Block 4

Indira Gandhi National Academic Writing & Composition
Open University BEGG-173

School of Humanities
Block
4
Different Types of Writing
BLOCK INTRODUCTION 02
UNIT 13
WRITING REPORTS 03
UNIT 14
WRITING PROPOSALS 19
UNIT 15
BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS 33
UNIT16
LEARNING TO EDIT 49
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BLOCK INTRODUCTION
Block 4 Different Types of Writing introduces you to writing projects such as reports,
proposals and reviews that you are likely to take up as students, and goes into the various
aspects to be considered while writing them.
Unit 13: Writing Reports looks at the different types of reports and their formal elements
and provides tips on writing long and short reports.
Unit 14: Writing Proposals begins with a definition of a proposal, explains why proposals
are written, identifies the elements of different kinds of proposals, and describes the kind of
language to be used in proposals.
Unit 15: Book and Media Reviews explains what a review is and distinguishes between the features
of a good review and a bad review. The unit provides guidelines to develop a frame for writing a review
and developing the appropriate vocabulary for a review.
Unit 16: Learning to Edit highlights the importance of editing in the writing process. The Unit
explains how a writer can edit a text to make it coherent, organised, readable and easily
comprehensible and touches upon the basic aspects to be kept in mind while editing a piece of
writing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
The material we have used for this course is purely for educational purposes. Every
effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material used in this book. Should
any infringement have occurred, the publishers and editors apologise, and will be
pleased to make the necessary corrections in future editions of this book.
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UNIT 13: WRITING REPORTS
Structure
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Warm-Up
13.2 Stages in writing a report
13.3 Types of reports: report an event/incident/accident
13.4 Business reports: long and short reports
13.5 Reading
13.6 Language tips
13.7 Grammar
13.8 Writing
13.9 Let us Sum Up
13.10 Answers
13.0 OBJECTIVES:
After going through the unit, you should be able to know:
• How to write a report
• The differences between types of reports
• Features of different types of reports
• The differences between long reports and short reports
• How to write a short report
• The elements of a short report
• How to write a long report
• The different parts of a long report
13.1 WARM-UP
Activity 1:Read the examples given and identify the difference between these two excerpts.
(Excerpt A) (Excerpt B)
The massive floods that swept Chennai, Kanchipuram and other Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the general budget 2018-
districts in December 2015 were due to failure of various state 19 in Parliament on Thursday.
government agencies to heed the recommendations of expert
committees on flood mitigation, check dam building and other As he rose to present the budget for the financial year, he said,
measures, said a CAG report. "Indian economy has performed very well since our Government
took over in May, 2014. India achieved an average growth of
1 storing water for Chennai city, the
One of the key reservoirs 7.5% in the first2three years of our Government. Indian economy
Chembarambakkam reservoir was not operated on full capacity, is now a 2.5 trilliondollar economy – seventh largest in the world.
Please check the answers at the end of the unit.
said the report. "An abrupt and uncontained release of water from India is expected to become the fifth largest economy very soon.
Chembarambakkam reservoir contributed to the massive disaster. On Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis, we are already the
Imprudent and injudicious action by tank in-charge warrants thirdlargest economy." (Times of India, Feb 2018)
detailed enquiry," the report said. (The Economic Times, Dec
2015)
What do you think is the difference betweenexcerpt A and excerpt B?
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If these excerpts are types of reports, then what do you think a report is?
A report is an organised, factual and objective presentation of information. Here ‘organised’

means that the information should be written clearly and in a structured format. It should be
‘objective’, which means that it should not be influenced by your personal feelings, so that the
report you write should be easy to read and follow.
When you write a report, you try to convey some information to others. You may wish to give
an account of some event, as in Excerpt A or you may want to report a speech of a dignitary or
state the results of your investigation or describe any event or even report something from your
personal experiences.
You may give opinions in a report, but these opinions should be supported by factual evidence.
Though news stories are considered as typical reports, scientific articles, research papers,
survey reports and business reports are also included as types of reports.
Check your progress 1
1. Write a letter to your father/mother/close relative/friend, giving a brief report about

your studies, hostel life and your friends (about 100 words).
Please check the answers / hints given at the end of the unit.
13.2 STAGES IN WRITING A REPORT:

You have read about what a report is but do you know how to write a report? How does one
actually write it? What are the steps to be followed, details to be kept in mind? As you know,
for any serious writing, you have to plan well; here we will look at how you will plan your
report.
There are 3 stages we could follow:
Stage 1: You have to ask yourself all the relevant questions to make your report meaningful.
For example: Who is it for? What is the purpose of writing this report? What information do
you wish to convey through this report?
Stage 2: At this stage, you should gather relevant informationfrom different sources. While
reading, you should make notes. The advantage of writing notes is that you do not have to
depend on your memory alone.
Stage 3: This stage requires you to draft the outline of the report.The outline makes report
writing easier and more effective and it enables you to attend to one part of the report at a time.
Do you know how many parts are there in a report?
There are three main parts:
Introduction: here you should state the subject and the purpose of the report. In it you may also
give the background information about the report, if necessary.
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Body of the report: Here you should present a detailed and organised account of the subject of
the report. You can include the following: figures, tables, graphs and charts as supporting
evidence.
Conclusion: You should summarise your observations and give your suggestions or
recommendations in the Conclusion.
Example of an outline of a fire accident report:

• Introduction: A major fire accident took place in New Delhi.
• Body: Exact time and place at which the fire started – cause of the accident –
casualties – loss of property, etc.The reason for the continuation of the fire for a long
time.
• Conclusion: Precautions to be taken to prevent such accidents.
1. As the Cultural Secretary of the Students’ Union at your college, give an outline of
your annual report.
13.3 TYPES OF REPORTS

Do you know how many types of report there are? There is no rigid classification regarding
the types of reports, but we mainly use these common types of reports in writing:
a) events
b) meetings and speeches
c) interviews
d) experiments
e) business reports (short and long)
a) Reporting an event:
When you come across various incidents in your everyday life, such as accidentsand equipment
failures at your place of work, you may be asked to write reports on such accidents. These
reports can help to determine the causes that led to the accidents and the necessary steps that
can be taken to prevent such accidents from happening again. The report on an accident can
even be used by the police or a court of law inquiring into the matter. So, the report – an
accident report, as it is usually called – should be prepared as promptly, objectively and
accurately as possible.
In the beginning of the accident report, state briefly the nature of the accident you are reporting
on, as in Excerpt A in the ‘Warm-up’ section. Describe any physical injury or property damage
caused by it. Be sure to include the precise details of the time, date and the place of the accident,
names of witnesses or the sources of information and any other important details. Try to
indicate the cause of the accident, if known.
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Finally, mention your suggestions or recommendations for the prevention of a recurrence of
such accidents. While writing the report, be exact and objective and support your opinions with
facts.
Here is an example of a report on a fire accident that happened in New Delhi. The words in
brackets indicate the information to be included in a report; if this information is missing in a
report, then it is meaningless to report an event.
Example: Major Fire in Multi-storeyed Building
A major fire broke out (subject of the report) in Ansal Bhawan, a multi-storeyed building on
Kasturba Marg in New Delhi (place of the incident)on the morning of 29th June(day of the
incident). The fire was noticed at 10:45 a.m. (time of the incident) on the fifth floor and in no
time the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth floors(affected area)were gutted and thick smoke
covered the entire building. While a large number of office workers rushed out of the building
as the fire raged, nearly 300 persons(victims)were left on the terrace of the building.
Tenders from the Airport Fire Service and the Defence Institute for FireResearch helped the
Delhi Fire Service to rescue the stranded people.Army and Navy personnel were also
summoned to the building during the five-hour fire-fighting operation. Some workers on
another building managed to build a causeway between the two buildings by using ropes and
wooden poles (who helped). The fire was fully extinguished around 3:30 p.m.(when did it
stop). Three persons were killed in the blaze and about 55 persons were taken to a nearly
hospital as they were overcome by smoke(casualties).
An electrical short-circuit on the fifth floor of the building is reported to be the cause of the
trouble(cause of the incident). Due to neglect of safety precautions and inadequacy of fire-
fighting equipment, the building became a veritable death-trap for hundreds of people. So, the
Delhi Fire Force officials have decided to issue statutory notices to the owners of about 200
high-rise buildings in the city asking them to provide the necessary fire safety
measures(recommendations/suggestions/future action).
(from The Times of India)
b) How to report a meeting and a speech
When you report a meeting, you need to give precise information about these points:
• Name of the organisation
• Venue and time of the meeting
• Agenda or programme
• A brief history of the organization
You should also mention in the report the arguments presented by various speakers and you
should focus on those points in the order of their importance rather than the order in which they
were considered at the meeting. Further, you should include the names of all the participants
but report only the important speeches.
When you report a speech, most of the points mentioned above are similar but you have to pay
attention to the following:
• Adequate identification of the speaker
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• The occasion for the speech
• The exact time and place
• The title of the speech, if any
If you want to quote the exact words of a speaker, then you must take down complete sentences,
wherever possible. If you get an advance copy of the speech, you must mark what is important
and if there are any deviations made in the actual speech, incorporate them in the report if it is
important.
c) How to report on an interview
Before you write the report, identify the interesting points made by the interviewee and make
it the leading part of your report. Your impressions of the interviewee’s personality should be
worked in as the report develops but this should not overshadow the entire report. After writing
the leading portion, you have to decide how to proceed to the substance or the main body of
the interview. If you want your report to be purely informative, then write the body of the report
in a question-and-answer form. You can add explanatory passages to provide an element of
continuity or you may develop the report by switching back and forth while writing about the
various points. In your reports, use direct quotations which will help your reader to know
exactly what the interviewee wishes to convey and also those that illuminate his/her
personality. You may also want to give/add a title to the report.
d)How to report an experiment
When you write a report about an experiment, you should include these points:
• Subject
• Apparatus and other materials used
• Procedure
• Observations
• Conclusions
• Drawing, diagrams or graphs
You should identify the experiment you are reporting on and indicate the apparatus and other
materials used. You should also include how you performed the experiment and your
observations. Further, in the conclusion you should write the results of your experiments with
their interpretation. You may also include your recommendations.When you write your report,
state your findings in clear sentences and avoid the use of jargon as far as possible. Be objective
and accurate. In an experiment report, the passive voice is more suitable than the active voice.
So, use the passive voice and include illustrations, drawings or graphs to make your report
clearer.
e) How to write a business report
When you write a business report, remember that it is an integral part of the functioning of any
business concern. It assists companies in problem fixing/solving and arriving at decisions.It
functions as a factual, objective document regarding the company or business house. So, you
can say that a business report is a solicited document written for a specific purpose according
to the prescribed terms of reference and designed for a specific audience. The facts, findings,
analysis and recommendations which you mention in the report are your responsibility.
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13.4 BUSINESS REPORTS: LONG AND SHORT REPORTS
There are two types of reports, short and long; the former is of one to nine pages and different
from long reports which are ten or more pages. In the short report, you may analyze just one
aspect of the problem and not conductany formal research.In the longer reportyou must
examinea problem in detail, focus more on extensive research and have more preparation time
to write the report.
When you prepare a report keep these points in mind:

• A report is usually a documentation after an event or activity, thus the use of past
tense is important.
• A report is often solicited, that is, someone has asked for the report to be prepared.
• It is usually upward communication within an organization, thus the tone used is
formal.
• A report should have conclusions, be they suggestions, recommendations or simply
advice, as per the purpose of the report.
Short Reports
A short report is concise, accurate, and unbiased with supporting evidence to help readers
make an informed decision.Itis usually less than five pages and does not need the elaborate
outlines and structuring of the long report.
The three basic sub-sections are introduction, investigation/body and conclusion /summary.
Simple headings and sub-headings help the reader to follow through the text of the short
report. You should avoid using a running text but break the text in terms of its thematic units.
This would also help you to write the report in a concise manner. A good short report will
require both clarity and objectivity so that the reader of the report can see things the way you
have mapped the main issues.
A five-step formula you should adopt while preparing the report:
Planning
Research
Drafting
Editing
Concluding/Recommending
A short report generally has three sections:

• Introduction
• Body (discussion, text)
• Terminal section (summary, conclusions, recommendations)
Introduction:
You should include the purpose of the report, the individual or organisation which has
authorized it, the scope, background and limitation of the report.
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Body:
You should present all the relevant facts accurately and impartially and organise the report in
a logical manner with emphasis on important ideas. You should highlight it either through
appropriate headings, capitalization, italics, or repetition.This helps the reader to read the
report with ease. You must include visual aids like charts, maps, pie diagrams, graphs etc. to
focus and clarify important information.
Terminal section:
It has a summary of the entire text together with conclusions which have been drawn from the
main text and recommendations to define the future course of action. You should not include
new information or material. Also, you should write the summary in the same order as the
topics discussed in the main text.
Short reports could have two kinds of formats: Memo Style and Letter Style. The pattern that
they follow is derived from the letter or memo itself, but their purpose remains different.
Given below is an example of both kinds.
TO: The Memo Style Report: Block Format

Mr. Satish Arora
FROM: A. Ravi
DATE: February6, 2010
SUBJECT: Report on Staff Overtime for January, 2010
As per your instruction, I have computed the number of overtime hours put in by the
staff members of the different sections and the overtime allowance due to each
one of them.
Staff Hourly No. of Total Total

Wage Occasions Hours Payments
1. Roshan Rs. 50 6 8 Rs. 2400
2. Anant Rs 60 8 10 Rs. 4800
3. Arif Rs. 80 4 6 Rs. 1920
4. James Rs. 80 5 4 Rs. 1600
TOTAL 23 28 Rs. 10720
The total expenditure incurred on overtime is likely to go up further by about 50% in

the next three months as we move towards the end of the financial year and the
target deadlines have to be completed.
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The Letter Style Report:
MAJORSOFT INDIA
22,KASTURBA GANDHI MARG
EW DELHI 110001
4 January, 2011
Dear Mr. Sena,
Sub: Feasibility of setting up a cold storage unit in Jhansi
We have conducted a feasibility study for setting up a cold storage unit in Jhansi. We
feel that it is a good proposal since there are no cold storage units in that area. Farmers
from the neighboring villages have to travel at least 200 kms to sell their vegetables at the
mandi in Lucknow. Consequently 30% of their vegetables perish.
The cold storage unit will help farmers to store their vegetables here and their vegetables
will not get spoilt. Consequently, their profits will increase.
We are in the process of locating land to build the cold storage unit.
Do let us know if any further matter needs to be enquired into.
Yours sincerely
Rama Malik
Assistant Sales Manager
In case yourreport is a little longer, say 9-10 pages, use a letter of transmittal or prefatory
note. These are basically forms of covering letters or covering notes and the report can come
after that.
LONG REPORTS
Formal long reports have the following elements:
1. Cover Page:As the name suggests this is the first page or cover page of the report and
it has the title of the report, the report number and the date.
2. Title Page: The title page includes the following information:

- Title of the report (short and unambiguous)
- The name/names of persons who prepared the report
- The name/names of persons or organization who authorized the report
- Date of submission
3. Letter of transmittal: This is the introduction to the report and is very similar to the
preface to a book. You should write in first person using personal pronouns and the
style should be informal. In it you should include the scope of the report, the methods
used for the findings and drawbacks and limitations, if any. Further you should
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mention the major findings of the report, giving details wherever necessary, and then
the conclusion and the recommendations. In this section, you can acknowledge and
express your gratitude to those people who have helped you in the completion of the
report and also the organization or persons who have asked for the report.
4. Table of contents: It is a kind of map or a reference page of the report. It is an

outline of the report, indicating the coverage, sequence and hierarchical importance of
the information in the report. The different topics in the report are identified together
with their page numbers for easy access and reference. You should list the contents
with their relevant headings in the same order as it appears in the report to avoid
confusion.Also the visuals in the report should be listed separately, but if there are
very few visuals, they can be put in the content list. The table of contents is an
important document because it helps people to locate specific information in an
otherwise long report.
5. Executive Summary: It is always found after the table of contents. It is a summary of

the report and includes all the relevant and significant information that the actual
report contains including the introduction, the findings, the recommendations, the
conclusions and relevant illustrations of charts, graphs and pie diagrams if any.
The actual report has three parts to it:

• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion
6. Introduction: It is similar to the introduction to the short report where the main
purpose of the report, the scope, its contents and limitations are articulated. You
should also discuss the methodology used to collect data (both from primary and
secondary sources), like sampling techniques and questionnaires and the different
statistical tools used for analysis.
7. Body:It mentions detailed discussions of the results of the findings using the different
research tools.The results are shown in the form of graphs, charts and tables. You
should include these to help the reader in understanding the details of the report.The
body of the report is divided into a number of sections which is further subdivided
into sub-sections. All of them will require headings and therefore use the numbering
system of decimals to distinguish the different sections and subsections. You should
include this system in your reports.
Given below is an e.g.
Section Headings 1 2 3
Sub-section 1.1 2.1 3.1
1.2 2.2 3.2
Sub Sub-section 1.1.1 2.1.1 3.1.1

1.1.2 2.1.2 3.1.2
Sub section of 1.1.1(a) 2.1.1(a) 3.1.1(a)
the sub sub-section 1.1.1(b) 2.1.1(b) 3.1.1(b)
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This will help the reader go through the report in a logical manner and avoid confusion
because of the various headings and sub-headings.
8. Conclusion: This is a summary of the main points of the report together with relevant
recommendations. Use the SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis for
recommendations.You should write the conclusion keeping these points in mind:
➢ give a detailed result of the investigation.
➢ answer all the questions raised in the report initially.
➢ put forward problems if any in achieving the objectives
➢ give clear and definite recommendations
➢ state briefly the action to be taken
➢ state how it can help in any future course of action
9. Appendix: You should include all the reference material and documents which havebeen
used directly or indirectly by you in the writing of the report. Moreover some of the
documents and research materials may be too long and therefore it would not be possible
to include them as part of the report, hence you could place them in the appendix.
Information which you can include in the appendix include sample
questionnaires/statistical data/statistical formulae /copies of important documents
used/other instruments of survey etc. Each of the appendices needs to be numbered and
captioned. The documents need to be arranged in a logical sequence. Avoid including
irrelevant appendices.
10. Glossary: The glossary contains all the technical terms which you have used in the
report. The terms are arranged alphabetically as in a dictionary to facilitate the reader to
locate any particular term/ word. It also explains how the words are used and gives a brief
about the rules followed while abbreviating technical words.
11. Bibliography: It is a list of secondary sources you have used while preparing the report.
All textual sources whether published or unpublished should be acknowledged. It is
generally written in the following manner:
➢ the name(s) of the author
➢ title
➢ name of publisher, place of publication
➢ year of publication and edition if any
12. Index: It is a detailed listing of names, places, subjects, together with the page number
where they are mentioned. It is organized in an alphabetical manner. A reader is able to
locate information regarding any topic with the help of the index.
Answer each of these questions in 100-150 words.
a)What is the purpose of writing reports?

b)Mention the major points of difference between a short report and a long report.
c)What are some of the similarities between a short report and a long report?
d)What is an executive summary in a long report?
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13.5 READING
Read about an incident that took place in Chennai.
Why is India's Chennai flooded?

The severe flooding in Chennai again proves that India's cities are unprepared for extreme
weather events like rains, droughts and cyclonic storms which are becoming more frequent and
intense. Many parts of India suffer flooding every year during the annual monsoon rains from
June to September. The northeast monsoon has been particularly vigorous over southern India
and more so in Tamil Nadu state, of which Chennai is the capital.
Last month was the wettest November in a century, in the city of 4.3 million people. And, at
490 mm, rainfall on 1 December was the highest in 100 years. The floods are a wake-up call
for India's teeming cities that were built with the expectation that the environment would adjust
itself to accommodate the need for the city to grow.
The disconnect with nature is also manifest in the failure of planners, builders, administrators
and even common people to fathom the sheer power of natural events. The Corporation of
Chennai and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority are responsible for approving
building plans and town planning, and for enforcing urban planning. A master plan was
prepared in 2008. But much of the city has grown without a plan and with no regard to water
flows, and without anticipating extreme weather events. Then there's illegal construction.
As The Indian Express newspaper reports, "What may have been a tank, lake, canal or river 20
years ago is today the site of multi-storey residential and industrial structures." There are more
than 150,000 illegal structures in the city, according to the city's municipality. More than 300
tanks, canals and lakes have disappeared. An information technology park in Chennai is
flooded because it is located at a place where waters from two separate lakes converge and
flow to a neighbouring creek. Many of the city's info-tech facilities are built on marshlands,
water-bodies and water courses.
Plastics are another culprit. After the first intense downpour in mid-November, discarded
plastic washed into rivers by rainwater was pushed to sea by the swollen rivers. At high-tide,
the plastic was thrown right back onto the city's beaches by the sea. The large quantity of
plastics visible in the city's beach litter exposed another chink in the city's defences. Plastics
are virtually indestructible. What doesn't get washed out to sea tends to accumulate in water
channels and storm water and sewage networks, impeding and even blocking flows. Clearly,
indiscriminate development and shoddy urban planning have contributed to the floods in India's
fourth most populous city.
(from BBC dated 12 January 2016)
1. Read the report given above and answer the questions below.
a) What is the subject of the report?

b) How much was the rainfall on December 1?
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c) Why are the floods called a “wake-up” call for the teeming cities?
d) How many tanks, canals and lakes disappeared? Why?
e) Why areplastics called ‘another culprit’?
f) What is your suggestion for preventing the recurrence of such accidents?
13.6 LANGUAGE TIPS

When you write a report, you must think of the language to be used. It will change according
to the topic and the reader you have in mind but remember that you are writing to
communicate with others, not to impress them. Therefore, you have to keep in mind these
rules:
a) Be clear: Your report should be clear and definite and not vague. You must avoid
ambiguity, i.e. avoid words/ sentences that may be understood in more than one way.
Example:
Ambiguous sentence: A claim for theft, that shall not be more than 1 lakh, must be
filed with the police.
Clear sentence: Claim for theft may not exceed 1 lakh and must be filed with the
police.
b) Be simple and brief: Do not overload your sentence with too much information. Use
short sentences as far as possible. In a sentence do not use more words than are
necessary.
Example 1:
Overloaded sentence: I prefer a large university because there you can meet many
kinds of people with different interests from many parts of the country, where there
are different ideas, and a wide experience with many kinds of people is an important
part of education.
Improved version: Experience with many kinds of people is an important part of

education. In a large university you can meet people from many parts of the country
and people with different interests. I prefer a large university because it provides this
important aspect of education.
Example 2:
A sentence with unnecessary words: We thought we had an adequate supply of food

with enough for everyone to eat.
Improved version: We thought we had an adequate supply of food for everyone.
c) Avoid repetition:A word may not sound good if it is repeated too often. In such cases
you should replace it by a synonym or a substitute word. Sometimes awkward
repetition can be corrected by rewriting the sentence.
Example 1:
Awkward repetition: I have chosen a topic that is a frequent topic of conversation

today. My topic is ‘Developing our own natural resources’.
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Improved version: I have chosen a topic frequently heard in conversation today –
developing our own natural resources.
Example 2:
Awkward repetition: My point is that too much emphasis is placed on college
education, and this emphasis on college education makes many people go to college
who do not need or want a college education.
Improved version: My point is that too much emphasis on college education makes
many people go to college for education they do not need or want.
Example 3:
Awkward repetition: Nehru and Ambedkar had entirely different ideas about
government, but Nehru and Ambedkar both contributed a lot to our government.
Improved version:Nehru and Ambedkar had entirely different ideas about
government, but they both contributed a lot to our country.
d) Avoid jargon: Jargon is language that is hard to understand because it is full of

special words known only to the members of a certain group. If your report is for
circulation only among fellow experts, you can use this kind of technical language,
but if the report is for a non-specialised group, avoid the use of technical language.
Example:
Jargon: In non-exceptional structures the co-ordinates that constitute multiple units
exhibit essential similitude in grammatical functioning and usually in parallelism of
semantic qualities.
Improved version: Ordinarily elements in a series in a sentence are alike in
grammatical form and usually have some similarity of meaning too.
13.7 GRAMMAR
Read the sentences given in the report:
• The fire was noticed at 10:45 a.m. on the fifth floor.

• At high-tide, the plastic was thrown right back onto the city's beaches by the sea.
In both the sentences, the underlined verb is in the passive voice, i.e. was noticed, was thrown
[be (past tense) + past participle form of the main verb]. The passive voice is used in reports
because action is more important compared to the doer of the action. Sometimes it happens that
the doer of the action is absent. Therefore, the passive voice is mostly used in report writing.
As the action has happened in the past, the verb in passive form will change into this form:
[be (past tense) + past participle form of the main verb]
Example:
Three persons were killed in the blaze.
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In the above sentence, the number of victims is important, therefore, it is this aspect which is
mentioned.
1. Change these sentences into passive voice.
a) The Chief Minister of Delhi inaugurated the new building of the Income Tax Office.
b) Heavy floods did a lot of damage to the property.
c) A Famous Bollywood star donated Rs. 30 lakhs to a charity on Monday.
d) The Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer painted the famous painting, “A Girl with a
Pearl Earring”.
e) The Police caught the thief red-handed with all the jewellery and money.
13.8 WRITING
Imagine that the Director of your company has asked you to look into the health and safety
provisions in the company’s offices and to make recommendations for improvement.
You have prepared a set of notes by talking to various people and the union representatives.
Draft a report to your Director on the basis of these notes.
Health and safety problems in the company’s offices:

- Talked to people and studied all reports of colds, allergies, and job stress.
- A number of cases of job-related stress and depression as reported by counselor.
- Reports of many cases of Repetitive Strain Injury as informed by physiotherapist.
- Had meetings with union reps. and office managers about what to do.
Recommendations / Proposals
a. Clearly display safety regulations in canteen and main office.
b. Office staff need training on sitting in correct posture while working on computers.
c. New staff need to be given information about safety regulations and policy, e.g.,
taking frequent breaks from the screen.
d. Departmental committee on health and safety to be responsible for giving instructions
on handling office equipment and other electronic and mechanical machinery.
e. Ventilation and air conditioners need regular cleaning and maintenance.
f. Union reps suggested replacement of sub- standard furniture and equipment
i. old fashioned screens- cause eye sight problems
ii. ineffective and inadequate office lighting causing headaches etc.
iii. important to have chairs with back support- many staff complain of backache.
13.9 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit you have learned:
• How a report should be planned

• How to write an outline of a report
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• The structure or main parts of a report
• Different types of reports
• Difference between long reports and short reports
• Process of writing effective reports- both long and short
• Different parts of a short report
• Different elements of a long report
13.10 ANSWERS
Activity 1
Suggestions: Excerpt A is a newspaper report on an incident whereas Excerpt B is a report of

a speech delivered by an ex-finance minister of India. You mayhighlight the differences
between these two excerpts based on the words/phrases that are used in them, also focus on the
topic.
Suggestions: You may write about the courses you are taking, what you think of your teachers,
your special interest in a particular course, the accommodation and the food provided at your
hostel, the friends you have and the places they come from.
Suggestions: You may write the history of your association, the competitions held during the
year in fields like music, dance and literature, the names of the people who came to deliver
lectures or give performances, and your views on the activities arranged during the year.
Suggested answers:
a) Business reports are written for a specific purpose according to the prescribed terms
of reference and designed for a specific audience. They assist companies in problem
fixing/solving and arriving at decisions. They also function as factual, objective
documents regarding the company or business house.
b) Short reports are usually less than five pages whereas long reports are usually more
than 10 pages. Short reports do not need elaborate outlines and structuring but in long
reports these are essential. The structure of both types of reports is not the same.
c) Short reports and long reports arewritten for a specific purpose according to the
prescribed terms of reference and designed for a specific audience.
d) It is a summary of the report and includes all the relevant and significant information
that the actual report contains, including the introduction, the findings, the
recommendations, the conclusions and relevant illustrations of charts, graphs and pie
diagrams, a kind of preview of the report.
a) The heavy floods in Chennai and the reasons leading to them.

b) The rainfall on December 1 was 490 mm.
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c) The floods are called a “wake-up” call for the teeming cities because it was believed
that cities were built with the expectation that the environment would adjust itself to
accommodate the need for the city to grow.
d) 300 tanks, canals and lakes have disappeared because 1500 buildings were
constructed in place of these tanks, canals and lakes.
e) Plastics are called ‘another culprit’ because it accumulates and blocks the flow of
water in water channels, storm water and sewage networks.
f) Proper planning and construction of buildings are the suggestions for preventing the
recurrence of such accidents.
a) The new building of the Income Tax Office was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of
Delhi.
b) A lot of damage to the property was done by the heavy floods.
c) On Monday Rs. 30 lakhs was donated to a charity by afamous Bollywood star.
d) The famous painting, “A Girl with a Pearl Earring” was painted by the Dutch painter,
Johannes Vermeer.
e) The thief was caught red-handed with all the jewellery and money by the police.
Suggestions: You may include all the points mentioned in the notes and elaborate them further.
If you think the number of recommendations is enough, please follow the structure of the short
report. You may add any points you like.
References
Bovee, Courtland L., John V. Till and Barbara E. Schutzman. 2006. Business Communication
Today. 7th ed. Indian rpt. Delhi: Pearson Education; Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Publishing.
Chaturvedi, P.D. and Mukesh Chaturvedi.2004.Business Communication: Concepts, Cases

and Applications. Singapore: Pearson Education.
Taylor, Shirley.2005. Communication for Business: A Practical Approach. 3rd Edition. Delhi:
Pearson Education (Singapore) Pvt. Ltd.
Soumitra, K Choudhury, Anjana, N Dev Archana Mathur, Tulika Prasad, Tasneem Shahnaaz
2008. Business English. Pearson Education.
18
UNIT 14: WRITING PROPOSALS
Structure
14.0 Objectives
14.1 Warm-Up
14.2 Business Proposals
14.3 Reading
14.4 Vocabulary and Other Tips
14.5 Grammar
14.6 Writing
14.7 Let us sum up
14.8 Answers
14.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through the unit, you should be able to:
* understand a proposal
* explain why proposals are written
* describe the features of a proposal
* identify the parts of different kinds of proposals
14.1 WARM-UP
Activity 1:
What is a proposal according to you? Look at the words given below and choose the words
which you think are the examples of a proposal to you.
a) to marry someone ( )
b) to build a building ( )
c) to develop a catering plan ( )
d) to write a research plan ( )
e) to invest in a book ( )
f) to examine the existing laws ( )
g) to advertise a business ( )
h) to discuss the rationale of a particular policy ( )
Did you choose all the options? Good!! If you did not, then do not worry! We will discuss
why all the options are correct.
All the options mentioned above are some of the types of proposals used in different contexts,
such as:
a) a plan to ask somebody to marry you (marriage proposal)
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b) a plan detailing the selling points of a book written for a publisher to publish the
book for sale (book proposal)
c) a plan to construct a building (building proposal)
d) a plan for a catering business catering plan)
e) a plan to reform/investigate a specific law (legislation reform)
f) a plan for marketing (marketing plan)
g) a plan for a policy on an important issue for the government (policy proposal)
h) a plan for a research study somebody wants to undertake (research proposal)
As you have seen, in some places, we have used plan instead of proposal, why do you think
we did that? Is it different or the same? What do you think?
The word “plan or proposal” is used interchangeably depending upon the context or situation.
Both the words convey the same meaning in this context;it means an idea or suggestion put
forward in a formal manner (generally written) submitted for consideration of others to think
and decide upon the feasibility of that idea or suggestion.
14.2 BUSINESS PROPOSAL

What is a proposal?
A proposal indicates the direction of a future action. Any action begins with an idea. The idea
develops into a plan of action. The plan needs to be elaborated upon. The prospects and
consequences of the plan need to be visualized. If the plan shows promise of being executed,
then it needs to be written down with the costs worked out. This document is called a proposal.
The proposal is scrutinized by colleagues, superiors or authorities within an organizationor by
outside clientsand approved or rejected based on its viability and financial implications.
Types of Proposals:
• Written proposals form the basis for projects undertaken by an institution, organization,
or a business firm. They serve as blueprints for projects and sources of reference during
and after the execution of projects.
• Oral presentations of proposals are also made before a select audience, especially if the
project is undertaken for an outside client.
A proposal can be in the form of a short letter or a long document with supporting graphics
and visuals.
Check Your Progress 1
1. What do you think is a proposal in the context of business? How is it different from other
types? Choose the option/s which convey/s the sense of a business proposal to you.
a) The direction of a future action regarding any idea ()

b) Elaboration of an idea to be formulated into plan of action ()
c) Discussion of prospects and consequences of the plan ()
d) Working costs to be included for the execution of the plan ()
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e) Scrutiny of the plan within the organization and the clients for its financial implications and
viability ( )
How many of these options did you choose?
If you read these options, all these options mention the steps involved in the process of
writing a business proposal. These steps need to be included when you write a business
proposal.
step a) is known as the executive summary of the proposal

step b) is known as the introduction to the idea
step c) is known as the problem/solution/consequences/prospects regarding the idea
step d) is known as the costs regarding the plan
step e) is known as the evaluation of the plan.
Did you understand what a business proposal is?

Any activity or project undertaken in a business organization needs to be formalized and
documented. Before launching a project, all aspects involved in it will have to be visualized in
order to arrive at the benefits that will accrue from it. This is documented in a proposal. If the
proposal is viable, then the project is undertaken. After the completion of the project, a report
is submitted. The report will indicate the success of the project and whether the objectives
stated in the proposal have been achieved or not. Reports become the basis for future proposals.
Proposals and reports are thus integral to the functioning of any organization.
A business proposal is an unsolicited or solicited bid for business. There are two types of
business proposals that can help you get more business to develop your company.
Types of business proposals:

Solicited Business Proposal:
• A corporation or a government body asks for a business proposal from different

companies to fulfill a project or complete a task and allows these companies to bid for
the project.
• An open bid is placed on the market with other companies competing for an interview
spot. The winning candidate is offered the project.
Unsolicited Business Proposal:
• At some point, your small business may want to do business with a larger company or
forge a joint venture.
• A well-written business proposal can win the hearts and minds of your target
audience.
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What's the Difference Between Solicited and Unsolicited Proposals?
• A solicited proposal is when the customer asks for a proposal while an unsolicited
proposal is when you send them a proposal they haven’t even asked for but which is
important to develop your business.
• Solicited proposals are usually sent to customers who issue a “Request for Proposal” or
RFP. When a customer wants something that is too complicated to pick up at the store
or order from a vendor, they often write down a description of it and issue it as an RFP.
• A solicited proposal provides you with a description of what the customer wants. Many
also provide you with formatting instructions for your proposal and the evaluation
criteria that will be used to make a selection.
• Sometimes you will make a suggestion to a potential customer and they will ask you to
submit a proposal so that they can consider your suggestion. This counts as a solicited
proposal because they are expecting it and you have a chance to talk to the customer
and gain an understanding of their needs.
• An unsolicited proposal is sent to a customer who has not requested it.
• Unsolicited proposals must be especially convincing since the customer has not
anticipated, planned, or budgeted for the proposal.
• With an unsolicited proposal you run the risk that the customer won't even bother to
read it, since they didn't ask for it. However, the lack of competitive pressure in an
unsolicited proposal often makes up for the risk.
Imagine that you have got an idea of selling milkshakes. You now have to plan and
decide how you are going to sell it.
Write out your plan of action giving reasons for selling the milkshake in the manner
you have decided.
While doing this activity you need to make some kind of a plan to carry out your action and
also find convincing reasons to sell milkshakes.
For e.g., if you decided to buy a car the reason would be that you don’t have a car and maybe
your parents would also be happy about it as well. Your proposal to buy a car seems plausible.
This is an example of making a proposal in real life before launching on the action.
Length of business proposals:

In the business world you need to make different kinds of business proposals for various
reasons. It is the length of the proposal which determines its size. Aproposal written by one
person is generally short whereas a long proposal may have several (6 to 7) authors.
Given below are some basic differences between a short proposal and a long proposal:
Has a single author Has multiple authors
There’s no one else to Every member must be consulted and
communicate with and discuss updated
Decide and write proposal on Decide and write collaboratively
his/her own
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Author illustrates, formats and Once writing is completed,
prepares the final copy illustrators,desktop publishers and
production staff complete the work
Individual develops the proposal Group develops the proposal
Now is it clear to you that a business proposal can be of two types - solicited and unsolicited
proposals. These proposals can be short and long depending upon who is writing it. Now, we
will look at the structure of a business proposal.
Let us first look at the structure of a long business proposal.
Structure of a business proposal

A long business proposal contains these elements:
• cover letter
• title page (title, name of representative & designation with a signature, and date)
• executive summary
• table of contents & list of figures
• introduction
• background
• procedures
• equipment and facilities
• management plan
• appendices
Now let us look at the description and sample of the structure of a business proposal.
Do you know what a cover letter is?
A Cover letter is a document which is addressed to the client and also states the purpose of the
proposal. In a business proposal the cover letter indicates the solutions you will provide which
will benefit the company. It should also include the proposal title, name of the representative
together with the designation, date and signature.
Let us look at a sample of a cover letter:
Applicant’s name
Date
Applicant’s address
City, State, Pin Code
Name of the Investor/lending officer
Name of Bank/Lending Institution
Address of Bank/Lending Institution
City, State, Pin Code
Dear Mr/Ms. Name of lender or investor,
State the purpose of the cover letter, Introduce yourself, your background , the experience you have in
this particular business
Mention the amount you need from the investor and how you will manage the rest of the amount. State
your company’s importance in dealing with this business.
State how you will manage this business once you get it.
Express your thanks in advance for looking at the proposal. State your mobile/phone no. and mail id for
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contact or for any doubts/query.
Sincerely,
Applicant’s signature
Applicant’s name
Title Page
The title page includes the title of the proposal, name of the person or company to whom the
proposal is being submitted, the person submitting the proposal and the date of submission. If
organisations specify requirement of more information on the title page it should also be
included.
Look at the sample of a Title page and answer the questions given.
a) What information does this page give you?

b) What is being proposed?
c) To whom is it addressed?
d) By whom is it proposed?
Proposal For Acquiring Additional Floor Space for KIDS’

WORLD, Vishakhapatnam Branch
Submitted to the General Manager
KIDS’ WORLD
By the Regional Manager, Visakhapatnam
12 September 2020
Executive summary
It is one of the most important parts of a proposal. It consists of the summary of the basic
objectives of the proposal, the methodology to be followed, the time span of the project etc.
Both long and short proposals need to have an executive summary.
Table of contents and list of figures

It includes organised list of sections of the proposal and is generally found in long proposals.
Short proposals do not require this.
Introduction
The purpose of the proposal is stated in the introduction. The introduction mentions that you
have understood the problem and know how to tackle the problem. A long proposal also
24
includes the list of individuals who would be associated with the project together with a brief
resume of each individual. Some short proposals also include this kind of a list.
It is generally stated in an infinitive form such as:
To bid for ……..

To recommend……
To supply………
Background
In short proposals the background can be omitted, but in long proposals it is pertinent to give
the background of the individuals or company preparing the proposal.It mentions the
previous work completed by the person/company on similar or identical projects, evaluation
of related projects and a statement on how the earlier projects undertaken were similar and
how it will facilitate/ help in the completion of this project.
Procedures
It briefly statesthe plans which meet the needs of the client. Further it also describes how the
work will be undertaken including implementation of the schedule and the services to be
provided to the organisation.
Equipment and facilities

It discusses the facilities required for the project and the equipment needed to carry on the
project smoothly.
Management plan
It describes the actual functioning of the project. It indicates the number of people who will
be involved, time bound schedules and utilization of resources. It also includes details of the
budget and its rationale.
Appendices
It includes visuals, maps, letters of recommendation and endorsements.
Look at the paragraph given below. Identify which of the part of the structure of proposal it
includes. Give reasons for your answer.
The traffic on the M.G. Road is very heavy from 7am to 10pm. Two schools
and three colleges line the 5 km stretch of the road from Police quarters to
the General Street Metro station. There is no pedestrian crossing anywhere
in between. It is impossible to cross the road during the daytime. School
children and college-goers are forced to go by vehicles or public transport
even if the distance is within 1 km. Three foot over-bridges at 1.5 km
distance from each other should be built to ease the problems faced by
25
pedestrians.
Short Proposals
You have understood what is included in a long proposal and alsogot an idea of what is not
included in a short proposal. Let us look at the structure of a short proposal:
Short proposals generally consist of these elements:
a) Cover letter or a letter of transmittal in response to a Request for Proposal.

b) An Executive Summary which states the intent of the proposal and also elaborates
on how the needs/ requirements of the client would be met within a specified period
of time.
c) The body of a proposal explains in detail the method of execution, management
(personnel, materials, expertise and equipment) time-schedules of phase of execution
and detailed break up of costs.
It is clear to you now that long proposals and short proposals are similar but short proposals
contain fewer elements compared to long proposals.
But what happens when you write a long/short proposal, how would you know whether it is
effective or not?
So let us now look at some tips on writing an effective business proposal.
Some important questions to be considered to write effective proposals:
Before writing a proposal ask yourself the following questions. This will help you to be
focused in your approach and thus enable you to write a winning proposal. You can use these
tips both as inspiration when writing as well asa checklist for reviewing a draft proposal.
• Who: who will do the work, who will manage the work, whom does the customer
call if there is a problem, who is responsible for what?
• What: what needs to be done/delivered, what will be required in order to
complete it, what can the customer expect, what will it cost?
• Where: where will the work be done, where will it be delivered?
• How: how will the work be done, how will it be deployed, how will it be
managed, how will you achieve quality assurance and customer satisfaction, how
will risks be mitigated, how long will it take, how will the work benefit the
customer?
• When: when will you start, when will key milestones be scheduled, when will the
project be complete, when is the payment due?
• Why: why have you chosen the approaches and alternatives you have selected,
why should the customer select you?
14.3 READING
Read the text and answer the questions given.This is the Executive Summary of a proposal.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This proposal is submitted for the renovation of the Heritage Well at PNR College, Erode.
The feasibility of renovating the old well in the PNR College premises has been studied. The
well, identified by the Archaeology Department of the Government as a heritage site in the
precincts of the college built in 1826, is currently in a state of severe disrepair and the
structure needs extensive renovation measures and landscaping. It can be transformed into an
ideal site for open-air concerts, literary evenings, dramatic presentations and pop music
concerts. Drainage and water connections will need to be replaced.
The work will be entrusted to a civil engineer, assisted by two junior engineers and a
landscape architect after the primary phase of structural repairs are completed.
The project will commence 45 days after approval and will take about 90 days to be
completed from the date of commencement of work. The cost has been estimated at about Rs.
500000 for the renovation of the site and landscaping of the surroundings at present and a
further Rs. 50000 yearly for maintenance of the structure.
1. Why is the summary placed before the actual proposal?

……………………………………………...…………………………………………
…………………………………...……………………………………………………
………………………...………………………………………………………………
……………...………………………………
2. What are the main items mentioned?
……………………………………………...…………………………………………
…………………………………...………………………………...................................
................................................
3. Is the summary concise, clear and complete?
……………………………………………...…………………………………………
…………………………………...………………………………...................................
................................................
4. Does it create interest in the reader?
……………………………………………...…………………………………………
…………………………………...………………………………...................................
................................................
5. Find words from the text which mean the same as the following:
a) Repair
b) Suitability
c) Boundary
d) Absolutely changed
e) Start
14.4 VOCABULARY AND OTHER TIPS

Do you know how important it is to write appropriately when attempting a proposal? Let us
look at the tips which might be useful:
It is important that you use appropriate language while writing a proposal.
27
• Keep the reader in mind while writing a proposal.
• Write clearly, briefly and proceed in a logical manner.
• Avoid jargon while writing the proposal.
• The proposal should reflect your personality.
• Make cogent arguments in your favour and deal with potential obstacles honestly.
• Strive to communicate not to impress.
• Ensure that the proposal is error free.
• Use visuals and graphics intelligently. Use politically correct language.
• Write the proposal for a global audience so that people in other countries who may
evaluate it can understand it.
Last but not the least the document should be printed on good quality paper and packaged
professionally for a good visual impact.
14.5 GRAMMAR
Let us look at some grammatical items which will be useful in writing proposals:
In business, we may sometimes have to report the important information that we have
received to someone in the office.When you report the information given by somebody to
others, it is called Reported Speech. There are three important rules to be followed when you
report the information.
• The verb in reported speech is always in the past form.

• The time expressions are always changed.
• The information is stated in the third person, unless you are talking about what you
said yourself.
For e.g.
a) ‘I will not come to office tomorrow.’ →She said she will not come to office the next
day.
b) ‘Can we send you these cheques today?’→She asked whether she could send us those
cheques the same day.
1. Change these words and expressions into reported speech.

a) Tomorrow
b) Now
c) Today
d) Last night
e) Yesterday
f) At present
g) The day after tomorrow
h) Thus
i) Ago
j) Next week
2. Identify the errors in these sentences. These sentences are written in reported speech.
There is only one type of error in these sentences.
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a) The manager said his secretary that he would not come to the office the next day.
b) Rajesh told me that he was waiting for the proposal since yesterday.
c) Radha informed her colleague that she designed the proposal herself.
d) Harsh said LNT calls for proposals every year.
3. Read the conversation between Anita and Ravi. Imagine Ravi has to give this
information to a third person. You have to transform this conversation into reported
speech:
Anita: Good Morning! I’m just calling to ask about the delivery of computers. Have they
arrived yet?
Ravi: Well I’m not really sure.
Anita: Do you think it could have been delayed?
Ravi: I don’t know. I have no delivery note so far.
Anita: Well the problem is we have no record of payment.
Ravi: And is that the reason why you are calling today?
Anita: Yes, you’ve always been such regular payers in the past, haven’t you?
Ravi: Actually we have a cash flow problem at the moment.
Anita: So what do you propose to do?
Ravi: Couldn’t you let us have just ten days?
Anita: Very well, but not beyond that.
4. Complete the passage with the correct comparative form of the adjectives in brackets.
Orange Computers and Apple Machines, two giants of the computer industry, have decided
to merge. Orange is a much (a) ---------- (young) company than Apple but it has had (b) ------
(fast) growth in recent years. It is now slightly (c) ------ (big) than Apple. Orange’s sales team
is (d) -------------- (competitive) than Apple’s. It is (e) ------- (large) and plays a (f) -------------
--- (important) role in the organization. The Orange management team feel that they are
(g) --------------- (hardworking) and (h) ---------- (innovative) than the Apple team.
Apple, on the other hand, is a (i) --------------- (traditional) company. The managers are
generally (j) --------------- (old) than the managers in Orange and they have worked for the
company (k) ----------- (long). The Apple managers feel they are (l) ------------ (experienced)
and that the company has (m) ---------- (good) reputation for the product quality. They feel
they may be (n) ----------- (slow) than Orange, but they are right more often.
29
14.6 WRITING
Your organization wishes to send a short proposal in response to a request for a proposal
from the Commonwealth Games Committee for maintenance of sports venues in Delhi. Draft
a short proposal indicating why the services provided by your company are better than that
provided by others.
14.7 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit you have learned about:
• What a proposal is
• Solicited and unsolicited proposals
• Long and short proposals
• Kind of language to be used in proposals
14.8 ANSWERS
Activity 1
Suggestions: All of the options are the examples of proposals.
Suggestions: All of the options are examples of proposals but each option refers to different
parts of a proposal.
Suggestions: In the proposal, you may include the reason for selling the milkshake, strategies
or plan of action to sell milkshake, where to sell it, how to sell and the pointers to increase the
sale of milkshakes regularly.
a) It gives information about the title page and about submission of proposal.
b) Acquiring additional Floor space for Kids’ world
c) It is addressed to the General Manager of the company.
d) It is proposed by the Regional Manager of the same company.
The paragraph introduces the problem of the traffic on M.G. road and the problems faced by
the people. The end of the paragraphsuggests how to tackle the problem. Therefore, this
paragraph is the introduction part of the structure of the proposal.
30
a) Renovation
b) Feasibility
c) Precincts
d) Transformed
e) Commencement
1.
1. The next day/ the following day/ on Sunday/ today
2. Then/at that time
3. the same day/that day
4. the previous night/the night before
5. the day before/the previous day
6. that week, last week
7. in two days’ time
8. the month before/ the previous month
9. one hour later
10. the following week
2.
a) The manager told his secretary that he would not come to the office the next day.
b)Rajesh told me that he was waiting for the proposal since the day before.
c)Radha informed her colleague that shehad designed the proposal herself.
d)Harsh saidthat LNT calls for proposals every year.
3.
Anita greeted Ravi and told him that she was calling to ask about the delivery of computers.
She enquired whether the delivery had arrived then or not.
Ravi replied that he was not really sure.
Anita asked him whether it could have been delayed.
Ravi replied that he did not know. He had received no delivery note till then.
Anita told him that the problem was that they did not have any record of payment.
Ravi enquired whether that was the reason she was calling him.
Anita agreed and remarked that Ravi’s company had always been regular payers in the past.
Ravi told her that they actually had a cash flow problem at that time.
Anita asked him what was it that he proposed to do.
Ravi requested her for ten more days.
Anita agreed but asserted that this issue should not extend beyond ten days.
4.
a) younger
b) faster
c) bigger
d) more competitive
e) larger
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f) more important
g) more hardworking
h) more innovative
i) more traditional
j) older
k) longer
l) more experienced
m) better
n) slower
Suggestion:
You can start by introducing yourself and your company, your work so far in maintenance of
buildings, how Commonwealth Games sports venues were maintained earlier, what changes
are going to be brought about, how the government is going to profit from it and why the
government should select your company.
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UNIT 15 – BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS
Structure
15.0 Objectives
15.1 Warm-up
15.2 Reading: What is a review?
15.3 Writing a good review
15.4 The Art of Summary Writing
15.5 Paraphrasing
15.6 Grammar
15.7 Vocabulary
15.8 Writing
15.9 Let’s Sum Up
15.10 Answer Key
15.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this Unit, you will be able to:
▪ Explain what a review is

▪ Distinguish between the features of a good review and a bad review
▪ Understand how to summarise and paraphrase effectively
▪ Develop a frame for writing a review
▪ Explore the tenses used in review writing
▪ Develop the appropriate vocabulary for writing a review
15.1 WARM-UP
Imagine that you are going out to watch a movie at a theatre. There is a new movie being
released at the theatre but you don’t know the actors or the story. You haven’t seen its
advertisement. How do you decide to watch such a movie? Circle the factors that will help you
decide if you want to spend your money watching this unfamiliar movie.
▪ ask your friends

▪ decide that the movie isn’t worth spending money on
▪ look online to read discussions on it
▪ check trailers on YouTube
▪ find out about the actors
▪ don’t do anything
▪ find out the ratings in the form of stars or ★
▪ write down three other steps that you might take for finding out more about the movie
i.
ii.
iii.
The steps that you opted for above can be considered as part of a review.
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15.2 READING: WHAT IS A REVIEW?
What is a review? A review, according to the Cambridge Dictionary is, “to think or talk about
something again, in order to make changes to it or to make a decision about it”. Once you understand
the basic purpose of writing a review, you can review anything, but the organisation, vocabulary,
structure, and length will differ depending on whether you are reviewing an academic book or article,
a movie, a dish or a TV show.
A review can be written about various kinds of written work – fiction, non-fiction, newspaper article,
journal article, and academic writing among others. A review of a piece of literature is a type of writing
that is called literary criticism. A good review is when a text or the material is evaluated on different
criteria. One has to be critical while evaluating it. ‘Evaluation’ is not simply a matter of deciding if the
information is right or wrong. In evaluation, you have to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of
the material keeping in mind a few criteria like, purpose of the material, content of the material, who is
the audience of the material, its structure or production and other such points.
It is very important to use a critical lens while writing a review. Criticism is not a totally negative word
or exercise. Being critical means that you have to question the opinions and information and then
evaluate them. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “criticism” (noun) is the “act of giving your
opinion or judgment about the good or bad qualities of something or someone especially books, movies,
performance, food” and so on. Criticism can be either constructive or destructive.
Book reviews can be descriptive or critical. Descriptive reviews simply summarise a book or material,
but a critical review is more than a simple summary. A good book review is not a summary of the
content or simply your own opinion of it or stating the storyline in a short article. The purpose of writing
a review is to help other readers/watchers/buyers (in other words consumers) decide whether they would
want to read/see/buy something or not. For example, a good book review describes, only briefly, the
plot or the content of the book but it takes more time to analyse the ways in which the author tries to
achieve his/her purpose. A book or material is analysed on the basis of its content, views presented,
style of writing, facts and importance of the work. If the book has suspense in it, then a reviewer should
not reveal the surprise or the hidden plot. If possible, the review should highlight what is unique in the
material. Thus, book review writing uses the skills of describing the what, analysing the how and
expressing your own responses/reactions.
1.Mark these statements true or false based on your understanding of the reading passage:
1. Criticism is always negative.
2. The purpose of a book review is to simply describe the content.
3. Constructive criticism is positive criticism.
4. Constructive criticism helps in the process of improvement by giving well-reasoned
opinions in a friendly manner.
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5. A review helps a customer in deciding whether or not to make use of a product.
6. Evaluation means giving a judgment whether a particular material is good or bad.
2. Use your own words to answer the questions below. Write your answers in the space given
below.
1. Give three features of a good review

…..………………………………………………………………………………………
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2. Give three features of an ineffective book review.

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3. What is the purpose of writing a review?

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15.3 WRITING A GOOD REVIEW

Instead of us giving you the features of a good review, we would like you to decide what
a good review could be. So please attempt the activity given below.
Read the short note on Review Writing in Section 15.2. Use the passage to infer or form your
views on the features of good book review writing. Read the various features listed below. Put
them under the category of Good Review Writing or Bad Review Writing.
1. Review is about expressing personal opinionsabout the author of the book.

2. Review should cover every detail mentioned in the book.
3. Review is evaluation of a book/material.
4. Review is a commentary on a material.
5. Review is not for public circulation.
6. Review has to be well organized.
7. Reviewer should be familiar with the material that he/she is reviewing.
Features of Good Review Features of Bad Review
35
In Check your Progress 2, we identified the features of good and bad reviews based on the text
given in Section 15.2. In some ways, we used the skills of inference and deduction to formulate
our understanding of the features of good and bad reviews. The process of writing a review for
anything is similar. A review is like a dialogue between the audience and the creator of the
work. The tone, subject and style of a review can vary depending on the reviewer, but academic
reviews share some common features:
1. A review gives a concise summary of the content, which includes a relevant

description of the topic. It should give an overall perspective or argument of the
work.
2. It should give a critical evaluation of the work. In critical evaluation various aspects
are included like (a) what strikes a reviewer as something different about this
particular piece of work (b) the ways in which it adds to your understanding of the
topic or to the already existing information on the topic (c) whether it puts forward
a new insight or counters the existing understanding on the topic, and (d) whether
the arguments made in it are rational and valid.
3. A review should also make suggestions about why others should read a specific
book
and explain how it would benefit them.
A Review of a Movie
It is important to be critical when writing a review of a movie. Use appropriate adjectives as

they will help in making the review more interesting. Below is a collection of key vocabulary
that is useful for writing a movie review.
Introduction
Facts and background information concerning the film, such as
• the title
• the name of the artists
• the name of the director and the type of movie
• the setting or place where the story in the film happens
Main body
• At least two paragraphs should be included in the main body. It should include:
1st – describing the main features of the plot ( or summary of the story of the film )
2nd – general comments and opinions on the acting; the music; the photography; the colour;
the setting; the costumes and special effects.
Conclusion
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• Your recommendation and its rationale.
Rating:
Usually coloured stars are used to indicate a recommendation of a movie. A star can be
coloured fully or half. The more coloured the stars, higher the recommendation to watch it.
Structure of a review
Good reviews are generally based on the following structure:
• The subject of the review is clearly identified, with all the essential information
➢ What is it about?
➢ Who is involved?
➢ Where did it all happen?
➢ When did it happen? And so on
This is done in the introduction or often in the first few lines of the review, or both.
• A detailed description and analysis, including the reviewer’s opinions. A review of a
book or film should summaries the plot, but should not reveal the ending.
• Finally there is a conclusion in which the reviewer makes either a judgement or a
recommendation.
15.4 THE ART OF SUMMARY WRITING

Summarising or writing a summary is a very important component of a review as also of academic
writing or even writing at the workplace. A summary is a short retelling of a written passage or any
other material; and it contains the most important ideas of the original material. One of the most
important aspects of a summary is that it has to be written in your own words or paraphrased and not a
copy of the author’s words.
Thus, a good summary (a) identifies the writer of the original piece, (b) puts forward the writer’s key
ideas, (c) presents the information in a neutral way, and (d) is not judgmental in tone while writing it.
How to write a good summary
1. Read the text: When you read it for the first time, just scan it. Find out the information that
you can deduce from the title, introduction, conclusion, and the headings. What do these tell
you about the work? Keep highlighting the main points as your read.
2. Divide and identify: After a quick scan, divide whole text into smaller parts. Note down the
headings and subheadings.
3. Read it for the second time: This time, make notes of the main points in your own words. Use
examples in your critique only selectively. Use only key words from the primary text. Mark the
phrases that you would like to use. Understand the topic sentences.
4. Make a list or outline: This step takes place when you are reading for the second time. Make
an outline or a list of the main ideas.
5. Writing a summary: Using the list or the outline, write a summary in your own words. Use
the present tense to write a summary. Start with the main idea followed by other important
ideas. Remember you don’t have to write all the points. Never put your own ideas, or opinions
37
in the summary at this point. Always follow the same order in which the original piece is
written. The order refers to the way in which information has been organised.
6. Edit: Once you have written a summary, read it to correct any mistakes that you might have
made.
7. Vocabulary: Use the appropriate vocabulary while summarizing. For example, you could say,
“the book claims”, “the author is of the opinion” etc.
The infographic below summarises the process of summary writing
•Scan the text

Read
• Divide into smaller sections

• Identify the main ideas/points
Re-Read •Underline key terms
•Write the main idea

Outline •Summarise each section in the same order as originally written
•The above steps should lead to a draft

Draft •Check to see if you have included all the important terms
•Check for tenses, spelling, punctuation and other details

Edit
•Compare with the original to see if you have included all relevant details
Compare
An example of a literature review
Great Expectations, written in 1861 by Charles Dickens, is one of the most famous books written in
English. It has been translated into many languages. Below is a short review of the book.
Great Expectations, written in 1861 by Charles Dickens, is one of his most famous works. The story
revolves around a young orphan, Pip, who lives with his elder sister and her husband, and who is not
rich by any standards. The plot takes us on the journey of Pip, who knows that he will become
a blacksmith like his brother-in-law when he grows up. He knows that his life will be an
ordinary one. The only break from this simple life are his visits to the house of Miss
Haversham, a mean old rich woman, and his meetings with a young girl Estella, whom he falls
in love with. Estella doesn’t return Pip’s love and in fact looks down on Pip’s ordinary
background. However, his life changes when through an anonymous benefactor, Pip gets a
chance to go to London. He enters a society which is different from his poor and humble family
38
background. His new training, memories of Estella and the lifestyle of the rich in London
changes Pip in ways that are relevant even now in the 21st century. Dickens takes us through a
range of human emotions and experiences through this gripping novel.
Great Expectation is a commentary on class relations, love, ambition, hopes and socio-economic issues
that we can still relate to. The novel, written in first person where Pip recounts his own story, develops
at a steady pace with some chapters that still have the power to evoke an emotional response in the
reader. It is a book that one must read and perhaps re-read.
Exercise 3: Read an article on pollution in Delhi. Fill the frame in “Identify and Write” with
the correct details. Use the frame to write a summary in 100 words of the article in the space
provided
It's so sick: 89 per cent people in Delhi feel discomfort due to air
pollution
India Today Web Desk
New Delhi
November 13, 2018
The top four causes of the deteriorating air quality were identified to be motor vehicles,
industrial units, tree cutting and construction activities.
About 89 per cent people in Delhi feel sickness or discomfort due to the bad air
quality and most of the people believe vehicles and felling of trees are the major causes
behind the increasing pollution, according to a new study.
The study titled "Perception Study on Air Quality" by the Association for
Scientific and Academic Research (ASAR) Social Impact Advisors, which works on
social and environmental issues, said the awareness level was higher in the metros with
the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) respondents showing the maximum
awareness of all three terms -- Air Quality Index, Particulate Matter 2.5 and Particulate
Matter 10.
THE STUDY
Close to 5,000 people were interviewed across different demographics in 17 cities

for the study.
About 89 per cent people in Delhi felt sickness or discomfort due to the bad air
quality and most of them believed that motor vehicles and felling of trees were the major
causes behind pollution, the study said.
The top four causes of the deteriorating air quality were identified to be motor
vehicles (74 per cent), industrial units (58 per cent), tree cutting (56.9 per cent) and
construction activities (48.2 per cent).
39
The study covers cities with highly-polluted air -- Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Patna,
Lucknow, Varanasi, Amritsar, Singrauli, Dhanbad, Raipur, Korba, Chandrapur, Angul,
Nagpur and cities becoming rapidly polluted -- Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai.
The top two sources of AQI information for those who were aware and who
understood AQI were newspapers and mobile apps, the study said.
A majority of the respondents (33.4 per cent) said they accessed air quality
information "sometimes" and 12 per cent said "never".
The survey also showed that the age group which "always" sought AQ information
was 18-25 years.
People who feel the air quality has become "much worse" belong to Angul, Delhi-
NCR, Lucknow and Patna. The people of Chennai, Raipur, Mumbai, Korba and Pune feel
it has become a "little worse", according to the study.
The respondents also believe that the top three environmental issues that affect
personal health are air pollution (maximum at 46.4 per cent), drinking polluted water (19.5
per cent) and global warming and climate change (12.2 per cent).
Ashutosh Dikshit, CEO of Urja, the apex body of Delhi's residential welfare
associations (RWAs), said, "This exhaustive survey reaffirms the fact that people are
aware of air pollution. However, looking at the violations on Diwali night in most parts
of north India, I feel that people do not fully believe in the stated causes of air pollution
and its proportionate impact. They also do not correlate air pollution as a significant
contributor to their existing or future health condition. There is a desperate need for a
national-level campaign, aimed at addressing belief systems and changing behaviour."
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/delhi-air-qaulity-pollution-major-causes-
tree-felling-vehicles-1387891-2018-11-13
1. Identify and Write
Focus of the article: _____________________________________________
Source of the article: ______________________________________________

Date: ___________________________________________
The agency (agencies) whose data has been used:
Agency Name: :_______________________ _______________________
Name of the study: ___________________________________________
Main point of the article: ___________________________________________
Number of people interviewed: ___________________________________________
Causes of pollution: ______________________________
Types of cities covered: ___________________________________________
40
Sources of information about air pollution for the people:
___________________________________________
Is air quality equally bad everywhere or are there differences?
___________________________________________
Three issues that affect personal health: ___________________________________________
What is the need of the hour, and why? ___________________________________________
2. Write the Summary of the passage in no more than 100 words. Use the information
given above.
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15.5 PARAPHRASING
In the previous section, you learnt about summarizing. To summarise means to express only
the most important points made by someone else. Paraphrasing is an important technique of
summary writing. Paraphrasing is to express the ideas of someone else in your own words. A
good paraphrase is one that contains different vocabulary and sentence structure from the
original one but still conveys the main ideas of the original author. While paraphrasing, it is
important not to directly copy and paste the words used by someone else. The techniques of
summarising and paraphrasing are very important in the art of writing a review or an essay.
Use synonyms or Make sure that the synonym that you choose don’t have a very
similar words different meaning from the original. For example, “venues” can be
used as a synonym for “sites” but it should be able to fit with the
meaning of the original sentence.
Change the voice Change from active to passive: A lot of people in Delhi are falling ill
because of bad air pollution (Active) → Bad air pollution is the cause
{In active voice the of illness for many people living in Delhi (passive).
subject does the
action but in Or change from passive to active
passive voice the
subject does not do
the action.}
Substitute The company has a policy of annual increments for its employees.
definitions → The company gives a raise to its workforce every year.
41
Combine different Use conjunctions like for, because, and, nor, but, or, yet, so to
sentences combine sentences.
Use components 24 hours can be expressed as ‘a day’ or ‘a whole day’

like time, dates,
numbers etc two weeks = 14 days = a fortnight
creatively
Exchange the verbs Convert the nouns to verbs or verbs to nouns

and nouns
For example, if the original sentence is: “The students started their
research for the survey of air pollution in Delhi few days ago”.
Paraphrase: The students researched for the survey of air pollution in

Delhi recently.
1. Paraphrase the following sentences
1. One of the biggest worries of the people today is Internet security.

Today, internet security is one of the biggest worries of people.
2. Although it was raining, Lata wanted to walk.

…..………………………………………………………..………………………………
3. After he finished shopping, Jai took a nap.
…..………………………………………………………..………………………………
4. The school that is across the street is 25 years old.
…..………………………………………………………..………………………………
5. Honesty is vital in any relationship, even if it is a difficult situation.
…..………………………………………………………..………………………………
6. Usually people drive their car faster in cities than in villages or rural areas.
…..………………………………………………………..………………………………
15.6 GRAMMAR
Three main tenses are used while writing a review based on the nature of writing and text.
Tense Use How to form

Present Tense • For stating the main points of a Vikas Dalal, the producer,
study or material demonstrates his ability to tell a
• Summing up the opinion of the complex story in a simple way
writer or producer of the material in the movie.
• Giving an overview of the topic or
material (food, genre etc) being
covered.
• If you’re sharing your own views
about a previous research/work
42
Past Tense • Reporting findings of past research Dr Singh (1980) reported
• Reporting findings of past work that…
In most cases add ‘ed’ to the

verb (report →reported)
Present Perfect • When expressing general opinion Several scientists have

Tense about past work/ research observed…
• To express that research is fairly
recent.
To have/has + past participle of

the main verb (Neeta
hasstudied… ➔ has + studied)
1. Convert the sentence to the tense indicated.
1. I saw the book (Past Tense to Present Perfect Tense)

I have seen the book.
2. Have you seen the rain? (Present Perfect Tense to Present Tense)
…..………………………………………………………..……………………………
3. She proved the theory wrong. (Past Tense to Present Perfect Tense)
…..………………………………………………………..…………………………
4. I have done it. (Present Perfect Tense to Present Tense)
…..………………………………………………………..…………………………
5. The movie showed racial discrimination. (Past Tense to Present Perfect Tense)
…..………………………………………
………………..…………………………
6. This order leads to a lot of misunderstanding. (Present Tense to Past Tense)
…..………………………………………………………..…………………………
2. This is an extract from a review. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of theverbs in the
brackets.
Following the realist tradition, Narayan’s novels ------------(tell/tells) apparently

simple tales of simple folk trying to live out their ordinary lives in a changing world
where they---------------- (struggle/struggles) to accommodate tradition with
modernity, often with tragic – comic consequences. Rooted in the everyday life of
Indians, his works evoke traditional Indian folklore and Hindu tradition whenever
necessary. This is what probably gives his writing a certain unique flavour, as if he
were writing in his native tongue. Autobiographical content also forms a significant
part of some of his novels. For instance, the events surrounding the death of his wife
from typhoid and his coping with his grief formed the basis of his novel The English
43
Teacher. At the same time, there is a certain “cosmopolitan vision” in his writing
where although immersed in the local, he is able to observe his characters and their
concerns dispassionately almost like an outsider, often giving an ironic twist to his
tales as in the very famous The Guide.
What------(make/makes) him so popular with the masses is also his “easy-to-read”

style, written in unpretentious prose laced with wit, compassion and gentle humour.
(He is also a great favourite of syllabus planners at both school and college levels).
However, it is this very quality of simplicity which has not found favour with some
critics who -------(has make/have made) light of his vast talents - Shashi Tharoor, for
instance while-------(praises/praising) Narayan for his meticulous recording of the
ironies of human life, feels however, that Narayan’s charm masked the “banality of
(his) concerns, the narrowness of his vision, the predictability of his prose, and the
shallowness of (his) pool of experience.” Others have likened him to Faulkner and
Chekhov.
Narayan has won numerous awards and honours for his works both nationally and
internationally. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award, for The Guide in 1958. He ------
--------(honoured/was honoured) with the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service to
literature in 1964. In 1980, Narayan -----(awarded/was awarded) the AC Benson
Medal by the Royal Society of Literature. He was elected an honorary member of the
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1982.He was awarded Padma
Vibhushan in 2000.
Narayan may not surprise us with great innovation or even great complexity and in
that sense he certainly has not “chartered new territory in his fiction”, but he has
created characters and incidents which we--------- (remember/has remembered) from
our own lives and reminded us of the simple truths which we more often than not tend
to forget.
Anju Sahgal Gupta (from India Today)
15.7 VOCABULARY: SOME USEFUL PHRASES

There are some keywords that are used while writing a review. Let’s look at some keywords
that you might need to use while writing a review. The list is not restrictive and you may add
to it.
For background:
• The work is based on…

• The book/novel is/was written by…
• This well-written/fascinating/ or badly-written/boring book…
• The story is set in…
Main points of the plot:

• The plot focuses on/ revolves around…
• The story beings/is about …
• The plot is gripping/thrilling/ boring/dull
• The book related how…
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General opinion and comments:
• This/ the book is well paced…
• It has a tragic/dramatic/ surprising end/middle plot…
• It is an inspiring story…
• It is rather confusing/boring…
Useful language for recommendations

• It is well worth reading
• I would/ wouldn’t recommend it because…
• It is a highly entertaining read…
• It is a bore to read
15.8 WRITING
Now that you know about reviews, so let us try writing some.
1. Pick any one movie that you have recently seen. Using the vocabulary listed in Section 1.7,
write a review of the movie in no more than 100 words.
Rating:
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2. Choose any one work of fiction. It can be a classical book or a recent one. Write a review of
the book in no more than 200 to 250 words.
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3. Visit to a Restaurant: Go to a nearby eating joint. It can be a local café too. Write a
review of it in no more than 200-300 words. Some of the aspects that you can mention
in your review are: range of cuisine or dishes served – specialty – reasons for its
popularity – taste of the food/drinks - location – hygiene - décor – price - anything else
you might like to add
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15.9 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we started with understanding the nature and purpose of a review. A review can
be written about anything – an academic work, non-academic work, music, video, a shopping
mall and even a restaurant. A good review is the one that critically assesses the material. A
review is a process in which a reviewer not only gives a few details about the product/material
but also informs others about the value of the material by making an assessment of it.
Summarising and paraphrasing are very important components of review writing. Summarising
is an art of using few words to talk about something with the aim to highlight the main details.
Paraphrasing is the art of writing something in your own words rather than copying word-to-
word. Both are necessary in writing a good review.
15.10 ANSWER KEY

Warm-up
How do you decide that you want to watch a particular movie? Circle the factors that will
help you decide if you want to spend your money watching this unknown movie.
▪ ask your friends
▪ look online to read reviews on it
▪ check trailers on YouTube
▪ find out about the actors
▪ find out the ratings in the form of stars or ★
▪ write down three other steps that you might take for finding more about the movie
i. look at the record of the director
ii. ask different people to get different views
iii. listen to music or other things connected with it.
Mark these statements true or false based on your understanding of the reading passage:
7. Criticism is always negative. FASLE

8. The purpose of a book review is to simply describe the what. FALSE
9. A constructive criticism is good type of criticism. TRUE
10. Constructive criticism helps in the process of improvement by giving well-reasoned
opinions in a friendly manner. TRUE
11. A review helps a customer in deciding whether to make use of a product. TRUE
12. Evaluation means giving a judgment whether the material is good or bad. TRUE
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Read the short note on Review Writing in Section 1.2. Use the passage to infer or form your
views on the features of good review writing. Read the various features listed below. Put them
under the category of Good Review Writing or Bad Review Writing.
Features of Good Review Features of Bad Review

1. Review is about expressing
8. Review is evaluation of a personal opinion on the author
book/material. of the book.
9. Review is a commentary of a 2. Review should tell every detail
material. mentioned in the book.
10. Review has to be well 3. Review is not for public
organized. circulation
11. Reviewer should be familiar
with the material that he/she is
reviewing.
Paraphrase the following sentences
a. Today, internet security is one of the biggest worries of the people

b. Lata wanted to go for a walk even though it was raining.
c. Jai took a nap after shopping.
d. That school, across the road, is 25 years old.
e. Even when there is a difficult situation in a relationship, honesty is very important.
f. In rural or village areas, people drive slower than they do in the city.
1:Convert the sentence to the tense indicated.
a. I have seen the book.

b. Did you see the rain?
c. She has proven the theory wrong.
d. I did it.
e. The movie has shown racial discrimination.
f. This order led to a lot of misunderstanding.
2.1 tell
2. struggle
3. makes
4. have made
5. praised
6 was honoured
7. was awarded
8. remember
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UNIT16: LEARNING TO EDIT
16.0 Objectives
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Writing as a Process
16.3 Why Edit
16.4 Grammar and Vocabulary
16.5 Spelling and Punctuation
16.6. Linking Devices and Paragraphing
16.7 Peer Editing and Self Editing
16.8 Suggested Reading
16.9 Answers
16.0 OBJECTIVES
Writing is becoming increasingly important in our world where even informal voice messages
are being replaced by text messages. It is only in the last 200 years or so that the average person
is becoming literate and using written language to make notes, share messages and thoughts
and promote ideas and opinions. Learning to write allows us to engage in a variety of social
rolesacross various platforms.
In the process of writing, editing plays an important role as it helps the writer to read through
their writing to see if they have been able to express their ideas clearly and precisely in a
coherent and organized manner. In the section, we will look at the process of writing and how
editing makes the written text readable and easily comprehensible. It will be followed by some
basic things to keep in mind while editing a piece of writing.
16.1 INTRODUCTION
When you think you are ready to share your writing with others, it is important to take time to
go back to what you have written and read it again. Remember, you as a writer, know what you
want to say to your readers, but the reader doesn’t know your train of thought. It is important
to read your work to see whether your message is clear, and your writing has no errors of
spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization etc. The word revision, or re-vision means to
‘look again’ and that’s what you must do.
In the previous units, you have learnt what the process approach to writing is and that writing
is a recursive process that needs drafts, writing and re-writing. After writing the initial drafts,
successful or good writers ‘look again’ at their writing to see if they have achieved what they
wanted to when they first started writing. Once the revisions are done, successful writers then
polish or edit their writing. They do not worry too much about spelling, grammar and
punctuation when they first start writing because as you have seen in the earlier units, putting
down ideas and organising them in a coherent, logical manner are the first steps in writing.
Once you have accomplished that, you can then start focusing on editing your text. After all,
you don’t want your readers to be distracted by errors or dismiss your ideas because you did
not take care of surface errors such as spelling and punctuation. Of course, your computer will
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help you auto-correct, but as we all know, that does not always happen the way we would like
it to be.
In this unit, we will focus on editing and see how we can learn to help our peers with editing
as well as learn how to self-edit. Remember, editing work begins after you have written at least
one draft of your paper. Take a break from writing before you begin editing- that way, you will
see your writing with a fresh pair of eyes; asking a friend or peer to help you with editing may
also be a good idea if you are learning to edit and do not have a lot of confidence.
16.2 WRITING AS A PROCESS

As we have already discussed, writing is a recursive process that is ongoing. It entails an
audience, a purpose and tone that fits the context and need for writing, revising your thoughts
and finally editing to make the final changes before sharing your piece of writing with others.
It would be a good idea to understand at this point that revising and editing are different and
should not be used interchangeably.
The box below explains the differences:
Editing Revising
is at the sentence level deals with the paper as a whole
addresses problems of spelling, Focuseson strengths and weaknessesof

grammar, punctuation, or vocabulary. ideas, organisation of ideas,
development of ideas
Happens after the paper is complete Takes place while the paper is being written
Purpose is to ‘clean’ the text of errors and Purpose is to expand and clarify
make it ready for the reader ideas to make meaning clear
Only the structure of writing is changed May involve moving or removing

while the main idea or text remains the entire paragraphs, expanding ideas,
same giving examples
Once you have understood the difference between editing and revising, you are ready to make
your writing better. While writing, you may focus on how your argument or discussion is
developing, whether you need to strengthen your main idea with more supporting ideas or give
some more examples or reorganize the sentences or ideas. You must first pay attention to more
important things like organising your ideas and developing them in a coherent manner. For
instance, you may realise that an idea in paragraph 4 connects better with what you said in
paragraph 2 and therefore needs to be moved.
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After you have written the first or the second draft, you can review spelling, punctuation, and
grammar to check if there are any errors. Simple things such as capitalization of proper nouns
and first letter of the first word in a sentence must also be looked at as part of editing.
Check your Progress 1
1. Writing is a process because it ……. (complete)

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Organising ideas is part of revising the text to make sure ………. (complete)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. What are main differences between revising and editing?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. Why should we edit at the end of the writing process and not while we are writing?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
16.3 WHY EDIT?

Have you ever considered the difference between your speech and your writing? Both speaking
and writing are productive skills, that is, we produce language through our speech and written
text. When we speak in a conversation, we usually do not put much effort on monitoring what
we say. We may start saying something but may realize mid-way that it is not the best way to
express ourselves so we may change our sentence and start again. Our listeners do not mind
that since we are there to explain ourselves. Sometimes, we look at our listeners and guess that
our message is not getting across, so we may repeat or rephrase our ideas. For more formal
occasions, we edit and re-edit a speech many times before we are sure that it gets the right
message across. Writing is similar to a speech. We have to edit our written message so that
even when we are not around, our readers may comprehend our ideas without any confusion.
Moreover, writing is more permanent than speaking and our readers may be distant from us
in time and space. For instance, what is popular now will not remain popular a decade later
and if you use slang, it may become unintelligible to our readers in the future. Also, unlike
speech which can be and is usually altered according to the listener(s), our written text cannot
be revised immediately depending on our audience. We have to assume who our audience
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will be and write accordingly, aware of their absence in our immediate physical space but
conscious that they are the primary recipients of our discussions and thought processes. Thus,
we need editing tools to help us articulate our thoughts better, and express them coherently
and cogently to an audience that is expecting us to be as clear and unambiguous as possible.
Here are six benefits of following a good editing process:
1. Makes sure your written message matches what you were trying to say.
2. Helps to condense and improve the efficiency of your writing.
3. Ensures that your ideas flow in a coherent, logical manner.
4. Covers all areas and makes sure there are no loose ends or gaps in the information.
5. Clarifies ideas or corrects mistakes.
6. Present your ideas, thoughts, arguments in a clear, precise manner that follows
conventions of grammar, spelling and punctuation that are easily understood by all.
It is important to understand what is the best time to edit your work. When you are working
on ideas or it is a first draft, it is important to put down your thoughts without too much
thinking or checking. This is to ensure that you follow your ideas and make connections
which will bring depth and clarity to the ideas. If at this early stage, you start editing or
correcting surface errors such as spelling, you will get distracted from pursuing your thought
process. Constantly checking spelling from the dictionary for example, will disrupt your
thoughts and prevent you from building a cohesive argument. Hence, editing is usually kept
for the end of one cycle of writing. Once you have put down all you have to say on paper,
you can then start looking at issues of spelling, grammar and where you should put that
comma, so that your ideas are not confusing to the reader. Sometimes, you may not be able to
locate an error or think that there is clarity of thought but a reader might find an error or find
it difficult to follow what you are trying to say. In such cases, a fresh pair of eyes such a
peer’s or friend’s may help you in editing your work. Also, if you edit your friend’s writing,
you can learn to edit your own work better with practice and patience.
Tips to help you edit:
• Read your writing aloud to catch run-on sentences, over-used words, spelling errors,
and typos. Replace the same word with synonyms or one word with a phrase to bring
variety to your work.
• Read backwards. Start with the last sentence of your written work. Read one sentence
at a time starting from the end, focusing on one sentence at a time.
• Help edit a friend’s or peer’s writing. It will help you edit your own writing later.
• Share your writing with a family member or friend. Ask for their help in editing your
writing.
1. Why is it important to edit our writing?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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2. What are the main differences between speaking and writing?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. How can editing help us improve our writing?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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16.4 GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

While writing, writers often wonder which is the best or most appropriate words/phrases to use
and whether they are using them correctly. If you are aware of the words that trouble you or
which are likely to be confusing to your readers, you can make a conscious effort of looking
for them and using them in a correct manner.
Below are some words that many people find confusing. If you understand the difference
between their meanings and usage, you will automatically avoid committing errors.
• a few/few
• affect/effect
• can/may
• further/farther
• good/well
• i.e./e.g.
• into/in to
• it’s/its
• lay/lie
• less/fewer
• that/who
• their/they’re/there
• then/than
• who/whom
• your/you’re
Avoid words that fill empty spaces

Also remember to avoid empty filler words. We use these words without paying much attention
to them. As a result, they distract our readers by shifting the focus from more important things
that we want to say. For instance, sentences that begin with words such as it, here, or there
weaken your writing. Look at the example and you will get an idea:
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There are some children who seem to be waiting for the school bus.
If you notice, the focus of the sentence is on ‘some children’ and the reader’s attention is being
taken away by ‘there are’. We also have to use another unnecessary word, ‘who’ to go with the
first two words. Consider the edited sentence below:
Some children seem to be waiting for the school bus.
As you can see, without the unnecessary words, the sentence is tighter and cleanerand retains
the meaning and essence of the original sentence. Therefore, we have made only surface
changes (editing) without making any changes to its meaning (revising). In other words, editing
is making changes at the surface level, that is, grammar, spelling and punctuation without
changing ideas or the order in which they appear.
Let’s look at some more before-and-after examples:
• It’s fun to dance – Dancing is fun

• It takes time to bake – Baking takes time
• Here are some of my friends from college who live in the city- My friends from
college…
• There’s nothing that can convince him to give up smoking- Nothing can convince
him…
• There are many people who drive to work – Many people drive to work
Strong verbs
Remember strong verbs show action and clearly state the intention of the writer.
Let’s look at some examples:
• She is blogging – She blogs.

• People are in love with him – People love him.
• The actor is aware that people love him – The actor knows people love him.
• She went to Ladakh – She travelled to Ladakh.
• I can’t make it to the meeting – I can’t attend the meeting.
• Give out – Offer.
• Find out – Discover.
• Make it clearer – Clarify.
Similarly avoid weak adjectives

Weak adjectives are often used so that they end up making your writing dull, boring and weak.
Use adjectives that describes nouns and pronouns in the best possible manner. And be careful
to note that certain words, like really and very, usually come before weak adjectives. Look at
these examples:
• Really bad – Terrible

• Really good – Great
• Very big – Huge
• Very beautiful – Gorgeous
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Have a mix of short and long sentences
Many long sentences are grammatically correct. But they usually contain several ideas, so they
can easily lose the reader’s focus because they don’t provide a break or a pause for the reader
to comprehend all that is being said. This makes the reader lose the most important chain of
thought relevant for that piece of writing. In order to make your writing interesting and help
the reader move along your thought process, the monotony of long sentences should be broken
with short sentences. See the example below:
He was a man of few words. Every morning, on his way to work from his penthouse apartment
to the metro station and then from the station to the office in the shared cab ride, he hardly
uttered a sentence and that too if his colleagues or co-passengers may ask him something. He
saw no reason to share his thoughts with others.
Stick to one voice

Many times, a writer starts with the first person but then moves to the second person or the
generic ‘one’. This creates confusion in the mind of the reader and must be avoided. For
example, you might start your introduction talking about yourself, then switch in the middle
by addressing your reader.
I think the world is becoming smaller as people travel to remote areas…. You may believe that
this is due to the growing presence of the internet… One must agree that these phenomena will
not last long.
As you can see from the above example, it is not a good idea to mix voices in your writing as
it becomes incoherent for your readers.
Try to stick to “I” voice or “you” voice throughout one piece of writing. And if you must
switch, start with one and finish with the other. Don’t move back and forth between the two.
Your readers will get lost.
I. Underline the appropriate word from the given options:
1. There/Their school bags were kept in the cupboard every night.

2. They’re/There late for work because all train services have been suspended.
3. You’re/Your uncle has been waiting for you since morning.
4. Your/You’re one of our most valued customers.
5. It’s/Its the end of the summer break for us.
6. The dog lost its/it’s toy and is searching for it everywhere.
7. First, we went to the movies, then/than for dinner.
8. Why do they always say, “It’s better late than/then sorry”.
9. It is farther/further than a mile from here.
10. If you complain farther/further, I will not take you with me.
2. What is the difference between revising and editing?

_____________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
16.5 SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

Many people think that English spelling is difficult to learn because it is irregular and lacks
overt rules. It is true that sometimes, the same sounds can be spelt in different ways, for
example, ‘write’ and ‘right’, ‘waste’ and ‘waist’ etc. These words are known as homophones,
that is, words that sound the same but have different spelling. The best way to learn how to
spell is to practise a lot- the more you read and encounter different words, the better you will
be at learning their meaning and spelling.
If you are working on a computer and using the Word document, you can set the language to
either British or United States English and activate Spellcheck, a software app that points out
spelling errors. Some people think that it helps them learn spelling better while others feel it
makes them rely on the computer. Other applications can also be downloaded from the internet
and an online or paper dictionary is always useful to check for spelling if you are in doubt.
Remember, you may have great ideas or your logic may be excellent but unless you present
them in an appropriate and correct manner, you will not create the right impact. Therefore, it
is important to check for spelling errors before submitting your work.
16.6. LINKING DEVICES AND PARAGRAPHING

We have been talking about the process of writing and the importance of putting our thoughts
and ideas in a coherent manner. It is crucial to organise and present our thoughts carefully so
that the writer’s message is properly conveyed when the reader accesses the written material.
To avoid confusion and possible gaps in understanding, a good piece of writing connects the
parts. Linking devices and paragraphs that focus and develop one main idea help the writer to
take his / her message forward.
Read the following sentences that a student wrote:
“We need better facilities in our college. We spend a lot of time on campus. We pay our fees
regularly.”
While all three sentences are talking about college life, it is difficult for the reader to guess why
the writer has put them all together. How are these statements related? What is the student-
writer trying to say?
The student made an attempt to rewrite the sentence in the following way:
“We need better facilities in our college as we spend a lot of time on campus and pay our fees
regularly.”
Notice that the words ‘as’ and ‘and’ make it possible for the reader to see the connection
between the three statements. These words are called connectors or linking words because they
connect ideas and thoughts together. A good writer helps the reader to follow their train of
thought by connecting the sentences and paragraphs to each other. These words or transitions
or linking devices or connectors (notice how the word ‘or’ helps to place all these words
57
together to indicate that they can be replaced by the other and hence perform the same function)
signal to readers which direction the text is taking. In other words, transitions tell readers
whether the text is going in the same direction or a new one. Did you notice how the phrase ‘in
other words’ at the beginning of the sentence is telling us that we are not saying something new
but expressing the same idea in another way.
Given below is a list of commonly used transition devices, placed together according to the
function they perform.
Addition
Also and
Indeed moreover
Furthermore in addition
Besides in fact
Comparison
In the same way; Likewise; Similarly;

Contrast
Although but
Despite whereas
Nonetheless nevertheless
Even though conversely
However in contrast
Conclusion
As a result therefore
Hence thus
Consequently in conclusion
In sum to sum up
Remember, linkers help us to move from one sentence to another and also to combine one or
more sentences. When we combine sentences using transitions or connectors, we make it easier
for ideas to flow, ensuring that our readers are guided through the argument we are making.
Now, let’s focus on paragraphing.
Paragraphing is the practice of dividing a written text into paragraphs with the idea to inform
the reader about a shift in thinking or an introduction to a new thought or idea. In other words,
paragraphing is an obvious indication to the reader that there has been a shift in the writer’s
thought process. Long texts can be unwieldy and after a while the reader may lose track of the
writer’s thought process. Dividing the text into manageable portions help the reader make sense
of the text. However, this does not mean that the text should be randomly divided into
paragraphs that may appear neat on paper.
You should start a new paragraph when you:

• begin a new idea or point
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• want to contrast information or ideas
• think your readers need to pause for a moment before being introduced to something
else
• end your introduction or start the conclusion
In order to understand when to end a paragraph or start a new one, it is helpful to know what a
paragraph is. Simply put, a paragraph is a group of closely related sentences that focus on one
main idea and develop it into two to five-six sentences.
We have talked about transition in this section and here we should talk about how transition
words play an important role in paragraphing. These words or phrases mark a shift in thought
from one paragraph to another. At the same time, they also show the reader how the two
paragraphs are connected to each other. These transitions usually appear at the end of the first
paragraph or the beginning of the next one adding to a sense of coherence and cohesion in a
text. Coherence refers to a meaningful connection of ideas in a text. The list of connectors
given in this section serves the purpose of bringing coherence to the text, thus helping the
reader make sense of the writer’s intention in writing it.
Educators have been thinking of using video games to teach students for a very long time
though they have not done it yet. Video games may not yet be able to educate users in a
content area effectively, but language learners may benefit from video games. New
educational software developers have been working successfully to produce language
learning apps that can help learners learn languages at their own pace. Very little research
has specifically targeted language acquisition through video games; various studies carried
out over the years in several universities of the U.S, England and Sweden with students of
different disciplines, as well as, current language teaching methodologies support the idea of
using video games to learn language. In one study,Hulstijn& Laufer (2001) found that
language acquisition may hinge on the “level of involvement in a task”, and video game
players are often quite immersed in game play, a trait that may enable them to acquire
language, since video games often contain simultaneously presented, both auditory and text-
based language. A study done by Prensky (2006) suggests that “videogames allow learners
to analyze and decode language at their own pace”. While playing a game, learners may use
one input channel to decode the other because videogame players have a great deal of
control over the game play. The games have many in-built choices: games can be paused,
actions can be repeated, and conversations can sometimes be initiated according to the
players’ pace and level of learning. There is great potential for using video games in
language learning activities.
Read the text given in the box. The writer has forgotten to divide it into meaningful paragraphs.
Read it carefully, look for when a new idea is introduced and using some transition words or
phrases, divide it into paragraphs. Make sure that you do not change the meaning of the text
while paragraphing it.
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16.7 PEER-EDITING AND SELF-EDITING
Being independent or autonomous is a very important step towards taking charge of your own
learning or in this case, of your own writing. Rather than waiting for teachers to mark every
grammatical mistake or highlight every spelling error, student-writers should learn to self-edit
as they write. When you rely on someone else to correct your errors, you do not take ownership
of your own writing. You must learn to self-edit to become a better writer.
Some people find it easier to correct others and express their inability to find mistakes in their
own work. One way of teaching yourself to edit your own writing is to first start by editing
your peers’ work. Once you have learnt what mistakes to look for and how to pick out errors,
you can transfer those skills to edit your own writing.
Below is a list of things you should look for, while editing your peer’s or your own writing.
You can also sign up for digital tools such as Grammarly to help you edit. Once you become
confident, you may not need to use the digital tools.
1. Read aloud the paper you are editing. This will help you catch many mistakes as
listening to words and sentences will add an auditory element to writing. Pay attention
to how the sentence sounds and you will know if it needs to be corrected for grammar.
2. Remember, your job is to make the writing better, so look for words, punctuation marks
that will help you express your ideas better.
3. While you read the piece aloud, listen for the following things: Are any words
missing? Would supplying a word or punctuation mark make it sound better?
4. Next, read the written text again to see if you have spelt all the words correctly? Are
all proper nouns and first words of each sentence capitalized? Can you think of
different words to replace ones that are being used repeatedly? Use a dictionary to
look for answers to these questions. If you are typing on a Wordord document, you
can activate the Spell-check option too.
5. Remove extra punctuation.
You can delete extra punctuation marks or end a sentence and start a new one. This will
make your writing much stronger.
6. Replace negative with positive.
Instead of saying what something isn’t, say what it is.
‘You don’t want to have many errors in your writing’ could be better stated as ‘You
want to avoid many errors in your writing.’ It’s more straightforward.
If you find negative statements in your writing that contain don’t, shouldn’t, can’t or
another such word, find a way to rewrite them without the “not.” This will allow you
to use a more powerful verb.
7. Replace verbose sentences with simple ones.

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Some people think that using difficult words makes them appear intelligent but that is
not true. Good writing is reader-friendly, that is, it helps the reader move from one idea
or thought to another without much effort. If your reader is constantly using the
dictionary to understand you, it means they find it difficult to read through the text. A
good writer makes the reader’s task easy as well as interesting.
8. Remove redundancies.
You should use only one word when it can serve your purpose. Look at these common
phrases- brand new, advance planning, basic necessities, future plan,return back. As
you can see both words serve the same purpose and therefore should not be used
together. Once you become aware of redundancies or useless words or phrases and
avoid using them, your writing will become crisp and to the point.
9. Mind these words and phrases: - “in order to”, “that”, “thing”, “very”, “really”.
For instance, ‘I went to the college office in order to get my certificate’ can be made
tighter by dropping “in order to”. Your sentence could be “I went to the college to get
my certificate.”
Notice how “in order to” made you drag the important point unnecessarily.
Similarly, using “that” in your sentence makes your idea easier to understand. But most
often it serves no purpose. “I decided that I should sign up for the theatre workshop”
reads better as “I decided to sign up for the theatre workshop”.
“She decided that fine arts was a good career for her” could be rewritten as “She decided
fine arts was a good career for her”.
In our speech or everyday conversation, we often say or write “thing” or “things,”

because it does not require much effort from us. However, in your writing, you want
the reader to have a clear idea of what you want to say. Using “thing” does not help
your reader. Therefore, replacing it with more descriptive words would make your
writing more effective.
“Really” and “very” also do not help in getting your point across. They are useful words
for conversations but do not have much impact in a written piece.
10. Avoid using the passive voice.
It is important to know when and why to use the passive voice instead of the active. In
an active sentence, the subject is doing the action whereas in passive, the target of the
action is the focus of attention. Look at the examples below.
Rajat cooked dinner for his family.

The salad bowl was broken.
In the first sentence, Rajat is the subject and the doer of action while in the second
sentence, the salad bowl which received the action is the subject. Hence, the first is in
active voice and the second in passive voice. We use the passive when the thing or
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person receiving the action is more important than who does the action. We also use
the passive voice when we do not know who did the action and want to avoid redundant
information.
For instance, in the sentence, ‘Someone broke the salad bowl’, “someone” is redundant
because it does not tell us who did it, and so placing it in the position of the subject is
immaterial.
When you have to focus on who did the action, it is also a good idea to use the active
voice and avoid passive voice.
11. Difference between “who” and “that”.

Often, in speech people say “MS Rachna is the teacher that taught us History in class
VII.” While in spoken language, it may go unnoticed, it is not acceptable in written
form. We use that and which to indicate things and objects and who to demonstrate
living beings.
12. Avoid whenever possible, the word “currently”.
“Currently” is almost always redundant. Don’t write, “Leena is currently the Head of
HR”. The verb ‘is’ indicates Leena’s current status and hence does not need to be
reinforced with “currently”.
13. Do not use “there is” or “there are” at the beginning of sentences.
Beginning a sentence with “’There are” or “There is” shows a lazy attitude on the part
of the writer. It does not excite the reader to read the text. Instead of starting a sentence
with “there is,” try turning the phrase around to include a verb or start with you.
Before submitting your work, rewrite your sentences if too many of them begin with
“there is” or “there are”.
14. Use contractions where they are suitable.
Contractions make your writing sound friendlier and conversational. They work well if
you are not writing a very formal piece of writing where you should avoid them.
Depending on what kind of writing you are doing and who your audience is, you can
use contractions to make it easier for your readers to comprehend your writing and
connect with it.
1. Look at the list of things you should keep in mind while editing your peer’s or your
own writing. Which do you think are the most important? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
___
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2. You must have written something recently. Ask your friend to read your written text
and using the list above, highlight some areas where you can improve by editing it. Do
the same with your friend’s writing.
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_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Once you have done activity 2, discuss with your peer why you missed correcting those
errors. Ask your friend to share their reasons too. This will help you understand your
own strengths and weaknesses.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
16.8 SUGGESTED READINGS

Berger, A. A. (2009). The Academic Writer’s Toolkit: A User’s Manual. New Delhi: PHI
Learning Private Limited.
Clark, R. P. (2016). Writing Tools. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Truss, L. (2009). Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.
London: Fourth Estate.
16.9 ANSWERS
1. Writing is a process because it involves at least four distinct steps: prewriting, drafting,
revising, and editing. It is known as a recursive process. While you are revising, you
might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand your ideas.
2. Organising ideas is part of revising the text to make sure that the piece of writing is
cohesive and coherent.
3. see table in 4.2
4. Why should we edit at the end of the writing process and not while we are writing?
While we are writing we may have to write, re-write, reorganize and move passages
around. Eventually we need to ‘clean’ the text of errors and make it ready for the
reader.
1. Why is it important to edit our writing?
Editing is extremely vital in writing. It is an important step in the entire writing

procedure. It helps us look out for any repetition as well as check for grammar,
punctuation, and vocabulary errors. Editing helps to communicate ideas and points in a
concise and clear manner, making our writing comprehensible to our readers.
63
2. What are the main differences between speaking and writing?
A fundamental difference between casual speech and writing is that speech is

spontaneous whereas writing is planned. Repetition is usually found in speech. In
writing, you usually want to avoid being repetitive. Repetitive writing is not very
creative and can often cause the reader to become bored. In addition, repetition isn’t
necessary because you can instantly go back and re-read something if you missed it.
In speaking, however, repetition is actually necessary. Audiences don’t listen very
closely to the exact words you’re saying, so you need to repeat your key messages often.
Writing and speaking differ in terms of the importance of word choice. In writing, you
usually want to choose your words very carefully, as people can go back and re-read.
A well-chosen word can often make or break the point you’re making.
In speaking, the exact words you choose aren’t nearly as important as the general point
you’re trying to make.
3. How can editing help us improve our writing?

Editing helps us to look closely at the content of a piece of writing, focusing on
improving the accuracy of language, flow, and overall readability, as well as checking
for grammar and spelling.
Check your progress3
1. There/Their school bags were kept in the cupboard every night.

2. They’re/There late for work because all train services have been suspended.
3. You’re/Your uncle has been waiting for you since morning.
4. Your/You’re one of our most valued customers.
5. It’s/Its the end of the summer break for us.
6. The dog lost its/it’s toy and is searching for it everywhere.
7. First, we went to the movies, then/than for dinner.
8. Why do they always say, “It’s better late than/then sorry”.
9. It is farther/further than a mile from here.
10. If you complain farther/further, I will not take you with me.
2. What is the difference between revising and editing?

During revising, you add, cut, move, or change information in order to improve content.
During editing, you take a second look at the words and sentences you used to express
your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
Educators have been thinking of using video games to teach students for a very long time
though they have not done it yet. Although video games may not yet be able to educate users
in a content area effectively, language learners may benefit from video games. New educational
software developers have been working successfully to produce language learning apps that
can help learners learn languages at their own pace. However, very little research has
specifically targeted language acquisition through video games; various studies carried out over
the years in several universities of the U.S, England and Sweden with students of different
disciplines, as well as, current language teaching methodologies support the idea of using video
games to learn language.
64
Interestingly, in one study Hulstijn& Laufer (2001) found that language acquisition may hinge
on the “level of involvement in a task”, and video game players are often quite immersed in
game play. This trait that may enable them to acquire language, since video games often
contain simultaneously presented both auditory and text-based language.
Another study done by Prensky (2006) suggests that “videogames allow learners to analyze
and decode language at their own pace”. While playing a game, learners may use one input
channel to decode the other because videogame players have a great deal of control over the
game play. The games have many in-built choices such as games can be paused, actions can
be repeated, and conversations can sometimes be initiated according to the players’ pace and
level of learning. In short, there is great potential in using video games in language learning
activities.
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Indira Gandhi National Academic Writing & Composition

Open University BEGG-173

What do you think is the difference betweenexcerpt A and excerpt B?

A report is an organised, factual and objective presentation of information. Here ‘organised’

Check your progress 1

1. Write a letter to your father/mother/close relative/friend, giving a brief report about

13.2 STAGES IN WRITING A REPORT:

There are 3 stages we could follow:

There are three main parts:

Example of an outline of a fire accident report:

Check your progress 2

13.3 TYPES OF REPORTS

Example: Major Fire in Multi-storeyed Building

b) How to report a meeting and a speech

• Adequate identification of the speaker

c) How to report on an interview

d)How to report an experiment

e) How to write a business report

When you prepare a report keep these points in mind:

A five-step formula you should adopt while preparing the report:

A short report generally has three sections:

TO: The Memo Style Report: Block Format

SUBJECT: Report on Staff Overtime for January, 2010

Staff Hourly No. of Total Total

1. Roshan Rs. 50 6 8 Rs. 2400

2. Anant Rs 60 8 10 Rs. 4800

3. Arif Rs. 80 4 6 Rs. 1920

4. James Rs. 80 5 4 Rs. 1600

TOTAL 23 28 Rs. 10720

The total expenditure incurred on overtime is likely to go up further by about 50% in

Dear Mr. Sena,

Sub: Feasibility of setting up a cold storage unit in Jhansi

Do let us know if any further matter needs to be enquired into.

2. Title Page: The title page includes the following information:

4. Table of contents: It is a kind of map or a reference page of the report. It is an

5. Executive Summary: It is always found after the table of contents. It is a summary of

The actual report has three parts to it:

Given below is an e.g.

Sub Sub-section 1.1.1 2.1.1 3.1.1

Check your progress 3

Answer each of these questions in 100-150 words.

a)What is the purpose of writing reports?

Why is India's Chennai flooded?

(from BBC dated 12 January 2016)

Check your progress 4

a) What is the subject of the report?

13.6 LANGUAGE TIPS

Improved version: Experience with many kinds of people is an important part of

A sentence with unnecessary words: We thought we had an adequate supply of food

Awkward repetition: I have chosen a topic that is a frequent topic of conversation

d) Avoid jargon: Jargon is language that is hard to understand because it is full of

• The fire was noticed at 10:45 a.m. on the fifth floor.

Three persons were killed in the blaze.

Check your progress 5

1. Change these sentences into passive voice.

Health and safety problems in the company’s offices:

13.9 LET US SUM UP

• How a report should be planned

Suggestions: Excerpt A is a newspaper report on an incident whereas Excerpt B is a report of