading skills.

Subject Name 369

 Choose interesting material

• Find out your students’ interest.

•  Often within a class there are common themes of interest: parenting,
medicine, and computers are some topics that come to mind that a
majority of students in my classes have shared interest in. 
• Ask students about their interests in the first days of class and collect
reading material to match those interests.
• Teaching reading with texts on these topics will heighten student motivation
to read and therefore ensure that they do read and improve their skills.
•

Subject Name 370

 Build Background Knowledge

• As a child, I attempted, and failed, to read a number of books that were

“classics”:
•  Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” leaps to mind.
• It probably should have been a fairly easy read, but it was so full of cultural
references to life in mid-nineteenth century New England that I gave up in
defeat each time.

Subject Name 371

 Build Background Knowledge

• It was not at my independent reading level, even if the vocabulary and

grammatical patterns were, because of its cultural references.
• Why, for example, would young schoolgirls lust after limes, as the youngest
daughter in the story, Amy, and her friends do? Cultural material like this
would stop me abruptly.
• Clearly, this was not independent reading for me because of its cultural
references, and I needed help to navigate this text—to explain that limes, a
citrus fruit, would have been rare and prized a century ago in New
England with its freezing winters and before there were effective methods
of transporting and storing fruit.

Subject Name 372

 Build Background Knowledge

• Similarly, our students, many new to the U.S., would need equal help with
such material.
• It is important for the teacher to anticipate which cultural references
students might need explained or discussed.
• This is not easy, of course, but can become so through such techniques as
related discussion before the reading
• e.g. “Who knows what the American Civil War was? When was it? Why
was it fought?” or “Where is New England?  Have you ever been there?
What is the climate like?”

Subject Name 373

 Build Background Knowledge

• A discussion before the reading on its topics builds background knowledge

and the comprehensibility of the text as well as giving the teacher an idea
of where students’ background knowledge needs to be developed more.

Subject Name 374

 Work in Groups

• Students should work in groups each session, reading aloud to each

other, discussing the material, doing question and answer, and so
forth.
•  Working in groups provides the much needed interactivity to increase 
motivation and learning.
• Students may choose their own groups or be assigned one, and groups may
vary in size.

Subject Name 375

 Make Connections

• Make connections to other disciplines, to the outside world, to other

students.
•  Act out scenes from the reading, bring in related speakers, and or 
hold field trips on the topic.
• Help students see the value of reading by connecting reading to the outside
world and show its use there.

Subject Name 376

 Assess Informally

• Too often people think “test” when they hear the word “assess.”
•  But some of the most valuable assessment can be less formal: 
walking around and observing students, for example, discuss the reading.
• Does the discussion show they really understand the text? Other means of
informal assessment might be short surveys or question sheets.

Subject Name 377

 Asses Formally

• There is also a place for more formal assessment.

•  But this doesn’t have to be the traditional multiple choice test, which
frequently reveals little more than the test-takers skill in taking tests.
• The essay on a reading - writing about some aspect of Orwell’s “Animal
Farm,” for example - demonstrates control of the reading material in a
way a multiple choice quiz cannot as the student really needs to
understand the material to write about the reading’s extended metaphor of
the farm.

Subject Name 378

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Precis Writing
Lecture # 22
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• How to write Precis

• Objectives

Subject Name 382

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• Learn methods for explicit precis writing methods
Goals
• Understand the application of comprehension strategies to literary and
informational text.

Subject Name 383

 What is precis writing?

• Precis writing is an exercise in compression. A precis is the gist of a

passage expressed in as few words as possible.
• Précis writing involves summarizing a document to extract the maximum
amount of information, then conveying this information to a reader in
minimum words. 
• Definition: A précis is a clear, compact logical summary of a passage. It
preserves only the essential or important ideas of the original.
• Precis leaves out details, illustrations, and subordinate ideas; is shorter
than the original passage by about two thirds; is an accurate reflection
of the facts and opinions in the original passage; is written in standard
English using full sentences and paragraphs (where necessary).

Subject Name 384

 Format of Precis Writing

• • A précis reveals the meaning of the original and explains its value.

• As a rule, a précis is 1/4 of the original in length, except as noted.
• It follows the standard format: an author's thesis and methods he
uses to represent it, results, and conclusion

Subject Name 385

 Uses of Précis

It is useful in grasping the ideas of a passage, extract, chapter or book.

It aids concentration when reading a passage that has to be summarized.
It improves writing skills and teaches the quality of expressing much in
few words.

Remember : A Précis is concise, clear and must make a connected

whole.

Subject Name 386

 Guidelines :
• Before writing the Précis , we must follow these guidelines:
• Read the passage a number of times so as to gain an understanding of the
passage.
• Select a suitable title or heading for the passage.
• The title must reflect the theme of the passage.
• Irrelevant and incidental points such as examples, illustrations or
comments by the author may be omitted.
• Using the essential points, an outline of the passage may be formed.

Subject Name 387

Guidelines followed during the process of writing a good
Précis :

Subject Name 388

 Contd.
• The précis must be written in the past tense, indirect speech and third
person.
• Compare the draft to the original passage and check that all the
essential points have been covered.
• Ensure that the length of the précis is one third of the original passage.
• Check for spelling mistakes, grammar and errors in punctuation.
• Write the final draft and include a title or heading.

Subject Name 389

 Rules for attempting questions on precis:
• You may use the same words or terms as in the passage whose
substitutes can not be found.
•
• e.g: elements, energy, etc.
•
• You may not include examples , long explanations, etc. if your answers
still convey the min points without them and do not suffer in
meaning.
•
• Try to write the answers in the third person or the indirect speech and do
not write ‘I think’, ‘ in my view’, ‘the writer says’.
•
• Do not include any idea or comment of yours in your own answers
unless of course the examiner requires you to do so.
Subject Name 390
 Rules for attempting questions on precis:
We will write a précis based on this passage:
What Do We Dream About?
A subject of great debate has been the nature of dreams that people experience.
Dreams can range from the mundane to the fantastic. They can create emotions
like anxiety, joy, fear, anger, etc., in the dreamer. Dreamers often feel that they
experience in their dreams is very real. It is common for people to have recurring
dreams. Some people have recurring dreams of falling, flying or being chased.
Nightmares are also common and often occur among children and adolescents.
Nightmares may be the result of unresolved conflict or anxiety. Many theories have
been put forth to explain why dreams occur one of the theories is that dreams are
merely reproduction of incomplete thoughts or events experienced in the day.
Another theory is that dreams are representations of our desires and fears. It has
also been propagated that our dreams are populated with universal symbols that
• Subject Name 391
 Contd.

• may be recognizable across a myriad of cultures sometime dreams have

• been reported to certain warnings or messages about the immediate future.
It has also been suggested that dreams can be used for solving problems and
arriving at solution. Many people keep dream journals. They record their
dreams on daily basis. Dream journals may be maintained as a hobby or to
gain a better understanding of dreams and consequently oneself. Carl Jung,
the famous psychologist maintained a dream journal known as ‘RED BOOK’.

Subject Name 392

 Sample Passage (cont.) :

• The outline of the passage is formed using the main points . It is as

• follows :

Outline:

Range of emotions in dreams – recurring dreams - nightmares – dreams

as incomplete thoughts – dreams as representations of desires and fears -
dreams as warnings - dreams for solving problems - dream journals –
Jung's the ‘Red Book ‘

Subject Name 393

 Sample of well-written Précis :

• Nature of Dreams
• When people dream , they experience various emotions such as anxiety,
joy , fear, etc. Often dreamers believe their dream is real. Many people
have recurring dreams. Nightmares are also commonly experienced.
They may be due to unresolved problems. Dreams may be extensions of
one’s thoughts, embodiments of one’s fears and desires and predictions
about the future. Dreams may even be useful in solving problems. The
famous psychologist, Carl Jung was known for keeping a dream journal.

Subject Name 394

 Conclusion

• • The title of the précis reflects the theme of the passage.

• • The précis itself is one-third the length of the original passage.
• It is written in simple and unambiguous language.
• Thus, it is a well written précis.

Subject Name 395

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Improving Precis Writing Skills
Lecture # 23
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Example Precis writing

• Methods

Subject Name 399

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• Learn methods for explicit precis writing methods
Goals
• Understand the application of comprehension strategies to literary and
informational text.

Subject Name 400

 Writing Precis of given passage
Buildings collapse, bridges fall, dams burst, gaping crevices appear in busy
•
streets.If the quake strikes at sea, huge tidal waves sweep inland. If it strikes in
•
mountain regions, avalanches roar down into the valley. Consider the terrifying
statistics from the past 1755: Lisbon, capital of Portugal - the city destroyed
entirely and 450 killed. 1970: Peru: 50,000 killed.In 1968 an earthquake struck
Alaska. As this is a relatively underpopulated part, only a few people were killed.
But it is likely that this was one of the most powerful quakes ever to have hit the
world. Geologists estimate that during the tremors, the whole of the state moved
over 80 feet farther west into the Pacific Ocean. Imagine the power of something
that can move an entire subcontinent!

Subject Name 401

 Contd.
There is an enemy beneath our feet - an enemy more deadly for his complete
• impartiality. He recognizes no national boundaries, no political parties. Everyone
• in the world is threatened by him. The enemy is the earth itself. When an
earthquake strikes, the world trembles. The power of a quake is greater than
anything man himself can produce. But today scientists are directing a great deal
of their effort into finding some way of combating earthquakes, and it is possible
that at some time in the near future mankind will have discovered a means of
protecting itself from earthquakes. An earthquake strikes without warning. When
it does, its power is immense. If it strikes a modern city, the damage it causes is
as great as if it has struck a primitive village. Gas mains burst, explosions are
caused and fires are started. Underground railways are wrecked.

•
Subject Name 402
 Contd.
This is the problem that the scientists face. They are dealing with forces so
•
• immense that man cannot hope to resist them. All that can be done is to try
to pinpoint just where the earthquake will strike and work from there. At
least some precautionary measures can then be taken to save lives and some
of the property. (330 Words)'

Subject Name 403

 Contd.
• Based on the above paragraph, we-arrive at the following theme
•
sentences for the four paragraphs: 
•
• Earthquake - the deadly enemy of mankind.
• Damage caused by an earthquake in general.
• Damage caused by an earthquake-in particular,
• What can the scientists do?
•

Subject Name 404

 Contd.
• Earthquake is the mankind's deadly enemy. Earthquake strikes all without a
•
distinction of nationality or political affiliation. The power of a quake is
•
greater than that of any man-made weapon of destruction. An earthquake
strikes mankind without a warning. A modern city when struck is reduced
-to a nibble. A quake strikes plains, seas and mountains causing all round
destruction. The quake struck Lisbon in 1755 killing 450; Peru in 1970
killing 50,000; Alaska in 1968 moving it 80 feet into the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists are trying to find out means to combat earthquakes, to predict
the origin of the quake so that precaution can be taken to save man and
property from destruction.(115 words)

Subject Name 405

 Precis writing
• Precis, by its very definition means presenting the ideas given in the
passage briefly without missing their essentials.
• It needs not only the knowledge of different methods of condensing the
sentences but also a good practice.
• The different methods, which can be employed for condensing the
sentences are given below.

Subject Name 406

 Method 1.
• All the rhetorical sentences should be charged to statements.
• Rhetoric means the use of such language as maybe exaggerated, artificial
but very effective.
• For example the following passage is rhetorical.
Example:
• Flimsy desultory readers, who fly from foolish book to foolish book, and
get good of none and mischief of all—are not those as foolish, unhealthy
eaters who mistake their superficial false desire after specifies and
confectionaries for their real appetite of which even they are not destitute,
though it lies far deeper, far quieter after solid nutritive food ? (Thomas
Carlyle)
•

Subject Name 407

 Contd.

• Expressed as a Statement: People who, without concentration read one

foolish book after another get no benefit rather they wrongly believe that
their liking for such books is love for true literature.
• Rhetorical Sentence.
• What can be more encouraging than to find the friend who was welcome at
one age still welcome at another ?
• Expressed as a Statement: It is good to find a permanent friend.

Subject Name 408

 Method 2.

• Generalizing the statements.

Examples:
• (a) He fed the hungry wanderer and despatched him singing on the way,
with meat in his wallet and a coin in his purse. His parishoners when in
need of money had only to repair to his study and were sure of an
immediate supply. He was indeed the banker of the village and what he
neither expected nor wished to be returned. (George Borrow)
• Generalized Statement. He was always ready to help the distressed.

Subject Name 409

 Method 3.

• Removal of Tautology.
• Sometimes certain words which are synonyms of the words already used in
the sentence are used.
• Such words neither modify the meaning nor add to it.
• These words have no place in a precis. In the following examples italicized
words show tautology and can be removed.

Subject Name 410

 Contd.

Examples:
• (a)It does not necessarily imply that we are to be blamed for it.
• (b) His failure follows as a consequence of his indifference to his studies.
• (c) If you unite together you can work wonders.

Subject Name 411

 Method 4.

• Removal of Pleonasm.
• It means that certain words in the sentences have the same meaning as some
other words have though they are not synonymous.
• So they repeat the idea and repetitions should be dispensed with in a precis.
• Italicized words in the following illustrations can be left out without
injuring the sense.

Subject Name 412

 Contd.

Examples:
• (i)He will return within a week’s time.
• (ii) The report is true because I saw the whole affair with my own eyes.
• (iii) He has written this complaint with his own hands.
• (iv) He has died his own death.

Subject Name 413

 Method 5.

Circumlocution :
Sometimes the writer does not come to the point in a straight-forward manner
indulging in verbosity (using unnecessary words for effect) or prolixity (using
lengthy or long winded words).

Subject Name 414

 Contd.

Examples:
• Under the impression that your peregrina­tions in the metropolis have as yet
not been extensive and that you might have some difficulty in penetrating
the modern Babylon in the direction of the City Road—in short that you
might lose yourself—I shall be happy to call this evening and install you
in the knowledge of the nearest way. {Dickens—David Copperfield)
• Condensed passage. As you are not familiar with the roads of metropolis
you may lose your way. So I shall tell you about the nearest way this
evening.

Subject Name 415

 Method 6.

Removing redundancy
• Redundant words are those which have nothing to contribute to the meaning
of the passage.
• The words are used for effect. Italicized words in the following examples
are redundant

Subject Name 416

 Contd.

Example:
• It is a delightful pleasure to travel on a walking-tour in the wide open lonely
spaces of the countryside where there are no towns or cities or villages.
Condensed form : It is a pleasure to go on a walking tour in the lonely
countryside.

Subject Name 417

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Do’s and Don'ts of Precis Writing
Lecture # 24
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Do’s and Don’t of precis writing

Subject Name 421

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• Learn methods for explicit precis writing methods
Goals
• Understand the application of comprehension strategies to literary and
informational text.

Subject Name 422

 Do’s and Don’t’s of Precis Writing
• Precis is a short summary of a paragraph.
• But writing Precis is more than just making the paragraphs short.
• Writing precis requires skill so that you do not miss out a point and capture
all the main essence in one single small paragraph.
• Therefore, for writing a precis you need to follow a particular set of rules
and that is why it is important to understand the Rules of precis writing.

Subject Name 423

 Do’s and Don’t’s of Precis Writing

• The motive of writing a precis is to make the reader understand the main
essence of the paragraph in a shorter format.
• For precis writing there are certain do’s and dont’s which will guide you
into writing a better precis.
• Below are do’s and dont’s of precis writing.

Subject Name 424

 Do’s of a Precis writing

•
• • Start your précis by highlighting the main idea of the passage and you
should create contextual environment where you can place the
necessary points.
• Once the main idea is established in the précis, you can present the
methods, points, facts etc. used by the author of the passage.
• Compress and clarify a lengthy passage, article, or book, while retaining
important concepts, key words, and important data.
• Remove what is superfluous and retain the core essence of the work.
•
•

Subject Name 425

 Do’s of a Precis writing

•
• • Always remember that mentions about history should be advisably done
in the past tense.
• State the purpose of the research or piece of writing (why was it important
to conduct this research or write on this topic?)

•
•

Subject Name 426

 Do’s of Precis Writing

• Start your precis with the main idea so that reader can quickly understand
the essence of the precis.
•
• He/she will know beforehand as to what should they expect in the written
precis.
•
• While writing a precis, make a suitable environment where all the points
can be described and discussed equally.

Subject Name 427

 Do’s of Precis Writing
• As the main idea or the essence is established, you can follow it up with
some methods, facts, points, etc.
•
• As a precis is concise, compress it and make sure that the length is available
for you to retain the important data, keywords, and the concept.
•
• Removing the irrelevant data or sentence is as important as writing the
relevant points.

Subject Name 428

 Do’s of Precis Writing
• Thus, identify the superfluous data and facts and keep the core idea of the
work only in the precis.
•
• If you are mentioning anything related to history or any historical data than
make sure that it is written in the past tense only.
•
• Also, remember to put the purpose as to why you are writing a precis in the
writing piece.

Subject Name 429

Don’t of Precis writing

Subject Name 430

 Don’t’s of Precis Writing

• A precis writing is a formal way of writing a shorter form of the given

paragraph.
•
• So, even though you have read and understood the Precis well, do not form
your own opinions.
•
• You cannot insert your own remarks and criticism in a precis.

Subject Name 431

 Don’t’s of Precis Writing
• Always take the fact and data that is given in the paragraph only.
•
• Also, during a precis writing, you cannot insert a question. If for any reason
you need to insert make it in the form of a statement.
•
• For a precis writing, avoid using contractions and abbreviations.

Subject Name 432

 Don’t’s of Precis Writing

• Write the full form of any given words only.

•
• Avoid being jerky. This will show that you have not understood the passage
properly and have started writing a precis.

Subject Name 433

 How good a Precis can be !
• Now that we have understood what things you should do and what things
you shouldn’t while doing a precis, let’s understand what a good precis is?
•
• That is to say what things should be included for a good precis?
•
• A good one should include this rules of precis writing.

Subject Name 434

 How good a Precis can be !
• It should be precise and clear
•
• A precis writing is not just lifting the words from the original paragraph
•
• It should be written in a precise manner in your own words
•
• It should be a summary or a miniature version of the original paragraph
•
• The precis must be logically connected and should have a good flow of
words

Subject Name 435

 How good a Precis can be !
• It should be coherent and for this, it can use the linking words such as and,
because, therefore, etc.
•
• A precis should have an appropriate title and the order ideas need to be
original.
•
• The details found in the precis must match the details found in the
paragraph.
•
• When all of these above points are understood and used in a precis, a good
precis is bound to be written.

Subject Name 436

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Objectives of Minutes of Meeting
Lecture # 25
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Do’s and Don’t of precis writing

Subject Name 440

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• To capture the purpose of the meeting and its agreed outcomes
• To understand the purpose of keeping record of what was done or talked about at
a meeting, including any decision made or action taken

Subject Name 441

 Minutes Of Meeting

• Every day, important meetings take place in your office.

• Decisions made in these meetings may involve a lot of time, money and can
even change people’s careers.
• With important things at stake in meetings, it’s no wonder meeting minutes
are considered of great value.

Subject Name 442

 Minutes Of Meeting

DEFINED 
Minutes are the official record of an organization.  It is crucial that they are
accurate since they are the legal record of the proceedings and actions of the
organization 
•

Subject Name 443

 NOT INCLUDED

 
• The opinion or interpretation of the secretary
• Judgmental phrases e.g. “heated debate” “valuable comment”
• Discussion: Minutes are a record of what was done at the meeting, not what
was said at the meeting
• Motions that were withdrawn
• Name of seconder is unnecessary

Subject Name 444

 What are meeting minutes?

• Meeting minutes serve as a record of what was discussed and decided in a

meeting, what actions must be taken, who must take them and when.
• So, being of such great importance;
Øwhat are meeting minutes?
ØWhat exactly is included in meeting minutes?
ØAnd why are these things important?

Subject Name 445

 What are Minutes Of Meeting?

• Most of us have attended a meeting madly scribbling what we thought were

meeting minutes only to find out later that we’ve missed important
information of that the notes we took were never used.
•
• Do you often question what information you should record and what you
should leave out?

Subject Name 446

 What are Minutes Of Meeting?

• Recording effective meeting minutes doesn’t have to be hard!

•
• Minutes that capture the purpose of the meeting and its agreed outcomes are a
record that can be referred back to and can be used for follow-up purposes.
•
• Effective meeting minutes are clear and to the point, but at the same time,
they do not leave out important information.

Subject Name 447

 What are Minutes Of Meeting?

• Meeting minutes keep a record of what was done or talked about at a

meeting, including any decision made or action taken.
•
• Typically, meeting minutes are recorded by a secretary or assistant, but it can
be done by any appointed individual.

Subject Name 448

What needs to be included in Minutes Of Meeting
• When you are writing meeting minutes you need to include different kinds
of information. 
• Here’s a list of what needs to be included in effective meeting minutes:
ØDate, time and location of the meeting.
ØThe purpose of the meeting.
ØNames of attendees and those who were unable to attend.
ØAgenda items.
ØDecisions that were made.
ØActions that need to be done. Include the deadline and who it was assigned
to.
ØFollow up meeting.

Subject Name 449

What needs to be included in Minutes Of Meeting

• Prepare your meeting minutes by writing down the things you know
beforehand, like date, time, location, purpose and agenda items.
•
• This way you will only have to add the things that you discussed, like the
outcome of the meeting.

Subject Name 450

 Why are Minutes Of Meeting important?
• Although it may seem like writing meeting minutes
can take a lot of time, they will, in fact, help you
save time and money.
•
• Meeting minutes provide a written record of what
was discussed and agreed at a meeting, so you
and your colleagues will have the same
recollections from the meeting and the same ideas
about what was agreed.
•
• With good meeting minutes, you make sure
everyone knows what was decided and what
needs to be achieved by what date.

Subject Name 451

 Why are Minutes Of Meeting important?

• Not taking meeting minutes can be costly in terms of both time and money,
for example when you and your colleagues have different recollections of
what was agreed during a meeting.
• In the worst case, if meeting minutes are not written you may end up having
to repeat the meeting.
• So, getting into the habit of taking meeting minutes is good practice.

Subject Name 452

Why are Meeting notes called “meeting minutes”?

• The ‘minutes’ in meeting minutes, have nothing to do with time, but with
‘small’.
• This possibly came directly from the Latin ‘minuta scriptura’, meaning
‘small notes’.
• So meeting minutes are a reference to something small, not something that
has to do with time.
• That’s why meeting notes are called minutes.

Subject Name 453

 Template meeting minutes
Name of Organization:
Purpose of Meeting:
Date/Time:
Chair:
Person
Topic Discussion Action
Responsible
1.

2.

3.

Subject Name 454

 Reflection
• Make sure that all of the essential elements are noted, such as type of meeting,
name of the organization, date and time, name of the chair or facilitator, main
topics and the time of adjournment. For formal and corporate meetings include
approval of previous minutes, and all resolutions.
• Prepare an outline based on the agenda ahead of time, and leave plenty of white
space for notes. By having the topics already written down, you can jump right
on to a new topic without pause.
• Prepare a list of expected attendees and check off the names as people enter the
room. Or, you can pass around an attendance sheet for everyone to sign as the
meeting starts.
• To be sure about who said what, make a map of the seating arrangement, and
make sure to ask for introductions of unfamiliar people.

Subject Name 455

 Reflection
• Don't make the mistake of recording every single comment, but concentrate on
getting the gist of the discussion and taking enough notes to summarize it later.
Remember that minutes are the official record of what happened, not what was
said, at a meeting.
• Be prepared! Study the issues to be discussed and ask a lot of questions ahead of
time. If you have to fumble for understanding while you are making your notes,
they won't make any sense to you later.
• Don't wait too long to type up the minutes, and be sure to have them approved by
the chair or facilitator before distributing them to the attendees.
• Don't be intimidated, you may be called upon many times to write meeting
minutes, and the ability to produce concise, coherent minutes is widely admired
and valued.

Subject Name 456

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Minutes of Meeting
Lecture # 26
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Prior meeting requirements

• Minutes of meeting

• Compilation and post-work done

Subject Name 460

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To enable them to write professional documents.
Goals
• To prepare them for their professional life.

Subject Name 461

Prior Meeting Requirements
1. Choose your technology
• What tool will you use to capture information?
• While some minute-takers still use shorthand, more often nowadays people are
using a laptop, which can be a real timesaver.
• You need to determine which method is going to work best for you.
• Either way, you can use audio or video recordings as a back-up. Just be sure
you get permission first to do that.
• Find out what the rules are, based on where you work and the meeting itself.
Contd.

2. Review previous minutes

• Before you start, it’s a good idea to review the minutes from prior meetings.
• Notice the organization of the minutes—the amount of detail, phraseology
and other characteristics.
3. Obtain the meeting agenda, other pertinent materials
• The agenda for an informal meeting lists only the items the attendees will
discuss during the meeting.
• But the agenda for a more formal meeting could list the times, the events,
speakers, rooms and activities.
• Make sure you get a copy of the agenda beforehand, especially if you’re not
the one who helped prepare it.
Contd.

• Why are agendas important? They show the time frames for each segment of the
meeting.
They also make you aware of what you can expect from the discussion.
• Other materials you might want to request: minutes of past meetings, handouts
and
glossaries of relevant subjects.
• Ask the meeting chair or facilitator to copy you on all materials sent prior to the
meeting
and to send you an advance copy of any handouts that will be distributed.
 Contd.
4. Speak with the chairperson in advance
• Go through the agenda together to establish the main topics and the group’s
goals.
• Then determine with the chairperson whether the meeting is going to be formal
or informal.
• Oftentimes, that will dictate the type of notes you will have to take, as well as
the format to use when writing up the minutes.
• Also, decide on a signal to use during the meeting in case you will need
clarification from the chairperson.
5. Arrive early to check equipment, materials.
6. Create a seating chart.  
7. Determine your position at the table
•
During the meeting:
1. Ask yourself, as you’re taking notes, “Will it matter in two days, two
weeks, two months, two years?” If yes, include it. “I still find myself
putting things in my draft that do not matter and later removing
them,” Michaels says.
2. Summarize. Don’t record conversations word for word.  
3. Use keywords VS sentences. 
4.
Tip: Record minutes in a steno pad. On the left side, write keywords; on the
right side, make short notations on the keywords. Want the notes to stick in
your memory? Write on a color pad.
Tip:
• Record minutes in a steno pad.
• On the left side, write keywords; on the right side, make short notations on
the keywords. Want the notes to stick in your memory? Write on a color
pad.
•
Contd.

• Keep emotions out of the minutes—yours and those of attendees. 

Example: “Mr. Smith, exasperated by the discussion, left the room.”
• Be an active listener. 
“If someone makes a motion and you didn’t hear it clearly, interrupt the
meeting and ask,” Michaels says. “If you don’t understand something being
discussed, but you can’t interrupt the meeting, make a note on your pad to ask
the chairperson about it later.”
Contd.

• Switch to using your laptop for minute-taking.

•  “Listening to the meeting while recording it and then listening to it again
to complete the minutes was double duty,” she says. “Now I save time by
typing keywords, short sentences and notations into the agenda.”
•
Post-meeting, closing the Minutes, taking loops

• Gather your materials. Pull together the agenda, your notes, any reports or
documents that were distributed at the meeting, and verbatim copies of
motions and resolutions.
• Create a draft within 24 hours, while the information is fresh in your mind. If
you used your laptop to take notes, it won’t take a lot of time to type your
draft.
• Double-space your minutes. That way, handwritten corrections can be easily
and clearly inserted.
• Make sure to include any attachments.
• Send a draft to the meeting leader. Ask the leader to review the minutes
before you send them out to attendees. This gives him or her the chance to
clarify anything, or to add an important point.
•
Contd.

• Prepare to make corrections. 

• Draw a red- or black-ink line through the incorrect wording.
• Keep an index.
THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Comprehension Passages
Lecture # 27
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Introduction to comprehension passage

• Misconception about comprehension passage

• Requisite skill

• Strategy to solve comprehension

• Subject Name 475

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To introduce texts containing new ideas and concepts and helping the
students to make use of and build on their prior knowledge
• to understand the texts and gain more knowledge about the topics.

Subject Name 476

 Introduction to Comprehension Passages

• Your friend and you decided to play a game in which one person will tell a
story and the second one has to answer the related questions asked.

• Firstly, your friend tells you a story and asks some questions.

• What will you try to do while listening to the story and answering the
questions?

Subject Name 477

 Introduction to Comprehension Passages

• You will try to listen as carefully and as dedicatedly as possible.

• You will try to find the answers from the story and not make your own
assumptions.

• This is the basic idea of solving comprehension passages.

• In this section, we will learn about solving comprehension passages.

Subject Name 478

 Comprehension Passages

• The word comprehension means the ability to understand what you listen or
what you read.
• It is an exercise which aims at improving or testing one’s ability to
understand a language.
• Try to remember your English class at your school.
• Each day you were taught new lessons.

Subject Name 479

 Comprehension Passages

• The stories, the poem, the questions, and answers were unseen to you
before you read them.
• Similarly, in a comprehension test, you are given a passage or a paragraph
or two.
• These paragraphs show the idea or mood, concerning issues, their solutions
that the author provides.
• Your main task is to answer the questions asked from the passage.

Subject Name 480

 Misconception regarding Comprehension Passages

• There are some misconceptions related to the way of answering the

comprehension test.

• These misconceptions are:

ØIt is possible to understand the key idea of the paragraph by just reading the
first and the last sentence. But this is not always correct.

ØReading the questions first will help to understand the paragraph better.

Subject Name 481

 Misconception regarding Comprehension Passages

• This is also not always true because:

ØIt is not possible for a person to remember all the questions.
ØAlso, the questions are sometimes indirect in nature.
ØThe order of the questions is not always in accordance with the progression
of the paragraph.

Subject Name 482

 Requisite Skills

• To develop a better level of comprehension one requires certain skills:

ØLogical ability
ØThe ability to infer
ØAnalytical ability
ØReasoning ability
ØAbility to understand the main motive or the idea of the author.

Subject Name 483

 Requisite Skills

• Reading speed
•
• Vocabulary power
•
• Remembering some important information from the paragraph otherwise, we
need to refer the paragraph again and again which will consume more time.

Subject Name 484

 Requisite Skills

Subject Name 485

 Important Strategy to solve Comprehension Passages

• Read the passage as fast as possible.

• Get involved with the paragraph to understand it.
• Underline important lines or parts of the passage to answer the questions.
• It will also help to understand the main idea of the passage or the tone or
mood of the author.
• Try to translate a complex line in an easy one in your own words and your
own language.
• This will help you in analyzing the main idea of the paragraph and in seeking
the cause and effects of the passage.

Subject Name 486

 Important Strategy to solve Comprehension Passages

• Underline or mark the keywords. These will help you to discover the logical
connections in the passage and help in understanding it better.
• Try to understand some certain unfamiliar words by reading the line
thoroughly. The theme of the line will make you understand the meaning of
the words.
• Determine the main idea, tone or mood, inferential reasoning, and other
details from the paragraph.
• Look back at the paragraph when in doubt.
• Read the questions and all the alternative provided and choose the most
appropriate one.

Subject Name 487

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Example Comprehension Passages
Lecture # 28
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Example practice of comprehension passage

Subject Name 491

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• To introduce texts containing new ideas and concepts and helping the
students to make use of and build on their prior knowledge
• to understand the texts and gain more knowledge about the topics.

Subject Name 492

 Passage 1. Opera

Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the

emotional content is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both
vocal and instrumental, as it is through the lyrics. By contrast, in musical
theater an actor's dramatic performance is primary, and the music plays a lesser
role. The drama in opera is presented using the primary elements of theater
such as scenery, costumes, and acting. However, the words of the opera, or
libretto, are sung rather than spoken. The singers are accompanied by a musical
ensemble ranging from a small instrumental ensemble to a full symphonic
orchestra.

Subject Name 493

 Passage 1. Opera

It is pointed out in the reading that opera ----.

A) has developed under the influence of musical theater

B) is a drama sung with the accompaniment of an orchestra
C) is not a high-budget production
D) is often performed in Europe
E) is the most complex of all the performing arts

Subject Name 494

 Passage 1. Opera

We can understand from the reading that ----.

A) people are captivated more by opera than musical theater

B) drama in opera is more important than the music
C) orchestras in operas can vary considerably in size
D) musical theater relies above all on music
E) there is argument over whether the music is important or the words in
opera

Subject Name 495

 Passage 1. Opera

 It is stated in the reading that ----.

A) acting and costumes are secondary to music in musical theater

B) many people find musical theater more captivating than opera
C) music in musical theater is not as important as it is in opera
D) an opera requires a huge orchestra as well as a large choir
E) opera doesn't have any properties in common with musical theater

Subject Name 496

 Passage 2. Dolphins

Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of
them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The
more we learn about dolphins, the more we realize that their society is more
complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins
when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the
community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a
language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other
without needing words. 

Subject Name 497

 Passage 2. Dolphins

Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the
most common argument in favor of man's superiority over them that we can
kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the
contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we
appear superior when we destroy them.

Subject Name 498

 Passage 2. Dolphins

4. It is clear from the passage that dolphins ----.

A) don't want to be with us as much as we want to be with them

B) are proven to be less intelligent than once thought
C) have a reputation for being friendly to humans
D) are the most powerful creatures that live in the oceans
E) are capable of learning a language and communicating with humans

Subject Name 499

 Passage 2. Dolphins

5. The fact that the writer of the passage thinks that we can kill dolphins
more easily than they can kill us ----.
A) means that they are better adapted to their environment than we are
B) shows that dolphins have a very sophisticated form of communication
C) proves that dolphins are not the most intelligent species at sea
D) does not mean that we are superior to them
E) proves that Dolphins have linguistic skills far beyond what we
        previously thought

Subject Name 500

 Passage 2. Dolphins

6. One can infer from the reading that ----.

A) dolphins are quite abundant in some areas of the world
B) communication is the most fascinating aspect of the dolphins
C) dolphins have skills that no other living creatures have such as the ability
to think
D) it is not usual for dolphins to communicate with each other
E) dolphins have some social traits that are similar to those of humans

Subject Name 501

 Passage 3 - Unsinkable Ship

Naval architects never claim that a ship is unsinkable, but the sinking of the
passenger-and-car ferry Estonia in the Baltic surely should have never have
happened. It was well designed and carefully maintained. It carried the proper
number of lifeboats. It had been thoroughly inspected the day of its fatal
voyage. Yet hours later, the Estonia rolled over and sank in a cold, stormy
night. It went down so quickly that most of those on board, caught in their
dark, flooding cabins, had no chance to save themselves: Of those who
managed to scramble overboard, only 139 survived.

Subject Name 502

 Passage 3 - Unsinkable Ship

The rest died of hypothermia before the rescuers could pluck them from the
cold sea. The final death toll amounted to 912 souls. However, there were an
unpleasant number of questions about why the Estonia sank and why so many
survivors were men in the prime of life, while most of the dead were women,
children and the elderly.

Subject Name 503

 Passage 3 - Unsinkable Ship

One can understand from the reading that ----.

A) the lifesaving equipment did not work well and lifeboats could not be
lowered
B) design faults and incompetent crew contributed to the sinking of the
Estonia ferry
C) 139 people managed to leave the vessel but died in freezing water
D) naval architects claimed that the Estonia was unsinkable
E) most victims were trapped inside the boat as they were in their cabins

Subject Name 504

 Passage 3 - Unsinkable Ship

It is clear from the passage that the survivors of the accident ----.
A) helped one another to overcome the tragedy that had affected them all
B) were mostly young men but women, children and the elderly stood little
chance
C) helped save hundreds of lives
D) are still suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder
E) told the investigators nothing about the accident

Subject Name 505

 Passage 3 - Unsinkable Ship

 According to the passage, when the Estonia sank, ----.

A) there were only 139 passengers on board
B) few of the passengers were asleep
C) there were enough lifeboats for the number of people on board
D) faster reaction by the crew could have increased the Estonia’s chances of
survival
E) all the passengers had already moved out into the open decks

Subject Name 506

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Letter Writing
Lecture # 29
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Example practice of comprehension passage

Subject Name 510

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• .To make students learn formal letter etiquette.
Goals:
• Students will be able to create formal letters for professional purposes

Subject Name 511

 Letter Writing

• Before the advent of modern technology made communication

 so easy, the art of writing a letter was considered an
important requirement.
• Even today a letter is an important means of communication in
both the workspace as well as our personal lives.
• So let us educate ourselves with the nuances of letter writing.

Subject Name 512

 Letter Writing

• A letter is a written message that can be handwritten or printed on paper.

• It is usually sent to the recipient via mail or post in an envelope, although
this is not a requirement as such.
• Any such message that is transferred via post is a letter, a written
conversation between two parties.

Subject Name 513

 Letter Writing

• Now that E-mails (Advantages and disadvantages) and texts and other such
forms have become the norm for communication, the art of letter writing
has taken a backseat.
• However, even today a lot of our communication, especially the formal kind
, is done via letters.
• Whether it is a cover letter for a job, or the bank sending you a reminder or
a college acceptance letter, letters are still an important mode of
communication.
• Which is why it is important that we know the intricacies of letter writing.

Subject Name 514

 Types of Letter

• Let us first understand that there are broadly two types of letter, namely
ØFormal Letters
ØInformal Letters.
Ø
• But then there are also a few types of letters based on their contents,
formalities, the purpose of letter writing etc.
• Let us have a look at the few types of letters.

Subject Name 515

 Types of Letter

Formal Letter:
• These letters follow a certain pattern and formality.
• They are strictly kept professional in nature, and directly address the issues
concerned.
• Any type of business letter or letter to authorities falls within this given
category.

Subject Name 516

 Types of Letter

Informal Letter:
• These are personal letters.
• They need not follow any set pattern or adhere to any formalities.
• They contain personal information or are a written conversation.
• Informal letters are generally written to friends, acquaintances, relatives etc.

Subject Name 517

 Types of Letter

 Business Letter:
• This letter is written among business correspondents, generally contains
commercial information such as quotations, orders, complaints, claims,
letters for collections etc.
• Such letters are always strictly formal and follow a structure and pattern of
formalities.

Subject Name 518

 Types of Letter

Official Letter:
• This type of letter is written to inform offices, branches, subordinates of
official information.
• It usually relays official information like rules, regulations, procedures,
events, or any other such information.
• Official letters are also formal in nature and follow certain structure and
decorum.

Subject Name 519

 Types of Letter

Social Letter:
• A personal letter written on the occasion of a special event is known as a
social letter.
• Congratulatory letter, condolence letter, invitation letter etc are all social
letters.
Employment Letters:
• Any letters with respect to the employment process, like joining letter,
promotion letter, application letter etc.

Subject Name 520

 Types of Letter

Circular Letter:
• A letter that announces information to a large number of people is a circular
letter.
• The same letter is circulated to a large group of people to correspond some
important information like a change of address, change in management,
the retirement of a partner etc.

Subject Name 521

 Letter Writing Tips

1.Identify the type of letter

• This obviously is the first step of the letter writing process.
• You must be able to identify the type of letter you are to be writing.
• This will be dictated by the person the letter is addressed to and the
information that will be conveyed through the letter.
• Suppose you were writing to the principal of your college to ask for leave,
this would be a formal letter (Types of formal letters with samples).
• But say you were writing to your old college professor catching up after a
long time. Then this would be a personal (informal) letter.
•

Subject Name 522

 Letter Writing Tips
2.Make sure you open and close the letter correctly
• Opening a letter in the correct manner is of utmost importance.
• Formal letters open with a particular structure and greeting that is formal in
nature.
• Informal letters can be addressed to the person’s name or any informal greeting as
the writer wishes.
• Even when closing the letter, it must be kept in mind what type of letter is being
written.
• Formal letters end respectfully and impersonally, whereas informal letters may
end with a more personal touch.

• Subject Name 523

 Letter Writing Tips

3. Establish the main intent of the letter

• Once you start writing, make sure to get to the point as soon as possible.
• Especially in formal letters, it is important to immediately make clear the
purpose of the letter.
•

Subject Name 524

 Letter Writing Tips

4.Be careful of the language

• A letter is always supposed to be polite and considerate.
• Even if it is a complaint letter, the point must be made in a careful and
courteous manner.
• So it is necessary to use polite expressions and civil language in all types of
letters.
•

Subject Name 525

 Letter Writing Tips

5-Length of the letter

• And the other important factor to be considered is the length of the letter
you are writing.
• It should be kept in mind that formal letters are generally to the point,
precise and short.
• Lengthy formal letters tend to not have the desired effect on the reader.
• The length of an informal letter is determined by the message in the letter
and the relation to the recipient.
•

Subject Name 526

 Sample Letter Format
• Contact Information (Include your contact information unless you are
writing on letterhead that already includes it.)(Also called Inside address)
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State Zip Code
Your Phone Number
Your Email Address
• Date
• Contact Information (The person or company you are writing to)
Name
Title
Company
Address
City, State Zip Code
Subject Name 527
 Sample Letter Format

• Greeting (Salutation Examples)
• Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:
Use a formal salutation, not a first name, unless you know the person well.
If you do not know the person's gender, you can write out their full name.
For instance, "Dear Pat Crody" instead of "Dear Mr. Crody" or "Dear Ms.
Crody." If you do not know the recipient’s name, it’s still common and
acceptable to use the old-fashioned “To Whom It May Concern.”

Subject Name 528

 Sample Letter Format

• Body of Letter
• The first paragraph of your letter should provide an introduction as to why
you are writing so that your reason for contacting the person is obvious from
the beginning.
• Then, in the following paragraphs, provide specific details about your
request or the information you are providing.
• The last paragraph of your letter should reiterate the reason you are writing
and thank the reader for reviewing your request. If appropriate, it should
also politely ask for a written response or for the opportunity to arrange a
meeting to further discuss your request.

Subject Name 529

 Sample Letter Format
• Closing
• Best regards, (Closing Examples)
• Signature
• Handwritten Signature (For a hard copy letter, use black or blue ink to sign
the letter.)
• Typed Signature
• Letter Template to Download
• Here is a sample letter that you can download (compatible with Google Docs
and Word Online), or you can see the text below. Note that in this example,
Nicole knows Jason Andrews well enough to use his first name in the
salutation.

Subject Name 530

Sample Letter Format

Subject Name 531

 Additional Letter Parts

Saluteopening:
• Omits ‘Dear’ but includes the first few words of the opening paragraph along
with recipient's name.

E.g: Thank you, Mr. Brown,

for your prompt payment of your bill.
•
Congratulations, Ms. Lake!
your promotion is well deserved
•
Subject Name 532
 Additional Letter Parts

Addressee notation:
• Letters that have a restricted reader-ship
•
E-g: Personal, Confidential, Please Forward
• Appears a double space above the inside address
•
Subject Line:
• It tells recipients at a glance what the letter is about.
• Usually appears below the salutation
•
Subject Name 533
 Additional Letter Parts
Subject Line:
• It tells recipients at a glance what the letter is about.
• Usually appears below the salutation
• The person’s organizational title such as Director, may be included on this
first line.
• If have a longer title keep it for the next line
E-g:
Mr. Ray Johnson, Dean

Ms. Patricia T.Higgins

Assistant Vice President
• Subject Name 534
 Additional Letter Parts
Company name:
• Usually includes the company’s name in the signature block
• Only when the writer is serving as the company’s official spokesperson or when
letterhead has not been used.
•
Copy notation:
• It may follow reference initials or enclosure notations.

E-g:
Courtesy copy (cc)
Photocopier (pc)
Copy (c)
Subject Name 535
 Tips for formatting your Letter

To make sure your letter looks professional, follow these tips:

• Your letter should be simple and focused; make the purpose of your letter
clear.
• Left justify your letter.
• Single space your letter and leave a space between each paragraph.
• Use a plain font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, or Verdana.
The font size should be 10 or 12 points.

Subject Name 536

 Tips for formatting your Letter

• Leave a blank line after the salutation and before the closing.
• Business letters should always be printed on white bond paper rather than on
colored paper or personal stationery.
• If you're sending an email letter, here's 
what to include and how to format your signature.

Subject Name 537

 Reflection

• Most companies have pre-printed letterhead.

• place the date at least one blank line beneath the lowest part of letterhead.
• Insider’s address is recipient’s address.
• Saluteopening omits ‘Dear’ but includes the first few words of the opening
paragraph.
• Personal, Confidential, Please Forward, appears a double space above the
inside address.
• Usually includes the company’s name in the signature block .
• If have a longer title keep it for the next line.
•

Subject Name 538

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Memo Writing
Lecture # 30
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Memo writing

• Basic format

• Parts of memo

• Subject Name 542

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• To bring attention to problems and solve problems.
• To be able to accomplish the goals by informing the reader about new
information like policy changes, price increases, or by persuading the
reader to take an action, such as attend a meeting, or change a current
production procedure.

Subject Name 543

 Memo Writing

• Memo writing is something of an art form.

• A letter is not a memo, nor is a memo a letter.
• A memo is a short, to the point communication conveying your thoughts,
reactions or opinion on something.
• A memo can call people to action or broadcast a bit of timely news. 
• With memo writing, shorter is better.
• As with all writing, memo writing needs a structure.
• Because they are short, rambling meanderings will soon destroy the memo’s
effectiveness and become a waste of productive time to those that read it and
to the person who wrote it.

Subject Name 544

 Memo Writing
• If you have something longer than a page, it’s better to send it as an
attachment or a document that follows the memo used as a cover letter.
• Never make a memo too long.
• If someone takes a glance at a memo that appears to be too long, there’s a
good chance it will be set aside for a time when they aren’t busy.
• This can defeat your memo’s purpose which is timely communication.

Subject Name 545

 Basic Format

Memos can be approached in different ways depending on your purpose:

Decide if it’s to be persuasive or informative.
• While many memos are a combination of the two (“In order to process your
claim promptly, please submit it no later than January 15.”), sometimes
memos have to be one or the other for the reader to take the appropriate
action.
• A persuasive memo engages the reader’s interest before issuing a directive,
where as an informative memo outlines the facts and then requests the
reader’s actions.

Subject Name 546

 Basic Format

Clearly state the purpose of communication in the subject line.

• Most memo formats have the basics of the header, like “to,” “from” and
“date” in place.
• But you have a responsibility to make the subject line as descriptive as
possible so the reader understands the intent.
• A memo simply titled “Vacation Time” might appear to be good news – until
the document explains that vacation time won’t be granted unless first
requested in writing.
• Thus, a better memo title might be “New Vacation Time Request Policy".

Subject Name 547

 Basic Format
Write memos with purpose and make that purpose known in the first
paragraph.
• Needless memo writing should be a crime across all states.
• One way to make sure no one reads or heeds memos is to send them out for
the slightest issue.
• Try to avoid doing this.
• Also, outline the purpose and the desired action in the memo’s first paragraph.
• Readers will become conditioned to the importance of a memo and gain that
knowledge as soon as they open it.

Subject Name 548

 Basic Format

• Most memo formats accommodate one page of information.

• This means that the topic details should be concise, with clear directives and
contacts for follow-up.
• If it’s a complex topic extending into multiple pages, still keep the language as
direct as possible, add headings or bullets to guide the reader and conclude
with a summary paragraph of key points.
• Reinforce the reader’s necessary action.
• At the end of the memo, specifically direct the reader to the desired action.

Subject Name 549

 Basic Format

Effective business communication improves workflow and relationships.

• Use the tools of memo formats and well-constructed information to your
advantage.

Subject Name 550

 Parts of Memo

There are three basic reasons to write a memo:

• to persuade action
• to issue a directive
• or to provide a report.
Regardless of your purpose, memos are generally divided into segments in
order to organize the information and to achieve your intention.

Subject Name 551

 Parts of Memo

Heading :
• The heading segment follows this general format:
• TO: (readers' names and job titles)
CC: (any people you are copying the memo to)
FROM: (your name and job title)
DATE: (complete and current date)
SUBJECT: (what the memo is about, highlighted in some way)
• Make sure you address the reader by his or her correct name and job title.
• Be specific and concise in your subject line.

Subject Name 552

 Parts of Memo

The opening segment:

• The gist of a memo should occur in the opening sentences/paragraphs.
• It's a good idea to include some information about the context, a task
statement and perhaps a purpose statement.
• The context is the event, circumstance, or background of the problem you are
solving or the directive you are giving.
• You can use a paragraph to establish the background and state the problem or
more commonly simply use the opening of a sentence.
• Include only what your reader needs and be sure it is clear.
 
 
Subject Name 553
 Parts of Memo
• In the task statement describe what you are doing to deal with a situation.
If an action was requested, refer to it by a sentence opening like,
"You asked that I look at...." If you want to explain your intentions, you might
say, "To determine the best method of xx, I will...."

• Finally, the purpose statement of a memo gives your reason for writing it
and forecasts what is in the rest of the memo.
• You want to come right out and tell your reader the kind of information that's in
store.
• For example, you might say: "This memo presents a description of the current
situation, some proposed alternatives, and my recommendations.“
• If you choose to use headings for your memo segments, you can refer to your
major headings in this forecast statement to provide a guide for your reader.
Subject Name 554
 Parts of Memo

Summary Segment:
• If your memo is longer than a page, you may want to include a separate
summary segment.
• This segment provides a brief statement of the key recommendations you have
reached.
• These will help your reader understand the key points of the memo
immediately.
• This segment may also include references to methods and sources you have
used in your research, but remember to keep it brief.

Subject Name 555

 Parts of Memo

• You can help your reader understand your memo better by using headings for
the summary and the discussion segments that follow it.
• Try to write headings that are short but that clarify the content of the segment.
• For example, instead of using "Summary" for your heading, try "New Rat-
Part Elimination System," which is much more specific.
• The major headings you choose here are the ones that will appear in your
purpose-statement forecast.

Subject Name 556

 Parts of Memo

Discussion Segment:
The discussion segments are the parts in which you get to include all the juicy
details that support your ideas. Keep two things in mind:
• Begin with the information that is most important. This may mean that you will
start with key findings or recommendations.
• Start with your most general information and move to your specific or
supporting facts. (Be sure to use the same format when including details:
strongest--->weakest.)
• For easy reading, put important points or details into lists rather than
paragraphs when possible.
• Be careful to make lists parallel in grammatical form.
Subject Name 557
 Parts of Memo

Closing Segment:
• You're almost done.
• After the reader has read your information, you want to close with a courteous
ending stating what action you want your reader to take.
• Make sure you consider how the reader will benefit from the desired actions
and how you can make those actions easier.
• For example, you might say, "I will be glad to discuss this recommendation
with you during our Tuesday trip to the spa and follow through on any
decisions you make."

Subject Name 558

 Template of memorandum
Date: Date of memo (example: January 1, 2010)
To: Person(s) to whom the memo is primarily addressed (examples: James Brown,
Director of Communications or Estates and Litigation Department)
cc: Name of anyone else who receives a copy
From: Author of memo, usually followed by his/her handwritten initials

Subject Name 559

 Template of Memorandum
Subject: or Re: Concise statement of the memo’s topic (example: Enrollment in
New Benefits Program)
• Recipients of memos often read them in a hurry, so it helps to write short
sentences and paragraphs.
• It’s also important to clearly explain the reason for the memo in the first
paragraph.
• For example, if this memo informs employees that they must enroll in a new
benefits program, the first paragraph would explain that the organization has
decided to implement a new insurance program and that all employees need to
enroll within the next thirty days.

Subject Name 560

 Contd.

• The following paragraphs (if there are any) will include any accompanying or
supporting information.
• In the benefits enrollment memo model, the second paragraph might explain the
reason(s) for the change in benefits, and inform the readers of how the changes
may (or may not) affect them.

Subject Name 561

 Persuasive Memorandum
To: Mary McGee, Alistair Warwranka, George Lipton
CC: Dorothy Barrie
From: The Boss
Date: June 1, 2006
Re: Need for New Memo Format
I’ve noticed that we don’t seem to be able to communicate important changes,
requirements and progress reports throughout the company as effectively as we
should. I propose developing one consistent memo format, recognizable by all staff
as the official means of communicating company directives.

Subject Name 562

 Persuasive Memorandum
While I know this seems like a simple solution, I believe it will cut down on
needless e-mail, improve universal communication and allow the staff to save
necessary information for later referral.
Please talk among yourselves to determine the proper points of memo writing and
return the input to me by 12 noon. I will then send out a notice to the entire staff
regarding the new memo format.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this

Subject Name 563

 Directive Memorandum
To: All Staff
From: The Boss
Date: June 1, 2006
Re: New Memo Format Effective June 1

In order to make interoffice communications easier, please adhere to the following

guidelines for writing effective memos:
• Clearly state the purpose of the memo in the subject line and in the first
paragraph.
• Keep language professional, simple and polite.
• Use short sentences.

Subject Name 564

 Directive Memorandum
• Use bullets if a lot of information is conveyed.
• Proofread before sending.
• Address the memo to the person(s) who will take action on the subject, and CC
those who need to know about the action.
• Attach additional information: don’t place it in the body of the memo if possible.
• Please put this format into practice immediately. We appreciate your assistance in
developing clear communications.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me. Thank you.
•

Subject Name 565

 Technical Memorandum
To: The Boss
From: Sue Masterson
Date: May 15, 2007
Re: Update on the T-12 Phase Three testing
As we enter Phase Four of the T-12 testing, I wanted to provide a progress
overview of the Phase Three testing.

Subject Name 566

 Contd.

Subject Name 567

 Example Memorandum
Date: Date of memo (example: January 1, 2010)
To: Person(s) to whom the memo is primarily addressed (examples: James Brown,
Director of Communications or Estates and Litigation Department)
cc: Name of anyone else who receives a copy
From: Author of memo, usually followed by his/her handwritten initials

Subject Name 568

 Example Memorandum
Subject: or Re: Concise statement of the memo’s topic (example: Enrollment in
New Benefits Program)
• Recipients of memos often read them in a hurry, so it helps to write short
sentences and paragraphs.
• It’s also important to clearly explain the reason for the memo in the first
paragraph.
• For example, if this memo informs employees that they must enroll in a new
benefits program, the first paragraph would explain that the organization has
decided to implement a new insurance program and that all employees need to
enroll within the next thirty days.

Subject Name 569

 Example Memorandum

• The following paragraphs (if there are any) will include any accompanying or
supporting information.
• In the benefits enrollment memo model, the second paragraph might explain the
reason(s) for the change in benefits, and inform the readers of how the changes
may (or may not) affect them.

Subject Name 570

THANK YOU!
MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR
DEPARMENT OF ENGLISH
Difference between Letter and Memorandum
Lecture # 31
 LECTURE CONTENTS

• Difference between letter and memo

Subject Name 574

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objectives
• To bring attention to problems and solve problems.
• To be able to accomplish the goals by informing the reader about new
information like policy changes, price increases, or by persuading the
reader to take an action, such as attend a meeting, or change a current
production procedure.

Subject Name 575

 What is a Letter and a Memo
• A memorandum or shortly known as a memo is a precise official note, used to
inform, direct or advise the members within the same organization.
• However, the business deals with a number of external parties such as customers,
clients, suppliers, government agencies, manufacturers, societies, etc. for which
a different tool of communication is used, called as a business letter.
• A letter refers to a brief message sent by the company to the person or entity,
which are outsiders.

Subject Name 576

 Importance of written document
• Large corporations require an effective system for communication of information
and messages, promptly, within and outside the organization.
• In this context, the telephone is one of the easiest and convenient ways for instant
communication, but when it comes to evidence, written modes are considered
best.
• Written records include memos, notes, letters, circulars and orders, which are
used by the organization.
• The article presented to you attempts to shed light on the difference between
memo and letter.

Subject Name 577

 Definition of Memo

• The memo is short for the memorandum, which means a note or record for any
use in future.
• It is a short message used as a means of informal communication within the
organization, for transmitting information in writing.
• It may be titled as interoffice communication, office memorandum, or interoffice
correspondence, rather than a memorandum.

Subject Name 578

 Definition of Memo
• The primary objective of memos is to disseminate business policies, procedures
or related official business.
• These are written in one to all perspective and can serve different purposes like
conveying news, directions and information to multiple recipients, calling
people to action or meeting.
• One can use an informal tone and personal pronouns in the memo.
• There is no requirement to use a salutation and complimentary close.

Subject Name 579

 Definition of Letter

• A business letter can be defined as the form of written communication, that

contains a long message, addressed to the party external to the organization, i.e.
supplier, customer, manufacturer or client.
• It starts with a salutation, written professionally in the third person and has a
complementary close with a signature.

Subject Name 580

 Definition of Letter

• The relationship between the sender and receiver plays a significant role in
determining, the overall style in which the letter is drafted.
• These are used for a number of reasons such as a request for information or
feedback, order placement, making complaints or grievances, enquiring
something or taking follow-up.
• The letter is printed, typed or written on the letterhead paper, which contains the
details of the company like name, address, logo, etc.
• As business letters serve as evidence for both the parties concerned, so it needs to
be polite, courteous and respectful to gain immediate response.

•
Subject Name 581
 Key Differences Between Memo and Letter
● MEMO ● LETTER
• The memo can be defined as a short • Conversely, letters can be understood as a
message, written informally to means of a verbal communication
communicate certain information to the containing a brief message addressed
members of the organization to a party external to the business.
●

• A memo uses informal tone and is straight • On the other extreme, letters are very
to the point formal and contain lots of information.
• The use of memorandum is internal to the • As against, the use of letter is external in
organization, in the sense that it is nature, as it is exchanged between two
exchanged between two departments, business houses or between the
or units or sent by the manager to company and client.
inform subordinates ●

Subject Name 582

 Key Differences Between Memo and Letter
• • Memos are not mostly lengthy • letters are lengthier in comparison to the
memo

• There is no requirement of a signature in • However, the letter is to be duly signed

the memo by the one who sends it.
•

• Memos are written to inform or direct, a • Contrary to this, letters are private as it
department or number of employees addresses to a particular party or
on a certain matter and so it is usually client, so it is a form of one to one
written from one to all perspective, interpersonal communication
such as mass communication.

Subject Name 583

 Key Differences Between Memo and Letter
• Technical jargons are commonly used in • Unlike, letters avoid the use of technical
memos, as well as uses personal jargons and terms which are not easy
pronouns. to comprehend.
• Moreover, letters are written in the third
person.
•

Subject Name 584

 Reflection
• A memo is an essential tool for business communication, which is used to
transmit a particular information to many individuals working in the same
organisation.
• It has a great role to play in recording the day to day business activities and can
be used for future reference.
• In contrast, letters are considered as the best mode of written communication, that
can be used for giving or seeking information to/from an external party.
• It helps to persuade the receiver, to do as per the will of the writer.

Subject Name 585

THANK YOU!
Repetition and Discussion of course
Lecture # 32
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Objectives
• to make students practice already covered course.

Goals
•  to increase their understanding of the subject.

Subject Name 588

 LECTURE CONTENTS

1. Topics chosen at the discretion of students

1.

Subject Name 589

THANK YOU!