CLASS IX ENGLISH WRITING

ENGLISH GRAMMAR & WRITING

TOPIC: WRITING

SUB TOPIC: ARTICLE WRITING

An article is a piece of non-fiction prose writing. It evaluates students' skills in expressing ideas, planning and organising, presenting ideas with supportive examples, comprehending concepts and arriving at a conclusion. It is writen to express personal opinions or present information on a variety of themes. Articles are used to:

• Express views or mention facts about a subject or issue of interest.
• Express reasons for/ against or justification of or against some happening, event or principle.
• Describe a person, his life or actions.
• Describe a place.
• Narrate an incident or event.

FEATURES OF AN ARTICLE :
An article has the following features:

• It is written in third person.
• Language should be objective and to the point.
• A heading and a byline must be provided appropriate to the subject and according to the question.
• It should be relevant to the verbal/ visual input provided in the question.
• It should normally consist of three parts: introduction, main body and conclusion. These three parts should be in separate paragraphs wherever possible.
• Depending on the topic, give examples to support your arguments, use 'compare and contrast' method, or show a cause-effect relationship.
• It ends with a summing up which gives a suggestion, recommendation, prediction etc.

POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND:

• Language must be formal.
• Introduction, main body and conclusion should be in separate paragraphs wherever possible.
• Do not forget to give a heading and  byline which is appropriate.
• Maintain the word limit of the article (excluding heading and byline) to within 100 - 150 words. 

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ARTICLE WRITING

1. Always study the given input, information or notes carefully.

2. Arrange them in a systematic order.

3. Develop each point in a simple, grammatically correct language.

4. Your article must present your ideas not in a sketchy but in a coherent and logical manner. Develop your writing into paragraphs.

5. Confine yourself to the given subject. Superfluous and unnecessary details must be avoided at all cost.

How to Write an Article Step by Step-

Eye-catching Title – This is the most important part of your article. Give your article a title that catches the attention of the reader. If you choose a  burning topic It should be relevant to them. 

Beginning – Begin your article with a quotation or popular poetic line that supports your topic most relevantly. Let the readers be satisfied that you are going to write something new and relevant.

Content- A vast ground for your creativity comprising reasons, effects, the present state of affairs, etc.

Conclusion- Conclude with your strongest point. Use short and humourous sentences, leave at least one questions to provide a required effect on the reader’s mind.

PRACTICE 

Children are the future of the nation. Schools and parents play an important role in moulding a child's personality. Write an article on the topic 'Role of School in a child's life' in 100-120 words.

Answer: 

Role of School in a Child's Life

By Anubhav

The role of school in a child's advancement starts as early as pre-school and continues all through his/her life. Some believe guardians or parents to be a kid's first educators while teachers are his/her subsequent guardians. A child spends as much time in school as he/she spends with his/her parents. A school gives an organized instruction to the child and promotes his/her psychological and mental development. Apart from learning scholastics, a kid likewise learns other significant fundamental skills such as cooperation, good habits, unity, sharing, and responsibility. The sort of training that he/she gets at school forms and improves his/her character that stays with him/her all through his/her life. The school provides a child varied opportunities which empower him/her to find his/her innate talents and develop them. All of these experiences help to build up a child's interests, build self-esteem and shape the course of his/her later scholarly and professional life.

Adventure sports have become a craze these days. Youngsters are indulging in such sports much more than before. Write an article on the topic 'Increasing Trend of Adventure Sports' as Nidhi. You can take help from the given clues. (100-150 words)

• Adventure sports are refreshing
• Positive impact on economy
• Popular in India
• India: a hub of adventure sports

Increasing Trend of Adventure Sports

by Nidhi

In consonance with a substantial change in the psychology of modern Indians, demand for recreational and adventurous sports has increased. Instead of spending a holiday or leisure time relaxing at home, in resorts or on beaches, people now prefer to discover the adventurous streak in them to refresh themselves.

The increasing number of young travellers from India heading abroad to take part in adventure activities confirms this fact. This boom in demand for adventure sports makes a positive impact on the tourism industry in a lot of countries. India is a veritable treasure house for adventure sports. Trekking, skiing, mountaineering, paragliding, parasailing, river rafting and many more sports are popular in India. The demand of these and other adventures has doubled over the last decade. Apart from recreational benefits, there are a lot of economical benefits attached to the boom in this industry. therefore, India should develop more and more adventure sports faccilities so that tourists from India and abroad can make use of them.

3. Write an article for your school magazine on 'Live And Let Live.' You are Rohit.

Live And Let Live

by Rohit

In our life there can be a few occa­sions when we may have contrasts with others. vari­egated conclusions are always more delightful and enchanting. They add taste to dull and devastate human life. They are the essence of democratic thinking. 

There have been incredible brutalities and abuses on the planet for the sake of religion, country, race and caste. We should all understand that this world is the only place where we all need to live. The best course for us is to adapt the strategy of "Live and Let Live." This is the thing that extraordinary men like Buddha and Guru Nanak have instructed us. 

We should not forget that God is the one maker of this universe. He has made a wide range of animals in this world. They are altogether expected to live in harmony and peace. May there be one World Govern­ment, one world citizenship. The policy of "Live and Let Live" is the dire need of the time.

TOPIC: SHORT STORY WRITING 

Short stories are written in the format of a narrative. They are fictional narratives based on the beginning or outline/hints/clues (verbal or visual) given in the question. The purpose of asking you to write a short story is to improve your creative and imaginative thinking. A story usually narrates an incident with its associated happenings or may expand on one thought or idea.

MAIN ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY:

The different elements which comprise a short story are given below:

1. Theme : This is the main idea. it may be a message, moral, an abstract idea, a lesson learnt etc.

2. Plot : It is the logical sequence of events which leads to the conclusion. The type of plot may be adventurous, scary, a mystery, suspenseful, comic, etc. 

3. Setting : it is the background or location where the action takes place. it may be realistic or fictional.

4. Characters : The story usually has people, animals or other living creatures, but they must be based on real life to give the story credibility. Usually there is one main character in the story with other minor characters to support the plot.

5. Mood/Atmosphere : It may be cheerful/ happy, tense, scary, suspenseful or neutral, depending on the question.

STEPS TO WRITE A SHORT STORY:

There are no specific rules for writing a story, but there are countless ways to create an interesting one. The writer should keep the following steps in mind while writing a short story:

1. To write an interesting story, the writer must think like the central character to get catch of her/his emotions and the situation she/he is in.

2. the details should be mentioned creatively to develop the readers' interest.

3. While building the plot of the story, the writer should make sure that the sequence of events is proper to avoid confusion.

4. The writer of the story may use his/her personal style of writing and imagination.

5. A very important of the story is an apt ending to add significance to it. A justified climax is expected by the readers.

6. Give the story an appropriate title which catches the readers' attention, if asked in the question. 

MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE STORY:

1. An Interesting Start: The start of the story should be interesting enough to make the reader curious to know what happens later on in the story. It can be an incident, description of a character trait of the central character or something extraordinary.

2. Building the Plot: This describes the sequence of events in the story.

POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND:

• Focus should be on a single incident.
• Always use past tense while writing a story.
• Frame the story keeping in mind the central character.
• Consequences/climax of the story should be clear and satisfying.
• Make simple and innovative use of language.
• Add twists and turns to develop the readers' interest.
• Stick to the limit of 150-200 words.
• Make sure that the story has a moral/message, if it requires one.

PRACTICE

Write a story in 150-200 words with the help of the following outline : 
Tortoise and hare – good friends – tortoise – known for his slow speed – hare has fast speed – makes fun of tortoise – challenges him – referee selected – race starts – hare overconfident – takes a nap – tortoise wins.

Slow and steady wins the race

Once upon a time there were two friends, a tortoise and a hare. The entire jungle knew about their fraternity and how they stayed together with one another. One fine day, when they were talking about their respective speed, the hare made fun of the tortoise for being slower. The hare continued to make fun of him. The tortoise got very angry and asked him to prove it. The hare, in turn, challenged the tortoise to run a race with him. Both of them agreed upon the date and time. The news was taken over to the king of the jungle, the lion. He chose a referee and announced the initiation of arrangements. The whole jungle was energized as it was the first occasion that the two friends were competing with each other. Days before the race, the hare went around talking high about himself, whereas on the other hand, the tortoise practised diligently. The night before the race, the tortoise slept on time, to be energetic the other day, whereas the hare continued to dream about him winning. The wait was over,  and the crowd was cheerful. Both the contestants stood prepared on the starting line and the race was supposed to end at a stretch of one kilometre. The whistle blew and both began running at their own pace. The hare covered half the distance while the tortoise could only cover half of what the hare had covered. The careless and overconfident hare thought of sleeping and believed that by the time the tortoise would come near him, he would wake up and cover the rest of the distance. After some time, the hare was woken up by the sound of hooting and whistling, and saw the tortoise had won.

Moral: Confidence is good, but overconfidence always sinks the ship.