The Accidental Tourist: Writing Activity

Writing

Narrative Writing

There are many ways of expressing our thoughts and ideas in an. interesting manner. One way is to present them as a narration. In this section we shall learn how to develop a proverb and a news headline into a story paragraph. 

Every story has a beginning, middle and an ending. Here is the format for developing a story:

Introduction / Beginning

·           Describe the setting ( where?, when?)

·           Introduce the characters ( who?)

·           Explain the situation.

Events / Middle

·           Describe what happened.

·           Use transition words that show time and order ( suddenly, as soon as, before, meanwhile)

Solution / Ending

·           Explain how the story ends

·           Describe what happens to the characters.

·           State how the problem ends / gets resolved

·           Add a reflection sentence or a closing sentence.

An example: Expand the Proverb ‘A bad workman always blames his tools’ into a story-paragraph. Notice the beginning, middle and the ending. Begin with the meaning of the proverb.

‘A bad workman always blames his tools’.

The meaning of this proverb is that our success does not depend on what kind of tools we have but how we use them. Here is a story to elucidate the meaning.

Raj and Ravi were farmers. They owned a pair of oxen each with which they ploughed their lands. Raj put in hard work while Ravi hardly worked. Raj worked all day long, aimed at getting a good yield and took good care of his oxen, fully understanding their needs. Ravi, on the other hand, was very lazy and miserly. He never fed his oxen well but exploited them to the maximum.

As a true friend, Raj advised Ravi and sometimes even admonished him for his treatment of the animals. Ravi paid little heed to Raj’s words. He soon bought a tractor to plough his land and chased the oxen away. Raj brought home the animals and took care of them too though he could not afford it. The monsoon soon arrived and it was time for cultivation. Raj’s land was well-ploughed and ready for cultivation - thanks to his oxen.

Ravi in his miserly fashion had not maintained his tractor well and it kept giving him trouble. As a result, he could not get his field ready for cultivation on time. He lamented and blamed it all on bad luck not realizing that it was he who was responsible for his miserable state. Ravi not only lost out on a good yield because of his laziness, but also spent a huge sum of money to repair his tractor due to poor maintenance. Despite having better equipment, Ravi was unable to get the best results. But, Raj was a good workman and hence was able to succeed with the limited resources he had.

Now write a short story to explain these proverbs.

1.        Actions speak louder than words.

‘ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS’

The proverb ‘Actions speak louder than words’ means “If we want to help somebody, it must be through action giving money or things not simply by empty words. A friend in need is a friend indeed”. Let us see the meaning of this proverb in the following story.

A small town was hit by famine, because of lack of adequate rain. People were suffering. There was no enough rice for hundreds of people. The Church Father knelt down and prayed to god for them.” God almighty, help these poor people. Save them from famine” And so many other touching words. In his granary there were hundred sacks of rice.

A rich man who had a few sacks of rice invited all the towns’ people to his house and distributed rice to them free of cost. Then he went to the church Father and said to him, Good morning Father. Please excuse me father. You are praying for the poor people— it is good. But if you take rice from your granary and give it to the poor people, it will be better. The Father realised the truth and opened his granary to the poor. So, actions speak better than words.

BARE WORDS BUY NO BARELY.

2.        Despair gives courage to a coward.

DESPAIR GIVES COURAGE TO A COWARD

Despair gives courage to a coward means “Even a coward will act bravely in a hopeless, dangerous situation.” The following story reveals this proverb.

Ganesh was a ten-year old boy. He was a coward, he was afraid of many things. All his friends climbed up the trees, jumped from branch to branch, plucked fruits and flowers. Thus they enjoyed themselves. But Ganesh went near a tree. He always said, “If I climb up a tree, I may fall down and die”. His friends encouraged him, but in vain.

One day Edwin was walking across the field. A bull saw him and began to chase him. He ran faster and faster, but the bull also ran faster after him. Suddenly he saw a tree. He jumped on to the tree, put his arms around the trunk of the tree, moving up with great difficulty and strain, he reached the first branch and sat on it. The bull went away.

In a minute, all his friends came there “Hi, Ganesh!” “What a surprise!” Ganesh jumped down and narrated the whole event. Then his friends exclaimed: “Despair gives courage even to a coward.”

COURAGE CONQUERS ALL THINGS

Develop the following hints into a paragraph.

Two kings - ruled -neighbouring kingdoms. King Arya - great warrior - looked after - subjects - very well - People loved him - looking - their safety and welfare - all his subjects - very happy - healthy life - King Vaishal on the other hand - very lazy man - spend his time - entertaining - dancing – ignoring - needs or developmental - people - His people - angry - never came out of the palace - listen to their woes. 

Powerful Sultan attacked - with his strong army - King Arya’s army - alert - ready - preparedness - enemy - more powerful - love for King even women and children come to the war front - fight - protect their King -a different story - King Vaishal impending war - people started fleeing King all by himself - not interested to protect - King - did nothing for their welfare. 

King Vaishal - realized his foolishness - too late - defeated in the war and fled for his life - King Arya - defeated the Sultan - people to live in peace - King Arya - welfare of his people at heart at all times - subjects - returned his love - loyal and supportive - during testing times.

KING ARYA

Once there were two kings namely King Arya and King Vaishal. They were neigbours. They ruled the neighbouring kingdoms. King Arya was a great king and he looked after his subjects very well. People loved him as he was looking for their safety and welfare. Since the people led a healthy life they were very happy. Contrary to King Arya, King Vaishal was very lazy. He spent his time for entertaining himself, dancing and he ignored the needs or development of his people. They were very angry because he never came out of the palace and listened to their woes. One day a powerful Sultan attacked both these kings. King Arya’a army was alert and ready for the attack despite powerful enemies. Even women and children came out to the war front and fought for the nation. But in King Vaishal’s kingdom, people started to flee. The king was not interested to protect the people. He did nothing for the welfare of the people. It was high time King Vaishal realized his foolishness. He was defeated in the war and he fled for his life. But King Arya defeated the powerful Sultan and made his people live peacefully. Since King Arya was concerned on the welfare of his people, his subjects returned his love by being loyal and supportive to him even at the testing times.

Writing a Curriculum Vitae. 

Do you know what a Resume or a Curriculum Vitae is? Have you seen one or written one? 

A resume is a document used by a person to present his educational backgrounds and professional skills. You have less than a minute to convince your employer that you deserve an interview. So your resume must summarise your accomplishments, your education, your work experience, and reflect your strengths.

A good resume/ CV/ bio-data

1.        Should summarize the applicant’s accomplishments, education, work experience and strength

2.        Should begin with the applicant’s identification like name, address, e-mail etc.

3.        Should include educational qualification like degree, diploma etc.

4.        Should include work history with company name, job title etc.

5.        Should include a reverse chronological order, starting with the current experience

6.        Should include two references (for verification of credentials)

Vijayaraj Joseph is an M.Sc graduate in Mathematics from Madurai Kamaraj University. He is seeking a job in his core-field. He has been asked to submit a resume.

Here is the resume’ of Mr. Vijayaraj Joseph.

VIJAYARAJ JOSEPH

Mobile- 9444100000

Email: jvraj@gmail.com

Address: 30/16, Grace Garden,

Chennai -600 021

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Looking for a challenging career which demands the best of my professional ability in terms of mathematical and analytical skills, and helps me in enhancing my current skill and knowledge.

SYNOPSIS

A postgraduate with a Degree in Mathematics from SSV College, Madurai Kamaraj University.

PROFILE

·           Good knowledge of Computers

·           Analytical, good at problem solving and excellent in maintaining interpersonal relationship

·           Good verbal and written skills

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

·            M.Sc. (Maths) First Class with distinction

·           B.Sc. ( Maths) First Class

·           12th with aggregate 85% from GHSS, Nagarcoil in 2012

·           10th with aggregate 91% from GHSS, Nagarcoil in 2010

SOFTWARE SKILLS

Operating Systems Windows all, Linux, Microsoft Office

HARDWARE SKILLS

·           Assembling of PC

·           Networking & Troubleshooting PC

PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN

·           Statistics and Survey.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

·           NSS Volunteer and School Student Secretary

·           Basket ball – District player

STRENGTHS

·           Hardworking and punctual

·           Positive attitude and open minded

PERSONAL DETAILS

Date of Birth        :         09/06/1993

Sex    :         Male

Marital Status      :         Single

Languages known : Tamil, English, Hindi

Declaration

I hereby declare that the above cited information is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. If given a chance, I shall prove myself.

Sd/-

Vijayaraj Joseph

Task : Write a CV for the post of a DTP operator at ABC Publishing house, and send it to P.O. Box No. 2345 or E-mail it to abcph@nomail.com

Name  :           R. PRAMILA

E Mail Id        :           pramilafemando2@gmail.com

Mobile            :           7373399838

Address          :           Maruthi Mirra Niwas, 36, Sundar Street,

T. Nagar, Chennai 600 017.

Career Objective

Looking for a challenging career that demands the best of my professional ability in terms of computer designing skills and helps me in enhancing my current skill and knowledge.

Synopsis:

A post graduation in Computer Science and a certificate holder in advanced softwares

Educational Qualification:

M.Sc Computer Science

B.        Sc Computer Science

HSC with aggregate 92% from ABC Matric HSS

SSLC aggregate 95% from ABC Matric HSS

Software skills:

Operating systems, C, C++, JAVA, LINUX

Projects Undertaken:

Designing course -Indiscient, Adobe Page maker

Extra Curricular Activities:

Volley ball player

Traits:

Hard work and maintaining punctuality Positive attitude and co-operation Good communication skills Fast creative thinking Personal Details:

D.   O.B.         :           01.12.1993

Sex  :    Female

Martial Status  :           Single

Languages Known : Tamil, English and Hindi

Declaration:

I hereby declare that all the above furnished information is true and correct to my knowledge. If I am given a chance to work in your esteemed concern, I shall prove myself.

s/d

R. PRAMILA

Filling Forms

On several occasions we are required to fill in forms for different purposes. We need to fill in different forms for a job, an examination, passport, driving licence, etc. There are also forms to be filled in for sending a telegram, opening a bank

Take a look at the filled-in challan below:

account etc. Application forms should be filled in with great care, giving all the details asked for because incomplete application forms may be rejected.

Steps to fill up forms

1.        Take a photo copy of the application.

2.        Use a pencil to fill up the application in the rough copy.

3.        All the entries in the application should be filled in English/Regional language as required.

4.        Use capital letters wherever necessary.

5.        Give your full address with pincode.

6.        Write neatly legibly.

7.        Don’t overwrite or score out.

8.        Give only the required details.

9.        Don’t forget to sign/ get attestations.

10.   Mention the date of applying.

11.   Double check before filling the original form and fair it up in ink.

12.   Take a photo-copy of the filled up form and keep it safe for future reference.

Take a look at the filled-in challan below:

Task 1: You see an advertisement in the newspaper. A publishing house in Chennai has brought out a paperback edition of the complete works of Khushwant Singh. You want to buy it. You are asked to send a Demand Draft for Rs.1000/- Fill in the following challan in favour of ‘X publishing house, New Delhi’, payable at Chennai. The surcharge for Rs.1000/- is Rs.25/-

Task 2: Fill in the following forms with imaginary details.

2(a).

2(b).

2(c).