BEGLA-138 Reading & Speaking Skills Text Book

BEGLA-138 Reading & Speaking Skills Text Book

Block-1 Learning to Read Effectively

Block 1
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
LEARNING TO READ EFFECTIVELY
UNIT 1
The Reading Process 7
UNIT 2
Developing Reading Skills 23
UNIT 3
Learning Reading Comprehension Strategies 36
UNIT 4
Reading a Literary Text 52

COURSE INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the course Reading & Speaking Skills!
In today’s highly competitive world, being proficient in the ‘de facto lingua
franca’, i.e., English, has moved beyond the clause of desirability to that of
absolute necessity. What follows naturally is for you being able to listen, read,
speak and write with an impressive command over English. As you all enter the
sphere of undergraduate education, most transitioning from the high school and
some pursuing a second undergraduate degree, it is imperative for you all to be
able to effectively read and speak to make the best use of the study materials as
well as the time spent in the study centres interacting with your teachers and
fellow students. The course, Reading & Speaking Skills, has been designed with
the objective of equipping you all with the requisite skills as well as understanding
of important issues to handle the immediate communicative challenges of
undergraduate education. Beyond that, it will help you face the greater challenges
of personal, professional and social lives.
The course also offers you valuable pointers on correcting pronunciation and
puts you through activities like role-plays, debates, presentations, discussions,
etc., to prepare you for the variety of occasions where you will need to put your
speaking skills to use. Our ultimate goal is to determine how practically
translatable are the lessons being catered to you all through the four Blocks
under this Course.
The focus on language skills is an empowering one, as in the Indian context,
English, in most cases, features as the second language to be added to the palate.
Consequently, there are varying proficiency levels and access to resources. In
the Indian educational system and its implementation in the different states, there
are considerable dissimilarities in terms of the period when learners are first
exposed to English. In English-medium institutions, contact with the language
occurs at a distinctly early level. However, for vernacular-medium institutions,
English comes into the picture at a later stage. This gap has serious implications
for learners entering an undergraduate programme with different proficiencies
and skills. Through this course, we have tried to address the gap and bring
everyone to an optimal level.
There is another crucial point that you all need to realise. When it comes to
improving language skills, need can never outweigh interest. It is a social reality
that in the Indian context, English has always been associated with upward social
mobility, elitism and prestige, academic pursuit, official and administrative usage.
However, even with this acknowledgement, the amount of time that most of you
devote to the use of English is troublesome. Outside the language classroom, for
the majority of learners, the language of interaction with people shifts back to
the regional one and you enjoy regional texts in your leisurely reading time. The
contextual motivation to learn English is problematic, as beyond the context the
need evaporates. When the need evaporates, English takes a backseat. Therefore,
it is essential to develop interest in lieu of need, to reap the benefit of a more
desirable state of English proficiency, as you get promoted to the subsequent
academic level or as you enter the professional sphere.
As you read and speak more in English, besides sharpening your reading and
speaking skills, you will also find yourselves demonstrating better vocabulary,
better grammatical judgment as well as better understanding of nuances (idioms,
proverbs, colloquialities, etc.). Being good readers and speakers boosts your
employability in multiple sectors like Copyediting, Proofreading, Accent Training,
Human Resources, Public Relations, Communications, etc. But as we address
the issue of employability, we must grasp that it is not simply about linguistic
competence, but rather about communicative competence, combining different
social and cultural vectors. Communicative competence requires the acceptance
of variation. This variation can be cultural, socio-economic, perspectival,
ideological, etc. When you read, you need to be open to the possibility of the
author being from a different background (or mindset) and therefore be flexible
enough to interpret the text from the author’s context. Similarly, when you speak,
you need to consider the possibility of the listener being from a different
background and be sufficiently accommodative to understand the relevance of
his or her response. The crux is that communication is not a one-way street.
As you learn through this Course, we have included a number of exercises to
make you practice what you learn. For your own good, do not skip any of the
exercises. In fact, it will be better if you do each exercise a couple of times to
perfect your responses. We have supplied sample answers for the exercises. You
can consider them as rough models to improve your own answers.
The answer key at the end of each Unit contains answers to all the exercises. In
case you need further guidance on understanding the answers or why they are
different from your own responses, please feel free to approach your tutor at the
study centre. We strongly advise you to consult the provided answers only AFTER
you have done the exercises yourself.
We wish you the very best and hope that you enjoy learning through this Course!
BLOCK INTRODUCTION
The first Block aims to enhance your mastery of the English language by
specifically targeting reading skills and thereby the process of reading.
While you are acquainted with the process of reading, whereby you first figure
out the words and then the sentences to make sense of a text, most of you have
not been taught how to read effectively similar to the fact of having not been
taught how to listen effectively.
You will learn through this Block that reading is not simply about going from the
first page to the last page of a book or a chapter or an article. Effective reading
enables you to not only interpret the purpose of what you read but also assess it
critically, grasp the prominent ideas and retain them in their situated contexts.
You need to be aware of the reading strategies and hone your reading skills
through practice. No matter the field of study you choose to pursue after
undergraduation, the profession and organizational position you decide to take
up, you will need to read more and more! Therefore, knowing how to read
effectively is of paramount importance as you all grow in life.
We hope you find the Block useful.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The material (pictures and passages) we have used is purely for educational
purposes. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material
reproduced in this book. Should any infringement have occurred, the publishers
and editors apologize and will be pleased to make the necessary corrections in
future editions of this book.

UNIT 1 THE READING PROCESS
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Warm Up
1.2 The Modern Classroom Environment: An Overview
1.3 Developing Reading Skills
1.4 Classification of Reading Techniques
1.5 Reading Readiness Exercises
1.6 The Reading Process
1.7 Stage One of the Reading Process: Elementary Reading
1.8 Stage Two of the Reading Process: Intermediate Reading
1.9 Stage Three of the Reading Process: Advanced Reading
1.10 Reading through Stories
1.11 Let Us Sum Up
1.12 Suggested Readings
1.13 Answers
1.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit aims to develop in the learner the ability to:
understand and identify the four major skills of the English Language;
develop a thorough understanding of the heterogeneous modern classroom
of today;
understand the reading process as well as its application and relevance to
myriad and diverse classroom situations;
interact with academic content by following the procedural steps of reading;
achieve an overview of the different stages in the reading process;
apply the skills and strategies of a successful reader by achieving reading
readiness.
1.1 WARM UP
Answer the following questions about reading based on your own opinion and
experience.
What do you understand by reading?
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Do you like reading? Why or why not?
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Learning to Read Effectively How often do you read? When and where do you read?
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What topics and types of matter do you like to read? (newspapers,
magazines, novels, comics, etc.)
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Do you like reading in English? Why or why not? How often do you read
in English?
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What do you or would you like to read about in English?
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1.2 THE MODERN CLASSROOM
ENVIRONMENT: AN OVERVIEW
The classroom today is a fluid space. Even as you all pursue a distance education
programme, you will be receiving certain lectures in your designated study centres
or through online platforms. Regardless of regular or distance education, online
or offline modality, a classroom as such is not a site for perpetuating undemocratic
life. It is not a space for addressing social power. It is not a platform for the
display and transmission of the power and knowledge of the educator. It has
become a potent site for addressing issues of injustice, inequality and inadequacy;
it has evolved as a very plausible field for initiating processes of reflection,
research and research as a subversive space for empowering the culturally
marginalized and economically disenfranchised learners with unbiased
knowledge. This can primarily be achieved through reading and discussion since
both provide a multiplicity of perspectives and a plethora of insights. Today an
effective language lesson must integrate, primarily through reading and
explanation, the content, language and culture into learning. The 5Cs of an
effective lesson in today’s language classroom are:
Content
Communication
Cognition
Culture
Context
In an article by Michael P. Breen titled “The Social Context for Language
Learning—A Neglected Situation?”, Breen highlights the study of classroom
language learning from two different perspectives namely research and teaching.
In particular he interrogates two perspectives:
What are the specific contributions of the classroom to the process of
language development?
In what ways might the teacher exploit the social reality of the classroom
as a resource for the teaching of language?
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Now considering whether you meet your Professors regularly in a regular The Reading Process
classroom or you meet them in planned sessions in the distance learning mode, a
common answer to both the above questions is that this can be achieved by
initiating in the students a culture of reading. There exists a very intricate
relationship between the social process of learners and their individual
psychological processes and thus learning can occur twice: first at the social
level and next at the individual level – first when it is between people (interpsychological) and thereafter when it occurs within the learner (intrapsychological). In this kind of a socio-cultural intercourse, reading directly
influences the psychological development of the learner by continuously
integrating the learning experiences of each individual with the group as a whole.
It is through a consideration of the expectations, values and beliefs of the learner,
that the learning group progresses and the learning environment is moderated.
There are various metaphors comparing the classroom situation to an experimental
laboratory or a discourse podium and even to a coral garden.The first metaphor
of “the classroom as experimental laboratory” is derived from the premise of
Stephen Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory. In order to explain the
classroom as experimental laboratory, one must understand the primary function
of the language classroom as manifested by the correlation between exposure to
a linguistic input through reading and the final learning outcome. The value and
purpose of the classroom can produce an optimum input for the reader by
providing accurate and relevant information as well as holistic knowledge. As
you attend the sessions in your designated study centres, your tutors will help
you with useful pointers, recap of important ideas and suggestions on how to
best utilise the textual resources you have received. In both the regular and the
distance learning context, the teacher or the tutor is perceived as a surrogate
experimental psychologist, on whose shoulders lies the responsibility of
facilitating comprehension for individual learners and reinforcing positive learning
behaviours accordingly by encouraging the learners to read. The distinct process
in which an acquisition of a language is through a conscious process of absorbing
new facts and retaining the information or skills via formal instructions holds
true in the metaphor as proposed by Stephen Krashen (1982).
In the second metaphor of “the classroom as discourse”, the primary focus is on
classroom-oriented research which intends to understand the discourse of
classroom communication. It shows the teachers and learners as active readers
engaged with each other whereby the classroom activity and inputs can be
explored as a text through reading and discussion. This metaphor reveals much
of the specific interaction patterns going on in the particular language learning
situation such as teacher-learner negotiation once a passage or text is read.
The third metaphor, which explains “the classroom as coral garden”, derives
from Malinowski’s classical studies of Trobriand Island cultures, describing it in
Coral Gardens and Their Magic (Malinowski, 1935). This metaphor articulates
the premise that in order to understand a language classroom, observation alone
on the surface level of the classroom discourse is inadequate. It is neither practical
nor possible to understand the culture of the text just by learning the language or
understanding the language by studying the culture and dialects through reading
and discourse. The principle of the classroom as a coral garden seeks to emphasize
the importance of understanding the classroom situation which can result in
increasing learner engagement, motivation and participation for the betterment
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Learning to Read Effectively of language learning through reading with a highlighted purpose. It highlights
the urgency and necessity of perceiving the classroom as a real place with its
own culture to help us exploit its complexity as a resource for language learning
especially through reading and interpretation. There are eight essential features
of the culture of such a language classroom in which learning is achieved through
reading and elaboration. This can be perceived as being:
interactive
differentiated
collective
highly normative
asymmetrical
inherently conservative
jointly constructed
immediately significant
In the course of explaining his propositions, Breen articulates the definition of
the classroom situation in the form of metaphors that can provide directions for
exploration and examination within the current language learning process, thus
suggesting a possible future investigation for the culture of the language classroom
will be more of a revelation rather than just identifying it as a metaphor. In the
attempt to relate Breen’s metaphor to the contemporary reality of classroom
situation, Breen’s metaphor could be extended to include “the classroom as
terrarium” where a terrarium is a miniature version of an actual ecosystem similar
to Breen’s metaphor depicting the coral gardens with a collection of small plants
growing in a transparent container. Reading thus becomes an essential skill to
negotiate the heterogeneous variety of the classroom and also to provide effective
student-centred learning.
1.3 DEVELOPING READING SKILLS
There are four major English Language Skills which must be developed for
complete and holistic language learning and language acquisition. These are
Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. While all four are equally vital and
important for the learner across disciplines, reading is an indispensable part of
the learning process and every education programme considers it as a priority
among the key goals. Subsequently, the development of powerful reading skills
in learners is essential and indispensable. It is through reading that students
augment their vocabulary and acquire fresh knowledge of life and the world.
Reading is also the primary pre-requisite for one to improve in terms of
comprehension, spelling, vocabulary and writing. If not addressed adequately,
poor reading skills can adversely impact the performance of learners across a
wide variety of curricular disciplines and have a negative impact on both selfmotivation and self-esteem.
Reading begins with mastering pre-literacy skills, including learning the alphabet
and achieving phonemic awareness. This is followed closely by phonetic and
phonemic instruction through human or technological sources and this imparts
to learners the skill of mapping recognition: how to match sounds to letters and
pronounce words loudly and clearly, understanding the subtle differences between
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The Reading Process long and short sounds, vowels and consonants. As a beginner reader gains
familiarity with the language and acquires more vocabulary, the process of
mapping recognition of sound to word accelerates through the process of fullword recognition or sight-reading. This can be encouraged through direct
instruction in high frequency vocabulary or even multi-usage vocabulary. When
learners move to higher levels of linguistic familiarity, they are motivated and
guided to achieve holistic comprehension through reading and this includes
understanding complex texts and processing more information in shorter amounts
of time. Being a fast and efficient reader is important not just for classroombased lessons but also for satisfying requirements of assignments and performing
well in standardized exams. However, learners develop and improve their reading
skills at different speeds and thereby exhibit different levels of fluency and
comprehension.
Learners may be considered to be ready to further develop the skill of reading
accurately and appropriately when they:
identify and differentiate both vowel and consonant sounds in English.
associate vowel and consonant sounds with letters.
identify and differentiate among consonant combinations.
identify and articulate the vowel combinations.
identify rhyming words even when spelt with a different letter pattern.
identify upper and lower-case letters as well as italics and the basic
punctuation marks in a text.
Achievement of the above indicates that the student has acquired the basic skills
of reading. However, there are three common difficulties encountered during the
acquisition of reading skills:
Challenges of decoding: This refers to the process of reading and
pronouncing words. Decoding occurs when learners are able to put sounds
to letters in order to pronounce written language. It’s common for nonnative readers to face acute difficulty and confusion when they encounter
new or unfamiliar expressions and even when they come across homonyms
or the issue of different sounds made by the same vowel in different words.
Inadequate or faulty comprehension: Reading involves a process of
negotiation from recognition of letters and words to understanding the
meanings of phrases, sentences and paragraphs. When a non-native reader
encounters vocabulary he or she does not know or does not recognise due
to inaccurate decoding, he or she is likely to skip and progress to that part
of the text which is simple and familiar. The more blanks in a line of text,
the more difficult is the complete comprehension and the more cognitively
challenging and frustrating the reading task becomes. To overcome this,
the non-native readers need to identify the gist of the passage and highlight
the main ideas along with specific details and even infer.
Speed: When learners expand their vocabulary, they recognize more words
by sight and the process of reading is accelerated. With copious amounts
of reading, the learners’ exposure to unfamiliar terms is more likely to
increase. Quite often the context, in which these new words are found,
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Learning to Read Effectively gives readers many of the clues they need, to grasp the meaning. Reading
is a cognitively demanding task and absorbing so much information in the
mind while continuing to process text, can exhaust non-native readers.
Thus, the speed of reading must be moderated by the readers according to
their states of proficiency.
The Reading-Spelling Correspondence: English is full of silent letters
and unexpected sounds. Many a time the learner is compelled to simply
memorize the spelling of a word in order to recognise its written form in
the future. Another reason why English is not the easiest language for
initial readers is because of the lack of exact correspondence between letters
and sounds. In other words, there is more than one way to spell the same
sound. This causes acute confusion and extreme difficulty for non-native
English users.
Check Your Progress 1
1) Fill in the blanks using the correct option:
a) The metaphor of the classroom as coral garden was proposed by
_______________.
i) Stephen Krashen
ii) Michael Breen
iii) Howard Bloom
b) The metaphor of the classroom as experimental laboratory is derived
from the premise of the Second Language Acquisition Theory
of_____________.
i) Michael Breen
ii) Stephen Krashen
iii) Howard Boom
c) _____________is also the primary pre-requisite for one to succeed in
comprehension, spelling, vocabulary and writing.
i) Grammar
ii) Practice
iii) Reading
d) _____________ refers to the process of reading and pronouncing words
by mapping the sound to the alphabet.
i) Decoding
ii) Coding
iii) Recoding
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2) When a non-native reader encounters vocabulary he or she does not know The Reading Process
or does not recognise due to inaccurate decoding, what is he or she likely
to do?
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3) What is the effect of the above on the comprehension process? How can
this be overcome by a non-native English reader?
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4) State one major problem of the Reading-Spelling Correspondence.
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1.4 CLASSIFICATION OF READING
TECHNIQUES
Reading can be classified into three kinds: extensive reading, intensive reading,
and oral reading.
Extensive reading refers to a culture and practice of reading through
cultivating the habit of copious reading. In this approach, there is no overt
focus on teaching reading or implementing reading within an instructional
setting. The best way for learners to improve their reading skills is to read
a variety and a large quantity of comprehensible material according to
their respective levels of linguistic proficiency.
Intensive reading refers to the practice of reading skills in an instructional
setting. Readers are exposed to a variety of materials and assigned activities
such as answering comprehension questions on the passage they have read.
Learners need to look for critical information in the passage they are reading,
and make inferences, etc. Intensive reading is instruction-based and forms
the core of improving reading skills.
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Learning to Read Effectively Oral reading does attract attention in multiple learning contexts; it is an
integral part of reading especially in non- native English language contexts.
1.5 READING READINESS EXERCISES
Before reading one must ensure that the learner is ready to read. This can be
accomplished by initiating the process of what is commonly known as Reading
Readiness. Reading readiness exercises enable learners to recognize and read
the letters and words and thereby mapping recognition is solidified in the mind.
Reading readiness exercises may or may not use linguistic materials, but must in
every way possible be facilitating and familiar to the learners. The learning
outcome of reading readiness exercises is to help foster a congenial atmosphere
for learning reading and to develop motivation and interest towards reading.
Some of the reading readiness exercises are:
Visual Discrimination
Auditory Discrimination
Memory Training
Visual Discrimination: Directions like same, different, top, bottom, middle,
first, second and last, etc., referring to objects, letters and words are presented in
these exercises. In English, for example, the students need to distinguish between
p and q, between d and p, etc. Names and shapes of the letters of the English
alphabet, different forms of the same letters (upper and lower case, etc.), the
ability to tell whether two letters or groups of letters are the same or different,
are all focused in the process of visual discrimination. Some possible
discriminations can be checked through questions like, “Which letter is at the
top, at the bottom and in the middle of the page?” or “Which object is the first,
the second and the last?” or “Are any of the objects, letters, or words the same as
the one in the box?” or even, “Pair the capital and the small letters as provided in
the examples given in the text.”
Auditory Discrimination: Although the auditory discrimination exercises are
part of the preparation for listening, these need to be used as reading readiness
exercises also. This is important for those learners who hear or repeat a sound
persistently incorrectly. Many learners mispronounce the ‘j” sound for the “z”
sound and say “jero” instead of “zero”. There is a close relationship connecting
the auditory image of the word, its reading and reproduction in writing. Each
word has its own auditory image, and this auditory image needs to be retrieved
correctly in the reading process to avoid its mispronunciation, misreading and
misspelling. Some possible exercises are minimal pairs like “bit and beat”, initial
sounds of successive words, rhyme words, similar or parallel sentences, etc.
Memory Training: This training helps learners’ in mental retention (for a short
but significant period of time) of facts and data in a text while reading or even
after reading. Some such exercises that you are likely to encounter, are:
Repeat the first three sentences of the first paragraph after completing a
reading.
Sequentially narrate in brief the chronological order of events in a story
that has been read.
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Name as many of the objects from memory as possible after a picture has The Reading Process
been shown related to a story that will be read.
1.6 THE READING PROCESS
As you attend the sessions at your study centre, you will find that there are four
steps followed in a reading lesson:
Introduction: Here the tutor explains the purpose for reading the selected
textual extract or portion and gives you all a setting for the text to be read.
Then the tutor presents a background of appropriate information for the
text to be read, and selects as well as introduces the new vocabulary
necessary to comprehend the main ideas in the text.
The reading: This is generally an oral exercise for the beginners, usually
consisting of listening to the passage read aloud, or listening and following
along. Later on, reading is procedural and repetitive or slow and silent.
Comprehension tasks: After one or more readings are done, certain questions
are set on the passage studied in order to elicit factual or inferential
information based upon your understanding of the textual extract.
Review and related exercises: These may consist of summary, review,
stylistic analysis, précis writing and other formative and summative
exercises to enhance your understanding and to evaluate your ability of
comprehension and identification of salient points of the reading passage.
During a reading lesson in your sessions at the study centre, the following steps
should be carefully followed:
In the study centre, as the tutor reads aloud, you all should listen attentively
and follow the text as the lines on a page are progressively pronounced or
spoken aloud.
The tutor will occasionally stop to highlight the meanings of words in
between the reading and engage in discussion on specific portions during
gaps in reading.
The tutor will read and encourage you all to repeat, listen and read along,
following his/her pronunciation and then proceed to make you all highlight
important portions.
The tutor will elicit questions or conduct a discussion on stylistic or
grammatical points of importance.
The tutorwill generate and supervise discussion on theme and content.
As all of this happens, you all are encouraged to either read silently or
practice reading aloud individually with the tutor’s permission.
Three types of questions may follow from the tutor for discussion:
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Learning to Read Effectively Informative or factual: those which begin with what, when, where, who,
how many, etc.
Inferential: those questions which may be answered by evaluating the
information given such as: did the hero feel scared by the villain’s
intimidating manner and aggressive threats?
Interpretative: questions relating to the author’s opinion and a reader’s
judgment about the style and content of the text.
Check Your Progress 2
1) How is intensive reading different from extensive reading?
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2) Why are auditory discrimination exercises important for reading?
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3) How does memory training help in reading readiness?
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4) What do review and related exercises consist of and how are they helpful
in the process of reading?
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The Reading Process 1.7 STAGE ONE OF THE READING PROCESS:
ELEMENTARY READING
Reading by English language learners can be understood as a skill acquisition
process in three stages:
In the first stage which is usually referred to as Elementary Reading, the learners
are taught the process of associating the letters of the English alphabet with their
relevant sounds in appropriate contexts. In this process, they discover the
relationship between the alphabet and the spoken language. Readers are given
sets of simple words, phrases and sentences with the focus being on one or two
letters and their combinations. They are introduced to the correspondence between
the individual letters and their combinations in slow and graded steps.
They come to internalize, in an inductive manner, the possibilities of sound values
for each letter, or combination of letters. This leads to an emphasis upon decoding
graphic information from the words, phrases, and sentences. With their newfound familiarity and ability to form correspondences, learners then begin to
read new combinations of vocabulary and sentence structures. They are now
able to accurately predict the sound systems represented by the letters and their
word formation combinations in various contexts.
There may be various types of elementary readers ranging from a child or an
illiterate to an adult second or foreign language learner of English, who is not
proficient in the target language. He/she may be highly educated or a moderately
educated person in his/her own native language. At the beginning level,
irrespective of age and background, the focus must be mainly on the mechanics
of reading. The beginner needs to learn about the relationship and the
correspondence between the letters of the alphabet and the spoken language.
Before reading skills are developed at the beginner’s level, learners must note
and follow these guidelines:
The tutor or the instructor must have adequate knowledge of the academic
and linguistic background of the beginner reader or non-native speaker.
The reading task involves decoding the system of abstract symbols to
discover its relation to the spoken language system and thus association
and correspondence must be imbibed and imparted correctly.
The time taken to master the practice of association and correspondence
will differ with age, maturity, previous experience, and other social factors.
With primary emphasis on mechanics, learners can excel in the mechanics
of reading in a few months.
Words, which express familiar meanings or meanings which can be
recognized, are retained in memory and thus must be chosen judiciously.
The choice of words must focus on the text to be studied.
At this stage, such words must be avoided as those which may have the
same spelling in English as well as in the learner’s language, but are read
(pronounced) differently.
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Learning to Read Effectively 1.8 STAGE TWO OF THE READING PROCESS:
INTERMEDIATE READING
The intermediate reading stage fosters interest in reading, and develops the actual
reading skill practiced throughout the learners’ lives beyond mastering the
association between letters and sounds. Intermediate readers read silently and
confidently predict the sound values of letters and their combinations, and they
begin to read for academic purposes. Emphasis, here, is on developing additional
reading skills towards reading with a purpose. In the Intermediate Reading level,
the learners progress to reading advanced English passages with the emphasis
being on overall comprehension and retention. This focuses on the development
of study skills and textual organization.
At the intermediate stage of reading, learners should read such content that
introduces them subtly to the grammatical and stylistic conventions of English.
Reading should be done in a way that through these passages, learners can
internalize the grammatical structures of English. These structures of English
are linked to the reading process and the goals of reading. For example, learners
may understand through reading practice that certain phrases predict the transition
in information discussed in the reading material.
In this stage the following pre-reading guidelines should be followed.
The learner should read and examine the title and the headings for each
section and attempt to predict what the passage will have as its central
theme;
The learner should read the first and last paragraphs and the first sentence
of each paragraph to attempt to predict the focus of the passage;
The learner should read the title and skim the passage to circle all the
words that may have a connection with the title;
The learner should scan the passage and highlight all the words that are
unfamiliar. The learner should then do a second reading of the passage and
guess or conjecture the meanings of these unfamiliar words in the context
of the passage. However, if the meanings are still elusive, then the words
must be looked up in a dictionary;
The learner should try to think about and analyse the nature of the content
in the passage after reading: fiction or non-fiction, etc.;
The learner should also contemplate after reading why would somebody
read this passage: for information or pleasure;
The learner should try to tell a story about the background of the reading
passage, or create an alternative ending to the passage, in a conversation
with friends, after reading is complete.
In the intermediate stage, several intermediate reading skills can be acquired
through these procedures. They are:
Reading with incomplete information
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Organizing for careful reading by skimming and scanning The Reading Process
Organizing information
Reading critically
Developing effective personal reading strategies
Establishing effective and differentially paced reading for different kinds
of reading
In the reading process, at the intermediate stage of reading, the success of a
learner depends a lot on the initiative he or she is willing to take and the positive
attitude that is inculcated towards reading. The learners should recognize the
pivotal role reading plays in improving their diction and pronunciation, even as
it helps them internalize the structures of English. The learners should discover
for themselves how rigorous reading habits help them enhance their linguistic
and academic performance in English in a holistic way. Reading materials are
easily available and a plethora of daily, relevant and engaging material in our
surroundings can be used to our advantage in order to understand better both
culture and literature. If the reading materials chosen are relevant, and fulfil the
learners’ needs, they will help develop an interest in reading and also improve
their optimal reading speeds. This is also another focus at the intermediate stage
of the reading process.
1.9 STAGE THREE OF THE READING PROCESS:
ADVANCED READING
In the intermediate stage, most learners are content with their achievement of
personal reading as it is both fluent and purposeful compared to the elementary
stage of the reading process. However, reading is a continuing process, and despite
their feeling of accomplishment, learners must necessarily move on to the reading
of authentic texts for specific purposes. Stories re-told, as well as abridged and
adapted versions are focused in the intermediate level but at the advanced level,
originals are studied and exhaustive reading becomes important. Advanced
reading is therefore a stage of the reading process that is based on a wide variety
of authentic texts and on tasks that represent how a learner would negotiate
these texts in a real-life situation rather than a conventional assessment exercise.
The aim of advanced reading is to go beyond mere understanding and delve
deeper into layers of meanings, references and suggestions implicit in a text.
Learners need to form individual opinions about the text or express personal
responses to the text in terms of interpretation, evaluation, criticism and
application of other contexts or disciplines or situations. Advanced reading leads
to complex thinking and is simply a preliminary step towards further learning of
various skills and purposes.
1.10 READING THROUGH STORIES
Short stories serve as a relaxing break from routine, lengthy and academic texts
as well as interesting lesson exercises. Selection of short stories for reading by
adult learners is different from selection of materials by children because the
former might lose interest if the text is too simple and the latter may do the same
if the text is too difficult and abstruse.
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Learning to Read Effectively While adult readers select appropriate short stories, the following factors come
into play:
Complexity of Vocabulary: The story should have enough words that the
majority of the readers are able to understand, while at the same time include
sufficiently complex words which they can decode.
Simplicity of Language: The stories should not have too many idioms or
arcane and archaic language, as that might also be too difficult and
disinteresting.
Relevance of theme and content: The content should be relevant in such
a way that topics of relationships, business situations, family life or even
something personal and intimate can be related to by the readers, culturally
and professionally.
Potential for Discussion: The story must provide interesting themes or
discussion questions keeping in mind the contemporary situation and critical
thinking.
Reading is thus an exercise that can be enhanced through several procedural
steps by various strategies and activities structured to develop effective
reading skills that will eventually form the basis for the development of
communication skills and self-expression through appropriate vocabulary.
Check Your Progress 3
1) In your opinion, how is the elementary reading stage important in the overall
development of reading skills?
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2) Discuss three major pre-reading guidelines to be followed by the reader
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3) What is the primary aim of the advanced reading stage? The Reading Process
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4) Why are short stories easier to read? Why are short stories selected
differently for different categories of readers?
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1.11 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have discussed the various aspects of the process of reading.
The highlights are as follows:
Reading is a crucial skill to address the demands of educational coursework
as well as professional spaces and also to ensure effective learning coupled
with personal enrichment.
Reading begins with mastering pre-literacy skills, including learning the
alphabet and achieving phonemic awareness.
Reading can be classified into three kinds: extensive reading, intensive
reading and oral reading.
There are four procedural steps in a reading lesson and it consists of three
stages: elementary, intermediate and advanced.
1.12 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about the process of reading, you may consult:
Deanne Spears, Improving Reading Skills: Contemporary Readings for College
Students Seventh Edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013)
Gordon Wainwright, How to read faster and recall more… (Oxford: How To
Books, 2007)
Martin Montgomery et al., Ways of Reading: Advanced reading skills for students
of English literature (London: Routledge, 2007)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
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Learning to Read Effectively 1.13 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) (a). (ii), (b). (ii), (c). (iii), (d). (i)
For answers to 2, 3 and 4, refer to 1.3.
Check Your Progress 2
For the answer to 1, refer to 1.4.
For answers to 2 and 3, refer to 1.5.
For answers to 4 and 5, refer to 1.6.
Check Your Progress 3
For the answer to 1, refer to 1.7.
For the answer to 2, refer to 1.8.
For the answer to 3, refer to 1.9.
For the answer to 4, refer to 1.10.
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The Reading Process UNIT 2 DEVELOPING READING SKILLS
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Types of Reading
2.3 Study Reading
2.4 Reading Faster
2.5 Let us Sum Up
2.6 References
2.7 Suggested Readings
2.8 Answers
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading the Unit carefully, you will be able to:
understand the importance of good reading skills;
enumerate and use different types of reading strategies; and
enumerate and use different strategies to improve reading rate for faster
reading.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Reading is a multifaceted cognitive process of decoding printed or written words
to get the meaning. It involves word recognition, language processing,
comprehension and fluency. Many students consider reading a chore because
they connect it only with learning complex information from textbooks prescribed
in the curriculum. However, reading is a basic skill that we use every day in a
variety of situations. For instance, looking at the notice board to find an
advertisement for a flat or a job vacancy would require you to quickly locate the
relevant information and reject the irrelevant to extract the required facts.
Additionally, reading a newspaper, a magazine or a blog not only requires you to
read the content, but also get a more detailed comprehension than just being able
to get the gist. Thus, be it for understanding instructions on a medicine bottle or
for filling out an application form, reading is an important fundamental skill
needed to function actively in the society today as an informed citizen and even
for conducting activities in our personal lives. Let us consider the various kinds
of reading material that one usually comes across in different situations in real
life:
1) Literary texts like novels, short stories, poems, plays, biographies, essays,
diaries, etc.
2) Texts for communication like emails, messages, letters, postcards,
telegrams, etc.
3) Business or work-related texts like forms, instructions, catalogues,
brochures, reports, reviews, rules and regulations, notices, notes, minutes
of meetings, etc.
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Learning to Read Effectively 4) Media related texts like newspapers, magazines, online articles, editorials,
blogs, pamphlets, advertisements, etc.
5) Graphic texts like graffiti or comic strips, posters, warnings, road signs,
maps, etc.
6) Academic texts like textbooks, handbooks, guidebooks, dictionaries,
phrasebooks, etc.
7) Other miscellaneous types like recipes, menu, price list, etc.
In addition to this, reading is an active skill. It entails guessing, forecasting,
anticipating, checking and introspection. It is because while reading, our eyes do
not follow each word of the text, word after word. This holds true especially for
efficient readers. Many words and expressions are simply skipped as they are
read. Also, more than what one finds in the text, what one brings to the text by
predicting is usually more important for reading quickly. Therefore, one should
first consider the known elements before proceeding to interpret unknown aspects
of the text; whether it is vocabulary or ideas. This is a global approach to reading
a text and would involve the following steps:
1) study of the layout: title, length, pictures, typeface of the text
2) making hypothesis, anticipation about the content and deciphering function/
purpose of the text
3) confirming the hypotheses by considering what one is cognizant of in such
text types in the first reading.
4) second reading for further confirmation through skimming; it includes
making more detailed prediction or revision of thought
To give you more insights into developing better reading skills this module will
briefly discuss the different types of reading, the strategies of reading efficiently
and tips to improve your reading rate to read faster.
Now go through all the sections and answer the questions given in ‘Check Your
Progress’. This will help you to remember the important points. We do hope you
enjoy working through this Unit.
2.2 TYPES OF READING
Any type of reading that is done, is usually done for two main reasons/ purposes:
a) Reading for Pleasure: Reading for pleasure is when we read because of
our own free will expecting to derive intellectual satisfaction and joy. It is
also called reading for recreation and is mostly done voluntarily and
enthusiastically. Although it can also be done on someone else’s suggestion
but we do it mostly as a habit, at a time and place of our choice. There have
been number of research studies to validate the benefits of reading for
pleasure. Some of the benefits are improved vocabulary/spellings/grammar
due to incidental learning, better language competence, improved problemsolving capacity, better social/attitudinal/communication competencies and
better average academic scores. Additionally, many studies suggest that
reading for pleasure improves general knowledge. It also enhances
understanding of other cultures, self-confidence, improves decision making
power as well as provides greater insights into human nature.
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b) Reading for Information Developing Reading Skills : When we read a text or common workplace
document to find out some information or gain knowledge from the content,
it is called reading for information. In academic or official context this
type of reading is most applicable and involves detailed understanding of
the content with requisite personal responses like summarizing, discussing
the main ideas or answering the questions.
Irrespective of the purposes mentioned above, the general aims of developing
reading skills are as follows:
1) to be able to read without help, on one’s own, in real life outside the
classroom
2) to be able to read unfamiliar texts that one has never tackled before
3) to be able to read authentic texts (authentic texts such as articles, blogs,
novels etc. are written for real world purposes to inform, explain, guide,
document or even entertain)
4) to be able to read different texts with appropriate speed instead of plodding
through all the texts at the same speed
5) to be able to read silently as we seldom need to read aloud in real life
6) to be able to read with adequate understanding to suit our purpose
Despite being a basic/essential skill for academic success, reading is often
overlooked by many students who focus more on developing writing skills. Thus,
an important question to consider when we focus on improving reading skills is,
how do we read? A good reader varies his /her speed of reading according to the
nature and purpose of reading. Such a reader would also change the attitude,
approach and technique according to the type of the text. For instance, the way
one reads the directions to assemble the parts of a doll or an airplane, or
instructions to bake a cake would be very different from the way one reads a
legal document to fully understand all the legal provisions. Similarly, one would
also employ a different method to read a bestseller on a journey. A huge mistake
many students commit is that they read all types of texts by plodding through the
written material word by word. One must avoid this and should be flexible in
using varying speed and techniques of reading.
Some main techniques of reading are as follows:
Skimming: When we quickly read the text to glean the gist of it, it is called
skimming. In this technique one goes through the reading material to sift the
essence of the text, to understand the organization of ideas and the tone or the
intention of the writer. Thus, it needs glancing rapidly through the text. We often
do it when we skim through the newspaper to see if there is anything worth
reading in detail or even when we quickly browse through the pages of a book to
find out its subject matter.
Scanning: When we speedily dart through a text to find particular information
such as a name, a date etc. it is called scanning. In this technique one often does
not follow the linearity of the passage. The eyes are simply allowed to wander
over the text until we spot what we are looking for. It also requires us to reject or
pass over irrelevant information. Thus, the purpose of this technique is very
limited. We use this technique while checking out table of contents or while
trying to find a person’s telephone number in the telephone directory.
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Learning to Read Effectively These two techniques of reading are not mutually exclusive. At times both are
blended for quick and efficient reading. For instance, one may skim through an
article first just to decide if it is worth reading. Then later during second or third
reading one may scan it to note down a figure or name which we need to remember
particularly.
Now we must also learn the difference between the two types of reading that are
often employed in the context of studying. They are described traditionally as
intensive and extensive reading indicating different procedures and purposes.
These are also called reading for accuracy and reading for fluency respectively.
Intensive Reading: When we read texts of short length to extract specific
information, it is called intensive reading. This type of reading demands accuracy
as we read for details. This requires reading short passage and then examining it
closely and in great detail, with an aim to obtain a thorough understanding of the
text. This is often undertaken under guidance of a teacher. This method improves
one’s power of judgment, discriminative reasoning based on interpretation and
appreciation. As one pays attention to the logical development of ideas and
arguments and even the writing style used in the text it also helps to improve our
concentration level.
Extensive Reading: Extensive reading involves reading longer texts, usually
for one’s own pleasure without bothering to check every unknown word. The
aim of this type of reading is to train ourselves to read fluently without the aid of
teacher. According to Prof. Stephen Krashen, “…reading for pleasure [extensive
reading] is the major source of our reading competence, our vocabulary and our
ability to handle complex grammatical constructions.” For this type of reading a
wide variety of interesting material which is readily and easily accessible in
language is chosen for reading which could be artistic, political, social or even
scientific. As this is a fluency activity, it mainly involves global comprehension
(understanding the general meaning). To inculcate the habit of extensive reading
one must make reading a part of daily routine and read any book for at least 30
minutes at a stretch. Setting a time, a place and deciding the number of books
that you would like to finish reading in a given time can be very beneficial. One
can also carry the book along and read whenever one gets a chance. Keeping a
journal to note down your thoughts and responses is also a good practice.
Let us now look at some points one should keep in mind while choosing a book
for extensive reading:
1) Ask for suggestions but choose the book that piques your interest.
2) Instead of an anthology of articles/stories choose a full-length book. It
would allow you more time to become familiar and comfortable with
author’s style and vocabulary.
3) Do not pick up a book that you are familiar with or have read in another
language. A familiar book might seem less interesting.
4) Read the front and back covers to decide if you want to read the book. Also
read the first few pages to become familiar with the style and subject.
5) Make sure that the book is not too difficult for you to read. If it is too
difficult to read it may prove to be too challenging or discouraging, whereas
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Developing Reading Skills the content may seem boring if it is too easy to read. One way to do this is
by counting the number of unknown keywords on a page. A keyword is a
word that one must know in order to get the general meaning of the text. If
there are more than five unknown key words on a page that means it would
be difficult for you to read. If there are no unknown words then it is too
easy for you.
Check Your Progress 1
1) How is intensive reading different from extensive reading?
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2) What is the difference between skimming and scanning?
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3) Briefly discuss the general aims of developing reading skills.
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4) What are the steps to first analyse the known elements before moving on
to the unknown aspects while reading a text?
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Learning to Read Effectively 2.3 STUDY READING
While skimming, scanning or zooming are important reading strategies that enable
us to get a ‘drift’ of what the author is saying or the gist of content, yet as college
students you are required to do study reading for better academic performance.
You need to do immense amount of reading in detail for your courses and are
expected to remember the concepts and ideas in the books prescribed in the
curriculum. This requires engagement with the text on your part. It requires you
to be able to read carefully and thoughtfully. For this purpose, there are a number
of strategies. A few that you can start using easily have been suggested below:
Strategy 1: Text Marking
Strategy 2: Writing Questions
Strategy 3: Associating Graphics with Ideas.
Strategy 4: Summarizing a Paragraph/Chapter
Let us now discuss them one by one.
1) Text Marking
While reading a lengthy text dense with numerous facts and ideas, it is beneficial
to mark things that you need to remember. You could also highlight them so that
they stand out visually. These markings and highlights then can be used for
reviewing and remembering. Keep in mind that you should mark only the most
important ideas and information like: the topic, the thesis statement, the main
idea, details like the date or names, and even statements that differ from the main
idea and points or words that are difficult to understand. Previewing a text and
marking it with pencil is better as changes can be made later if necessary. Marking
can be done in different ways. You can try any of these or even develop your
personal style by combining many of these.
underlining with pencil
circling the words or putting them in the box
drawing arrows
writing the keywords, date and names in the margin
putting a question or exclamation mark to express your reaction
numbering points in a series
making a star in the margin against an important point
2) Writing Questions
Forming questions after marking the text is a powerful strategy to reinforce
learning. Writing down these questions helps us to sharpen our understanding.
You can make questions using the title, headings and subheadings and quiz
questions on the text. These are also called reading response questions. A few
examples for you to follow are:
What is the paragraph about?
What is the meaning of this phrase?
What is the key idea in this passage?
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What is my existing knowledge about this topic? Developing Reading Skills
Why is this example important?
How does the title justify the theme?
3) Associating Graphics with Ideas
Graphs, charts, tables and diagrams are often used in textbooks, articles,
newspapers to illustrate a point. One should always study these graphics carefully
and connect them to the relevant part of the text. You can also use drawing or
sketching for better understanding of what you read as they facilitate visualization.
For instance, after reading an article you can draw a flow chart or diagram to
capture main ideas.
4) Summarizing a Paragraph/Chapter
In order to remember important ideas presented in a text, rewriting the major
parts in shorter form in reports using some key words from the text and
paraphrasing is very useful. It is especially beneficial for memorizing important
information for exams. The first step in writing a summary is to first write one
sentence summary of each passage and then combine them to compose the
summary of the entire passage. Pay attention to the topic sentence as it often
contains the important details. Don’t forget to include the main idea and all the
supporting facts. Do not put extra /additional facts, ideas or opinions that are not
mentioned in the paragraph into the summary. Students usually find summarizing
a book chapter somewhat easier than summarizing article or essay. It is because
the text of a book chapter is often divided into sections and subsections. While
reading one must pay a lot of attention to the introduction to a chapter as it
contains thesis statement and directions about how will it be structurally and
thematically organized. The headings and subheadings usually correspond to
the key ideas mentioned in the statement of purpose. Textbook sections are often
arranged in listing pattern. A point to note here is that if textbook passage contains
complex ideas which are difficult to capture in one sentence then one can make
more sentences but should try to be as concise as possible.
Critical Reading
Critical reading means being judicious about what you are reading by exercising
your judgment and not taking the information at face value. The word critical
does not imply being dismissive of any idea or information as flawed/faulty. In
academic sense it means evaluating the text not just by assessing author’s opinion
and interpretation but also looking for omissions, inconsistencies and oversights
in the flow of arguments.
The first objective of any reading is obviously to understand accurately the content
but it is also essential for students to be able to read critically and analytically by
establishing correlation between several ideas contained in the text beyond the
superficial order, to identify author’s purpose and tone, to make accurate
inferences about author’s opinion and make judgment about the validity of facts
presented. A good critical reader is able to paraphrase the key points in one’s
own words, compare and contrast the ideas with other related material and present
a full analysis of the text.
The ability to read critically is crucial these days as the information available in
print or on web is not necessarily true. This is especially relevant when you
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Learning to Read Effectively consider information on the web because anyone can create a website and put
information on internet. Thus, asking questions in order to check the validity of
the text and to ensure the credentials of the writer is important. Some important
questions that one can ask oneself to read critically are:
What is the source of this information? Is it valid? Is it based on reliable
sources?
Who is the writer? What are his/her qualifications?
If it is a website then is it open-source like Wikipedia, the online
encyclopaedia?
Does the website belong to any organization? What is the credibility of the
organization?
Can the information be trusted?
What is the apparent purpose and intent of the website/writer in publishing
this? Is it trying to convince you or influence you to adhere to the published
opinion?
What is the point of view of the author?
What is your level of awareness about the topic and how does this
information compare with that?
Do I agree or disagree with this information?
For information obtained from the internet, one has to first choose the source
from many sites listed on Google and search engine. A lot can be ascertained
about a website by just looking at the web address or URL. The sites that appear
at the beginning of a list are the ones that are most connected with other websites.
Pay attention to the word ‘blog’. This indicates that the web page expresses
opinions and experiences of the author. Other than verifying the source of the
text one should also examine the text, be it from the web or in print form from
textbooks for the following aspects:
1) Determining author’s purpose for writing the text: Usually there are
three main purposes that are: to inform facts and explain ideas to the reader,
to persuade the reader for or against an argument by using facts or opinions
and to entertain the reader with narrative imbued with suspense and stories.
The writer may prioritize one purpose but any piece of writing can achieve
one or more purposes as well. In order to identify writer’s purpose, use the
following guidelines: If the text contains several facts then the purpose
could be to inform or persuade the reader. If the language is objective and
neutral then the purpose could be to inform the reader. If the language is
strongly emotive with positive or negative sentiments then the purpose
could be to persuade the reader. If the focus is on description of amusing
and intriguing incidents then the purpose could be to entertain the reader.
2) Determining the point of view of the writer: Every author writes with a
particular attitude, opinion or attitude towards a certain topic. This is
informed by the past experiences and background of the writer. This also
affects the facts and arguments presented in the text. To identify the point
of view one should look at the thesis statement closely and examine the
kind of supportive arguments made to corroborate the same.
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3) Recognizing the presence of possible bias where the writer may be Developing Reading Skills
favoring/advocating particular beliefs: Bias means disproportionate
inclination, predisposition or prejudice for or against a person or idea. It
can impact the reader by creating a limited or flawed perception. The words
chosen by the author can influence the feelings of the readers. Thus, it is
important to identify it so as to make a fair judgment about author’s ideas.
Biased writing usually has the following characteristics: one sided
arguments, evocative language inciting fear, anger, pity or outrage, facts
or examples stated only to support the writer’s opinion and contempt for
counter-views. Political, racial or religious bias may be present in a variety
of texts such as newspaper reports, magazines, even in textbooks.
Check Your Progress 2
1) What are the steps to be followed and things to be kept in mind while
summarising a paragraph/chapter?
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2) Recall and explain a few strategies to do efficient study reading.
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3) Why is critical reading important?
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2.4 READING FASTER
Reading quickly is as important as reading correctly. Fluent readers with an
impressive reading rate are able to adjust the speed of reading according to the
type of content and the purpose of reading. Reading rate is indicated by measuring
words per minute (WPM). According to experts a reading rate which is less than
200-250 indicates word-by-word reading. One should not read everything at the
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Learning to Read Effectively same rate. The ability to read at a faster rate enables the reader to read more
efficiently, do extensive reading of books and also improve reading
comprehension. However, a good rate of reading doesn’t mean that one reads
everything rapidly without appropriate comprehension. It is not the same as ‘speed
reading’ which is advertised on self-help books with tag lines such as “Read a
novel in an hour!”. Instead it means that one is flexible in increasing the speed or
slowing down as per the type of material or the purpose of reading. To be able to
assess what your reading speed is, you can use the following strategies:
1) Checking Reading Habits
Do you speak every word silently, aloud? Or do you move your lips when you
read? The effort to pronounce every word slows the reader. It hinders
comprehension. Also, if you follow every word with your finger or pencil through
a text it will hamper your speed. Good readers often jump ahead for new
information to read quickly. They move their eyes to follow their thoughts and
not the finger. Translating the text into one’s native language to make sense of
what one has read also reduces the rate of reading.
2) Reading Chunks
Efficient readers read in chunks. Chunks are meaningful groups of words or
phrases that are easier to remember in comparison to lot of unconnected distinct
words. Reading in chunks also enables forming connections between various
ideas in the text. It is easier for our mind to process information when it is divided
into meaningful phrases.
3) Skipping Over Unknown Words
Good readers skip over unknown words. They do not stop reading because
knowing the meaning of all the words is not necessary for understanding the key
ideas in the content. Moreover, guessing a general sense of the word from the
context is usually enough.
4) Reading Sprints and Rate Practice through Extensive Reading
People who read slowly do so because they are accustomed to do so as a habit.
Reading sprint means reading quickly. Just like runners practice running faster
to increase their speed, reading sprints help us to increase our reading rate
gradually by breaking the old habit of reading slowly. You can use extensive
reading books for this. At first you might find it very challenging and comprehend
very little of the content that you scurry through but with practice you will be
able to understand better. You can use the following instructions to do reading
sprints:
a) Select a book of your choice for extensive reading and keep close a
reliable watch for keeping time.
b) Use a pencil to mark the starting time on the margin of the page from
where you begin to read.
c) Read for five minutes. Then stop and count the number of pages you
have read.
d) Now count ahead the same number of pages as you have managed to
read in five minutes in the earlier sprint.
33
e) Now read the next few pages that you have marked again in the given Developing Reading Skills
five minutes.
f) If you do not succeed then keep trying by sprint reading new pages
every time until you succeed.
g) At this point don’t worry much about comprehending everything
absolutely. Focus more on reading faster by making your eyes move
quickly along the page. You can re-read these pages afterward for getting
the full meaning.
h) As you get better at it, try to reduce the time limit for reading the same
number of pages and repeat the process.
i) After a few attempts calculate your reading rate (counting average
number of words per page). Keep a track by checking your rate regularly
and marking it on a progress chart.
Steps to calculate your reading rate are as follows:
a) Take your extensive reading book to calculate average number of words
per page.
b) Take a full page with little or no dialogues or graphics.
c) Count the number of words in three lines and divide it by 3. This will give
you average number of words per line.
d) Now count the number of lines on that page and multiply with the average
number of words per line. This will yield the average number of words per
page.
e) Time your reading as instructed above. If you read for ten minutes then
that will be the reading time.
f) Now multiply the number of pages by number of words per page that you
calculated earlier. This will give you the total number of words you have
read on the counted number of pages.
e) Then divide the total number of words you have read on these pages by
number of minutes. You now have your reading rate.
5) Timed Reading Practice
Timed reading is reading passages against the clock and then answering
comprehension questions. To do this first calculate your reading rate (WPM)
and then set a goal that you would like to achieve. Then practice reading sprint.
But this time after you finish reading also answer the questions based on the
passage then check how many you got correct. For this you can take help of your
teacher as well. The number of answers you get correct will be your
comprehension score. The objective here is to force your eyes to move faster on
the page while keeping the comprehension score good. Something to remember
here is that if your reading rate is the same despite several attempts then you
need to move your eyes ahead faster. However, if your comprehension score is
very low then it’s possible that you might have been reading too fast. Your aim
34
Learning to Read Effectively should be to increase your reading rate gradually while not compromising your
comprehension score. Your comprehension score should be at least six or more
correct answers.
Check Your Progress 3
1) Why is reading word-by-word problematic?
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2) Name and briefly explain the strategies to read faster.
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2.5 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit we have discussed the different types of reading based on purpose
and techniques. We understood that reading is a multifarious mental process
involving word recognition, language processing, comprehension and fluency
through which we decode meaning of written words. Many students do not
recognise the importance of reading as a fundamental skill needed for success in
any field and regard it as a chore. However, reading is a basic skill that we use
every day in a variety of situations. Also, it is an active skill because a reader
brings a lot to the text in terms of understanding as reading requires guessing,
predicting, previewing, anticipating and even checking oneself.
Efficient readers indulge in intensive as well as extensive reading. They often do
not read every word on the page and employ skimming and scanning whenever
needed. In skimming, we go through the passage to get the gist of the text. In
scanning, we go through the passage to pick out specific information. However,
for study reading one needs to actively engage with the text to remember all the
important details and ideas. Thus, for achieving this, strategies like marking the
text with a pencil, making questions, connecting diagrams, sketches, summarizing
and paraphrasing are very useful.
In this Unit you have also learned about critical reading and its importance. The
word ‘critical’ does not imply being dismissive of any idea or information as
flawed/faulty. On the contrary, it means reading the text judiciously to assess the
author’s opinion, bias or oversights. It also involves judging the validity and
credibility of the source of information, especially if the content is taken from an
internet resource.
35
Lastly, we discussed ways to improve reading rate to read faster. Reading every Developing Reading Skills
text word by word slows us down. One should be flexible in applying reading
speed. Having a good reading rate is as important as having the ability to read
correctly.
2.6 REFERENCES
Jeffries, Linda. Advanced Reading Power. Longman, 2007.
Mikulecky, B.S. et al. More Reading Power. Addison Wesley publishing
Company, 1996.
Subramanium, et al. Unit 12 Developing Reading Skills. IGNOU, 2018.
Web resource: http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/46789
2.7 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to read more or would like to practice the strategies and
techniques discussed in this Unit, then you can use the following resources.
Deanne K. Milan, Developing Reading Skills Second Edition (McGraw Hill
Publishing Company, 1987)
Francoise Grellet, Developing Reading Skills: A Practical Guide to Reading
Comprehension Exercises (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999)
Paula J. Clarke et al., Developing Reading Comprehension (Sussex: Wiley
Blackwell, 1989)
2.8 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
For answers to 1, 2 & 3, refer to 2.2.
For the answer to 4, refer to 2.1.
Check Your Progress 2
For all answers, refer to 2.3.
Check Your Progress 3
For all answers, refer to 2.4.
36
Learning to Read Effectively UNIT 3 LEARNING READING
COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Warm up
3.2 Definition and Levels of Comprehension
3.3 Types of Reading Comprehension
3.4 Strategies of Reading Comprehension
3.5 Skills for Reading Comprehension
3.6 Academic Reading and Knowledge in Comprehension
3.7 Let us Sum Up
3.8 Suggested Readings
3.9 Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will develop in the learners the ability to do the following in a
comprehension passage:
identify the main idea(s) in the text, identify specific details, distinguish
main idea(s), distinguish fact from opinion; make inferences and predictions
based on information in the text; infer meanings of unfamiliar words and
achieve an overall understanding of the text;
skim for main idea(s) in the passage, scan for details in the contents of the
passage, summarize and paraphrase information in a text;
develop reading speed and enhance academic vocabulary, make use of
contextual clues to infer meanings of unfamiliar words from context,
distinguish main ideas from specific details, facts from opinions, make
inferences and predictions based on comprehension of a text;
identify author’s purpose and tone, discuss and respond to content of the
text orally as well as in writing;
utilize digital literacy tools to develop reading and vocabulary skills, use
graphic organizers to better understand a text, transfer information in the
text into a graphic organizer, and create mind maps if required;
discover and utilize academic vocabulary appropriately, orally and in
writing; and answer questions related to the text of the passage as well as
summarize/paraphrase information in a text; and
use various strategies of reading such as receptive reading, reflective
reading, skimming, scanning, intensive reading and extensive reading.
37
Learning Reading 3.1 WARM UP Comprehension Strategies
Answer the following questions about reading based on your own opinion and
experience.
What do you aim to do to understand a literary text by reading?
Do you like reading? If so why? What is your speed of reading in words or
pages per minute?
What is your focus when you read a literary text? Do you focus on
exhaustive reading, skimming, scanning or cursory reading?
What do you do to understand the meanings of difficult words? Do you
use a dictionary or try to guess the meaning from the context?
What is your favourite style of reading and why? How often do you read?
Do you prefer short passages or longer extracts? What are the factors that
govern your choice of passages to be read?
3.2 DEFINITION AND LEVELS OF
COMPREHENSION
Comprehension is the most necessary academic activity in reading and academic
discourse. It is one of the most important skills in language teaching. It refers to
understanding of a literary or linguistic passage by a reader in terms of both the
lexical and the syntactical structures as well as the many layers of meaning
embedded in the content of a passage. It involves the accurate association of
meanings with word symbols, the choice of the appropriate meaning implied in
the context, the logical arrangement of words to form contextual meanings, the
ability to logically and rationally analyse smaller ideas and vocabulary segments,
and the ability to understand the larger meaning of the ideas contained in the
content of any literary work.
Reading comprehension can be described simply as understanding by thinking.
To comprehend a passage, one needs to understand language patterns, to recognise
the structural elements in composing a sentence and to grasp the syntactic
interrelationship of these elements. Comprehension comprises the use of two
general mental abilities, the ability to remember word meanings and the ability
to logically analyse and see the connection between verbal concepts i.e. words.
Comprehension is a process of deep thinking and it involves meticulous reading.
Thus, it is dependent upon the readers’ basic cognitive and intellectual skills,
upon their background of cultural and intellectual experience and upon their
language skills. Readers use their thinking and verbal reasoning skills to read for
main ideas, for details, for organisation and for appreciation.
In traditional academic environments a successful comprehension is said to have
been achieved if the reader can answer a question or restate any information
given in the passage. However, in the contemporary academic milieu this concept
of reading comprehension has been expanded to include recall, remembrance,
application, inference and even the reader’s knowledge of language, syntax and
38
Learning to Read Effectively vocabulary patterns. This knowledge may be categorised linguistically into
different levels. First is a phonemic level where visual or acoustic input is recorded
into basic speech sounds called phonemes. Second is a lexical level, which roughly
corresponds to words or verbal patterns. Third is a syntactic level, which includes
a set of rules that specify the process and methods of categories of word-groups.
Fourth is a semantic level, which specifies the process and ways of sentence
construction and the patterns of sentence structure. The meaning of a sentence is
not simply the sum total of the lexical meaning of its constituent words but also
involves the deeper layers of meanings that may exist beyond the superficial.
Fifth is a pragmatic level, which corresponds to the use of the language in
dialogues and social interaction.
Comprehension is then an interaction with the text on multiple levels, both
linguistic and literary. It is a reader’s response to a passage. It demonstrates his
or her level of interaction and involvement with and interpretation of the
comprehension passage. It leads to a holistic and integrated development of
intelligence in an individual reader.
3.3 TYPES OF READING COMPREHENSION
Reading Comprehension is the ability to easily and efficiently read text for
understanding meaning and making inter-connections between words and ideas,
lexicon and syntax in a literary or linguistic passage. It is the last step of the
reading process after the acquisition of phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. There
are five categories of reading comprehension that may be taught in a language
classroom. These are:
Lexical Comprehension
Literal Comprehension
Interpretive Comprehension
Applied Comprehension
Affective Comprehension
These may be explained as:
Lexical Comprehension refers to understanding the key vocabulary in a text.
The successful comprehension of a text depends on the activation of appropriate
content and background knowledge. This in turn depends upon the reader’s lexical
knowledge. No comprehension is possible in any language unless the reader has
a foreknowledge of the lexicon and also a basic understanding of syntactical
patterns. If this is lacking then the reader will not be able to read accurately and
appropriately and therefore the impetus of the passage will be lost. Since it will
not have the desired impact upon the reader the essence of the exercise of the
comprehension will be lost. Therefore, an awareness and knowledge of lexicon
is fundamental to attaining skill in comprehension.
Literal comprehension involves two dimensions: chronological and surface
understanding of the explicitly stated content details in a passage. It can include
the perception and processing of factual information; the recall or recognition of
main thematic ideas, detailed chronology of the sequence of occurrences and
events, comparison of language and content, appearance and traits of character
description, and the cause and effect relationship explicitly stated in a story may
39
Learning Reading
Comprehension Strategies be regarded as literal level comprehension tasks. Recall would require the reader
to refer to and furnish an idea or ideas stated by the author, however recognition
on the other hand would require the reader to decide whether or not a type specific
information was presented in the story. Recall questions are usually more difficult
to answer than recognition questions since recall requires the generation of the
response after remembering what was read. In contrast questions of recognition
require the reader to select a correct answer by recognizing it. The ability to
comprehend literal information presented in a story leads to higher levels of
understanding and appreciation and is thus important for the reader as a linguistic
and literary skill. Literal understanding is thus the cornerstone of the
comprehension skill as it enhances the reading and retention abilities of the reader.
Reading without understanding is as futile as understanding without retention.
Interpretative or Inferential Comprehension is the process through which
readers infer, analyse or interpret the meaning embedded and implied beyond
explicitly stated information in the content. They understand the passage to arrive
at a deeper understanding of the entire content. This process is similar to that of
literal comprehension and involves the sequencing of main ideas, the
understanding of chronological sequences as well as their application to the events
in the narrative, details of actions, characterization and a complete understanding
of the cause or underlying effect of an action by a character whose subtle traits
are elucidated in his or her behaviour. This information is not explicitly stated
and the reader must discern an underlying nuance of meaning by trying to “read
between the lines” to comprehend at an inferential level.
In some instances of inferential or interpretative comprehension readers may be
required to elaborate on ideas and in other instances in the contextual repertoire
to concretize abstract ideas. These ideas must first be integrated and then used as
a basis for making inferences. Inference thus requires an integration of the content
of the passage which shall subsequently result in the creation of inferences about
the passage for comprehension. It involves a combination of conjecture and
explanation based on a synthesis of the literal context, personal knowledge,
intention, and imagination. Inference can take the form of either convergent or
divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is involved in such skills as identifying
topic sentences, determining sequences and recalling details. Convergent
inferences cause the reader to come to a specific correct answer or an agreed
upon hypothesis that may be verified through the data supplied by the writer.
Divergent thinking on the other hand is imaginative or creative thinking. It is an
inference that does not have to be judged as right or wrong. In divergent thinking
the individual develops alternative answer, none of which is necessarily correct
but none of which is incorrect either. Divergent thinking is a synonym for creative
thinking and convergent thinking can be considered a synonym of analytical
thinking. In a nutshell then, one must understand that strategies of reading
comprehension can encompass a variety of thought processes, multiple types of
thinking and diverse ways of negotiating with the text.
Applied Comprehension refers to the application of the content in the passage
to some idea or opinion stated externally. This involves understanding the meaning
of the passage, making inferences, relating ideas logically and sequentially in
the content, making external associations of ideas contained in the passage and
answering questions which are not superficial but analytical. This may involve
drawing comparison, making contrasts, highlighting sameness and discerning
40
Learning to Read Effectively differences. For instance, a study of a fairy tale involves the application of the
lesson of the same to real life, the parallel of the situation to daily incidents and
the moral of the subtext as a didactic lesson. Even a fable or an allegory when
read with meticulous attention can bring about a realization of the fact that this
can be applied to contemporary reality and is thus universal.
Affective Comprehension involves an understanding of the emotional and social
aspects of the content of a literary passage and it happens when the readers have
the ability to understand and establish a connection between motive and plot
development. This shows the topicality and immediacy of the passage and the
intensity and relational ability of the reader. For example, the characters in a
novel may propel the narrative forward by their actions but in a short story the
situations may impact a character to act in a specific way. Both plot and character
are inter-related in a literary passage and thus the development of the latter is
dependent on the progress and actions of the former. The moment this connectional
understanding and linking ability is manifested by the reader, the comprehension
becomes affective in nature.
Check Your Progress 1
1) How is comprehension dependent upon the readers? Explain.
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2) Briefly discuss the various linguistic levels of comprehension.
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3) State one major similarity between applied and affective comprehension.
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4) What is meant by “read between the lines” in comprehension?
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41
Learning Reading 3.4 STRATEGIES OF READING Comprehension Strategies
COMPREHENSION
Comprehension involves both intensive and extensive reading and these are
dependent on several skills that may be classified as literal skills, interpretive
skills, critical skills and creative skills. Literal skills are skills used for
understanding the surface of content information; interpretive skills are skills
that are needed to analyse the deeper meanings of the content, critical skills are
skills needed to compare and contrast facts and details, cite and substantiate
arguments related to the passage; creative skills are skills of summary, paraphrase,
reproduction of facts by rewording ad rewriting the content of the passage as
well as extracting relevant portions and answering questions based on the content.
These skills should be practiced together to achieve complete and holistic
understanding of the content on a comprehension passage.
To enhance the skill of reading and understanding a literary passage, to analyse
it thoroughly and also to submit and express parts of it as answers to be evaluated,
there are five main strategies that should be adhered to. They are: framing contentbased questions, creating content summary, visualising and predicting the
development of the text, analysing the textual patterns and structures and finally
scaffolding previous knowledge with new concepts. A detailed explanation of
these is given below:
Framing Content Based Questions: Comprehensive learning in any literary
and linguistic comprehension passage can occur only through self-directed
questioning done by a reader before and after reading. It is the interrogative
mode of understanding post reading that can deeply entrench the information of
the content in the reader’s mind. Questioning has multiple uses: it arouses
curiosity, it embeds the learning within the mind, it also propels the exploration
of deeper nuances in a text. Above all it serves as useful skill for pre-practice of
evaluation. Framing questions mostly self-directed can thus be a useful way of
examining the level of the reader’s self-understanding of the text by an exercise
by introspection.
Three types of questions must be framed for a better understanding of any passage.
They are: direct or factual questions, analytical or interpretive questions, and
research questions. A direct question is based on the data presented in the content
of the passage and it highlights the outline details of the material read with the
facts being explicitly stated. For example, in a fairy tale like Cinderella a direct
question would refer to the details of the transformation of the pumpkin into a
coach and the mice into liveried attendants. An analytical question makes the
readers evaluate and seek deeper meanings in the outcomes of their learning and
understanding. For instance, in the story of Cinderella, an analytical question
would deal with the relevance of the story in contemporary society and would
seek universal and topical relevance of the situation presented to a similar situation
in human life in a particular culture. A research question encourages the readers
to seek information beyond what is in the text. For example, in the story of
Cinderella, the research question would be what the glass slipper in Cinderella
symbolises. These types of questions taken together provide a technique for
holistic and integrated understanding of a literary passage, or in this case a fairy
tale. Such a technique proves effective because it generates self-interest and self-
42
Learning to Read Effectively motivation to obtain a better understanding of the text by imbibing the skills
needed for the same.
Creating Content Summary: Summary is the ability to encapsulate the essence
of a text in a limited number of words. It deletes irrelevant details, combines
similar ideas, condenses main ideas, and connects major themes into concise
statements that capture the purpose of reading for the reader. In any comprehension
activity related to reading a literary passage a summary can be made by jotting
down ideas and statements, underlining key words and phrases, mind mapping
of the themes and sequence of actions, or even simply attempting a chronological
arrangement of the key ideas so that a sequential understanding is achieved. For
example, in the essay “Of Studies” by Francis Bacon, a summary would contain
the following ideas: the purpose of studies, their use in daily life, their abuse or
excess and their remedy of various diseases of the mind. Metaphors of pruning
and other aphorisms and/or Latinate phrases may be deleted in the summary
since they enhance the linguistic style of the essay and are not so integral to its
meaning.
Visualising and Prediction of Text: The importance of visualizing the content
of a text is immense as a strategy of reading comprehension. As they read the
text, readers should be encouraged to form visual images in their mind as structural
images or diagrams instead of mere pictures, as pictures have a tendency to fade.
The ability to visualise is a key element of comprehension since pictorial retention
aids understanding better than simply verbal or mnemonic aids. The structural
images of textual progression will help readers retain, recall and even predict the
future progress of thought and action of the text through conjecture and educated
guesswork. For example, if the text of “The Lagoon” by Joseph Conrad is read
slowly and closely, and if during the reading process the reader is able to form
mental images of the Congo scenery and the forests depicted, the river journey
can be easily visualised as a travel inward into the isle creek. Once this is done
the reader will be able to see parallels in the river journey with the journey of
life, with a voyage deep within the jungle as the voyage into the deep and dark
sub-conscious of the human mind. The reader then will face little difficulty in
making the symbolical analogy of the river journey within the forest to the journey
of the human mind into the depths of its subconscious. Many symbols and many
layers of meaning will be unravelled by visualisation and mind mapping of the
text. Moreover, the reader will also understand how the White Man is a foil to
the swarthy Arsat, how he serves as a trigger to Arsat’s realization, how even the
setting of the island cut off from visible civilization is a symbol of Man’s existence
in the world. Visualization will enable a reader to predict that Diamelen will
eventually die and that her death will be a moment of epiphany for Arsat. It will
enable the reader to understand the flashback better and also to relate the
consequences of the flashback to the present point of crisis in the main story.
Analysis of Textual Patterns and Structures: There are many genres, styles,
modes and techniques of narration by which writers organize their textual material.
These can also be in the form of literary patterns or linguistic structures. The
patterns used may be in the form of cause-effect pattern, problem-solution pattern,
or a descriptive pattern. A cause-effect pattern can be a series of reasons or motives
leading up to the climax of action or resolution of narrative. A problem solution
pattern may present the argument or premise as a crisis or situation and then
submit various alternative outcomes and solutions to the same. The descriptive
43
Learning Reading
Comprehension Strategies pattern is one in which the pros and cons of a situation are evaluated, described
and assessed. Understanding the pattern through which the material is presented
is essential for the reader in order to achieve complete comprehension of the
information provided. It is important to understand and analyse the patterns of a
text so that the reader can gauge if the purpose of the passage has been fulfilled.
For instance, if one is reading a newspaper report or a journalistic article, it is
imperative that one should note the different headings, sub-headings, captions
and also study the tables, charts, or statistical data mentioned. Readers must also
note the concise, pithy and balanced sentence structure and analytical content
presented as substantiation, cause-effect or even narrative input. In any
commercial report the data presented will be different from that presented in a
newspaper report. Similarly, an article in a magazine will be different from an
editorial in a newspaper. The tone of a scholarly discourse will be radically
opposite to that of a subjective perspective on the same topic. Readers can plan
their understanding better once they have discerned the textual pattern and
structure of a text in a comprehension passage. For instance, the pattern of a
fictional prose passage is very different from that of a non–fictional passage and
both in turn are very different from that of a journalistic passage, a commercial
report, a newspaper article, a blog or a review.
Scaffolding Old Knowledge with New Concepts: Brainstorming is vital for
reading and understanding any passage on any topic. It serves to stimulate a
reader’s previous knowledge of the ideas contained in the passage given for
comprehension. A memory of a similar text, if activated, will make the readers
understand better and deeper. This will help them connect the present content
being read to their already existing knowledge and make the new reading more
stimulating and engaging. The strategy allows readers to work their way up from
an already existing schema, instead of starting a new one. Thus, it is useful to
activate prior knowledge and use it to support the embedded structures of
knowledge within the reader thereby creating a support for the new knowledge
to be acquired through fresh comprehension and new reading. For instance, in
any passage related to environmental studies, one can always activate prior
knowledge of biology, geography and maybe even economics as a means of
reading deeply into the passage given. Thus, even before one has started reading
the passage, one is aware of embedded knowledge about pollution, energy,
economic policies, geographical changes and other minute details that may have
a bearing upon the topic of environmental studies given for reading. This will be
the scaffold or embedded support of the new knowledge of the details given in
the content of the main passage. Thus, on the sub-structure of prior knowledge
the superstructure of new knowledge and understanding will be built and the
finished intellectual edifice will be strong and deep-seated.
3.5 SKILLS FOR READING COMPREHENSION
Reading Comprehension is a skill that may be innate but can also be acquired
through various strategies imbibed in the course of reading and polished with
continuous practice. The acquisition of reading comprehension skills has myriad
importance in academic and personal life and mastery over this skill can be
attained through various practices like decoding, fluency, vocabulary enhancement
and sentence construction, retention and attention span development among many
others.
44
Learning to Read Effectively Decoding words: Decoding is a vital step in the reading process and this
skill is employed to understand words which a reader may have heard
before but never read or spelt. This is the first step of comprehension. The
ability to express and understand words which are unfamiliar or only partly
familiar is the basis for other reading skills. Decoding is inextricably
interlinked with phonemic awareness (which is a subset of a broader skill
called phonological awareness). Phonemic awareness enables readers to
hear individual sounds in words (known as phonemes) as well as to enable
them to combine different phonemes into creating new words. Decoding
also involves the skill of connecting individual sounds to letters. Words
can only be pronounced and then spelt correctly if the reader has made a
connection between a letter, or group of letters, and the sounds they typically
make.
Fluency in reading: Fluency involves the immediate recognition of sounds
and words, which may be either familiar or unfamiliar to the reader. Fluency
accelerates the pace at which readers can read and understand the text.
Decoding every word may be both tedious and time-consuming and this is
where the sub-skill set of word recognition is used for immediate recognition
of complete words by silent reading instead of sounding them out. Fluent
readers can read smoothly and swiftly, skimming and scanning for words
and understanding meaning in the content as they read. They group words
together to aid in the understanding of the meaning, and they use the
appropriate diction and tone of their voice when reading aloud. Reading
fluency is one of the most essential skills for accuracy in reading
comprehension. The understanding of the content depends largely on the
ability to read with fluency and speed.
Building Vocabulary: A key skill component of reading comprehension
is acquiring a wide–ranging and diverse vocabulary. Readers may acquire
vocabulary through classroom instruction, everyday experience and also
by reading. The enrichment of vocabulary especially by exposing a reader
to multiple contexts, having frequent conversations, playing word-games,
and giving readers explicit instructions of a specialised nature in a direct
way in the classroom can enhance the skills of reading comprehension.
Vocabulary building must be regarded as an aggregate skill of reading
comprehension. The repertoire of words used by a reader or familiar to a
reader may be augmented by words in the passage for comprehension and
the only way to understand these words and append them to the readers’
vocabulary is by situating the meaning in context and then adding the word
to their personal repertoire for future use. Here also retention and recall
play an important role.
Sentence Construction and Arrangement: Sentence construction is
primarily a writing skill and in any skill of reading comprehension, this is
closely integrated with a fundamental reading skill called cohesion which
helps the readers identify the format and clarify the arrangement of ideas
in a sentence. This is an essential and vital skill of reading comprehension
called cohesion and coherence, i.e. the ability of the reader to understand
the structure, order and pattern of a sentence and create a sentence similarly
by linking the ideas of a comprehension passage. This skill can be acquired
by achieving explicit classroom instruction on the same and can be
45
Learning Reading
Comprehension Strategies elucidated in the connection of ideas in the content of a passage. To imbibe
this skill the reader must keep an analytical and objective outlook towards
the content of the passage while reading and also maintain sufficient
detachment to form multiple perspectives on the content of the passage.
An unprejudiced and clear approach towards the text can always be used
to strengthen this skill of reading comprehension.
Reasoning and Background Knowledge: Background knowledge is a
must for a better understanding of the comprehension passage. Reading
becomes easier with familiarity of the topic and the same can be achieved
by foreknowledge or familiarity of the topic and its contextual background.
Before reading a passage, one must activate background knowledge that
may be embedded within the mind about the topic of the passage. This
multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the text will enhance
the holistic understanding of the passage through scaffolding of knowledge.
Retention Span and Attention Span: These two skills are both subsets of
the larger activity set called executive function. Retention span is the
duration of the time period in which the reader can remember the vital and
key details of the passage after one complete reading of the passage. These
details may be factual, sequential, chronological, descriptive, linguistic
etc. Attention span is the meticulousness with which the readers read the
passage and the details they remember during the course of their reading.
While reading, the attention span of readers will allow them to process and
grasp information from the text whereas retention span allows them to
retain, recall and even reuse that information to gain meaning and build
knowledge from what they are reading. The ability to self-monitor while
reading a passage is connected to the retention and memory span of a reader.
Examples of comprehension skills that can be taught and applied to all
reading situations include summarizing, sequencing, inferencing,
comparing and contrasting, drawing conclusions, self-questioning, problemsolving, relating background knowledge, distinguishing between fact and
opinion, finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details and
substantiating them. These skills are particularly important for
comprehending what is generally known as information reading or
expository reading.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Briefly discuss the three types of questions a reader can frame and give a
textual example of each.
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46
Learning to Read Effectively 2) Explain what is meant by scaffolding of knowledge.
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3) How does reading become easier with familiarity of the topic?
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4) Differentiate between attention span and memory span in reading
comprehension.
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3.6 ACADEMIC READING AND KNOWLEDGE IN
COMPREHENSION
Academic reading has different purposes depending upon the nature of the passage
and the type of comprehension it requires. The varieties of academic reading are
diverse and may include the purposes of obtaining data and information,
understanding ideas and arguments, discovering the authorial perspectives and
mode of narration, seeking evidence of their own perspectives, formation of new
perspectives, understanding and knowledge, forming personal ideas and opinions
as well as building a wider linguistic repertoire. There are various strategies of
reading a text and these may range from prediction, skimming, scanning, defining
the contrast between factual and non-factual information, important and
unimportant items, relevant and irrelevant details, explicit and implicit
realizations, ideas, examples and opinions. The other purposes of academic
reading may include drawing inferences and conclusions, deducing unknown
words, understanding graphic presentation and pictorial representation,
understanding text organisation especially linguistic and semantic aspects like
relationships between and within sentences. There are four main reading
approaches to the various types of comprehension passages and these are
psychological, content-oriented, linguistic and pedagogically-oriented. The
47
Learning Reading
Comprehension Strategies psychological approach focuses on what takes place in the mind of the reader as
he or she reads the passage and negotiates the meanings and the semantic patterns
as well as syntactical structures and lexicon. The content-oriented approach
focuses on extraction of information by readers provided they are given a
comprehension passage in accordance with their aptitude and experience. The
linguistic approach focuses on word and sentences in the passage, genre, style,
rhetoric and the semantic and syntactic patterns with lexical significance. The
pedagogically-oriented is focused on the implementation of learning theories
which enable readers to work at their own pace so that reading becomes a selfcontrolled, self-directed and introspective exercise.
There are six types of knowledge in a comprehension passage which enable a
reader to understand the text. They may be classified into: general, generic,
morphological, sociocultural, syntactic and topical. General knowledge refers to
the knowledge of the circumstances in which the text was written and the content
it may have in it. Generic knowledge refers to the knowledge of the type, nature
and stylistic pattern of the text being highlighted through its content.
Morphological knowledge refers to the knowledge of a relationship between a
word and its structures such as affixes and derivatives. Socio-cultural knowledge
refers to the knowledge of the overall idea of the content described in the text
and its social implications and / or any cultural stereotypes it may elaborate.
Syntactic knowledge refers to the knowledge of grammar and semantic patterns
in a text. Topical knowledge is the knowledge of the details of the text and its
relation with contemporary reality.
These categories of knowledge may be achieved by the various ways of reading
a comprehension passage such as receptive reading, reflective reading, skimming,
scanning, intensive and extensive reading. Receptive reading is done for
enjoyment by a reader usually in a passage of prose fiction. Reflective reading is
done when a reader reads certain positions in a text and then pauses to reflect,
recall or revise a line of fact or explore a line of argument or to arrive at a changed
perspective. Skimming reading refers to a rapid cursory glance through the text
with an intention to search for specific dates, skipping large chunks of information
and focusing on select highlights in the text. Scanning involves searching rapidly
through a text to find some specific data to which attention has been sought or
directed. Intensive reading is a careful appreciation of theme, tone, language,
syntax, vocabulary to understand the explicit and implicit connotations in a text.
In Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom by Tricia Hedge (Oxford
University Press, 2000) a procedure called SCROL is elaborated as a technique
of reading for comprehension. This is aimed at using texts to help understand,
remember and locate information using heading segments and introductory
paragraphs or text portions of a passage. The SCROL Process of Comprehension
involves the following steps: survey, connect, read, outline and look back.
S- Survey the headings and sub-headings of a comprehension passage and then
activate prior knowledge of the subject within oneself.
C- Connect the key words in the first portion or paragraph or lines (if the passage
contains more than two paragraphs) to make relational associations between them
and also to connect them to the title or heading and sub-heading.
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Learning to Read Effectively R- Read by returning to each heading or segment or portion and mark words,
phrases, jargon, terms that may express some important information, fact, opinion
or even argument.
O- Outline the major ideas in the segments to reflect on structure, perspective
and other relevant details.
L- Look Back and check for inaccuracy in recording and noting details and relate
the same to the outline.
Check Your Progress 3
1) Which are the skills important for Expository Reading and why?
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2) What are the various strategies of reading a text?
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3) Explain the various types of knowledge that help a reader to understand a
text.
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4) Read the sample Comprehension Passage below and answer the Questions
in the end in your own words as briefly as possible, for practice.
Philosophy of Education is a label applied to the study of the purpose,
process, nature and ideals of education. It can be considered a branch of
both philosophy and education. Education can be defined as the teaching
and learning of specific skills, and the imparting of knowledge, judgment
and wisdom, and is something broader than the societal institution of
education we often speak of.
Many educationalists consider it a weak and woolly field, too far removed
from the practical applications of the real world to be useful. But
49
Learning Reading
Comprehension Strategies philosophers dating back to Plato and the Ancient Greeks have given the
area much thought and emphasis, and there is little doubt that their work
has helped shape the practice of education over the millennia.
Plato is the earliest important educational thinker, and education is an
essential element in “The Republic” (his most important work on philosophy
and political theory, written around 360 B.C.). In it, he advocates some
rather extreme methods: removing children from their mothers’ care and
raising them as wards of the state, and differentiating children suitable to
the various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they
could act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. He believed
that education should be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline,
music and art. Plato believed that talent and intelligence is not distributed
genetically and thus is be found in children born to all classes, although
his proposed system of selective public education for an educated minority
of the population does not really follow a democratic model.
Aristotle considered human nature, habit and reason to be equally important
forces to be cultivated in education, the ultimate aim of which should be to
produce good and virtuous citizens. He proposed that teachers lead their
students systematically, and that repetition be used as a key tool to develop
good habits, unlike Socrates’ emphasis on questioning his listeners to bring
out their own ideas. He emphasized the balancing of the theoretical and
practical aspects of subjects taught, among which he explicitly mentions
reading, writing, mathematics, music, physical education, literature, history,
and a wide range of sciences, as well as play, which he also considered
important.
During the Medieval period, the idea of Perennialism was first formulated
by St. Thomas Aquinas in his work “De Magistro”. Perennialism holds
that one should teach those things deemed to be of everlasting importance
to all people everywhere, namely principles and reasoning, not just facts
(which are apt to change over time), and that one should teach first about
people, not machines or techniques. It was originally religious in nature,
and it was only much later that a theory of secular perennialism developed.
Answer these questions:
a) What is Philosophy of Education used to refer to?
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b) What extreme methods does Plato advocate?
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Learning to Read Effectively c) According to Aristotle what was the ultimate aim of education?
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d) What is Perennialism and how did it develop?
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3.7 LET US SUM UP
Reading Comprehension should aim to build the specific linguistic ability to
engage in purposeful reading, to adopt a range of literary styles necessary for
interacting successfully with authentic texts to develop critical awareness. This
implies that comprehension must be used to develop and enhance competence in
the English Language with an awareness of the structure of written texts, and
overall knowledge in general about the world. It also aims at developing
confidence by using comprehension to create meaning from a text. Both
competence and confidence in the didactic environment of a controlled classroom
can be supportive and persuasive enough to instill in the reader-cum-learner a
desire for attaining mastery in English through reading comprehension.
3.8 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more reading comprehension strategies, you may
consult:
Camille Blachowicz & Donna Ogle, Reading Comprehension: Strategies for
Independent Learners Second Edition (New York: The Guilford Press, 2008)
Danielle S. McNamara (ed.), Reading Comprehension Strategies: Theories,
Interventions, and Technologies (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
51
Learning Reading 3.9 ANSWERS Comprehension Strategies
Check Your Progress 1
For answers to 1 & 2, refer to 3.2.
For answers to 3 & 4, refer to 3.3.
Check Your Progress 2
For answers to 1 & 2, refer to 3.4.
For answers to 3 & 4, refer to 3.5.
Check Your Progress 3
For answers to 1, 2 & 3, refer to 3.6.
For answers to questions at the end of 4, refer to the passage in 4.
52
Learning to Read Effectively UNIT 4 READING A LITERARY TEXT
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Warm up
4.2 Structures and Tactics for Classroom Reading of Literary texts
4.3 Developing Awareness for Effective Reading
4.4 Developing Efficacy in Reading
4.5 The Process of Reading Literary Texts
4.6 Developing Literary Reading Ability
4.7 Reading a Literary Text: Prose
4.8 Reading a Literary Text: Poetry
4.9 Let Us Sum Up
4.10 Suggested Readings
4.11 Answers
4.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit aims to develop in the learner the ability to:
understand the aspects of instructional design involved in the reading of a
literary text written in the English Language;
develop a thorough understanding of the process of reading in the
heterogeneous modern classroom of today;
understand the reading process as well as the strategies of developing
reading awareness for effective reading of literary texts in tutor-mediated
situations;
interact with the academic content of literary texts by developing efficacy
in reading;
apply the skills and strategies of reading to various forms of literary texts
and types of literary content by achieving reading readiness.
4.1 WARM UP
Answer the following questions based on your own opinion and experience:
What do you understand by a literary text?
Do you like reading literature? If so what type of literature matches your
interest?
What is your focus when you read a literary prose text? Do you pay more
attention to plot, character or dialogue?
What type of poems do you prefer and why: ballad, elegies, sonnets,
limericks, nonsense verse etc.?
What is your favourite literary work and why?
53
Reading a Literary Text 4.2 STRUCTURES AND TACTICS FOR
CLASSROOM READING OF LITERARY
TEXTS
In any English language classroom, reading becomes a primary activity for the
acquisition of both knowledge and comprehension of the textual content
prescribed in the syllabi. A very important way in which reading can be
implemented in the classroom is through establishing and executing a specific
kind of instructional design or technique. This can reinforce the relevance of
reading in the classroom and make it a habit for later personal life. Instructional
design for reading a literary text involves two aspects that are inextricably
intertwined with each other and together can redefine the teaching of language
in any cultural context. These are known as structures and tactics. Together they
play a vital role in reading and learning.
Structures involve the “what” or the nature of the reading and address mainly the
focus of the literary content to be read and learnt; the questions or problems
addressed in the text; the formative and fundamental concepts highlighted; the
volume of data and information that the readers need to access; the perspective
or frame of reference that they need to develop in contrast or complement to the
author’s perspective and concept of the text; the overall plan required by the
reader to adopt and implement; the self-expectations and self-requirements of
the readers as well as the parameters and rubrics of evaluation in a classroom
situation which has envisaged and specified learning outcomes. Tactics involve
the “how” or the methodology of the reading and may include the readers’ plan
of reading so as to achieve the active engagement of their minds; their
accomplishment and development of insights, comprehension, knowledge, and
the critical cum analytical ability that is vital for readers in the advanced stage;
the way in which they will express their answers and pave a way to creating
questions in the focal area of the literary context prescribed for reading.
The students in a language classroom with an overt emphasis on literary reading
must know from the beginning what in general is going to be happening in the
course, how they are going to be evaluated, what methodology of reading will be
adopted and what they should be striving to achieve. The aim of the literary text
and the way of reading it should be carefully elaborated by the tutor at the study
centre. It is useful for the tutor to introspect within and conclude as to what kind
of reasoning is going to be central to reading and interpreting the literary content
(historical, literary, stylistic etc.). The tutors’ decisions made about the structure
and tactics of the courses should be a result of their concept of the course and it
must be one of their most fundamental objectives in teaching the course.
Once the tutors have understood and chalked out the most basic structure (and
sub-structures) of their reading style, they must focus on the strategies they will
use to implement that structure effectively, to enable that structure to be completely
and successfully achieved. They can divide their techniques and tactics into two
different strategies. The first strategy is a combination of daily tactics (how they
will read every day) and episodic tactics (how they will read intermittently and
periodically). The second strategy is to divide tactics into two categories: complex
and simple. Most simple tactics comprise ways of motivating shy and diffident
students who do not volunteer to read, answer and participate in a discussion;
persuading those students to summarize what other students have read and
54
Learning to Read Effectively narrated, encouraging those students to articulate the purpose of an assignment
or to express the question in the classroom: these are rather easy to apply and can
be time-saving as well as attention garnering. On the other hand, complex tactics
like teaching students how to read critically, creating an oral test rubric, developing
parameters and techniques for self-assessment of the student are more elaborate.
As these complex strategies have multiple parts and often require an extended
period of time to be executed, they are generally more difficult to implement.
Thus, instructional design in a reading lesson requires the choices a tutor makes
while thinking about instruction in both structural and tactical ways. Overall
structural thinking, for example, about the concept for the course, can help free
a tutor from the didactic model of instruction into which they may have been
conditioned and this can also eliminate the ineffective teaching that invariably
and frequently happens through one-sided lecturing after or during reading a
text in a classroom. Simple and complex tactical thinking can provide the means
by which teachers can follow through on their structural decisions in an effective
way. Teaching will not be transformed simply because teachers philosophically
believe in the value of critical thinking. They must find practical ways to bring it
into instruction, both structurally and tactically.
4.3 DEVELOPING AWARENESS FOR EFFECTIVE
READING
There are several faulty assumptions that contribute to ineffective reading of a
literary text. Some of them are explained below:
Knowledge ensures better reading: Knowledge of literary content is vital
but adequate knowledge does not guarantee effective reading. It is practice
which makes reading perfect, and focus on developing that practice is
usually at the expense of the belief that “since I know, thus I can read.”
The result is that the term “knowledgeable reader” can be attributed to a
very small group and many remain frustrated in their attempts to
communicate openly and effectively about their reading. Thus, one must
never read with overconfidence in one’s prior knowledge of the text.
Good readers are born not made: Research has clearly stated the salient
dimensions of effective reading. These are skills that are not necessarily
innate and may be skilfully acquired with persistent practice. The individual
differences between readers may make it simpler for some to acquire certain
skills in comparison to others as is the case in acquiring knowledge of
content. Thus no one is born a reader although one may have an innate
penchant for reading. The hobby and habit of reading can be honed and
perfected only by repeated practice and greater exposure to books.
Readers must focus on only content-based meaning and not the subtler
and deeper nuances: This assumption is erroneous and flawed as it
highlights the text and not the individual. It is equivalent to the view that
the prescribed reading texts are important but the readers’ interpretation of
them is not. In this case one must remember that content is both fluid and
dynamic; it can transform with transforming curriculum and subjective
experiences of life. It can evolve and accumulate rapidly, and when readers
try to include more content in their experience, they quickly exhaust the
55
capacity of such an endeavour. What they need to do is read gradually and Reading a Literary Text
intently to analyse, evaluate, criticise and collaborate with others to create
new knowledge or find layers and nuances of interpretation beyond the
superficial realm of facts and assertions. Readers must explore content not
as an end but as the means by which larger objectives can be accomplished.
Reading effectively includes an understanding of both superficial meaning
and embedded meaning.
A lack of efficacy on the part of a reader leads to a narrow repertoire of
instructional techniques and practices, and the inability to adjust to changes
in pedagogical contexts and demands. On the other hand, introspecting on
one’s own reading practice, adding to one’s repertoire, and focusing on
learning helps readers discover value in their reading of a literary text.
Check Your Progress 1
1) What are two faulty assumptions that contribute to ineffective reading of a
literary text?
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2) What does a lack of efficacy on the part of a reader lead to?
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3) How must readers explore content?
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4) How can readers go beyond the superficial realm of facts and assertions
while reading? Explain.
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Learning to Read Effectively 4.4 DEVELOPING EFFICACY IN READING
There are various graded steps that should be meticulously followed to improve
the efficacy of reading a literary text:
Analysing the need for reading awareness: Before reading a literary text,
one must introspect to analyse the need and purpose of reading that text;
the strategies one will use in and out of the classroom for reading that text
and how they will structure their reading in different ways.
Establishing learning parameters for reading: One must introspect further
to analyse the extent of content mastery readers need to achieve and why;
what specific skills do they need to acquire and why; how will the readers
ascertain if they have achieved the mastery of content and acquired the
specific skills. These questions can trigger the need for the reader to
establish learning parameters independently and autonomously.
Choice of Amendments: The reader in the classroom must recognise the
need for variety and how it must be implemented in the ambit of their
reading. This can be done by trying to begin by changing reading strategies
and practices that are in conflict with the literary content or the instructional
setting or that do not lead to the learning parameters and the learning
outcomes envisaged for the reading of textual content.
Implementing the changes: Changes in reading style and strategy as well
as the variety of texts for reading must be made in small ways and
implemented slowly and gradually by the tutor and then by the reader. A
rationale must be projected for each part of the reading assignments and
assessment in the classroom situation so that the readers will better
understand why they are reading or completing a project and what the
parameters of their assessment are.
Establishing cognitive outcomes and objectives: Cognitive outcomes and
objectives include parameters of knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Knowledge requires memorizing facts, definitions, etc. and this requires
superficial understanding of the literary text.
Comprehension requires understanding material of the literary text and
demands that the learner explain the content lucidly and cogently.
Application requires using abstract ideas in concrete situations and it
demands that students manifest the ability to solve simple problems that
may emerge while reading the literary text.
Analysis refers to the process of breaking down an idea into its individual
components in the course of the reading of a literary text.
Synthesis refers to the process of combining of multiple parts of literary
content or linguistic inputs to create a new holistic and integrated content
and this can lead to research, creativity and open-ended interpretations of
the literary text.
57
Evaluation involves making a performance-based assessment and Reading a Literary Text
articulating the criteria for that assessment after the reading of the literary
text.
Setting clear objectives for each topic in the reading activity of literary texts will
help clarify for students why and how they are being asked to perform certain
tasks after intensive reading.
4.5 THE PROCESS OF READING LITERARY
TEXTS
The process of reading a literary text can be essentially divided into three stages.
They are: the recognition stage, the structuring stage and the interpretation stage.
The recognition stage is one where the reader simply recognizes the graphic
counterparts of the phonological items. Here the reader recognizes the
spoken words in their written form and associates accurately the sounds
corresponding with the alphabet combinations or words and phrases.
The structuring stage is one where the reader sees the syntactic relationships
of the items and understands the structural meaning of the syntactic units
in a block of the literary text.
The interpretation stage is the highest level in the process of reading. It is
the stage where the reader can grasp the importance of a word, a phrase, or
a sentence, and can see beyond superficial connotations to an inner meaning
or the implication of a statement. This is the ultimate goal to be, attained in
the process of reading.
Reading is of two kinds: intensive and extensive. Intensive reading is a way of
closely reading a text for accuracy and should ideally be done under the
supervision of the teacher. It compels the learners to pay particular attention to
the text, content, stylistic features, tone and structure of the text. It involves the
profound and detailed understanding of the text. It is primarily concerned with
the developing of the following reading and comprehension strategies, viz.,
judgement, reasoning, interpretation, appreciation. Intensive reading is more an
exercise in accuracy. Readers who are practicing this kind of reading do not read
a text only for a specific purpose of information but also to assess and analyse
the impact on the reader of a writer’s intentions, arguments, ideas, style, etc.
Extensive reading or reading for fluency involves reading of longer texts for
pleasure and it may be both speedy and cursory. It may not notice and examine
the finer points of the writing and the minute details. It is a leisurely and
independent activity in which the reader is the autonomous reader not guided by
any scholarly mentor or expert. Readers who practice this kind of reading may
read independently and autonomously and be self-paced. This is also called rapid
reading or independent silent reading. The specific objectives of extensive reading
are to understand the meaning at a cursory glance, to increase passive vocabulary,
to develop a taste for reading, to develop the habit of reading for pleasure, to
concentrate upon literary content rather than literary form. The term extensive
reading means to read silently and quickly and trains the reader to understand
the subject matter efficiently. It plays a vital role in the learning of second or
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Learning to Read Effectively foreign language. In a classroom situation, the students are made to read as much
as possible and the reading texts selected for them or by them are within the
linguistic competence of the reader. There are hardly any follow up activities
that demand academic engagement with the text and so this creates interest among
the learners. They learn to read faster without any external hindrance or fear of
consequences.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Discuss three graded steps that should be meticulously followed to improve
the efficacy of reading a literary text.
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2) What is the difference between analysis and synthesis with reference to
the cognitive outcomes of reading?
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3) What does silent reading play a vital role in?
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4) Briefly discuss the three main stages of reading.
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59
Reading a Literary Text 4.6 DEVELOPING LITERARY READING ABILITY
Any holistic understanding of a literary text depends upon how thoroughly it is
read. It may be read with a superficial comprehension or an in-depth
comprehension. Reading is a complex skill, which involves a number of operations
which may occur or proceed simultaneously. A reader who has acquired the skills
of comprehending literary matter will invariably have the ability to:
Read a passage at an average or normal speed accepted as the norm in that
level of education.
Understand the structured and lexical meanings of the words, phrases and
sentences used in the passage.
Read aloud, with correct pronunciation, accent, stress and intonation.
Make an accurate conjecture about the meaning of an unknown word from
the context in which it is used.
Consult a dictionary to find out the meaning of an unfamiliar word if
contextual conjecture is elusive.
Find the required information by skimming through the entire page of a
literature passage.
Read silently without moving the lips and have a balanced eye movement
while reading and enable retention at the same rate.
Identify the key sentence of the entire literary passage and of every
paragraph.
Make a summary of the important points of the passage after reading and
comprehension.
Examine the text from the writer’s point of view and infer the mood, opinion,
style and focus of the writer.
Identify the technicalities of writing such as punctuation, paragraph
indentation, sentence structure, syntax patterns etc.
Identify and analyse the appropriateness of the figures of speech used by
the writer and illustrate their efficacy in enhancing the content or detracting
from it.
4.7 READING A LITERARY TEXT: PROSE
A literary prose text is a work of literature expressed in the ordinary grammatical
structure and natural flow of language rather than rhythmic structure as applied
in traditional poetry. The simplicity and flexibility of the structure of literary
prose has led to its use in spoken dialogue, factual discourse as well as topical
and fictional writing. It is commonly used in literature, newspapers, magazines,
encyclopedias, broadcasting, film, history, philosophy, law and many other forms
of communication. Prose literature is usually contained in text books written
according to the structural approach, graded with each lesson elaborating
60
Learning to Read Effectively paradigms and patterns of vocabulary and structure. Literary prose passages must
be read with a primary purpose of learning the language and understanding the
main idea. Thus, the way to progress in the literary reading of a prose passage is
to read with comprehension as this enables the readers to acquire new vocabulary
and discern language patterns used. Reading literary prose enables the readers to
understand the passage, to read fluently, to enrich their vocabulary and to acquire
and acknowledge a multiplicity of perspectives.
Effective prose reading strategies may require the fragmentation of a prose passage
into smaller sections for better understanding. This fragmentation or breaking
up of the text allows for multiple close readings to ensure that students involve
their own thinking in the text as they read. Repeated reading helps to enhance
comprehension and familiarize the reader with an author’s style of writing.
Methods of reading prose may also include organizing and facilitating group
discussions where readers share their subjective impressions about the reading.
The entire group thus benefits from being exposed to a multiplicity of reader
responses and perspectives in a group discussion.
If one reads the essay “Of Studies” by Francis Bacon, one can see that it is one of
the best specimens of literary non-fictional prose. The process to read this is
very elaborate. A cursory reading of this must be followed by a deep and close
reading done several times. Repeated reading will evoke keener observation of
the nuances of interpretation that may have been missed the first time. The readers
must employ active reading strategies at the beginning of the essay. First they
must observe what is on the page – the facts, the pithy sentences, the punctuation
breaks and the tripartite structure of each idea. Then they should pay close attention
to patterns, connections, repetition or contradictions. Eventually they must
discover the theme of the text – what the author intended for the reader to
understand. Thereafter they can arrive at their own analysis of the elements of
the literary text.
An example of a literary fictional prose text may be the short story by Katherine
Mansfield called “The Fly”. This must also be read multiple times to gain
familiarity with the text, authorial style and mode of narration. Thereafter the
readers will find answers to both literal and inferential questions that they may
ask themselves while reading, viz., “who, what, when, where, and how.” Readers
may then progress to understand everything and realise that a situation or item
would not be in the text if there was no reason for it. Finally, the readers will
arrive at an understanding of the main theme and the various layers of meaning
or what the author intended for the reader to understand. At the beginning of the
reading process however, the readers must inculcate in themselves the knowledge
of literary terminology such as elements of fiction, e.g., point of view, character,
setting, plot, structure and theme, and why writers use them. This may be done
in a study centre teaching situation or through self-learning materials available.
4.8 READING A LITERARY TEXT: POETRY
There is a specific way of reading a poetic text to interpret it at various levels
while reading. Readers of poetry begin by close reading, or line by line reading
of a poem. In this situation literary theory is not applied at all. A comprehensive
pattern which is indicative and representative of the repertoire of techniques that
readers may summon is explained thus:
61
Readers first and foremost read the surface meaning of the prescribed poem Reading a Literary Text
meticulously and accurately. In doing this they recognize the importance
of the precise literal words of the text and do not take liberties with them.
For example, “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare discussed contains the
line “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.” This is not only a
direct allusion to the loveliness of Spring but also a reminder of the
harshness of nature in summer which is a season of un-moderated extremes.
Readers can then go on to identify stages and phases within a literary work.
Some of these are formally marked by divisions like stanzas, quatrains,
cantos or verses. Across these, there is a moment when the expositionphase slides into the development-phase, and another phase begins when
the development has put everything in place for the dénouement or the
conclusion. The reader needs to be aware of the moment when the
introduction of setting and characters pivots into the first significant
incident, or choice, or denial. For example, in William Shakespeare’s
“Sonnet 73”, it is important to decide whether the three images of aging
are meant to represent some kind of progression and development or just
three static examples of the same thing.
Readers then read to discern an overall structural pattern or the scaffolding
of a structural frame. These can be called macro-patterns to distinguish
them from the smaller-scale or micro patterning. For example, two elements
in a poem may be paired and contrasted throughout. The contrast may be
supported by image-patterns linked to each for example “The Lamb” and
“The Tyger”, taken respectively from William Blake’s poetic anthologies
called Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Once the structural
pattern has been perceived, a multi-layered interpretation can be discovered.
After discovering the over-arching structural patterns readers can progress
to identifying micro-patterns, such as a series of words with the same tone,
or register, or flavour. Often the significant point is where the perceived
pattern is broken, for the subject specified or articulated must have been
chosen either in spite of breaking the pattern or is thereby foregrounded
because it breaks the pattern.
Readers can then progress to read minutely to discern the similarity beneath
the apparent contrast, or vice-versa. The two elements or subjects such as
the tiger and the lamb in Blake’s poems may be presented at first as the
opposites of each other, but a close reading shows that what at first seemed
true is actually untrue and they are opposites but not in the way that first
appeared. They may be seen as complementary and contrasting but not
diametrical opposites.
Readers can be further led while reading to also distinguish between overt
and covert meaning or between apparent content and real content. The
superficial and most obvious meaning should be read first and then focus
on the innermost and multi-layered implications of the content. This can
be applied to the epic simile of Satan being compared to the Leviathan in
Book I of Paradise Lost by John Milton. The overt similarity is that of
gigantic size but the covert meaning hints to a deeper similarity of the
treacherous nature of both the creatures.
62
Learning to Read Effectively Readers of a poem develop a sensitivity towards distinguishing between
meaning and significance. Meaning is the essence contained within the
work, whereas significance is the perspective or impression the readers
perceive in the literary text, something which is necessarily fluid and
shifting. Significance may alter with thought, analysis and perspectives
e.g. the same thing can be understood differently by different classes or
genders. This can be seen in the dichotomy of the surface meaning of
seasonal aspects and ripe sensuousness of autumn in “To Autumn” by John
Keats which actually articulates a deeper significance of poignant mortality.
· Readers of poetry often read the poem in terms of genre or literary type
and interrogate the ways in which the literary genre affects the content of
the work. For example, readers will be aware while reading of how the
ballad form intensifies the content of “Lochinvar” by Walter Scott or “The
Inchcape Rock” by Robert Southey or how the sonnet framework enhances
the significance of the content of “How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth
Barrett Browning or how the dramatic monologue adds dimension to the
characterization in “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning.
· Readers also frequently read the literal as metaphorical while reading
poems. For example, in Ted Hughes’ poem “Hawk Roosting”, the poet
depicts a hawk roosting and this is implicitly articulated to symbolize power,
position, supremacy and callous disregard for the lesser creatures. This
kind of interpretation is very common in the reading of poetry.
· Readers also read with a keen and careful awareness of semantic association
and word order. For instance, in the poem by Nissim Ezekiel titled “Goodbye
Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.”, there are highly amusing Indianized errors of
grammar and expression showing the colloquial and regional use of adapted
English and making the reader both laugh and at the same time identify
and understand the incorrectness of the language used. This leads us to
realise that readers read a literary poetic text with a keen awareness of the
changes in the meanings of words. These are some of the main ways in
which readers and critics engage with literary texts and begin to analyse
the poems and interpret them. Thus, we must acknowledge that readers
will always need these elements of interpretation.
Check Your Progress 3
1) What does any linguistic understanding of literature depend upon?
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2) State five major abilities of a skilled reader. Reading a Literary Text
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3) Give one example of how readers identify stages and phases within a literary
work.
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4) How can readers of a poem distinguish between meaning and significance?
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4.9 LET US SUM UP
Reading a literary text can be done by various strategies and activities
structured to achieve effective reading. It can differ according to different
genres and types of texts.
A significant way in which reading can be implemented in classroom
situations is through structures and tactics. This can highlight the relevance
of reading and inculcate it as a habit.
A reader’s inefficacy results in a limited repertoire of reading skills and
comprehension abilities, leading to the inability to adapt to the changes in
academic contexts and demands. On the other hand, reflecting on one’s
own reading, annexing one’s repertoire and improving the quality of
interpretation help readers discover value in their reading of a literary text.
Any holistic understanding of a literary text is linked to how earnestly it is
read. It can be read superficially without in-depth analysis or intricately
with detailed exploration.
64
Learning to Read Effectively Reading a literary text involves several graded and procedural steps and
must eventually seek a clear understanding of authorial content and
perspective while at the same time generating a multiplicity of reader
responses.
4.10 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about the nuances of reading a literary text, you
may consult:
Dennis J. Sumara, Why Reading Literature in School Still Matters: Imagination,
Interpretation, Insight (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002)
Meg Morgan, Kim Stallings & Julie Townsend (ed.), Strategies for Reading and
Arguing About Literature (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007)
Phil Davis, Reading and the Reader: The Literary Agenda (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2013)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
4.11 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
For all answers refer to 4.3.
Check Your Progress 2
For answers to 1 & 2, refer to 4.4.
For answers to 3 & 4, refer to 4.5.
Check Your Progress 3
For answers to 1 & 2, refer to 4.6.
For answers to 3 & 4, refer to 4.8.

Block-2 Reading Comprehension Types of Texts

Block
2
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
READING COMPREHENSION: TYPES OF TEXTS
UNIT 1
Expository Text 7
UNIT 2
Descriptive Text 23
UNIT 3
Narrative Text 42
UNIT 4
Argumentative Text 60
UNIT 5
Persuasive Text 80

BLOCK INTRODUCTION
In this Block, you will be trained to understand the necessity of comprehension
skills. You will be equipped to employ various methods of reading and
comprehension. You will be able to read with precision and technical expertise if
you read this Block carefully. Also, you will be introduced to the art of reading
with precision and technical expertise. This Block will aid you in categorizing
the basis of ‘Descriptive’ writing. Specific features of Descriptive texts would
be analyzed for your benefit, so that you will be able to monitor your own growth
in the act of comprehension.
Narration is the basis of any form of story-telling. The act of storytelling is the
key aspect of this Block. The comprehension of a narrative text would entail the
act of identifying the modes of narration in one of the units. If the purpose or the
thesis statement of any given narration is understood, the text would be
comprehended—which will be your basic training in the Block. A Persuasive
Text refers to any written form to convince the reader with the writer’s point of
view and agree/disagree with it. To achieve this, the argument is developed on
the basis of the writer’s opinion. According to Aristotle, there are three modes of
persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ethos refers to ethical persuasion which
also comes from the credibility of the writer. Pathos refers to the emotional appeal
made by the writer. Lastly, Logos refers to the logic addressed to the rational
mind. The appeal is made through a logical argument by presenting facts, figures
and research. This Block will equip you to develop all the above kinds of
writings—basically, to make you a powerful voice through your pen.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The material (pictures and passages) we have used is purely for educational
purposes. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material
reproduced in this book. Should any infringement have occurred, the publishers
and editors apologize and will be pleased to make the necessary corrections in
future editions of this book.

UNIT 1 EXPOSITORY TEXT
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Comprehension
1.1.2 What is expository text?
1.2 Types of Expository Texts
1.2.1 Cause and Effect
1.2.2 Problem and Solution
1.2.3 Classification
1.2.4 Comparison and Contrast
1.2.5 Definition
1.2.6 Process
1.3 Expository Text Sample
1.3.1 Sample
1.3.2 Understanding structure and explanation
1.3.3 Probable questions
1.4 Reading Strategies
1.4.1 Skimming
1.4.2 Scanning
1.5 Practice Texts
1.5.1 Ghee – An Important Indian Cooking Fat
1.5.2 Education and its philosophy
1.5.3 Primary Education in India: Progress and Challenges
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Suggested Readings
1.8 Answers
1.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this Unit, you will be able to master an understanding of the
necessity for comprehension skills. You will be equipped to employ various
different methods of reading and comprehension. You will be able to read with
precision and technical expertise. This Unit will also aid you in categorizing the
basis of Expository writing. Specific features of Expository texts would be
analyzed and understood. You will be equipped to practice techniques of
skimming and scanning in the process of comprehension. This will also prepare
you to understand the process of both extensive and intensive reading. You will
be able to monitor your own growth in the act of comprehension.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.1.1 Comprehension
Comprehension simply means understanding. It is the end goal of the act of
reading. Comprehension then can also be called as the reason for reading. If the
act of reading occurs without an understanding of what is being read then the
6
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts whole act becomes obsolete and redundant. If you don’t understand then there is
no point to reading. The process of understanding is also complex. It employs a
number of strategies and meticulous practices. This Unit will give you an insight
into the various techniques that can be employed in order to master the process
of reading comprehension.
To tackle the comprehension of an expository text, you need to first understand
the basic aspects of such a categorical form of writing. Let us look at the word
“expository”. The word ‘Expose’ could be derived from it, the definition of which
reads as “make (something) visible by uncovering it.” You can then say that to
expose, one would have to explain to uncover something or a situation. Expository
writing then is categorically concerned with explanations. However, you should
not confuse this form of explanation with that of descriptive or narrative writing
form. Even though all of these three forms (Expository, Narrative and Descriptive)
employ the act of explanations, they do it differently. It is hence important for
you to understand how explanations are projected in the expository form of
writing.
1.1.2 What is Expository Text?
The explanations in expository writing are of many kinds; the steps to explain a
process, the reasons compiled as arguments to support a thesis statement or any
other form. You will be able to find a logical sequence of structure, smooth
transitions and a thesis statement. When writing an expository text, you will
have to assume that the reader has no prior information regarding the subject and
hence would have to use meticulous and carefully directed instructions and
explanations to make your reader understand. This form of writing is also used
when trying to supplement reasons or make another understand why or how
(process) something happens. As a rule then, this form of writing needs to be
extremely precise and clear in its style lest the reader is unable to get clarity of
the message.
1.2 TYPES OF EXPOSITORY TEXT
Before we get to reading a sample of an expository essay, it would be useful to
be able to identify the type of essay. Writings in Expository texts can be summed
up to be of a total of six categories. This style of writing can be used to determine
the Cause and Effect of any phenomena, Problem and Solution of certain
situations, for different kind of Classifications, for the development of Comparison
and Contrast, determining a Definition and Detailing a Process.
1.2.1 Cause and Effect
As the name suggests, the ‘cause and effect’ essay concerns itself with the
occurrence of a situation and a description of the consequences for the same.
Regarding the process of writing such an essay, Joshua Tatum, a Professor of
Literature & English Composition writes that “in such essay, a young writer
must pay attention to the primary causes and results. The contributory things are
not necessary, but it is possible to include some of them if a person is running out
of ideas. Immediate reasons and outcomes generate the cause and effect directly
unlike remote ones, which cannot be noticed with a naked eye.”
7
The writing of a cause and effect essay entails the creation of a Expository Text thesis statement.
A thesis statement is the singular most important central idea or opinion stated in
a clear and concise way. All essays or writing pieces inherently have a thesis
statement which can be usually perceived through the title of the text. Hence as
the reader of such a text, you need to discover the central opinion or idea of the
text. Many a times, a title in a comprehension passage is missing. It is done so
that the reader can be tested on their understanding skills without having read
the main title in order to figure out the thesis statement of the essay.
An example of a thesis statement is “The Indian government must provide free
schooling for every child in the country because literate citizens have more
chances to be employed and add up to the country’s wealth.” Through an essay
that discusses such a point of view, cause and effect needs to be identified. You
could identify the cause of the government of India not providing free education,
or, you could identify the cause for the requirement of free education. Once a
“cause” has been identified, the effects would also be recognized. For example,
you can say in the above thesis statement that the effect of free education would
be “a better financial status of the country leading to its economic development”.
You should keep in mind that the same thesis statement can be written in different
kinds of essays. It could be written as an argumentative essay, a descriptive essay
or a narrative essay as well. However, it would qualify as an ‘Expository’ essay
if the treatment is on the cause and effect.
1.2.2 Problem and Solution
It entails the assertion of a problem and then providing a list of solutions for the
same. As writing this would involve you to look at a problem from a number of
directions and perspectives. As a reader then, it is imperative to identify all these
angles to the problem presented. If you manage to understand the problem from
various perspectives then you will be able to not only understand but analyze the
solutions provided. “This sort of essay involves argumentation in that the writer
seeks to convince the reader to take a particular course of action. In explaining
the problem, it may also need to persuade the reader concerning specific causes”
(Dave Kemper et al., “Fusion: Integrated Reading and Writing,” 2016).
Just like the ‘cause and effect’ text, a ‘problem and solution’ text also has a thesis
statement. Dorothy Zemach and Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz, in “Writers at Work: The
Essay.” (Cambridge University Press, 2008) say: “In a problem-solution essay,
the thesis statement usually proposes the solution. Because readers must first
understand the problem, the thesis statement usually comes after a description of
the problem. The thesis statement does not have to give details about the solution.
Instead, it summarizes the solution. It should also lead naturally to the body of
the essay, preparing your reader for a discussion of how your solution would
work.”Essentially then you as a reader need to gage a comprehensive
understanding of not only the problem but also the solutions provided.
1.2.3 Classification
It takes into account a comprehensive subject demarcated into various groups or
categories. After giving a brief explanation about the subject overall, the writer
is expected to then explain the parts in detail and with examples. The first section
of such a piece of writing would contain the thesis statement while the body of
the essay would follow through with descriptions of the groups formed. The
8
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts conclusions would provide a summarization of the groups along with providing
a basis for the creation of this group. As a reader, you will need to understand
these sections of the essay. Once you are able to identify the different groups, the
reason or the basis for them being made into these groups, along with the thesis
statement, you will be able to master the comprehension of the given text.
An example of an introductory paragraph to a classification essay:
“It’s a cold evening in January, and all across the country Indians are gathering
to watch a match of international cricket. Armed with samosas and cold drinks,
they stroll to their seats, some in grand stadiums, others in cozy parks. But no
matter where the match is played, you will find the same three types of Cricket
fans: the Party Rooter, the Sunshine Supporter, and the Diehard Fan.”
You can notice here how the categories have been clearly stated. This enables
the reader to expect a detailed description of the said groups.
1.2.4 Comparison and Contrast
This requires the presence of two entities. It concentrates on the similarities and
differences between any two ideas, things or situations. Each contrast or similarity
is taken with reference to the other. You need to understand the process of working
on the thesis statement keeping in mind a comparative entity always when
referring to one. Once all the points are laid down in the body of the essay, the
conclusion explains and sums up the thesis statement further.
As a reader of this kind of writing then, it is required that you are able to align
the two entities with each other on the basis of their similarities and dissimilarities.
You are expected to comprehend the distinct features of the two things through
their comparison.
1.2.5 Definition
This kind of an essay, as the name suggests, deals primarily with the process of
defining any particular term, concept or a thing. Writing of this essay entails that
in the introductory passage, we add a standard, clear and precise definition of the
concept being explained. Henceforth, we give an explanation of the given words
according to our comprehension. The body, just as with other types of essays,
will comprise of the detailed analysis and explanations of the given term. The
various ways in which the concept can be looked at can become a part of the
detailed explanation process. The conclusion will be concerned with summing
up of the different angles that might be used in the definition of the concept. One
of the examples of such kind of writing is E.M Forster’s “Aspects of a Novel”. It
attempts in the introduction to define and explore the question of what novel is
and its definition. In its subsequent sections it looks into the details.
1.2.6 Process
It is categorized under the “how-to” essay. It is concerned with listing down the
processes in a methodical manner. A lot of instructions like baking a cake, fixing
a car tyre, planning a trip and many more can be done through this form of
writing. “A Process Essay is structured around the goal of providing the reader
with directions or guidance. Most of the time, students write process essays that
9
discuss how to do something. Process essays are the recipes or technical brochures Expository Text
of essay writing.”
As a reader of the process essay, you need to identify the thing or action for
which instructions are given. You need to judge and understand such a scenario
by carefully comprehending the steps and assessing the conclusion it might be
leading to.
1.3 EXPOSITORY TEXT SAMPLE
1.3.1 SAMPLE
“There have been many studies attempting to figure out just how music affects
the human mind. For example, why do different people like different kinds of
music, what parts of the brain are activated and if said parts are affected more
or less by different kinds of music, and others. Some of these questions have
remained unanswered, and might stay that way for a while. One thing, however,
is for certain: music does affect our daily lives. Just look at the simple facts.
Most people listen to music. If someone doesn’t, they’re sometimes viewed
in a strange way. How could you not listen to music?
Music affects our emotions. When we listen to sad songs, we tend to feel a
decline in mood. When we listen to happy songs, we feel happier. Upbeat
songs with energetic riffs and fast-paced rhythms (such as those we hear at
sporting events) tend to make us excited and pumped up.
With all this in mind, I sent out a survey to the students of Basehor-Linwood
High School, asking some simple questions about their music taste and how
music makes them feel. Studying these results show some interesting facts.
When asked about their listening habits, mixed results were found in
accordance to the amount of time spent listening to music on a daily basis.
About 22.2 percent of people said that they listen to music between one to
two hours every day, where another 22.2 percent said they listen at least five
hours a day. The category of two to three hours a day sees about 18.4 percent
of people in the school, and three to four hours meets a close second to that, at
16.5 percent. Only 11 percent of people listen to less than an hour’s worth of
music every day, and even less listen to four to five hours a day; about 9.5
percent.
It seems that there isn’t really a happy medium. Either people listen to music
a little, or they listen to music all the time. Music takes different standpoints
in different people’s lives, and it matters more or less to one person than it
does another. A majority of people listen to music in the car, as well as at
home; about 90 percent of all those studied for each. Around 71 percent of
people here in the school also listen in their classrooms. Both the hallway and
the lunchroom receive substantially less; about 37 percent and 25 percent.
It seems that music helps us concentrate and study as well. Out of those studied,
88.5 percent of people said that they listen to music when they study, work on
homework, and other activities such as that. That leaves an 11.5 percent of
people who don’t. It’s no surprise that most people (69 percent) listen to pop
10
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts music. Pop literally stands for popular. 55.2 percent of all people attending
BLHS listen to rock and rap. It’s also not surprising to hear that 46.6% of
people listen to alternative and indie music. Over half of our students listen to
country, at 52.3 percent. Some genres that didn’t hit the chart with full force
are funk, jazz, classic, punk, dubstep, and metal. Not one of these, with the
exception of classical (at 28.7 percent), crossed the 25 percent line.
No matter what people listen to, there seems to be a common consensus as to
why they listen. It seems that genres that have a fast paced, upbeat, and catchy
rhythm (like pop, rap, etc.) are attractive to those who do sports, or at least,
those who are looking to get pumped up. Rock also stands to achieve this
goal. Most people agree that music just makes them happy. They can ‘get into
a mood’ based on the style of the song they’re listening too. I must say that I
agree.
Personally, I listen to rock and metal, pop punk, and acoustics, that is, if I
must limit my choices. I always listen to rock and a whole lot of metalcore. To
get pumped up, I listen to rock and metal, sometimes more ’80s metal than
modern. To help when I’m feeling down, I listen to acoustic and pop punk.
When angry, I listen to metalcore and sometimes stuff even heavier than that.
Overall, here’s the final conclusion I could come up with; music is simply a
force that cannot be explained. It messes with our heads, it makes us feel
different emotions, sometimes even physically changes us. Music unites us.
Some of those surveyed said that they’ve had friendships established based
off music, as have I. In the end, we know that music has a wide range of
effects on us. Honestly, maybe we should leave it at that.”
(Source: https://www.blhsnews.com/opinion/2015/09/29/how-does-music-affect-our-lives/)
1.3.2 Understanding structure and explanation
This essay can be categorized as a ‘Problem and Solution Essay’. Right in the
beginning of the text, you will find the first paragraph; the introduction setting
up a problem and promising an answer to be given in a systematic manner. On
reading the whole essay, you will be able to identify the various efforts and
process the writer has involved for the attainment of the solution.
The body of the essay lists down how the writer organized a survey. You will
understand that the writer is taking help of the facts she discovered from the
survey to provide a solution for the question asked. The thesis statement identified
thereof would be:
“Does music affect lives?”
And the rest of the essay is concerned with answering the same question.
The writer lists that music is treated differently by different people and it is
given a variant level of significance by its listeners. She mentions how spaces
are also claimed differently by students who listen to music. According to where
the music is played and how much, she mentions its use in concentration and
more for a student’s life. She says that music helps these students by providing
them with a rhythm for whichever activity they choose to immerse themselves in
school according to their tastes. The personality and interest of the students also
determine the kind of music they listen to.
11
After discussing some more findings, the writer moves to the conclusion where Expository Text
she asserts music to be an enigma when trying to find how it affects people’s
lives. She says it surely does but the ways in which it defines her student’s lives
are diverse and cannot be fathomed in one go. What you as a reader can decipher
from this conclusion is that a probable solution is attempted but has not reached
towards the end. The writer leaves the end to a philosophical musing of “To each
his own”.
1.3.3 Probable Questions:
There are six kinds of fixed questions which are asked when trying to test the
comprehension skills of the student.
a) Vocabulary based Questions: where the meanings of particular words in
the text, their antonyms, and synonyms are asked.
b) Direct Questions: where the question requires an answer given directly as
it is in the text.
c) Interpretative and Analytic Questions: where inferences need to be drawn
from the given text.
d) Main Idea: where the reader’s ability to comprehend the overall idea of the
text is questioned.
e) Supporting Ideas: where the detailed information supporting the main idea
is asked.
f) Narrative Structure, Style and Tone: where specific structural technicalities
like the thesis statement, introduction, body and conclusion are looked at.
Sample Questions:
a) What is the meaning of the word ‘dubstep’ in the above passage?
b) What kinds of music make one excited?
c) Can it be said that music affects specific people in a definite way?
d) What is the role of music in the lives of school students?
e) What is the breakdown of percentage of categories of music enjoyed by
people?
f) What kind of an essay would you categorize the above-mentioned passage
as?
The above-mentioned questions are set according to the types mentioned in the
previous paragraph. Each of these questions tests a different sect of comprehension
and they need to be answered accordingly.
Let us consider the following answers:
a) The word “dubstep” is part of a complete sentence which reads as “Some
genres that didn’t hit the chart with full force are funk, jazz, classic, punk,
dubstep, and metal”. Always try to incorporate a new word within the
sentence where you’ve found it. It is evident, even if you haven’t heard of
the word before that ‘dubstep’ has the probability of being a music genre
just like classical and jazz. Hence the answer can be “It is a genre of music
with emphasis on beats”.
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts b) This is a direct question, the answer to which will be found in the second
paragraph. “Upbeat songs with energetic riffs and fast-paced rhythms (such
as those we hear at sporting events) tend to make us excited and pumped
up.” Accordingly, fast paced music becomes the answer to this question.
c) This answer would be judging your understanding in between the lines. It
is always better to look at the conclusion to understand such a question.
“Overall, here’s the final conclusion I could come up with; music is simply
a force that cannot be explained. It messes with our heads, it makes us feel
different emotions, sometimes even physically changes us. Music unites
us”. Through these lines one can infer that music affects everyone differently
yet attempts to unite them into a universal love for it.
d) This question addresses the thesis statement of the given essay. Music helps
a person to live life depending on it for survival. It enables a constant
companionship with any stage of life and this need to rely on music helps
achieve a sense of universal appeal.
e) The above essay in paragraph number 7 gives a detailed view of the genres
of music and the percentage of people who enjoy that genre. This piece of
information helps in adding value to the main theme of the essay; that of
different kind of music appealing to different people at different points of
their lives.
f) The above-mentioned essay could be categorized as an expository essay.
It lists down the cause for the need of music and its effects. Its introduction
discusses how music affects people and the body gives the details of the
various ways in which music is used by people. The conclusion says that
music affects each differently and gives summative points for the same.
1.4 READING STRATEGIES
Readence, Bean, and Baldwin (2004) suggest a simple procedure to help students
recognize, identify, and utilize text structure as a way to better comprehend and
recall reading from expository text. Looking at the above passage, you must
now attempt to work on key strategies to attempt comprehension passages once
you have identified the type of essay, and its thesis statement.
Skimming and Scanning
These techniques are used to quickly scan through a text. It enables the reader to
establish an understanding in a limited period of time. Both Skimming and
Scanning involve rapid eye movements through the text, specifically the
keywords, yet done so for two different purposes respectively. Skimming ensures
a rapid reading to provide a creation of overall understanding of the text. Through
skimming you will attempt at getting a gist of the complete text. It does not
attempt to find any specificity. Scanning on the other hand is concerned with
rapid reading for the purpose of finding specific keywords and facts. As you
have already conducted the Skimming process, you will get well versed with the
topic of the essay and this will enable you to expect certain kinds of facts and
keywords in accordance with the given topic. Scanning, when done after
skimming, enables the registering of these keywords to aid a better understanding
of the text. “Skimming is like snorkeling, and scanning is more like pearl diving.”
13
You should use skimming in previewing (reading before you read), reviewing Expository Text
(reading after you read), determining the main idea from a long selection you
don’t wish to read, or when trying to find source material for a research paper.
You usually use scanning in research to find particular facts, to study fact-heavy
topics, and to answer questions requiring factual support.
1.4.1 Skimming
The process of Skimming enables the laborious process of finishing a cumbersome
text in a short amount of time. However, skimming will only enable you to get
an abstract idea of the topic and an in-depth analysis will not be possible. Hence
this process can be deemed fit only as a preview into the text which is being
read.
“But when you skim, you may miss important points or overlook the finer shadings
of meaning, for which rapid reading or perhaps even study reading may be
necessary.” A combination of both scanning along with skimming is required to
have an effective comprehension of any given text.
To skim, prepare yourself to move rapidly through the pages. You will not read
every word; you will pay special attention to typographical cues-headings,
boldface and italic type, indenting, bulleted and numbered lists. You will be alert
for key words and phrases, the names of people and places, dates, nouns, and
unfamiliar words. In general, follow these steps:
“Read the Essay overview to learn the main divisions of ideas. Glance through
the main headings in each paragraph or section just to see a word or two. Read
the headings of charts and tables. Read the entire introductory paragraph and
then the first and last sentence only of each following paragraph. For each
paragraph, read only the first few words of each sentence or to locate the main
idea. Stop and quickly read the sentences containing keywords indicated in
boldface or italics. When you think you have found something significant, stop
to read the entire sentence to make sure. Then go on the same way. Resist the
temptation to stop to read details you don’t need.”
Keep in mind that you need not give equal attention to everything. You should
know when to go fast, when to skip and when to slow down your reading speed.
You should particularly slow down when you skim introductory and concluding
paragraphs, skim topic sentences, find an unfamiliar word, or when the material
is very complicated.
1.4.2 Scanning
Scanning, too, uses keywords and organizational cues. But while the goal of
skimming is a bird’s-eye view of the material, the goal of scanning is to locate
and swoop down on particular facts. Facts may be buried within long text passages
that have relatively little else to do with your topic or claim. Use the following
techniques:
“Know what you’re looking for. Decide on a few key words or phrases–search
terms, if you will. You will be a flesh-and-blood search engine. Look for only
one keyword at a time. If you use multiple keywords, do multiple scans. Let
your eyes float rapidly down the page until you find the word or phrase you
14
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts want. When your eye catches one of your keywords, read the surrounding material
carefully.”
When scanning for facts to answer a specific question, one step is already done
for you: the question itself supplies the keywords. Follow these steps:
1) Read each question completely before starting to scan. Choose your
keywords from the question itself.
2) Look for answers to only one question at a time. Scan separately for each
question.
3) When you locate a keyword, read the surrounding text carefully to see if it
is relevant.
4) Re-read the question to determine if the answer you found answers this
question.
Scanning is a technique that requires concentration and can be surprisingly tiring.
You may have to practice at not allowing your attention to wander. Choose a
time and place that you know works for you and dive in.
1.5 PRACTICE TEXTS
1.5.1 Ghee – An Important Indian Cooking Fat
Have you seen? Here at Piccantino you can find several types of Ghees, but do
you know what ghee is? Ghee (pronounced Gi) is a term used in Indian cuisine.
Although the name sounds exotic, it is nothing other than concentrated butter.
In traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda, Ghee is credited with many health
benefits.
Characteristics: In Europe ghee is revered mainly because of its frying
characteristics. Ghee is usually industrially produced from cow’s milk. Water
and protein are removed from the milk, so that only the fat is left. This has
many advantages over butter. Clarified butter can be heated to almost 200
degrees Celsius, without the fatty acids being destroyed. Therefore, it is
perfectly suitable for baking, frying and roasting. It is also very durable (it can
be stored non-chilled for up to 9 months, or stored cool up to 15 months) and
also, people with lactose intolerance can consume it without any problems. It
has a melting point of 42 degrees, so it is always crystallized at room
temperature.
What is Ghee? Ghee is usually almost 100% fat. Of these fats, around 60% are
saturated, 30% are monounsaturated and just over 5% are polyunsaturated
fatty acids. Ghee also contains the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. How much
fat the ghee contains depends on the manufacturing method.
Manufacturing Methods: In a large country like India, it is not surprising that
there are different ways to make ghee. The procedure can influence the taste,
quality and durability. For example, some ghees are made of 15% water.
At Piccantino, we only sell authentic ayurvedic ghee. This means that the
ghee was made through a boiling process, in the Ayurvedic tradition. Here,
butter is gently heated and kept liquid for a good 30 minutes. During this time
15
Expository Text the water contained in butter evaporates and the protein is deposited on the
surface in the form of foam. This foam is skimmed off. What remains is the
fat.
The Role of Ghee in Ayurveda: In traditional Indian medicine, Ghee occupies
an important position. It is used not only for cooking but is considered to have
different positive effects. It is also considered the elixir of life. Some positive
effects that ghee allegedly has (according to Ayurveda):
It stimulates digestion.
It nourishes the body tissue, because it acts as a carrier for various
active ingredients which thus reach up into the cells.
It helps to keep the body in balance.
It binds toxins in the body and helps the body remove them
(Source: https://www.piccantino.com/info/magazine/ghee-an-important-indian-cooking-fat)
Check Your Progress 1
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage in 1.5.1.
1) What is ghee?
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2) Is ghee good for Indian food?
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3) What company does the writer accord to as producer of ghee?
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 4) What is the relation between ghee and Ayurveda?
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1.5.2 Education and its Philosophy
Philosophy of Education is a label applied to the study of the purpose, process,
nature and ideals of education. It can be considered a branch of both philosophy
and education. Education can be defined as the teaching and learning of specific
skills, and the imparting of knowledge, judgment and wisdom, and is something
broader than the societal institution of education we often speak of.
Many educationalists consider it a weak and woolly field, too far removed
from the practical applications of the real world to be useful. But philosophers
dating back to Plato and the Ancient Greeks have given the area much thought
and emphasis, and there is little doubt that their work has helped shape the
practice of education over the millennia.
Plato is the earliest important educational thinker, and education is an essential
element in “The Republic” (his most important work on philosophy and political
theory, written around 360 B.C.). In it, he advocates some rather extreme
methods: removing children from their mothers’ care and raising them as wards
of the state, and differentiating children suitable to the various castes, the highest
receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city
and care for the less able. He believed that education should be holistic,
including facts, skills, physical discipline, music and art. Plato believed that
talent and intelligence is not distributed genetically and thus is be found in
children born to all classes, although his proposed system of selective public
education for an educated minority of the population does not really follow a
democratic model.
Aristotle considered human nature, habit and reason to be equally important
forces to be cultivated in education, the ultimate aim of which should be to
produce good and virtuous citizens. He proposed that teachers lead their
students systematically, and that repetition be used as a key tool to develop
good habits, unlike Socrates’ emphasis on questioning his listeners to bring
out their own ideas. He emphasized the balancing of the theoretical and practical
aspects of subjects taught, among which he explicitly mentions reading, writing,
mathematics, music, physical education, literature, history, and a wide range
of sciences, as well as play, which he also considered important.
During the Medieval period, the idea of Perennialism was first formulated by
St. Thomas Aquinas in his work “De Magistro”. Perennialism holds that one
should teach those things deemed to be of everlasting importance to all people
everywhere, namely principles and reasoning, not just facts (which are apt to
change over time), and that one should teach first about people, not machines
17
Expository Text or techniques. It was originally religious in nature, and it was only much later
that a theory of secular perennialism developed.
During the Renaissance, the French skeptic Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
was one of the first to critically look at education. Unusually for his time,
Montaigne was willing to question the conventional wisdom of the period,
calling into question the whole edifice of the educational system, and the
implicit assumption that university-educated philosophers were necessarily
wiser than uneducated farm workers, for example.
Check Your Progress 2
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage in 1.5.2.
1) What is the difference between the approaches of Socrates and
Aristotle?
a) Aristotle felt the need for repetition to develop good habits in students;
Socrates felt that students need to be constantly questioned
b) Aristotle felt the need for rote-learning; Socrates emphasized on dialogic
learning
c) There was no difference
d) Aristotle emphasized on the importance of paying attention to human
nature; Socrates emphasized upon science
2) Why do educationists consider philosophy a ‘weak and woolly’ field?
a) It is not practically applicable
b) Its theoretical concepts are easily understood
c) It is irrelevant for education
d) None of the above
3) What do you understand by the term ‘Perennialism’, in the context of the
given comprehension passage?
a) It refers to something which is of ceaseless importance
b) It refers to something which is quite unnecessary
c) It refers to something which is abstract and theoretical
d) It refers to something which existed in the past and no longer exists
now
4) Were Plato’s beliefs about education democratic?
a) He believed that only the rich have the right to acquire education
b) Yes
c) He believed that only a select few are meant to attend schools
d) He believed that all pupils are not talented
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 5) Why did Aquinas propose a model of education which did not lay much
emphasis on facts?
a) Facts are not important
b) Facts do not lead to holistic education
c) Facts change with the changing times
d) Facts are frozen in time
1.5.3 Primary Education in India: Progress and Challenges
In recent decades India has made significant progress on access to schooling
and enrollment rates in primary education but dropout rates and low levels of
learning remain challenges for the state and central government. As the U.S.
has a longer history of public education than India there are opportunities for
India to learn from the successes and failures in the American education system
and to collaborate in tackling shared challenges, such as the best use of
technology in primary education.
Primary school enrollment in India has been a success story, largely due to
various programs and drives to increase enrolment even in remote areas.
With enrollment reaching at least 96 percent since 2009, and girls making up
56 percent of new students between 2007 and 2013, it is clear that many
problems of access to schooling have been addressed. Improvements to
infrastructure have been a priority to achieve this and India now has 1.4 million
schools and 7.7 million teachers so that 98 percent of habitations have a
primary school (class I-V) within one kilometer and 92 percent have an upper
primary school (class VI-VIII) within a three-kilometer walking distance.
Despite these improvements, keeping children in school through graduation
is still an issue and dropout rates continue to be high. Nationally 29 percent
of children drop out before completing five years of primary school, and 43
percent before finishing upper primary school. High school completion is
only 42 percent. This lands India among the top five nations for out-of-school
children of primary school age, with 1.4 million 6 to 11 year olds not attending
school. In many ways schools are not equipped to handle the full population
– there is a teacher shortage of 689,000 teachers in primary schools, only 53
percent of schools have functional girls’ toilets and 74 percent have access to
drinking water.
Additionally, the quality of learning is a major issue and reports show that
children are not achieving class-appropriate learning levels. According to
Pratham’s Annual Status of Education 2013 report, close to 78 percent of
children in Standard III and about 50 percent of children in Standard V cannot
yet read Standard II texts. Arithmetic is also a cause for concern as only 26
percent students in Standard V can do a division problem. Without immediate
and urgent help, these children cannot effectively progress in the education
system, and so improving the quality of learning in schools is the next big
challenge for both the state and central governments.
Improving learning will require attention to many things, including increasing
teacher accountability. According to school visits teacher attendance is just
85 percent in primary and middle schools and raising the amount of time
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Expository Text teachers spend on-task and increasing their responsibility for student learning
also needs improvement. Part of this process requires better assessments at
each grade level and more efficient monitoring and support systems. Overall,
the public school system also needs a better general management system.
India also faces many challenges that could be tackled through the education
system. For one gender issues have come to the fore because of the spate of
recent cases of violence against girls. Changing gender mindsets seems to be
imperative and gender studies education is one way of doing so. Also India,
along with most countries, is concerned with the future of the labour market
and employability; Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi wants to emphasize
skill development in order to make school education more practically relevant.
Building good assessment systems: Good assessments are useful at the
classroom level for teachers to gauge their students’ understanding and also
to inform policy. The need for regular and useful assessments in India is
something that Indian departments of education are focusing on at the central
and state level.
Gender studies education: The state of women in India has recently drawn a
lot of attention and promoting gender equality through education has an
important role to play. Boys and girls should be taught to think about gender
equality from an early age and the curriculum should include gender studies
with appropriate teacher training.
Skills Development: As making education more practically relevant to the
labor market is a priority for Prime Minister Modi, there is much India can
learn from experiences in the United States. A shared agenda of helping
identify and implement improved ways to develop skills and competencies
even at the school level could be an important area for collaboration.
(Source:https://www.brookings.edu/research/primary-education-in-india-progress-andchallenges/)
Check Your Progress 3
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage in 1.5.3.
1) What is the major issue related to learning in the Indian education system?
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2) What is the problem that India could tackle if the education sector is looked
after?
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20
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 3) What can teachers do at a classroom level to resolve issues of lack of
quality primary education?
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4) What is the structure of the above-mentioned essay?
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1.6 LET US SUM UP
Expository Texts are of various kinds. For you to understand and comprehend,
then to answer the questions asked, it is important that you know the techniques
of writing these texts or essays and then you will be able to identify these very
technicalities that the writer uses in the process of writing. In the six variations
or types provided in the above-mentioned sections, you could find the
commonality of a thesis statement which would define the kind of question,
problem, thing, process, or classification which the essay would primarily be
about.
Using this identification process, you will need to understand the structure of the
given essay. Identify the Introduction, Body and Conclusion through the contents
of the essay and you are now equipped to tackle the questions. Further engage in
the process of skimming and scanning. Skimming accords to you reading the
passage in one swift go creating for you a general idea of what the essay is about;
precisely what the thesis statement is. After this, scanning initiates a detailed
breaking down of the text targeting specific questions asked.
Reading comprehension texts not only develops your proficiency in understanding
a given passage but also works on how well you can analyze and interpret the
same, using the given questions and text.
1.7 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about Expository Texts, you may consult:
Marjorie Mather & Brett McLenithan (eds.), Clear Writing: Readings in
Expository Prose (Toronto: Broadview Press, 2006)
Wayne Otto & Sandra White (eds.), Reading Expository Material (New York:
Academic Press, 1982)
21
Frank Smith, Understanding Reading: A Psycholinguistic Analysis of Reading Expository Text
and Learning to Read 6th Edition (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
2004)
1.8 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) Ghee is usually almost 100% fat. Of these fats, around 60% are saturated,
30% are monounsaturated and just over 5% are polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Ghee also contains the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E.
2) Yes, ghee is commonly used in Indian cooking; specifically, traditional
cooking. Apart from food, Ghee also features in traditional Ayurveda
medicine.
3) Piccantino is the company which is called the producer of ghee here.
4) They are both Indian Traditions. Ayurveda medicine uses ghee in a number
of its productions. It is meant to clear one’s internal system. It cleans body
of toxins and balances the workings of internal health. It also stimulates
the body tissue and helps in digestion.
Check Your Progress 2
1) (a), 2. (a), 3. (a), 4. (b), 5. (c)
2) The first option is correct – their approaches were different and this
difference is quite explicitly explained in the fourth paragraph.
3) The first option is correct because educationists believe that philosophical
abstractions are not suitable for practical application.
4) The first option is correct because the term comes from the root word
‘perennial’ – which means ceaseless.
5) The second option is correct – Plato’s beliefs were democratic but not his
suggested practices.
6) The third option is correct – facts do change with the changing times;
hence, they are not of the utmost importance when aiming for holistic
education.
Check Your Progress 3
1) As reports show that children are not achieving class-appropriate learning
levels, the problems with learning quality can be spotted. According to
Pratham’s Annual Status of Education 2013 report, close to 78 percent of
children in Standard III and about 50 percent of children in Standard V
cannot yet read Standard II texts. Arithmetic is also a problem for many of
these children.
2) Gender issues can be addressed if education problems are tackled. Violence
against women and men on the basis of their gender can be solved with
gender sensitization which comes from education. Apart from this, the
22
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts problem of employability can also be resolved with better standards of
education.
3) Good assessments are useful at the classroom level for teachers to gauge
their students’ understanding and also to inform policy. The need for regular
and useful assessments in India is something that the government is focusing
on at the central and state level.
4) The above-mentioned essay addresses the subject of problems with primary
education in India. It discusses the various modes under which these
problems occur and how they can be resolved. It can be categorized as a
problem and solution essay of the expository type.
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Expository Text UNIT 2 DESCRIPTIVE TEXT
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Features of Descriptive Texts
2.2.1 To Show or to Tell
2.2.2 Figurative Language
2.2.3 Strong Verbs
2.3 Types of Descriptive Writing
2.4 Descriptive Text Sample
2.4.1 Sample
2.4.2 Understanding structure and explanation
2.4.3 Probable questions
2.5 Reading Strategies
2.6 Practice Texts
2.6.1 Excerpt from “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
2.6.2 Nagasaki
2.6.3 A Descriptive Story
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Suggested Readings
2.9 Answers
2.0 OBJECTIVES
The need for comprehension is essential to the very act of reading. When you
read without comprehension, the act is rendered redundant. The aim of this Unit
is to make you proficient in skills of reading, by walking you through the reading
strategies and help you practice.
You will be able to read with precision and technical expertise. This Unit will
also aid you in categorizing the basis of ‘Descriptive’ writing. Specific features
of Descriptive texts would be analyzed and understood. You will be able to monitor
your own growth in the act of comprehension.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Comprehension simply means understanding. It is the end goal of the act of
reading. Comprehension then can also be called as the reason for reading. If the
act of reading occurs without an understanding of what is being read then the
whole act becomes obsolete and redundant. If you don’t understand then there is
no point to reading. The process of understanding is also complex. It employs a
number of strategies and meticulous practices.
To tackle the comprehension of a descriptive text, you need to first understand
the basic aspects of such a categorical form of writing. The word descriptive,
derived from the verb ‘describe’ is enough to serve the purpose of explaining
what kind of writing it would be. A piece of writing concerned with describing
24
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts anything is descriptive writing. You can write to give a detailed description of a
place, person or a thing. What makes this kind of writing different from others is
that it enables a picture being formed in the mind of the reader of the thing being
described. Reading descriptive text should then enable you to picture the thing
being described. Capturing anything so to create a picture in the mind of a reader
would entail paying close attention to details by heeding to all the five sensory
organs of the body.
This form of writing should not be confused with other forms of detailed writing
styles like expository or narrative writing form. Even though all of these three
forms (Expository, Narrative and Descriptive) employ the act of explanations,
they do it differently. It is hence important for you to understand how explanations
are projected in the “descriptive” form of writing.
Janeen Lewis in an article titled “Types of Descriptive Writing” writes,
“Descriptive writing describes a person, place or thing in such a way that the
reader feels she is experiencing what is being described. The details in the writing
vividly come alive in the reader’s mind. Descriptive writing is found in all genres
of writing, from the setting of a historical fiction novel to the details of a recipe.
There are many types of descriptive writing that place the reader in the middle of
the plot, scene, essay or article.”
2.2 FEATURES OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS
Descriptive writing has a number of indicators which can be categorized as its
features and if understood, be used by its readers to identify the type.
2.2.1 To Show or to Tell
Sensory organs play an important role in receiving information from the world.
They are meant to feel, smell, see, taste and hear from the world and be the first
contacts of the person, his thoughts with the world. Descriptive writing is heavily
dependent on this notion. It relies on appealing to your sensory system and hence
is concerned with making you experience the writing through senses instead of
direct thoughts. This aspect of making you understand than telling you directly
what you need to think is the process of ‘showing’ instead of ‘telling’. You are
more concerned with giving enough vivid a picture through which there would
cease a need to out rightly tell the reader what they should be thinking about.
The picture created through the process of writing should be enough to make the
reader think certain thoughts. It is an indirect method of telling something yet
doing it without telling but showing.
“Sensory details are details of smell, taste, texture, and sound as well as sight. If
you choose “showing” words, those that supply vivid sensory details appropriate
to your subject and purpose, you will succeed in showing rather than telling.
“Telling” words are usually vague or ambiguous; they can be interpreted in a
variety of ways.”
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Consider the following examples Descriptive Text
a) Telling: “The room was empty and smelled exceptionally stale. There was
no furniture or any kind of living presence. The windows had no curtains
because no one had bothered for a long time.”
b) Showing: “The apartment smelled of stale food, cabbage, wet waste; mixed
with old sweaty socks. My sneakers kept squeaking on the cracked wood
floors. Dust strewn everywhere, I could see a bit around the room due to
the sunlight seeping in from a broken curtainless window.”
You can see here how the first example is also giving you directions to think in a
certain way about the room while in the second one, detailed picture of the room
is painted which prompt you to think in a certain way to perceive this room.
As a reader of Descriptive writing, it is your job to look for these images or
indicative descriptive words that prompts you into forming a picture in your
mind. In looking for these images, you will be able to compile them and get a
gist of what they are trying to convey through descriptions.
2.2.2 Figurative Language
Figurative Language is used extensively in Descriptive writing. Figurative
Language refers to language that consists of a number of figure of speech and
allusions. These forms of ornamental writing are used to create images in the
mind of the reader. It does not allude to the literal meaning of words in order for
the reader to infer meaning out of them and ignite a creative thought process
which comes from the process ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’. Literary devices like
similes, metaphors and personification are included in this kind of writing.
Descriptive writing employs figurative language heavily in order to give a detailed
and vivid picture of the thing it is describing. For you as a reader, it is crucial to
specifically understand these figures of speech. You should be able to identify
the similes (a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced
by like or as), metaphors (comparing two things by using one kind of object or
using in place of another to suggest the likeness between them), personifications
(giving something human qualities) and many more such expressions. Knowing
the specifics of each one of these would help you comprehend the passage better.
2.2.3 Strong Verbs
Using verbs in their active form, for example action verbs like ‘dance’, ‘play’,
‘chat’, ‘cheat’, ‘race’, create a more compelling effect in the mind for the specific
process of creating a picture. As descriptive writing is concerned with various
and best ways of description, a proficient way of writing is also to use less amount
of words to convey the most. As a result, the writing should be crisp and to the
point. In order to do so, you should avoid using linking verbs like ‘was’, ‘is’, and
‘are’. Active verbs make it possible to write and describe in a more precise manner.
Instead of writing “She ran very fast”, if it is written as “She raced past us”, it
provides a stronger impact and a consequent image.
As a reader, it is important to be able to look for these verbs and understand the
inferences to be derived from them. Just like it was a case in figurative language,
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts it is important to draw correct inferences from the given language as that would
enable you to have a better idea of the text you are reading.
2.3 TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
Many things can be described in detail. What is the difference between description
and descriptive essays? While a description is just a short passage about anything,
a descriptive essay has the same structural system as any other essay. It would
not be a description just for the sake of it. It will have a narrative and a thesis
statement. It will need you to imagine a certain something the essay is trying to
attempt; an attempt to not only make a picture in your mind but to also convey
something through that picture. This is the thesis statement of a descriptive essay.
Just like traditional format, this essay will have an introduction, body and
conclusion which will run on the lines of the thesis statement.
The prominent types of Descriptive writings involve:
a) Writing about a person
b) Writing about an object
c) Writing about a place
d) Writing about oneself
e) Writing about others
f) Writing poems
g) Writing about traveling, memory or experience
h) Writing about nature, etc.
2.4 DESCRIPTIVE TEXT SAMPLE
After having understood the basic features that can help you distinguish and
understand a descriptive essay or a passage, it is time you look at a sample. The
following passage is an excellent example of a Descriptive text. Let us take a
look:
2.4.1 Sample
Vampires? Hags? Harry’s head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was
counting bricks in the wall above the dustbin.
“Three up… two across…” he muttered. “Right, stand back, Harry.”
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.
The brick he had touched quivered—it wriggled—in the middle, a small hole
appeared—it grew wider and wider—a second later they were facing an
archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway on to a cobbled street
which twisted and turned out of sight.
“Welcome,” said Hagrid, “ to Diagon Alley.”
He grinned at Harry’s amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry
looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back
into solid wall.
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Descriptive Text The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.
Cauldrons—All sizes—Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver—Self Stirring—
Collapsible said a sign hanging over them.
“Yeah, you’ll be needin’ one,” said Hagrid, “ but we gotta get yer money
first.”
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every
direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the
shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman
outside an apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, “Dragon
liver, sixteen sickles an ounce, they’re mad …”
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl
Emporium—Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. Several boys of about
Harry’s age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.
“Look,” Harry heard one of them say, “ the new Nimbus Two Thousand—
fastest ever,” There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and
strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with
barrels of bat spleens and eels’ eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and
rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…
“Gringotts,” said Hagrid.
They had reached a snowy-white building which towered over the other little
shops.”
(Source:Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K Rowling)
2.4.2 Understanding structure and explanation
This is a descriptive essay of a place. It is an excerpt from “Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone” as the source suggests. It is concerned with conveying the
grandeur of this new place that Harry visits called ‘Diagon Alley’. Let us find
out through a deep analysis how each of these lines suggests the essay to be part
of descriptive writing.
We enter the place through these lines “He tapped the wall three times with the
point of his umbrella.
The brick he had touched quivered—it wriggled—in the middle, a small hole
appeared—it grew wider and wider—a second later they were facing an archway
large enough even for Hagrid, an archway on to a cobbled street which twisted
and turned out of sight.”
These lines immediately point to a narrative which wants to convey an element
of magic or the supernatural. Diagon alley is clearly magical. This is not being
told to us as you can see. This is being shown to us. By these very lines mentioned
above, it is to be inferred that any place which opens its doors on three taps of an
umbrella is not the normal and it would in turn be beyond normal either initiated
through science or the supernatural.
Let us look at the next few lines “The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons
outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons—All sizes—Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver—
Self Stirring—Collapsible said a sign hanging over them.” This indicates that
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts the place has shops that sell cauldrons, further establishing the strangeness of
the market. There were cauldrons of all sizes some of which were self-stirring!
These lines point at its difference from the normal and further the narrative into
the realm of the discovery of a magical world.
The next lines read as “Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned
his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything
at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A
plump woman outside an apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying,
“Dragon liver, sixteen sickles an ounce, they’re mad …”” By showing us Harry’s
bafflement at having reached at this place, you as a reader are immediately placed
in his shoes who will now decode this new world from Harry’s eyes. Through
his eyes, you can sense the excitement and wonder at viewing brand new scenes.
“A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl
Emporium—Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. Several boys of about
Harry’s age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.
“Look,” Harry heard one of them say, “ the new Nimbus Two Thousand—fastest
ever,” There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver
instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat
spleens and eels’ eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment,
potion bottles, globes of the moon..” This passage fits the features of a descriptive
passage perfectly. These details of a number of shops selling items showcase a
busy and bustling street. There are constant images being made to form in the
minds of the reader with the excitement that people seem to feel towards a mere
broomstick, to animal parts being displayed in window sills of the shops to the
book shop selling not pens but quills, not ordinary books but spell books and so
much more. All of these vivid details are used to create a feeling of busyness and
the normalcy with which strangeness is proceeding. It opens the window to a
world following certain rules of your regular world but strangely different.
If looking for a thesis statement, this whole passage then could be attributed to
proving the normalness of the magical market place of “Diagon Alley”. The
introduction holds an entry point into this world of wonder and then we move to
the body which begins by elaborating the contents of the world. There isn’t a
definite conclusion in this passage as it as an excerpt. But the chapter ends with
Harry’s initiation into this new world and somewhat normalizing his presence in
the strange world.
2.4.3 Probable Questions
There are six kinds of fixed questions which are asked when trying to test the
comprehension skills of the student.
a) Vocabulary based questions: where the meanings of particular words in
the text, their antonyms, and synonyms are asked.
b) Direct questions: where the question requires an answer given directly as
it is in the text.
c) Interpretative and analytic questions: where inferences need to be drawn
from the given text.
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d) Main idea: where the reader’s ability to comprehend the overall idea of the Descriptive Text
text is questioned.
e) Supporting ideas: where the detailed information supporting the main idea
is asked.
f) Narrative structure, style and tone: where specific structural technicalities
like the thesis statement, introduction, body and conclusion are looked at.
Sample questions
a) 1) From the above passage, explain the meaning of the word “tottering”.
b) 2) How many eyes did Harry wish he had while looking around the new
market place?
c) 3) Why has the writer named this strange place Diagon Alley? Discuss.
d) 4) What is the passage reflecting on when listing down the shops of Diagon
Alley?
e) 5) Why are there people excited about a broomstick in Diagon Alley?
f) 6) What kind of writing genre would you categorize this passage in and
why?
Let us look at the answers:
a) 1) From the above passage it can be deciphered that there is a busy and
chaotic market place where many items are in display including the
‘tottering books’. From the aspect of chaos that is to be sensed from
the whole passage, the nature of chaos can also be attributed to the
books. The books are piled up and are ‘tottering’ which is a verb. The
answer would then be “unbalanced or threatening to dismantle”
b) 2) The answer to this question is available directly within the lines of the
passage. “Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.”
c) 3) Diagon Alley is strange, much different than the socially accepted
normal. To be Diagonal is also to not be straight or the normal. In a
system of lines, the diagonal line is the one which deflects from the
perfect 90-degree angle and creates a schism in perfection. In a similar
manner the Diagon alley is present somewhere in the middle of the
perfect human world but is extremely different from it in its contents.
d) 4) Each of these shops resembles normal shops but is strewn with unlikely
and uncommon merchandise. There is a craze for a broomstick which
just like Harry, the reader is not able to decipher. There are cauldrons
that stir themselves, animal parts displayed on window sills and quills
and spell books being sold. All these aspects help create a sense of
otherness of Diagon Alley.
e) 5) The world of Harry Potter is a magical world. Diagon Alley is his first
initiation into this world. As he goes past the shops, everything he sees
is unfamiliar to him yet the shops are displaying their merchandise and
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts how there is a craze in the market for the best items is quite familiar to
him. As he goes past the broom shop and sees people gushing over a
broomstick called “Nimbus 2000” he is amazed at the craze, but just
like everything else, the reader can fathom that this broom doesn’t hold
the same function of value that it would have in our normal world. And
this helps in adding to the point of differentness of Diagon Alley.
f) 6) The above passage can be categorized under the genre of “descriptive”
passage as one can find vivid details of a new place to establish its
quality of strangeness.
2.5 READING STRATEGIES
Let us take a look at the following lines.
What do good readers do as they read?
One way that researchers have studied what good readers do, has been to ask
them to think aloud as they read. From these studies, researchers have
determined that the seemingly effortless activity described as “good reading”
is made up of a set of highly complex, well-developed, and well-practiced
skills and abilities.
Particularly impressive is the way in which good readers actively and
consciously coordinate these skills and strategies before, during, and after
reading a text.
Before reading, good readers tend to set goals for their reading. They note
the structure, or organization of the text, and often create a mental overview
or outline of the text to help them decide whether it is relevant to their goals.
During reading, good readers read words accurately and quickly, and
simultaneously deal with the meanings of those words — as well as the
meanings of the phrases and sentences into which the words are grouped.
Good readers connect the meaning of one sentence to the meaning of
another. If something is confusing to them, they use their background
knowledge to try to clarify the meanings of words and phrases. Sometimes
good readers interact with the text by asking themselves questions about its
content and reflecting on its ideas.
They are adept at using their background knowledge to make predictions about
what might happen next and to understand ideas as they encounter them. Good
readers continuously evaluate their predictions and revise them as needed.
Good readers are selective as they read. They are likely to focus more of their
attention on the parts of the text that are most closely tied to their reading
goals. They may decide to skip some parts of a text because they already
understand the content or because they do not think the parts are important to
what they need (or want) to learn from the text. They may decide, after reading
several pages, to skip the rest of a chapter because they recently read something
similar.
On the other hand, they may decide — either because they do not clearly
understand the content or because they find the topic interesting — to reread
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Descriptive Text a passage or chapter before going on. They also may summarize the content
of a passage as they read it. In doing so, they may consciously determine
what is important, what is supportive, and what is less important.
As they read, good readers often make inferences. They may draw on their
background knowledge or look for clues in the text to supply information
about characters or events that the author has not provided directly. Some
good readers may also create mental images, or visualize a setting, event, or
character to help them understand a passage in a text.
Good readers monitor their comprehension as they read. When they realize
that they do not understand what they are reading, they apply procedures to
“repair” or “fix-up” their lack of understanding. For example, they may ask
themselves questions about the meaning of what they are reading, they may
rephrase a passage in their own words, they may look up the meanings of
difficult words, or they may outline the content of the text.
After reading, good readers often think about, or reflect on what they read.
They may mentally summarize major points or events in the text, or even go
to other sources to find additional information about the topic of the reading.
In short, good readers are most often strategic readers. That is, they use a
number of comprehension strategies to get meaning from text. Comprehension
strategies are conscious plans or procedures that are under the control of a
reader, who makes decisions about which strategies to use and when to use
them.
In addition, good readers engage in metacognition as they read. Cognition
refers to mental functions such as remembering, focusing attention, and
processing information. Metacognition refers to people’s awareness of their
cognition; that is, their thoughts about their own thinking. From an array of
possibilities, for example, readers with metacognitive awareness are able
consciously and automatically to select the appropriate comprehension
strategies for use with a particular text.
(Source:https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-research-tells-us-about-readingcomprehension-and-comprehension-instruction)
Let us look at the keywords highlighted in the above passage to understand what
the act of reading entails.
Think aloud: When you read any piece of an essay or article, the first step
should be to try and understand (as the word comprehension itself entails)
what your eyes are taking in. Once you read the text having understood it,
you can then explain it back to yourself. Thinking out loudly to yourself
what the passage might mean has its benefits in enabling you to understand
better.
Set goals before reading: At any point, before beginning to read, it is
important to understand the purpose of reading. Are you reading to get a
gist of the passage? To answer particular questions? For research? Or for
pleasure? Specifically, for the purpose of answering questions, you should
be aware of the things which need to be looked for within the text. It is a
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts good move to find out what is being asked and keeping the points in mind
you can start reading the passage with said objective.
Structure: Finding out the kind of writing or essay it can be categorized in
is always beneficial in the process of prompting an understanding of the
text. If you are able to identify the type of essay, you will be able to then
predict what you might find in the essay.
Mental overview: This can be done by using the techniques of skimming
when attempting comprehension passages. When you start reading, you
begin to make mental notes of certain keywords and lines that give you an
overall gist of the passage.
Connection between sentences: It is important when reading, to create a
sense of understanding that is able to connect a sentence with the next. If
you read sentences as unrelated to each other, it will hamper your sense of
understanding of the passage.
Predict and Revise: This allows you to read faster. If you have understood
what the passage is about, you recognize what it might be saying (maybe
from the introduction), then keep a mindset with the background knowledge
you have about that topic. This will allow you to predict what to expect
and hence prove a quick way to understand the passage.
Be Selective: When skimming and scanning through a passage, you cannot
always retain everything you read. It is hence important that you are able
to decide and select the things which you believe are important. Some
suggestions would be to identify the thesis statement and then proceed to
find the supporting notes to it. Other times, when attempting a
comprehension passage in exams, you can look at the questions and attempt
to identify the important keywords and topics.
Summarize: Another strategy to reading comprehension exercises is to
make a summary of each paragraph in about two to three lines. In trying to
make the summaries, you will be engaging in the act of comprehending.
This enhances your understanding of the passage.
Visualize: This is not only important but a key feature of practice of reading.
Just like the other approaches mentioned above, use your mind to visualize
what you read. This comes in handy especially when you do Descriptive
passages. The very aim of writing descriptive essays is to provide you
with ample fodder to visualize what you read and, in the process,
comprehend the written passage.
Meta cognition: “Metacognition refers to “thinking about thinking” and
was introduced as a concept by John Flavell, who is typically seen as a
founding scholar of the field. Flavell said that metacognition is the
knowledge you have of your own cognitive processes (your thinking)
(Flavell, 1979). It is your ability to control your thinking processes through
various strategies, such as organizing, monitoring, and adapting.
Additionally, it is your ability to reflect upon the tasks or processes you
undertake and to select and utilize the appropriate strategies necessary in
your intercultural interactions.” It employs the process of self-regulation
and self-policing. It makes you assess your own strengths and weaknesses.
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Using these modes or techniques, you can attempt to master the art of Descriptive Text
comprehension. As a good reader you need to engage in so many of these activities
to be able to complete the process or the very act of ‘reading’. Reading is a
complex activity which when done with precision and technique can help you
with your skills of ‘picking up ideas from texts’.
Readence, Bean, and Baldwin (2004) suggest a simple procedure to help students
recognize, identify, and utilize text structure as a way to better comprehend and
recall reading from expository text. Looking at the above passage, you must
now attempt to work on key strategies to attempt comprehension passages once
you have identified the type of essay it is, and its thesis statement.
2.6 PRACTICE TEXTS
2.6.1 Excerpt from “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret
Atwood
“The lawns are tidy, the facades are gracious, in good repair; they’re like
the beautiful pictures they used to print in the magazines about homes and
gardens and interior decoration. There is the same absence of people, the
same air of being asleep. The street is almost like a museum, or a street in
a model town constructed to show the way people used to live. As in those
pictures, those museums, those model towns, there are no children.
This is the heart of Gilead, where the war cannot intrude except on television.
Where the edges are we aren’t sure, they vary, according to the attacks and
counterattacks; but this is the center, where nothing moves. The Republic of
Gilead, said Aunt Lydia, knows no bounds.
Gilead is within you.
Doctors lived here once, lawyers, university professors. There are no lawyers
anymore, and the university is closed.
Luke and I used to walk together, sometimes, along these streets. We used to
talk about buying a house like one of these, an old big house, fixing it up. We
would have a garden swing for the Children. We would have children.
Although we knew it wasn’t too likely we could ever afford it, it was
something to talk about, a game for Sundays.
Such freedom now seems almost weightless.
We turn the corner onto a main street, where there’s more traffic.
Cars go by, black most of them, some gray and brown. There are other women
with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Marthas, some in the
striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy, that mark the
women of the poorer men.
Econowives, they’re called. These women are not divided into functions.
They have to do everything; if they can. Sometimes there is a woman all in
black, a widow. There used to be more of them, but they seem to be
diminishing. You don’t see the Commanders’ Wives on the sidewalks. Only
in cars.
34
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts The sidewalks here are cement. Like a child, I avoid stepping on the cracks.
I’m remembering my feet on these sidewalks, in the time before, and what I
used to wear on them. Sometimes it was shoes for running, with cushioned
soles and breathing holes, and stars of fluorescent fabric that reflected light
in the darkness. Though I never ran at night; and in the daytime, only beside
well-frequented roads.
Women were not protected then.
I remember the rules, rules that were never spelled out but that every woman
knew: Don’t open your door to a stranger, even if he says he is the police.
Make him slide his ID under the door. Don’t stop on the road to help a
motorist pretending to be in trouble. Keep the locks on and keep going. If
anyone whistles, don’t turn to look. Don’t go into a laundromat, by yourself,
at night.
I think about laundromats. What I wore to them: shorts, jeans, jogging pants.
What I put into them: my own clothes, my own soap, my own money, money
I had earned myself. I think about having such control.
Now we walk along the same street, in red pairs, and no man shouts
obscenities at us, speaks to us, touches us. No one whistles.
There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and
freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being
given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.
In front of us, to the right, is the store where we order dresses. Sonic people
call them habits, a good word for them. Habits are hard to break. The store
has a huge wooden sign outside it, in the shape of a golden lily; Lilies of the
Field, it’s called. You can see the place, under the lily, where the lettering
was painted out, when they decided that even the names of shops were too
much temptation for us. Now places are known by their signs alone.
Lilies used to be a movie theater, before. Students went there a lot; every
spring they had a Humphrey Bogart festival, with Lauren Bacall or Katharine
Hepburn, women on their own, making up their minds.
They wore blouses with buttons down the front that suggested the possibilities
of the word undone. These women could be undone; or not. They seemed to
be able to choose. We seemed to be able to choose, then. We were a society
dying, said Aunt Lydia, of too much choice.
I don’t know when they stopped having the festival. I must have been grown
up. So I didn’t notice.
We don’t go into Lilies, but across the road and along a side street.”
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Check Your Progress 1 Descriptive Text
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage in 2.6.1.
1) What type of writing would the above passage fit in and why?
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2) What is the picture of Gilead being formed in the given passage?
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3) What festival does the writer recall?
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4) “There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and
freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are
being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” What do these lines mean?
Discuss.
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5) Who are the Econowives?
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 2.6.2 Nagasaki
Nearly nine years ago, on a warm autumn evening in 1945, I was driving over
the mountains of Southern Japan to the city of Nagasaki. I thought I was still
in open country when all at once I realized that I was already crossing what
had been the city. The shadows which flickered past me in the dusk were not
rocks and trees: they were crushed buildings; the bare and skewed ribs of
factories, and two crumpled gasometers.
The scale of the damage of Nagasaki drained the blood from my heart then,
and does so now when I speak of it. For three miles my road lay through a
desert which man had made in a second. Now, nine years later, the hydrogen
bomb is ready to dwarf this scale, and to turn each mile of destruction into ten
miles. And citizens and scientists share at one another and ask: ‘How did we
blunder into this nightmare?
I put this first as a question of history, because the history of this is known to
few people. The fission of uranium was discovered by two German scientists
a year before the war. Within a few months, it was reported that Germany had
forbidden the export of uranium from the mines of Czechoslovakia which she
had just annexed. Scientists on the Continent, in England and America, asked
themselves whether the secret weapon on which the Germans were said to be
working was an atomic bomb. If the fission of uranium could be used
explosively (and this already seemed possible in 1939) it might in theory make
an explosion a million times larger than hitherto. The monopoly of such an
atomic bomb would give Hitler instant victory, and make him master of Europe
and the world. The scientists knew the scale of what they feared very well:
they feared first desolation and then slavery. With heavy hearts, they told Albert
Einstein what they knew of atomic fission. Einstein had been a pacifist all his
life, and he did not easily put his conscience on one side. But it seemed clear
to him that no scientist was free to keep this knowledge to himself. He felt that
no one could decide whether a nation should or should not use atomic bombs,
except the nation itself; the choice must be offered to the nation, and made by
those whom the nation has elected to act for it. On August 2, 1939, a month
before Hitler invaded Poland, Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt to tell
him that he thought an atomic bomb might be made, and he feared that the
Germans were trying to make one.
This is how it came about that, later in the war, scientists worked together in
England, in Canada and America, to make the atomic bomb. They hated war
no less than the layman does- no less than the soldier does; they, too, had
wrestled with their consciences; and they had decided that their duty was to
let the nation use their skill, just as it uses the skill of the solider or the expert
in camouflage. The atomic scientists believed that they were in a race against
Germany whose outcome might decide, the war even in its last weeks. We
know now that the race was almost a walk-over. The Germans were indeed
trying to make an atomic explosion, and they thought that they were ahead of
the allies. But by our standards, what they had done was pitiful; they had not
made a pile that worked, and they believed that the fast chain reaction of an
atomic bomb was impossible. The Nazis had made fundamental science a
poor relation, and put it under second rate party men with splendid titles. And
more deeply, the Nazis had sapped the pith and power of research, the quizzical
37
Descriptive Text eye and questioning mind, the urge to find the facts for oneself. There were
not enough unconventional ideas in the German atomic projects, and when
the younger men did put up some, their leaders always knew better.
Source: UPSC CPF Assistant Commandant Examination 2007 Paper II
(BSF/CRPF/ITBP/CISF/SSB)
Check Your Progress 2
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage in 2.6.2.
1) What had drained the blood from the heart of the author?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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2) Describe the circumstances leading to the making of atom bomb.
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3) When was the Hydrogen bomb ready for use?
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4) What, according to the author, was the main reason of the failure of the
German scientists?
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38
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 5) What do you learn from the passage about Albert Einstein?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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2.6.3 A Descriptive Story
Mike and Morris lived in the same village. While Morris owned the largest
jewelry shop in the village, Mike was a poor farmer. Both had large families
with many sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. One fine day, Mike,
tired of not being able to feed his family, decided to leave the village and
move to the city where he was certain to earn enough to feed everyone.
Along with his family, he left the village for the city. At night, they stopped
under a large tree. There was a stream running nearby where they could
freshen up themselves. He told his sons to clear the area below the tree, he
told his wife to fetch water and he instructed his daughters-in-law to make
up the fire and started cutting wood from the tree himself. They didn’t know
that in the branches of the tree, there was a thief hiding. He watched as
Mike’s family worked together and also noticed that they had nothing to
cook. Mike’s wife also thought the same and asked her husband,”Everything
is ready but what shall we eat?”. Mike raised his hands to heaven and said
“Don’t worry. He is watching all of this from above. He will help us.”
The thief got worried as he had seen that the family was large and worked
well together. Taking advantage of the fact that they did not know he was
hiding in the branches, he decided to make a quick escape. He climbed down
safely when they were not looking and ran for his life. But, he left behind the
bundle of stolen jewels and money which dropped into Mike’s lap. Mike
opened it and jumped with joy when he saw the contents. The family gathered
all their belongings and returned to the village. There was great excitement
when they told everyone how they got rich.
Morris thought that the tree was miraculous and this was a nice and quick
way to earn some money. He ordered his family to pack some clothes and
they set off as if on a journey. They also stopped under the same tree and
Morris started commanding everyone as Mike had done. But no one in his
family was willing to obey his orders. Being a rich family, they were used to
having servants all around. So, the one who went to the river to fetch water
enjoyed a nice bath. The one who went to get wood for fire went off to sleep.
Morris’s wife said “Everything is ready but what shall we eat?” Morris raised
his hands and said, “Don’t worry. He is watching all of this from above. He
will help us.”
As soon as he finished saying, the thief jumped down from the tree with a
knife in hand. Seeing him, everyone started running around to save their
lives. The thief stole everything they had and Morris and his family had to
return to the village empty handed, having lost all their valuables that they
had taken with them.
(Source:https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/comprehension-passages/)
39
Check Your Progress 3 Descriptive Text
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage in 2.6.3.
1) Why did Mike and his family decide to rest under the thief’s tree?
a) Being a large family, they knew that they could easily defeat the thief
b) It was a convenient spot for taking a halt at night
c) There was a stream nearby and wood enough to build a house
d) That was the only large tree that could shelter their large family
2) Which of the following best describes Morris?
a) He was a rich businessman
b) He bullied his wife
c) He paid his servants well
d) He was greedy and imitated Mike
3) What did Mike mean when he said “He is watching all this from above”?
a) He had spotted the thief and wanted to scare him
b) He was telling his wife to have faith in god
c) It was just a warning for his family members to stick together
d) He was begging the thief to help his family
4) Why did the thief return to the tree?
a) To wait for Mike to return
b) To set up a trap
c) To wait for Morris’s family
d) Not mentioned in the passage
5) How did the fellow villagers react to Mike getting rich overnight?
a) They were jealous of him
b) They were very excited
c) They followed his example
d) They envied him
2.7 LET US SUM UP
Descriptive essays are concerned with creating a picture through vivid language
used. Your job is to identify these details and infer the correct picture which
might originally have been interpreted by the writer. If you are able to correctly
assess this picture being created by the author, you will be able to analyze it
further, taking into account the various choices of the images being created through
this form of writing, as well as how and why those choices have been made.
It is important to pick up on all the information which is provided in the text.
Make a comprehensive list of ideas found in the text that pertain to the senses
40
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts and in doing so you will be able to absorb as many kinds of sensory information
as possible, thus providing holistic understanding of the text.
By thinking aloud, setting goals before reading, understanding the structure,
creating a mental overview, understanding the connection between each paragraph
and thereafter each sentence, picking up information which holds significance,
and then summarizing your thoughts into comprehensive written form of the
answer, you will be attempting the reading of descriptive text correctly. Using
the skimming and scanning processes through the introduction, body and
conclusion of the text, you will be able to answer the questions with precision.
2.8 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about Descriptive Texts, you may consult:
Beverly Derewianka, Exploring how texts work (New Hampshire: Heinemann
Educational Books, 1990)
Cleanth Brooks & Robert Penn Warren, Modern Rhetoric 3rd Edition (New York:
Harcourt, 1970)
2.9 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) The above passage is a descriptive narration of a place called Gilead as
one can find detailed description of the roads, shops and the person’s
memory attached with it.
2) Gilead seems to be an extremely disciplined place with strict laws and a
lack of freedom for all. It seems to be divided into factions where especially
women would wear clothes which are color coded according to their faction.
When looking at the writer’s memories, it can also be judged that things
were not often the same and after a war had taken place, the country had
converted into the one we see in these passages.
3) Every year before Gilead, they would hold the Humphrey Bogart Festival
in a movie theatre where they would celebrate independent women through
their movies.
4) These lines are the writer’s memory about the same place where she now
walks. She says they are now free from all the harassment those women
would face in the earlier days because they were told they were spoiled
with the freedom of choices. Now as she walks there, she has no such
choice and there is no harassment by men either. In this case then, these
women were told to appreciate a scenario where no harassment was tolerated
and they had freedom from it all.
5) These are the wives of the low-class men who have not been yet divided
into a faction and hence have to resort to doing every kind of work and not
just one. They also hence did not have a dress code to adhere to.
41
Check Your Progress 2 Descriptive Text
1) The scale of damage that the author saw when he went to Nagasaki drained
his blood. He was not able to believe the massive destruction the war had
resulted in. He speaks of the damage caused by the use of Atomic Bombs.
2) The writer discusses how Germany was predicted to be conspiring and
making bombs in World War II and that they were trying to work the
technology in order to create Atomic Bombs. It was a terrible thought yet
the scientists of other countries like England and America including Albert
Einstein felt duty bound to their nation just like soldiers to create the same
technology lest Hitler wins the war due to the Atomic Bombs. As a result,
the other side also made the atomic bomb and they made it much quicker
than Germany. This was because Germany was unable to encourage out of
the box ideas having been boxed down by the strict regime and law.
3) It came to be used 9 years later of the Nagasaki bombings.
4) “The Nazis had made fundamental science a poor relation, and put it under
second rate party men with splendid titles. And more deeply, the Nazis
had sapped the pith and power of research, the quizzical eye and questioning
mind, the urge to find the facts for oneself. There were not enough
unconventional ideas in the German atomic projects, and when the younger
men did put up some, their leaders always knew better.”
5) It is to be understood that he was a pacifist. He was not too keen on making
the bomb yet after a point was duty bound as a national scientist to do so.
Check Your Progress 3
1) b) It was a convenient spot for taking a halt at night
2) d) He was greedy and imitated Mike
3) b) He was telling his wife to have faith in God
4) d) Not mentioned in the passage
5) b) They were very excited
42
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts UNIT 3 NARRATIVE TEXT
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Features of Narrative Texts
3.3 Structure of Narrative Texts
3.4 Narrative Text Sample
3.4.1 Sample
3.4.2 Understanding structure and explanation
3.4.3 Probable questions
3.5 Reading Strategies
3.6 Practice Texts
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Suggested Readings
3.9 Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Narration is the basis of any form of story-telling. Any time the act of telling a
story takes place, the key aspect of it is the narration. The comprehension of a
narrative text would then entail the act of identifying the modes of narration. If
the purpose or the thesis statement of narration is understood, the text would be
comprehended. Comprehension is indispensable to the very act of reading. When
you read without comprehension, the act is rendered redundant.
The aim of this Unit is to make you proficient in skills of reading, by walking
you through the reading strategies and help you practice. You will be able to read
with precision and technical expertise. This Unit will also aid you in categorizing
the basis of ‘Narrative’ writing. Specific features of Narrative texts would be
analyzed and understood. You will be able to monitor your own growth in the act
of comprehension.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Narrative text is writing that tells a story. It can be a made-up story (fiction) or
one that is based on real events. To narrate is the verb used to describe the act of
telling a story, so a narrative is the story and the narrator is the person telling the
story. There can be factual as well as fictional narratives, descriptive as well as
argumentative narratives. In a way, narrative writing can encapsulate a variety
of purposes to its creation. A factual write up will be close to reality while fiction
can take liberties to change the facts even though it would be based on reality.
Imagination is key in a fictional narrative. Creativity plays a crucial role in both
fiction and non-fiction narratives as ‘how you tell a story’ ensures the effect you
wish to have on your readers.
Dr. Rahmad Husein and Dr. Anni Holila Pulungan write: “The social function of
narrative genre is to tell a story. The story is commonly constituted by a number
43
of events in which it is found that something goes wrong. The wrong side of the Narrative Text
event leads to a stage, which is one with great suspense called a crisis or climax
in the story. The story then stages a solution to the problem in the climax. A
narrative ends with a solution, either with a happy or sad ending.
Society is dynamic in the sense that the society is faced to evolution where things
happen and the happenings become the causes to the next events and so forth.
The events attract attentions of human beings as members of the society. As a
way of preserving the events, human beings record them either in oral or written
mode and stage them in stories called narratives. The narratives are passed on
from persons to other persons, from one generation to other generations and
from one time to another. Consequently, there have been, are and will be stories
or narratives in the society. As the stories form in the society, they reflect sociocultural heritages. The value of narratives is that they indicate views, attitudes or
aspirations of the society. In this way, narrative is regarded as the preservation of
culture. Thus, they prevail, remain and maintained in the society.”
You as a reader would then have to identify the narrative styles for the purpose
of understanding why the text has been written or a narrative mode assumed.
The reason for conveyance of a message can be understood by identifying the
narrative text, which helps in the act of comprehension. Non-fiction narrative
examples are memoirs, biographies, periodicals and magazines while fictional
narratives are novels and short stories.
3.2 FEATURES OF NARRATIVE TEXTS
The narrative text can be broken down into a few important parts and the features
of this kind of writing are:
a) Theme: The theme of any text is the big main idea that the text is about.
Ask yourself the question, “What is this text/essay about?” and the answer
to that question will sum up the theme of the writing. You shouldn’t confuse
the theme with a ‘subject’ line. Thematic ideas of a text are closer to the
thesis statement. It discusses the very purpose for writing. The ‘subject’
acts as the basis for the beginning of a literary work but the theme decides
its purpose and answers the question “Why”. If the subject of a text is
‘war’ then its theme would be the opinion which the narrative would
establish; that war is a necessity for society, or a curse, or unavoidable etc.
b) Setting: Consider the time and place where your narrative is set in; this
becomes the setting of the text. It is usually found in novels, short stories,
plays and films. The setting can be introduced right in the onset of the text
or can be discovered slowly as the narrative develops. The setting establishes
the mood and tone that the writer is intending to set for a passage. As a
reader, it becomes your job to understand what tone is being set and why.
It gives a limit to the possibilities of the action that the characters’ lives
can indulge in. This helps in engaging the readers into the story. If the
setting of a story changes, so does the evolution of the story along with it.
Setting becomes an important narrative mode for the story. It enables a
definition of the time and space of the text.
As a reader of the narrative essay, you should be watchful of the abovementioned aspects of the setting of an essay. If you are able to identify the
44
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts setting, you can then proceed to comprehend the role it plays in for the
writer. It enables you to decipher why a certain setting has been chosen
and to what end. It helps in analysis and furthers the prospect of
comprehension.
c) Characters: Each narrative has characters and people who comprise the
contents of the narrative. For a narrative essay, a character maybe ‘you’ as
you tell your story of the first day at college, or the new ‘pen’ that you
received as a gift from your favorite teacher. The characters could be
inanimate or lively. The main feature would be to keep the character at the
center of your narrative. The character would be what your story is about.
If you are asked to write or read a narrative essay on a place or a setting
like ‘Delhi – my first love’ then that place becomes your character.
As you read such an essay for the purpose of comprehension, you will be
trying to trace the characters of the narrative. If you manage to find them,
you will then proceed to judge the qualities of the characters that have
been listed by the writer. What qualities have been bestowed on the character
can help you understand the perspective of the writer. It would then help
you to further ask questions of how or why certain characters have been
given their respective characteristics. This would aid in the process of
comprehension and analysis.
d) Point of view: There are three points of view that encapsulate any form of
writing. The first person, second- and third-person narrative. “First Person
–the story is told from the main character’s point of view and uses the
pronouns “I” and “we”. Second Person-usually for instructions; uses the
pronouns “you” and “your” (the author is speaking to the reader). Third
Person –the story is told from an outside point of view and uses the pronouns
‘he’, ‘it’, ‘she’ and ‘they’.” For a narrative text, the first-person narrative is
usually preferred. It helps in the process of narration as the story seems to
arrive from personal experiences.
When reading a narrative text, if you identify the perspective or the point
of the view of the writer, then again, you can ascertain the purpose of that
point of view. A first-person narrative may be used for a more personal
view than the third person. After having understood the points of view of
the narration, you can comprehend the passages better.
e) Plot: Richard Nordquist in an article writes “Every story that you read
follows a series of events that range from the introduction of a conflict to
begin the story and a final resolution at the end; this is the plot of your
story. Basically, it’s what happens throughout the narrative, and it appears
in both fiction and non-fiction work. When you write a plot summary,
you’ll essentially condense a novel into a short essay, touching on the key
points of the material. You’ll want to introduce the main characters, setting
of the story, and the main conflict of the narrative, including the five basic
components of the plot: introduction, rising action, climax, falling action,
and finally, a resolution. Some outlines will break down a plot into more
segments (exposition, inciting incident, central conflict, rising action,
climax, falling action, resolution) but the premise is the same – a pattern of
rising and falling action that looks essentially like an arc or a bell curve
when you consider the level of drama the characters experience.”
45
Narrative Text
A Plot according to E.M Forster answers the ‘why’ of the story. If ‘the King died
and the Queen died’ is a story then the ‘King died and the Queen died in grief of
the king dying’ is the plot point. Accordingly, the reasoning for the story consists
of minute details. The elements that contribute to a sound plot are as follows:
i) Exposition: It is that part of the plot which appears at the beginning of the
story. It introduces the reader to the main characters, setting, mood, and
background information to the story. This may give out subtle interesting
facts about the character and the core of the character’s emotional side. It
allows the reader to connect with the characters that would be developed
over the course of the whole story. For instance, in the Disney film Finding
Nemo, it begins with the background information which helps the audience
understand the characters and situations better. Characters of Marlin and
Nemo are introduced and audience also learns about Coral’s death and
that, after that, Marlin has been an overprotective father. Exposition is
done through dialogues, narration, internal monologue, devices like
newspaper clippings, letters, emails etc. Exposition statement is the part of
the plot that tells how the story begins including aspects of the text like
characters, setting, conflict (problem), and background information.
Exposition is a form of writing that explains what’s happening or has
happened in the story in a very matter-of-fact way. Exposition may present
background information of the plot or characters, explain details about the
setting, convey a sense of the historical context, and so on. Authors are
46
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts often counseled to keep exposition to a minimum so as not to bore the
reader or at least to include exposition in such a way that it doesn’t bog
down the story. However, exposition is a necessary part of almost all stories
as a way to convey important information.
(ii) Conflict: After the introduction of the story, we are introduced to the
problems within the story. This takes forward the plot as it is this struggle
between the opposing forces that the individual goes through or tries to
solve. It supplies tension in the story. This can be of various types: a)
Individual vs Individual: This type of conflict refers to the struggle between
two individuals mostly the protagonist and antagonist, the two who have
opposing goals or qualities or the conflict could be in any relationship like
a husband and a wife, a parent and a child or two friends. b) Individual vs
Society: This type of conflict is usually between an individual in opposition
to the society and its code and conduct. Here, there is a clash between the
societal norms and the character. c) Individual vs Nature: This refers to the
conflict between character and the environment like natural disasters. d)
Individual vs Self: Another kind of conflict refers to the inner demons of
the characters themselves. The character here is not in conflict with any
external element but an internal one. This may spring from fear, self-doubt
and could be self-destructive as well. This part of the plot is important
because the presence of conflict in the story leads to change. It is when the
characters go through these adversities/ problems, their character develops,
gains insight and strengths. They grow and change with the story.
iii) Rising Action: After the exposition (where the background information
and the character is introduced) and conflict (where the struggle of the
protagonist is introduced), rising action refers to the series of events that
unfold and the situations that the character goes through to deal with or
resolve the conflict. It creates suspense and tension in the narrative. It also
includes the decisions, action, inaction and character flaws of the
protagonist. The rising action leads to the most important part in a narrative
i.e. Climax.
iv) Climax: It is the most crucial point or the turning point in the narrative. It
is also seen as the most exciting part of the story. Usually, in the climax the
character faces the conflict and there is a change in the character. It is the
point of crisis in the narrative. For example, in Cinderella’s story, when
the clock strikes midnight and Cinderella has to leave and in a hurry leaves
her glass shoe behind. This is the Climax.
v) Falling Action: Falling Action refers to the tying of all loose ends in the
narrative. All the problems are solved and conflict resolved. It happens as
a result of the climax wherein all the questions posed are answered and the
plot is wrapped up. At times, the narrative does not provide you with any
falling action.
vi) Resolution: Resolution in a narrative completes the story. It may or may
not be a happy one always but it provides a sense of closure in the end.
However, it may leave certain questions, thoughts, emotions in the reader.
You need to identify these features while reading a narrative text. These are also
known as story elements. They will not only help you in identifying the narrative
47
Narrative Text type of essay but understanding these will also help you in comprehending the
text.
Let us now look at the organization of Narrative Texts.
3.3 STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE TEXTS
It is imperative for you to understand how the elements studied in the previous
section are organized into a text. A narrative text is one which tells a story. It has
a beginning, middle and end. It introduces the reader to a character, the situations,
setting; divulges all the details through action and then concludes with an outcome.
This type of text can be broadly staged into: Orientation, Complication and
Resolution.
i) Orientation: As the name suggests, it refers to the introduction or the
beginning of the narrative text where the character and setting are introduced
to the reader. The Who and What of the story usually appears in the first
paragraph of this text. This Introduction can further be divided into three
parts: Hook, Background and Thesis. Hook refers to the opening of the
narrative where an interesting fact or a surprising element is used. It could
be a shocking statistic, a question or a quote. The purpose is to attract the
reader’s attention. It is the first sentence of the essay. Next, you are given
the background to the character and the situation you are put into. You
learn about events that have happened before the action. After this history,
the thesis statement in this type of essay provides you with the real action
of the story. Of course, you do not get to know the entire story here but just
a hint. By the end of this Orientation you know the character, the situation,
the history and you know the present problem at hand. This part in the text
consists of elements of Exposition and Conflict.
ii) Complication: It contains emergence of crises that would need to be
resolved. It takes care of the main story and the events unfold here. In
these Body paragraphs, the greater detail to all the action, inaction and the
situation is given which grants a life to the story. The situation paragraph
describes what happens in the story, how it happens and why it is happening.
It is presented step by step in the text. The second Body paragraph is
dedicated to the story element of Rising Action where the story is further
developed leading to the last body paragraph in a narrative text, Climax.
Climax is the height of the action which sometimes comes across as a
surprising turn of events within the story.
iii) Resolution: This part of the narrative structure is the conclusion of the
text which includes Falling Action and Resolution story elements. It is
also sometimes referred to as anti-climax. The conflict is resolved here
and it shows how the character solves the problem posed in the introduction
paragraph of the text. The concluding paragraph shows what happens after
the main event and how the problem is solved.
iv) Coda: The last part of the narrative structure is known as Coda/Reorientation. It contains the lesson learnt after the entire story and the
resolution. It also presents a change in the character after going through
the entire journey from conflict to resolution. Please remember it may be a
good/happy ending or a bad/sad ending. It could also be a resolution that
48
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts the writer reaches and how it changed the writer in this process. However,
this closing remark is optional in a narrative text depending on the aim of
the writer and if the writer wants to leave the audience with a moral lesson
at the end of the tale.
3.4 NARRATIVE TEXT SAMPLE
3.4.1 Sample
We arrived much late at night. As we were approaching the house, we heard
dogs barking in the darkness. Cecil and Frank felt scared as the wind was
blowing from the mountain forest. The night air was extremely cold and damp
in that late horrible winter. We were only few metres from the huge house
when we heard shootings from behind. Three stout officers in Nazi uniform
appeared and one of them asked us to produce our ID cards. Cecil and I were
frozen to scares. Calmly Frank showed his ID card and the three tough men in
their military uniform saluted at us. They let us go. Frank waved his hand and
the three men disappeared in the darkness followed by the dogs barking. We
were safe to pass through the most dangerous check point at the border. I will
never forget that horrible and threatening night.
Source: https://www.usd.ac.id/fakultas/pendidikan/f1l3/PLPG2017/Download/materi/bing/
BAB-VI-Narrative.pdf
3.4.2 Understanding structure and explanation
The above passage can be identified as a narrative text. Some elements which
can be found are the progress of a story from a set up to conflict to resolution
towards the end. The first few sentences “We arrived much late at night. As we
were approaching the house, we heard dogs barking in the darkness. Cecil and
Frank felt scared as the wind was blowing from the mountain forest. The night
air was extremely cold and damp in that late horrible winter.” set up the tone for
the narrative. The first sentence can be attributed to be the hook. ‘Hook’ is used
to begin a story and draw in your interest, just as the name suggests. It is meant
to keep the reader ‘hooked’ to read further. The first section will also set up the
thesis statement. A thesis statement is that which explains in detail what the
essay is about. The story being told has multiple people as can be found in the
pronoun “we”. The time has been set at ‘late at night’ which gives the passage a
dull undertone. “dogs barking” adds further to the tone of eeriness. By informing
us that two characters were scared we are informed that this is a situation which
is meant to invoke fear in the reader. A detailed description of the night air, of the
setting and of the general mood of the passage has been set by the exposition.
Let us look at the next few sentences. “We were only few metres from the huge
house when we heard shootings from behind. Three stout officers in Nazi uniform
appeared and one of them asked us to produce our ID cards. Cecil and I were
frozen to scares.” This section can be identified to be consisting of ‘rising action’
and ‘conflict’ at the same time. The ‘hearing of shooting’ establishes the first
onset into tension. It invites a probable promise of either a resolution or a
destruction that is to ensue as the passage goes on. As the writer writes that they
were frozen when the police officer comes to check on them, it establishes the
tension which needs to be addressed in the next few lines. It creates a sense of
suspense which leaves you, the reader to compellingly read on in order to find
49
out what happens. This section can also be attributed to be a part of the ‘body’ of Narrative Text
the text. The body comprises of the tension, and conflict which would later find
resolution.
The next section reads as “Calmly Frank showed his ID card and the three tough
men in their military uniform saluted at us. They let us go. Frank waved his hand
and the three men disappeared in the darkness followed by the dogs barking.”
This sums up to be a concluding section of the text. This section not only gives
you climax and a resolution but also a glimpse into the character of Frank, one of
the characters. Falling action can be identified as the time when Frank calmly
shows his ID card and then one can find a final resolution in the next few lines.
“We were safe to pass through the most dangerous check point at the border. I
will never forget that horrible and threatening night.” It gives an end to not only
the exposition but also resolves the point of tension.
Understanding all these aspects of the narrative passage, you will be able to
answer questions provided to you.
Let us now look at some probable questions:
3.4.3 Probable Questions
There are six kinds of fixed questions which are asked when trying to test the
comprehension skills of the student.
a) Vocabulary based questions: where the meanings of particular words in
the text, their antonyms, and synonyms are asked.
b) Direct questions: where the question requires an answer given directly as
it is in the text.
c) Interpretative and analytic questions: where inferences need to be drawn
from the given text.
d) Main idea: where the reader’s ability to comprehend the overall idea of the
text is questioned.
e) Supporting ideas: where the detailed information supporting the main idea
is asked.
f) Narrative structure, style and tone: where specific structural technicalities
like the thesis statement, introduction, body and conclusion are looked at.
Sample Questions
1) Give the meaning of the word ‘stout’ from the above passages.
2) At what time is the narrative set in?
3) What would be the purpose of choosing the setting as night time for the
narrative?
4) Explain the encounter the author goes through one late night evening.
5) Why was the writer scared?
6) What category of writing would you find the above passage in?
Let us look at the answers
1) The word ‘stout’ has come in context to the Nazi army men. It can be used
to describe a negative aspect of the men through a reference to ‘bulk’ of the men.
50
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 2) The narrative is set in the late night time.
3) The setting of the late night time enables a direction towards the morbid
and the fearful. It helps create an ambience of tension and suspense and
renders the reader suspecting of what is to happen.
4) The author of the passage narrates a time when he or she gets caught up
with Nazi officials. The author is out late at night with another man called
Frank and gets tensed at meeting the officials. Yet after showing an ID
card, they give a sigh of relief and move on. It is a scary memory of the
writer which she or he is unable to forget. The author in the passage tries to
convey the details of a fearful night that is instilled in his or her memory
forever.
5) The writer might not have been following the rules or was nervous due to
the lofty and massive nature of the Nazi officials. She or he gets nervous
when stopped by an authority figure as they start introspecting and
wondering if they would be caught for an unforeseen matter, yet when that
does not happen and they are let off, he or she begins to relax. The fear that
they felt on the day however still exists.
6) The above passage fits perfectly in to the narrative mode of writing. It has
the structural design of a narrative text. It has the following elements:
exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, resolution and
hence can be called a narrative text.
3.5 READING STRATEGIES
Skimming and Scanning
In order to get a general overview of the text, you will need to employ certain
reading strategies. The processes of skimming and scanning allow you to do the
same. When you read for the purpose of attaining an overall impression of the
text, the process is called “Skimming”. It employs reading the title first, and then
quickly making way through the introduction or merely the first paragraph. You
can then move through the first and last line of each paragraph, ultimately
absorbing the whole of the conclusion. You will also need to notice certain
pictures, charts or graphs if any. This is a quick strategy to attain a general idea
of the whole text.
Scanning should be used when you need to get a detailed understanding of the
contents of the text. It employs a longer duration, as specific details of the content
need to be understood and made note of in order to understand the text. As you
would have already used the skimming technique, you will have a background
to what the text is about. The process of scanning becomes easier thereafter. In
order to scan, you should first know what information to look for, is it a date? an
adjective? a synonym? or a factual number? Accordingly, you will be going
through your text, looking for that particular information. It employs a selective
reading, which enables you to concentrate only on the piece of information you
are looking for.
51
Narrative Text 3.6 PRACTICE TEXTS
1) The sage of science, Einstein, was sitting in a depressive and pensive
mood one evening. His eyes were brimming with tears. The pain was
evident on his face. He peeped out of the window of his room. The sun
had set a few minutes back. The sky was filled with a reddish glow. At
this sunset, he felt that it was humanity that had sunk into devilish darkness
and the reddish glow in the sky was the blood of humanity spilling all
over the sky from earth. With tired steps, he walked back to his chair and
settled down. It was the 9th of August 1945. Three days back, he had felt
the same agony as if someone had torn him apart. He was deeply hurt and
depressed when they heard on the radio that America had dropped an
atom bomb on the Japanese city, Hiroshima. Today, within three days
another bomb was dropped on another city, Nagasaki and lakhs of people
had been killed.
2) He had heard that the blast released so much energy that it had paled all
past destructions in comparison and death had played out a pitiable dance
of destruction. The flames that broke out of the bomb were burning, melting
and exploding buildings. Scared of the heat of the bomb, people had
jumped into lakes and rivers, but the water was boiling and the people too
were burnt and killed. The animals in the water were already boiled to
death. Animals, trees, herbs, fragrant flowering plants were all turned
into ashes. The atomic energy destruction had just not stopped there. It
had entered the atmosphere there and had spread radiation that would
affect people for generation to come and would also bring about destructive
irreversible biological changes in animals and plants.
3) As the news of the atomic attack reached Einstein, and he became aware
of the glaring horror of the abuse of atomic energy, his distress and
restlessness knew no bounds. He could not control himself and picked up
his violin to turn his mind on the other things. While playing the violin,
he tried to dissolve in its sad notes, but couldn’t. He was burning on the
embers of destruction; his heart was filled with an ocean of agony and
tears just continued streaming uncontrollably out of his eyes. Night had
fallen. His daughter came up and asked him to eat something as he had
not taken anything for the last four days. His voice was restrained and he
said, “don’t feel like eating.”
4) He could not sleep that night. Lying down, he was thinking how he had
drawn the attention of the then American President Roosevelt towards
the destructive powers of an atomic bomb. He had thought that this would
be used to scare Hitler and put an end to the barbarism that. However,
Roosevelt kept him in the dark and made false promises. Eventually, he
had abused Einstein’s equation of E= mc2 that resulted in the destructive
experiments. His actions had made science and scientists as murderers.
Einstein kept on thinking for a long time. Eventually, he slipped into sleep.
When he woke up at dawn, there was a new dawn in him too. The atomic
threat had transformed his heart.
5) The next day, he decided to disassociate himself from the scientific policy
of the government and all governmental institutions. He decided to open
52
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts educational institutions for children, adolescents and youth – institutions
where along with science, spirituality will be compulsorily taught.
6) To inaugurate this institution, he had invited two great philosophers,
Bertrand Russell and Albert Schweitzer. Ten other great scientists who
had won Nobel Prizes in different fields were also invited. They all saw a
different Einstein, not a great scientist but a sage in him. The institution
was opened by garlanding a photo of Mahatma Gandhi. While garlanding
the Mahatma, he became emotional and said with a lump in his throat, “I
bow down to the great man who fought for the independence of his country
through non-violence. He could do so because he was a truthful man and
true spiritualist.”
7) Those who teach science should be taught spirituality too. Without
harmony between science and spirituality, the destruction would continue
unabated. A few years after this institution was built, a Japanese delegation
came to meet him. Einstein broke down in the meeting and said, “You
can give me any punishment and I will accept it. Anyway, I have decided
to lead my life in penitence.” The Japanese were moved by his sincerity
and forgot their grief.
(Source: https://www.meritnation.com/cbse-class-12-science/english/board-paper-ofclass-12-2019-english-all-india(set-3)—solutions/board-papers/starttest/
fZs8$lbcl1ofruFYCN08ew!!)
Check Your Progress 1
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the above passage.
1) Besides two great philosophers how many other scientists were invited by
Einstein to inaugurate the institution where spirituality would be
compulsorily taught?
i) Five (ii) Ten (iii) Eight (iv) Fifteen
2) Which musical instrument did Einstein play when he was in grief?
i) Harmonium (ii) Guitar (iii) Violin (iv) Flute
3) Einstein came to know that America had dropped an atom bomb on the
Japanese city, Hiroshima through
i) Television. (ii) Newspaper. (iii) Radio. (iv) A telephonic message.
4) Which American President was told about the destructive power of an
atomic bomb?
(i) Kennedy (ii) Bill Clinton (iii) Lincoln (iv) Roosevelt
5) Einstein said to the Japanese delegation:
i) “You can give me any punishment and I will accept it.”
ii) “I am not at fault.”
iii) “What could I do?”
iv) “The President didn’t agree to my advice.”
53
6) What did Einstein do to overcome his distress after getting the news of the Narrative Text
atomic attack?
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7) Which event in 1945, according to Einstein, turned science and scientists
into murderers?
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8) What did Einstein do to show his displeasure over the atomic attack?
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9) Why did Einstein want harmony between science and spirituality while
teaching in educational institutes?
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10) Which word / phrase means the same as:
i) Extreme mental pain (para 1)
ii) repentance (para 7)
54
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts The Rescue
Everything had been totally different that Sunday morning, when the two
boys had set out on their walk up the cool, pine-scented mountainside near
the village where they lived. Near the top, Peter and Michael had climbed
onto a rock to admire the view of the valley far below them.
That was when disaster had struck. On clambering down, Peter had tumbled
awkwardly to the ground, his leg bent at a painful angle beneath him. Unable
to move, he was forced to wait where he was, wrapped in Michael’s jacket,
while Michael had begun the long trek down the mountainside to fetch help.
Michael looked down on the mountainside from the window of the helicopter.
He felt increasingly helpless, as it looked totally different from the air and
the network of tiny paths was mostly obscured from view by the thick covering
of pine trees. To make matters worse, the light was fading fast and a thick
blanket of mist was starting to form. Eventually the pilot and the three
mountain rescue workers in the helicopter agreed that they would have to go
back and continue the search for Michael’s friend, Peter, on foot.
By seven o’clock that evening, they had left the helicopter in the village and
gathered a mountain rescue team of fifteen men. Michael felt disheartened
and scared for his friend’s safety. Slowly they ascended the mountain, scouring
the numerous paths for Peter. The only sounds were crunching footsteps and
the crackle of static on the walkie-talkies that the rescue workers carried to
talk to each other. The mountainside was an eerie place after nightfall and
gradually Michael started to wonder whether they would ever find Peter at
all. Suddenly Michael heard a voice come over one of the walkie-talkies,
“We’ve got him. We’re taking him down.”
“I’m sorry,” said Michael to his friend later in the warm safety of the hospital
room, “I didn’t realise it would take so long.”
(Source:https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/
12/K12ELA7-Unit1.7.1-ExOfNarrativeEssays-BY-SA.pdf)
Check Your Progress 2
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the above passage.
1) Find a word from the above passage which means ‘Strange and Frightening’.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2) Who needs rescuing in the above passage and why?
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55
3) Is the title justified according to you? Narrative Text
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4) By what time, did they bring in the Helicopter?
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Excerpt from Charles Dickens’ The Chimes, first published in 1844
The doctors decided to keep Peter at the hospital for the night in case of
complications with his leg. Before leaving, Michael looked down at his friend
and patted his shoulder as, silently, they both vowed never to go walking in
the mountains again.
The letter Toby had received from Alderman Cute was addressed to a great
man in the great district of the town. It must have been the greatest district of
the town, because it was commonly called ‘the world’ by its inhabitants. The
letter positively seemed heavier in Toby’s hand than another letter. Not because
the Alderman had sealed it with a very large coat of arms and no end of wax,
but because of the weighty name on the superscription and the ponderous
amount of gold and silver with which it was associated.
‘How different from us!’ thought Toby, in all simplicity and earnestness,
as he looked at the direction.
With the involuntary homage due to such an exalted character, Toby interposed
a corner of his apron between the letter and his fingers.
It was a hard frost, that day. The air was bracing, crisp, and clear. The wintry
sun, though powerless for warmth, looked brightly down upon the ice it was
too weak to melt, and set a radiant glory there. At other times, Toby might
have learned a poor man’s lesson from the wintry sun; but he was past that,
now.
The Year was Old, that day. The patient Year had lived through the reproaches
and misuses of its slanderers, and faithfully performed its work. Spring,
summer, autumn, winter. It had labored through the destined round, and now
laid down its weary head to die. Shut out from hope, high impulse, active
happiness, itself, but active messenger of many joys to others, it made appeal
in its decline to have its toiling days and patient hours remembered, and to
56
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts die in peace. Toby might have read a poor man’s allegory in the fading year;
but he was past that, now.
And only he? Or has the like appeal been ever made, by seventy years at
once upon an English laborer’s head, and made in vain!
The streets were full of motion, and the shops were decked out gaily. The
New Year, like an Infant Heir to the whole world, was waited for, with
welcomes, presents, and rejoicings. There were books and toys for the New
Year, glittering trinkets for the New Year, dresses for the New Year, schemes
of fortune for the New Year, new inventions to beguile it. Its life was parceled
out in almanacs and pocketbooks; the coming of its moons, and stars, and
tides, was known beforehand to the moment; all the workings of its seasons
in their days and nights, were calculated with as much precision as Mr. Filer
could work sums in men and women.
The New Year, the New Year. Everywhere the New Year! The Old Year was
already looked upon as dead; and its effects were selling cheap, like some
drowned mariner’s aboardship. Its patterns were Last Year’s, and going at a
sacrifice, before its breath was gone. Its treasures were mere dirt, beside the
riches of its unborn successor!
Toby had no portion, to his thinking, in the New Year or the Old.
‘Put ’em down, Put ’em down! Facts and Figures, Facts and Figures! Good
old Times, Good old Times! Put ’em down, Put ’em down!’—his trot went to
that measure, and would fit itself to nothing else.
But, even that one, melancholy as it was, brought him, in due time, to the end
of his journey. To the mansion of Sir Joseph Bowley, Member of Parliament.
The door was opened by a Porter. Such a Porter! Not of Toby’s order—quite
another thing. His place was the ticket though; not Toby’s.
This Porter underwent some hard panting before he could speak; having
breathed himself by coming incautiously out of his chair, without first taking
time to think about it and compose his mind. When he had found his voice—
which it took him a long time to do, for it was a long way off, and hidden
under a load of meat—he said in a fat whisper,
‘Who’s it from?’
Toby told him.
‘You’re to take it in, yourself,’ said the Porter, pointing to a room at the end
of a long passage, opening from the hall. ‘Everything goes straight in, on this
day of the year. You’re not a bit too soon; for the carriage is at the door now,
and they have only come to town for a couple of hours, a’ purpose.’

Check Your Progress 3
Answer the following questions based on your reading of the above passage.
1) Based on the information in the passage, Toby likely views his duties with
a) industriousness and enthusiasm.
b) annoyance and frustration.
c) fear and anxiety.
d) amusement and exhilaration.
2) Toby most likely feels that the difference between himself and the recipient
of the letter is due to
a) education
b) wealth
c) religion
d) parenting
3) In the first paragraph, the phrase “positively seemed heavier” is used to
indicate that
a) the letter was thicker than most others.
b) the sender used too much wax for the seal.
c) the letter appeared extremely important to Toby.
d) the envelope was made of high quality gold paper.
4) The author uses which of the following devices when describing the year
in the fifth paragraph?
a) Allegory
b) Personification
c) Simile
d) Onomatopoeia
5) Which of the following best describes the scenes that Toby encounters on
his journey?
a) A bleak winter wasteland with hardly any human activity
b) A busy city landscape coming to life in the budding springtime
c) Streets and shops bustling despite the intense cold
d) Stormy roads through which Toby can barely see
6) The passage indicates that the porter is out of breath because he
a) is an elderly and ailing gentleman.
b) is frightened of Toby and the news that he brings.
c) rose too quickly to answer the door.
d) overextends himself and is always busy.
58
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 7) Over the course of the passage, Toby reveals that he views himself as
a) decidedly separate from the world of Sir Joseph Bowley, including
even his servants.
b) on par in status with the porter of Sir Joseph Bowley, though not the
lord himself.
c) blissfully ignorant of any class distinctions that separate him from Sir
Joseph Bowley.
d) superior in character if not in status to Sir Joseph Bowley, his porter,
and his household.
8) Winter: old age:
a) autumn: middle age
b) rebirth: spring
c) New Year: change
d) Summer: warmth
3.7 LET US SUM UP
Narrative texts are concerned with telling a story by keeping a pace and structure
intact through vivid language use. Your job is to identify these details and infer
the correct sequence of actions and other elements of the text like characters,
setting, timeline, etc., which might originally have been interpreted by the writer.
Before arriving at analysis, it is important that you fully understand the text and
its contents. Once the step of comprehension is complete, only then would you
be shifting gears to question the writing choices of the author and how or why
they have been employed.
For a narrative text, try identifying the theme, setting, characters if any, the point
of view of the author, as well as the structure of the plot. Once these aspects of
the text have been spotted, you will be able to achieve a precise understanding of
the text. The plot structure will have a certain progression where a conflict will
be created and ultimately resolved through a specific treatment by the author.
You will need to track this conflict, the climax and its subsequent resolution.
Only then will you be able to analyze the text. The Skimming and Scanning
methods will provide you the tools for comprehension of the above-mentioned
elements of the narrative texts.
3.8 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about Narrative Texts, you may consult:
H. Abbott, The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2002)
Lisa Sternleib et al., The Nature of Narrative (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2006)
Mieke Bal & Christine van Boheemen,Narratology: Introduction to the Theory
of Narrative 3rd edition (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009)
59
Narrative Text 3.9 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) (ii), 2. (iii), 3. (iii), 4. (iv), 5. (iv)
6) He played the violin.
7) The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a move by America
to attack Japan during World War II.
8) He decided to disassociate himself from the scientific policy of the
government and all governmental institutions. He decided to open
educational institutions for children, adolescents and youth – institutions
where along with science, spirituality will be compulsorily taught.
9) He believed that it was important to balance technology with humanity.
His will to lean on spirituality came from the destruction he witnessed
after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was disillusioned
with sciences when he saw the destruction it was capable of if left unchecked
and unbalanced with spirituality.
10) (a) Agony
(b) Penitence
Check Your Progress 2
1) Eerie
2) Peter had tumbled awkwardly to the ground, his leg bent at a painful angle
beneath him. Unable to move, he was forced to wait where he was, wrapped
in Michael’s jacket.
3) The title of the passage “rescue” is fit as the whole piece is a narration on
a rescue mission by the writer for saving his friend. It gives a detailed
introduction to the premise and then narrates the process of the rescue
itself. Hence the passage can aptly be titled as the ‘rescue’ as that is the
crux of the text.
4) By seven o’clock that evening, they had left the helicopter in the village
and gathered a mountain rescue team of fifteen men.
Check Your Progress 3
1) c, 2. b, 3. c, 4. b, 5. a, 6. c, 7. a, 8. c
60
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts UNIT 4 ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Warm Up
4.2 Introduction
4.3 Structure of Argumentative Texts
4.4 Argumentative Text Sample
4.4.1 Explanation
4.5 Reading Strategies
4.5.1 Skimming
4.5.2 Scanning
4.6 Practice Texts
4.7 Let Us Sum Up
4.8 Suggested Readings
4.9 Answers
4.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
identify an argumentative text;
comprehend the purpose and characteristics of an argumentative text;
understand the organisation of an argumentative text;
identify the main points of an argumentative text;
infer, analyse, interpret and evaluate the ideas in an argumentative text;
and
answer the questions after reading the comprehension passage.
4.1 WARM UP
Before we start discussing argumentative essay, think about anytime that you
have had an argument with someone. Usually you have an opinion or a point of
view in support of which you present your ideas. What do you understand by the
word ‘argument’?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it means “a reason or set of reasons
given with the aim of convincing others that an action or idea is right or wrong.”
An argument is based on logic. In an argument one has to provide reasons in
support or against opinion, expressed in the form of a statement.
4.2 INTRODUCTION
An argumentative essay, thus, refers to a text where the author presents an
argument either for or against the topic with an aim to convince the reader with
his own point of view. This text is formal and academic. Hence, all the arguments
61
given in the text are solidly backed by hard evidences like facts, statistics, surveys, Argumentative Text
reports etc. which entail an in-depth knowledge and research regarding the topic.
It may include quotes from experts as well. The writer researches on the topic
and takes a side and then tries to get the reader to recognize the validity of his
argument. An argumentative text offers facts, reasons and evidence to support
the author’s argument. It is strictly based on a certain logic provided by the
author. However, the author presents both pros and cons on the particular topic
and then based on his judgement tries to establish his side as the logical one. It
acknowledges the opposing claims and compares the multiple perspectives to
establish its stand. The evidences that the author posits in these types of texts
makes the stand of the author very clear. Though the aim of the author is to show
his side as the plausible one but the overall tone of an argumentative text is
calmer as the purpose of the author is just to present worthy reasons and
compelling data for consideration of the chosen side.
4.3 STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS
It is very important for you to understand the structure of an essay in order to
grasp the meaning of the essay. It is essential, thus, that you are able to clearly
see the organisation of the paragraphs and understand the progression of thought.
Generally, five-paragraph rule is followed by the writers in different types of
essays. Argumentative essays, which require research sources and empirical
research data, usually exceed five paragraphs to present a comprehensive view
on the issue.
The argumentative essay begins with the first paragraph which is the introductory
paragraph; it is followed by three-five evidentiary paragraphs forming the body
of the essay. This part consists of the evidences and also the discussion of opposing
views. The body of the essay comprises of the arguments and the counter
arguments by the writer and finally reasons and data to support his side of the
argument. Finally, comes your conclusion which is the summing up of the main
idea behind the essay. Also, keep in mind that you carefully look at the transition
between these paragraphs. Transition from one paragraph to another or from one
idea to another act as a mortar that holds the foundation of the entire essay together.
It is important for you to understand the logical progression of the argument
given by the writer. Now, let us look at the structure of these essays in detail to
further understand how these essays are framed.
1) In the first paragraph, a clear, concise and defined thesis statement occurs.
A review of the topic is given where the context of the topic is set. It is
followed by the author talking about the need of discussing the topic. This
is called exigence where the importance of the topic in today’s world is
laid out for the readers. Lastly, the last line or two of this paragraph gives
the thesis statement which narrows down the main idea behind the essay.
It essentially focuses on the position that the writer takes regarding the
topic.
2) Body paragraphs comprise of the topic sentence making a claim followed
by the explanation and an example in support of the claim. The topic
sentence is a claim or an assertion. It is a declaration which states the main
idea. After the declaration, the writer presents reasons through examples
or facts to justify his claim. Each paragraph of the body of the essay
62
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts discusses one point which results in a focused and clear argument to be
presented in the essay. This also allows the reader to easily read and
comprehend the flow of the essay. It is important for the reader to use the
logical connection of all these ideas presented in different paragraphs and
analyse how they refer to the thesis statement (given in the opening
paragraph) while they take the argument forward. As a reader, you need to
understand how these paragraphs support the claim of the thesis statement;
you need to be clear about the evidences used by the writer to support the
argument. This is also known as warrant, points of view which give
legitimacy to the writer’s argument.
However, in argumentative essay, the writer presents points from the other
perspective as well. He will give you counter argument as well. These will
be the differing points of view regarding the topic. These conflicting or
contrasting ideas are also very important to an argumentative essay because
they will inform the readers about how outdated these opinions or
viewpoints are. Of course, in presenting these ideas the aim of the author
is only to make the readers understand why the writer has a particular
point of view and that it is logical and backed up by a series of consistent
coherent reasons which make his claim valid.
Now let’s look at how the evidences are used in an argumentative essay to
support the opinion of the writer. Evidences used in these essays can be
factual, statistical, logical or anecdotal. Argumentative essays, as already
mentioned are well-researched essays which are detailed and use accurate
and current data or information to support the point of view of the writer.
However, the evidences which do not align to the thesis statement are also
presented in the essay so that you have all the perspectives to consider but
definitely the writer is trying to present them as not better than the ones
that support his argument. The reason why the writer gives you all the
perspectives is to create a well-balanced essay and so that as readers you
follow his logic to understand his point of view. The writer does not out
rightly point to any position and call it wrong but gives you information so
that you derive his desired point.
3) Conclusion of the argumentative essay is NOT the restating of the thesis
statement presented in the first paragraph, but it revisits the thesis statement
in light of the evidences provided in the body paragraphs. It also takes into
account the counter arguments used in the body paragraphs and the
concluding paragraph comes across as a logical opinion to emerge after
considering all the provided data. It readdresses the claims of the
introductory paragraph. This paragraph is important because it will give
you the ultimate impression that the writer wishes to leave onto the minds
of his readers. Thus, this paragraph is most effective and logically derived.
There is no new information that you are given in this last paragraph, rather
it is a synthesis of the body of the essay. This will again give you an insight
into why this essay is important and will review the main points of the
writer. After you finish reading the essay, there should be no room for any
doubt or confusion as to what is the writer’s position regarding the debate.
It should come across as a complete coherent argument. If you are not sure
about this, then you need to reread and try to understand what is the intent
of the writer, what is his opinion regarding the topic at hand.
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Argumentative Text 4.4 ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT SAMPLE
Performance Enhancement through Biotechnology Has No Place in Sports
By Jamal Hammond
The debate over athletes’ use of performance-enhancing substances is getting
more complicated as biotechnologies such as gene therapy become a reality.
The availability of these new methods of boosting performance will force us
to decide what we value most in sports—displays of physical excellence
developed through hard work or victory at all costs. For centuries, spectators
and athletes have cherished the tradition of fairness in sports. While sports
competition is, of course, largely about winning, it is also about the means by
which a player or team wins. Athletes who use any type of biotechnology give
themselves an unfair advantage and disrupt the sense of fair play, and they
should be banned from competition.
Researchers are experimenting with techniques that could manipulate an athlete’s
genetic code to build stronger muscles or increase endurance. Searching for cures
for diseases like Parkinson’s and muscular dystrophy, scientists at the University
of Pennsylvania have created “Schwarzenegger mice,” rodents that grew larger
than-normal muscles after receiving injections with a gene that stimulates growth
protein. The researchers also found that a combination of gene manipulation and
exercise led to a 35% increase in the strength of rats’ leg muscles (Lamb 13).
Such therapies are breakthroughs for humans suffering from muscular diseases;
for healthy athletes, they could mean new world records in sports involving speed
and endurance—but at what cost to the integrity of athletic competition? The
International Olympic Committee’s World Anti-Doping Agency has become so
alarmed about the possible effects of new gene technology on athletic competition
that it has banned the use of gene therapies and urged researchers to devise a test
for detecting genetic modification (Lamb 13).
Some bioethicists argue that this next wave of performance enhancement is an
acceptable and unavoidable feature of competition. As Dr. Andy Miah, who
supports the regulated use of gene therapies in sports, claims, “The idea of the
naturally perfect athlete is romantic nonsense…. An athlete achieves what he or
she achieves through all sorts of means—technology, sponsorship, support and
so on” (qtd. in Rudebeck). Miah, in fact, sees athletes’ imminent turn to genetic
modification as “merely a continuation of the way sport works; it allows us to
create more extraordinary performances” (Rudebeck). Miah’s approval of
“extraordinary performances” as the goal of competition reflects our culture’s
tendency to demand and reward new heights of athletic achievement. The problem
is that achievement nowadays increasingly results from biological and high-tech
intervention rather than strictly from hard work.
Better equipment, such as aerodynamic bicycles and fiberglass poles for pole
vaulting, have made it possible for athletes to record achievements unthinkable
a generation ago. But athletes themselves must put forth the physical effort of
training and practice—they must still build their skills—even in the murky area
of legal and illegal drug use (Jenkins D11). There is a difference between the use
of state-of-the-art equipment and drugs and the modification of the body itself.
Athletes who use medical technology to alter their bodies can bypass the hard
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts work of training by taking on the powers of a machine. If they set new records
this way, we lose the opportunity to witness sports as a spectacle of human effort
and are left marveling at scientific advances, which have little relation to the
athletic tradition of fair play.
Such a tradition has long defined athletic competition. Sports rely on equal
conditions to ensure fair play, from regulations that demand similar equipment
to referees who even handedly apply the rules to all participants. If the rules that
guarantee an even playing field are violated, competitors and spectators alike
are deprived of a sound basis of comparison on which to judge athletic effort and
accomplishment. When major league baseball rules call for solid-wood bats, the
player who uses a corked bat enhances his hitting statistics at the expense of
players who use regulation equipment. When Ben Johnson tested positive for
steroids after setting a world record in the 100-meter dash in the 1988 Olympics,
his “achievement” devalued the intense training that his competitors had
undergone to prepare for the event—and the International Olympic Committee
responded by stripping Johnson of his medal and his world record. Likewise,
athletes who use gene therapy to alter their bodies and enhance their performance
will create an uneven playing field.
If we let athletes alter their bodies through biotechnology, we might as well
dispense with the human element altogether. Instead of watching the 100-meter
dash to see who the fastest runner in the world is, we might just as well watch the
sprinters mount motorcycles and race across the finish line. The absurdity of
such an example, however, points to the damage that we will do to sports if we
allow these therapies. Thomas Murray, chair of the ethics advisory panel for the
World Anti-Doping Agency, says he hopes, not too optimistically, for an
“alternative future…where we still find meaning in great performances as an
alchemy of two factors, natural talents…and virtues” (qtd. in Jenkins D11).
Unless we are willing to organize separate sporting events and leagues—an
Olympics, say, for athletes who have opted for a boost from the test tube and
another for athletes who have chosen to keep their bodies natural—we should
ask from our athletes that they dazzle us less with extraordinary performance
and more with the fruits of their hard work.
4.4.1 Explanation
The above essay is an argumentative piece by Jamal Hammond who is arguing
whether sportsmen should use performance-enhancing substances. Let us try to
understand the structure of the above passage according to the structure of an
argumentative text which we have already discussed in section 4.3.
Look at the first few lines of the essay, how they provide background for
Hammond’s essay. The opening sentence tells you about what Hammond is going
to talk about in the essay and immediately after this he says why this topic is
important. He relates it to the current scenario where the availability of these
new methods is a reality of today’s world. So, what he does is, he (a) gives you
the topic sentence, and (b) establishes its importance in the contemporary world.
Now, take a look at the last line of this paragraph. Hammond here very clearly
posits his view on the topic that he presented in the first sentence. His stance is
clear that all such athletes using performance-enhancing substances should be
65
banned from the competition as it leads to unfair advantage and disrupts a sense Argumentative Text
of fair play. This is the thesis statement of this essay.
Now, take a look at the second paragraph which is the body of the essay. In this
first body paragraph, Hammond gives you the reason why researchers are
experimenting with such gene altering techniques. Because we have read how
important it is for the writer to give anecdotes, reasons for his stance which
validates his view point, Hammond here uses a medical research to establish his
credibility. The second body paragraph in this essay furthers the thesis statement
presented in the first paragraph and talks about the integrity of the athletic
competition. For this purpose, he uses a specific evidence to support his view
point. He talks about the steps taken by the International Olympic Committee
towards this cause. He validates his stance by using this credible committee
which has devised ways to detect the substance use in athletes.
The third body paragraph of the essay, he gives you the opposing views. Dear
students, you must remember that this is a very important part of an argumentative
essay. The writer, here, necessarily gives you the contrasting views from his
own. Notice how he tries to establish it as an alternative accepted view. However,
it is not to be missed how the writer counter argues this view in the ending lines
of this same paragraph. He brings out the problem with this opposing view. The
next paragraph is devoted towards furthering Hammond’s own thesis statement.
In the fifth body paragraph, look at how Hammond uses specific example of Ben
Johnson who was stripped off his Olympic medal and world record in 1988. He
uses this instance to support his point of view that how unfair the competition
would be if some of the athletes enhance their performance by using substances.
From the fourth to the fifth body paragraph, there is a transition, generally
developing on his thesis statement to giving particular reasons in favour of his
argument. Even in the sixth body paragraph, he uses the argument of virtuous
games and natural talents and supports this idea with a quotation from an authority
figure (Thomas Murray, chair of advisory committee of World Anti-doping
Agency). Murray’s statement comes right after Hammond’s own view of
preserving the integrity of the sports and how these therapies would endanger
the spirit of the sports. Murray’s statement is then used to give a substance and
approval to Hammond’s perspective.
The concluding paragraph of the essay sums up the argument for you without
adding any new information. He echoes his stance in the ending, reiterates what
he already expressed in this thesis statement that too without unduly repeating
the thesis statement in exact words. This is how a conclusion should be. It reaffirms
the thesis statement, does not burden the reader with new information or statistics
but gives a clear end with the writer’s view which is logically derived from all
the examples and evidences that the writer has used in the body paragraphs.
Check Your Progress 1
Now, that you are clear on the explanation part of the essay; take a look at some
of the probable questions. Based on your understanding of the essay and the
argument presented, answer these questions:
1) What is the essay about?
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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2) What is the central argument of Jamal Hammond in the essay?
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3) How does the writer balance the argument?
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4) Explain the use of evidences in the essay.
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5) Find a word from the passage having similar meaning to:
a) Improvement
b) Positively
c) Persistence
6) Find a word from the passage having opposite meaning to:
a) Arrange
b) Common
c) Dishonesty
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Argumentative Text 4.5 READING STRATEGIES
Before, we move on to some practice essays and questions, let us once go through
some of the reading strategies that you may adopt for a coherent reading and
clear understanding of the comprehension passages. We will discuss two of these
important reading strategies: Skimming and Scanning. Speed reading plays a
very important role in reading long passages under a limited time, in understanding
the aim of the passage and in attempting any questions related to those passages.
Skimming and Scanning are thus two very effective ways to speed read any
passage. Both these strategies use rapid eye movement and identification of
keywords for a quick understanding. However, these techniques are different
from each other and serve a different purpose towards the comprehension of the
meaning of the passage. The aim is to reduce the amount of time used in
understanding the passage and gain maximum knowledge out of it. Let us look
at these one by one.
4.5.1 Skimming
The process of skimming refers to the technique of reading only the main ideas
within the passage. The aim is to get an overall idea of the argument within the
passage. While skim reading, you are looking for the central idea of the passage
along with the details. There is a structure that is followed in order to effectively
skim read.
Remember: Selective Reading is necessary. What you read and what you decide
to leave out is important.
So, the next question is how do you decide what to read and what to leave? For
instance, if you are reading an essay and after reading the first few paragraphs in
detail, you will get a fair idea of what the essay is about and where the argument
is headed. Once you know this, you can begin to skim read. You then, read only
the first sentence of each subsequent paragraph. These, as we have already
discussed section 2.2, are also known as Topic Sentences. These give you the
central idea of the paragraph. Then, after understanding the basic idea of the
paragraph, you need to move your eyes through the rest of the paragraph and
look for more information in the form of names, dates or events. You will not
read every word; you will pay special attention to typographical cues-headings,
boldface and italic type, indenting, bulleted and numbered lists. You will be alert
for key words and phrases, the names of people and places, dates, nouns, and
unfamiliar words. Read the entire body of the essay through this technique until
you reach the end of the essay. The last few paragraphs may contain a conclusion
where you need to stop skimming and read in detail. The technique of skimming
will enable you to recognise and stop at the important points and read carefully.
One way to know if you are doing this correctly is to figure out if you are able to
grasp the main ideas and the tone of the essay. If you are able to understand this,
you are on the right track!
Here are some pointers that you may follow when skimming through a passage:
a) Read the title carefully to understand what the debate in the essay is about.
b) Read the entire first paragraph which is your introductory paragraph. This
will tell you the topic of discussion and the writer’s stand. Repeat the same
for the concluding paragraph.
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts c) Then, read the first and the last sentence only of all the subsequent
paragraphs. Try and locate the main idea from certain words in a sentence.
d) Read any headings or sub-headings in the passage.
e) Read the sentences with keywords, italics, bold, dates, names etc.
f) Read the entire sentence when you find important information.
g) Read the charts, tables, graphs or any other statistical data, if given.
Remember: If you carefully choose what to skim read and what to skip, you will
be pleasantly surprised how much information you can get in a very short period
of time.
4.5.2 Scanning
The process of scanning refers to the reading technique where you look for specific
information. You scan read when you have a question in mind and you are looking
for its answer while ignoring the rest of the irrelevant information in relation to
your question. Even in this technique you do not read everything, but only a
particular piece of information. You use this technique a lot of times without
realising, for instance, when you look for show timings of your favourite movie
in a newspaper or when you look for the sports scores on the website, you do not
go through the entire article but just look for what you want to know. Skimming
is reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material. Scanning is
reading rapidly in order to find specific facts. While skimming tells you what
general information is within a section, scanning helps you locate a particular
fact. Skimming is like snorkelling, and scanning is more like pearl diving. Use
skimming in previewing (reading before you read), reviewing (reading after you
read), determining the main idea from a long essay. Use scanning in research to
find particular facts, to study fact-heavy topics, and to answer questions requiring
factual support. Scanning, too, uses keywords and organizational cues. But while
the goal of skimming is a bird’s-eye view of the material, the goal of scanning is
to locate and swoop down on particular facts.
What is important in scanning is to know how to locate the specific information.
Understanding the structure of an argumentative essay will help you in locating
this information that you need. Keep the following things in mind before you
scan read a passage:
a) You need to know your questions. May be a few keywords or phrases from
the question itself. In order to locate any information from a passage, you
need to know what information you are looking for. What is the purpose of
reading the passage?
b) Next, you anticipate where you may find the answer to your question.
Keep in mind how an argumentative essay is written and how it is usually
structured. This will help you in looking at the right places for the desired
information.
c) Be mindful of the headings or sub-headings that will help you locate your
answers.
d) Use your fingers to scan a passage or a paragraph. It helps you focus on
specific information that you are looking for.
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Remember: Argumentative Text Scanning requires concentration. The more you practice, the more
effective a scanner you will become. Train yourself to not let your attention
wander.
4.6 PRACTICE TEXTS
Read the following text:
India’s economy is doing well and we have a right to celebrate that. But what we
do not like to acknowledge, let alone address, is another fact: our economy and
society, is still extremely biased against women. Perhaps paying attention to
such inconvenient truths would distract us as we march towards superpower
status. In the latest gender gap index report released by the World Economic
Forum (WEF), India keeps company with the worst in the world. Among the 128
countries that have been evaluated by the WEF, India is ranked 114, followed
among others by Yemen, Chad, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Even China,
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Botswana fare much better than us.
The survey considers the proportion of resources and opportunities made available
to women on educational, economic, political and health fronts. It is only in the
realm of political empowerment that we seem to have done somewhat OK, ranking
21st. That’s also thanks to a long spell of Prime Ministership by Indira Gandhi.
It raises the question why women are so badly off in our country if they are
politically empowered.
To begin with, we are still largely a feudal and patriarchal society. In many parts
of our country – especially in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab – women
are often treated as if they were a piece of property. In these parts, the sex ratio is
most skewed because families often snuff out the lives of girl children before, or
immediately after, they are born. In many parts of India, women are viewed as
an economic liability despite contributing in several ways to our society and
economy.
The state has not covered itself with glory either in bridging the gender divides.
Its policies and projects for women are woefully inadequate. For instance, the
literacy rate for females is a mere 48 per cent against 73 per cent for males.
Unless we put more of our girl children in school and equip them with quality
education – as opposed to making them merely literate – we can forget about
sustainable progress. Public health is another area of failure. Hundreds of women
in rural India die every year during childbirth for want of medical attention.
There are thousands more who do not even have access to a primary health
centre. Importantly, reforming property laws more rigorously so that gender parity
becomes a reality must rank among the government’s priorities. While these
changes are necessary, they will amount to nothing if we, as a society, continue
to deny our women the dignity, liberty and opportunities that are rightfully theirs.
No society will ever prosper as a whole as long as half of it is constantly treated
as somehow less that the other half.
(Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/edit-page/TODAYS-ARTICLE-Mind-The-Gap/
articleshow/2539088.cms)
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts Check Your Progress 2
1) On the basis of your understanding of this passage answer the following
questions with the help of the given options:
a) Write out the correct option:
i) India’s economy is unbiased.
ii) India’s economy is doing poorly
iii) India’s economy is biased against human species
iv) India’s economy is biased against women.
b) The most important rights of women are ……………………………
i) dignity and society
ii) dignity and literacy
iii) dignity and liberty
iv) dignity and health
c) A society can prosper only if …………………………………….
i) half of it is given its special rights
ii) it recognizes the importance of women
iii) it treats men and women differently
iv) it constantly treats women no less than its other half
d) Hundreds of women in rural India die every year during childbirth
i) due to lack of finances.
ii) due to lack of literacy.
iii) for want of awareness.
iv) for want of medical attention.
2) Answer the following questions briefly:
a) Why is India ranked 114 by the World Economic Forum?
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b) In which fields are the women in India empowered?
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c) What has killing of girl children before or after birth affected the most? Argumentative Text
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d) What is the reason behind the failure of public health?
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3) Find a word from the passage having opposite meaning to “asset”. (Para3)
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4) Find a word from the passage having similar meaning to “continuously”.
(Para -4)
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Read the following text:
1) In 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote an essay on population. He believed that
God, as a method of punishment, strikes lazy humans with famine. In 1838,
Charles Darwin read Malthus’ essay. He decided it was partially correct,
but with natural causes only, such as inadequate food supplies.
In the two centuries, since, the world’s population has increased
dramatically, scenes of hunger in Biafra and elsewhere galvanized many
people. By the 1970s, books such as The Population Bomb were predicting
massive starvation, plus dire shortages of virtually every resource–in the
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 1980s. Zero Population Growth became a popular cause. That alarmist
mindset has since fallen afoul of ‘political correctness’ and
‘multiculturalism’ The concern remains, largely unspoken, in the
background of many sociopolitical debates.
2) The American government is always debating whether to fund birth control
programs in poor nations. In fact, prosperity is the surest brake on population
growth. Where children have an excellent chance of reaching healthy
adulthood, couples will plan their family, and provide their kids with the
best upbringing possible. Including college, each American child requires
almost half a million dollars; a huge investment, but well worth it.
3) In the poorest countries, most women bear numerous children. In part, this
is because her kids will cost relatively little to raise. Typically, she’ll consider
herself lucky if half of them survive, and grow up to labor in nearby fields.Is
the world overpopulated, or even close? Anyone who’s flown across the
United States knows just how vast, and largely empty, this nation really is.
Some areas of the Great Plains are actually depopulating, as farming towns
decline, and the land reverts to prairie.
4) Parts of Asia are far more crowded. Still, the Green Revolution has enabled
China and India to feed themselves. Ocean farming is opening up a new
source of food, and genetic engineering another. How much further can
humanity increase? There are limits. Roughly, the Earth has fifty eight
million square miles of land area, and seven billion people. That comes to
about five acres per person. But this includes Antarctica and Greenland,
mountain crags, sand dunes, Arctic tundra, and other inhospitable areas.
On an average, then, each family of four “has” about ten livable acres.
5) To a family with a miniscule city dwelling, ten acres may sound big.
However, that includes parkland, industries, and the farms which provide
their food. Modern agriculture, not to mention timber and mining, requires
large tracts.
6) The family is central to human existence. Every traditional faith holds the
marriage vow sacred, and honors mother and child as the closest bond of
all. Most faiths encourage large families. There are many reasons for this.
At best, every person is seen as a unique expression of God’s nature, and
each new child brings that much more beauty and joy into the world. At
worst, organized religions are beset by rivals, and thus, seek to out populate
them.
7) But there’s more to it than just having babies. True Lord says it’s unhealthy,
physically and spiritually, for children to grow up in cities. He teaches that
kids should come of age surrounded by nature, on a farm or in a small
village. The Internet can facilitate a good education, and sophisticated
careers, for even the most remote family. There is one problem there. If
every family headed into the countryside, then rural areas would vanish,
blanketed by a sea of humanity. ‘Empty stretches’ only remain because
of the crowding in urban areas. Thus, the Earth is already too small. How
would a Heavenly government deal with this issue?

8) A famous scientist once said, “The Earth is our cradle, but humanity cannot Argumentative Text
remain in the cradle forever.” There are many reasons to spread out. Deadly
plagues have swept the world. The dinosaurs were wiped out by a gigantic
asteroid. Tsunamis, and other natural disasters, affect entire regions. These
can happen again.
9) Mars is relatively close, but no one could live on its surface without
substantial protection. The twin Mars Rovers have found that water once
flowed there. Microbial life may yet survive, deep underground. Buck
Rogers and Captain Kirk have been “visiting alien worlds” for a long time,
but only in the past decade have astronomers confirmed the existence of
planets around other stars. Gradually they’re refining their methods, and
spotting smaller planets. When better telescopes are developed (and
funded), scientists will be able to observe Earth-sized worlds. If liquid
water and oxygen are detected, we can be fairly certain that life exists
there also.
(Source: http://www.cuebon.com/HomePage/PSarticle.html)
Check Your Progress 3
1) Answer each of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate
option:
i) What became the major cause in 1970s?
a) starvation
b) Zero Population Growth
c) every resource
d) food supply
ii) The best way to stop population growth is
a) Sociopolitical debates
b) birth control
c) huge investments
d) prosperity
iii) Ocean farming and ………………… are opening up new sources of food
a) genetic engineering
b) prairies
c) forests
d) mountains
iv) Central to human existence is
a) family
b) Earth
c) agriculture
d) oceans
v) The twin Mars Rover found that
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts a) Mars is relatively close
b) no one could survive on Mars
c) water once flowed there
d) planets exist around other stars
2) Answer the following questions briefly:
i) Which theory did Charles Darwin add to Malthus’ essay on God’s
method of punishment?
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ii) What has the alarmist mindset fallen afoul of?
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iii) Why do women in poor countries bear numerous children?
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iv) Give reason for some areas of Great Plains getting depopulating.
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v) According to the True Lord, which is the ideal place for a kid to grow Argumentative Text
up in?
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vi) According to the scientists, what are the reasons for human beings to
spread out in outer world?
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3) Answer any three of the following questions in 25-30 words:
i) Elaborate upon the reflectors of prosperity in a country.
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ii) Why do most faiths encourage large families?
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iii) How will the scientists be able to ascertain that life exists away from
Earth also?
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts iv) How does the essayist come to the conclusion that each family of four
has about ten livable acres?
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4) Pick out the words/phrases from the passage which are similar in meaning
to the following:
i) returns to (para 3)
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ii) make easy (para 7)
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iii) of considerable importance (para 9)
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4.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have dealt with comprehending Argumentative type of essay.
Argumentative essay is a type of formal writing in which the writer expresses
his opinion with the support of arguments and statistical data. Here are some tips
that would help you in reading an argumentative essay.
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While-Reading Tips Argumentative Text
Predicting the information in subsequent paragraphs
Selecting certain parts of the essay to read effectively
Skipping irrelevant information.
Breaking the essay into logical progression of the debate and
comprehending the idea at hand.
Re-reading ensures that you have not missed any important information.
Integrating the information as you read and anticipating what may come
next.
Monitoring and Evaluating the information gathered from the essay to
ensure that the purpose of reading the essay is achieved.
Post- Reading Tips
Your reading and comprehension are effective if you are able to:
Identify and recognise the topic and what the writer’s opinions are.
Summarise what the writer has written and comprehend the progression of
the idea.
Interpret the information that the writer uses in the essay.
Analyse the writer’s point of view with that of the information/data provided
by the writer and also using your own knowledge related to the topic.
After you are clear about the writer’s stand, you can take a stand yourself.
4.8 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about Argumentative Texts, you may consult:
F. H. van Eemeren et al., Reconstructing Argumentative Discourse (University
of Alabama Press, 1993)
Frans H. van Eemeren & Bart Garssen (eds.), Exploring Argumentative Contexts
(Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2012)
F. H. van Eemeren, Strategic Maneuvering in Argumentative Discourse
(Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2010)
4.9 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) The essay is about whether sportsmen should use performance-enhancing
substances, if such practices are acceptable or not.
2) It is wrong for the athletes to use any type of biotechnology which can
give them an unfair advantage and disrupt the sense of fair play. The writer
argues that the performance enhancing steroids are against the integrity of
any sports.
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 3) The writer balances the argument by giving oppositional view point as
well. He says that such gene therapies build and hone sportsmen’s skills
further and make it possible for them to achieve unthinkable records.
4) The writer uses medical research and the authority of International Olympics
Association which banned the use of substances by the sportsmen.
5) a. Enhancement, b. Optimistically, c. Endurance
6) a. Disrupt, b. Extraordinary, c. Integrity
Check Your Progress 2
1) (a). iv, (b). iii, (c). iv, (d). iv
2) a) In the gender gap index report, WEF is ranked 114 in the world. The
sex ratio is wide and unstable.
b) political empowerment
c) People do not accept birth of a girl child in their families
d) They do not have any access to primary health centres.
3) Liability
4) Constantly
Check Your Progress 3
1) (i). b, (ii). b, (iii). a, (iv). a, (v). c
2) i) Charles Darwin believed that Thomas Malthus theory was partially
correct and talked about inadequate food supplies.
ii) The alarmist mindset has since fallen afoul of ‘political correctness’
and ‘multiculturalism’. The concern remains, largely unspoken, in the
background of many socio-political debates.
iii) Taking care of so many kids, costs relatively little and more number of
kids mean more number of hands to labour in the nearby fields when
they grow up.
iv) because farming towns have declined and the land has reverted to prairie,
i.e., predominantly to grass.
v) According to True Lord, kids should grow up surrounded by nature, on
a farm or in a small village instead of growing up in cities which is
unhealthy physically and spiritually.
vi) Deadly plagues, Tsunamis and other natural disasters are the reasons
due to which human being s are spreading out of Earth.
3) i) Factors such as population growth, chances of reaching healthy
adulthood, family planning, being able to provide higher education
opportunities such as college reflects the prosperity of the nation.
ii) Many faiths encourage large families because every person is seen as
an expression of God’s nature and each new child brings that much
more beauty and joy into the world. It is also possible that organised
religions have rivals and they wish to out populate others.
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Argumentative Text iii) With refined methods, spotting smaller planets and when better
telescopes are made and funded, scientists will be able to observe earth
sized worlds. If liquid and oxygen are detetcted we can be fairly certain
that life exists there too.
iv) The essayist mentions the following calculations: Earth has fifty eight
million square miles of land area, and seven billion people. That comes
to about five acres per person. But this includes Antarctica and
Greenland, mountain crags, sand dunes, Arctic tundra, and other
inhospitable areas. On an average, then, each family of four “has” about
ten livable acres.
4) (i) revert (ii) facilitate (iii) substantial
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts UNIT 5 PERSUASIVE TEXT
Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Warm Up
5.2 Introduction
5.3 Difference between Argumentative and Persuasive Texts
5.4 Structure of Persuasive Texts
5.5 Persuasive Text Sample
5.5.1 Explanation
5.6 Reading Strategies
5.7 Practice Text
5.8 Let Us Sum Up
5.9 Suggested Readings
5.10 Answers
5.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
Identify a Persuasive Essay
Comprehend the purpose and characteristics of a Persuasive text
Understand the organisation of a Persuasive text
Recognise the main points of a Persuasive Text
Infer, analyse, interpret and evaluate a Persuasive Text
Understand the difference between Argumentative Text and Persuasive Text
Answer questions on the basis of the comprehension passages
5.1 WARM UP
If you want to buy a new phone and your parents do not allow, what do you do?
You try to convince them. How?
By giving them various reasons so they come to agree with you. Look at the
diagram below, it lists some of the reasons that you may use to convince your
parents.
This is called persuasion. It refers to an act of trying to convince someone to
agree with your point of view. If you think about it we all are surrounded with
persuasion in our daily lives. We may not realize it but we are constantly being
convinced about how we lead our lives. For instance, the advertisements that
you read in newspapers or watch on TV, they all are trying to persuade you on
something or the other.

Look at the picture below. It is not just a picture of kids selling magazines on
streets during a red-light halt. The effect comes from the captioned magazine
cover which reads “Help Me Read This”. This is a way to emotionally engage
the reader.
Through this ad you are persuaded to help in the literacy of the children who do
not have the access to education. This appeal is not to your rational mind but to
your values and emotions. The aim of any such persuasion is to influence or
change the reader’s beliefs, attitudes, behaviour and views.

5.2 INTRODUCTION
A Persuasive essay, thus, refers to an essay written to convince the reader with
the writer’s point of view and agree/disagree with it. To achieve this, the argument
is developed on the basis of the writer’s personal opinion. According to Aristotle,
there are three modes of persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ethos refers to
ethical persuasion which also comes from the credibility of the writer. Pathos
refers to the emotional appeal made by the writer. Lastly, Logos refers to the
logic addressed to the rational mind. The appeal is made through a logical
argument by presenting facts, figures and research. The previous Unit on
Argumentative essay dealt with this logical thinking and structure. However,
this Unit on Persuasive essay requires us to study the other two Ethos and Pathos.
Pathos is a way of convincing a reader by creating an emotional response among
the readers. It could be an emotion of fear, anger, sadness, pity, horror, disgust,
excitement etc. Empathy in the reader is usually evoked by the writer. Persuasive
essays are designed to influence a specific audience on specific issue. The writer
in these essays does not use facts and figures as evidence in support of his
perspective. So, it becomes even more important for the writer to present his
views in a credible manner. This credibility of the writer is known as Ethos. The
reader should be able to trust the writer in order to agree and be convinced by the
writer. This can be achieved by a consistent and proper use of and command
over the language. Grammatical errors or inconsistent use of sentence structure
could lead the readers astray.
5.3 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARGUMENTATIVE
AND PERSUASIVE TEXTS
Before we delve further into details about the structure and organization of
persuasive essay, it is imperative to understand the differences between Persuasive
and Argumentative type of essays. Since you have already covered Argumentative
essay in the previous unit, you must know what an Argumentative essay is.
Sometimes, both argumentative essay and persuasive essay are synonymously
used. The purpose of the writer in both kinds of essay is to influence the reader’s
beliefs and opinions. However, there still remains a difference between the two.
Study the table below to understand these differences which will enable you to
further identify the two types of essay in a comprehension passage.
Argumentative Essay Persuasive Essay
It is based on Logic. It is based on Emotion.
It is formal and academic in nature. It uses informal style as it seeks
to evoke emotions.
The aim is to present the arguments as The aim is to convince the readers
valid and reasonable. with the writer’s point of view.
Hard evidences are used like statistics, Heartfelt emotions are used to
surveys, experts etc. arouse empathy of the reader.
Appeals to the mind of the reader. Appeals to the emotions in the
reader.
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Persuasive Text The reader understands the evidences The reader feels for the cause and
and based on it takes a stand. takes a stand.
The conclusion comes across as logical. The conclusion comes as an
emotional response to the cause.
The writer takes into account the The writer does not include
opposing/ conflicting views as well. alternate arguments.
Requires thorough research on the topic Requires an understanding of the
to present a coherent argument. audience in order to appeal to
their emotions.
The tone of the essay is calmer. The tone of the essay is emotional
and aggressive.
Example- ad of Dettol soap which says Example- ad of a lost puppy
90% of the dermatologists recommend which says “How much do you
Dettol as it has been scientifically love me?” Note the emotional
proven to reduce or kill the infecting appeal to the audience.
germs by 98%. Note the use of expert to
establish the credibility of the product.
Check Your Progress 1
1) Read the following excerpt on the topic Smoking Kills. These lines are
written in Persuasive style.
Smoking is injurious to health. It not only kills you but destroys the lives
of your loved ones as well. Increase in the number of deaths due to lung
cancer which is a result of smoking habit; has taken away so many people
away from the ones who love them. It leaves a child fatherless and a partner
without a support in this life.
Now, attempt to write an argumentative paragraph on the same topic.
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 2) Read the following excerpt on the topic Colgate as the best Toothpaste.
The lines are written in Argumentative Style.
Colgate has been a trusted brand of toothpaste for over 40 years. Scientists
at WHO have confirmed that Colgate kills upto 99% of germs and reduces
98% chances of plaque and bad breath.
Now, attempt to write a persuasive paragraph on the same topic.
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5.4 STRUCTURE OF PERSUASIVE TEXTS
The paragraph is essentially a unit of thought, not of length. – A.H Fowler
There are three ways to persuade: Inverted pyramid, traditional pyramid, or
through a case study. Inverted pyramid refers to a situation where all the important
information is given first. In this type of structure, you would get the writer’s
stand in the beginning of the essay. There is not much to guess for the reader
apart from the reasons that the writer develops in the entire essay. In the traditional
pyramid, the most important information features in the end, i.e., the stand of the
writer comes in the conclusion after giving all possible reasons for his position
on the matter. The writer gently leads a way for the reader. The opinion of the
writer comes as a culmination of the arguments presented in the body of the
essay. In the third type of structure which is called a Case Study, a profile is
presented in front of the reader. The reader reads the profile and understands the
argument through a presented experience. In the case of Persuasive essay this
profile or the shared experience might not come from an authority or an expert
because the aim is not to seek a legitimacy of the point of view but to evoke
emotions in the reader by personalising the matter. Real stories of real people
provide a link to the readers. These anecdotes are treated as views which do not
require any alternatives/opposing views to be discussed; hence they are a bit
aggressive in nature. However, these are neither against nor do they contradict
any logic or ethical values.
A Persuasive essay is usually structured into five-paragraphs, divided into a)
introductory paragraph, b) three body paragraphs and c) concluding paragraph.
All these paragraphs are very important to the essay and have separate purpose
in the essay. Let us look at them in greater detail to understand the organization
of a persuasive essay.
1) The first paragraph introduces you to the topic of discussion. Thesis
statement is given in this introductory paragraph where the readers are
acquainted with the focus of the essay. This paragraph usually begins with
a catchy phrase or a declaration to grab reader’s attention. For instance, an
essay on awareness of Recycling could begin with, “Garbage! It looks bad
85
and smells disgusting.” Now, the very first sentence of the essay would Persuasive Text
attract the reader to read further. Exclamatory remarks such as this are
often used in these essays. The importance and need of the topic are also
discussed in this paragraph. In an inverted pyramid style essay, this
paragraph also clearly states the writer’s point of view whereas in the
traditional pyramid style essay, this paragraph would only cater to the
explanation of the topic to be discussed. The style is very carefully chosen
by the author according to the topic.
2) The next three paragraphs which are called the Body paragraphs in an
essay provide the reasons for the writer’s perspective. The writer gives
reasons one by one in the three paragraphs validating the point made in the
essay. These are separate declarations which state the main idea of the
topic and develop the argument. The aim of all these reasons is to convince
the reader about their acceptance. In a persuasive essay, the oppositional
or conflicting ideas are not presented because the flow of the entire essay
is not dependent on any authority or factual information provided but what
adds value to the essay is how much the reasons are able to evoke the
emotions of fear, sympathy, pity towards the discussed topic. The need to
present a well-rounded argument is not felt in a persuasive essay since the
approach to the topic and the perspective is not logical but rather emotional.
3) The concluding paragraph revisits the thesis statement and reiterates the
point of view of the author. This paragraph is most effective because it
often directly addresses and urges the reader to act and react with the writer.
The assertion is strongest with this ending paragraph and it encapsulates
the author’s perspective. As a reader, you should be able to clearly state
the author’s point of view, what he expects the reader to know/think/do
and what emotion is the author trying to evoke in his readers.
The tone of these essays is calmer and many a times conversational. It is
with an aim to present the author as a friend who can be trusted with his
views on the important topics. Emotive vocabulary and rhetorical questions
are frequently used in persuasive essays. Readers are also treated inclusive
to the topic by using certain pronouns and by deliberately making direct
appeals. The readers are made to feel that they are an important part of the
topic and are directly affected. It is made relatable by the writer.
5.5 PERSUASIVE TEXT SAMPLE
LIFE BEYOND ACADEMICS
1) Academics has always been an essential part of human development. It
prepares us to survive in the outside world and establish an identity of our
own. But, is an individual’s development restricted to merely academics?
In India, from an early age, we have been taught that education is limited
to the boundaries of academics only; the idea of getting out into the field,
for gaining practical experience, is always considered a hoax. This has
hindered students’ development. But, the truth is that education represents
a considerably broader field than we know of it. Our teaching, from the
basics, has been focused on getting good grades and job offers, rather than
being creative and unique.
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 2) In the 21st century, the pure academic type of education is slowly paving
way for a whole new type. The paradigm shift in the whole education
system is evident. People have now come to understand that education is a
360-degree activity that should focus on students’ overall development,
rather than restricting him/her to the classroom.
3) Co-curricular activities that take place outside the classroom but reinforce
or supplement classroom curriculum, in some way, have become a point of
focus today. These activities help in the growth of the child, in more than
one way. Participating in such activities helps youngsters grow mentally,
socially and individually. Intellectual development of a student is developed
in the classroom, but for the aesthetic development such as team- building,
character- building, and physical growth, students must step out into the
outside world. For instance, if a student is a part of school football team,
he/ she will learn team- work and coordination, in a practical manner, which
cannot be taught in the class.
4) Similarly, in colleges and institutions, there is a need for practical exposure
so that the students can experience the actual working of an industry. For
example, taking a student to a manufacturing firm will give him/ her the
real insight and better learning of the industry. Catering to this change,
most professional colleges including B- schools, have started providing
practical exposure to students through regular guest lectures, industrial
visits, conferences, seminars, cultural festivals, and so on. With industry
visits, students are able to better identify their prospective areas of work in
the overall organizational function. Moreover, they help enhance
interpersonal skills and communication techniques. In addition, guest
lectures are equally important for all – round development of students. It is
a great way for students to gain maximum exposure, as guest speakers talk
about their real- life experiences and not what is there in the text books.
5) Through such events, students are made to participate and coordinate
different events wherein, they get to know how exactly things are managed.
Classroom teaching provides the foundation, and co-curricular or extracurricular activities provide practical exposure and opportunities to
implement what students learn in the classroom. This helps in developing
the overall personality of the students, inculcating various soft – skills in
them, which otherwise are difficult to teach. Clearly, life beyond academics
creates creative and empowered professionals.
(Source:https://www.thehindu.com/education/life-beyond-academics/article26895970.ece)
5.5.1 Explanation
In the above passage, the writer aims to convince the reader about the significance
of extra-curricular activities for children in school. If academics ensure
knowledge, taking part in activities beyond the books help the child in shaping a
personality. Empathy is evoked in the essay wherein the reader is made to
understand what a child needs apart from the bookish knowledge that one gains
from classroom and books. The writer tries to convey the importance of overall
development of a child in today’s times. The growing competition seeks an active
creative mind which can only be achieved by going beyond the classroom studies.
The writer does not give any facts and figures to establish this point of view but
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he talks about how experiences are gained apart from academics. The writer is Persuasive Text
not fuelling any revolution but is talking about a certain shift that can be noticed
in the 21st century and how it becomes imperative to be able to adapt to that
change.
Check Your Progress 2
On the basis of your understanding of the essay and its explanation, attempt the
following questions:
1) According to the author, what is education?
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2) What paradigm shift is the author talking about?
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3) List some of the reasons that the author uses to support his point of view in
this essay.
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4) Write synonyms of these words from the essay: a) emancipate b) fraud
(para 1)
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88
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts 5) Write antonyms of these words from the essay: a) deprive (para 5) b) only
(para 1)
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5.6 READING STRATEGIES
In order to fully grasp the meaning behind the persuasive essay, you need to
keep certain things in your mind –the Why-s and Who-s of the essay while you
are reading it:
Firstly, you need to know what the author is trying to say. Try to comprehend the
point of view of the writer. Be sure of the argument. Secondly, what is the purpose
behind this persuasion? What is the writer trying to do? Is he trying to promote/
sell a product? Lead the readers to a certain specific action? Demonstrate a thought
by taking on the role of a leader? What are the reasons behind this? Is it logical,
ethical or emotional? In the case of persuasive essay, it would most definitely be
emotional. Identify the emotion. Is it anger?Sadness?Pity?Fear? The Pathos is
important to the essay. Thirdly, any writer would give arguments/reasons
according to the audience/reader. So, think about the writer’s audience. Who is
the intended audience? You should be able to understand who the writer is trying
to convince. Who is the expected reader? Once you know the reader, you should
be able to identify the reasons that the writer uses in the essay to convince his
reader. The proper use of language, appropriate jargons, conventions are all done
on the basis of the identified readers of the essay. Answering these things while
you are reading an essay would definitely help you in gaining a better
understanding of the whole argument that the writer is trying to present.
5.7 PRACTICE TEXT
Read the following text:
1) I was in Hyderabad giving a lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for
my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is: She replied: I want to
live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed
India. You must proclaim: India is not an under-developed nation; it is a
highly developed nation.
2) India is an old civilization and an extremely complex society. Her glorious
past, natural beauty, resources, vast size and above all her unique
geographical location has always given her the pride of place in the world.
With the ups and downs of history it has retained its vibrancy. Yet, due to
callousness and lethargy on our part and due to the negative slant of the
media here, we as a nation have not been able to attain the status of a
developed nation thus far.
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3) In this famous speech delivered in IIT Hyderabad on 25 May 2011, Dr. Persuasive Text
APJ Abdul Kalam outlines his three visions for his motherland India and
pleads for Indians to be involved in the nation-building process and to
make India a developed nation.
4) In 3000 years of our history, people from all over the world have come and
invaded us, captured our lands and conquered our minds. Yet, we have not
conquered anyone. Because, we respect the freedom of others, and that is
the reason for his first vision of Freedom. India got its first vision of this in
the Indian Rebellion in the year 1857, when we started the war of
Independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build
on. We have been a developing nation for fifty years, and so it is time we
see ourselves as a developed nation. In terms of GDP, we are among the
top five nations of the world. Our poverty levels are falling. Our
achievements are being globally recognised today. Yet we lack the selfconfidence to see ourselves as a developed nation.
5) India must stand up to the world. Unless India stands up to the world, no
one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not
only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go
hand-in-hand. Dr. Kalam says that being the project director for India’s
first satellite launch vehicle, SLV3, was the first milestone in his career.
Second was when Agni met its mission requirements in 1994. Third came
the partnership between DRDO and the Dept. of Atomic Energy. Removing
the pain of little boys and girls in hospital, by replacing heavy metallic
callipers weighing over three kg each with 300-gram callipers, was the
fourth bliss or milestone of his career. Dr. Kalam wonders how the media
in India could be so negative. Giving the example of Dr. Sudarshan, who
has transformed the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit,
Dr.Kalam says that there are millions of such achievements in India but
our media is only obsessed with the bad news and failures and disasters.
6) In Tel Aviv, where gory killings, deaths and bombardments take place every
now and then, the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish
gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert land into an orchid
and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to Dr.
Kalam is surprised at the people’s obsession with foreign things. We want
foreign TVs, foreign shirts, foreign technology. There is an obsession for
everything that is imported. According to Dr. Kalam, self respect comes
only with self-reliance.
7) In India, we the people blame the government for being inefficient, the
laws for being too old, the municipality for not picking up the garbage etc.
But what do we do about it? In Singapore, you don’t throw cigarette butts
on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU wouldn’t dare to eat in public during
Ramadan, in Dubai or go out with your head uncovered in Jeddah. YOU
would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London
at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, “see to it that my STD and ISD calls are
billed to someone else”. You wouldn’t dare to speed beyond 55mph in
Washington and tell the traffic cop about your heavy political connections.
YOU wouldn’t chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the
garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand. Why don’t
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Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t YOU use examination
jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston?
8) You who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries
but cannot in your own. You throw papers and cigarettes on the road the
moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative
citizen in an alien country why cannot you be the same here in India? We
go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to
learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India
to provide the best of food and toiletries and expect the government to do
everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We sit back
wanting the government to do everything for us, while our contribution is
totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not
going to stop chucking garbage all over the place, nor are we going to stop
to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. When it comes to
social issues like women, dowry, girl child etc., we make loud drawing
room protestations and do the reverse at home. Our excuse? “It’s the whole
system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son’s
rights to a dowry.” So who’s going to change the system? What does a
system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours,
other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But
definitely not me and YOU.
9) And for all these negatives on our part, we blame it on the system. The
whole system has to change, we seem to justify. When it comes to making
a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our
families into a safe cocoon and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along and
work miracles for us, or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy
cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and
praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England.
When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to
the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought
home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and molest the
country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system, because our conscience is
mortgaged to money. Dr. Kalam winds up with the words of J.F.Kennedy
to his fellow Americans, and relates it to Indians: “ASK WHAT WE CAN
DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE
TODAY”
7) Let’s do what India needs from us.
(Excerpt from speech given by the former President of India, Late Dr. A.P.
J. Abdul Kalam)
Check Your Progress 3
1) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer each of
the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option.
a) Where was the famous speech delivered by Dr Kalam?
i) Hyderabad. ii) Pune
iii) Delhi. iv) Mangalore.
91
b) How does an Indian behave in Singapore? Persuasive Text
i) He will never sit on the road ii) He will never spit on the road.
iii) He will never smoke. iv) He will never throw the
cigarette butt on the road.
c) “Our conscience is mortgaged to money,” means …………….
i) we earn a lot of money. ii) we live in a materialistic world.
iii) we are greedy. iv) we are indebted to someone.
d) “Respecting and conforming to a foreign system,” means
i) obeying foreign laws. ii) staying in a foreign country.
iii) respecting foreigners. iv) using foreign currency.
e) The author is echoing the words of ……………….
i) Jawahar Lal Nehru ii) Nelson Mandela
iii) J.F. Kennedy iv) None of the above.
2) Answer the following questions briefly.
a) What has given India the pride of place in the world?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) Why have we not been able to attain the status of a developed nation so
far?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
c) Mention any 2 things that an Indian would not dare to do abroad.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
92
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts d) How does an Indian behave in his own country?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
e) What is our attitude towards elections and social issues?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
f) How do we behave when it comes to making a positive contribution
towards our country?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3) Answer the following questions in 25-30 words.
a) Why is the author annoyed at Indians being involved and appreciative
citizens abroad?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) What do we do after choosing a government?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
93
c) How do we behave in the context of burning social issues? Persuasive Text
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
d) What are the three milestones in the life of Dr Abdul Kalam?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4) Pick out words from the passage which mean the same as the following.
a) not genuine, imitation (para 7) b) obey the rules (para 8)
c) contrary (para 8)
5.8 LET US SUM UP
1) You need to be insightful regarding the topic discussed in the text.
2) You need to pay attention to the title of the text.
3) Clear understanding of the writer’s point of view is the most important
thing.
4) Deconstructing the structure of the essay by understanding specific reasons
used by the writer in support of his point of view.
5) A clear and consistent sense of the writer’s intended audience will help in
ascertaining the reasons used by the writer.
6) Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ethos and
Pathos are important in persuasive essays. Ethos refers to the credibility of
the writer and thus his point of view and Pathos or an appeal to the emotional
side of the readers is important to understand the essence of the essay.
7) Three styles of structuring are often used in the essays: Inverted Pyramid,
traditional Pyramid and Case Study.
5.9 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about Persuasive Texts, you may consult:
Joan Mulholland, Handbook of Persuasive Tactics: A practical language guide
(London: Routledge, 1994)
94
Reading Comprehension:
Types of Texts Richard O. Young, Persuasive Communication: How Audiences Decide Second
Edition (London: Routledge, 2017)
Richard Edwards et al., Rhetoric and Educational Discourse: Persuasive Texts?
(London: Routledge, 2004)
5.10 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) Sample paragraph
Smoking Kills (Argumentative): many people die from smoking than any other
drug. In New Zealand, 20,000 people die of lung cancer every year. This figure
has increased from 6,000 in 2008 to 20,000 in 2018.
2) Sample Paragraph
Colgate as the best toothpaste (Persuasive): You don’t want to scare off the one
you love with your bad breath the moment you get closer to them. Bad breath is
one of the major turn offs which might not always be a sign of a disease but
indicative of a bad choice in toothpaste. Most youngsters these days choose
Colgate for their oral healthcare. It has been trusted by generations for several
decades now.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Education is not merely academics but it also includes an overall
development of the child. The engagement in extracurricular activities,
exposure etc. is also equally important.
2) The paradigm shift in the whole education system in the 21st century is
what the writer is talking about. People have now come to understand that
education is a 360 degree activity that should focus on students’ overall
development, rather than restricting him/her to the classroom.
3) It leads to team building, character building, physical growth, practical
exposure, creativity, gains life experiences and inculcates soft skills in
children.
4) Synonyms a) Empowered, b) Hoax
5) Antonyms: a) inculcate, b)Merely
Check Your Progress 3
1) (a)i, (b) iv, (c) iii, (d) i, (e) iii
2) a) Her glorious past, natural beauty, resources, vast size and above all her
unique geographical location has always given her the pride of place in
the world.
b) Due to callousness and lethargy on our part and due to the negative
slant of the media here, we as a nation have not been able to attain the
status of a developed nation thus far.
c) In Singapore, you don’t throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the
stores.
95
d) We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all Persuasive Text
responsibility. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but
we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian
Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries and
expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution
is totally negative.
e) We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop
chucking garbage all over the place, nor are we going to stop to pick up
a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. When it comes to social
issues like women, dowry, girl child etc., we make loud drawing room
protestations and do the reverse at home.
f) When it comes to making a positive contribution to the system we lock
ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and wait for a Mr.
Clean to come along and work miracles for us, or we leave the country
and run away.
3) a) Author is annoyed at Indians being involved and appreciative citizens
abroad. And when they step on Indian land, they forget all the laws and
do the opposite in other countries as the laws are very stern there.
b) We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop
chucking garbage all over the place, nor are we going to stop to pick up
a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin
c) When it comes to social issues like women, dowry, girl child etc., we
make loud drawing room protestations and do the reverse at home. Our
excuse? “It’s the whole system which has to change, how will it matter
if I alone forego my son’s rights to a dowry.”
d) Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam outlines his three visions for his motherland India
and pleads for Indians to be involved in the nation-building process
and to make India a developed nation. India’s first satellite launch
vehicle, SLV3, was the first milestone in his career. Second was when
Agni met its mission requirements in 1994. Third came the partnership
between DRDO and the Dept. of Atomic Energy.
4) Word/s from the passage which mean the same as following:
i) fake, ii) conform, iii) reverie

Block
3
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
SPEAKING SKILLS
UNIT 1
Importance of Communication Skills 7
UNIT 2
Formal Conversation 22
UNIT 3
Informal Conversation 44
UNIT 4
Telephone Conversation 60

BLOCK INTRODUCTION
Mere utterance of words and sentences does not make you a good speaker or a
good communicator. Effective speaking has a lot of finer aspects that need
elaboration and practice. This Block addresses the various kinds of conversational
situations you find yourselves in as you go through a normal day in your lives –
you engage in informal conversations, formal conversations, telephone
conversations with several people as the clock keeps ticking till the point, you
retire to your beds exhausted by the end of the day.
Your social impression, your relationships, your professional networks, the
success of your efforts and initiatives, your career advancement are intricately
linked to what, how and how well you converse, i.e., what, how and how well
you speak, making speaking the most significant of all the four language skills.
Moreover, you don’t just converse in vacuum, you converse in a certain setting,
in the company of certain people. For various reasons, you participate in formal
conversations, informal conversations, telephonic conversations and, the most
frequent of all today, social media conversations.
While speaking is the tool, the broader process that you need to succeed in, is
communication. Correspondingly, this Block also attempts to give you a brief
overview of why communication skills are important, what are the issues that
make it difficult in certain situations and what sort of measures you can adopt, to
overcome them.
We hope you find the Block useful.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The material (pictures and passages) we have used is purely for educational
purposes. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material
reproduced in this book. Should any infringement have occurred, the publishers
and editors apologize and will be pleased to make the necessary corrections in
future editions of this book.

UNIT 1 IMPORTANCE OF Communication Skills
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Warm Up
1.2 What is communication?
1.3 Why are communication skills important?
1.4 7 Cs of Communication
1.5 Influence of barriers in the process of communication
1.6 Importance of cross-cultural awareness in communication
1.7 Influence of non-verbal cues in the process of communication
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Suggested Readings
1.10 Answers
1.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through the points covered in this Unit and completing the exercises,
you will be able to:
grasp the indubitable importance of good communication skills;
understand how communicative needs vary according to situations and how
your communication skills must address those needs;
get an idea about some of the barriers that jeopardise the process of
communication and thereby how to tackle these challenges;
realise the importance of cross-cultural understanding while communicating
in multilingual and multicultural spaces; and
appreciate the significance of non-verbal aspects of communication in
accordance with Mehrabian’s model.
1.1 WARM UP
What do you understand when someone tells you that A is trying to
communicate with B?
Tabulate some of the reasons which make it necessary for you to
communicate with the people around you, like your parents, your friends,
your neighbours, etc.
1.2 WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
This is the first Unit of the third Block in your course on Reading & Speaking
Skills. We are going to discuss how significant communication skills are in today’s
world and what are the issues that we need to be aware of, to be successful in the
process of communication.
6
Speaking Skills “Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career
success”, in the words of the legendary Paul J. Meyer.
According to Allen Louis, “Communication is the sum of all the things, a person
does when he wants to create an understanding in the mind of another. It involves
a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.” As
per John Adair, “Communication is essentially the ability of one person to make
contact with another and to make himself or herself understood”. Keith Davis
describes communication as the “process of passing information and
understanding from one person to another. It builds bridges of meaning between
people, enabling them to safely cross the rivers of misunderstanding.”
In the process of communication, there is a ‘sender’ (the speaker or the writer)
who has a message for an intended ‘receiver’ (the listener or the reader). Now,
this message is ‘encoded’ by the sender who puts it in accordance with the rules
of the language being used, the capacity of the receiver, the nature of the medium
through which the message is being sent and the protocols of the space where
the communication is being attempted. When the message reaches the intended
‘receiver’, he/she ‘decodes’ it following the rules of the language used, his/her
state of knowledge to interpret the message and the protocols of the space
surrounding this exchange while dealing with the problems (termed as ‘noise’),
if any, of the medium through which the message is sent. Now, depending on
what and how much the ‘receiver’ is able to understand, he/she gives a ‘feedback’
to the ‘sender’. The nature of this ‘feedback’ indicates whether the ‘sender’ has
been successful, partially successful or unsuccessful in communicating what he
or she wanted to convey to the intended ‘receiver’.
FEEDBACK
Ineffective modes of communication not only act as barriers to productivity but
also hinder our chances of success in personal and professional pursuits. Mastering
the nuances of communication in personal and professional spheres has become
imperative.
Correspondingly, institutions and universities offer special papers or courses for
individuals to improve communication skills with an application and activityoriented continuous evaluation system in place. There are robust rubrics for the
assessment of every activity, designed astutely to check the effectiveness of
communication skills in different contexts. For instance, we can gauge someone’s
writing prowess through an email writing activity revolving around an expression
Information Transmission Noise Reception
Source
Destination
SENDER
Encoding of RECEIVER
message
Channel/
Medium
Decoding of
message
7
Importance of
Communication Skills of interest against an advertised vacancy. Likewise, speaking proficiency can be
tested through a mock interview activity, simulating the possibility of the applicant
being called for an interview.
The most important communication skills that you need to focus on, are:
Listening
Speaking
Non-verbal communication
Writing
Reading
Empathizing
1.3 WHY ARE COMMUNICATION SKILLS
IMPORTANT?
Human beings, by nature are not sedentary entities, but require social clustering
for expression of emotions, exchange of information and to satisfy the need to
communicate and bond. From the notion of society, came along the notion of
speech community, which Lyons (1970) perceived as a community where all the
people use a particular language or dialect. With different stages in the evolution
of the human society, there have been consequent revisions in the concept of a
speech community. With the advent of the idea of an Information Society (1930
and onwards), virtual speech communities followed a few years later.
Throughout the history of mankind, societies have accorded importance to skilled
users of language or skilled communicators, as language perpetuates all domains
of human participation, accomplishing the role of a binder. Some people are
very skilled at getting what they want through the use of language, and others
are not. Skilled language use tends to be respected in many cultures. So, mastering
the process of communication attributes special status to people, irrespective of
modality.
Improving our communication skills is fundamentally about equipping ourselves
as future professionals and as responsible individuals, with the necessary skills
and resources to be able to use language powerfully to share as well as receive
ideas effectively in personal or professional contexts.
Moving beyond language, the process of communication, the roles of the
participants, the barriers and the nature of the message need to be carefully
explored while learning about the nuances of effective communication. As future
professionals and dutiful citizens, we will always be functioning in objective
and outcome-oriented spaces. English, being the lingua franca and the universallyshared common mode of understanding each other, will be the language that we
will need to manoeuvre in unique ways to accomplish different things, like,
starting a relationship negotiating a deal seeking clarification
expressing concern persuading an individual convincing a colleague
congratulating a partner proposing an initiative planning a venture
enquiring about an issue addressing a grievance motivating a friend
requesting for a favour solving a conflict applying for an opportunity
8
Speaking Skills and many others. How efficiently we speak as well as how convincingly we put
across our perspectives, will determine how successful we are in the process of
communication. While speaking is about how and what we utter, we often forget
that there needs to be significant emphasis on the non-verbal aspects of
communication as well, for instance, gaze, eye contact, hand gestures, facial
expressions, body posture, etc.
The contemporary thrust on improving our communication skills is also
intertwined with our employability, whereby the onus is on how humanely
translatable is the technical or non-technical training, imparted to resolve, manage
and deal with real-world issues in the field. Last but not the least, is our
temperament to tackle cross-cultural differences while communicating in a
heterogeneous space and to understand, without being judgmental, how people
belonging to diverse backgrounds, communicate with an acceptable level of
clarity.
We will next look at the 7 Cs of communication. But before we do that, let us
answer a few simple questions.
Check Your Progress 1
1) What is the importance of feedback in the process of communication?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2) From your own life experiences, describe five things that you have
accomplished by virtue of your communication skills.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3) What are encoding and decoding in the process of communication? Why
are they important?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9
Importance of 1.4 7 CS OF COMMUNICATION Communication Skills
Communication is beset by a number of impediments. Simple cognizance of
these hurdles is not enough, unless the participants stick to certain principles
that make communication effective and fruitful. These are the 7 Cs of
Communication, namely, Clarity, Conciseness, Concreteness, Correctness,
Courtesy, Completeness and Consideration. Here, as we learn about the 7 Cs, we
need to move beyond an explanation of the 7 Cs and connect them to their realworld domain-specific implications, firstly, in the Indian context and then, in the
global context. Furthermore, we also need practical experience of being in
communicative exchanges to be able to implement the 7 Cs as well as strive to
improve continuously in our successive interactions.
Principle Basic Idea Application
Clarity
Conciseness
The message
communicated,
needs to be clear,
to be effectively
understood by the
listener (or the
recipient),
followed by
relevant feedback
from the listener
(or the recipient),
that confirms the
success of the
process.
The message
communicated
must be precise
and to-the-point,
without any
The important language-related factors
that speakers need to be careful about,
to preserve clarity, are:
i) Vocabulary: To keep it as simple as
possible, without assuming anything
about the receiver’s competence;
vocabulary levels vary and in the
Indian context, in rich, multicultural
spaces, there are individuals
differently trained in English
belonging to different sociocultural
backgrounds.
ii) Ambiguity: The message must also
be free from both structural as well
as semantic ambiguity, to ensure
that unintended interpretations are
avoided. In the Indian context, with
varying levels of proficiency in
English and different ways to
understand, an ambiguous message
can be catastrophic for the
communication process.
iii) Excessive jargonisation: Heavy
jargonisation is ineffective in the
Indian context due to stark
differences in level of vocabulary as
well as preference for non-technical
expressions to improve
comprehensibility in an uneven
arena.
The points that we need to stress on in
the process of communication, to
maintain conciseness, are:
i) Economy of expression: The use of
words should be cross-checked to
10
Speaking Skills
Concreteness
eliminate redundancies and
paraphrased repetitions of the same
message. While speaking, fillers
and pet phrases need to be taken out
of the picture. Moreover,
subconsciously inserted expressions
of an annoying frequency, like,
“you see”, “kind of”, “definitely”,
“I mean”, “for example”,
“basically”, need to be limited
cautiously.
ii) Substituting cluttering phrases
with economic alternatives in the
context of effective communication:
These are just a handful of examples
for putting across the point of concern.
iii) Substituting roundabout sentences
with direct ones:
These are just few examples to
highlight the issue.
While engaging in a conversation, the
issues that we need to be mindful of,
with respect to concreteness, are:
i) Not making any vague or fuzzy
statements (for instance, in case of
a business proposal, invoking
historicity without pertinent facts
and figures, is not effective.)
unnecessary
details that do
not serve the
primary purpose
and that can only
waste the time of
the listener (or
the recipient).
The idea
conveyed must
be specific and
provide the
listener (or the
recipient) a
straightforward
image of the
To be avoided
due to the fact that
in view of the fact that
is of the opinion that
with the exception of
To be used
because
considering
believes
except
To be avoided
This report has been
prepared with the
objective of
recommending certain
retailers for the
purpose of expanding
business.
It is compulsory for all
the people present in
the meeting to put their
phones in the silent
mode.
To be used
This report
recommends
certain retailers
to expand
business.
All attendees in
the meeting
must put their
phones in the
silent mode.
11
Importance of
Communication Skills
Correctness
Courtesy
intended message.
The message
relayed must be free
from grammatical
mistakes and errors
of pronunciation.
The message
communicated must
maintain a desirable
level of courtesy
and decorum with
respect to the use of
words, expressions
and tone.
Vague statement: As a company, we
have been reliable for a very long
time.
Correction: Consecutive awards for
customer satisfaction in 2016 and
2017 highlight our efforts to retain
and satisfy existing clients since the
company started functioning in 2012.
ii) Replacing abstract expressions
with statistical ones:
These are just few examples to point out
the issue.
The points that we need to be cautious
about, while addressing the issue of
correctness, are:
i) For Indian English speakers,
grammatical concerns like
appropriate prepositions, omission
and commission of articles,
conjugation of verbs and sentence
schema are quite troublesome.
ii) While conversing, incorrect
pronunciations can create a bad first
impression in the recipient’s mind.
The nuances that we need to adhere to,
while dealing with the issue of courtesy,
are:
i) Substituting negative messages with
their positive versions:
To be avoided To be used
Your order cannot
be delivered in
three days.
We had to cancel
your request for a
replacement for the
next week.
We will do our best
to deliver your order
within four days.
We are extremely
sorry for the
inconvenience but
we can process your
request for a
To be avoided
unbelievable margin
of discount
very spacious
a minor proportion
as early as possible
To be used
25% discount
4500 square feet
5%
by the 2nd of
October, 2020.
12
Speaking Skills
Completeness
Consideration
ii) Replacing offensive expressions
with euphemistic ones:
To be avoided To be used
disabled/handicapped differently abled
third-class below-par
performance performance
These are a handful of examples to
highlight the issue.
As we take part in a conversation, our
focus, to address the issue of
completeness, is on:
i) Rechecking thematically the
inclusion of information that is
essential for fulfilling the goal; for
instance, if it is a conversation about
a leisurely get-together, it must
contain details of the people to be
invited or included, the place of the
get-together, the date and time of the
get-together and the activities
planned.
ii) Checking for missed details as per
the requirements of the conversation.
The aspects that we need to prioritise, to
address the issue of consideration, are:
i) Remembering the cross-cultural
intricacies; anything that is coloured
with cultural bias has to be removed
or remodelled.
For instance, in a complex Indian
conversational space, any comment
praising or stereotyping a particular
ethnic group can be disastrous.
Statements to be avoided: These
Biharis are still so uncouth.
If it were not for the intelligence of
the Malayalis, this company would
be out of business.
ii) Steering clear of any religious or
social dogmas and avoiding
emotionally charged statements.
replacement after the next
week.
The message
must contain
every relevant
detail for the
intended purpose
and be apt
regarding the
necessary
elements.
The message
relayed must take
into account the
listener’s or the
recipient’s profile
(social
background,
cultural
sensibilities,
preferences,
nature) as well as
beliefs to suit the
listener’s or the
recipient’s needs
while fulfilling
the speaker’s
purpose.
13
Importance of 1.5 INFLUENCE OF BARRIERS IN THE Communication Skills
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
The discussion on barriers is perhaps the most critical component of effective
communication, considering the frequency of breakdowns in communication
that mar productivity and destroy reputation irrevocably. A barrier, simply
understood, can be anything or anybody that prevents or hinders or unfavourably
changes the intended outcome of a communicative exchange. Barriers can be
intrapersonal, interpersonal and organizational.
As all of you are pursuing undergraduation from IGNOU, you are already
functioning within the setup of a central university. Moreover, you are at the
cusp of being employed or some of you are employed already. Therefore,
knowledge of organizational barriers and how to work around them becomes
indispensable. The discussion will be fruitful if we focus on organizational barriers
as an individual’s professional success is linked to his or her communicative
efficiency within the organization where he or she is enrolled or employed or is
going to be employed very soon. Every organization has its own hierarchy,
communication protocols as well as channels via which information flows
between the layers. Mere academic substantiation of the types of organizational
barriers is futile, if we do not back them with lucid, real-world illustrations. The
major organizational barriers are:
Distortion of information due to several transfer stations
Due to the multiple levels in an organization and the protocols of either
upward or downward communication, when the message passes through
several individuals, there is change of the original message at every level.
Information selectivity as well as poor listening amplify this distortion and
the intended recipient ultimately gets a mutated version of the message.
In the Indian context, this problem comes with a ghastly twist of exaggeration
to sensationalize a piece of information, which becomes the latest gossip in
grapevine. For instance, a conversation with the HR manager about availing
a leave and the stated reason can be maliciously distorted to the extent of
appearing for interviews for changing job on the pretext of personal
emergency. This is not only toxic but also counterproductive.
Repression or overflow of information due to fear of superiors
In the Indian context, to please the superiors and not incur their wrath, in
many cases we repress issues or grievances. The reverse is also possible,
where there is breach of confidentiality and unfiltered sharing of everything
with the superiors to display subservience and win their favour.
Loss of productivity due to negative tendencies generated through
groupism and ingroup-outgroup discrimination
Even within the same organisation, groups based on interest, ethnicity, age
and other factors, may at some point of time experience a clash of beliefs,
leading to ingroup-outgroup discrimination, which after a while can become
really ugly and affect the decorum of conversations in the organisation.
14
Speaking Skills Loss of communicative efficiency due to the selection of unsuitable
media
Selection of medium is dependent on four variables, namely, time required
for transmission of message, cost of transmission, nature of the message
and the target audience.
In the Indian context, with the digital revolution, internet and smartphone
applications have become the preferred media. However, if a recorded speech
message is confidential, encrypted services with self-destruct option and a
lifespan for the recorded message delivered, need to be appropriate utilised.
Most organizations use their own intranet, with no access to the internet,
for confidentiality of organizational exchanges.
Loss of productivity and communicative efficiency due to information
overload and congestion of channels
When there is a conversational salad of an excessive amount of irrelevant
information with relevant details, understanding and processing it decimates
efficiency and such a situation of information overload passively frustrates
and burns out the listeners. The focus should be on the quality and not the
quantity of spoken words.
In the Indian context, such information overload situations are coupled with passthe-responsibility trend, ultimately leading to a gridlock, with no plausible
progress in communication. To deal with information overload, there needs to
be someone monitoring the flow of conversation, with some form of penalty
(like losing the turn to speak again or credibility as a speaker being compromised,
etc.) for those being careless enough to repeat information or include unnecessary
details despite warning.
Check Your Progress 2
1) How is communication disrupted when we choose an inferior medium?
Exemplify with an instance from your own life.
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2) How can we ensure the conciseness of our messages while communicating?
Explain with at least two examples.
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15
Importance of
Communication Skills 3) Consider the following statements:
i) These north Indians keep spitting everywhere.
ii) The company is offering me a very good package.
How effective do you think they will be in the process of communication?
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4) What is information overload? How does it affect communication?
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1.6 IMPORTANCE OF CROSS-CULTURAL
AWARENESS IN COMMUNICATION
One of the intriguing challenges of the dynamic spaces that we communicate in
these days, is the fusion of an incredible number of cultures. Similar to a
multicultural classroom, a multilingual and multicultural social setting requires
delicate treatment. One of the focal points of critical discussion here is, how
prepared are we to accept differences while maintaining a productive and tolerant
atmosphere where individualities do not require dilution. Communication, in
such contexts, moves beyond the literal and the linguistic, and to make sense of
the process, one needs to be aware of the multiple cultural variables at play. In
fact, lack of awareness of cultural variations is one of the biggest interpersonal
causes leading to communication failure. Cultural and social sensibilities govern
perception, expectation and tolerance with respect to any form of communication.
Renowned cultural theorist Dr. Geert Hofstede’s model on cross-cultural
communication is a widely followed, robust theoretical premise for studying
how cultural differences impact communication involving participants of unique
ethnicities and cultures. There are six dimensions discussed in Hofstede’s model,
namely, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism versus Collectivism,
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), Masculinity Versus Femininity, Long Term
Orientation Versus Short Term Orientation and Indulgence Versus Restraint.
Power Distance Index (PDI) deals with the societal distribution of power and
how different communities function in a particular arrangement. A high degree
of Power Distance signifies the acceptance of a hierarchical order by the
communities whereby each community has its own position and the situation
does not require any intervention. A low degree of Power Distance indicates
16
Speaking Skills ongoing struggle to balance the distribution of power and requires intervention
to address the inequalities of power.
In terms of communication, these translate into very different behavioral
paradigms as well as linguistic expressions. An individual coming from a
background of high Power Distance Index, will not be excessively polite nor
excessively subservient, reflected through choice of expressions in the spoken
language, as they have been functioning within equitable power structures. On
the contrary, someone from a low Power Distance Index background, can be at
either of the extremities, i.e., excessively polite and compliant, or excessively
defensive and resistant, reflected through their choice of expressions in the spoken
language.
Individualism versus Collectivism addresses the cultural difference whereby
certain groups prefer a narrower domain of responsibility (being responsible
only for themselves and their immediate families) with a high degree of
independent existence in a liberal social matrix and certain other groups prefer a
wider domain of responsibility (extended to relatives and members of one’s own
community) with a high degree of collaborative growth in a structured social
matrix based on communal loyalty.
In a diversified conversational space, participants with a collectivist background,
prove to be better listeners, better collaborators and their linguistic choices
reiterate inclusiveness (‘We’-oriented sentence constructions), whereas
participants with an individualist background, although more creative, do not
function as efficiently in groups and their linguistic choices underline
exclusiveness (‘I’-oriented sentence constructions).
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) helps in understanding to what extent
members of a particular social group feel distressed when faced with uncertainty
and indefiniteness, around the central concern of an unseen future. The differences
in mindset arise regarding whether efforts should be undertaken to control the
future or just let the future unfold naturally in due course of time.
Individuals belonging to backgrounds with strong UAI, are structured, inflexible,
action-oriented and their choice of expressions in the spoken language reflect
precision and economy. In a dynamic conversational space, these translate into
highly focused, punctual, problem-solving individuals with a greater proportion
of affirmative sentences while communicating. On the contrary, individuals from
a weak UAI background, are relaxed and flexible. In a dynamic conversational
space, these translate into creative and unpredictable individuals who do not
function effectively under stress and their choice of expressions in the spoken
language reflect elaboration, depth and liberality.
Masculinity Versus Femininity highlights the more-frequent societal preference
for ‘masculine’ behavioural and aspirational matrices like accomplishment,
chivalry and recognition, assertiveness as well as material fulfilment through
success. The less-frequent societal preference for ‘feminine’ behavioural and
aspirational matrices like assistance and partnership, decency and politeness,
caring for the vulnerable, bring to the fore, a distinct tough versus tender cultural
gap in the context of a fiercely competitive conversational space. Masculinity is
predominant in the cultures of India and China, contrary to the UK and Canada.
17
Importance of
Communication Skills Long Term Orientation Versus Short Term Orientation focuses on a group
or a society’s connectedness with its own past to tackle the complex issues of the
present and the future. There are societies that rely on time-tested traditions and
beliefs and therefore are not readily open to ideas of change. Then there are
others that do not irrationally cling to traditions and explore changes and revisions
with an open mindset. In the conversational context, this distinction is also referred
to as normative (short term) versus pragmatic (long term) approach. For instance,
Indians while being part of a conversation, are quite sensitive about their heritage
and prefer abiding by proven traditions. On the contrary, Germans and Swedish
are very open to any change for the positive.
Indulgence Versus Restraint outlines the societal scope for unrestricted
fulfilment and gratification of fundamental and natural human drives, that in
turn influences happiness index and satisfaction. There are societies (restraint
oriented) that suppress gratification along with the imposition of stringent
regulations on expression of these drives or urges. But there are also others
(indulgence oriented) that permit it quite openly. Considering the Indian context,
such open gratification is tabooed and therefore a Mexican worker stationed in
India might find things to be repressive, whereas certain Indians working in
Berlin might be initially surprised by the liberal approval of these pursuits and
their expression through spoken language.
Moving beyond Hofstede’s model, there are certain factors pointed out by Prof.
Laray M. Barna as “[s]tumbling blocks in intercultural communication” (1994).
The six reasons that imperil intercultural communication, as propounded by Prof.
Barna, are as follows:
Assumption of Similarities
Language Differences
Non-verbal misinterpretations
Preconceptions and Stereotypes
Tendency to Evaluate
High Anxiety
1.7 INFLUENCE OF NON-VERBAL CUES IN THE
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
Many of us, at some point of time, have experienced that what we expressed
verbally in a conversation, failed to elicit a desired response even though we
used apt expressions in grammatically correct sentences and articulated them in
a manner that was perfectly understandable to the listener.
Beyond possible occasional factors like being known to the listener, or having a
strained personal or professional relationship with the listener, or the listener
being in an emotionally unstable situation at the time of the conversation, there
is more to such experiences and therefore simply holding the mentioned occasional
factors or similar ones responsible, cannot always justify how and why the
conversation transpired the way it did.
In those startling experiences, our verbal messages were not considered as
legitimate or serious or actionable. The listener did not directly state that he or
18
Speaking Skills she found the relayed information questionable or unreliable. However, the nature
of the listener’s response clearly revealed the manner in which our messages
were treated and we felt we were not being believed or taken seriously. For
instance, it could have been a request for some monetary help or a message
being relayed on behalf of somebody else or some previously inaccessible
information being disclosed now in a changed circumstance, etc. In all such
situations that we lived through, we are still pretty sure that our choice of
meaningful words and construction of sentences were appropriate as well as
adequate to convey the intended message in an intelligible manner. Yet, from all
such episodes we realised that somehow it was not sufficient to be perfect with
our words, sentences and grammatical sense. Then, what more is there to the
process of verbally conveying meaningful messages and being able to get a desired
response, and, so to speak, to the process of any positive, productive conversation?
Well, the answer is the appropriateness of the non-verbal cues that accompany
the verbal message.
You will be surprised to know that it is these very non-verbal cues that influence
the interpretation and the subsequent response to our verbal messages, i.e., in all
of those experiences that we were mulling over, the non-verbal cues, that our
interlocutors picked up from the way we conveyed the messages, were not
powerful enough to support the verbal part of the messages, to be taken seriously,
or to be found credible. Now, how exactly can we understand what is ‘nonverbal’? Well, for this, we need to approach the expression from two perspectives.
The first is when we consider the aspects of communication (i.e., the process),
non-verbal cues are essentially those whose production or relay does not involve
the vocal tract and the speech apparatus. So, from the point of view of
communication, non-verbal cues include, for example, facial expressions, eye
contact, hand movements, physical posture, etc. The second perspective is when
we deal with the features of speech (i.e., the medium), non-verbal cues are
essentially those which have nothing to do with the recognition of individual
words in the speech stream. So, from the point of view of speech, non-verbal
cues include, for example, accent, intonation, loudness, etc.
Now, all these non-verbal cues (from both the perspectives of aspects of
communication and speech) constitute that aspect of human language, which
lies beyond the articulation of words and sentences, but still significantly
influences the interpretation of verbal messages and therefore has an undeniable
impact on the overall communicative effect. The term paralanguage is broadly
and simply used to refer to this. Abercrombie in his paper “Paralanguage” (1968)
writes:
“We speak with our vocal organs, but we converse with our entire bodies;
conversation consists of much more than a simple interchange of spoken words.
The term paralanguage is increasingly commonly used to refer to non-verbal
communicating activities which accompany verbal behaviour in conversation”
(55).
But Abercrombie at the same time warns of the potential danger of considering
paralanguage as an independent “homogeneous entity” parallel to that of
language. He also finds the expression paralanguage problematic as it is not
something parallel to language or capable of being separately investigated, rather
it is deeply intertwined and hence needs to be explored in relation to language
and in relation to the conversations that we engage in, through the use of language.
19
Importance of
Communication Skills
So, instead of paralanguage, Abercrombie prefers the use of the expression
paralinguistic phenomena to broadly account for all the non-verbal cues that
underlie the words and sentences which we articulate while conversing:
“Paralinguistic phenomena are non-linguistic elements in conversation. They
occur alongside spoken language, interact with it, and produce together with it a
total system of communication. They are not necessarily continuously
simultaneous with spoken words. They may also be interspersed among them, or
precede them, or follow them; but they are always integrated into a conversation
considered as a complete linguistic interaction. The study of paralinguistic
behaviour is part of the study of conversation: the conversational use of spoken
language cannot be properly understood unless paralinguistic elements are taken
into account” (ibid).
Now, that we have an idea about the different aspects of communication and
why communication skills are indispensable, we will move to the next Unit to
discuss the various aspects of a formal conversation.
Check Your Progress 3
1) What does a high degree of Power Distance indicate?
a) Justified distribution of power and unique position of each community
b) Struggle for power and disadvantaged state of certain communities
c) Inequal distribution of power and exploitation of all communities
d) Inverted distribution of power and questionable position of the minority
communities
2) Which of the following is not a dimension in Hofstede’s model?
a) Individualism versus Collectivism
b) Masculinity versus Femininity
c) Indulgence versus Restraint
d) Spiritualism versus Materialism
3) In a communicative exchange, collaboration and teamwork-oriented people
can be predicted to be from which type of culture?
a) Individualist
b) Indulgent
c) Collectivist
d) Masculine
4) Differentiate between paralanguage and paralinguistic phenomena.
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20
Speaking Skills 1.8 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have provided a brief overview of the process of communication
as well as how important it is to understand its complex aspects to be successful
in our personal and professional lives. We have given you:
an idea of all that we can accomplish through communication and how
crucial it is to excel in communication skills.
a summary of the 7 Cs of communication.
an understanding of the sort of barriers we face in the professional and
organizational domain.
a perception of how vital it is to possess cross-cultural awareness in dynamic
multicultural spaces while communicating with groups having unique
cultural backgrounds.
a rundown of how essential non-verbal cues are in the process of
communication.
Before heading over to the next Unit, please ensure that you have completed all
the ‘Check Your Progress’ sections. This will help you revise the ideas that we
have discussed and put you through some much-needed practice in expressing
yourself in your own words. We hope that you have enjoyed learning about the
importance of communication skills.
1.9 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to read more about communication skills and why they are so
critical, you may consult:
Owen Hargie, The Handbook of Communication Skills 3rd Edition (Sussex:
Routledge, 2006)
Richard Ellis, Communication Skills: Stepladders to success for the professional
(Bristol: Intellect Books, 2002)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
1.10 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
For answers to 1 and 3, refer to 1.2.
For answering 2, refer to 1.3.
Check Your Progress 2
For answers to 1 and 4, refer to 1.5.
For the answer to 2, refer to 1.4
21
Importance of
Communication Skills 3) The sentences will not be effective.
Sentence Issue Revision
These north Indians Goes against the norm Not applicable; statement
keep spitting of Consideration should be totally avoided.
everywhere.
The company is Goes against the norm The company is offering
offering me a very of Concreteness me an annual package of
good package. Rs. 6,00,000 with
additional health and
housing benefits.
Check Your Progress 3
1) (a), 2. (d), 3 (c)
For the answer to 4, refer to 1.7
22
Speaking Skills UNIT 2 FORMAL CONVERSATION
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Warm Up
2.2 Domain & Register
2.3 Formality
2.4 Formal conversation & formal use of language
2.5 Intricacies of speaking with reference to a formal conversation
2.6 7 Cs with reference to a formal conversation
2.7 Examples of formal conversation
2.8 Let Us Sum Up
2.9 Suggested Readings
2.10 Answers
2.0 OBJECTIVES
Our aim in this particular Unit and the given exercises, is to prepare you to be
able to:
understand the demands of a formal conversation;
grasp the finer aspects of speaking with reference to a formal conversation;
distinguish the formal use of language from its informal use; and
appreciate how the 7 Cs of communication influence formal conversations.
2.1 WARM UP
Think of two situations, as you found yourself in them, the last time.
Situation 1: A conversation with your teacher about the unsatisfactory state of
your home assignment or your performance in the examination.
Situation 2: A conversation with your mother about your unacceptable demand
for a different dish as you crib about what she has prepared for the day.
Think and describe how you spoke in the first situation versus the second one.
Do you see the differences?
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23
Formal Conversation 2.2 DOMAIN & REGISTER
This is the second Unit of the third Block in your course on Reading & Speaking
Skills. We are going to learn about the various features of a formal conversation
and its subtleties.
English is not just used in one particular way across all sorts of conversations.
There are different functionalities of English and thereby such functional changes
are reflected in its linguistic manifestation. In this respect, we need to know
about the notion of a register, a domain and how registers change with domains.
A register is the form of the language that is used in a particular domain. So, a
register is a domain-governed phenomenon reflecting a domain-governed change
in our choice of expressions. Domain is the social space of interaction or the
space where the action takes place.
As social spaces of interaction, domains are defined by the types of interactions
and the contexts of these interactions. Each domain is a functional space of
language. Each domain requires some restrictions on the structural features of
language to be used, for the speech to be congruent.
According to Hudson (1980), “each domain is a congruent combination of
speaker(s), addressee(s), context of the conversation, and the topic”. A register
is the manner of using a language or a linguistic code, which is applicable in a
particular domain, defined for a particular purpose. Therefore, register is a variety
determined by the purpose.
Examples of domains: Office space (formal domain)
Classroom (formal domain)
Dining room in own house (informal domain)
Coffee-shop (informal domain)
After going through the examples, you must be wondering about the labels of
‘formal’ and ‘informal’. Well, let us clear the curiosity by putting it directly:
‘formality’ and ‘informality’ are domain-specific properties; these properties in
turn influence the register and correspondingly we have the formal and the
informal register, or simply the formal and the informal way of using a language.
The way we speak varies, depending on the setting and the interlocutor, i.e.,
where, when and with whom a conversation occurs. This is understood as register
variation. Register, in this case, indicates language appropriate for a specific
occasion. This is generally a complex area to delineate in any language, but a
fairly clear idea can be developed by looking at the type of sentences and
expressions used in informal and formal settings.
Now, that we have discussed the ideas of domain and register, let us address the
notion of formality.
2.3 FORMALITY
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, ‘formality’ is defined
as ‘rigid observance of convention or etiquette’. Another pertinent definition
24
Speaking Skills would be ‘strictly conventional behaviour’. So, formality comes with a set of
codes, or a set of distinctive features, that sets it apart from informality.
Domains are categorised as ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ on the basis of formality.
How do we understand formality? Well, there are a few approaches to
understanding it. A number of linguists have interestingly explored the idea of
formality by looking at different communities.
As Judith Irvine attempts to summarise the tenets of these approaches
comprehensively in her paper “Formality and Informality in Speech Events”
(1978), she describes how formality can be deciphered “in the sense of an
increased structuring and predictability” of our use of language, and also “as a
way of describing characteristics of a social situation…so that a “formal” situation
requires a display of seriousness, politeness, and respect.”
Bricker (1974) and Gossen (1974) on the basis of their work on the Mayan speech
community, and Fox (1974) looking into the Rotinese speech community, infer
“formal speech” as distinct due to “special structuring” particularly “redundancy
and syntactic or semantic parallelism”.
Rubin (1968) in her paper “Bilingual usage in Paraguay” delves into how people
switch between Spanish (treated as high variety) and Guarani (treated as low
variety) in Paraguay, and while doing so she analyzes formality in language
based on what kinds of linguistic behaviour are acceptable in formal situations
and how much of deviation from a defined standard can be permitted with regard
to language use in such situations.
Fischer (1972), in his paper on how the Trukese and the Ponapean speech
communities use language to interact, explicates a formal situation as linguistically
marked by the incorporation of “respect vocabulary” and “formal etiquette” to
demonstrate politeness in language use. Fishman (1972) outlines formal situations
as “lecturelike” and associates formality with non-frivolous and impersonal use
of language. Like Fischer, Ervin-Tripp (1972) also considers the display of
linguistic politeness to be characteristic of formal situations alongside “the
seriousness of such situations”.
On the basis of these observations, we do realise that formality is a variable
affecting the situation or the domain where the language users are physically or
virtually placed, and it influences the way we use language in an empirically
verifiable manner. Formal domains are those social spaces of language use where
we need to be serious and precise about the topic of conversation keeping in
mind the professional context and we also need to display linguistic politeness
and respect in accordance with the organizational hierarchy and the standard
organizational etiquettes.
Our workplaces, our offices, our universities, our examination halls are impersonal
and formal spaces which we share with our colleagues or professors or fellow
students or seniors positioned varyingly in the organisational or workplace or
academic hierarchy. Therefore, we almost always need to be serious, precise,
structured and courteous in the way we use language to initiate or to participate
in an impersonal conversation, to propose a collaboration or to decide upon the
terms of an academic association, etc., (except for those rare moments when a
joke or a frivolous exchange of words or a light banter is acceptable to break the
monotony) within the formal or the official domain.
25
Even with regard to formal domains, the level or standard of formality often Formal Conversation
varies from one domain to another. What is considered to be formal in the
administrative building of your university may be dissimilar from what is formal
in the branch manager’s office of a private sector bank. So, we are looking at
certain norms and structures of language use.
We will next look at the intricacies of a formal conversation. But before we do
that, let us answer a few simple questions.
Check Your Progress 1
1) How does a formal domain vary from an informal domain?
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2) What is register variation? Consider a normal week day in your life. How
frequently do you switch between registers? How different is it from a
weekend?
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3) Consider the following domains:
Playground, College canteen, College auditorium, Metro station, Lecture
hall, Father’s office, Multiplex, Police station, Hospital, Kitchen, Court
room, Principal’s office
Classify them into formal and informal categories.
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26
Speaking Skills 2.4 FORMAL CONVERSATION AND FORMAL
USE OF LANGUAGE
What is a formal conversation?
A formal conversation is quite simply a conversation that takes place in a formal
domain, to address an official or domain-specific purpose, not concerning the
personal interests of the participants, whereby the participants adhere to the formal
use of language.
Use of language
A formal conversation has its own distinct components. A formal conversation is
set in motion with the participants formally greeting each other, followed by a
formal introduction and subsequently moving on to the specific topic or the focus
of the conversation.
The participants exchange their ideas and reach the conclusion in accordance
with the protocols of the formal use of language.
The participants end the conversation through a formal exchange of good-bye.
Formal greetings to initiate a formal conversation
Sample opening sentence Sample response acknowledging the greeting
Hello, Mr. Singh / Hello, Hello, Mr. Kumar / Hello, Mrs. Kumar
Mrs. Singh
Hello, Professor. Hello, Arjun / Hello, Geeta
Good morning, Mr. Singh / Good morning, Mr. Kumar / Good morning,
Good morning, Mrs. Singh Mrs. Kumar
Good afternoon. Good afternoon.
Good evening, Professor. Good evening, Arjun / Good evening, Geeta
How are you? Fine, thank you.
Formal introduction before moving on to the topic of the conversation
Sample formal introduction
Mr. Singh, let me introduce myself.
I am Arjun Sehgal, a final year
student of the undergraduate
programme in humanities at Indira
Gandhi National Open University.
Mr. Singh, I’d like to introduce you
to Mr. Gupta. / Mr. Singh, I’d like to
introduce you to Ms. Sharma / Mr.
Singh, allow me to introduce you to
Mr. Gupta / Mr. Singh, allow me to
introduce you to Ms. Sharma
Sample response
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Arjun /
Pleased to meet you, Arjun
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gupta /
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Sharma
/ Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gupta /
Pleased to meet you, Ms. Sharma
27
Now, coming to the specific topic of the conversation, how do we characterise Formal Conversation
the formal use of language, for instance the formal use of English in our case.
Some of the observable features of the use of English in formal conversations,
are tabulated with examples.
Formal use of language As opposed to
The results will not be They won’t announce the
announced till the end of results till the year end.
the year.
The manager is going to The manager’s gonna
announce an early announce an early
retirement. retirement.
This cannot be quite This can’t be real.
accurate.
This information is not to I don’t trust this information.
be trusted.
The lack of cheaper The lack of cheaper options
options is frustrating the is putting the targeted
targeted segment of segment of customers off.
customers.
The store-in-charge gave The store-in-charge handed
the keys to the security over the keys to the security
guard. guard.
The newcomers should not The freshers need to loosen
be so stressed and socialise up and hang out with their
with their seniors. seniors.
The caretakers should The caretakers should buzz
leave at this very moment. off right now.
Can you explain the What is the benefit of this
benefit of this move? move?
Could we schedule this Schedule this meeting for a
meeting for a later time? later time.
May I have another cup of I want another cup of tea.
tea please?
Might I suggest a different I want to suggest a different
issue for our next seminar? issue for our next seminar.
His nonsensical attitude is I am sick of his bullshit
very frustrating. attitude.
The engineer lost his job The engineer got fired for his
for his irrelevant excuses. lame excuses.
Contractions
are strictly not
preferred in the
formal domain
or in formal
conversations.
Phrasal verbs
are not
preferred in the
formal domain
or in formal
conversations.
Only a handful
of formal
phrasal verbs
are infrequently
used.
Interrogative
constructions
with modal
verbs are
preferred in the
formal domain
or in formal
conversations.
Colloquial
expressions and
slangs are never
28
Speaking Skills It would be appreciable if Why don’t you just fuck off?
you leave us alone.
The newcomer’s The newbie’s presentation
presentation was absolutely sucked.
absolutely unimpressive.
The interns were I asked the interns about
questioned about their their past work experiences
past work experiences and and job profiles.
job profiles.
Our journalists have been We have trained our
trained to investigate journalists to investigate
incidents regardless of the incidents regardless of the
actual ground challenges actual ground challenges
and adversities. and adversities.
During the meeting with During my meeting with my
the Professor, my state of Professor, I discussed my
work was discussed. state of work.
When it comes to taking When it comes to taking
risks, there is no second risks, we never think twice.
thought.
Evidently, the formal use of English involves longer, complete sentences with
perfect grammar. A formal conversation takes more time than an informal one.
There is also the rejection of any and all colloquialities. Complex and compound
sentences are in greater proportion. Questions are posed using an indirect
grammatical structure; there is a general tendency to incorporate indirect verbal
phrases like “appears to be”, “seems to be”, etc.
Finally, once the participants have concluded, there is the exchange of formal
good-byes.
Ending the formal conversation with an exchange of formal good-bye
Sample formal good-bye Sample formal response
It was nice meeting you, Mr. Singh. It was nice meeting you too Mr. Kumar.
It was good to see you, Professor. It was good to see you too, Arjun. / It was
good to see you too, Geeta.
Have a good day, Mr. Singh. / Thank you. I wish you the same.
Have a good day, Professor.
Good night / Goodbye Good night / Goodbye
allowed in the
formal domain
or in formal
conversations.
In certain formal
situations, first
person pronouns
are avoided in a
conversation. To
achieve this, the
passive form of
the verb is used.
This bypasses the
issue of being
responsible for
the action and is
intentionally done
by the speaker
when he or she
does not want to
claim agency.
29
Formal Conversation 2.5 INTRICACIES OF SPEAKING WITH
REFERENCE TO A FORMAL
CONVERSATION
In a formal conversation, we need to be meticulous about certain aspects while
speaking.
With respect to the content of a formal conversation, as speakers, we
need to ensure that all of the articulated ideas and personal opinions are
highly pertinent as well as satisfy the requirements of the conversation along
with the topic around which it revolves. The conversation progresses in
clear, distinct parts that highlight a structured pattern of expression of ideas
(solution-oriented, analytic and ordered), with smooth and effective
transitions.
With respect to the use of language in a formal conversation, as speakers,
we must demonstrate an impactful command over the language and be
confident in using it. We should express ideas with clarity and power. As a
result, the meaning of the message and the flow of thoughts can be easily
followed by the listener.
With respect to the aspect of delivery in a formal conversation, as
speakers, we need to articulate our perspectives in a strong and perfectly
audible voice with appropriate stress variations to create interest and grab
the focus of the listener. There has to be intelligent use of vocal modulation
while consistently maintaining eye-contact with the listener, without any
abrupt lapses or pauses that can break the flow and thereby affect the
listener’s impression.
With respect to the organization of ideas and professionalism in a formal
conversation, as speakers, our message must convey the sense of a
purposeful whole with one predominant objective that is rationally actualized
through the entirety of the conversation. A well-articulated message will
not require repetition or restatement, even when the content or the objective
is somewhat complicated. The way we speak and the way we appear, must
be in compliance of the decorum, conventions and protocols of the formal
space where the conversation is taking place or is supposed to take place.
We should also be particular about the issue of ethical persuasion whereby
we support claims with compelling evidence (quantitative and qualitative)
from appropriate sources.
With respect to the aspect of appeal in a formal conversation, as speakers,
we need to incorporate planned elements to appeal to the personal interests
and preferences of the listener, while preserving the context of the
presentation. In this regard, wherever and however possible, we have to
study the available profile(s) of the listener(s) and form a perception about
his/her (or their) interests and inclinations. Also, wherever feasible,
appropriate highlighting techniques must be employed.
With respect to engaging the listener in a formal conversation, as
speakers, we need to use innovative ways to involve the listener and
successfully keep them engaged without losing their attention through the
clever manipulation of rhetoric. Our conversational approach must be
authentic, witty and unique.
With respect to concluding a formal conversation, as speakers, we need
to convincingly connect the main ideas to the way we broached the topic
with a precise yet pleasant ending using simple words. There has to be an
understandable transition to the ending and the listener should be
strategically prepared for it.
Similarly, in a formal conversation, we need to cautiously avoid certain blunders.
With respect to the content of a formal conversation, as speakers, we
must not include ideas and opinions which, although credible, are not exactly
required for the objective of the conversation. Because of these, the main
message will not be clearly interpretable and the supporting arguments will
require further strategic organization as well as lucidity to create the desired
impact. Moreover, too frequent presence of fillers and pet phrases (for
instance, umm, ahh, ok, so the thing is, like, etc.) with negligible or no
transitions to connect the main points can fluster the listener.
With respect to the use of language in a formal conversation, as speakers,
we must avoid ambiguous expressions, grammatical errors and vocabulary
slips. In addition to these, we should also steer clear of expressions and
arguments that can possibly puzzle or insult or offend the listener.
With respect to the aspect of delivery in a formal conversation, as
speakers, we should not use a lax voice with a conspicuous lack of stress
and vocal variations. Having very less eye-contact with the listener and not
maintaining it for any effective duration can be disastrous. While speaking
if we lose track noticeably and at times even resort to the use of some
digital or personal note, it becomes clear that we are not suitably prepared
for the conversation. In worst case scenarios, this can seriously damage the
speaker’s future credibility.
With respect to the organization of ideas and professionalism in a formal
conversation, as speakers, we must be careful about incoherence as it will
lead to a glaring lack of an overall sense of meaning. Incoherence also
creates the demand for restatement or repetition which can compound the
confusion and leave a poor impression. We should certainly never go to the
extent of sounding unethical in being too persuasive without the necessary
evidence or justification to support our perspectives. Desperate measures
of verbal persuasion in a formal setting can prompt the listener to question
the integrity of the speaker.
With respect to the aspect of appeal in a formal conversation, as speakers,
we should not bring in such planned elements to appeal to the personal
interests and preferences of the listener, that are out of sync with the context
of the conversation. The comprehensibility of the message too gets blurred
due to these discordant elements and we must avoid falling into this trap.
With respect to engaging the listener in a formal conversation, as
speakers, we should not veer off-topic as we run the risk of losing the focus
of the listener, even more so in the present age with a drastic reduction in
the attention spans of people.
31
With respect to concluding a formal conversation, as speakers, we must Formal Conversation
not simply summarise or recall the main points without a carefully reasoned
conclusion. When there are no perceptible transitions as we build up towards
the ending, the conversation loses out on consistency and ease of
understanding.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Consider the following sentences:
i) The plan to evacuate the area won’t work out as there aren’t enough
vehicles to drop everyone off at the safe zone.
ii) Rohit went ballistic after his brother cocked up his plan to attend the
long-awaited event.
iii) I want this cleaned immediately.
iv) I penalised some of the employees for being always late.
Which of the above can be used in a formal conversation? In accordance
with our discussion till now, revise the ones which you feel cannot be used
in a formal conversation.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2) With respect to language and delivery in a formal conversation, what are
the blunders that we need to avoid as speakers?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
32
Speaking Skills 2.6 7 CS WITH REFERENCE TO A FORMAL
CONVERSATION
According to Francis Bergin, the 7 Cs that determine our success as participants
in a formal conversation are as follows:
How do we ensure it? What should we not do?
Candidness If you think about it carefully,
the natural instinct of children
is to be very candid. This is
obvious from the
embarrassment of any parent
whose toddler has just asked,
in a clear, loud voice:
“Mommy, why does that man
have no hair?”.Now, to
address these embarrassing
lapses, from the time most of
us learn to speak, we are
taught to lie; not malicious
lies, but airbrushed versions
of the truth that are intended
to make other people feel
good about themselves. Most
deceits of this kind have
nothing to do with being
formal, but of course the habit
of telling “white lies”
inevitably colours the way we
interact with others in a
formal conversation in our
attempt to be pleasant. So,
when we compliment
someone: “I appreciate what
you are wearing”, or “We
must meet over lunch soon. I
will call you”, or “you must
tell me the secret to this”, we
are reinforcing patterns that
will serve us poorly in our
formal conversations.
Clarity We should never incorporate
statements or arguments that
are not in support of the main
idea and are therefore
frivolous or purposeless.
As equal participants in a
conversation, when we are
listening to somebody’s
As speakers, we must be
honest and sincere in our
statements without flattery
and superficiality.
When it is our time to receive
a response, we should listen
patiently without being
guided by any sort of
misplaced prejudice or bias.
We should be fair to
everyone in the conversation.
Expressions like, “In my
honest opinion”, “quite
frankly”, “to put it fairly and
directly”, etc., relay our clear
stance. It exhibits how we are
considerate of diverse
interests as well as of the
need of everyone to know
things transparently and
unambiguously.
Our commitment to equally
inform all in the conversation
boosts our credibility and our
way of speaking is
characterised by the “you”
attitude.
As speakers, we must be
clear and accurate about our
ideas and opinions. While an
impromptu deliberation on a
specific issue does make it
difficult for us to articulate
ideas accurately as well as
powerfully on the spot, we
can work around it by using
33
Formal Conversation feedback on what we
expressed, we must never
harbour any doubt or
uncertainty, fearing the
possibility of upsetting other
participants. In fact, the loss
of face is greater later on,
when this doubt or uncertainty
leads us to make a faulty
remark.
Unmistakeably, we must
speak to edify and not to
impress.
Completeness In case we do not have the
answer to a particular
question in course of a
conversation, we should
candidly acknowledge our
present inability to address it.
Beating around the bush,
giving evasive replies, getting
defensive, etc., should be
avoided as they will only
amplify the confusion and
create an insincere
impression.
lucid expressions and
familiar words, along
with appropriate stress,
cautious variation of
loudness and tone as well
as meaningful pauses.
Completeness of what and
how we speak is the
precursor to clarity.
Acknowledging the fact
that we are humans and
prone to mistakes, it is
possible to miss out on
certain points while
speaking. To minimise the
chances of such
inadvertent lapses, we
need to pre-plan and prestructure our message.
The aspect of
completeness demands
that we supply all relevant
details in a formal
conversation while
responsibly answering
questions that listeners
might have. In this regard,
to sufficiently quell
doubts, a bit of extra
clarification or extra
information will not affect
clarity.
A helpful way to ensure
that our message is
complete and that we are
ready to respond to any
question is to take the
Five W Question test, i.e.,
‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’,
‘where’ and ‘why’, along
with the allied ‘how’.
34
Speaking Skills Conciseness We should not repeat unless
requested by another
participant in a formal
conversation. Furthermore, in
a formal conversation,
repetition does not imply
emphasis; on the contrary, it
implies a dearth of ideas or
perspectives.
Concreteness We must not use vague
expressions nor incorporate
vague details that cannot be
empirically verified.
A concrete statement comes
with a verifiable source,
which has a proven track
record of reliability.
For instance:
According to the Institute for
Strategic Change, the “stock
price of ‘well-led’ companies
grew by over 900% over 10
years, compared with 74% for
poorly led companies”.
According to the research
cluster led by Prof. Odgers at
the Harvard Business School,
the quality of leadership
accounts for some 15-20% of
the total variance in
companies’ performance.
Correctness We should not stretch out
sentences as it dramatically
increases the chances of such
errors.
Verbose Concise
As regards Considering
the fact that
Because of As /
the fact that Because
are in need of need
not very far nearby
from here
Specificity and definiteness
are imperative in a formal
conversation.
Being specific as a speaker
creates a strong impression of
valuing time and not being
vague about the objective.
More than the right amount
of detail in what we speak,
concreteness is about
providing the right detail for
the right audience.
For instance, in the field of
marketing, this aspect is
exploited by developing
detailed profiles of ideal or
typical users of a planned
product and then trying to
figure out what the response
would be to a new product or
advertisement campaign.
Concreteness is not just
about specificity of ideas; it
is about the effective
specificity of ideas, so that
they inspire action.
In a formal conversation,
grammatical errors in the
form of verb agreement
errors, verb conjugation
errors, pronominal errors,
etc., often crop up as
bloopers.
In a formal conversation,
brevity and economy of
expression are golden.
35
Formal Conversation Courtesy Our tone should not be
aggressive or dismissive.
While speaking, our choice of
words must not, directly or
indirectly, hurt the listener’s
sentiments or ridicule his or
her viewpoints. We must also
never heckle or cuss, no
matter how provoked we feel.
Let us now look at two sample formal conversations to get a clear idea of all that
we have covered till now.
Follow the conversations minutely and observe how the participants are engaging
each other while adhering to the 7 Cs as well as the protocols of formal use of
English.
2.7 EXAMPLES OF FORMAL CONVERSATION
The first example, that we are going to look at, is of a job interview since it is
something that generates a lot of tension and anxiety amongst young
undergraduates and job-seekers.
In a hypothetical scenario, Global Consultancy Services (GCS), a reputed software
manufacturing company has a job opening in the Software Evaluation department.
Saumya Mishra is the first applicant to be interviewed by the Chief Technology
Officer, Rahil Zafar.
Being well acquainted with the
decorum of a formal conversation
is crucial.
Courtesy requires us to be
pleasant, polite and respectful yet
firm and determined to express
our ideas with conviction and
clarity.
There are norms like:
how many people can speak at
once
how much one person should
speak
what can be the focus of the
speaker, and so on.
It is also easy to interpret the
norms by observing instances of
their violation. For example, the
practice of turn-taking in a formal
conversation indicates that only
one person speaks at a time. If
another participant starts speaking
before the first person has
finished, it is considered to be an
interruption. So, in a formal
conversation, the accepted norm
is one person speaks at a time and
when it is clear that he or she has
finished speaking, the other
person may begin.

Rahil: Good Morning, Saumya. I am Rahil Zafar.
Saumya: Good Morning, sir.
Rahil: How are you doing?
Saumya: I am doing fine, sir. Thank you.
Rahil: How was the traffic coming over here?
Saumya: It is a relief that the traffic was light this morning. Thankfully, there
were no traffic jams.
Rahil: That is good to know. Saumya, let’s start the interview. Are you ready?
Saumya: Yes, sir. I am.
Rahil: First of all, let me properly introduce myself. I am the Chief Technology
Officer. As you know there is an open position in the Software Evaluation
department, and I need to fill this position as soon as possible.
Saumya: Sir, can you please tell me a little bit about the position?
Rahil: It is an entry-level position. The new employee will have to work closely
with the Software Development Team. He or she will also have to deal with the
clients on a daily basis.
Saumya: What type of qualifications do you require?
Rahil: I require a four-year college degree in Computer Science Engineering at
the very least. Some work experience would be helpful.
Saumya: What kind of experience are you looking for?
Rahil: If you have done some coding, that is good. However, since this is an
entry-level position, I do not require a lot of experience. I am willing to train the
new person.
Saumya: That is great!
Rahil: Saumya, could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Saumya: I was a student at Netaji Subhas University of Technology. I just
graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering. I have
been working part-time as a junior coder for the last two years to support my
family.
Rahil: What are you looking for in a job?
Saumya: The job should help me explore the sector of Software Evaluation. I
have learned a lot of theories at college, and now it is time for me to put them
into practice.
Rahil: Anything else?
Saumya: I also hope that it will help me grow in this field.
Rahil: Can you elaborate on your strengths? Why should I hire you?
Saumya: I am a hard-working person and a fast learner. I am very eager to learn,
and I get along well with people.
Rahil: Fine, that is fair enough. Now, let me ask you a few quick questions. You
do not mind working long hours, do you?
37
Saumya: No sir, I do not. Formal Conversation
Rahil: How well can you handle pressure?
Saumya: I think I do fairly well. When I was going to college, I took quite a few
courses each semester while working at least thirty hours every week. And, I
handled that situation very well.
Rahil: Do you still seek any other clarification?
Saumya: No sir, I think I have a pretty good understanding of the job. I believe
that I can handle it with ease, and I hope to get the opportunity to work for you.
Rahil: Saumya, it was nice meeting you. Thank you for coming. My office will
get back to you with the decision.
Saumya: It was a pleasure meeting you too, sir. Thank you for seeing me. I look
forward to hearing back from your office.
In the second example, we look at another hypothetical scenario. Aamna Bashir,
the Customer Experience Manager of the furniture company Sajawat, has received
an order modification request from an old customer. In the following conversation,
she discusses it with the Production-in-Charge Kaushal Trivedi.
Aamna: Kaushal, can you please come to my office? I just received a revised
purchase order from one of our old customers.
Kaushal: I am here.
Aamna: Kaushal, remember the order we received from Flying Pixels two weeks
ago?
Kaushal: The one for a consignment of 100 black leather workstation chairs?
Aamna: Yes, that is the one. Have we started production on it yet?
Kaushal: I do not think so since we do not have to deliver until the twentieth of
this month, another fifteen days.
Aamna: That is good to know. I just received a revised order from its Purchasing
department. They want memory foam cushions instead of leather cushions.
Kaushal: We have already ordered the leather from Comfort Evolved. It will
cost us more if we request a change of order now.
Aamna: There is no need to worry. Flying Pixels is willing to pay an extra
twenty-five percent for the modification.
Kaushal: It is fine then. When do we have to ship the order? Is it still due on the
twentieth?
Aamna: No, they have given us extra time to complete the new order. It is not
due until the twenty-fourth of the month now.
Kaushal: Did they change the shipping terms? Do we still have to deliver the
order, or will they come here to take it?
Aamna: We still have to manage the shipping process, and it is still going to
Coimbatore.
38
Speaking Skills Kaushal: Then I do not have to make any shipping changes other than changing
the pickup date.
Aamna: I think you should contact Vinod Movers as soon as possible. The twentyseventh of this month is a religious holiday, and its shipping schedule is going to
be tight.
Kaushal: You are right. They might not accommodate our change if they receive
our message too late.
Aamna: Kaushal, here is the change of order from Flying Pixels. You can sign
and mail it back to them after reviewing it.
Kaushal: I better give a copy of this new order to our Production department.
They need to be aware of the change.
Aamna: How is our Production department doing?
Kaushal: It is running on a very tight schedule. We received quite a few orders
lately.
Aamna: I bet all the customers want their orders now or as soon as possible. The
Production department will have to work a lot of overtime this month.
Kaushal: Overtime already started last week with all the employees in the
Assembly department working an average of two hours overtime per day.
Aamna: I hope the customers appreciate our quick response time and the fact
that we always go the extra mile to give them whatever they want.
Kaushal: It does pay to meet the customers’ demand. Everybody likes our
products and services. Even though it is sometimes very difficult to please
everybody, it is fine with me because I love this company, and I want to see it
prosper.
Aamna: We can take pride in a job well done. Besides, it makes our job easier
also.
Kaushal: Yes, I would not like to hear people complain. I would hate to deal
with unhappy customers.
Aamna: It is truly stressful to deal with unhappy customers. I doubt that I will
be able to relax even when I get home at the end of the day.
Kaushal: To be honest, I cannot either. So, everything is set. I will call Flying
Pixels and tell them everything is arranged and on schedule.
Aamna: Thank you for your help, Kaushal.
Kaushal: You are welcome, Aamna.
Now, that we have an idea about formal conversations, we will move to the next
Unit to discuss the various aspects of informal conversations.
39
Check Your Progress 3 Formal Conversation
1) While you were conversing with your Professor, he corrected the expressions
“if that were the case” and “at regular intervals of time” and asked you to
use “if so” and “regularly” instead. How would you interpret these
corrections?
a) Using clearer expressions to avoid ambiguity
b) Replacing fuzzy or vague expressions to be concrete
c) Using grammatically sound expressions to be correct
d) Using economic expressions to be concise
2) In a formal conversation, why should the expression ‘very bad condition’
be replaced with ‘75% of the people have been starving for the last 3 days’?
a) To maintain clarity
b) To maintain conciseness
c) To maintain concreteness
d) To maintain completeness
3) In a formal conversation, offensive expressions are replaced with
euphemistic ones to address the issue of ……………………. Select the
appropriate option to fill in the blank.
a) Correctness
b) Courtesy
c) Consideration
d) Conciseness
4) Pair up with your best friend in your batch or in your locality. Let your
friend assume the role of the Senior Manager of an esteemed bank in which
you are an employee. You have been recently promoted to a managerial
position due to your consistent performance. You are happy yet anxious
about the new responsibility. Engage in a formal conversation in English
with your friend, who as a Senior Manager is trying to reassure you that
you will be doing well in the new role.
Simultaneously record this conversation on a smartphone using the Recorder
application. Prepare a written transcript of the recording. Approach your
tutor at the study centre for his or her feedback.
5) Approach someone in your batch or in your locality with whom you have
infrequent interactions. Imagine the context of an academic seminar where
you two are trying to know each other better over lunch break and possibly
collaborate on something in the future. Engage in a formal conversation in
English with the aim of establishing a connection. Simultaneously record
this conversation on a smartphone using the Recorder application. Prepare
a written transcript of the recording. Approach your tutor at the study centre
for his or her feedback.
40
Speaking Skills 2.8 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have provided a brief overview of the different aspects of formal
conversations. We have given you:
an understanding of the notions of domain and register.
the different interpretations of the notion of formality as studied by eminent
linguists.
a bird’s eye view of the nuances of formal use of language with respect to
English.
a description of the various aspects of speaking with reference to a formal
conversation, highlighting what we need to adhere to and what we need to
avoid.
an idea of how the 7 Cs influence the outcome of a formal conversation.
a taste of how formal conversations transpire in the real world.
Before heading over to the next Unit, please make sure that you have answered
all the questions given in ‘Check Your Progress’. This will help you revisit the
ideas we have already talked about while giving you some practice in expressing
yourself in your own words. We hope that you have enjoyed learning about formal
conversations.
2.9 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to read more about formal conversations, you may consult:
Alan Barker, Improve Your Communication Skills (London: Kogan Page, 2000)
Shirley Taylor & Alison Lester, Communication: Your Key to Success (Singapore:
Marshall Cavendish Business, 2009)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
2.10 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
For the answer to 1, refer to 2.2 and 2.3.
For the answer to 2, refer to 2.2.
Informal domain Formal domain
Playground College auditorium
College canteen Lecture hall
Metro station Father’s office
Multiplex Police station
Kitchen Hospital
Court room
Principal’s office
41
Check Your Progress 2 Formal Conversation
1) None of the sentences can be used in a formal conversation.
Informal Formal
The plan to evacuate the The plan to evacuate the area will
area won’t work out as not succeed as there are not enough
there aren’t enough vehicles to transport everyone to the
vehicles to drop everyone safe zone.
off at the safe zone.
Rohit went ballistic after his Rohit was furious after his brother
brother cocked up his plan to ruined his plan to attend the longattend the long-awaited awaited event.
event.
I want this cleaned Can you please get this cleaned as
immediately. soon as possible?
I penalised some of the Some of the employees were
employees for being penalised for consistent lack of
always late. punctuality.
For the answer to 2, refer to 2.5.
Check Your Progress 3
1) (d), 2 (c), 3 (b)
4) Sample conversation
Sunil: Good morning, Ashok. It is a big day for you! I am very glad on your
promotion.
Ashok: Good morning, Sunil. Yes, it is a big day. But it is also a day full of
anxiety for me.
Sunil: You have a lot of experience with the bank. It will be very helpful to you
in your new role.
Ashok: I have never managed people before. I hope I will be able to do justice to
all the new responsibilities.
Sunil: You do not need to be so anxious. You will do fine. You are a natural
leader, and you will lead well.
Ashok: Do you truly think so, Sunil?
Sunil: I am certain about it. You have always been an impressive coach. It was
your leadership that led the bank’s cricket team to victory in the inter-bank
tournament.
Ashok: Managing a cricket team and managing a branch are not exactly the
same thing.
Sunil: Yes, not exactly but in a number of ways they are. First, being a manager
requires putting together a reliable team in which the members trust each other.
42
Speaking Skills Ashok: That is an accurate observation. When team members do not trust each
other, they are unable to perform optimally and it leads to trouble.
Sunil: Second, a manager needs to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the
members of his team. This assessment helps to identify the right people for the
right requirements.
Ashok: Yes, that is true. To get the best out of my team members, I need to know
their strengths and weaknesses. Then, I can coach them accordingly if the need
arises.
Sunil: Third, you need to identify the sources of motivation for your team
members.
Ashok: Sunil, you are right once again. All of the team members need to be
motivated.
Sunil: Fourth, you need to prepare for the unfavourable times. Also, at times,
there will be problematic team members. You need to be ready to train them or
discipline them.
Ashok: Yes, that is the toughest part of being a manager. I need to be good enough
to train them and also firm enough to discipline them.
Sunil: You already know what you need to do as a manager. Although it is not
similar to managing a cricket team, you will be fine. All you need are the
occasional readjustments.
Ashok: Thank you for your faith in me, Sunil.
Sunil: You are welcome, Ashok.
5) Sample conversation
Mohan: Hello, I am Mohan.
Anuj: Hello, I am Anuj.
Mohan: This is a pretty good seminar so far, right?
Anuj: Yes, I like it. FICCI always delivers good seminars. All of the speakers are
very well-known and also very knowledgeable. Did you attend the seminar on
Leadership in last January?
Mohan: No, I missed that one. Who was the speaker?
Anuj: It was Mr. Shiv Khera. He is the author of You Can Achieve More. It was
a great seminar. Mr. Khera gave us a lot of pointers on how to get the best out of
people. You should sign up for that seminar next year.
Mohan: I certainly will. I am very interested in any discussion on Leadership. I
wish to pursue a postgraduate diploma in Management and one day become a
manager. It is a challenging task. It is the reason why I am here today.
Anuj: I too have a similar goal. I feel motivated by the stories of great
organizational leaders. My aim will be to create harmony and cooperation as a
future manager.
43
Mohan: To be honest, I also need to learn how to better manage my workload. I Formal Conversation
always run out of time. It seems like the days are getting shorter and shorter.
Anuj: You need to sign up for the Learn How To Beat the Deadlines seminar. It
is happening next month.
Mohan: I will check whether I will have any free time next month. I know
sometime next month I will have to go to Gandhinagar on an academic trip.
Anuj: Good for you. Mohan, its 1:30 PM already. I guess our break-time is over.
Mohan: The topic of the next session, How To Make Powerful Presentations,
seems to be really interesting. We better not miss any part of it. Let us get back to
our seats so that we can learn how to deliver a great presentation.
Anuj: Yes, as future managers we should be able to present confidently. It is one
of the important skills to influence people.
44
Speaking Skills UNIT 3 INFORMAL CONVERSATION
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Warm Up
3.2 Informal domain and informal register
3.3 Informal conversation and informal use of language
3.4 Proliferation of informal and urban expressions
3.5 Influence of context on interpretation
3.6 Issues faced by novice speakers in informal conversations
3.7 Examples of informal conversation
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.9 Suggested Readings
3.10 Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through the details discussed in this Unit and completing the exercises,
you will be able to:
perceive how informal domains are different from formal ones;
understand the aspects of informal use of language with reference to English;
grasp how contexts influence interpretation of messages in informal
conversations; and
identify the challenges faced by novice speakers in informal conversations
and learn how to overcome them.
3.1 WARM UP
Think of at least 10 colloquial expressions that you use while talking to
your friends. Don’t be shy!
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Apart from the consequence of being reprimanded, why do you feel that
you cannot use them in the classroom with your teacher?
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3.2 INFORMAL DOMAIN AND INFORMAL
REGISTER
This is the third Unit of the third block in your course on Reading & Speaking
Skills. We are going to explore informal conversations and realise how different
they are compared to formal conversations.
In the previous Unit, we have already learned how a domain is any social space
of interaction where the communicative exchange or conversation takes place.
Consequently, while using the spoken form of English, we need to be careful
about the domain where the conversation is taking place or the domain being
addressed through the use of our utterances.
Based on our knowledge of formality and the nature of formal domains, we now
need to understand that informal domains are the exact opposite in nature. Informal
domains are those social spaces of language use where we are relaxed and
spontaneous about the topic of conversation due to the personal and intimate
context; we are free to display a variety of linguistic emotions in accordance
with the private and frivolous nature of such interactions. Social etiquettes are
also quite different from organizational etiquettes. Informal domains, like the
home environment, an amusement park, a roadside eatery, etc., induce a sense of
comfort and freedom of expression.
To clarify this further, our homes are extremely personal spaces which we share
with our immediate family members (in rare situations with extended family
members), and therefore the domain of home is characterised by the greatest
degree of intimate relationships and displays of intimacy. Consequently, we very
rarely need to be serious, precise and courteous while interacting and conversing
in the home domain (except for extraordinary circumstances like a medical
emergency, an accident, etc.).
The cafeterias where we meet our friends over coffee, the markets which we
frequent for buying essential commodities, the movie theatres where we enjoy
the latest blockbuster, the playgrounds where we enjoy a game of cricket, the
parks where we chat with our friends and laugh loudly over their jokes, etc., are
all different informal domains.
The way we change our manner of using a language, (for instance, English)
switching between formal and informal registers, is a sociolinguistic phenomenon
and it illustrates the fact that both formal and informal domains comprise our
lives and we switch codes to adapt to the communicative needs of the particular
domain.
3.3 INFORMAL CONVERSATION AND
INFORMAL USE OF LANGUAGE
What is an informal conversation?
An informal conversation is quite simply a regular conversation or a personal
conversation that takes place in aninformal domain, to address a regular or a
personal issue. Informal conversations require us to be relaxed, casual, empathetic
46
Speaking Skills and open, whereby we adjust the tone of voice according to who we are speaking
to – somebody much younger to us, a close friend or a much senior family member.
Use of language
An informal conversation is different from a formal one in multiple ways,
including form, use of language, purpose and content. There is absolute freedom
in terms of the use of colloquial expressions, urban expressions, slang, broken
utterances, etc. Naturally, there is a whole inventory of expressions that individuals
tend to resort to in an informal space, but avoid in a formal environment.
An informal conversation has its own unique components. An informal
conversation is set in motion with the participants informally greeting each other,
at times with loud exclamations, vivid displays of emotion, use of nicknames,
etc. Only when the participants are not known to each other, there is an informal
introduction and subsequently the participants move on to the focus of the
conversation. For instance, when we are introduced to a friend of a friend on an
outing, such informal introductions become important. Such introductions can
be done by an introducer (e.g., your friend who is known to you) or by the person
himself or herself (who is not known to you).
Informal greetings to begin an informal conversation
Sample informal greeting Sample response acknowledging
the greeting
Hey / Hi / Hey, Deepak / Hi, Deepak Hey / Hi / Hey, Rishi / Hi, Rishi
How are you? / How are you, Deepak? I’m good / All right / I’m good,
Rishi / All right, Rishi
How are things? Pretty good.
How’s it going? OK. Not bad.
How you doing? I’m doing good.
What’s up? Nothing much / Not a whole lot /
Nothing /Nothing special / Not
much
What’s new?
What’s happening?
What are you up to?
What’s going on?
Informal introduction, when the participants are not known to each
other, before moving on to the focus of the informal conversation
Sample informal introduction Sample informal response
Veena, this is Mukesh. He’s in my batch. Hi Mukesh. Nice to meet you.
Hi. My name’s Atul. I’m Praveen. Nice to meet you.
The participants exchange ideas freely and turn-taking often takes a back-seat in
open-ended informal conversations where people speak simultaneously. While
in an informal conversation, we are visibly spontaneous, our approach is usually
47
laid-back, our expressions and linguistic choices are folksy and at times borderline Informal Conversation
crude depending on the audience and the setting. However, informal conversations
too can have considerable alteration. For example, if a person is chatting with
his or her friends, there is a greater probability to switch to a more comfortable,
relaxed and unofficial way of talking. However, if somebody is informally
interacting with a person for the first time and wants to impress that person, then
possibly a more careful style of conversation will be adopted.
Conversational changes normally surface when people are comfortably using
language to bond and improve rapport. These reflect how the language structures
and expressions evolve, becoming more efficient and smoother since the original
purpose of conversing in a particular language is to satisfactorily communicate
ideas and feelings.
Some of the typical features that characterise the informal use of language and
set it uniquely apart from formal use, are tabulated with examples.
Informal use of language Closest formal
interpretation
Contractions are Rahul’s gonna join the party. Rahul is going to join the
very frequently party.
used in informal
conversations. She’s kinda cute. She is kind of cute.
(implying: she is pretty)
He’s gonna leave cos he’s hurt. He is going to leave
because he is hurt.
I’m sorta tired after the day. I am sort of tired after the
day.
Tell’em I ain’t coming. Tell them that I am not
coming.
Lemme see your hands. Let me see your hands.
Relative The girl I met in Ahmedabad The girl whom I met in
pronouns are was interested in football. Ahmedabad was
often dropped interested in football.
from relative
clause Yesterday was a day everything Yesterday was a
constructions went wrong. day when everything
in informal went wrong.
conversations.
Return me the book I gave Return me the book
you this morning. that I gave you this
morning.
This is the house Farhan built. This is the house which
Farhan built.
Ellipsis (i.e., Seen my sweater? Have you seen my
intentionally sweater?
omitting
grammatical Going to Delhi next week. We are going to Delhi
items) is next week / I am going
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Speaking Skills extremely to Delhi next week.
common in
informal Ready yet? Are you ready yet?
conversations.
Never thought really. I have never really
thought.
Phrasal verbs, We finally pulled it off. We finally succeeded.
especially
informal phrasal You’re harping on the same You are continuously
verbs feature point. repeating the same point.
prominently in
informal Sumit’s friends forked Sumit’s friends paid a lot
conversations. out a lot of cash to get entry. of money to get entry.
Rohan showed up when my Rohan arrived when my
performance was nearly done. performance was almost
over.
Colloquial Chill man. Relax man.
expressions,
urban Let’s roll Let us go. / Let us do this.
expressions and
slangs are Let’s rock the show Let us do the best that we
spontaneously can.
used in informal
conversations. I am feeling off. I am feeling sad.
You are stinking. You are smelling awful.
He was pissed off. He was highly irritated.
Grab a seat bud. Take a seat my friend.
That guy is a prick. That guy is stubborn and
annoying.
Your work is so shitty. Your work is very
substandard.
That place is a shithole. That place is in a
deplorable state/ That
place is totally unlivable.
They bailed out dude. They left, man.
What the hell is this? What is this? (could be in
response to a bad /
surprisingly good state)
My mind is fucked up. I am really tired.
That guy is an attention-whore. That person is truly an
attention seeker.
You are such a prude. You are so proud of
yourself.
Such a douchebag! Such an arrogant and
annoying person!
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Informal conversations are personal and often contain gossips or rumours. Informal Conversation
Therefore, participants do not worry about taking responsibility as all
statements made or ideas expressed are unofficial and in no way bind the
speakers with respect to their appropriateness or factual correctness. As a
result, it is the active form of the verb that is predominantly used.
Informal use of language As opposed to
Passive form Their policies destroyed the The rainforest
of the verb is rainforest. was destroyed.
very rarely or
never used in Chinese hackers have stolen The information has been
informal the information. stolen.
conversations.
His behaviour pushed her into She was pushed into
depression. depression.
The government has moved the The project has been
project from Bhopal. moved from Bhopal.
Finally, once the participants have expressed all that they wanted to, they end
the informal conversation through an exchange of informal good-byes.
Ending the informal conversation with an exchange of informal goodbye
Sample informal good-bye Sample informal response
Nice meeting you. You too.
Take it easy.
Take care.
I’m off. Ok, bye.
I’m out.
I gotta go. See you / See you later /
So long. Bye
See you.
See you later.
Bye.
We will now discuss, how in the present age, informal and urban expressions are
being added to the mental inventories of teenagers at a rapid pace. But before we
do that, let us answer a few simple questions.
Check Your Progress 1
1) Talk about at least four informal domains where you converse on a weekly
basis. Briefly describe the purpose of such conversations.
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50
Speaking Skills 2) Elaborate upon two aspects of informal use of English with at least four
sentential examples in each case.
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3) Do participants in an informal conversation always wait for their turn? How
is this different from a formal conversation?
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3.4 PROLIFERATION OF INFORMAL AND
URBAN EXPRESSIONS
The growing knowledge of informal, urban expressions is to be attributed to the
effect of the virtual world, in certain societal contexts. Speaking about the Indian
context, the teenage groups accounting for the bulk of the College and the
University population, exhibit an enhanced understanding of urban expressions
like “Swag”, “Bae”, “G.O.A.T”, “Lit”, “lulz” and others. Social networking
platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc., have expanded our
inventory of informal expressions. Colloquial slangs and cuss words also appear
prominently in our annexed mental lexicons. It is obvious that interactions
amongst diverse communities will bolster our word inventories, improve our
understanding of culture-specific expressions and linguistically empower us to
comprehend each-other better.
As Professor James Katz elucidates, “Social interaction includes both the
exchange of information among individuals and groups online and the influences
of online interaction on offline communication, both face to face and through
other media.” There is the added implication of affected world-views that is
mostly taken for granted or overlooked. Cultural exchanges perpetrated by the
inter-mingling of individuals in a multi-lingual virtual platform, will in course of
time, trigger serious thoughts on world views, encoded in one’s language and
alter perceptions. The alternating trends of language usage will modify the outlook
and interactions of speech communities. Brevity, clarity and context-specificity
will be affected.
Professor J. Katz argues that “Self-expression blends ineluctably with group
expression.” An individual acquainted to and preferring an informal style of
speech, will cling to a unique understanding of worldly affairs, different from an
individual who does not prefer too much informality. There will also be a pattern
51
of switching manner of language use with changing domains for that individual. Informal Conversation
The shifts in language use as the person leaves home for a new day, then greets
the neighbour, has a laugh while coming across a friend on the streets and then
finally settles down in his chair at his work-place will be distinct. The wordorder of the language, used by the person, will be intact but there will be changes
with respect to the inventory of words with changing domains.
3.5 INFLUENCE OF CONTEXT ON
INTERPRETATION
Context has a powerful influence on an informal conversation, specifically on
the way our utterances are interpreted. We can understand context in two ways –
linguistic context and social context.
Most of the time when we speak, our sentences are not solitary. They are
accompanied by more sentences and the totality of it forms the discourse. When
our listeners or readers try to make sense of what we have already articulated,
they do not interpret sentences in isolation. They interpret our words and sentences
in connection with the other words and sentences in the spoken discourse.
Linguistic context comprises these surrounding words and sentences that influence
the interpretation of a particular utterance in a spoken discourse. For instance,
let us consider the following sentence: I’m going to die. Now let us look at the
same sentence in two different linguistic contexts.
1st context: I have been having these terrible bouts of splitting pain in the back
of my head. My doctor instructed me to undergo a few diagnostic tests. Finally,
he revealed that I am at the last stage of head-neck cancer. I’m going to die. I
don’t know how to tell this to my family members. They depend on me so much.
This is going to be very hard for them to accept.
2nd context: It’s been more than a year now that I have been working under Mr.
Phillips. He never understands my personal problems. He keeps pushing more
and more work even when I am clearly in need of a break. Today he gave me a
dozen new manuscripts and asked me quite sternly to finish them by the weekend.
I’m going to die. This is just too much to handle now. Then again, I can’t resign.
I need money to pay my college tuition fee.
In the first linguistic context, “I’m going to die” evidently signifies the speaker’s
impending death due to an irreversible and untreatable stage of cancer. However,
in the second linguistic context, “I’m going to die” does not signify death. The
statement reflects the immense mental pressure that the speaker is under and can
hardly cope up with.
Now, that we have a brief idea about linguistic context, let us move to the idea of
social context.
Social context, very simply, takes into account the features of the domain where
the interlocutors are situated, the social profiles of the interlocutors and the
moment when the interlocutors engage in a conversation (e.g., it could be an
ordinary moment that is typical of the regular state of affairs, or it could be a
special moment like a colleague’s wedding, or it could be a moment of grief like
a funeral, etc.).

For instance, let us again consider the sentence: I’m going to die. An individual
who has just been in a road accident and is being taken to the hospital in an
ambulance, is just being extremely anxious and scared about the nature of his or
her injuries, when he or she says, “I’m going to die”. On the other hand, when a
perfectly healthy and medically fit man, about to get married in the next few
hours, says “I’m going to die” to his friends, he is just being nervous and jittery
about marital life and the responsibilities that come with it. It is in fact a frivolous
statement, ridiculously equating marriage and death, in the second context.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Explain how social context influences interpretation with at least two clear
examples of informal use of English.
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2) Explain how linguistic context influences interpretation with at least two
clear examples of informal use of English.
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3) Words like “Bae”, “Lulz”, “hooman”, “turnt” cannot be found in normal
dictionaries. Yet, we increasingly use such words in informal conversations.
Explain with your own opinion.
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3.6 ISSUES FACED BY NOVICE SPEAKERS IN
INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS
The challenge of hesitation is the most common of all and it plagues a large
number of English users in the Indian context. This hesitancy and lack of
confidence affects the quality of our informal conversations. Hesitation has
different implications for formal and informal conversations. While in formal
53
conversations hesitation can negatively impact the outcome of specific events or Informal Conversation
vital professional initiatives, in informal conversations hesitation can negatively
influence the nature of our intimate associations, the strength of our relationships,
the trust shared with people and many other significant personal avenues around
which our lives primarily revolve.
Now, the issue of hesitation can be due to a long-term lack of opportunities to
speak, absence of people to use English with or even poor level of confidence,
being used to a unidirectional mode of conversation where you have preferred to
just listen. Juxtaposed with this very issue, is the overarching tendency of Indian
learners to conceptualise something in the first language and then transfer those
mental constructions onto English. Not only does this lead to Indianized varieties
of English, but also induces a latency in the overall process.
The latency leads to a break of flow and when this happens multiple times, it
creates self-doubt in the speaker’s mind. Now, honing the ability to think and
speak in English without first language interference, takes time as well as practice.
However, a good starting point for you can be to record yourself and send the
audio file using a number of applications like Messenger, Whatsapp, Skype,
etc., to the intended listener. You can also ask for the study-centre tutor’s feedback
on such a recording with his or her permission. You can then listen to the selfrecorded content and tally it with the tutor’s feedback to better identify areas that
require improvement. A productive drill for all of you who grapple with hesitation
and low confidence, is also to speak freely alone, in front of a mirror for a fixed
time on a regular basis. In this way, in the absence of probing eyes, hesitant
speakers can build up the confidence to speak and subsequently handle informal
conversations with ease.
Another great way to improve informal conversational skills is through
collaborative and participative activities, i.e., through activities that require us
to discuss in informal groups before performing something individually (for
instance, being the representative of the Humanities stream in a discussion about
the University fest) as well as activities where we need to interact informally as
a team (for instance, a trip planned by the Department to a place of interest, a
departmental get-together to welcome the freshers, etc.). Now considering the
use of such activities to hone speaking skills, even when conducted under the
supervision of an instructor, the instructor simply facilitates the process and never
intervenes in the communicative channel which is completely at the level of the
participants. Even mistakes committed in the process of such informal exchanges
are valuable lessons and are better imbibed through actual experiences rather
54
Speaking Skills than simply reading about them. In fact, such lessons are less regretful in the
long run when gained through informal conversations.
An important issue with respect to informal conversations is that often in the
presence of multiple interlocutors, the aspect of reciprocity gets blocked. As
speakers, our focus gets shifted to such an extent on how the surrounding listeners
are judging us, based on their facial expressions as well as their non-verbal
feedback, that we fail to follow our own speech and as a result, are later on
oblivious of the quality of our own speech. This escalates tension, self-doubt
and anxiety. Recording in privacy is especially helpful for conscious, hesitant
speakers. In course of time, the level of confidence exceeds a necessary threshold,
after which the gaze of the listeners ceases to bother such speakers.
Let us now look at two sample informal conversations to revisit all the aspects of
informal use of English, that we have discussed.
Study the sample conversations carefully, taking note of all the informal nuances
that the participants are indulging in.
3.7 EXAMPLES OF INFORMAL CONVERSATION
The first example, that we are going to look at, is of a simple informal conversation
between Ruchi Chaturvedi, who is a college student and her mother Sandhya
Chaturvedi, who is a homemaker.
The conversation takes place as Ruchi returns home and finds her mother
preparing paneer parantha.
Ruchi: Mumma, I’m home.
Sandhya: Hey, beta. How was college? How was your exam?
Ruchi: College was OK, and my exam was really good. Mumma, I was so worried
about the exam, but now I feel awesome. What a relief!
Sandhya: Well, I’m glad to hear that. You’ve been studying so hard the past few
weeks. Now, just relax and enjoy life.
Ruchi: What are you cooking? Umm! It smells so good.
Sandhya: I’m making paneer parantha. I know this is your favourite, beta.
Ruchi: Wow! It looks so yummy. Oh, I see kheer over there too. Looks like
you’ve been busy mumma.
Sandhya: Sure have been! Your brother wants to take something sweet for tiffin
tomorrow. So, that kheer’s for him. Don’t you dare steal from it, Ruchi! I’m
watching you!
Ruchi: All right. Fine. Can I at least have a parantha? I want to taste it right now.
Sandhya: Don’t want to wait till dinner?
Ruchi: It looks so yummy, and I bet it’s damn tasty. I don’t want to wait. Please,
mumma?
55
Sandhya: OK, go ahead. Have your fill. Informal Conversation
Ruchi: Did you see the new recipe posted on Get Curried? I think it’s called
Afghani parantha.
Sandhya: No, I didn’t. Want to try it though. Your papa loves parantha.
Ruchi: Same with me, mumma.
Sandhya: Mohit too. We are one parantha-crazy family.
Ruchi: Well, when are you planning to make it? I wanna watch and learn. Should
we use onion or keema stuffing?
Sandhya: We haven’t done keema for long. Let’s use keema. I’ll get some from
the supermart tomorrow. We can start in the afternoon once you get home.
Ruchi: I need to finish an assignment with a buddy. I won’t get home till 7:30.
Will it be too late, mumma? If that’s late, you can start without me.
Sandhya: 7:30 sounds fine. I’ll finish preparing the rest of the dishes. Then I’ll
keep everything ready for our session before you’re home. OK?
Ruchi: Also make sure we have enough flour, mumma. Seems like you’ve used
a lot to make the paranthas today.
Sandhya: Don’t worry. Still plenty of flour in stock. Enough to make atleast
forty paranthas.
Ruchi: Forty, huh? Forty sounds like a good number, but let’s not overdo. Let’s
make about twelve.
Sandhya: OK, we’ll make twelve paranthas tomorrow. No more, no less.
Ruchi: It’s a deal.
Sandhya: Enough about making paranthas. I need to start making daal and raita
for dinner. Oh no! It’s 6:30 already. Your papa and Mohit will be home anytime
now. I’m sure they’ll be hungry as hell and want dinner right away.
Ruchi: What do we have for dinner tonight?
Sandhya: Well, paranthas already made. I’ll make daal and raita to go with the
paranthas.
Ruchi: It’s been long since I’ve helped you in kitchen. Need any help, mumma?
Sandhya: No, beta. Go, work on your assignment if you want. Leave the cooking
to me.
Ruchi: Thanks, mumma. Call me whenever dinner’s ready. I don’t wanna be
late for your special daal, raita, parantha and kheer.
Sandhya: The kheer’s for Mohit! Ruchi, don’t you dare!
Ruchi: I know, mumma. Just kidding!
Pooja and Reshma are planning for the weekend. This is something that a lot of
you will do with your new friends. Let’s take a look at the conversation!
Pooja: So, what are your plans for this weekend?
56
Speaking Skills Reshma: I don’t know. Want to get together or something?
Mayank: How about a movie? PVR Vasant Kunj is showing Avengers: Endgame.
Pooja: Sounds like a good idea. Maybe we should eat before that.
Mayank: That’s fine with me. Where do you wanna meet?
Reshma: Let’s meet at McDonalds. Haven’t tried their new chicken burger yet.
Pooja: Good idea again. I heard their new lamb burger rocks. No wonder it’ll be
good cos McDonalds always has the best burger in town.
Mayank: OK. When should we meet?
Reshma: Well, the movie is at 2:00, 4:00, 6:00 and 8:00.
Pooja: Why don’t we catch the 2:00PM show? Let’s meet at McDonalds around
noon. That’ll give us plenty of time to enjoy the burger.
Mayank: My cousin Juhi’s in town. Mind if she tags along? I’d hate to leave her
alone.
Reshma: Whoa! Juhi in town? Hell yeah! Get her, Mayank. Pooja, you remember
Juhi, right? We met her at Mayank’s birthday party a year back.
Pooja: Sorry! I don’t quite remember her. Remind me how she looks like?
Mayank: She’s sort of athletic, has a dragon tattoo and about your height.
Pooja: She wears glasses, right?
Mayank: Yeah, and she did that crazy dance in the party.
Pooja: Oh, I remember her now. Yeah, do bring her along Mayank. She’s so
cool, and super funny too.
Mayank: Thanks. She’ll be excited to meet you both.
Reshma: What’s she into these days?
Mayank: Well, she graduated last June. She’s planning to teach from next year.
Pooja: That’s nice. Where’s she planning to teach?
Mayank: She’s a kid-person. Absolutely loves them. So, she’s targetting
kindergarten.
Reshma: Wow! Kindergarten!? She must be really patient. I’ve always felt
kindergarten is the most difficult to teach. Most kids never been to school, and
they never been away from their mothers too.
Mayank: Juhi’ll do fine. Not worried about her. She has her way with children.
Pooja: Think the first few weeks gonna be tough. Once the routine’s set, shouldn’t
be a problem.
Reshma: You’re right. The kids might even enjoy school. They’ll have many
new friends to play with.
Mayank: Also, a lot of new things for them to do. A lot of craftwork in
kindergarten. I’m always amazed by what kindergarten teachers do.
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Pooja: Yeah, I’ve seen my sister come home with such cool stuff. Informal Conversation
Reshma: Maybe we can ask Juhi to show us something cool to do for this Diwali.
Pooja: Well. we can also check out the craft store after the movie. What say,
Mayank?
Mayank: I’ll talk to her. I think she’ll like that. Might also help her with some
projects for Diwali.
Reshma: Fabtree’s a good store for crafts. They’ve good variety. You can find
almost anything there.
Pooja: There’s a Fabtree not far away from PVR Vasant Kunj. I think it’s just
around the corner, on Mall Road. Can even walk till there.
Mayank: So, we plan to meet for burger at noon, movie at two, and shop at
Fabtree later. Right?
Pooja and Reshma: Yeah!
Now, that we have learned about informal conversations, we will move to the
next Unit to discuss the various aspects of telephone conversation or telephonic
conversation.
Check Your Progress 3
1) How does a speaker’s hesitation influence informal conversations?
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2) Pair up with a good friend in your batch or in your locality. Imagine a
situation in which your mother has given you the responsibility to go to the
grocery store. You are busy with an incomplete assignment. Engage in an
informal conversation in English with your friend, telling him or her to do
the necessary on your behalf.
Simultaneously record this conversation on a smartphone using the Recorder
application. Prepare a written transcript of the recording. Approach your
tutor at the study centre for his or her feedback.
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Speaking Skills 3.8 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have provided an overview of the aspects of informal
conversations along with the different features of the informal use of English.
We have given you:
an idea of how an informal domain is personal in character and therefore
fundamentally different from a formal domain.
a bird’s eye view of the interesting characteristics of the informal use of
English.
a glance at how informal and urban expressions are increasingly flooding
our inventory of words.
an understanding of how context specificities shape our interpretation of
messages.
brief insights into the sort of issues that trouble speakers and affect the
quality of informal conversations.
Before heading over to the next Unit, please make sure that you have gone through
all the questions given in ‘Check Your Progress’. This will help you think about
what we have taught while offering some good practice in expressing yourself in
your own words. We hope that you have enjoyed learning about informal
conversations.
3.9 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to read more about informal conversations, you may consult:
Angela Cora Garcia, An Introduction to Interaction: Understanding Talk in
Formal and Informal Settings (London: Bloomsbury, 2013)
Shirley Taylor & Alison Lester, Communication: Your Key to Success (Singapore:
Marshall Cavendish Business, 2009)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
3.10 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
For answers to 2 and 3, refer to 3.3.
Check Your Progress 2
For answers to 1 and 2, refer to 3.5.
For the answer to 3, refer to 3.4.
Check Your Progress 3
For the answer to 1, refer to 3.6.
2) Sample conversation
Abhinav: Mumma asked me to get grocery before leaving for work, but I need
to finish my assignment. Can you go Vishnu?
59
Vishnu: I guess I can. I’m done with my assignment. What did aunty tell you to Informal Conversation
get?
Abhinav: Well, she wanted me to get enough for the whole week. Need meat,
fish and vegetables. Rest, we can get anything for snacks and breakfast.
Vishnu: What do you want for breakfast?
Abhinav: Some cereal as usual.
Vishnu: Cereal everyday sucks bro. I’ll get you some noodles too.
Abhinav: Get the new saboodana tikki from the frozen snacks section please.
Want to find out how it tastes.
Vishnu: Do you have enough coffee and tea for uncle and aunty?
Abhinav: Yeah, there’s enough. That reminds me we need some milk. We’re
almost out of it.
Vishnu: OK. What do you want for snacks?
Abhinav: Chips is cool. Possibly some chocolate cookies too.
Vishnu: Better write down all of this. I’m afraid I’ll forget them by the time I’m
at the shop. Don’t wanna do two trips.
Abhinav: Right! For meat, mumma wants some chicken and some mutton.
Vishnu: Just any portion of mutton?
Abhinav: Forgot to ask mumma about that. Anyways, you can ask the butcher.
He knows what’s best.
Vishnu: OK. How about fish?
Abhinav: Mumma wants some basa. But make sure it’s fresh.
Vishnu: How much of basa?
Abhinav: Well, get four filets. Mumma doesn’t like getting the whole fish.
Vishnu: Any spices so aunty can marinate the fish?
Abhinav: Yeah, get some cumin and coriander powder.
Vishnu: Now, how about vegetables?
Abhinav: Get carrots, potatoes, spinach and some spring onions.
Vishnu: OK. I’ve noted everything. Anything else?
Abhinav: Nope. Quite a list to take care of. You should get going.
Vishnu: Yeah, the list is long. By the time I reach the payment counter, I’ll have
a full basket. All right, I’m all set to go. Will be back soon.
Abhinav: Bye! Travel safely please!
Vishnu: I will. Don’t worry. See you soon.
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Speaking Skills UNIT 4 TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Warm Up
4.2 Telephone and telephonic communication
4.3 Telephone conversation / Telephonic conversation
4.4 Looking at a few telephone conversations
4.5 Different aspects of telephone conversation
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Suggested Readings
4.8 Answers
4.0 OBJECTIVES
Our goal in this particular Unit and the accompanying exercises, is to prepare
you to be able to:
understand what is telephonic communication;
realise how a telephonic conversation is different from a face-to-face
conversation;
grasp the nuances of language use in a telephone conversation; and
apply the discussed ideas to improve the outcome of your telephone
conversations.
4.1 WARM UP
Do you remember the last time when you planned something with your
friend over a telephone call? What were the things that you actually discussed
and what were those that you both agreed to discuss face-to-face?
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Based on the above recollection, do you feel that there are certain issues
which cannot be discussed or explained over a telephone conversation? If
so, why? Be frank!
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Telephone Conversation 4.2 TELEPHONE AND TELEPHONIC
COMMUNICATION
This is the fourth Unit of the third Block in your course on Reading & Speaking
Skills. We are going to explore the interesting aspects of telephone conversations.
Communication underwent a historic transformation with the invention of the
telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and the Bell Telephone Company
was launched in 1877.
However, it was with Martin Cooper’s invention of the mobile phone in 1984,
that the telephonic protocol changed the way we communicate forever.
Subsequent upgradation of technology, its cheap industrial production and spread
of mobile telephonic networks completely revolutionised the society.
Communicative practices have undergone radical changes due to the Information
Revolution brought about by mobile telephonic networks as well as the allied
World Wide Web. Since its inception and implementation, the Internet has
transformed the notions of accessibility and connectivity. With the fusion of mobile
telephony and wireless internet, the tele-communication sector witnessed
humongous advancements, research initiatives and policy changes to harness
the limitless potential of virtual spaces and the ‘Open’ web. Since the
commercialization of the Internet in 1991 to 2012, online statistics report an
incredible 2.4 billion people having frequented the services offered by the Web.
It is absolutely certain, that this number has gone up exponentially in the
successive years, accelerated by the cheap availability of smartphones.
Language, being the mode of expression and exchange of ideas, would naturally
be at the core of such a technology-fuelled communicative evolution sweeping
the society. The global network of simultaneously connected telephone and
smartphone users, exhibits a highly diverse linguistic community. The multilingual
and multicultural conglomerate of telephone and smartphone users reflects the
dynamic nature of telephonic speech communities, where code-mixing, codeswitching and neologisms (i.e., formation of new words and ways of expressing)
are rampant and highly unpredictable. The notion of unpredictability arises due
to the shifting patterns of language use.
According to a report published in January 2020, the findings of a study conducted
by the Dubai-based market research firm techARC, reveal that over 500 million
Indians are communicating through smartphones and 77 percent of them are
also using the online mode of communication. Another report by the Internet
and Mobile Association of India predicted the number of internet users in India
to rise to 500 million (approx.) by June 2018, with an increase in rural internet
penetration to 20.26% (December 2017) from 18% (December 2016).
Furthermore, a report by the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association in July,
2020, predicts approximately 820 million Indians to be communicating via
smartphones.
These incredible numbers show how widespread telephonic communication is
in the present Indian context. Due to the ease of keeping and carrying a
smartphone, telephonic communication is predominantly through smartphones
and mobile phones in the present context. There are telephones using wired
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Speaking Skills landline networks too in case of establishments, government offices, corporate
organisations, public institutions, etc. However, the proportion of such wired
telephone connections is substantially less compared to wireless telephone
connections. The reason is simple. Wired telephones need the users to be in
spaces where the infrastructure for the wired connection has already been supplied
and set up by the network provider. This is problematic for individuals who need
to move a lot and change addresses due to work related requirements and transfers.
Wireless telephonic networks are flexible and easier to maintain; even in the
situation of having been transferred, the roaming network mode comes into play.
So, by and large, the preference for wireless, mobile telephonic networks is much
more than wired telephonic networks.
Now, when we are discussing the issue of telephonic communication, how do
you think we can categorise it with respect to what we have learned about formal
and informal domains?
Is telephonic communication formal or informal? Think about it.
If your answer is formal, you are wrong. If your answer is informal, you are
wrong once more.
You need to realise that the telephone or the smartphone network is a medium.
Telephonic communication is medium-centric communication. It is the telephone
or smartphone users who are situated in particular domains when they are making
a telephone call. Moreover, the purpose with which a call is made can be official
or unofficial. The time of the call too is a factor. Therefore, telephonic
communication can be formal or informal depending on the domains where the
caller and the receiver are situated, the caller’s purpose as well as the time when
the call takes place.
Undoubtedly, telephonic communication is an integral part of our contemporary
communicative practices. While individuals in urban areas become well
acquainted with the different functions of telephones and smartphones from a
very young age, it does take some time and experience to become efficient
telephonic communicators.
While receiving an incoming call
It is important for us to listen
attentively and understand the main
points which will help us realise the
objective of the caller. It is equally
important to reply carefully while
ensuring that you address the caller’s
concern or request or instruction.
While making an outgoing call
It is essential to speak clearly and
objectively. Depending on the personal
or official nature of the call, the relevant
emotional input or professional
courtesy needs to be ensured. On getting
the response back from the other end, it
is vital to assess whether the response
addresses and thereby fulfils our
purpose. If not, then the communication
continues.
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Telephone Conversation 4.3 TELEPHONE CONVERSATION /
TELEPHONIC CONVERSATION
What is a telephone conversation?
A telephone (or telephonic) conversation is quite simply any conversation that
occurs over a telephonic network using a wired telephone or a wireless
smartphone. Since telephone conversations comprise a considerable chunk of
our present-day communicative exchanges, it is necessary to take them seriously
regardless of whether a telephone call is formal or informal. In fact, for those
working as customer service executives, receptionists, booking agents, etc.,
conversing over telephone calls is the most significant aspect of their jobs.
The characteristic feature of a telephone conversation is that it is not face-toface. This negates the possibility of getting non-verbal cues. As speakers in a
face-to-face conversation, you can form an impression about the other participants
in the conversation from their non-verbal cues, like facial expressions, eye-contact,
hand movement, etc. It also helps you to better understand their response or
feedback in a face-to-face conversation. However, in a telephone conversation
all bodily non-verbal cues are blocked as the interlocutors cannot see each other.
Although you cannot see the interlocutor, you can hear him or her. So, the
paralinguistic features of the caller or the receiver’s voice are still available and
influence a telephone conversation. The properties of the speaker’s voice, his or
her style of speaking, choice of words and manner will determine whether the
speaker will have a favourable or an unfavourable impression on the listener.
Paralinguistic Possible implication
features of voice
Warmth of tone Whether the speaker’s tone is friendly or aggressive,
empathetic or dismissive, smooth or abrupt, co-operative
or non-cooperative, will influence the outcome of the
telephone conversation.
Pace How fast or slow, fluent or hesitant, the speaker is, will
set the flow of the telephone conversation. Pace is also
often linked to the sense of urgency.
Inflexion The rise and fall of tone add important non-verbal
information to the messages exchanged in a telephone
conversation.
Loudness The varying levels of loudness can indicate assertiveness,
emphasis, intimidation, secrecy, etc.
Paying heed to the paralinguistic features of voice in a telephone conversation is
critical, as the words exchanged in the conversation are transient but the
impression created by the paralinguistic features of the speaker’s voice remains.
This impression subsequently influences all corresponding telephone
conversations. In the informal domain, a negative impression can irreparably
damage relationships. In the formal domain, there are others institutions and
avenues that you can explore, in case the outcome of a formal telephone
conversation was unsatisfactory with a specific company or organization.
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Speaking Skills We will next look at a few sample telephone conversations. But before we do
that, let us answer a few simple questions.
Check Your Progress 1
1) How is a telephone conversation different from a face-to-face conversation?
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2) What are the paralinguistic features that influence the outcome of a telephone
conversation?
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3) Is telephone conversation formal or informal? Explain with at least two
examples.
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4.4 LOOKING AT A FEW TELEPHONE
CONVERSATIONS
In the Indian context, a mother’s concern is an undeniable fact for all teenagers.
This concern amplifies when we are away from home to pursue higher education
or on a job placement, etc. Consequently, a large number of informal telephonic
calls revolve around mother-son or mother-daughter exchanges.
Let us look at this brief informal telephone conversation between Mrs. Majumdar
and her daughter Sonali. Sonali is studying in Delhi and is away from her home
town, Kolkata. Its early winter and Mrs. Majumdar is worried about how her
daughter is coping in Delhi.
Mrs. Majumdar: Hello Guddi. How are you beta?
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Sonali: I’m fine mumma. How are things at home? Telephone Conversation
Mrs. Majumdar: Well, everything’s fine here. The weather’s getting chilly.
How’s it there in Delhi?
Sonali: Oh mumma, don’t ask! It’s already freezing here. 5°C today and the
wind just kills you!
Mrs. Majumdar: Wear double sweaters when you go out and don’t forget your
cap, muffler and gloves.
Sonali: Don’t you worry, mumma. I’m always covered.
Mrs. Majumdar: Take care beta. I’ll call again. Don’t miss your lunch. Bye!
Sudden movie plans with friends are very common. Let us look at another brief
informal telephone conversation between Shehnaaz and Kulsum. Shehnaaz wants
Kulsum to join her for a movie.
Shehnaaz: Hey, it’s me! How are you?
Kulsum: Hi Shehnaaz! I’m good, and you?
Shehnaaz: I’m great! Do you wanna join me for a movie tonight? They’re
showing Spiderman: Far from Home!
Kulsum: Sounds like fun! What time are we going?
Shehnaaz: There’s a show at seven in the evening.
Kulsum: Perfect. I’ll buy popcorn if you buy us some coke!
Shehnaaz: Sure thing. See you later!
Kulsum: Cool. See you in a bit.
Now that we have experienced two informal telephone conversations, let us look
at a few formal ones.
A situation, most of us are familiar with, is when we make an official call and the
person we intend to converse with is unavailable. Let us look at a brief formal
telephone conversation between Aakash and the receptionist.
Aakash: Good morning, this is Aakash. May I speak to Mr. Nishant Sinha please?
Receptionist: Good morning, hold on please. I will put you through.
Aakash: Thank you.
Receptionist: You’re welcome.
(After a few moments)
Receptionist: I am terribly sorry, Mr. Aakash. Mr. Sinha is not available at the
moment. Would you like to leave a message?
Aakash: Yes please. Could you inform him that Aakash called?
Receptionist: Yes, of course.
Aakash: Thank you very much, good day!
Receptionist: Goodbye!
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Speaking Skills One of the commonest things that we all have done at some point is to call some
agency or the company for getting a repair done or for getting something serviced.
Let us look at a formal telephone conversation where Suhail seeks help for getting
his television repaired.
Garima: Thank you for calling Samsung World. May I help you?
Suhail: I bought an LED TV from your store last year, and I am having problems
with it. I need it repaired.
Garima: Let me connect you to the Service department. One moment please.
Ravi: Service department, this is Ravi. How can I help you?
Suhail: I bought an LED TV from Samsung World last year and it needs to be
repaired.
Ravi: What seems to be the problem?
Suhail: I am not very sure, but I think the problem is with the processor because
the LED screen does not display the different features.
Ravi: The screen displayed nothing when you pushed the Start button?
Suhail: No, nothing.
Ravi: What is your television model?
Suhail: It is a Samsung Full HD LED UA43N5005.
Ravi: I can send a technician to take a look at your television. The service visit
will cost 600 rupees. Also, if he needs to replace any part, that will be extra.
Suhail: That is expensive. I thought the repair cost is covered by warranty?
Ravi: When exactly did you buy the television?
Suhail: I bought it about fourteen months back.
Ravi: I am sorry. The standard warranty only covers a year. Did you buy extra
warranty coverage at the time of purchase?
Suhail: No, I did not. Are there any other options apart from paying 600 rupees
for the service visit?
Ravi: No, I am afraid not.
Suhail: I guess I just have to pay for it. When can you send the technician?
Ravi: I have tomorrow October the twenty fourth at 2:00PM available. Otherwise,
the next date will be October the twenty sixth at 10:00AM.
Suhail: I will take the slot for tomorrow. Will you send a reminder message?
Ravi: The technician will give you a call in the morning to confirm the
appointment.
Suhail: Will the technician accept debit card payment?
Ravi: Yes, he will. By the way, you can buy the extra warranty coverage now if
you want to.
Suhail: How much does it cost?
Ravi: Two thousand rupees for one-year warranty, three thousand for two-years, Telephone Conversation
and three thousand six hundred for three-years.
Suhail: Does it cover both service visit and cost of spares?
Ravi: It covers everything. Do you want to sign up for it?
Suhail: I am not sure right now.
Ravi: It will be good for you. We will send the technician as many times the
television needs servicing. There is no limit on how many times you can call us
in a year. Also, if the problem cannot be fixed, we will provide you with a new
television.
Suhail: Fine. I want to sign up for the three-year warranty program.
Ravi: I think it is a smart investment. Are you going to pay by debit card now or
do you want me to send you a bill?
Suhail: Send me a bill, please.
Ravi: One last thing before you end the call, I need your address please.
Suhail: Flat number 10, Kaveri Apartments, D6, Sector D, Vasant Kunj, New
Delhi 110070.
Ravi: Thank you. It is all set. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Suhail: No. Thank you for your help.
Ravi: You are welcome. Have a nice day!
Check Your Progress 2
1) On the basis of the sample conversations, how do you think Mrs. Majumdar’s
and Aakash’s choice of expressions are different? Explain your observations
with examples from the two conversations.
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2) On the basis of the sample conversations, how is Suhail’s style of speaking
different from Shehnaaz? Additionally, comment on the quality of Suhail
and Ravi’s rapport compared to that of Kulsum and Shehnaaz.
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Speaking Skills 4.5 DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF TELEPHONE
CONVERSATION
Telephone conversations can be used to accomplish a diverse range of objectives:
You can advertise and sell some product or a service over a telephone
conversation.
You can enquire about and buy a particular product or subscribe to a
particular service over a telephone conversation.
You can discuss a personal or a professional issue over a telephone
conversation.
You can persuade a client or a friend to do or not do something over a
telephone conversation.
You can negotiate an important deal over a telephone conversation.
You can network personally or professionally to expand the circle of people
that you know.
You can give or receive vital information over a telephone conversation.
You can arrange for something to be done (like a delivery, an installation,
etc.) over a telephone conversation.
You can confirm your presence or absence with reference to a personal or a
professional event.
You can explain a point to a friend or a colleague over a telephone
conversation.
And this list can go on infinitely.
Some of the clear advantages of a telephone conversation are as follows:
Speed: Having a telephone conversation does not require fixing a time to meet
physically or the time to carefully word an e-mail or a letter. Formal telephone
calls can often come with a time criterion where there is a specific window in the
course of a day or a week when the call will be accepted. However, that is still
easier considering no time being spent in physically travelling to meet the person
with whom you need to converse. A telephone call is spontaneous and quick,
provided the interlocutors are awake and are in a state to converse telephonically.
Personal involvement: In a telephone conversation, the interlocutors are able
to hear each other and perceive the quality of personal or professional effort
from the paralinguistic features of the speaker’s voice.
Instantaneous feedback: Telephone conversations involve instantaneous
feedback from the interlocutors unless one of them is unavailable for the
conversation due to some reason. Receiving instantaneous feedback widens the
scope for further discussion or better clarification of the issue or idea or purpose
being addressed.
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Now, how can you ensure that your telephone conversations have an impact and Telephone Conversation
push you closer to the intended outcome? Let us look at a few crucial pointers
for better telephone conversations.
You need to sound involved. In a telephone conversation, the energy and
enthusiasm in your voice can convey to the interlocutor how important
your message is, or how serious you are about an idea, or how urgent it is
for you to solve an issue. Due to the aspect of not being able to see each
other’s faces, telephone conversations demand the extra bit of energy to
make up for this gap.
Look at Mahesh’s involvement and enthusiasm in these two samples.
You need to optimally utilise the time in a telephone conversation to
nurture your relationship with the interlocutor, improve the level of
understanding and establish an empathetic connection.
You should be friendly as well as candid in a telephone conversation,
choosing expressions that meet the exact personal or professional
requirements of the conversation.
The pitch and tone of your voice must vary in accordance with the flow
of the telephone conversation so that the interlocutor does not lose interest
and remains engaged.
You should reciprocate by appreciating the interlocutor’s perspectives and
displaying a keen interest in his or her opinion. Using the interlocutor’s
name at intervals and incorporating friendly expressions can result in a
fruitful telephone conversation.
You must avoid weak and unhelpful expressions. They can endanger the
outcome of a telephone conversation and create a weak impression about
you.
Sample telephone conversation
lacking in energy and enthusiasm
Mahesh: Hello.
Revathi: I am looking for Mahesh Nair,
please.
Mahesh: Yes, speaking.
Revathi: Oh, hello Mahesh, this is
Revathi Iyer from Jubilant Enterprises.
Mahesh: OK, how can I help you?
Sample telephone conversation
with appropriate energy and
enthusiasm
Mahesh: Hello, Mahesh Nair
here.
Revathi: Hello Mahesh, I am
Revathi Iyer from Jubilant
Enterprises.
Mahesh: Hello Revathi, good to
hear from you.
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Speaking Skills Weak expression to be avoided You should use instead
Hello. Hello, Sakshi Bhatia here. / Hello, this is
Sakshi Bhatia from the Registrar’s Office.
/ Good morning, this is the Registrar’s
office. / Good morning, Sakshi Bhatia
speaking.
I’ll call you back soon. I’ll call you back within the next 30
minutes.
You have got the wrong I am sorry, you have been put through to
extension. Mr. Rajeev Kumar. I will try to transfer
your call.
What do you want me to How can I help you, Mrs. Bhatia?
do about it?
No problem. You are welcome. / My pleasure.
That is impossible. I will do my best to help you with this.
Who is this? May I have your name please? / May I
know who is on the line? /Who’s calling
please?
I don’t know. I am not sure, but I will try to find out for
you.
The only thing I can do is… The best thing I can do is…
Sorry to keep you waiting. Thank you for holding.
You should always target to create a pleasant and positivist impression
to make the best out of a telephone conversation.
The most important thing is to be attentive – attentive while speaking,
attentive while listening. It is your fundamental responsibility to pay full
attention to every interlocutor. Your hands, your eyes and your ears should
not be occupied with something (like watching a video, playing a game,
typing something simultaneously, etc.) that is unrelated to the telephone
conversation that is going on.
You need to give the interlocutor the time to think and reply. There should
be meaningful and well-placed pauses which indicate that the interlocutor
can now respond or reflect on whatever you have stated.Speaking without
any pauses or gaps gives the impression of being inconsiderate and passively
aggressive.
You must behave suitably in a telephone conversation. Breathing weirdly
into the microphone or not moving away from a source of annoying
background noise are red flags.You need to make appropriate adjustments
to create a favourable impression in the interlocutor’s mind.

We will next look at certain occasions when a telephone conversation is not Telephone Conversation
advisable.
When you need to convey an extremely bad news or disappointing
development, it is better to converse in person.
When you need to preserve a formal record of a communicative exchange,
it is better not to use telephone conversation.
When something complicated requiring extensive deliberation needs to be
addressed, it is good to avoid a telephone conversation.
When a difficult personal situation needs to be handled, it should not be
done via a telephone conversation as in such situations physical, non-verbal
cues are important for amplifying the emotional component of the
interaction.
Now, that you have an idea about telephone conversations, we will move to the
next Block where your speaking skills will be put to practice.
Check Your Progress 3
1) Based on the discussed points, let us find out which are the areas where
you need to work on to improve telephonic conversational skills. Please be
honest. Tick whichever box applies for what you actually do.
Always Sometimes Rarely
I answer the telephone on or before the
third ring.
I clearly state my name at the very
beginning while making or receiving
a call.
I consciously try to create a positive
impression by sounding positive and
not using any negative words.
I speak clearly and directly into the
microphone.
I pay full attention to the interlocutor
in every telephone conversation.
I apologise when I have been unable
to address the interlocutor’s concern in
an incoming call.
I ask for the interlocutor’s permission
before putting him or her on hold.
I am patient and responsive while
engaging in a telephone conversation.
72
Speaking Skills I convey enthusiasm, interest and
commitment in my tone in a telephone
conversation.
I try to ensure that the interlocutor is
satisfied in a telephone conversation.
I try to establish a bond of empathy
with the interlocutor in a telephone
conversation.
1) Activity: Engage in an informal telephone conversation with your friend
enquiring about his/her wellbeing amidst the coronavirus pandemic and
the widespread disruption of life. Focus on being empathetic and positive.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2) Activity: Call the Customer Care Section of your telephone network provider
and clearly convey your dissatisfaction with the present plan. Talk about a
better plan being provided by a rival network provider and how you are
considering the option of porting your present telephone number. Focus on
how the Customer Service Representative tries to persuade you to not leave.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4.6 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have looked at the different aspects of telephone conversations.
We have given you:
an idea of how telephonic communication can be both formal and informal.
a bird’s eye view of the different nuances of language use in telephone
conversations.
a taste of how telephone conversations unfold in formal and informal
settings.
an understanding of the issues that can negatively impact the outcome of
telephonic conversations.

Before heading over to the next Block, please make sure that you have completed Telephone Conversation
all the questions across all the ‘Check Your Progress’ sections in the four Units
of this Block.
We hope that you have enjoyed learning about telephone conversation.
4.7 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about telephone conversations, you may consult:
Elizabeth Kuhnke, Communication Skills for Dummies (Sussex: John Wiley &
Sons, 2013)
Richard Ellis, Communications Skills: Stepladders to success for the professional
(Bristol: Intellect Books, 2002)
These are only suggested as additional readings and are in no way compulsory.
4.8 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
For answers to 1 and 2, refer to 4.3.
For the answer to 3, refer to 4.2.
Check Your Progress 2
For all answers refer to 4.4
Check Your Progress 3
For the activities, consult your tutor at the study centre.

Block-4 Practicing Speaking Skills

Block
4
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
PRACTICING SPEAKING SKILLS
UNIT 1
Pronouncing Correctly-1: Sounds of English 7
UNIT 2
Pronouncing Correctly-2: Stress and Rhythm in Connected
Speech and Voice Training 23
UNIT 3
Speaking Activities-1: Stories, Dialogues, Role Playing, Debates 36
UNIT 4
Speaking Activities-2: Participating in Discussions,
Meetings, Presentations 52

BLOCK INTRODUCTION
All of you will agree with the fact that more than the study of language, it is the
practical use of language that surrounds us every day in myriad situations. The
purpose of this Block is to emphasize the aspect of language use, rigorously and
repeatedly applying the ideas that you have acquired in the preceding Blocks of
this Course. The keyword here is PRACTICE.
We must emphasise here that simply taking up the Course on Reading & Speaking
Skills will not be adequate unless there is extracurricular dedication. The onus is
on you all to tirelessly practice the skills of reading and speaking.
Why are we saying this?
As most of you learn English as a second language, the interference of the first
language (regional language) creates a gap between your thought and its
expression in English. The intermediary language always creates a latency in
articulation or an Indianised version of what the expression would be for a native
English speaker. Hence, it is extremely important for you all to read more of
English content (depending on your interest, it can be a story or a novel or an
article or an investigative report, etc.) and to speak more in English.
There is no substitute or shortcut for this. Improvement of your reading and
speaking skills is directly proportional to the time and the effort that you invest
in honing them through actual use.
We hope you find the Block useful.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The material (pictures and passages) we have used is purely for educational
purposes. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material
reproduced in this book. Should any infringement have occurred, the publishers
and editors apologize and will be pleased to make the necessary corrections in
future editions of this book.

UNIT 1 PRONOUNCING CORRECTLY-1:
SOUNDS OF ENGLISH
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 English alphabets
1.1.2 Syllables
1.1.3 Phonemes
1.1.4 The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
1.2 The 44 Sounds of English
1.2.1 The 5 Short Vowel Sounds
1.2.2 The 6 Long Vowel Sounds
1.2.3 The R-Controlled Vowel Sounds
1.2.4 The 18 Consonant Sounds
1.2.5 The Blends
1.2.6 The 7 Digraph Sounds
1.2.7 Diphthongs and Other Special Sounds
1.3 Let Us Sum Up
1.4 Suggested Readings
1.5 Answers
1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• identify the different sounds of English;
• understand the role of syllables and phonemes in pronunciation;
• hear the difference between the incorrect and the correct sound; and
• comprehend how to pronounce correctly.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
We will start with an activity in which you will work through an English
pronunciation guide, at your level.
6
Practicing
Speaking Skills Activity 1: English letters and sounds
The names of English letters can be very different from the sounds they
make in words. Say the name of this English letter ‘b’. It will sound
something like ‘bee’. What are some English words that start with this
letter? You might think of ‘bag’,‘bus’, or ‘bell’. Say these words aloud.
When you say these words aloud, you will hear the sound of the letter is
something like ‘bh’. Try to produce just the sound of ‘b’, and hear the
sound in words such as ‘bag’ and ‘boy’. Identify the difference between the
name of the letter and the sound of the letter. Try this again and say the
name of the English letter ‘r’. What are some words that start with ‘r’? Say
these words aloud. What is the sound that ‘r’ makes in these words? Hear
how the letter name ‘r’ sounds something like ‘are’, but the sound is
something like ‘rrr’. With the vowels of English (‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’, ‘u’), the
sounds change depending on the word they are in.
Your turn: Practice each alphabet how it is named and
how they sound in words starting with those alphabets.
English, like any language, has its own set of sounds, from which all words
are made. (This set of sounds comprises its phonology.) If you want to speak
English well, you have to teach yourself to recognize and pronounce the set
of English sounds. There are two obvious reasons for this:
• If you can’t pronounce the sounds of English, people won’t understand
you very well. Occasionally, this may lead to misunderstandings – for
example, if your COME sounds too much like CALM, you may try to
say “Can you come down?”, but the other person will hear “Can you
calm down?” More often, your listeners will have a hard time
understanding you because you will produce sounds that do not sound
like English sounds at all, but rather like sounds of your native language.
They will ask you to repeat what you said, or they will understand only
50% of what you said.
• If you can’t recognize the sounds of English, you won’t understand
people very well. You won’t be able to correctly identify the words that
you hear.
But there is also a third, less obvious reason: If you cannot recognize all the
sounds of English, you are not using spoken input fully. One of the reasons
to listen to English input, such as podcasts, TV, or movies, is to learn the
correct pronunciations of words. But if your brain is not trained to recognize
all the English sounds, you won’t hear what you need to hear. For
example, if you don’t have separate “boxes” in your head when you
hear TREE and THREE, you will hear the same thing, so you will remember
them as homophones. If you cannot notice the differences between English
sounds, you’re actually learning the wrong pronunciations for many English
words. At some point, you will have to re-learn them, which is a problem,
because re-learning something is always more difficult than learning it right
in the first place.

So, this unit will help you to recognize all the sounds of English that will help you speak correctly and effectively. We will begin with different alphabets and the sounds associated with them in the next section. Watch this video on Assessing progress and performance http://tinyurl.com/video-assessingprogress 1.1.1 English Alphabets You all know the English language has 26 alphabets, each having an upper case and lower-case form. These are made up of consonants and vowels. There are five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) and 21 consonants (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, y, and z). Although English has 26 Alphabets, it has 40 sounds. Thus, one letter is not equivalent to one sound each. The way in which a word is spoken is called pronunciation and the pronunciation centers upon syllables and not alphabets. You may be wondering now what a syllable is! Let’s understand it in detail in the next section. 1.1.2 Syllables A syllable is a sound of a vowel (A, E, I, O, U) that is created when pronouncing the letters, A, E, I, O, U, or Y. Please note that the letter “Y” is a vowel only if it creates an A, E, I, O, or U sound. For example, in fry, try, cry, and dry. The number of times that you hear the sound of a vowel is the number of syllables in a word. Thus, a syllable is a unit of pronunciation which has one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word. For example, there are two syllables in water (wa/ter) and three in inferno (in/fer/no). Let us practice with the below-given examples speaking loudly: Cake • 1 syllable: cake • pronounced: kay-k Cheese • 1 syllable: cheese • pronounced: chees Chicken • 2 syllables: chick-en • pronounced: chik-in Checked • 1 syllable: checked • pronounced: chek-d Batted • 2 syllables: bat-ted • pronounced: bat-ed Worrying • 3 syllables: wor-ry-ing • pronounced: wah-ree-ing 1.1.3 Phonemes Next important thing is to know about phonemes. The sounds of spoken language are known as phonemes. Thus, /water/ has two syllables but it has four phonemes: w/a/t/er; similarly, /inferno/ has three syllables but it has seven phonemes: i/n/f/e/r/n/o. Do not be fooled into thinking that each letter has a corresponding phoneme, as in these two examples. A word like /tough/ has one syllable: t/ough and has three phonemes: t/ou/gh. In English, the written equivalents of sounds or phonemes are known as graphemes, and the English alphabet made up of the 26 letters is called the orthographic alphabet. In a language such as English, not all words have 8 Practicing Speaking Skills a phoneme/grapheme match. For example, the words bough, through, and trough all end in –ough but each is pronounced differently. English is thus classified as a semi-phonetic language: that is, sometimes graphemes correspond to phonemes, and sometimes they do not. In order to study the sounds of English, linguists devised an alphabet which contains symbols to capture all possible sounds in English, called the International Phonetic Alphabet which we will discuss in the next section. 1.1.4 The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabet of phonetic notation designed by the International Phonetic Association (1999) to capture all the different ways words in English can be pronounced, based on the Latin alphabet. It was designed as a standardized system for representing sounds of oral languages. The IPA is particularly useful when it comes to describing individual sounds of spoken English. This is because in English there can be more ways of pronouncing the same graphemes. For example, in English, there are two main ways of producing the sound: bath or grass with a long or short sound. The standard form of spoken English or the reference accent for English is known as Received Pronunciation (RP), and it is this accent of English upon which IPA is based. RP is also known as BBC English, the Queen’s English, or ‘Correct English’ and is the spoken form to which many learners of English as an additional language aspire. However, the idea of RP is wide-ranging and encompassing, and the IPA tries to capture how people actually speak. The English language, as a living language, is also subject to change, including the ways in which words are pronounced. Watch this video on 44 sounds of English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlMDwolcfzU The tables below illustrate the equivalence of each grapheme (or letter) in the orthographic alphabet to a phoneme in IPA. Table 1 gives consonant grapheme-phoneme correspondence, and Table 2, vowel grapheme-phoneme correspondence. Table 1: Consonants Consonant grapheme IPA phoneme Representative words Consonant grapheme IPA phoneme Representative words b /b/ baby r /r/ rabbit, wrong d /d/ dog s /s/ sun, mouse, city, science f /f/ field, photo t /t/ tap 9 Pronouncing Correctly-1: Sounds of English g /g/ game v /v/ van h /h/ hat w /w/ was j /ʤ/ judge, giant, barge y /j/ yes k /k/ cook, quick, mix, Chris z /z/ zebra, please, is l /l/ lamb th /ð/ then m /m/ monkey, comb th /θ/ thin n /n/ nut, knife, gnat ch /ʧ/ chip, watch ng /ŋ/ ring, sink sh /ʃ/ ship, mission, chef p /p/ paper zh /ʒ/ treasure Table 2: Vowels Vowel grapheme IPA phoneme Representative words Vowel grapheme IPA phoneme Representative words a /æ/ cat, bat oo /ʊ/ look, took e /e/ peg, bed a /ɑ:/ cart, jar i /ɪ/ pig, give u /ɜ:/ burn, churn o /ɒ/ log, dog au /ɔ:/ haul, maul u /ʌ/ plug, tug e /ə/ wooden, sister ai /eɪ/ pain, gain ou /aʊ/ shout, clout ee /i:/ sweet, bee oi /ɔɪ/ coin, loin ie /aɪ/ tried, fried ai /eə/ stairs, pair oa /oʊ/ road, toad ea /ɪə/ fear, hear ue /u:/ sue, blue u-e /ʊə/ pure, cure Note: Spelling, or orthography, does not consistently represent the sounds of language. You might find some problems with ordinary spelling: 1. The same sound may be represented by many letters or combination of letters: For example, ‘e’ in he, people, key, believe, seize, machine, Caesar, seas, see and amoeba 2. The same letter may represent a variety of sounds: For example, ‘a’ in father, village, badly, made and many 3. A combination of letters may represent a single sound: For example, shoot, character, Thomas, either, physics, rough, coat and deal 4. A single letter may represent a combination of sounds: For example, in Xerox 5. Some letters in a word may not be pronounced at all: For example, in autumn, sword, resign, pterodactyl, lamb, psychology, write and knot 6. There may be no letter to represent a sound that occurs in a word: For example, in cute and use 10 Practicing Speaking Skills 1.2 THE 44 SOUNDS OF ENGLISH When you want to learn the sounds of the English language, remember to choose words that demonstrate all 44 word-sounds or phonemes. English contains 19 vowel sounds—5 short vowels, 6 long vowels, 3 diphthongs, 2 ‘oo’ sounds, and 3 R-controlled vowel sounds—and 25 consonant sounds.

The following lists provide sample words to use when learning the sounds of
the English language. You may choose to find more words to fill out word
families or align with sight vocabulary lists.
1.2.1 The 5 Short Vowel Sounds
The five short vowel sounds in English are a, e, i, o, and u.
• short a: and, as, and after
• short e: pen, hen, and lend
• short i: it and in
• short o: top and hop
• short u: under and cup
Remember that these sounds are not necessarily indicative of spelling. Note
that the above words all contain the vowel whose sound they make but this is
not always the case. A word might sound as if it contains a certain vowel that
is not there. Examples of words whose short vowel sounds do not correspond
with their spelling are busy and do.
11
Pronouncing
Correctly-1: Sounds
of English
1.2.2 The 6 Long Vowel Sounds
The six long vowel sounds in English are a, e, i, o, u, and oo.
• long a: make and take
• long e: beet and feet
• long i: tie and lie
• long o: coat and toe
• long u (pronounced “yoo”): music and cute
• long oo: goo and droop
Examples of words whose long vowel sounds do not correspond with their
spelling are they, try, fruit, and few.
1.2.3 The R-Controlled Vowel Sounds
An R-controlled vowel is a vowel whose sound is influenced by the r that
comes before it. The three R-controlled vowel sounds are ar, er, and or.
• ar: bark and dark
• er: her, bird, and fur
• or: fork, pork, and stork
It is important that students pay close attention to the ‘er’ sound in words
because it can be created by an R-controlled e, i, or u. These vowels are all
transformed into the same sound when an r is attached next to them. More
examples of this include better, first, and turn.
1.2.4 The 18 Consonant Sounds
The letters c, q, and x are not denoted by unique phonemes because they are
found in other sounds. The c sound is covered by k sounds in words
like crust, crunch, and create and by s sounds in words like cereal, city,
and cent (the c is found in the spelling of these words only but does not have
its own phoneme). The q sound is found in kw words like backward
and Kwanza. The x sound is found in ks words like kicks.
• b: bed and bad
• k: cat and kick
• d: dog and dip
• f: fat and fig
• g: got and girl
• h: has and him
• j: job and joke
• l: lid and love
• m: mop and math
• n: not and nice
• p: pan and play
• r: ran and rake
• s: sit and smile
• t: to and take
• v: van and vine
• w: water and went
• y: yellow and yawn
• z: zipper and zap
1.2.5 The Blends
Blends are formed when two or three letters combine to create a distinct
consonant-sound, often at the beginning of a word. In a blend, the sounds
from each original letter are still heard; they are just blended quickly and
smoothly together. The following are common examples of blends.
12
Practicing
Speaking Skills • bl: blue and blow
• cl: clap and close
• fl: fly and flip
• gl: glue and glove
• pl: play and please
• br: brown and break
• cr: cry and crust
• dr: dry and drag
• fr: fry and freeze
• gr: great and ground
• pr: prize and prank
• tr: tree and try
• sk: skate and sky
• sl: slip and slap
• sp: spot and speed
• st: street and stop
• sw: sweet and sweater
• spr: spray and spring
• str: stripe and strap
1.2.6 The 7 Digraph Sounds
A digraph is formed when two consonants come together to create an
entirely new sound that is distinctly different from the sounds of the letters
independently. These can be found anywhere in a word but most often the
beginning or end. Some examples of common digraphs are listed below:
• ch: chin and ouch
• sh: ship and push
• th: thing
• th: this
• wh: when
• ng: ring
• nk: rink
Please note that there are two sounds that th can make and be sure to
provide plenty of examples.
1.2.7 Diphthongs and Other Special Sounds
A diphthong is essentially a digraph with vowels—it is formed when two
vowels come together to create a new sound in a single syllable as the
sound of the first vowel glides into the second. These are usually found in
the middle of a word. See the list below for an example.
• oi: oil and toy
• ow: owl and ouch
• ey: rain
Other special sounds include:
• short oo: took and pull
• aw: raw and haul
• zh: vision
Practice the 44 sounds of English using the below-given URLs:
http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/interactive_phonemic_chart/
https://audio-class.ru/english-phonetics.php
https://www.talkenglish.com/lessondetails.aspx?ALID=17
You may also identify the final sound of the base verb:
For example,
‘play’ ends in /ei/
‘start’ ends in /t/
13
Pronouncing
Correctly-1: Sounds
of English
etc.
We use “/…/” to show it is a sound.
Warning, we are speaking of the final sound – not the final letter. The
sounds are interesting here, not the letters.
Example:
the verb ‘fix’ ends in the SOUND /s/ because we pronounce it: /fiks/
(the letter “x” is not interesting here”)
Follow the rules:
Rule 1: /d/ (general rule), we pronounce the verb as if there were a “d” at
the end.
lived, arrived, enjoyed, played…
Rule 2: /t/ after the sounds: /p/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /tò/, /ò/.
worked (son /k/), watched (/tò/), stopped (/p/), washed (/ò/)
Rule 3: /id/ after the sounds /d/ and /t/:
decided, started, wanted, needed
How to pronounce the final -s (-es)
Speak loudly and Listen to the way that the ‘s’ at the end of these words is
pronounced
starts,
picks
/s/
remembers,
gardens
/z/
watches, buses
/iz/
If a word ends with the letter ‘s’ there are three different ways to pronounce
this ‘s’
/S/ /Z/ /IZ/
14
Practicing
Speaking Skills
The sound of a snake
which hisses

Check Your Progress 1 of English
A. Let us practice through a quiz in which you have to divide the given
words into syllables:
1. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: GAIN
o A: g-ain
o B: ga-in
o C: gain-n
o D: gain
2. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllable: SOLAR
o A: s-olar
o B: so-lar
o C: sol-ar
o D: solar
3. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: BUTTER
o A: butter
o B: bu-tter
o C: butt-er
o D: but-ter
4. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables:
COOPERATE
o A: coo-per-ate
o B: coop-er-ate
o C: cooper-ate
o D: co-op-er-ate
5. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: CORNER
o A: corn-er
o B: co-rn-er
o C: cor-ner
o D: corner
6. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables:
DEHYDRATE
o A: dehy-drat-e
o B: de-hyd-rate
o C: deh-y-dra-te
o D: de-hy-drate
16
Practicing
Speaking Skills
7. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: COLORING
o A: col-or-ing
o B: co-lor-ing
o C: color-ing
o D:coloring
8. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: ARTIST
o A: ar-tist
o B: artist
o C: art-ist
o D: arti-st
9. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: MONSTER
o A: mons-ter
o B: monster
o C: monst-er
o D: mon-ster
10. Select the correct way to divide this word into syllables: MUFFIN
o A: muff-in
o B: muf-fin
o C: mu-ffin
o D: muffin
B. Find the word which doesn’t contain the same sound:
1. Life Mine Live Ride Pie
2. Read Big Street Jeans Meet
3. Phone Bowl House Boat Home
4. Hair Wear Here Air Pear
5. Wanted Watched Decided Repeated Visited
6. Box Yellow Phone Post Home
Check Your Progress 2
A. Choose the right spelling.
1. I’m going t __________________
[ ]oo
[ ]wo
[ ]o
17
Pronouncing
Correctly-1: Sounds
of English
2. the park with my t __________________
[ ]wo
[ ]oo
[ ]o
3. nieces. Ask Bob if he would like to come t __________________.
[ ]o
[ ]wo
[ ]oo
4. I make bl __________________ berry jam every summer. It’s
delicious. I gather the berries myself, in the mountains.
[ ]ew
[ ]u
[ ]ue
5. In North America, reindeer are called carib __________________.
They are wild animals.
[ ]ou
[ ]u
[ ]oo
6. Cl __________________ less is a comedy film based on Jane Austen’s
novel ‘Emma’. It’s also a TV show.
[ ]ue
[ ]ou
[ ]u
7. Suzan feels very tired and weak. She has got the fl _______________.
[ ]ew
[ ]ue
[ ]u
8. The British crown j __________________ els are kept in the Tower of
London. They are looked after by the Beefeaters.
[ ]u
[ ]ou
[ ]ew
18
Practicing
Speaking Skills
B. Choose the word that contains the sound /u:/
moon
flood
wood
crook
cook
cool
hoof
hook
hood
food
mood
blood
loot
look
loom
root
foot
hoot
Check Your Progress 3
A. Practice to pronounce the final -ED in these verbs. What will be the
phonemic realisation of -ED in these verbs?
1. listen -> listened
2. clean -> cleaned
3. look -> looked
4. work -> worked
5. want -> wanted
6. close -> closed
7. accept -> accepted
8. smoke -> smoked
9. stay -> stayed
10. visit -> visited
B. What will be the pronunciation of -ed in past simple in the following
sentences:
1. A prisoner has escaped (______) from the jail.
2. He is famous because he killed (_____) a lot of people.
3. They laughed (_____) at her because she got a bad mark.
4. We watched (_____) TV after doing our homework.
5. We’ve waited (_____) for you for 2 hours!
6. The customs officer stopped (_____) the car.
7. He arrived (_____) from Paris at 5 p.m.
8. France was invaded (_____) by German soldiers many years ago.
9. He asked (_____) me to be polite.
10. He convinced (_____) me to come with him.
19
Pronouncing
Correctly-1: Sounds
Activity of English
Read the poem loudly keeping in mind the sounds of English learned in
this unit:
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, laugh, and through.

And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword
Well done! And now if you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps.

Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead–
For goodness sake don’t call it deed.
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.

And here is not a match for there,
And dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there’s dose and rose and lose–
Just look them up–and goose and choose,

And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I’d mastered it when I was five.
Vocabulary
• I take it: I assume
• Tough: strong, difficult to break
• Bough: the main branch of a tree (uncommon)
• Cough: to shoot air out from your lungs with a harsh sound, generally
when sick.
• Dough: the mixture of ingredients used to make bread, before being
cooked
• Stumble: make mistakes while speaking
• Hiccough: an involuntary spasm that makes a funny noise and is
almost impossible to stop
• Thorough: when something is done carefully and completely
• Cork: the brown stopper in the top of a wine bottle
• Ward: a room for patients in a hospital
20
Practicing
Speaking Skills
• Font: a type/style of a text. Examples: Times New Roman, Arial,
Georgia, etc.
• Dreadful: extremely bad
• Bead: a small piece of glass, stone, or other material, usually round and
used in jewelry or clothing.
• For goodness sake: to be surprised or annoyed by something
• Deed: a brave or noble act
• Threat: promising to inflict pain, injury, or death to someone
• Suite: a fancy room in a hotel
• Debt: when you owe money to someone
• Moth: a colorless butterfly
• Bother: to annoy someone
• Broth: the liquid part of a soup
• Dose: a quantity of medicine or drug
• Rose: a beautiful flower (see photo)
• Goose: a large white bird, similar to a duck (see photo)
• Thwart: to prevent someone from accomplishing something
• Cart: a vehicle used for carrying stuff.
• Man alive: used to express shock (not very common)
1.3 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, you have learned to:
• identify the different sounds of English.
• understand the role of syllables and phonemes in pronunciation.
• perceive the difference between the incorrect and the correct sound.
• to produce the correct sound.
• recognize (when reading, for example) when and how to make the
correct sound.
There is no end to our study of grammar and vocabulary but phonemic
symbols are limited, visual, and physical. They may seem challenging at
first but it is like learning to swim or ride a bicycle. Once you can do it, it is
easy and you never forget.
1.4 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about sounds of English, you may consult:
Joseph D. O’Connor, Better English Pronunciation (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1980)
Joseph D. O’Connor & Clare Fletcher, Sounds English: A Pronunciation
Practice Book (Essex: Longman, 1989)
21
Pronouncing
Correctly-1: Sounds
of English
Noam Chomsky & Morris Halle, The Sound Pattern of English
(Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1991)
1.5 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
A. 1. D, 2. B, 3. D, 4. D, 5. C, 6. D, 7. A, 8. C, 9. D, 10. B
B. 1. Live, 2. Big, 3. House, 4. Here, 5. Watched, 6. Box
Check Your Progress 2
A. 1. o, 2. wo, 3.oo, 4.ue, 5.ou, 6.ue, 7. u, 8.ew
B. Moon, cool, hoof, blood, look & foot
Check Your Progress 3
A. 1. /d/, 2. /d/, 3. /t/, 4. /t/, 5. /id/, 6. /d/, 7. /id/, 8. /t/, 9. /d/, 10. /id/
B. 1. /t/, 2. /d/, 3. /t/, 4. /t/, 5. /id/, 6. /t/, 7. /d/, 8. /id/, 9. /t/, 10. /t/
Activity
The tutors need to listen to the students’ pronunciation of 44 sounds of
English and correct them wherever required.
22
Practicing
Speaking Skills UNIT 2 PRONOUNCING CORRECTLY-2:
STRESS AND RHYTHM IN
CONNECTED SPEECH AND VOICE
TRAINING
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Rhythm
2.3 Stress
2.3.1 Syllable stress
2.3.2 Word stress
2.4 Influence of Stress on Rhythm in English
2.5 Intonation
2.5.1 Falling Intonation (➘)
2.5.2 Rising Intonation (➚)
2.5.3 Rise-Fall Intonation (➚➘)
2.5.4 Fall-Rise Intonation (➘➚)
2.6 Improve your English rhythm with 3 Pronunciation Activities
2.6.1 Echo Activity
2.6.2 Movement Activity
2.6.3 Bouncing Ball Activity
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Suggested Readings
2.9 Answers
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
● read (or produce) sentences with the stress on the right words;
● recognize the role of weak forms in contributing to the rhythm of
English;
● identify the stressed syllable in words of more than one syllable;
● produce words with the primary stress on the right syllable;
● apply the rules for word stress to other words with similar endings; and
● produce utterances with correct stress and rhythm.
23
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In Unit 1 we learnt to recognize and produce the sounds of consonants and
vowels of English, in different combinations in words. The unit familiarized
us with the syllable in English – its structure and types. In this unit we look at
the next higher unit – the word, which can be comprised of one or two or
even up to seven syllables. Of the syllables in a word we will pay special
attention to the one that receives primary stress. It is as much an essential part
of the identity of English words as are the sounds that may form words. Thus,
in this unit we would not only study the character and form of words as said
in isolation, but also the relationship between stress and rhythm in utterances.
Learning stress and rhythm in utterances is important as many English
learners focus on improving their vocabulary and grammar without thinking
much about rhythm—even though this is just as important for you to quickly
improve your English pronunciation!
In English, some words are pronounced louder, higher and longer, while
other words are very short and quiet. You have probably noticed this when
watching an English movie with subtitles. Even though you might see a
certain word (like “for” or “the”) in the subtitles, when you listen, it seems
like the actor never said it. That is because some words are quiet and quick,
making them hard to hear.
That is because English is a stress-timed (or stress-based) language. This
basically means that when someone produces a sentence in English, they will
emphasize certain words (or parts of words) according to how important they
are in the sentence. Perhaps the best way to understand this concept is with an
example. Look at these two sentences:
Sentence 1: I looked in the car but I didn’t see my keys.
Sentence 2: I don’t like tea unless it has milk.
The sentences are of different lengths: the first one is longer and has more
words than the second one. However, because English is a stress-timed
language, both of these sentences will take about the same amount of time for
a native speaker to say.
This is because both sentences have the same number of important or
“content” words. These content words give meaning or critical
information in the sentence. Content words include verbs, nouns, negatives
(not, don’t), question words (who, why, etc.) and more, depending on the
sentence and what is important.
Using the same examples, now notice the content words (in bold):
Sentence 1: I looked in the car but I didn’t see my keys.
Sentence 2: I don’t like tea unless it has milk.
There are four content words in each sentence. The content words are
stressed: they are pronounced higher, louder and longer. The other words are
“de-stressed”: they are pronounced quieter, shorter and lower.
24
Practicing
Speaking Skills
Though word stress in English is by and large unpredictable, it is possible to
frame rules for primary stress on words with some derivational suffixes. Not
all the derivational suffixes affect stress. We need to know the suffixes that
affect stress and those that do not affect stress. When words are fitted into
utterances they contribute to the rhythm of English. Utterances have strings
of words, some of which are stressed and some are not. While the stressed
syllables in words tend to occur at roughly regular intervals of time, the
unstressed syllables between them are weakened. Indeed, some words that
are predisposed to being unstressed even have weak forms.
You might be asking yourself, “What is English rhythm, and why does it
matter? How important is all this and what or who should I try and sound
like?”
After reading this unit you will find the answers to these questions, along
with some practical pronunciation exercises that will help you identify
and reproduce natural English stress-timing and rhythm.
In this unit, you would read about rhythm, intonation and stress in speech.
Let’s have an overall idea what do these terms mean and how do they
function in speech?
2.2 RHYTHM
The word rhythm is derived from rhythmos (Greek) which means, “measured
motion.” Rhythm is a literary device that demonstrates the long and short
patterns through stressed and unstressed syllables, particularly in verse form.
Rhythm is the speed and tempo of how you say a sentence. So, some
beginner students might say – each – word- in – a – sentence – at – the – same –
speed and sound a little like a robot. (Just the same way this sounded!)
Developing different speeds and knowing when to slow down and speed up
can give your spoken English more interest.
English rhythm is defined as “a strong pattern of sounds, words,
or musical notes that is used in music, poetry, and dancing.” The rhythm
of English language depends on two types of stress. When we say “stress”
here, we mean that we emphasize or say a syllable or word more
strongly than the other parts of the word or sentence, which makes those
“stressed” syllables and words stand out and become more noticeable.
The beauty of the English language lies in pronunciation. Accent/stress lends
naturalness and beauty to your English. In phonetics, accent/stress means
expending extra breath on a particular syllable in a word. It is a matter of
greater prominence and greater audibility.
Accent is very important to make your speech intelligible. For instance, look
at the words career /kəriə/ and carrier /kæriə/. Looking at the transcription
you can say there is a slight difference between the two in pronunciation. But
you can bring out the difference between the two very clearly by accenting
them on the right syllables. So, in the word career /kə̍ riə/ the accent is on the
second syllable; in the word carrier /̍kæriə/ the accent is on the first syllable.
25
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
The mark (‘) on the top of a syllable in a word indicates that the particular
syllable is stressed. This is known as primary stress. Primary stress indicates
that the syllable is more prominent than the other syllables. There might also
be a mark below on a syllable in a word. This is known as secondary stress.
This indicates that this particular syllable is the next most prominent syllable.
But for our speech purposes primary accent is the most important one. Let’s
discuss stress in the next section.
2.3 STRESS
Stress is saying a syllable (refer Unit 1) or part of a word more strongly and
can be at word level. RECord is the noun for example of an athletics world
record perhaps, whilst reCORD is what you do to a song when you copy it
onto a CD.
Stress is also important at sentence level where the meaning can be changed
depending on which whole word you stress. Let’s see in how many ways the
meaning of the following sentence can be changed.
Note: the words underlined should be stressed. See how it changes the
implied meaning.
I thought your brother was a bus conductor. [you thought someone else
thought….]
I thought your brother was a bus conductor [you thought I knew he was a
bus conductor]
I thought your brother was a bus conductor [not your friend’s brother]
I thought your brother was a bus conductor [not your sister]
I thought your brother was a bus conductor [I didn’t know he still is a bus
conductor]
I thought your brother was a bus conductor [before I thought he was an
orchestral conductor]
I thought your brother was a bus conductor [not a bus driver]
So, the implied meaning of this short sentence can be changed seven times
depending on which word is stressed!
Thus, through the above given examples, you must have noticed that English
has two basic types of stress:
● Syllable stress
● Word stress
Let’s take a quick look at both of them in the sub-section.
26
Practicing
Speaking Skills
2.3.1 Syllable stress
Syllable stress refers to a syllable (or segment of a word) that is stressed more
than other syllables in the word.
Syllable stress patterns in English are not as regular as in some languages,
and memorizing the rules for syllable stress requires patience—and a
lot of listening practice! Knowing how to read the phonetic version of a
word (found in dictionaries or pronunciation guides) is also very useful
for English learners, as the phonetic pronunciation guide will also indicate
which syllable is stressed.
While native English speakers find this intuitive, English learners can refer to
patterns that will help them remember which parts of the words to stress.
Here are some examples of syllable stress, with the stressed part in bold:
o Happy birthday!
o English student
o identification
o explain
In each of these cases, speakers say the parts in bold noticeably louder and
with more emphasis. If you put the stress on the wrong syllable—for
example, if you say “Happy birthday!”—there is still a good chance people
will understand you, but they will definitely notice that something strange is
going on with your pronunciation.
Notice two things about the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the
following sentences:
1. The stressed syllables occur on regular, evenly-spaced beats, even if
there is more than one unstressed syllable between stressed syllables.
2. The regular stressed syllables (according to the dictionary) of the content
words are the only stressed syllables of each sentence.
Try speaking the following sentences and notice the syllables that you stress
more than others:
o I took a bus to the park.
o I’ll build a fire in the fireplace.
o Josh is reading a newspaper article.
2.3.2 Word stress
Word stress refers to a word (or parts of a word) that is stressed more than
others in a sentence.
Certain words are stressed for many different reasons. Sometimes it is
because they are important to the meaning of the sentence, because they are

question words or because they clarify or distinguish something. Here are
examples of word stress in a sentence:
o What time is it?
o I’m going to a birthday party.
o Would you like coffee or tea?
Note: Content words (key words) are always stressed; function words are
not stressed. Usually stressed words are: nouns, main verbs, adjectives,
adverbs; contracted negative forms of auxiliary and modal verbs; question
words. Usually unstressed words are: auxiliary and modal verbs; personal
pronouns; prepositions, conjunctions, articles.
When English is spoken, the speaker alternates between stressed and
unstressed syllables in regular intervals, with the stresses falling within
content words. This is called the Rhythm Rule. The stressed syllables of the
sentence create beats. For example, the beats of the following sentence fall on
the words ‘bought,’ ‘car,’ and the first syllable of ‘Tuesday:’
I bought a car on Tuesday.
A speaker can stress a word in any combination of the following three ways:
1. by slightly changing the pitch of the stressed syllable of the stressed
word compared to the syllables around it
2. by uttering the stressed syllable of that word for a longer period than
normal
3. by uttering the stressed syllable of that word louder than the surrounding
syllables.
In addition to stressing content words, function words are often reduced in
spoken English. This allows greater contrast between stressed and unstressed
words.
The Rhythm Rule is more of a guideline than a rule because it is often not
followed exactly. The main idea is that stresses in spoken English happen in
regular intervals, or beats. The stressed syllables create the beats.
Many linguists feel that the rhythm of spoken English is based on a regular
pattern of stressed syllables. These follow each other at roughly regular
intervals, and are pronounced more quickly and less clearly, and are fitted in
between the regular stressed syllables. If several unstressed syllables come
together, these are pronounced even more quickly so as not to disturb the
rhythm. Compare the following two sentences. The second does not take
much longer to say first although it has three more unstressed syllables; it has
the same number of stressed syllables.
o She KNEW the DOCTor.
o She KNEW that there was a DOCTor.
28
Practicing
Speaking Skills
Note, however, that this is a very complicated question, and not all experts
agree about the way English rhythm works.
English is a very rhythmical language, so that a learner who can maintain the
rhythm of the language is more likely to sound both natural and fluent.
Rhythm is thus both a feature of and product of the phonological structure of
English. The phonology of any language is a system, so that a change in one
part of the system will affect some or all of the other parts.
‘It’s the worst thing that you could do’
Speed is also a factor in fluency. When we speak quickly, we speak in groups
of words which are continuous and may not have pauses between them. This
causes changes to the ‘shape’ of words. Unstressed words always sound
different when used in a sentence as opposed to being said in isolation.
The most common features of connected speech are the weak grammatical
forms and some lexical words (and, to, of, have, was, were) and contractions,
some of which are acceptable in written English (can’t, won’t, didn’t, I’ll,
he’d, they’ve, should’ve). However, we often ignore other features which
preserve rhythm and make the language sound natural. The most common of
these are:
● Elision (losing sounds)
● Linking (adding or joining sounds between words)
● Assimilation (changing sounds)
Added to these is the use of the schwa, the most common vowel sound in
English. Many unstressed vowel sounds tend to become schwa, and because
it is an important feature of weak forms, learners should be able to recognize
and produce it.
2.4 INFLUENCE OF STRESS ON RHYTHM IN
ENGLISH
You must have noticed that utterances in English are a series of close-knit
groups each comprising stressed and unstressed syllables. Rhythmic grouping
correlates with a stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllables upto the
next stressed syllable but not including it.
Let us look at the following sentences for instance. They can have the
rhythmic groups indicated by the vertical lines.
I. I’want to/’go to/’Delhi to-/’morrow.
2. ‘Tell him to go to the /’market.
3. I’want you to/’stand there and /’hold it for me.
4. ‘Make me some/’puppets for the /’show.
5. We ‘went for a /’walk in the/’park.
29
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
The rhythmic groups in each of these sentences are closely knit. This does
not imply that there is necessarily a pause between each group. In fact, there
is no pause between each group, for it is held together in the utterance.
Please note that in each of the sentences above, the number of unstressed
syllables between the stressed syllables is more or less the same, thus giving
them a fairly regular rhythmic beat. In sentence 1 there is one unstressed
syllable between two stressed syllables – to/to/to/-row/in to-morrow.
Similarly, in sentences 2, 3, 4 and 5, there are two unstressed syllables
between two stressed syllables.
2. him to/to the /ket in market.
In the third rhythmic group there is only one unstressed syllable.
3. you to/there and/if for me
only the last group has three unstressed syllables.
4. me some/for the/
5. for a /in the/
2.5 INTONATION
Intonation is the ‘music’ of the language. Often questions can be asked with a
rising intonation where the pitch goes up. This might be a genuine question to
which you don’t know the answer. ‘John’s still on holiday?’ said with a rising
pitch means it’s a question which needs answering. If it’s said without a
rising intonation it’s information that you already know and you may just
need confirmation. Intonation can also show emotions like surprise, etc.
Intonation and stress are closely linked. In fact, it’s impossible to dissociate
them. They go hand in hand.
Intonation is about how we say things, rather than what we say, the way the
voice rises and falls when speaking, in other words the music of the language.
Just as words have stressed syllables, sentences have regular patterns of
stressed words. In addition, the voice tends to rise, fall or remain flat
depending on the meaning or feeling we want to convey (surprise, anger,
interest, boredom, gratitude, etc.). Intonation therefore indicates the mood of
the speaker.
Note: These are not rules but patterns generally used by native
speakers of English. Just remember that content words are stressed,
and intonation adds attitude or emotion.
This explanation on intonation is intended to serve as a general guide
to help learners. It should in no way make them unnecessarily
anxious!
It should be remembered that a written explanation can never be a
substitute for a ‘live’ conversation with a native speaker.
Attitudinal intonation is something that is best acquired through
talking and listening to English speakers.
30
Practicing
Speaking Skills
There are two basic patterns of intonation in English: falling intonation and
rising intonation.
In the following examples a downward arrow (➘) indicates a fall in
intonation and an upward arrow (➚) indicates a rise in intonation.
2.5.1 Falling Intonation (➘)
(The pitch of the voice falls at the end of the sentence.)
Falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in English.
It is commonly found in statements, commands, wh-questions (information
questions), confirmatory question tags and exclamations.
● Statements
o Nice to meet you.
o I’ll be back in a minute.
o She doesn’t live hereanymore.
o Dad wants to change hiscar.
o Here is the weather forecast.
o Cloudy weather is expected at the end of theweek.
o We should work together moreoften
o I’m going for a walk in thepark.
● Commands
o Write your namehere.
o Show me what you’vewritten.
o Leave it on thedesk.
o Take that picturedown.
o Throw thatout.
o Put your books on thetable.
o Take your hands out of yourpockets.
● Wh- questions: requesting information (questions beginning with ‘who’,
‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘which’, and ‘how’)
o What country do you comefrom?
o Where do youwork?
o Which of them do youprefer?
o When does the shopopen?
o How many books have youbought?
o Which coat isyours?
o Whose bag isthis?

Questions Tags: are statements requesting confirmation rather than
questions.
Not all tag questions are really questions. Some of them merely ask for
confirmation or invite agreement, in which case we use a falling tone at
the end.
o He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’the?
o She’s such a nuisance, isn’tshe?
o I failed the test because I didn’t revise, didI?
o It doesn’t seem to bother him much, doesit?
● Exclamations
o How nice of you!
o That’s just what Ineed!
o You don’tsay!
o What a beautifulvoice!
o That’s asurprise!
2.5.2 Rising Intonation (➚)
(The pitch of the voice rises at the end of a sentence.)
Rising intonation invites the speaker to continue talking.
It is normally used with yes/no questions, and question tags that are real
questions.
● Yes/no Questions: Questions that can be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
o Do you like your new ➚teacher?
o Have you finished ➚already?
o May I borrow your ➚dictionary?
o Do you have any ➚magazines?
o Do you sell ➚stamps?
● Question tags that show uncertainty and require an answer (real
questions).
o We’ve met already, ➚haven’t we?
o You like fish, ➚don’t you?
o You’re a new student ➚aren’t you?
o The view is beautiful, ➚isn’t it?
We sometimes use a combination of rising and falling intonation in the same
sentence.
The combination is called Rise-Fall or Fall-Rise intonation.
32
Practicing
Speaking Skills 2.5.3 Rise-Fall Intonation (➚➘)
(The intonation rises and then falls.)
We use rise-fall intonation for choices, lists, unfinished thoughts and
conditional sentences.
● Choices (alternative questions.)
o Are you having ➚soup or ➘salad?
o Is John leaving on ➚Thursday or ➘Friday?
o Does he speak ➚German or ➘French?
o Is your name ➚Ava or ➘Eva?
● Lists (rising, rising, rising, falling) Intonation falls on the last item to
show that the list is finished.
o We’ve got ➚apples, pears, bananas and ➘oranges
o The sweater comes in ➚blue, white pink and ➘black
o I like ➚football, tennis, basketball and ➘volleyball.
o I bought ➚a tee-shirt, a skirt and a ➘handbag.
● Unfinished thoughts (partial statements)
In the responses to the following questions, the rise-fall intonation
indicates reservation. The speaker hesitates to fully express his/her
thoughts.
o Do you like my new handbag? Well the ➚leather is ➘nice… (but I
don’t like it.)
o What was the meal like? Hmm, the ➚fish was ➘good… (but the
rest wasn’t great).
o So, you both live in Los Angeles? Well ➚Alex ➘does … (but I
don’t).
● Conditional sentences
(The tone rises in the first clause and falls gradually in the second
clause.)
o If he ➚calls, ask him to leave a ➘message.
o Unless he ➚insists, I’m not going to ➘go.
o If you have any ➚problems, just ➘contact us.
2.5.4 Fall-Rise Intonation (➘➚)
(The voice falls and rises usually within one word.)
The main function of fall-rise intonation is to show that the speaker is not
certain of the answer they are giving to a question, or is reluctant to reply (as
33
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
opposed to a falling tone used when there is no hesitation). It is also used in
polite requests or suggestions.
● Hesitation/reluctance:
o So, you’d be willing to confirm that? …Well … I ➘sup➚pose so …
o You didn’t see him on Monday? I don’t quite ➘re➚member …
● Politeness-Doubt-Uncertainty: (You are not sure what the answer might
be.)
o Perhaps we could ➘vis➚it the place?
o Should we ➘cop➚y the list?
o Do you think it’s ➘al➚lowed?
Please read the following statements loudly to notice and practice the
intonation
● Statements with one stress
I \know.
I \see.
She \works.
We \laughed.
It \stopped.
I \like it.
He’ll \buy it.
I \saw her.
She \knows him.
She \did it.
We \found it.
She has \done it.
We have \found it.
I can \drive.
We must \leave.
It may \change.
You should \call
her.
She is \young.
He is \here.
I’m \tired.
They are \busy.
It is \late. It’s \late.
It’s \funny.
It’s \interesting.
It’s \difficult.
It’s im\portant.
It’s a \book.
It’s a \present.
It’s \John. It’s \me.
It’s \mine. It’s \his.
It’s \yours.
• Statements with two stress
‘People \work.
‘Anna works.
‘Birds \fly.
‘Time \flies.
‘Tom is \reading.
‘Mike is \sleeping.
The ‘car \stopped.
The ‘weather has \changed.
‘Peter is a \doctor.
‘Mary is a \teacher.
‘Lena is my \daughter.
The Sun is a star.
‘Penguins are \birds.
‘Monkeys are \funny.
‘Bananas are \yellow.
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Practicing
Speaking Skills
‘Cars are ex\pensive.
The ‘book was \interesting.
‘Max is at \home.
‘Tanya is at \school.
‘Rome is in \Italy.
‘This is \Alex.
‘That’s his \room.
‘These are my \pictures.
I ‘lost my \key.
We ‘eat a \lot.
I ‘need some \help.
He ‘likes to \read.
This ‘bag is \mine.
We ‘did it \yesterday.
She ‘said it \loudly.
He ‘knows her \brother.
Her ‘name is \Anna.
My ‘children are \sleeping.
I ‘live in \Moscow.
I ‘work in a \library.
She ‘works in an \office.
They ‘went to a \restaurant.
I ‘want to \see you.
I’m ‘glad to \see you.
I ‘want to \buy it.
I ‘have to \do it.
I’d ‘like to \visit them.
She ‘sent him a \letter.
He ‘gave me a \present.
He ‘asked us to \visit him.
She’ll be ‘back in an \hour.
She will ‘see him to\morrow.
There is a ‘bakery on \Green Street.
She ‘likes \tea.
I ‘want \coffee.
He ‘left \early.
It’s ‘time to \go.
It’s ‘ten o’\clock.
It’s ‘seven \thirty.
She is ‘very \pretty.
He is ‘very \tall.
He is ‘always \busy.
He has ‘no \time.
35
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
It’s a ‘good \book.
It’s an ‘interesting \film.
It’s a ‘beautiful \town.
It’s a ‘difficult \task.
I ‘don’t \know.
She ‘can’t \swim.
He ‘isn’t \busy.
It ‘doesn’t \matter.
I ‘don’t \want it.
He ‘doesn’t \have it.
I ‘don’t \want to.
I ‘don’t re\member.
I ‘don’t under\stand it.
He ‘doesn’t \know them.
She ‘hasn’t \seen him.
He ‘didn’t \find it.
We ‘couldn’t \find her.
You ‘shouldn’t \do it.
It’s ‘not \funny.
It’s ‘not \interesting.
It’s ‘not \difficult.
It’s ‘not \easy.
It’s ‘not im\portant.
She is ‘not \busy.
They are ‘not \interesting.
I’m ‘not \sleeping. ● Statements with three stresses
‘Betty ‘lives in \London.
‘Victor ‘works at a \bank.
I ‘haven’t ‘read this \book.
We ‘went to the ‘theater \yesterday.
‘Children ‘like to \play.
The ‘boy is ‘reading a \book.
The ‘weather is ‘going to \change.
‘Lena is ‘studying \English.
The ‘children are ‘playing in the \park.
My ‘sister ‘works as a \teacher.
‘Mike ‘likes \tea.
‘Kate ‘bought a \book.
‘Mary ‘wants \coffee.
‘Tom ‘writes \stories.
‘Anna ‘teaches \English.
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Practicing
Speaking Skills
‘Paris is a ‘large \city.
‘Moscow is the ‘capital of \Russia.
‘Ella is a ‘good \student.
‘Elephants are ‘strong \animals.
I ‘bought a ‘loaf of \bread.
I ‘have a ‘younger \sister.
He ‘wants to ‘buy a \car.
She ‘works in a ‘small ho\tel.
He ‘knows it ‘very \well.
He ‘sent a ‘letter to \Mike.
He ‘gave the ‘book to \me.
He ‘brought a ‘present for \Anna.
He is ‘five ‘years \old.
It is ‘three ‘meters \long.
She was ‘two ‘hours \late.
I ‘don’t ‘know his \name.
He ‘doesn’t ‘want to \go.
We ‘didn’t ‘do it \yesterday.
She ‘didn’t ‘tell me a\bout it.
‘Tony ‘hasn’t \called me.
‘Peter ‘doesn’t \live here.
‘Lena ‘wasn’t in\vited.
‘Bats are ‘not \birds.
● Statements with four stresses
She ‘wants to ‘buy a ‘new \car.
He ‘wrote the ‘letters ‘very \quickly.
The ‘teacher ‘told her ‘students a \story.
His ‘train will ar’rive at ‘four o’\clock.
He ‘put his ‘bag on the ‘table in the \hall.
Their ‘new ‘house is near a ‘large \park.
She has ‘swimming ‘lessons ‘twice a \week.
He ‘plays ‘tennis ‘every \Saturday.
‘Tom is ‘leaving for ‘Rome to\morrow.
I’m ‘going to ‘visit my ‘relatives on \Sunday.
He ‘usually ‘goes for a ‘walk after \breakfast.
He is ‘reading an ‘interesting ‘book about \animals.
● Statements with five stresses
‘Alex ‘wrote the ‘letters ‘very \quickly.
‘Victor is ‘going to ‘London ‘next \month.
‘Tanya is ‘reading the ‘book you ‘brought \yesterday.
37
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
Ma’ria ‘wants to ‘buy a ‘new \car.
My ‘friends ‘play ‘tennis ‘every \Saturday.
I ‘think the ‘first ‘question is ‘very \easy.
I ‘don’t ‘want to ‘watch this ‘film a\gain.
We are ‘not ‘going to ‘visit our ‘relatives on \Sunday.
● Special questions: Falling intonation
‘What is his \name?
‘Where does he \live?
‘When did you \call him?
‘Why are you \late?
‘What is your \name?
‘What’s your \name?
‘Where are you \from?
‘Where do you \live?
‘What do you \do?
‘What did you \buy?
‘What did she \say?
‘Where did he \go?
‘Where have you \been?
‘Where are your \friends?
‘When will he re\turn?
‘When did it \happen?
‘Why was she \angry?
‘Where can I \find her?
”What are you \doing?
‘When are you \leaving?
‘Where are you \going?
‘Why are you \laughing?
‘What did you \tell them?
‘Who did you \talk to?
‘What are you \looking for?
‘What are you \talking about?
‘Who ‘brought the \books?
‘Who ‘wants to \go?
‘Who ‘told you a\bout it?
‘What \happened?
‘Who \did it?
‘Who \said it?
‘What \is it?
‘What \are they?
‘Who \is he?
‘How \are you?
38
Practicing
Speaking Skills
‘Where \is it?
‘Where \are they?
‘Where \were you?
‘When \was it?
‘How ‘far \is it?
‘How ‘much \is it?
‘How \old are you?
‘How \far is it?
‘What \time is it?
‘What’s the \matter?
‘What’s the \problem?
‘What’s the \difference?
‘What is \this?
‘What is \that?
‘What are \these?
‘Whose ‘book is \this?
‘Whose ‘bag is \that?
‘How ‘much is this \bag?
‘How ‘much does it \cost?
‘How ‘much do I \owe you?
‘How ‘old is your \brother?
‘How ‘often do you \go there?
‘How ‘long did you \stay there?
‘What ‘time should I \call you?
‘What are you ‘going to \do?
‘What are you ‘going to \have?
‘Where are you ‘going to \be?
‘What are you ‘doing to\morrow?
‘How ‘many ‘stories have you \read?
‘How ‘much ‘money have you \lost?
● Friendly interest, politeness: Rising intonation
‘What is your /name?
‘Where do you /live?
‘What did she /say?
‘Where have you /been?
‘What are you /reading?
‘When is your /birthday?
‘How /much is it?
‘How /far is it?
‘How ‘much is this /bag, please?
‘When is the ‘next /train, please?
‘Where is the ‘nearest /bank, please?
39
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
● General questions: Rising intonation
Do you ‘visit them /often?
Have you ‘seen my /keys?
Are you ‘ready to /start?
Have you ‘read this /book?
Have you ‘heard the /news?
Do you ‘need some /help?
Do you ‘have a /pen?
Are these ‘books /yours?
Have you ‘seen my /glasses?
Do you ‘speak /English?
Do you ‘want to /go there?
Will you ‘see them to/morrow?
Would you ‘like some /coffee?
Is ‘Mike your /friend?
Is their ‘house /large?
Is your ‘sister a /journalist?
Is this ‘book /interesting?
Are you ‘going to ‘wash the /car?
Is he ‘planning to ‘visit /Paris?
Does this ‘bus ‘go to the /airport?
Did ‘Anton ‘call you /yesterday?
Was ‘Lena at ‘home on /Sunday?
Are the ‘students ‘ready for the /test?
Does she /work?
Will they /come?
Do you /know him?
Do you /like it?
Have you /read it?
Did he /call you?
Can you /drive?
Can you /do it?
Shall I /read?
Should I /call him?
Am I /late?
Is he /here?
Is it /far?
Is it /true?
Is it /new?
Are you /sure?
Are you /tired?
Are you /hungry?
40
Practicing
Speaking Skills
Are you /serious?
Are they /ready?
Is it /raining?
Is he /sleeping?
Are you /listening?
Is she a /doctor?
Is he a /teacher?
Is this /Main Street?
Are you a /student?
Are they /students?
● Requests: Rising intonation
Could you ‘give me a /pen, please?
Could you ‘open the /window, please?
Would you ‘mind /helping me?
May I ‘speak to /Ella, please?
Could I ‘speak to /Michael, please?
Can I ‘borrow your /dictionary, please?
Could you /help me, please?
Can you /help me, please?
● Alternative questions: Rising and falling intonation
Do you ‘want /coffee or \tea?
Does he ‘speak /English or \German?
Would you ‘like /coffee or \tea?
Are you ‘studying /English or \French?
Does he ‘play /football or \basketball?
Is he /young or \old?
Were they /happy or \angry?
Is she a /doctor or a \teacher?
Do you ‘have a /dog or a \cat?
Would you ‘like an /apple or a \pear?
Did she ‘go to /Italy or \France last year?
Did you ‘go to the /cinema or to the \theater yesterday?
Will you ‘come ‘back at /five or at \six?
Does she ‘read ‘books in the /morning or at \night?
Will you ‘try to ‘do it to/day or to\morrow?
● Tag questions: Falling or rising intonation
It’s a ‘beautiful \town, \isn’t it?
She \knows him, /doesn’t she?
41
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
‘Nice \weather, \isn’t it?
You \live here, \don’t you?
You \know him, \don’t you?
You can \drive, \can’t you?
He will \help them, \won’t he?
It’s a ‘nice \day, \isn’t it?
She ‘speaks \English, \doesn’t she?
‘Peter ‘gave you a \present, \didn’t he?
‘Nina and ‘Helen are \friends, \aren’t they?
You ‘don’t \know them, \do you?
They ‘haven’t ‘found it, \have they?
You ‘weren’t \late, \were you?
I ‘shouldn’t \do it, \should I?
It’s ‘not ‘too \late, \is it?
It’s ‘not ‘too \far, \is it?
‘Nice \weather, /isn’t it?
You \live here, /don’t you?
You can \drive, /can’t you?
You \know it, /don’t you?
He will \help them, /won’t he?
It’s a ‘nice \day, /isn’t it?
It’s a ‘beautiful \town, /isn’t it?
She ‘speaks \English, /doesn’t she?
You ‘weren’t \late, /were you?
It’s ‘not ‘too \far, /is it? ● Commands: Falling intonation
\Stop it! ‘Sit \down.
‘Close your \books.
‘Come \in.
‘Go \home.
‘Stop \talking.
‘Hurry \up!
‘Open your \books.
‘Listen to the \story.
‘Wait for your \turn.
‘Go to your \room.
‘Tell me the \truth.
‘Give me your \hand.
‘Do it your\self.
‘Ask him for \help.
‘Turn ‘left at the \bank.
‘Go ‘back to the \hospital.
‘Write your ‘name on this \line.
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Practicing
Speaking Skills
‘Sit \down, please.
‘Open the \door, please.
‘Close the \window, please.
‘Write your \name, please.
● Requests: Rising intonation
‘Come \in, /please.
‘Come \here, /please.
‘Sit \down, /please.
‘Close the \window, /please.
‘Tell me your \name, /please.
‘Ask him to \call me, /please.
/Please ‘come /in.
/Please ‘sit /down.
/Please ‘come /here.
● Exclamatory sentences: Falling intonation
‘What a ‘wonderful \present!
‘What a ‘beautiful \day!
‘What a ‘wonderful sur\prise!
‘How ‘well she \sings!
‘How ‘beautiful her \voice is!
‘What a \pity!
‘What a \waste!
‘What a re\lief!
‘What a sur\prise!
‘How \nice of you!
‘How \strange it is!
‘How \nice!
‘How \strange!
‘That’s \great!
‘That’s \wonderful!
‘That’s a \lie!
It’s ‘good to \see you!
It’s an ‘excellent oppor\tunity!
I’m ‘so \happy!
\Great!
\Wonderful!
Hel\lo!
It’s \great!
It’s \wonderful!
It’s \terrible!
We \did it!
43
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
‘Good \morning!
‘Good after\noon!
‘Good-/bye!
● Direct address: Rising intonation
/Peter, can you /help me?
‘Mrs. /Smith, ‘this is ‘Mary \Brown.
/Ella, can you /help me?
/Lena, are you /there?
/Tony, ‘where \are you?
/Tom, could you /help me, please?
‘Mrs. /Green, can I /talk to you, please?
/Mary, ‘this is my ‘son \Anton.
/Max, ‘this is my \friend, ‘Tom \Brown.
/Peter, ‘this is Ma\rina, a \friend of ‘mine.
‘Mr. /Trent, your ‘papers are \ready.
/Sir, you ‘dropped your \pencil.
/Nelly, I’d ‘like to \see you.
/Alex, ‘read this \letter, please.
Hel\lo, /Tanya.
\Hi, /Jim.
‘Good-\bye, /Tom.
‘Good \morning, /Jane.
‘Good \morning, ‘Jane.
‘Good \evening, ‘sir.
‘See you to\morrow, ‘Nick.
● Enumerating: Rising intonation
/One, /two, /three, /four, \five.
She ‘bought /bread, /cheese, /oranges, and \apples.
/Six, /seven, /eight, /nine, \ten.
/One, /two, /three, /four, /five, /six, /seven, /eight, /nine, \ten.
I ‘bought /bread, /cheese, and to\matoes.
We ‘need /paper, /pens, and \pencils.
I ‘saw /Tom, /Mary, /Anna, and \Victor.
They ‘visited /France, /Spain, /Italy, and \Greece.
/Anton, /Nick, /Anna, and /Lena are my \students.
I’d ‘like /orange juice, /omelet, /toast, /honey, and ‘green \tea, please.
● Responses
\Yes.
\No.
44
Practicing
Speaking Skills
\Certainly.
\Sure.
\Thank you.
\Sorry.
Of \course.
‘All \right.
‘Very \well.
‘No \problem.
‘That’s \true.
I \think so.
You are \welcome.
You are \right.
I’d be \glad to.
I’m \sorry.
‘Thank you ‘very \much.
\Yes, I \am.
\Yes, I \do.
\Yes, he \has.
\Yes, they \will.
\Yes, you \can.
\No, I \don’t.
\No, I \haven’t.
\No, he \won’t.
\No, you \shouldn’t.
\Yes, \certainly.
\Yes, of \course.
\Yes, ‘please.
\No, \thank you.
I \can.
She \is.
He \will.
You \should.
I \can’t.
He \didn’t.
Oh, /really?
Ex/cuse me?
I’m /sorry?
Now it is time to practice these concepts with a few simple exercises.
45
Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
2.6 IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH RHYTHM WITH
3 PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES
These exercises are designed to be simple, fun and engaging! Since you will
be pronouncing words and sentences out loud, you might prefer to find a
quiet room. You do not need to have perfect pronunciation in these
exercises—just try to relax so you can start to feel a more natural rhythm as
you speak in English. Participating in a variety of related activities will result
in a higher likelihood that you will internalize the principles of sentence
stress in English. Practicing intonation will help you not only communicate
more effectively; it will also help you understand situations better.
2.6.1 Echo Activity
This activity works well with a partner but you can do it alone, too. This
activity uses rhyming patterns to help you become familiar with word stress
within a sentence.
First, you read a word with a stressed syllable. Emphasize the stressed
syllable as much as possible—it is good to exaggerate for the purposes of this
exercise. Make sure the stressed syllable is loud, with a higher tone. Then,
you will “echo” the word with a sentence that has a similar sound and a
similar stress pattern.
Word Echo
interruption Let’s have lunch now.
interruption He’s my uncle.
interruption I said, “under.”
Remember that, because the two columns have the same stress pattern, they
should take roughly the same amount of time to pronounce. Try to say the
sentences as quickly as you say the words. If you are practicing with a
partner, one person says the Word, and the other partner responds with
the Echo. After you finish, switch parts and do the activity again. Here are a
few more for practice:
Word Echo Word Echo
interact It’s a fact. entertain I’ve been paid.
interact Here’s your hat. entertain That’s insane!
interact Where’s my snack? entertain Let me explain.
committee She’s pretty. committee He’s witty.
committee It’s tricky.
2.6.2 Movement Activity
Rhythm is not just something you say—it is something that you feel. Add
movement to your stress practice activity to help you physically feel and
remember the rhythm of English.
46
Practicing
Speaking Skills
Say these sentences out loud. When you arrive at a stressed part, stand up
quickly as you say it, then sit back down. You can also do this activity by
raising both hands above your head, clapping your hands or tapping the table
with both hands as you say the stressed parts.
Try to get through the list quickly. Do not worry about perfect
pronunciation—just focus on stressing the correct part of the sentence.
Here we go! Stand, tap, clap or raise your hands when you pronounce the
bold parts.
I love coffee. I don’t see it.
It’s in my office. Try this pizza!
I come here often. I didn’t check.
Do you read much? He hurt his neck.
We haven’t met.
2.6.3 Bouncing Ball Activity
Here is a fun way to practice rhythm: find a ball (like a basketball) that you
can bounce on the ground. Before you begin, practice bouncing the ball on
the ground (in English, this action is called “dribbling,” by the way) in
a consistent, even rhythm.
For this activity, as you say a sentence, you need to continue bouncing the
ball without speeding up, slowing down or stopping.
When you have found a steady pattern, try saying these longer sentences
while you continue bouncing the ball.
The ball is your guide for stress-timing: you should be saying a stressed part
of the sentence every time the ball hits the ground.
Repeat each sentence at least three times for practice.
You will have to say some words very quickly and some words more slowly
in order to match your sentence with the steady rhythm of the bouncing ball.
The weather’s been so lovely lately!
If I finish all my work, I think I can go to the movies tonight.
I’m going to the store to buy eggs, milk, bananas and bread.
My English class is really fun. Do you go to English class, too?
I wanted to go out of town for the weekend, but the traffic on the highway
was insane!
Once you are comfortable with this, you can create your own sentences!
Introduce yourself or say a sentence about what you like to do as you
continue to bounce the ball.

As already mentioned before, this is the kind of thing that takes a lot of
practice. But the more you practice listening to English and working on word
and syllable stress, the better your English rhythm and pronunciation will be!
Do you feel the rhythm now? Let’s check your progress in the next section.
Check Your Progress 1
1) Divide the following words syllable-wise using a hyphen to mark
syllable boundaries and mark primary stress. You could consult the
dictionary for marking stress. Example: (a) ab-‘surd
(a) absurd (b) adjoin (c) agency (d) allopathy (e) alternative (f) aluminum
(g) amateur (h) anonymous (i) anxiety (j) behaviour (k) caricature (l)
determine (m) excessive (n) helicopter (o) independence (p) catastrophe
(q) component (r) extinguish (s) repetitive (t) melancholy (u)
thermometer
2) Mark the stressed syllables in the following sentences. For this, apply the
guidelines we have learnt for stressing (syllables of) words in connected
speech. Remember words that receive stress on a particular syllable
when they are said in isolation generally receive it on the same syllable
when they occur in connected speech.
a) Collect them tomorrow.
b) Colour the picture.
c) Bring it in this evening.
d) Six of them surrendered.
e) We’ve put them on your desk.
f) He’s forgotten to leave his telephone number.
g) He invited us to dine with them.
h) Why don’t you take some for her?
i) I think that he wants us to go with him.
j) Where’ve all the flowers gone?
k) I wanted him to listen to my song.
l) Aren’t you going to Delhi tomorrow?
m) She bought a basketful of fruit from the shop.
n) This is not the way to do it.
o) An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
p) These are certainly not enough.
q) You mustn’t waste even a minute.
r) It’s time we went on a holiday.
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Practicing
Speaking Skills
s) I ought to have written her a letter.
t) What have you done with my pen?
Check Your Progress 2
A. Mark the stressed syllables in the following sentences. In some cases,
you may have to divide the sentence into groups. Check your answers
with those given at the end of this unit. After you have checked your
answers, articulate the sentences with the correct stress patterns.
1) He’s a good painter.
2) She’s a nice girl.
3) Jack and Jill went to get some water.
4) It’s a very beautiful building.
5) The Prime Minister of India is quite dynamic.
6) Can I see you at ten?
7) I’m afraid I’m very late today.
8) My father is a retired engineer.
9) The plane to London is delayed by two hours.
10) Can you get me a cup of tea?
11) He’s extremely honest.
12) Honesty is the best policy.
13) He’s a Professor of Physics.
14) Can a cobra swim?
15) My neighbour has an imported car.
16) Have you ever travelled by plane?
17) 1 worked in the States for two years.
18) Jackals are very cunning animals.
19) I have a working knowledge of Arabic.
20) It’s impossible to please everybody.
21) What an enormous man!
22) She has a very pleasant personality.
23) Uncle Robert visited us yesterday.
24) Please bring me a chair.
25) Would you like anything to drink?
B) Do as directed and answer the different parts accordingly.
Check Your Progress 3
Activity: This is a creative writing prompt to help English as a Second
Language students practice rhyming words, with a minor emphasis on poetry
rhythm. Familiar words with multiple familiar words as rhymes were used.
It’s suggested to have a visible alphabet some
them in finding rhymes.
Do as directed and answer the different parts accordingly.
This is a creative writing prompt to help English as a Second
Language students practice rhyming words, with a minor emphasis on poetry
rhythm. Familiar words with multiple familiar words as rhymes were used.
It’s suggested to have a visible alphabet somewhere in the vicinity to assist
49
Pronouncing
C
2.7 LET US SUM UP
Because phonology is a system, learners cannot achieve a natural rhythm in
speech without understanding the stress-timed nature of the language and the
interrelated components of stress, connected speech and intonation. Attention
to phonology begins at lower levels and builds up as the learners progress
towards fluency. There are specific phonology courses available, while most
integrated syllabuses include pronunciation activities which run in parallel to
structural, functional and skill development. Above all it is important to
remember that there is a place for phonology in nearly every lesson.
2.8 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about stress and rhythm in English, you may
consult:
Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen, English Speech Rhythm: Form and Function in
Everyday Verbal Interaction (Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1993)
Luigi Burzio, Principles of English Stress (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1995)
Richard V. Teschner & M. Stanley Whitley, Pronouncing English: A StressBased Approach (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004)
2.9 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) (a) ab-‘surd, (b) a(d)’ join, (c) ‘a – gen-cy, (d) al-‘lo-pa-thy, (e) al-‘ter-native, (f) a-lu-‘mi-nium, (g) ‘a-ma-teur, (h) a’-no-ny-mous, (i) an-‘xi-e-ty,
(j) be-‘ha-viour, (k) ca-ri-‘ca-ture, (l) de-‘ter-mine, (m) ex-‘cess-sive, (n)
‘he-li-cop-ter, (o) in-de-‘pen-dence, (p) ca-‘tas-tro-phe, (q) com-‘po-nent,
(r) ex-‘tin-guish, (s) re-‘pe-ti-tive, (t) ‘me-lan-cho-ly, (u) ther-‘mo-me-ter
2) a) Col’lect them to’morrow.
b) ‘Colour the ‘picture.
c) ‘Bring it in this ‘evening.
d) ‘Six of them sur’rendered.
e) We’ve ‘put them on your ‘desk.
f) He’s for’gotten to ‘leave his ‘telephone ‘number.
g) He in’vited us to ‘dine with them.
h) ‘Why don’t you ‘take some for her?
i) I ‘think that he ‘wants us to ‘go with him.
j) ‘Where’ve all the ‘flowers ‘gone?
k) I ‘wanted him to ‘listen to my ‘song.
l) ‘Aren’t you ‘going to ‘Delhi to’morrow?
m) She ‘bought a ‘basketful of ‘fruit from the ‘shop.
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Pronouncing
Correctly – 2: Stress
and Rhythm in
Connected Speech
and Voice Training
n) This is ‘not the ‘way to ‘do it.
o) An ‘apple a ‘day keeps the ‘doctor a’way.
p) These are ‘certainly ‘not e’nough.
q) You ‘mustn’t ‘waste even a ‘minute.
r) Its ‘time we ‘went on a ‘holiday.
s) I ‘ought to have ‘written her a ‘letter
t) ‘What have you ‘done with my ‘pen?
Check Your Progress 2
A) The stressed syllables are as follows:
1) He’s a ‘good ‘painter.
2) She’s a ‘nice ‘girl.
3) ‘Jack and ‘Jill / ‘went to ‘get some ‘water. (division into groups shown
by / )
4) It’s a ‘very ‘beautiful ‘building.
5) The ‘prime ‘Minister of ‘India / is ‘quite ‘dynamic.
6) Can I ‘see you at ‘ten?
7) I’m a’fraid I’m ‘very ‘late to’day.
8) My ‘father is a re’tired engi’neer.
9) The plane to ‘London / is de’layed by ‘two hours.
10) Can you ‘get me a ‘cup of ‘tea?
11) He is extremely ‘honest.
12) ‘Honesty is the ‘best ‘policy.
13) He is a pro’fessor of ‘Physics.
14) Can a ‘cobra ‘swim?
15) My ‘neighbour has an im’ported ‘car.
16) Have you ‘ever ‘traveled by ‘plane?
17) I ‘worked in the ‘States for ‘two ‘years.
18) ‘Jackals are ‘very ‘cunning ‘animals.
19) I have a ‘working ‘knowledge of ‘Arabic.
20) It’s im’possible to ‘please ‘everybody.
21) ‘What an e’normous ‘man!
22) She has a ‘very ‘pleasant perso’nality.
23) ‘Uncle ‘Robert ‘visited us ‘yesterday.
24) ‘Please ‘bring me a ‘chair.
25) Would you ‘like ‘anything to ‘drink?
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Practicing
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B) Answers will vary. Please consult your tutor at the study centre.
Check Your Progress 3
Activity: Responses will vary. Please consult your tutor at the study centre.

UNIT 3 SPEAKING ACTIVITIES – 1: STORIES,
DIALOGUES, ROLE PLAYING,
DEBATES
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Stories
3.3 Dialogues and Role Playing
3.4 Debates
3.5 Let Us Sum Up
3.6 Suggested Readings
3.7 Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• know about the different speaking activities;
• comprehend and select appropriate words and sentences according to the
proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter;
• organize the thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence;
• use language as a means of expressing values and judgments; and
• use the language quickly, confidently and fluently.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Speaking is “the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of
verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts” (Chaney, 1998, p.
13). Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching. It is
not merely a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. Instead it helps
to improve one’s communicative skills, because, only in that way, people can
express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules
appropriate in each communicative circumstance. Hence, in this unit we will
learn about some speaking activities that will enhance our communication.
Communicative language teaching and collaborative learning in classes serve
best for this aim. Communicative language teaching is based on real-life
situations that require communication. In brief, it would help to create a
classroom environment where you will have real-life communication,
authentic activities, and meaningful tasks that would promote oral language.
This can occur when you collaborate in groups to achieve a goal or to
complete a task.
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There are many speaking activities that can promote effective
communication. For example, you can improve your speaking skills through
stories, dialogues, discussions, debates, meetings, presentations and role play.
In this chapter, we would talk about four of them (i.e., stories, dialogues,
debates and role play) and the rest we will discuss in the next chapter.
3.2 STORIES
A short story is meant to be read and finished in one sitting. It is a short work
of fiction. Fiction, as you know, is prose writing about imagined events and
characters. Prose writing differs from poetry in that it does not depend on
verses, meters or rhymes for its organization and presentation.
Novels are another example of fictional prose and are much longer than short
stories. Some short stories, however, can be quite long. If a short story is a
long one, say fifty to one hundred pages, we call it a novella.
Elements of a Story
A story has some key elements: setting, characters, plot, theme and conflict.
1. Setting is about the time and the place a story takes place. Authors often
use descriptions of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to
provide a strong sense of setting.
The setting describes where and when the story takes place. It helps to build
background and create images in the mind. It also helps to set the tone or
mood of the story.
Details can describe: Time of day, Time of year, Time in History
Scenery, Weather, Location:
A good author includes descriptions of the setting using the five senses. A
good setting helps the reader to visualize the places in the story

2) Characters are the people, animals or creatures, who take part in the
action of a short story. Every story needs Characters. The protagonist is
the “good guy”. The antagonist is the “bad guy” or “force.”
Characterization is the way in which an author shows the personality of a
character. It is a technique writers use to make characters “come to life.”
• Direct Characterization tells the reader the personality of the character.
Direct Characterization is obvious to the reader and “spells” it right out.
For example: The patient boy and the quiet girl were both well behaved and
did not disobey their mother.
• Indirect Characterization shows things that reveal the personality of the
character.
Speech, Thought, Effect on Others, Actions, Looks
For example: The boy sat next to his sister as she poked him and teased him.
He did not react. He carefully picked up her doll from the floor and placed it
on her lap saying gently, “Here you go, why don’t you play with your doll?”
Think about:
☻ What does the character say? How does the character speak?
☻ What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?
☻ What is the character’s effect on others? How do other characters feel or
behave in reaction to the character?
☻ What does the character do? How does he/she behave?
☻ What does the character look like? Dress like?
Speaking Activities-1:
Stories, Dialogues,
Role Playing, Debates
57
Character Traits are descriptive adjectives that tell us specific qualities of a
character:

3) Plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central
conflict. Every story needs a plot! The plot has different parts:
Exposition: the start of the story, before the action starts
Rising Action: the series of events and conflicts in the story that lead to
the climax
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment – either mentally or
in action
Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax
Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads
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The climax is the most exciting part!!
Special Techniques of Plot:
 Suspense – excitement or tension
 Flashback – interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about
something that happened in the past
 Surprise Ending – conclusion that reader does not expect
 And … Foreshadowing… (A hint about what will happen next is called
foreshadowing).
4) Conflict is a problem or struggle between two people, things or ideas.
The main character is usually on one side of the central conflict. On the
other side, the main character may struggle against another important
character, against the forces of nature, against society, or even against
something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).
Conflict isn’t always bad… sometimes it helps to create change.
Without conflict, there is no plot. In literature, conflict arises when
there’s a struggle between two opposing forces. One of the forces may be
an idea, community, environment or supporting character. Conflict,
whether it’s external or internal, is the central action that gives a story a
plot. Without it, a work may not be of much interest to an audience.
Types of Conflict
i) Character vs. Character: problem with another character
ii) Character vs. Nature: problem with force of nature
iii) Character vs. Society: problem with the laws or beliefs of a group
(character vs. community, society or culture)
Speaking Activities-1:
Stories, Dialogues,
Role Playing, Debates
59
iv) Character vs. Self: problem with deciding what to do or think (inner
conflict)
v) Character versus Fate: When a character battles fate, one faces an
internal conflict with a problem that seems uncontrollable. With this
element of conflict, the character may fight one’s destiny or follow
an unknown destiny. Sometimes the problem presents itself as
unusual or unbelievable coincidences.
5) Theme is the central idea or belief in a short story. It is usually a
fictional piece that may or may not be inspired by real life incidents. It
helps to enhance: language skills, imagination and creativity. To develop
a theme, follow the following steps:
Step 1: Find your story a protagonist
1. What does the protagonist want?
2. What action should/will the protagonist take to accomplish his or her
goal?
3. What unexpected hindrances arrive, that creates some emotional
upheaval for the protagonist?
4. Focuson details like dialogue, facial expressions, location and
background characters.
5. How does your protagonist overcome the conflict?
Step 2: Write a catchy first paragraph
1. First line should capture the reader’s mind.
2. Focus on an unexpected or unusual action or a conflict right at the
beginning.
For example:
I heard my neighbor through the wall.
The neighbor behind us practiced scream therapy in his shower almost
every day.
The first time I heard him, I stood in the bathroom listening at our shared
wall for ten minutes, debating the wisdom of calling the police. It was very
different from living in the duplex over middle-aged Mr. and Mrs. Brown
and their two young sons in Duluth.
Now practice all the elements of story with the help of the following three
activities:
Activity 1: Finding Stories in Songs
Find and learn songs which tell a story. Folk ballads to contemporary songs
often suggest a larger tale. Listen to records and then have students retell the
story in the song in their own words. Or have a “storysong” concert.
Activity 2: The Autobiography of Anything
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Everything has a story! Everything comes, in its elemental origin, from the
Earth. Imagine the life story of the “things” around you. Describe their
history backwards through the personal use, purchase, manufacture, to
natural resources from which it or its components were made. Personify the
thing and tell its story like an autobiography.
Example:
1. Tell the tale of a piece of newspaper back to the tree in the forest.
2. Tell the tale of a plastic toy’s life, tracing its history back to the oil that
became plastic and then back to the prehistoric plants that created the oil.
Activity 3: Travel through the sections below and choose one or several
elements from each. Tell, write or verbally improvise a story that utilizes all
the elements chosen. For improvisational fun, put each element on a card and
randomly select a character, a setting, a problem and a solution.
Introduce Character(s)
Choose one or more characters.
• girl
• boy
• animal
• man
• woman
• idea
• spirit
• machine
• thing
• plant, etc.
Setting
Environment: Time:
• farm
• village
• otherworldly
• city
• mountains
• forest
• arctic
• ocean
• desert
• olden
• modern
• future
Problem:
In trouble:
Speaking Activities-1:
Stories, Dialogues,
Role Playing, Debates
61
• Caught stealing
• Told a lie
• Saw or heard a secret
• Lost something
• Been captured
• Under a spell or curse
• Goes to forbidden place
• Finds forbidden object
• Has enemy
• Is undervalued
• Is unrecognized
• Causes jealousy
• Forgets something
• Broke something
• Does not like something
• Needs something
• Needs to escape or hide
• Needs to rescue someone
• Needs to rescue something
• Needs to prove worth
Inner Traits
Inner Traits That Cause Trouble: Inner Traits That Aid Solution:
• Is greedy
• Dangerously curious
• Doesn’t follow advice
• Is lazy
• Is pessimistic
• Is blindly in love
• Is enraged & seeks revenge
• Is naive & trusting
• Is clumsy
• Is untrained
• Lacks confidence
• Is foolish
• Is courageous
• Is resourceful
• Is imaginative
• Is kind
• Is generous
• Is clever
• Is loyal
• Is strong
• Is optimistic
Solution
• Has helper
o Magical
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o Non-magical
• Is rescued
• Is transformed
• Discovers skill
• Finds magic
• Helps self:
o Exercises cleverness
o Uses inner traits
• Journey undertaken to obtain solution
Conclusion
• Returns to original setting new in some way:
o Is rewarded
o Is wiser
o Is transformed
o Comes with gift or treasure
End
• Lives well
• Passes luck or reward on to others
• Has positive impact on the world
• Offers wisdom
Like storytelling, dialogues and role playing also help in improving speaking
skills. We will discuss them in the next section.
3.3 DIALOGUES AND ROLEPLAYING
Practicing dialogues is a great way for English students to test their skills and
develop a better grasp of the language. Dialogues are useful for a number of
reasons:
• Dialogues provide models on which students can base their own
conversations.
• Dialogues force students to focus on language production in a way that
helps them practice correct usage.
• Student-created dialogues can be used to encourage creativity.
• Dialogues can be used as a basis for listening to comprehension
exercises.
Using dialogues would help you to develop conversation skills, which is
a common practice in most English classes. There are a number of different
ways to go about incorporating dialogues into classroom activities. The
suggestions below encourage students to role-play and practice new tenses,
structures, and language functions. Once students become familiar with these
new language elements, they can then use the dialogues as models to practice

writing and speaking on their own. Let’s practice dialogues with the
following activities:
Activity: Conversing
For this activity, any two students will come up to the front of the classroom
and the tutor will give them an interesting situation (i.e. the two students just
got into a car accident or one student just broke up with her boyfriend).
The two students then converse, but as they carry on their conversation the
first word, each student says, has to start with a specific letter of the alphabet
(ABC order). For instance, if the situation is that a girl just broke up with her
boyfriend, the conversation might go as:
Student 1 has letter A: Are you serious? You guys really broke up?
Student 2 has letter B: Brian was driving me crazy. I couldn’t take it
anymore.
Student 1 has letter C: Couldn’t you just wait one more week? His birthday is
Wednesday.
Student 2 has letter D: Don’t try to make me feel bad about this.
Note: Don’t allow audience participation and require students to keep the
conversation on topic.
Continue until the students can’t think of something to say or mess up on the
letter. Have a couple of groups go and vary the situations. After a few
groups, talk to students about what dialogue is and why natural dialogue
(unlike what they just witnessed) is important in writing.
Watch the following video for introduction to dialogue
concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvl6yoHuk6Y
Use the dialogue rules discussed in this video to properly punctuate and
format the dialogue.
Now you can read the following conversations and practice the dialogues
through role play in pairs:
A Bank Clerk and a Bank Customer
Bank Clerk: Good morning, welcome to the Grammar Bank. How can I help
you?
Customer: Good morning. I would like to open a bank account.
Bank Clerk: Sure thing. What kind of account would you like to open? A
savings account or a checking account?
Customer: What’s the difference?
Bank Clerk: A checking account is designed to use for everyday
transactions. Yet, the money in a savings account is meant to stay in the
account and earn interest over time.
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Customer: I see, actually I want to apply for a credit card. That’s why I need
an account.
Bank Clerk: Okay then, you probably want a checking account.
Customer: Well, thank you. I’d like that.
Bank Clerk: Sure, we will have you fill out an application form, please.
Customer: No problem.
Bank Clerk: How much of a credit limit were you looking for?
Customer: I would like a $10,000 spending limit.
Bank Clerk: Alright, we will see what we can do. We might be able to get
you one of our gold cards with a $10,000 spending limit.
Customer: Wonderful. Will I also collect points when I use the card?
Bank Clerk: Sure, with our gold card you will get 10 reward points for every
dollar spent.
Customer: Perfect, I have filled out the form. Do you need anything else?
Bank Clerk: You just need to deposit a minimum of $250 into your new
checking account.
Customer: Very well, here you are.
Bank Clerk: Thank you, your account is set up now and your credit card will
be mailed to your address within 5 to 10 business days.
Customer: Thank you for your help, have a good day.
Bank Clerk: Thank you, you too.
A Check-in Agent and a Passenger
Agent: Good afternoon, where are you flying to?
Passenger: Good afternoon. I am flying to San Francisco.
Agent: Do you have your tickets?
Passenger: Here is my ticket.
Agent: How many people are travelling?
Passenger: It’s my son and I; he is under two years old.
Agent: Can I have your passports and I will need to see his birth certificate to
prove that he is less than two years of age.
Passenger: Sure. Here they are.
Agent: Would you like a window or an aisle seat?
Passenger: I would be very happy if we can get an aisle seat. I may have to
walk him around if he gets bored.
Agent: Alright, I’ll put you near the restrooms too.
Passenger: Wonderful, thanks. Is it possible to check in the stroller?
Agent: Sure, are you checking in any bags?
Speaking Activities-1:
Stories, Dialogues,
Role Playing, Debates
65
Passenger: Yes, this suitcase and my backpack.
Agent: Let’s put them on the scale, one at a time, please.
Passenger: Sure. And by the way, I have a layover in London. Do I have to
pick up my luggage there?
Agent: No, you will pick them up in San Francisco. Here is your boarding
pass. You are all set. Be at the gate at least 45 minutes prior to the departure
time.
Passenger: Thank you for your help, have a good day.
Agent: Thank you, have a nice flight.
A Receptionist and a Client
Receptionist: Hi, welcome to the Grammar Bank Hotel. How can I help
you?
Client: Hi, I would like a room for tonight. Do you have any vacancies?
Receptionist: Yes sir, would you like a single room, or a double room?
Client: A single room, please.
Receptionist: How long will you be staying?
Client: For three nights.
Receptionist: Okay, would you like a king size bed or a queen size?
Client: Well, king size bed, please.
Receptionist: Smoking, non-smoking?
Client: Non-smoking.
Receptionist: Sure, and would you rather have a room with a view of the
ocean or the forest?
Client: It doesn’t really matter to me, whichever one is cheaper.
Receptionist: Sure, it’s going to be $55 per night. Can I have your ID,
please?
Client: Here it is.
Receptionist: Alright, could you sign here, please?
Client: No problem. Do you accept American Express?
Receptionist: Sure, any Visa, Master Card or American Express.
Client: Perfect, here is my card.
Receptionist: Thank you. Is there a phone number where you can be
contacted?
Client: Yes, it is 333-3333.
Receptionist: Okay. Here’s your key. Your room number is 276. It’s on the
2nd floor; you can take the elevators behind us. If you need anything, just
dial 9 for the reception.
Client: Thank you for your help.
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Receptionist: My pleasure. Enjoy your stay!
Two Students (at University)
Nadia: Hello, my name is Nadia. Welcome to our university.
Alicia: Hi, I am Alicia.
Nadia: Nice to meet you.
Alicia: Nice to meet you too.
Nadia: Where are you from Alicia?
Alicia: I am from Nicaragua, how about you?
Nadia: I’m from France.
Alicia: Is this your first time in London?
Nadia: No, I have been living in London for about three years now.
Alicia: I see, have you been studying here for all that time?
Nadia: Yes, this is my third year here; I have got one more year to go.
Alicia: What are you studying?
Nadia: I’m studying English Literature. I want to be a linguist. How about
you?
Alicia: Sounds cool. I want to be a school teacher.
Nadia: That’s great!
Alicia: I have always wanted to study abroad, so I came to London.
Nadia: Nice! Yeah, I love it here, I am actually planning to live here even
after I graduate.
Alicia: Perfect, you are already from Europe, so it shouldn’t be that difficult
for you.
Nadia: Yeah, I will just need to convince my parents, what about you?
Alicia: I love London, but I am just here for school, I will need to go back
once I graduate anyway.
Nadia: I see, well, good luck to you, I have to go to class now, and it was
nice talking with you.
Alicia: Thank you! You too, and have a good class.
Nadia: Good-bye!
A Steakhouse Waitress and Customers
Waitress: Good evening, welcome to GB Steakhouse, I will be your server
tonight.
Customers: Hello, how are you?
Waitress: I am great, thank you for asking, can I get you started with
something to drink?
Customers: Yes, can we get two red wines and water please?
Speaking Activities-1:
Stories, Dialogues,
Role Playing, Debates
67
Waitress: Sure, I will be right back with your drinks.
Customers: Thank you, and can we get an extra menu as well?
Waitress: Certainly! (she leaves…)
Waitress: Here is your wine. Are you ready to order?
Customers: Yes, we are. What does the New York steak come with?
Waitress: It comes with veggies and mashed potatoes.
Customers: Okay, I will have the New York steak.
Waitress: Of course, and how would you like your steak cooked?
Customers: Well done, please.
Waitress: Sure, how about you ma’am?
Customers: Can I have Caesar salad with chicken, please?
Waitress: Absolutely. And what will you have for the little guy?
Customers: Could we have macaroni and cheese for him?
Waitress: Sure! And would you like anything to drink mister?
Customers: Just water.
Waitress: Great! I will be back with your orders.
Customers: Perfect…
Waitress: Here are your orders! Enjoy your meal…
Waitress: How is everything so far?
Customers: Great thanks, can we get the check, please?
Waitress: Certainly…
Customers: Here is your bill; you can pay at the cashier whenever you are
ready.
Waitress: Thank you.
Waitress: Thank you; enjoy the rest of your evening.
A Pharmacist and a Customer
Pharmacist: Good morning. How can I help you?
Customer: Good morning, I have this prescription.
Pharmacist: Let me see. Okay, I think we have it. Let me get that for you…
Pharmacist: Here you go.
Customer: Oh, Thank God. You are the fifth pharmacist that I have asked
for it today.
Pharmacist: I am glad that we can help you.
Customer: Thank you, and can you tell me how I should use it?
Pharmacist: Certainly! You need to take these pills once a day before you go
to sleep.
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Customer: Okay, how long do I need to take them for?
Pharmacist: Ten days for this one. It’s important that you finish all the
package, if you forget to take it at night, you need to take two in the morning.
Customer: Okay, is it safe to take with aspirin?
Pharmacist: No, you cannot take aspirin while you are on this, no painkillers
allowed.
Customer: I see, are there any side effects?
Pharmacist: Rare but possible drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, upset
stomach, nausea, nervousness, constipation… It is recommended that you
avoid physically demanding activities after taking this; also, no driving.
Customer: Oh, now I see why I should take it before I go to sleep.
Pharmacist: Exactly!
Customer: Well, okay then. Can I pay with my card?
Pharmacist: Sure! That will be $14. Is there anything else I can help you
with?
Customer: No, that would be all, thank you.
Pharmacist: You are welcome, here is your receipt.
Customer: Thank you for your help, have a good day.
Pharmacist: Thank you, you too.
A Police Officer and a Tourist
Tourist: Excuse me officer, I think I am lost. Can you help me find my hotel,
please?
Officer: Certainly, What’s the name of your hotel?
Tourist: It’s the Grammar Bank Hotel.
Officer: Hmm, I think I know where it is.
Tourist: Is it far?
Officer: No, not really. Do you have a car, are you driving?
Tourist: No, I don’t have a car.
Officer: Okay, actually it’s only about 10 minutes’ walk. But if you want, I
can call you a cab.
Tourist: No, thank you. I don’t mind walking.
Officer: Okay then, let me give you the directions.
Tourist: Thank you. I appreciate that.
Officer: Now, go along this street until you get to the Bank. Do you see the
tall building?
Tourist: Yeah.
Officer: So, at the traffic lights there, turn left to Great Sheva Avenue.
Speaking Activities-1:
Stories, Dialogues,
Role Playing, Debates
69
Tourist: Okay, I will turn left.
Officer: Correct. Then go straight on, take the second right and that should
take you to the Grammar Bank Hotel.
Tourist: Okay, I will take the second left.
Officer: No, it’s the second right.
Tourist: Ah, right. The second right!
Officer: Yes sir, left at the traffic lights near the bank and then the second
right.
Tourist: Got it, thank you very much for your help.
Officer: No problem, have a nice day.
A Cashier and a Customer
Cashier: Hello, may I take your order?
Customer: Hi, I’ll have a double cheeseburger.
Cashier: With everything on it?
Customer: No onions, please.
Cashier: Sure, would you like the combo deal or just the sandwich?
Customer: How much is the combo?
Cashier: The combo is $4.99; it comes with medium fries and drink.
Customer: Okay, let’s change it to a combo then.
Cashier: Certainly, what would you like to drink?
Customer: Coke, please.
Cashier: Diet Coke or regular?
Customer: Regular.
Cashier: Of course, would you like anything else?
Customer: No, that’ll be all. Thanks.
Cashier: For here or to go?
Customer: For here.
Cashier: That will be $5.45 please.
Customer: Thank you. Here you go.
An Interviewer and an Interviewee
Interviewer: Welcome to ABC Controls, David. I am Tom.
Interviewee: Hello, it’s nice to meet you.
Interviewer: Nice to meet you too, how are you doing today?
Interviewee: I am doing well, and yourself?
Interviewer: Great, thanks. I hope we didn’t keep you waiting for long?
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Interviewee: No, I had the chance to talk to one of your engineers while
waiting.
Interviewer: That’s good. David, shall we start?
Interviewee: Yeah, sure.
Interviewer: First of all, let me introduce myself. I am the manager of our
engineering department here and we have an open position, so we have been
interviewing applicants to fill the position as quickly as possible.
Interviewee: Yes sir, I read about the position on your website, and I think I
am a good fit.
Interviewer: We currently have several ongoing projects and the team is
working hard. We are hoping to keep busy for a long time.
Interviewee: What are the essential qualifications required for the position?
Interviewer: This is an entry-level engineering position; we do provide a lot
of training here. But we do require that you have at least a bachelor’s degree
in computer engineering. Previous experience in the field is a plus.
Interviewee: What kind of experience would you count as a work in the
field?
Interviewer: Even though we provide training, it would be great if you had
some hands-on programming experience, knowledge of database systems or
skills on developing applications.
Interviewee: My final school project was actually developing a mobile
application, so I am fairly competent in developing mobile and web
applications.
Interviewer: That’s good to hear, which school did you graduate from?
Interviewee: I was a student at DEF University, and I graduated with a
bachelor degree in computer science. I worked as a computer lab tutor in
school for about 2 years. Guiding students through their projects helped me
get experience in several programming languages.
Interviewer: What are you looking for in a job?
Interviewee: The job should definitely help me grow in my career. I will be
happy to learn and grow as I work in a passionate company like yours.
Interviewer: You are right. There is plenty of room for advancement in our
company. What are your strengths? Why should I hire you?
Interviewee: I am a diligent person and a fast learner. I am very eager to
learn. My friends also find me very easy to work with.
Interviewer: Very well. Now, do you mind working overtime?
Interviewee: No, I do not.
Interviewer: Because, sometimes we get overwhelmed with heavy
workload.
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Role Playing, Debates
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Interviewee: I understand that’s the nature of the job. When I was going to
school, I took quite a few courses each semester while working at least
twenty hours every week. And, I handled that situation very well.
Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Interviewee: No, I think I have a pretty good understanding of the
requirements. I believe that I can handle it with ease, and the fact that you
provide all the training sounds excellent. I hope to have the opportunity to
work for you.
Interviewer: David, it is nice to meet you. I can tell that you are a good
candidate. Expect to hear from us within a week or so about the job.
Interviewee: Nice meeting you too. Thank you for your time.
Interviewer: Thank you for coming.
Hope these dialogues and role playing will help you to speak clearly,
effectively and fluently. Now, in the next section we will discuss how debates
can also be used as a speaking activity.
3.4 DEBATES
A debate is a competition in which two opposing teams make speeches on a
particular topic and motion to support their arguments and contradict the
members of the other team.
A debate in class can be based on a specific topic and not only strengthens
language skills and vocabulary but also critical thinking on the part of the
students.
There should also be a judges’ table made up of 3-4 students who will be
evaluating the whole process and assessing each team based on certain
criteria. The judges—not the teacher—are the ones who will grade both
teams and finally decide on the winner. In other words, the teacher should
play the role of the coordinator, thus allowing students to feel independent,
comfortable with the process and responsible for following the rules and
guidelines.
Well, obviously, speaking skills are strengthened throughout a debate.
Students learn how to improve oral skills not only by using appropriate
phrases and structures but also by trying to use argumentative language.
Team members will soon find that they cannot persuade the judges by using
simple phrases or repeating the same expressions (“I think,” “I believe”) all
the time. They have to use more elaborate language and therefore learn it.
Listening skills also benefit from this process since team members and
judges learn to listen to one another carefully and understand their points of
view, no matter the accent or intonation. They should be paying close
attention in order to gather information for their own opposing statements and
arguments.
Writing skills are strengthened when team members and judges are asked to
take notes and write their arguments in the given worksheets (should you
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choose to give them). Furthermore, you can be asked to write an essay as a
follow-up assignment based on the topic you have finished debating for or
against. Do not forget that both the note-taking and essay-writing techniques
can boost your skills and confidence.
Reading skills can be enhanced while students are preparing their arguments
by reading articles and websites and are learning how to evaluate these
sources.
Critical thinking in the foreign language is enhanced more than anything
else. Every step of the process encourages students to be critical thinkers, pull
points together logically and express their ideas in a clear manner. They even
need to pay close attention to identity the gaps in other people’s thinking.
This will aid them in every area of language and life, from test-taking to
securing a new job.
Okay now. Let’s see how a debate is performed step by step.
First, you need to find a topic or motion that you will not only enjoy but will
also be able to build arguments upon. For instance, a topic could be as easy as
“paper books vs. e-books” or as demanding as “should animals be used
for medical experiments?”
Afterwards, you will form teams. You might be given the chance to choose,
or you might get divided up based on your personal feelings about the issue
at hand. You may also ask your tutor to randomly assign teams. Be sure to
choose the judges’ panel as well.
Study the topic and find relevant sources at home or in the school library
before the debate takes place in class. Studying the topic at home and
evaluating sources is an absolutely valuable assignment for students.
On the day of the debate students sit in their teams: The team “for” and the
team “against” the topic. A common phrase to use before starting the debate
is the following: “This house believes that…”. For example, “This house
believes that animals should not be used for medical experiments.”
While sitting in their places, team members can choose their key speaker,
who will give them a main introduction and conclusion, even though they can
decide whether they all take their turns to speak.
All team members have their own materials (handouts, sets of rules, objection
cards). Likewise, the judges sit at their table where they have their own
materials (a clock, a bell or a buzzer, their name tags, a set of rules and
handouts for their evaluation/grades).
At this point, I have to underline that class size matters; obviously, when you
have a class of 30 students, things are much different than they would be with
a class of 10, but this should not scare you away. In a large class, things need
to be organized more carefully. There could be 4 smaller teams instead of
two, with the talking time of each team decreased.
Now let me give you some nice topics that can be used in class for practicing
debates.
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• Teachers can be replaced by computers.
Pro: Teachers can be subjective and unfair to students whereas
computers are not. Teachers can make mistakes whereas computers will
never give you a wrong answer.
Con: Teachers can understand the student’s emotions and help them
with these, whereas a computer only expects the right answer.
• School uniforms should be compulsory.
Pro: No need to buy new modern clothes all the time.
Con: It is better to retain your own style at school.
• It is more fun to be an adult than a child.
Pro: Adulthood comes with independence, a job, your own money,
romance.
Con: Adulthood comes with lots of responsibilities, stress and old age.
Childhood is more carefree.
• E-books are better than paper books.
Pro: E-books are huge space savers, more convenient, cheaper and more
environmentally friendly.
Con: E-books can break, get stolen, have their batteries die while you
are reading and they can cause eye strain.
• Social media decreases human communication.
Pro: Online communication cannot be compared to face-to-face
interaction. It can be fake, dangerous and does not rely on genuine
emotions.
Con: It is easier, more convenient, faster to talk to friends and learn to
communicate with people abroad using social media, so it improves and
increases human communication.
The list can go on and on…The topics are just countless!
Debate Structure:
Both teams (for and against the motion) take about 10 minutes to work
silently amongst themselves so as to prepare their initial
statements and their arguments. The judges (or the teacher) let the students
know of the stages below and the duration of each stage. In particular, the
stages are the following:
1) Constructive stage (10-12 minutes): The key speaker of each team
presents their introductory statements and then they reinforce their
affirmative or negative arguments respectively. This phase could last
from 10′-12′ on the whole. While listening to their opponents, team
members have to take notes about the arguments they heard so as
to contradict them in the next phase.
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2) Rebuttal stage (15-20 minutes): The “pro” team refutes the opposing
team’s arguments and vice versa. This is the phase when team members
can use their red objection cards to ask an extra question or refute the
argument the opponents have just expressed.
3) Closing statements (2-3 minutes): This phase can be described as the
conclusion to the whole procedure. After the exchange of ideas and
arguments, students summarize their final statements and try to show the
judges why they should be the winning team.
4) Judges’ questions (5 minutes): This is an interesting phase when each
judge addresses one final question to each team. Those questions are
based on what teams have presented so far and can be tricky and difficult
so that judges can decide on the strongest team.
Throughout each debate, there is a clear set of rules that all students have to
follow. The most important rule in any class debate is to show respect. Each
participant must show respect to the opposite team and the judges. Other
rules could be the following:
• Respect time limits and talk only when it is your turn to do so.
• Plagiarism is not accepted.
• If you have a source, mention it.
• You can use your objection cards only once.
• Speak clearly and loudly.
• Don’t look at your note cards while speaking.
Assessment of Debates
Some of the criteria which are easy and effective for judges to use are the
following:
• Clear voice
• Clear way to express their arguments
• Organized thoughts
• Strong opening and/or closing statements
• Effective use of argumentative language
• Effective use of key language structures
• Equal participation of all team members
• Strong arguments, well thought-out statements
• Effective rebuttal
• Respect shown to the judges and the opponents
• Teamwork amongst members of the same team
• No breaking of the rules
If you want to offer your students a more surprising and more demanding
debate, don’t tell them what the topic is beforehand but ask one of them to
choose one slip of paper from a box where you have written random topics.
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Role Playing, Debates
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This way, the whole process gets a mysterious and unexpected touch that
students love.
What is more, finding arguments and using more complex structures to
express their viewpoints on an unexpected topic could make it more difficult
but also more challenging.
All in all, debates in classes are valuable tools to not only involve your
students in a beneficial learning process but also to enliven your lesson.
Once you and your students get hooked, feel free to jump a few steps further
with this. You can organize competitions between two classes in your
school or even between debate teams of your school and a neighboring
school. In this case, you can ask students who do not take part in the
competition to play the role of the audience who can also critically ask a
couple of questions to the team speakers.
The whole debate might look like this:
1) Teacher introduces the debate and reads the motion: “This house
believes…”
2) ‘For’ team – turn 1
3) ‘Against’ team – turn 1
4) ‘For’ team – turn 2
5) ‘Against’ team – turn 2
6) ‘For’ team – turn 3
7) ‘Against’ team – turn 3
8) ‘For’ team – final remarks, closing arguments
9) ‘Against’ team – final remarks, closing arguments
10) Voting by the audience (if you have one), or a decision by the teacher.
Voting
If you are the sole ‘voter’, then your decision may well be a difficult
one. Try to remain dispassionate, and to base your choice on a combination
of factors:
o The level of vocabulary used
o Accurate use of advanced structures
o Confidence, eye contact and posture
o How well prepared was the team? Did they use the preparation time
well? Was there evidence of a variety of sources being used? Did they
pre-empt their opposition’s points?
o Was the team respectful and did they follow the format correctly?
o Most importantly, did they make genuinely persuasive arguments, with
evidence of some originality of thought?
Consider recording the debate for later playback and analysis; this
would be a great source for error correction and pronunciation work.
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Organizing debates is popular and can be a positive and rigorous work-out
for some essential skills; equally importantly, they’re genuinely educational
and great fun. Now, let’s check your progress in the next section.
A. Complete the intermediate level conversations correctly by choosing the
best options.
1) Allen: Bad news! The new manager is an anti-smoker. Nora: ——
a) That sounds good.
b) I believe he will get used to it.
c) Could you tell me how you found the new boss?
d) Oh really, then you mean he won’t allow us to smoke.
e) Are you satisfied with that choice?
2) Alicia: ——
Paul: I know but there is nothing better to buy.
a) I don’t think this shirt is worth buying.
b) Have you found a gift for your dad?
c) Do you know that I love reading?
d) I have already posted the letters.
e) Are you going to buy it?
3) Derek: Was Melissa with you yesterday?
Pete: ——
a) Yes, he was so excited.
b) No, but I just wonder if he is OK.
c) No, but apart from her, everybody was there.
d) She will join us soon.
e) She may come, but I am not sure.
4) Ruth: Hi Maria, how are you?
Maria: Hi Ruth, I am doing good?
Ruth: ——
Maria: Yes, I’d love to. What time?
a) What are you doing tomorrow?
b) Are you busy?
c) Would you like to have a dinner with me tonight?
d) Do you have any plans for this afternoon?
e) What would you like to do?
5) Henry: I love your cake; it’s so delicious. Is it hard to make it?
Sandra: No, not at all. It’s very easy actually and it always works.

Henry: ——
Sandra: Of course, I can.
a) Can I have the recipe please?
b) Can you teach me how to make it?
c) Would you like some more?
d) Why don’t you eat it?
e) I have already finished it.
Check Your Progress 2
A. Read the dialogues and choose the most appropriate options to complete
the dialogues.
1) Doctor: Take this medicine for a week and you’ll start to feel better.
Patient: ———————-
Doctor: Are you sure? It’s the best on the market.
Patient: Yes, I am. Can you please prescribe another one?
a) What shall i do if unexpected side effects arise?
b) What is the ideal dosage for my weight?
c) No, it’s too early to prescribe another medicine.
d) But I’ve used it before and it did not help at all.
e) It looks as if the illness has already been cured.
2) Jake: How did you like the movie you saw last night?
Karen: I can’t say it was the best I’ve ever seen.
Jake: ———————-
Karen: Certainly not. Do not waste your time.
a) Did you go alone or with a friend from work?
b) Hadn’t you read the reviews before you went to see it?
c) What do you mean by saying it depends?
d) I knew I could always count on you.
e) Then you wouldn’t recommend it, would you?
3) Father: What? You crashed the car again?
Son: ———————-
Father: I’m sure it wasn’t. This is the third accident you have had this
year.
Son: You’re very angry now, dad. We had better talk about this later on.
a) I do apologize. I promise it won’t happen again.
b) Was the car in good condition?
c) But it wasn’t my fault. You’ve got to believe me.
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d) Was it worth the money and time you had wasted?
e) Why do you ask? Don’t you know it’s too late now?
4) Chuck: ———————
Sue: Why do you think so?
Chuck: Whenever we meet, she pretends not to see me.
Sue: I don’t think it’s because she hasn’t got over her anger. She’s
having a bad time at work nowadays.
a) It seems that Martha is still angry with me.
b) Martha will never make a good manager.
c) I have never seen a smarter woman than Martha.
d) One thing that I especially like about Martha is her sincerity.
e) Martha has finally managed to get over her resentment.
5) Tom: ———————
Mary: Are you kidding? We are in June.
Tom: So, what? What’s wrong with June?
Mary: The right time to trim your roses is the beginning of winter, when
they lose their flowers.
a) Are you going to plant those roses in your garden in June or July?
b) Can you help me prune the roses in the garden at the weekend?
c) I didn’t know your brother knew so much about gardening.
d) Have you got any idea what the right time is to shorten rose plants?
e) Are we supposed to do anything special to keep the roses fresh?
Check Your Progress 3
A) Complete the dialogues with appropriate sentences.
1) Nina: ———————
Mark: That’s because they never stop criticizing me.
Nina: Why don’t you try telling them how you feel about it?
Mark: Do you think I haven’t? They just don’t care about how I feel.
a) Why are you always complaining about your parents?
b) What’s the reason for her aggressive behavior?
c) Why are the policemen running around?
d) What makes you think that the exam questions will be difficult?
e) Are your parents aware of the problems you are going through?
2) Peter: ———————
Andrew: No, I’m okay. I can wait until the end of the meeting.
Peter: I don’t think so. You can’t keep your eyes open.
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Role Playing, Debates
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Andrew: I guess you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow.
a) Are you feeling better today than yesterday?
b) Can you tell me why you’re smiling all the time?
c) Is it possible for you to wait for the end of the meeting?
d) You had better go home and take a rest.
e) Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?
3) Penny: ———————
Dana: But it’s not enough if you want to lose weight.
Penny: I know, but it’s only a beginning.
Dana: Sure, it’s better than doing nothing.
a) The dietician said I need to lose ten pounds.
b) I’ve decided not to go to the gym anymore.
c) I’ve stopped eating bread.
d) The new chef is really good at making snacks.
e) I’ve sold my tennis rackets.
4) Sandra: ———————
George: Then you should start wearing glasses.
Sandra: I already have contact lenses, but still I can’t see clearly.
George: It’s time you changed them, then.
a) When did you last go to an eye doctor?
b) Should I tell my grandmother to see an optician?
c) I can’t see the sentences on the board.
d) Are you able to see better now?
e) This pain in my back is killing me.
5) Chris: Shall we leave the car here and walk?
Nick: I don’t think we should, because the bank is almost five hundred
meters from here.
Chris: ———————
Nick: I don’t care. I can’t walk up to the bank in this weather.
a) It may take more than an hour to walk to the bank.
b) They’ve decided to open a new branch near here?
c) Normally, I walked to school from home.
d) But it’s very difficult to find a parking place near the bank
e) I agree. The bank will have been closed by then.
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Speaking is a very important part of second language learning. The ability to
communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the
success of the learner in school and success later in every phase of life.
Therefore, it is essential that language learners shall pay great attention to
practice speaking. Rather than simply memorizing, one should attempt to
have a rich environment where meaningful communication can take place.
With this aim, various speaking activities such as those listed above can
contribute a great deal to develop basic interactive skills that are necessary
for life. These activities will make you more active in the learning process
and at the same time make your learning more meaningful and fun for you.
3.6 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to explore more speaking activities in English, you may
consult:
Grant Taylor, English Conversation Practice (New York: McGraw Hill
Education, 1967)
Jean Yates, Practice Makes Perfect Series: English Conversation Second
Edition (New York: McGraw Hill Education, 2016)
Jill Hadfield & Charles Hadfield, Oxford basics: Simple Speaking Activities
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)
3.7 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
A. 1. d, 2. a, 3. c, 4. c, 5. b
Check Your Progress 2
A.1. d, 2. e, 3. c, 4. a, 5. b
Check Your Progress 3
A. 1.a, 2. d, 3. c, 4. c, 5. d
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Participating in
Discussions, Meetings,
Presentations
81
UNIT 4 SPEAKING ACTIVITIES – 2:
PARTICIPATING IN DISCUSSIONS,
MEETINGS, PRESENTATIONS
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Group Discussions
4.3 Meetings
4.4 Presentations
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.6 Suggested Readings
4.7 Answers
4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• know about how to actively participate in discussions, meetings and
presentations;
• understand the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication;
• learn how to present your ideas in front of an audience;
• recognize important pointers to keep in mind for public speaking; and
• comprehend the importance of public speaking.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In order to effectively communicate, the participation of students in speaking
activities like group discussions, meetings and presentation is very essential.
We all know that the fear of Public Speaking is the biggest fear, even bigger
than the fear of Death. The main cause of this fear is stage fright. It happens
because of several reasons: being in spotlight, unprepared and lack of
experience are the most common ones. In this unit, we will try to analyze
how for Effective Communication one needs: Preparation, Practice and
Presence.
4.2 GROUP DISCUSSIONS
The term Group discussion suggests a discussion within a group of people.
The group ideally will have 8 to 12 members who express their views freely,
frankly in a friendly manner, on a topic of current issue. So, within a time
limit of 20 to 30 minutes, the abilities of the members of the group are
measured.
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Why should one learn group discussion skills?
Developing group discussion skills is useful for everyday life as we regularly
find ourselves having discussions amongst friends, family and colleagues.
These may vary from very informal chats about day-to-day things, to more
serious topics, for example a discussion about a recent news story or a
problem that needs to be solved. In both cases, there are a number of specific
skills that help to become better and be able to contribute effectively to group
discussions.
Additionally, group discussions are increasingly being used in the job market
during interviews and selection procedures. Group Discussion is a modern
method of assessing students’ personality. It is both a technique and an art
and a comprehensive tool to judge the worthiness of the student and one’s
appropriateness for the job. These can take a variety of formats, but the key
skills remain very similar.
Last but not the least, group discussions offer an opportunity for extended
speaking (and listening!) practice by all of the contributors. Group discussion
practice and skill development is therefore useful for all students.
There are some prerequisites of a Group Discussion. The topics are given by
panelists; some time for planning and preparation; Knowledge with selfconfidence; Communication skills/power of speech; presentation skills;
controlled body Language and personal appearance; being calm and cool;
extensive knowledge base related to different areas like politics, sports,
science, commerce, Industry and Technology, MNC, etc.; analyze the social,
economic issues logistically; listening skills and co-operation.
The students have several benefits from Group discussion. They get the
stimulation of thinking in a new way; it helps to expand their knowledge;
understanding of one’s strength and weakness; one’s true personality is
revealed and qualities of leadership crystallize; provides chance to expose:
Language skills, Academic knowledge, Leadership skills, People
handling/Managerial skills, Team work and General knowledge.
The salient features of Group Discussion are as follows:
• Topic may be given to judge your public speaking talent.
• Discussion revolves around a specific subject.
• The examiner does not interfere once he/she announces the topic.
• Maintain cordiality and free expression of thought and opinion.
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Participating in
Discussions, Meetings,
Presentations
83
Do’s in group discussion
• Speak appropriate to the issue.
• Make original points and support them by substantial reasoning.
• Whatever you say must be with a logical flow and validate it with an
example as far as possible.
• Make only accurate statements.
• Modulate the volume, pitch and tone.
• Be considerate to the feelings of the others.
• Try to get your turn to speak.
• Talk with confidence and self-assurance.
• Listen to the other participants actively and carefully.
• Be an active and dynamic participant by listening.
Don’ts during group discussion
• Being shy/nervous/staying isolated from the Group Discussion.
• Interrupting another participant before his arguments are over.
• Speak in favour, for example: establish your position and stand by it
stubbornly.
• Frequent change of opinions.
• Don’t make fun of any participant even if one’s arguments are funny.
• Don’t engage yourself in sub-group conversation.
• Don’t repeat and use irrelevant materials.
• Addressing yourself to the examiner.
• Worrying about making some grammatical mistakes; for your interest the
matter you put across is important.
Important points in group discussion:
• Be assertive: An assertive person is direct, honest and careful about not
hurting others ‘self-respect’.
• A patient listener: listening to another person is one way of showing
appreciation.
• Right language: Words can make friends and right words at the right
time make the best results.
• Be analytical and fact-oriented: It is necessary to make relevant points
which can be supported with facts and analysed logically.
Accept criticism:
• If any member of the group criticizes or disapproves a point, it is unwise
to get upset or react sharply.
• In case the criticism is flimsy, the same can be pointed out politely.
• Maximize participation; one must try to contribute fully, vigorously and
steadily throughout the discussion.
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• Show leadership ability: A group discussion also evaluates your
leadership qualities.
• Accept someone’s point of view: Praise the argument.
• Accept the contradictory view: Express your argument with few facts,
cases, statistics, newspaper reports, publications, etc.
• Express without hurting others’ feelings.
Some Suggestions:
• Never try to bluff.
• Practice group discussion with friends on different subjects.
• Remember! Speech is a powerful weapon.
Types of discussion:
There are different types of discussions that occur naturally and which we
can recreate in the classroom. These include discussions where the
participants have to:
• Make decisions (e.g. decide who to invite to a party and where to seat
them)
• Give and/or share their opinions on a given topic (e.g. discussing
beliefs about the effectiveness of capital punishment)
• Create something (e.g. plan and make a poster as a medium for feedback
on a language course)
• Solve a problem (e.g. discussing the situations behind a series of logic
problems)
Some discussion topics may fall into more than one of these categories, but it
is useful to consider a variety of formats to which the students can apply the
skills they are learning.
Activity for classroom
Useful sub-skills for students
There are a number of different sub-skills which students will need to be able
to use to successfully and effectively participate in a group discussion.
Students need to develop the ability to analyze, persuade, control emotion,
support, and use functional language.
Analyze
This skill can be developed by giving students the topic individually and
asking them to brainstorm or mind-map all of the possible sub-topics they
could speak about. The students can then swap their notes and assess or
analyze the relevance of each of the sub-topics their partners have included.
Together, the students then draw up a fresh list or mind-map and discuss how
the sub-topics might be linked together, along with examples or reasons for
any arguments they might have.
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Participating in
Discussions, Meetings,
Presentations
85
Persuade
This skill comes in useful when students need to make decisions on how
to do something (e.g. which candidate should get a job). A fun activity to
develop this skill is to give groups of students this topic and ask them to
decide on the profile of the perfect candidate, creating a list of 7
adjectives.
The students are then re-grouped and asked to persuade the other
members of the group that their selection is the best while compiling a
second, negotiated list. The group members who retain the most from
their original lists are the winners. Note down useful phrases that you hear
the students using while doing this task and discuss these at the end for
future reference.
Control emotions
This can be practiced by giving the students a fairly controversial topic,
such as ‘Friends are more important than family’ and asking the students
to decide whether they agree, disagree or have no opinion, making notes
on their main arguments to support their viewpoint. Divide the students
into groups ensuring that there is a mix of views within each group.
Explain that for this discussion, the aim is to keep their voices low and try
to control their emotions as far as possible. Monitor and give feedback on
these areas.
Support
One of the most important things for this skill is for students to learn
when it is and isn’t appropriate to interrupt and how to do it. Very often
students will talk over each other in an effort to get their point across and
forget to listen.
To practice this, you can get your students to make a list in small groups
of when it is and isn’t appropriate to interrupt other speakers. They should
include things like ‘not appropriate during the middle of a point, if the
speaker has not said very much previously, or when you are feeling angry
and liable to say something you’ll regret’. It is appropriate when the
speaker has been dominating the discussion for too long, what the speaker
is saying is completely irrelevant to the topic, or you don’t understand the
point he / she has made’.
You can then give them or elicit a list of phrases which they might use to
interrupt politely (e.g. ‘Can I just add something here?’, ‘Sorry I’d just
like to clarify something,’ etc.) The students then write five of these on
slips of paper (one per slip) and have a group discussion on a given topic.
The aim is to use all of the language on their slips. When they have used a
phrase, they put the slip in the middle of the table. The other students in
the group judge whether the interruption was appropriate / polite. If not,
they take the slip back and try again.
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Use functional language
Depending on the types of group discussions that you plan to do it is
useful to draw up a list of useful functional language expressions to refer
to. This could include phrases for functions such as ‘Giving reasons’,
‘Giving your opinion’, ‘Agreeing and disagreeing’, etc.
You can either make up the list yourself and distribute it or get your
fellow learners together to do this. For each group discussion, you can
then refer them to the appropriate section of the list and use a few
moments to consider the language before beginning the discussion.
Some tips for setting up group discussions (for teachers):
There are several key things to consider when setting up group
discussions in the classroom to ensure that they run successfully:
• Give the students some planning time either individually or in small
groups. Don’t just give them the topic and say ‘go’! It is often useful
to discuss some associated vocabulary or functional language that
they might find useful.
• Choose topics which you are confident your students will find
interesting.
• Get them to brainstorm some ideas for discussions they would like to
do and use this as a starting point.
• Ensure a balance between input and practice.
• Use a variety of styles/types.
• Vary group size and procedure.
Some companies do selection on the basis of group discussions with very
large groups of people – over ten in some cases. If your students will be
facing these types of group discussions in the future make sure they get
some practice doing them. It can also be useful to mix classes of students
so they have practice doing discussions with people they don’t already
know.
• Encourage group discussions outside class time.
Give students some extra feedback forms to use to give each other input
on how they perform in group discussions outside of class.
Giving and encouraging feedback
Feedback can take several forms and it is a good idea to vary the way it is
given. Students can observe each other doing group discussions and give
each other feedback on the specific areas of input that has been covered
(ideally using a feedback form).
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Additionally, students can do a ‘Reflective group feedback exercise’ where
at the end of the group discussion they discuss how effective each of the
participants was during the discussion. Again, giving them some focused
questions to guide this stage will help them.
• We can try video-taping the group discussions and playing sections of
these back to the class to analyze. Some students find this extremely
useful.
Conclusion
As we have seen, group discussions can take a variety of formats and are
useful for all types of students. They can be done in preparation for job
interviews or as extended speaking practice simply to increase fluency.
It is important to consider the different sub-skills that are involved in
participating in a group discussion and ensure that you do activities that
address each of these. Additionally, structuring and varying the way that
feedback is given will help the students to identify areas for improvement.
4.3 MEETINGS
A meeting is a gathering of two or more people who come together for the
purpose of achieving a common goal through verbal interaction (use of
sounds and words to express yourself).

The principal functions/ purposes of meetings are to:
• Inform
• Seek ideas
• Seek clarification
• Resolve problems
• Discuss proposals/ways of working
• Take decisions
• Settle disputes (a disagreement or argument)
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Types of meetings
• Report and information oriented (to align or position in a particular
direction or in a particular relation)
• Decision making and problem solving
• Creative and brainstorming (process for generating creative ideas and
solutions)
• Training and skill-building
Meeting Etiquettes
• Be on time
Make sure you come on time and prepare for the meeting ahead of time.
You don’t want to waste anyone else’s time by not being punctual.
• Make introductions
If everyone doesn’t know one another in the meeting room, you need to
make introductions. You should do this by starting with the person of the
highest rank first.
• Have a strong agenda
This is part of being prepared, but you should have a good, strong agenda
so that you can stay on track. If you do get off track, you should have a
strong facilitator to get you back on track.
The chairperson of the meeting should circulate a meeting agenda to
each participant at least one week in advance. Participants should call the
chairperson to express any concerns about the agenda at least 48 hours
prior to the meeting. The chairperson and concerned participants will
then have time to determine if changes need to be made. The agenda
should mention the meeting’s start and ending times as well.
• Sit appropriately
If it’s a sit-down meeting, you need to adjust your chair so that you’re at
equal height with everyone else at the table.
• Speak up
When people speak in meetings, they need to speak loudly enough so
that everyone hears what they’re saying.
• Understand the unwritten speaking rules
It’s not polite to interrupt others, but in some meetings, you have to
interrupt at some point or you won’t be heard. Understand the rules so
that you can have a productive meeting.
• Do not have your phone out
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A lot of people keep their phones on the table during meetings. Don’t do
this. Even if you aren’t looking at your phone, it can get distracting if it
starts lighting up or making noises.
• You can drink coffee, but you need permission for anything else
If you’re going to eat, it needs to be OK with the entire group. You can
make noise or give off smells that are disruptive, so it needs to be OK
with everyone.
• Clean up after yourself
This is especially true if you were drinking or eating during the meeting.
You need to clean up after yourself and leave things the way you found
them. Otherwise, it’s not professional.
• Don’t save all your questions for the end
Ask your questions at the appropriate time. Do not be the person who
starts “asking questions and adding stuff that doesn’t need to be added”
when everyone’s getting ready to go.
• Be Prepared
Each participant should come to the meeting with all of the materials and
data he or she will need and an understanding of the meeting topic.
• Breaks
Meetings should have a break every two hours. Breaks should be 20
minutes long, and meal breaks should be 30 minutes long.
• Attire
The chairperson should indicate what kind of attire is required for the
meeting, either business casual or business formal and participants
should follow that rule. A representative listing of the attire would be
helpful as participants may have differing views on what business casual
and business formal is. For example, when listing the meeting as
business formal, you can indicate that a button-down shirt and khaki
pants are sufficient.

• Speaking
Keep the meeting organized by only speaking when you have the floor.
Ask questions during the designated question period, and raise your hand
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to be recognized by the chairperson as having the floor. Do not interrupt
someone while they are speaking or asking a question.
• Listen
You may find that many of the questions you have about a topic are
answered by the content of the meeting. Listen attentively to the meeting
and take notes.
Things to do before the meeting:
• Arrange the date and time
• Reserve a meeting room
• Send notices to the people who would attend the meeting
• Prepare agenda of the meeting
• Plan food and refreshments
• Create an action list
• Choose a meeting format
• Assemble materials
• Plan for supplies, equipment, software
• Handle last-minute details
• Determine how meeting will be announced
• Determine audiovisual or equipment needs
• Order or lease audiovisual equipment
• Confirm attendance at least twenty-four hours prior to meeting to
confirm food order
• You can use computer or telephone to schedule meeting
• Using a schedule form to schedule a meeting
• Reserving a meeting room: Group size determines type of room and
equipment
 Video teleconference or regular room
 Off-site
o Hotel close to airport (for out-of-town guests)
o Check facility–do they provide equipment rental, room setup,
business center for fax, photocopies, computer workstations, etc.
o Is lunch or dinner involved?
o Make reservation well in advance of meeting date
o Several days prior to meeting, check room reservation and setup
o Be alert of any changes and follow through
 Arrangement and atmosphere of room contributes to effective meeting
o Do the room and furnishings contribute to an effective meeting?
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o Will the participants remain in the same room for meal?
o Will the participants need to break into smaller rooms?
o Does the arrangement meet the purpose of the meeting?
o Is the room large enough for participants and audiovisual aids?
o Will there be a guest speaker?
o What type of media equipment is in the room?
o Is the room free from obstructions such as posts or distractions and
interruptions?
o Is there adequate lighting, heating, ventilation?
• Sending notices
 Specify the following when sending notices
o Purpose of meeting
o Date, time, and location
 Who, what, when, where, how long, and why
o Deadline for agenda items
o What action to take if member will attend?
o What action to take if member cannot attend?
• Be explicit and include everything essential
• Agenda
• Materials needed
• Materials provided
• Determine best time to send notices
 Don’t send too far in advance
 Last minute informal office meetings–use e-mail or telephone
 Formal meetings and conference– consider several months’ notice
 Registration form, formal letterhead invitations or printed forms
• Assembling materials
 Extra copies of agenda
 Up-to-date participant list
 Minutes of previous meeting
 List of standing and special committees
 List of actions not yet completed
 Letters, etc. related to agenda items
 Copies of materials to be distributed
 Other materials related to topics or issues
• Preparing the agenda
 Always have an agenda
An agenda is a list of topics to be covered during the meeting or
conference
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 Send to all members
 Include names of participants, date, time and place of meeting,
along with topics
 Include timeframe and level of action to be taken for each topic
• Discuss issues listed on agenda
• Review follow-up actions
• Closure
• Determine date and time of next meeting
• Ordering Refreshments, Meals, and Beverages
• Know number of participants
• Planning for supplies, equipment, software
 Notebook computer—for presentation hookup and notes
 Presentation on hard drive and removable backup
 Ceiling-mounted multimedia projector
 Laser pointer for presentation
 Projection screen
 DVD player w/remote control
 Overhead projector
 Transparency sheets for overhead projector
 Spare bulb for overhead projector
 Colored markers for overhead transparencies
 Flip chart tripod
 Flip chart paper
 Adhesive tape or putty to suspend flip chart paper around room
 Strip covers or tape to secure electrical cords
 Colored markers for flip chart paper
 Name tents or tags; marker to write names
 Scissors
 Whiteboard markers and erasers
 Writing block for each participant
 Writing pen or pencil for each participant
 Telephone message pad and pen next to room telephone
 Promotion items such as lapel pins or key tags
 Enough chairs for all participants
• Handling last-minute details
 Conduct last-minute check of all details
o Room facilities
o Audiovisual equipment
o Refreshments
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o Meeting materials
o Miscellaneous
 Remain flexible
During the Meeting
• Taking notes
 Check notes with participants for accuracy
 Notes may later be used to prepare recommendation, etc.
 Prepare draft of notes for manager
• Recording Minutes
 Using a notebook computer
o Key notes during the meeting
o Follow the agenda items in your notes
 Using a notebook
o You are not expected to take notes verbatim
o Motions and a few other items require verbatim notes
o Make certain you have notes on who said what
o Record the time, date, and place of the meeting; attendance,
reference to corrections or additions to the minutes, who
introduces reports, make motions, who volunteers for followup work, time of adjournment, anything else helpful to prepare
minutes
 Using computer software
o Viewing and participating via office computer called virtual
meetings
o Wimba software
 Using a tape recorder
o Used as a backup to obtain verbatim minutes
o Assists office professional in preparing minutes
o Secures a record of discussions on controversial topics
• Meeting Following-Up:
 Check room for orderliness
 Make necessary follow-up entries in calendars
 Send materials to those absent
 Prepare a list to remind manager of his or her obligations resulting
from the meeting
 Put a copy of everything—agenda, reports, etc., in a folder for
preparing minutes
 Handle requests that resulted from the meeting
 Return all audiovisual equipment
 Enter date and time of next meeting in calendars
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 Complete minutes
 Reserve room/equipment for next meeting
 Remind manager to send follow-up memo to members involved in
actions taken
 Send letters of congratulations to newly elected officers
 Preparing minutes
o If taped
 Listen to tape and take brief notes
o Write minutes immediately following meeting
o Create draft and submit for manager’s approval
o Include essential information
o Summarize actions
o Informal meeting minutes
o Formal meeting minutes
o Correcting minutes
 Record changes
 As an insertion in minutes being corrected
 In paragraph form in new minutes of the meeting during
which changes were made
 To show corrections and additions in file copy
 Add words in longhand and delete by drawing lines
through words
 Team Meetings
• Preparing for a team meeting
 Choose appropriate meeting time
 People on team may be from all levels of organization
 All members carry equal status
 Agenda may be very general, since team decides actual topics
discussed
• Selecting participants
 Team leader
o Directs the meeting
 Guidance team
o Two or more people from management with authority to make
changes
 Project team members
o Those taking part in decisions and vote on issues
 Facilitator
o Makes the meeting process flow with ease
 Recorder

o Prepare minutes; role is often rotated
• Starting the meeting
 Team leader starts early
 Meeting begins/ends on time
 Warm-up
 Check-in
 Agree on the goals
 Review team roles
 Establish house rules
• Ending the meeting and follow-up
 Evaluate the meeting to improve future meetings by answering
these questions
o Was the purpose clear?
o Did the group work toward a consensus?
 Was conflict used positively to distinguish between ideas?
 Did group insist on what action was to be done, by when, and by
whom?
 Virtual Meetings
Holding a meeting between two distant locations: Teleconferences,
Videoconferences or Web conferences:
• Teleconferences
 Conference calls by telephone
 Saves travel time and costs
 Most widely conference tool used today
 Maintains effective communication
 For small groups, speakerphones are convenient
• Videoconferences
 Combines telephone and video
 Business is verbally and visually conducted, as if people were in
same room
 Consists of camera, monitors, microphones, speakers, and PCs
o Transmissions sent and received may be delayed by a second
• Web Conferencing using networked computers
 Used across the room or around the world
 Messages are keyed back and forth
 If all parties have the right equipment, computer conferencing can
include audio and video
o Need software, cameras, microphones adapted to their computers
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Ethical Behavior in Meetings
Ethics involves the process of deciding on what is right, or more right, in a
given situation.
• Make choices that will build positive qualities—trust and credibility
• Many aspects involved
• Become familiar with
 Country
 Religious beliefs
 Social customs
 Business philosophy
 Family structure
 Major landmarks and their history
 Customary formats of business documents used
 Use Internet for information
 Learn names of major political leaders, sports figures, and other
celebrities
Some of the things you might be required to handle
 Liaison and protocol
 Conduct tours for attendees and spouses
 On-site typing and administrative services
 Arrange lodging
 Arrange exhibit and display space
 Others?
Role-play 1
Your company wants to organize a Work–Life Balance day. The aim of
the event is to get employees to see colleagues as people with real lives
outside the workplace, and therefore to be more supportive, understanding
and friendly towards each other. There is a very limited budget, and the
event will take place on a normal working day, without dramatically
reducing employees’ productivity during that day. You and some other
junior members of staff have been asked to plan the events for the day.
Hold a brainstorming meeting to plan the event.
Role-play 2
Your company wants to hold a Staff Integration event, to enable
employees from different teams and work locations to get to know each
other and build relationships. You and other senior managers meet to plan
a budget for this event (in terms of cost per employee) and to brainstorm
ideas for the event.
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4.4 PRESENTATIONS
A presentation is the process of presenting a topic to an audience. It is
typically a demonstration, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform,
persuade, inspire, motivate, or to build good will or to present a new idea or
product.
The formal presentation of information is divided into two broad categories:
Presentation Skills and Personal Presentation. These two aspects are
interwoven and can be described as the preparation, presentation and practice
of verbal and non-verbal communication. This unit describes what a
presentation is and defines some of the key terms associated with
presentation skills.
Many people feel terrified when asked to make their first public talk. Some
of these initial fears can be reduced by good preparation that also lays the
groundwork for making an effective presentation.
A Presentation Is…
A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various
speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or
briefing a team.
A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other
‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a
point across in a video conference.
To be effective, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of
presenting the information should be carefully considered.
A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will
often contain a ‘persuasive’ element. It may, for example, be a talk about the
positive work of your organization, what you could offer an employer, or
why you should receive additional funding for a project.
A presentation program is often used to generate the presentation content,
some of which also allow presentations to be developed collaboratively, e.g.
using the Internet by geographically disparate collaborators. Presentation
viewers can be used to combine content from different sources into one
presentation. Some of the popular presentation products used across the globe
are offered by Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides are effective tool to develop slides,
though Google Slides allows groups to work together using Google Drive to
update each account as it is edited. Content such as text, images, links, and
effects are added into each of the presentation programs to deliver useful,
consolidated information to a group.
The Key Elements of a Presentation
Making a presentation is a way of communicating your thoughts and ideas to
an audience.
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Consider the following key components of a presentation:
Context
Ask yourself the following questions to develop a full understanding of the
context of the presentation.
When and where will you deliver your presentation?
There is a world of difference between a small room with natural light and an
informal setting, and a huge lecture room, lit with stage lights. The two
require quite different presentations, and different techniques.
Will it be in a setting you are familiar with, or somewhere new?
If somewhere new, it would be worth trying to visit it in advance, or at least
arriving early, to familiarize yourself with the room.
Will the presentation be within a formal or less formal setting?
A work setting will, more or less by definition, be more formal, but there are
also various degrees of formality within that.
Will the presentation be to a small group or a large crowd?
Are you already familiar with the audience?
With a new audience, you will have to build rapport quickly and effectively,
to get them on your side.
What equipment and technology will be available to you and what will
you be expected to use?
In particular, you will need to ask about microphones and whether you will
be expected to stand in one place, or move around.
What is the audience expecting to learn from you and your presentation?
Check how you will be ‘billed’ to give you clues as to what information
needs to be included in your presentation.
All these aspects will change the presentation.
Presenter
The role of the presenter is to communicate with the audience and control the
presentation. Remember, though, that this may also include handing over the
control to your audience, especially if you want some kind of interaction.
Audience
The audience receives the presenter’s message(s). However, this reception
will be filtered through and affected by such things as the listener’s own
experience, knowledge and personal sense of values.
Message
The message or messages are delivered by the presenter to the audience. The
message is delivered not just by the spoken word (verbal communication) but
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can be augmented by techniques such as voice projection, body language,
gestures, eye contact (non-verbal communication), and visual aids.
The message will also be affected by the audience’s expectations. For
example, if you have been billed as speaking on one particular topic, and you
choose to speak on another, the audience is unlikely to take your message on
board even if you present very well. They will judge your presentation a
failure, because you have not met their expectations.
Reaction
The audience’s reaction and therefore the success of the presentation will
largely depend upon whether you, as presenter, effectively communicated
your message, and whether it met their expectations.
As a presenter, you don’t control the audience’s expectations. What you can
do is find out what they have been told about you by the conference
organizers, and what they are expecting to hear. Only if you know that can
you be confident of delivering something that will meet expectations.
Method
How will the presentation be delivered?
Presentations are usually delivered direct to an audience. However, there
may be occasions where they are delivered from a distance over the Internet
using video conferencing systems, such as Skype.
It is also important to remember that if your talk is recorded and posted on
the internet, then people may be able to access it for several years. This will
mean that your contemporaneous references should be kept to a minimum.
Impediments
Many factors can influence the effectiveness of how your message is
communicated to the audience. For example, background noise or other
distractions, an overly warm or cool room, or the time of day and state of
audience alertness can all influence your audience’s level of concentration.
As presenter, you have to be prepared to cope with any such problems and try
to keep your audience focused on your message.
The most successful and memorable presentations have one thing in
common: They all have a story to tell. No matter how many facts or charts
need to be presented, incorporating stories into a presentation will keep your
audience focused and intrigued. Using stories to support data is a well-known
technique in all aspects of public speaking, from motivational talks to incompany sales pitches.
In this unit, we will look at 7 ways to structure your presentations using
storytelling techniques to keep your audience engaged until the very end.
Look closely at each one to see which fits your presentation’s purpose best.
Is it easier to separate the correct pieces before you start building? Or is it
better to search in a big bucket with mixed parts for every new piece you
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need? We’re pretty sure you will pick the first option. In the beginning, it
might seem like this option would take longer, but the opposite is true.
The first step to a successful presentation structure is to brainstorm your ideas
and combine them into a rough draft. But first, consider the message you
want to relay to your audience.
The Message
• What is the message you want to convey with your presentation?
• A good starting point is to decide if it will be informative, entertaining,
inspiring or persuasive.
• In a business setting, you might want your presentation to do two of
these things: inform and persuade. If you are a mind-set coach for
companies, then you might want to entertain and inspire.
• The main message should be easy to grasp from the title on your first
slide. Think of an appropriate way to word what you want to give your
audience in one or two sentences. This can of course be changed later,
but having a preliminary title will help get your ideas in order for what
comes next.
Once you know which direction your presentation will take, it’s time to jot all
your ideas down on paper to create an outline and rough draft of all the points
you will cover.

7 Ways to Structure Your Presentation
Now that the brainstorming and rough draft are out of the way, it’s time to
start structuring your presentation. This is the moment when we introduce the
storytelling aspect into the equation. All the information you have gathered
and organized in your rough draft now needs some attitude to really get your
message across.
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We are going to look at 7 different styles of storytelling structures that work
great for presentations. They all have a different style of delivery and
cadence. Choosing which one works for your presentation will depend on
your message and on who your audience is.
Fact and Story
The first presentation structure we will look at is Fact and Story. The
premise is that the presentation moves back and forth between facts and
stories. Presentation guru Nancy Duarte wrote about this presentation
structure in her book “Resonate.” She suggests that mixing storytelling with
the relay of facts can help your audience stay interested until the end of your
presentation.

According to Duarte, this type of structure should start off with an initial
setting of the present reality: the “what is.” From there, an invitation to
adventure is presented and the first instance of “what could be” is told as a
story to illustrate how the initials facts can be improved.
This comparison of presenting the facts as what they are at the present
moment with stories that show how things could be improved is what keeps
your audience interested and waiting for more.
The conclusion should end at a high point, considerably higher than where it
began. The audience should feel like they learned something and, at the same
time, inspired to change.
This structure maintains a level of suspense and excitement, perfect for
presentations that need to inspire AND inform.
The Explanation
The presentation structure labeled as the Explanation is meant to teach new
insights and abilities. Its main purpose is to inform about a process or plan to
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either fix a problem or learn something new. A good way to incorporate
storytelling into the structure is to show the progression of the facts along
with the progression of a story.

The presentation progresses in an upward motion following these steps:
1. The Lay of the Land shows how things stand right now, what the
destination is and how you plan to get there. The point is to get the
audience excited and on board as quickly as possible by showing them
the entire process straight up. Tell a story that relates directly to the
introduction. Better yet, start with a story.
2. The Roadmap is a visual map of how you will get to the final
destination and reach the resolution. Set the audience on the right track.
3. The First Step begins the adventure to get where you want to go.
4. The Next Step is the middle section of the presentation, where all the
steps are laid out one by one.
5. Almost there is the catharsis where you look back at how much has
changed and progressed since the first step.
6. The Arrival is the celebration of the end of the journey. The audience
should feel like they have learned something new and gained new
knowledge.
The Explanation structure can be used for presentations by consultants that
want to teach new ways of doing things inside a company or department. It
could also perfectly fit in a sales meeting where a presenter can explain their
process of a masterful sales plan.
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The Pitch
As you know, a pitch in the business sense is when a presenter uses the
power of a presentation or speech to convince the audience of something,
he/she believes will improve a system or solve a problem.

The Pitch presentation structure is like a climb uphill that takes you over a
hurdle and on to a positive resolution. The storytelling technique in the
Pitch is used to show how the presenter’s idea can really improve a situation.
By using a real and relatable story, the pitch makes more sense and feels
more important.
1. The Wind Up is a quick summary of what’s going on right now to
presents the facts in a way that is easy to grasp and relatable to the
audience.
2. The Hurdle presents the problem that needs to be solved. Relay the
problem with a story so that the emphasis is doubled.
3. The Vision presents a glimpse into the main idea on how the problem
can be solved.
4. The Options is the moment when two different options are laid out as
possibilities to solve the initial problem. The idea is to give an average
option first, followed by a great option second. If there have already been
tests and experiments to prove these facts, then these comprise the story.
5. The Close is the point where the ideal option is presented as the best and
only option.
6. The Fine Print tells the audience exactly how the problem will be
solved, the steps that need to be taken and the tasks to be resolved.
7. The Hook is the uplifting conclusion to the presentation which relays an
added bonus to the solution of the problem.
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Use the Pitch presentation structure when you want to convince someone that
your idea is the best for their problem.
This structure also works when a new startup is looking for new funding or
sponsorship opportunities.
The Drama
There is a well-known structure in literature called “The Hero’s Journey”
which follows the plight of a main character from the beginning of a story to
the end and leaves the reader feeling like they’ve learned a lesson they will
never forget.
This type of presentation structure, the Drama, has a strong storytelling
aspect.
This is often used to tell the story of an influential company from founding
days, through trials and tribulations, and then finishes with an inspiring show
of success.
Another perfect presentation for the Drama structure is an inspiring personal
story.

These are the steps of a Drama style presentation structure:
1. One Fine Day. The introduction sets the stage with a situation where
things are not perfect but just average. Imagine as if it were the first page
of a book, where the setting is laid out and the audience gets an idea of a
time and place.
2. The Challenge. Suddenly a problem appears that can’t be ignored. The
things that need to be solved are presented as a challenge.
3. Descending Crisis. At this point, the problem is attacked head on but
things get worse until it hits rock bottom.
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4. Rock Bottom. When all seems lost and everything is at its worst, the
story arrives at a standstill. As an added bonus, the presenter can pause
for effect.
5. The Discovery. This is the moment when a glimmer of light shows up
and there is a discovery, a new way of resolving the problem.
6. The Rise. By discovering new abilities, the problem can be tackled in a
positive way.
7. The Return. Not only are the problem and challenge resolved, the
character and the audience break through and reach an unexpected
happiness threshold, opening the world to a whole new range of
possibilities.
8. The Lesson. The conclusion is reached with an unforgettable lesson and
resolution. The audience will feel inspired, informed and entertained.
Situation – Complication – Resolution
Most presentations in the realm of Business to Business (B2B) sales, the
business consultancy follow the Situation – Complication – Resolution
structure. It is a three-element storyline linked by the words but and
therefore.

The starting point is the Situation, where current conditions are shown in an
unbiased and transparent way. The situation connects to the next step through
the word but.
A simple example: Our home decor company is selling pretty well this
month, but…
This is when the Complication is presented.
In the above example, it could look something like this:
Our home decor company is selling pretty well this month, but … we have
been spending too much on international shipping.
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When presenting the Complication, use facts to prove it. Present it as the
challenge that needs to be overcome. The Complication is a low point, but
from a low point we can only go up.
The final destination is the Resolution, which is connected to the
Complication with the word, therefore.
Our home decor company is selling pretty well this month, but we have
been spending too much on international shipping. Therefore, we need to
start using a new company that has a better price range and great service.
Back up all of your information with real facts and proof.
Situation – Opportunity – Resolution
A similar structure to the one above, the Situation-Opportunity-Resolution
replaces Complication with Opportunity.
This three-part structure is also joined by the words but and therefore.
The difference is that instead of the movement going down and then up, it
goes slightly up and then levels out.

This structure is perfect when you need to show that something is not that
hard to fix; that the problem might not be so big after all and that the solution
is easy to grasp.
A presentation that follows this structure could turn out to be quite short, if
only the facts are presented, but that would leave the audience feeling like “is
that it?”
Adding an interesting story to help the audience relate makes the overall
presentation more effective.
Hook, Meat and Payoff
This presentation structure, like the Drama, is deeply founded in the art of
storytelling. While the Hero’s Journey is more of a literary technique, Hook,
Meat and Payoff is more like a spoken-word progression.

The idea is that with the Hook, the presenter gives the audience a sense of
place and time, plus a situation that will put them at the edge of their seats,
wanting more.
The Meat is the middle section and usually the longest part of the
presentation where the story progresses and all the information is relayed in
an interesting and inviting way. The Payoff is the inspiring conclusion that
circles back to the beginning and leaves the audience feeling inspired.
It’s like when you come out of the movie theater: You feel better about
yourself and the world around you; as if you’ve learned something important
that will make your life a little better.
Preparation
• Research your topic
• Format the slides
• speak on what you know
• Notes- outline main points
• note cards vs. full sized paper
Practice
• Practice makes perfect
• Revision
• Get the timing right
• Practice in front of people
• In the venue
• Fix things that don’t work
• Gets you used to being in front of an audience.
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Presence (Giving the Presentation)
Only a small proportion comes from what you say
• Posture.
• Tone of voice.
• Don’t rush!
• Nervousness – fright is common
• Body language
o voice tone
o gestures
o eye contact
o positive attitude
• Clothing: comfortable, appropriate
• Maintain eye contact
• Use notes if you need them
• Think about when to use handouts
Advantages of using a PowerPoint
 Portable
 Professional
 Can add graphics
 Clear
 Can use for hand-outs
Disadvantages of using a PowerPoint
 Depends on technology
 Lack of audience contact
 Can’t add to it
 Overcrowded
Don’t-s
• Read directly from notes
• Read directly from screen
• Turn back on audience
• Slouch, hands in pockets
• No um, ah, you know-s
• No nervous gestures
• Talk too fast
• Talk too quietly
Do-s
• Eye contact
• Can glance at notes
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• Appropriate gestures
• Rhetorical questions to involve audience
Ten Successful Tips to Control the “Butterflies”
• Know the room: Become familiar with the place of presentation.
• Know the audience: Greet or chat with the audience beforehand. It’s
easier to speak to friends than to strangers.
• Know your material: Increased nervousness is due to un-preparedness.
• Relaxation: Relax entire body by stretching and breathing so as to ease
the tension.
• Visualize giving your speech: Visualize yourself giving your speech
from start to finish. By visualizing yourself successful, you will be
successful.
• People want you to succeed: the audience is there to see you succeed not
to fail.
• Don’t apologize: By mentioning your nervousness or apologizing, you’ll
only be calling the audience’s attention to mistakes.
• Concentrate on your message and not the medium. Focus on the message
you are trying to convey and not on your anxieties.
• Turn nervousness into positive energy; transform it into vitality and
enthusiasm.
• Gain experience: experience builds confidence, which is key to effective
public speaking.
Possible fears and how to deal with them:
• Forgetting what to say: prepare and use notes or cue cards. If you do
forget, take a deep breath, and don’t panic, as you’ll forget even more!
• Disruptions, people shouting out or being rude during your presentation:
You control the presentation. If people are being noisy, disruptive, or
rude, you have the right to ask them to leave. If you’re unwilling to do
this yourself, contact venue security if they are present.
• Getting lost: Allow plenty of time to get to the venue, take a contact
number to call if you get lost, plan out the route beforehand, take a taxi if
needed.
• Questions: not knowing the answer to questions, people asking questions
to trip you up: Prepare for common questions beforehand, if you can’t
answer straight away, take their details and get back to them.
• Speaking in front of people: practice in front of a small audience first.
Look at just above the heads of the audience. Sometimes you will be
nervous: accept it and carry on.
• Breathe deeply
• Take your time
• Test the microphone
• Smile!
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PowerPoint tips
• Look at the audience, not the slides
• Don’t overcrowd
• Pay attention to colour and layout
• Print out slides
• Test beforehand
Dealing with Questions
 Questions show people are listening!
 Allow time to deal with them
 Decide when to answer them
 Try and anticipate
 Don’t be afraid to stop and think
What if I don’t know the answer?
 Open it to the floor
 Take details and answer later
 Repeat the question back if you don’t understand it
To sum up
 Preparation is key!
 Practice!
 Watch out for tone and body language
 Your flipchart/PowerPoint is a complement only, don’t let it take over!
 Questions are good, but prepare for them.
 Fears can be tempered with good preparation
Practice takes you from this…

Check Your Progress 1
Choose the right option:
1) What is an agenda for a business meeting?
o A clear list of items to be discussed
o A list of supplies needed for the meeting
o An invitation that contains only the date and time
o A list of tasks to be performed after the meeting
o A place to park irrelevant comments or questions during a meeting
2) What can happen when employees are NOT involved in decision-making
during a meeting?
o The employee is less likely to follow-up on tasks.
o The employee is more likely to follow-up on tasks.
o The employee will perform as expected regardless of whether he/she
was involved in the process.
o Most employees have little interest in being part of a decision in
meetings.
o Only certain employees will perform without being part of the
decision.
3) Why is the amount of agenda items important?
o It helps to regulate the duration of the meeting.
o People know when they will be given a break.
o Employees tend to like longer agendas.
o It helps to determine what is important.
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o It defines roles.
4) We ran out of time and were forced to _______ the meeting.
o allocate
o address
o adjourn
5) If you have a _______ please wait until Marie has finished speaking.
o commence
o comment
o formality
6) The board members couldn’t come to a _______ so they had to hold a
vote.
o grievance
o designate
o consensus
7) Markus was away on business, so _______ was assigned.
o a show of hands
o an apology
o a proxy vote
8) Before we _______ I want to remind everyone to sign the attendance
form on the way out.
o wrap up
o strategize
o recommend
9) In his _______ the chairman thanked everyone for doing such a good
job.
o final agenda
o last ballot
o closing remarks
10) I’ll _______ as soon as all of the board members take a seat.
o verify
o commence
o brainstorm
11) Since everyone was so _______ we were able to finish the meeting early.
o participant
o punctual
o confidential
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12) We’ll be discussing this year’s profits at the _______ next month.
o AOB
o AGM
o GAM
13) At the meeting, the MD put forward _______ to eliminate all part-time
positions.
o an action
o a caution
o a motion
Check Your Progress 2
1) When giving a presentation in front of an audience you should do all of
the following except for:
a) Speak loud and clear
b) Provide handouts if needed
c) Dress professionally
d) Look at your screen and not the audience
2) To whom should a presentation be aimed?
a) The highest authority in the room, regardless of where they are
b) The entire audience
c) The people in the closest rows
d) Your best friend in the room
3) Where should you look while presenting?
a) At the board — that’s where the audience is looking
b) At your notes so you get the info correct
c) In the eyes of random people in your audience
d) At the chins of individuals in your audience
4) Why should you keep text to a minimum on slides?
a) So the focus is on you as the speaker
b) To help make your presentation longer
c) So the pictures are easier to see
d) To make sure the audience can read everything you have to tell them
5) Information in your presentation should be organized.
a) True
b) False
6. Your presentation should consist of title slide, ______, body, and _______.
a) objects and summary
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b) opinions and paragraphs
c) objectives and summary
d) options and pages
7) It is a good idea to read to your audience when presenting.
a) False
b) True
8) You should use animations and sound in your presentation to keep your
audience engaged.
a) True
b) False
9) You should always add pictures to your presentation even if it doesn’t
have anything to do with your presentation.
a) False
b) True
10) When presenting, you should show enthusiasm for your topic or creation
a) True
b) False
11) When presenting, your poise should be:
a) nervous and angry
b) confident and relaxed
c) annoyed
d) shy
12) When presenting, it is important to articulate and use a loud, clear voice.
a) True
b) False
13) You can be loud without shouting.
a) True
b) False
14) It is Okay to mumble… this encourages your audience to really listen and
pay attention
a) True
b) False
4.5 LET US SUM UP
If you want to effectively communicate, you must actively participate in
speaking activities like group discussions, meetings and presentation.
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You must practice for Public Speaking that would help you to overcome
stage fright. To do so you need preparation, practice and finally presence of
mind.
4.6 SUGGESTED READINGS
If you would like to learn more about the finer aspects of discussions,
meetings and presentations, you may consult:
Brian Tracy, Speak to Win: How to present with power in any situation (New
York: American Management Association, 2008)
Dick Massimilian, How to Lead an Effective Meeting (and get the results you
want) (Dallas: Richard D Massimilian, 2016)
Priyadarshi Patnaik, Group Discussion and Interview Skills Second Edition
(Cambridge University Press India, 2011)
4.7 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) A clear list of items to be discussed
2) The employee is less likely to follow-up on tasks.
3) It helps to regulate the duration of the meeting.
4) adjourn
5) comment
6) consensus
7) a proxy vote
8) wrap up
9) closing remarks
10) commence
11) punctual
12) AGM
13) a motion
Check Your Progress 2
1.d, 2.b, 3.c, 4.a, 5.a, 6.c, 7.a, 8.a, 9.a, 10.a, 11.b, 12.a, 13.a, 14.b