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INTRODUCTION
TO
GENERAL AND
TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
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General and Technical Communication

Communication is all about conveying your messages to other people clearly and
unambiguously. It is also about receiving information that others are sending to you, with as
little distortion as possible.

Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver. And it is a
process that can be fraught with error, with messages muddled by the sender, or
misinterpreted by the recipient. When this isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion,
wasted effort and missed opportunity.

In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand
the same information.

By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively.
When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you actually send do not necessarily reflect
what you think, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in
the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.

In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees,
communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing
managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School,
points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an
ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals

continue to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in
verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete
effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.

Being able to communicate effectively is therefore essential if you want to build a successful
career. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending
it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding
your communications, such as situational and cultural context.
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Communications Skills – The Importance of Removing Barriers

Problems with communication can pop-up at every stage of the communication process
(which consists of the sender, encoding, the channel, decoding, the receiver, feedback and
the context – see the diagram below). At each stage, there is the potential for
misunderstanding and confusion.

To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and
confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of problems at each stage of this
process, with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process
through below:

Source

As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're communicating, and
what you want to communicate. You also need to be confident that the information you're
communicating is useful and accurate.

Message

The message is the information that you want to communicate.

Encoding

This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that
can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly
on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate
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and eliminate sources of confusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and
missing information.)

A key part of this knows your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating
with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.

Channel

Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal channels including face-to-face
meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written channels including letters, emails,
memos and reports.

Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it's not particularly
effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you'll quickly cause problems if you
give someone negative feedback using email.

Decoding

Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for example,

taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.) Just as confusion can arise
from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. This is particularly the case if
the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message.

Receiver

Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in
mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in
mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas
and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their
response. To be a successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your
message, and act appropriately.

Feedback

Your audience will provide you with feedback, as verbal and nonverbal reactions to your
communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that can
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give you confidence that your audience has understood your message. If you find that there
has been a misunderstanding, at least you have the opportunity to send the message a second
time.

Context

The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the
surrounding environment or broader culture (corporate culture, international cultures, and so
on).

Removing Barriers at All These Stages

To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that
exist within each of these stages of the communication process.

Let’s begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains
errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor
verbal and body language can also confuse the message.

Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in
doubt here, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other people’s
time, especially in today’s ultra-busy society.

Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audience’s culture, making
sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and
cultures within your own organization, in your country and even abroad.

The first skill that you'll learn in this communications skills section of MindTools.com is
'How to Make a Great First Impression": This is essential if you're going to have the chance
to communicate your message.

However, the commonly known types of communications are:

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS: This is direct, face-to-face

communication that occurs between two persons. It is essentially a dialogue or a conversation
between two or more people.
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It is personal, direct, as well as intimate and permits maximum interaction through words and
gestures. Interpersonal communications maybe:

Focused Interactions: This primarily results from an actual encounter between two persons.
This implies that the two persons involved are completely aware of the communication
happening between them.

Unfocused interactions: This occurs when one simply observes or listens to persons with
whom one is not conversing. This usually occurs at stations and bus stops, as well as on the
street, at restaurants, etc.

Non verbal communication skills : This includes aspects such as body language, gestures,
facial expressions, eye contact, etc., which also become a part of the communicating process;
as well as the written and typed modes of communications.

Communication is not just a vital skill, it is a necessity. Communication is one of the most
fundamental assets we have as human beings. Some studies have shown that the need for it
comes inherently in every human being and that these skills are actually nurtured by a
person’s environment. When you hear the word "communication" you naturally think about
words.

A lot of people actually think that the word refers exclusively to the use of language. They
then split that use of language down into two different areas of oral and written
communication. There is so much more to these skills than words, whether they are oral or
written.

1) Verbal - Verbal skills encompass all forms of word usage. This means that both oral and
written words come under this first category. People use this type of skill actively every day,
although it can be argued that some people do not use it as much as others. In using verbal
communication skills, people tend to be more accurate in sending their messages. This is the
reason why the verbal skill is used as the media of education. Through the use of verbal
skills, people can acquire knowledge the way others meant it.

2) Non-verbal - This type of skill makes use of symbols other than words to convey meaning.
Generally, this type depends upon the interpretation of the person receiving the message. This
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of course means that the message is open to interpretation and therefore can be received both
accurately and not, because it all depends on the perception of the receiver.

Despite there being many ways to make use of non-verbal communication skills quite often
we barely notice them. We make use of them through our expressions. For example,
whenever we laugh or cry, we are in fact making use of our non-verbal skills. Some other
ways we utilize them subconsciously. A twitch of an eyebrow perhaps, the rhythmic tapping
of a foot, or a pen on a desk and many other little things we don't really consciously control.
They all send messages, all send signals and communicate to other people.
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Technical Communication

Communication is important not only in an organization but also in our routine. In everyday
life, you find communication happens everywhere. It is an integral part of daily activity.
When your alarm clock goes off, it is communication through sound and urges you to get out
of bed. When you use a particular brand of toothpaste to brush your teeth, it is because of the
impact of the company’s persuasive advertising or its salesman’s spiel, both being effective
forms of communication. You watch the morning news on TV- communication. You say
good bye to your family as you leave home- this is communication. You call for a cab and
tell the driver to head for your office- this is communication. At your work place, all
activities revolve around communication, be it oral or written. Your boss calls to tell you
about your increment- this is communication again. At the end of the day, you return home
and read the newspaper- this is communication once more. Finally, you retire to bed and
dream- this is also communication, this time with yourself. Messages that are non- technical
or informal in nature are categorized as general purpose communication, where as messages
pertaining to business as technical communication.

General Communication Technical Communication

Contains a general message
Informal in style and approach
No set pattern of communication
Mostly oral
Not always for a specific audience
Doesn’t involve the use of technical
vocabulary or graphics, etc.
Contains a technical message
Mostly formal
Follows a set pattern
Both oral and written
Always for a specific audience
Frequently involves jargon, graphics, etc.
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COVER LETTER
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Cover Letter

Cover Letter is a passport or ticket send by the candidate in the form of letter to seek employment.
Mostly these types of letters are expected to be written in the own handwriting of the candidate.
They reach the employers at first before the candidate in person and make an acquaintance with
them.

They are written in the form of business letters in Formal letter format with all necessary
information about the candidate in brief manner.

The characteristics of a good covering letters are,

 Highlighting the title of the job to avoid confusion and ambiguity

 To confess the list of qualifications and experience earned by the candidate

 The information about candidate’s confidence while applying for the job

 The manner of respect and obedience rendered by the candidate to the employer and
seniors

 The standard of written communication skills

 The information about the enclosure of resume and other documents

To Dos

 Keep your letter short enough for someone to read in 10 seconds.

 Hook your reader's interest in the first sentence.

 Pick two or three skills from the job description and show you have them.

 Use numbers and statistics to back up your claims.

 Don't just rehash your resume in paragraph form.

 Address your cover letter directly to the hiring manager or recruiter.

 Customize your tone for the company culture.

 Proofread carefully, and consider getting a second pair of eyes.

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RESUME
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Resume Writing
Introduction
An important aspect of written communication that managers need to pay attention is the way
they compose their resumes.

Crafting good resumes for jobs is a skill that has to be learnt. All recruiting executives expect
to see well written resumes. But most often what they get are pages after pages that contain
irrelevant fudged information about ‘self’

Few tips that can be followed while constructing resume

 Remember that your resume is a marketing tool, Market yourself well.

 It is an extension of your personality.
 A cluttered resume will replicate a clustered personality in the mind of the scrutinizes.
 It is not an inventory of your qualification.
 Communicate clearly and completely without making it an assortment of your
abilities/ accomplishments.
 Choose only the relevant outdated information will not interest the evaluator.
 Eliminate accomplishments that are more than 5 years old.
 Your evaluator would like to know the latest and the best of your accomplishments.
 Hence, grab the attention in the top 1/3 rd of the page as newspapers do.
 All redundancies must be omitted.
 The preferred length is one page.
 The idea is to make your resume concise, and focused for a quick understanding of
your knowledge and talent, and not disorganized, irrelevant, or vague.
 Keep it simple, and not fanciful or overdone, crammed.

Parts that should be included in a Resume

1. Your name followed by your full postal address in a single line centered format as
illustrated in a sample format. Don’t include too many telephone lines in the address. The
single line containing name and address saves lot of space and looks neater. The space
saved can be used for information about yourself.
2. Two lines/ sentences about career objective the objective must not be a paragraph. The
career objective indicates the focus that you desire is making good career.
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3. Education must give the formal degrees/ diplomas/ certificated that you have earned. The
section also includes the non-formal accomplishments like short courses/ seminars and
conference that you have attended.
4. Work experiences must be specifically mentioned and elaborated and for not fudged to
make yourself appear a super human, This section must include
 Company’s Name
 Exact employment dates from the date of joining to the date of leaving the job. The
recent job must get prominence in the resume.
 Title of the job you held in what capacity did you execute responsibilities.
 Job responsibilities must be specifically mentioned. A good resume always explains
the job responsibilities.
 Personal details- Apart from the details of job responsibilities that you mention; you
must also include some data about yourself like reading, habits, social habits, personal
development, awareness and general interest.
 Professional membership: Name of professional bodies gives an idea about you
interest in the work that various professional bodies keep doing. This column adds to
your total personality as it emerges from your resume.
 Reference: In case of organization insists, take prior permission before you decide to
include any names as reference. That is a part of protocol that you have to observe.

Types of Resumes
Resumes can be written in different form. The usual ones are.
 The chronological/ traditional resume
 The functional resume
The traditional or the chronological resume is formatted with reverse chronological order,
that is, you begin with recent achievement first along with the date.

The following sample format exhibits the details clearly. This format is preferred when the
candidates has had a steady career growth, and therefore would like to highlight the
advantages of successful career.

It includes education, employment, history, job titles, company name and dates of
employment. Here in the same of one page resume of a candidate is a reverse chronological
order
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Cover letter with Resume

Write a letter for application for the post of Junior Engineer in a reputed company,
enclose suitable resume
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Resume
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PRESENTATION
SKILLS
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Presentation
Presentation skills are an important ability to possess when it comes to succeeding in
professional and academic life. An impressive presentation can win over an audience whether
it is for a business venture or a college project. Acquiring the skills to give a good
presentation is a talent which can be learnt and practiced by the seeker. Few people are born
with the gift of public speaking, most people must work at preparing an effective speech or
presentation, however once it is mastered it can greatly enhance any professional career.
The material of your presentation should be concise, to the point and tell an
interesting story. In addition to the obvious things like content and visual aids, the following
are just as important as the audience will be subconsciously taking them in:
 Your voice - how you say it is as important as what you say
 Body language - a subject in its own right and something about which much
has been written and said. In essence, your body movements express what
your attitudes and thoughts really are.
 Appearance - first impressions influence the audience's attitudes to you. Dress
appropriately for the occasion.

Preparation
Prepare the structure of the talk carefully and logically, just as you would for a written report.

 What are the objectives of the talk?

 What are the main points you want to make?

Points to Remember
 Make a list of these two things as your starting point.
 Write out the presentation in rough, just like a first draft of a written report.
 Review the draft. You will find few things that are irrelevant or superfluous - delete
them.
 Check the story is consistent and flows smoothly. If there are things you cannot easily
express, possibly because of doubt about your understanding, it is better to leave them
unsaid.
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 Never read from a script. It is also unwise to have the talk written out in detail as a
prompt sheet - the chances are you will not locate the thing you want to say amongst
all the other text.
 You should know most of what you want to say - if you don't then you should not be
giving the talk! So prepare cue cards which have key words and phrases (and possibly
sketches) on them. Postcards are ideal for this. Don't forget to number the cards in
case you drop them.
 Rehearse your presentation - to yourself at first and then in front of some colleagues.
The initial rehearsal should consider how the words and the sequence of visual aids go
together. How will you make effective use of your visual aids?

Making the presentation

 Greet the audience (for example, 'Good morning, ladies and gentlemen'), and tell them
who you are and about your topic and objective of the presentation.
 Stick to the plan for the presentation, don't be tempted to digress - you will eat up
time and could end up in a dead-end with no escape!
 At the end of your presentation ask if there are any questions If questions are slow in
coming, you can start things off by asking a question of the audience - so have one
prepared.
Delivery

 Speak clearly. Don't shout or whisper - judge the acoustics of the room.
 Don't rush, or talk deliberately slowly. Be natural - although not conversational.
 Deliberately pause at key points - this has the effect of emphasizing the importance of
a particular point you are making.
 Avoid jokes - always it becomes disastrous unless you are a natural expert.
 To make the presentation interesting, change your delivery in means of speed and
pitch of voice.
 Use your hands to emphasise points but don't indulge into much hand waving.
 Look at the audience as much as possible, but don't fix on an individual - it can be
intimidating. Pitch your presentation towards the back of the audience, especially in
larger rooms.
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Visual Aids

Visual aids significantly improve the interest of a presentation. However, they must be
relevant to what you want to say. A careless design or use of a slide can simply get in the way
of the presentation. What you use depends on the type of talk you are giving. Here are some
possibilities:

 Overhead projection transparencies (OHPs)

 35mm slides
 Computer projection (Powerpoint, applications such as Excel, etc)
 Video, and film,
 Real objects - either handled from the speaker's bench or passed around
 Flip~chart or blackboard - possibly used as a 'scratch-pad' to expand on a point

Presentation Technique:

Oral presentation is purposeful, interactive, and formal and audience oriented. It is

 Purposeful because the presentations should be made of a definite purpose.
 Interactive because it involves both the speaker as well as listener
 Formal situation
 Audience oriented because the topic to be deal with form the listeners
perspective
Elements of good presentation:
 Focus on the message
 Speaks with conviction and enthusiasm
 Use his/her voice forcefully and effectively
 Using of body language
 Use of Visual Aids
 Organizing the speech
 Understanding the mood of the audience
 Skill fully using the act of persuasion
 Using as a powerful tool
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 Movement of hands, feet and eyes

 Using visual aids like projector, video and audio tapes.

Organizing presentation:

Organize the presentation in three major parts. They are

 Introduction
 Body
 Conclusion

The opening of the presentation should convince the audience to listen to it. It has five
functions
 Get the audience attention
 Introduce the subject
 Give the audience a reason to listen
 Establish the credibility
 Preview your main ideas and conclude.

The conclusion should accomplish the following five objectives

 Summaries the presentation
 Pre Emphasize the central idea
 Focus on goal
 Motivate the audience to respond
 Provide closure
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TECHNICAL
PRESENTATION
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NON TECHNICAL
PRESENTATION
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GROUP
DISCUSSION
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Introduction:
The first important research study of group communication was performed by social
psychologist Robert Bales and published in a series of books and articles in the early and mid
1950s . This research entailed the content analysis of discussions within groups making
decisions about "human relations" problems Bales made a series of important discoveries.
First, group discussion tends to shift back and forth relatively quickly between the discussion
of the group task and discussion relevant to the relationship among the members. He believed
that this shifting was the product of an implicit attempt to balance the demands of task
completion and group cohesion, under the presumption that conflict generated during task
discussion causes stress among members, which must be released through positive relational
talk.
Second, task group discussion shifts from an emphasis on opinion exchange, through an
attentiveness to values underlying the decision, to making the decision. This implication that
group discussion goes through the same series of stages in the same order for any decision-
making group is known as the linear phase model. Third, the most talkative member of a
group tends to make between 40 and 50 percent of the comments and the second most
talkative member between 25 and 30, no matter the size of the group. As a consequence,
large groups tend to be dominated by one or two members to the detriment of the others.
Idea development:
Another milestone in the study of group discussion content was early 1960s work by
communication researchers Thomas Scheidel and Laura Crowell regarding the process by
which groups examine individual proposed solutions to their problemThey concluded that
after a proposal is made, groups discuss it in an implied attempt to determine their "comfort
level" with it and then drop it in lieu of a different proposal. In a procedure akin to the
survival of the fittest, proposals viewed favorably would emerge later in discussion, whereas
those viewed unfavorably would not; the authors referred to this process as "spiraling."
Although there are serious methodological problems with this work, other studies have led to
similar conclusions.
For example, in the 1970s, social psychologist L. Richard Hoffman noted that odds of a
proposal's acceptance is strongly associated with the arithmetical difference between the
number of utterances supporting versus rejecting that proposal. More recent work has shown
that groups differ substantially in the extent to which they spiral.
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None of this work has attempted to link discussion content with task output. The most
successful attempt at that can be found in a 1980s research program of communication
researcher Randy Y. Hirokawa. The implication of this program is that to an extent,
depending upon task, the quality of a group's decision appears to be associated with the
extent to which the group examines the problem it faces, identifies the requirements of an
ideal solution and evaluates the positive and negative features of proposed solutions.

Although this reads like Bales's linear phase model, Hirokawa demonstrated that these
decision functions need not occur in any particular order. Communication researchers Renee
Meyers and Dale Brashers have also had some success in correlating group decisions with the
pattern of arguments during discussion.
Social influence in groups:
Work relevant to social influence in groups has a long history. Two early examples of social
psychological research have been particularly influential. The first of these was by Muzafer
Sherif in 1935 using the autokinetic effect. Sherif asked participants to voice their judgments
of light movement in the presence of others and noted that these judgments tended to
converge. The second of these was a series of studies by Solomon Asch, in which naive
participants were asked to voice their judgments of the similarity of the length of lines after
hearing the "judgments" of several confederates (research assistants posing as participants)
who purposely voiced the same obviously wrong judgment. On about 1/3 of the cases,
participants voiced the obviously wrong judgment. When asked why, many of these
participants reported that they had originally made the correct judgment but after hearing the
confederates, decided the judgments of several others should be trusted over theirs.
Group decisions:
By the end of the 1950s, studies such as Sherif's led to the reasonable conclusion that social
influence in groups leads group members to converge on the average judgment of the
individual members. As a consequence, it was a surprise to many social psychologists when
in the early 1960s, evidence appeared that group decisions often became more extreme than
the average of the individual predisposed judgment..
Two theoretical explanations for group polarization have come to predominate. One is based
on social comparison theory, claiming that members look to one another for the "socially
correct" side of the issue and if they find themselves deviant in this regard, shift their opinion
toward the extreme of the socially correct position. Be an example of normative influence.
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The other 'persuasive arguments Theory' (PAT), begins with the notion that each group
member enters discussion aware of a set of items of information favoring both sides of the
issue but lean toward that side that boasts the greater amount of information.
Misunderstandings in communication are common because of the many different ways
people use language.
Group Discussions and Recruitments
Group discussion is a modern method of assessing student’s personality. It is both a
technique and an art and a comprehensive tool to judge the worthiness of the student and his
appropriates for the job. Group Discussion is an important aspect of the recruitment process,
especially for management trainees and executive positions. Employers look for candidates
who have the potential to shoulder responsibility, work in a team and also provide leadership.
Hence the objective of a selection is mainly to evaluate an individual’s team-playing skills.
As a team leader, one would be working with people. In such a setting, an independent or
isolated worker approach does not always work. We have to understand the other person’s
point of view while making our point and ensure that the team as a whole reaches a solution
or agreement that is both feasible and acceptable to all team members. To this end, the GD is
a simulated managerial setting. Most GDs for selection purposes assess individual traits,
group behaviour and leadership qualities.

Characteristics

Typically, in GDs conducted for recruitment, candidates are given a topic or case for
discussion. Normally groups of 8-10 candidates are formed into a leaderless group and are
given a specific situation or topic to analyse and discuss within a given time limit of about
10-15 minutes. They may be given a case study and asked to come up with a solution or they
may be given a topic and asked to discuss it meaningfully.

Depending upon the infrastructure at the venue, the group is asked to sit in a circular,
rectangular, or U shaped arrangement. The group members may either choose their seats or
be asked to take the seats allotted by the selection panel. This panel, which normally
comprises the technical executives and human resources executives of the company, will
observe and evaluate the members of the group. The rules of the GD – time limit, panel’s
expectations etc. – are explained after the initial introduction of the panel to the participants.
Thereafter, the panel assigns to the group the topic or case to be discussed, and observes the
discussion either directly or from behind a screen.

The panel may, at its discretion, provide the group sometime for thinking over the topic or
case. Thereafter, upon directions from the panel, the discussion starts and carries on till they
signal the termination time. Each candidate is supposed to voice his/her opinion and offer
supporting and counter arguments required. Although the panel specifies an approximate time
for the GD, it may cut short or extend the time at will.
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Evaluation and Analysis

The four components generally evaluated and analysed in a GD are as follows:

 Knowledge

 Communication Skills

 Group Behaviour (Team Spirit)

 Leadership skills

Aspects of Group Behaviour in a GD

 Consistancy in participation

 Keenness in listening and observing

 Time sharing and orderly conduct

 Ability to handle turbulent situations

 Ability to cut excessively exuberant participants down to size

Types of Group discussion:

 Factual topics
 Controversial topics
 Abstract topics
 Case based topics

Factual topics:

Factual topics are about practical things, which an ordinary person is aware of in his day-to-
day life. Typically these are about socio-economic topics. These can be current, i.e. they may
have been in the news lately, or could be unbound by time. A factual topic for discussion
gives a candidate a chance to prove that he is aware of and sensitive to his environment.

E.g. The education policy of India.

Controversial topics:

Controversial topics are the ones that are argumentative in nature. They are meant to generate
controversy. In GD’s where these topics are given for discussion, the noise level is usually
high, there may be tempers flying. The idea behind giving a topic like this is to see how much
maturity the candidate is displaying by keeping his temper in check, by rationally and
logically arguing his point of view without getting personal and emotional.
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E.g. Reservations should be removed, Women make better manager.

Abstract topics:

Abstract topics are about intangible things. These topics are not given often for discussion,
but their possibility cannot be ruled out. These topics test your lateral thinking and creativity.

E.g. A is an alphabet, Twinkle twinkle little star, the number 10.

Case-based topics:

Another variation is the use of a case instead or atopic. The case study tries to simulate a real-
life situation. Information about the situation will be given to you would be asked as group to
resolve the situation. In the case study there are no incorrect answers or perfect solutions. The
objective in the case study is to get you to think about the situation from various angles.

IIM A, IIM Indore and IIT SOM Mumbai have a case-based discussion rather than topic-
based discussion rather than topic-based discussion in their selection procedures.

Salient features of group discussion:

 Topic may be given to judge your public speaking talent.

 Discussion revolves around a specific subject.

 The examiner does not interfere once he announced the topic.

 Maintain cordiality and free expression of thought and opinion.

Do’s:

 Be appropriate to the issue.

 Make original points & support them by substantial reasoning.

 Listen to the other participants actively & carefully.

 Make only accurate statements.

 Modulate the volume, pitch and tone.

 Be considerate to the feelings of the others.

 Try to get your turn.

 Be an active and dynamic participant by listening.

 Talk with confidence and self-assurance.

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Don’ts:

 Being shy/nervous/keeping isolated from G.D.

 Interrupting another participant before his arguments are over.

 Speak in favour; example: Establish your position and stand by it stubbornly.

 Don’t make fun of any participant even if his arguments are funny.

 Don’t engage yourself in sub-group discussion.

 Don’t repeat and use irrelevant materials.

 Addressing yourself to the examiner.

 Worrying about making some grammatical mistakes, for your interest the matter you
put across are important.
 38

INTERVIEW
SKILLS
 39

Introduction:
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the
interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.

Different interviews for every situation:

Employment-related
Exit interview
Informational interview
Job interview

Job interview:
A job interview is a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer for
prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm. During this process, the
employer hopes to determine whether or not the applicant is suitable for the job. Interview
typically precedes the hiring decision, and is used to evaluate the candidate. The interview is
usually preceded by the evaluation of submitted résumés from interested candidates, then
selecting a small number of candidates for interviews. Potential job interview opportunities
also include networking events and career fairs. The job interview is considered one of the
most useful tools for evaluating potential employees. It also demands significant resources
from the employer, yet has been demonstrated to be notoriously unreliable in identifying the
optimal person for the job. An interview also allows the candidate to assess the corporate
culture and demands of the job.
Informational interview:
An Informational Interview is a meeting in which a job seeker asks for career and industry
advice rather than employment. The job seeker uses the interview to gather information on
the field, and to find employment leads and expand their professional network. This differs
from a job interview because the job seeker asks the questions. The term was coined by
Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the best-selling career handbook, What Color Is Your
Parachute? There may or may not be a specific employment opportunity available.
Nevertheless, job interview etiquette is expected.
Informational interviews are initiated by the job seeker. There are many avenues the job
seeker may pursue to obtain the informational interview. Career and social networking,
 40

newspaper want ads, job boards, placement services, company websites, trade association and
professional meetings, human resource contacts, professors and teachers, job search engines,
and professional recruiters.
Etiquette for Informational Interviews:
Because the job seeker initiates the interview, and the person being interviewed is the
professional doing a favor by being interviewed by the job seeker, [2] it is important to be
mindful of guidelines of informational interview etiquette, in addition to etiquette for
traditional interviews.

Prepare with research about the industry and the individual arrange a timandplace convenient
to the professional. Set a short time for the discussion have business cards available. Dress
appropriately; arrive promptly.
Exit interview:
An exit interview is an interview conducted by an employer of a departing employee. They
are generally conducted by a relatively neutral party, such as a human resources staff
member, so that the employee will be more inclined to be candid, as opposed to worrying
about burning bridges. Exit interviews are conducted by paper and pencil forms, telephone
interviews, in-person meetings or online through exit interview management systems. Some
companies opt to employ a third party to conduct the interviews and provide feedback.
Uses of Exit Interviews in Business:
The purpose of an exit interview is to gather employees' feedback on the work experience in
order to improve working conditions and retain employees.[1] Other uses for exit interviews
for organizations include improving work productivity, providing an early warning about
sexual harassment, workplace violence and discrimination issues.

Exit Interview Questions:

Common questions include reasons for leaving, job satisfaction, frustrations and feedback
concerning company policies or procedures. Questions may relate to the work environment,
supervisors, compensation, the work itself and the company culture.

Exit Interviews in Education:

Schools may also conduct exit interviews with students before graduation, or even as a
requirement of it. This is sometimes called a graduation interview.
 41

All the above mentioned types have the following modules, they are
1. Face-to-face interview
2. Panel/committee interview
3. Behavioural interview
4. Case interview
5. Telephone interview
6. Group interview
7. Stress interview
Face-to-face interview:
Most interviews are face-to-face. The most traditional is a one- to-one conversation. Your
focus should be on the person asking questions. Maintain eye contact, listen and respond once
a question has been asked. Your goal is to establish rapport with the interviewer and show
them that your qualifications will benefit their organization.
Panel/committee interview:
In this situation, there is more than one interviewer. Typically, three to ten members of a
panel may conduct this part of the selection process. Find a way to connect with each
interviewer. Remember to take your time in responding to questions. Maintain primary eye
contact with the panel member who asked the questions, but also seek eye contact with other
members of the panel as you give your response.
Behavioural interview:
The basic premise behind this type of interview is that your past behaviour is the best
predictor of your future actions. These types of questions may be asked in any interview
format-telephone, panel or one-on-one. If the employer asks behaviour-oriented questions,
they are no longer asking hypothetical questions but are now asking questions that must be
answered based on facts.
Case interview:
In some interviews you may be asked to demonstrate your problem-solving skills. The
interviewers will outline a situation or provide you with a case study and ask you to formulate
a plan that deals with the problem. You do not have to come up with the ultimate solution.
The interviewers are looking for how you apply your knowledge and skills to a real-life
situation. Speak and reason aloud so interviewers have a full understanding of your thought
process.
 42

Telephone interview:
Many organizations will conduct interviews by telephone to narrow a field of candidates.
Telephone interviews may also be used as a preliminary interview for candidates who live
away from the job site. It is important to treat this interview as you would a face-to-face
connection. Listen to the questions carefully before you answer. Since your voice is key,
convey energy with inflection in your voice. Have a copy of your resume nearby as a
reference.
Group interview:
A group interview is usually designed to uncover the leadership potential of prospective
managers and employees who will be dealing with customers. The front-runner candidates
are gathered together in an informal, discussion type interview. A subject is introduced and
the interviewer will start off the discussion. The goal of the group interview is to see how you
interact with others and how you use your knowledge and reasoning to influence others.
Do’s:
 Do play close attention to your personal appearance; dress to your advantage.
 Do make concrete goals in planning for your career.
 Do offer a firm handshake.
 Do fill out applications neatly and completely.
 Do have as much knowledge about the industry, employer, and position as possible.
 Do equip yourself with a strong knowledge of the company.
 Do have prepared questions about the employer and position.
 Do bring a pen and small notebook with you to the interview.
 Do take time to think before answering difficult or unexpected questions.
Don’ts:
 Don’t be overbearing, overaggressive or conceited.
 Don’t show a lack of interest or enthusiasm.
 Don’t emphasize money as your main interest in the job.
 Don’t make excuses for unfavourable factors on your record.
 Don’t condemn past employers or institutions of education; keep comments positive.
 Don’t display a marked dislike for schoolwork.
 Don’t be late to the interview.
 43

BASIC HR
QUESTIONS
(Tell me about yourself etc.)
 44

BASIC HR QUESTIONS

1. Tell me about yourself in brief.

2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

3. What motivates you at work?

 45

4. Are you a good team player or an independent worker?

5. What is more important to you money or success?

6. What is the difference between hard work and smart work?

7. What are your goals?

 46

GROOMING
 47

GROOMING

There is no second chance to make the first impression. Your appearance and grooming
contributes largely to the impression people for on your professionalism

 Taking care of your hair, face, hands and your total body means that you are taking care
of yourself? This can lift your morale and help increase your self-esteem.
Follow these steps to become a well-groomed person,
 Overall cleanliness
 Hair skin and nail care
 Oral Hygiene
 Attire and make-up
 Grooming process
 Wearing clothes that fit you properly
 Fresh and well ironed clothes
 Maintaining healthy skin
 Keeping your hair well groomed and in order
 Cultural etiquettes required for different situations.

I already follow

I Wish to Implement
 48

TIME
MANAGEMENT
 49

TIME MANAGEMENT

Developing time management skills is a journey

One goal is to help ourself become aware of how we use our time
as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in our studies
in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.

Strategies on using time:

These applications of time management have proven to be effective as good study habits.

 Blocks of study time and breaks:

Develop and plan for, blocks of study time in a typical week. Shorten our study
blocks if necessary-but don't forget to return to the task at hand. break should give we
an opportunity to have a snack, relax, or otherwise refresh or re-energize ourself.

 Dedicated study spaces:

Determine a place free from distraction where we can maximize our concentration
and be free of the distractions that friends or hobbies can bring. Have a back-up space
that can escape to, like the library, departmental study center, even a coffee shop. A
change of venue may also bring extra resources.

 Weekly reviews:
Weekly reviews and updates are also an important strategy. Each week, like a Sunday
night, review assignments, notes, calendar. Be mindful that as deadlines and exams
approach, weekly routine must adapt to them.

 Prioritize our assignments:

When studying, get in the habit of beginning with the most difficult subject or task.
For more difficult courses of study, try to be flexible.

 Postpone unnecessary activities until the work is done:

Postpone tasks or routines that can be put off until school work is finished. This can
be the most difficult challenge of time management. As learners we always meet
 50

unexpected opportunities that look appealing, then result in poor performance on a

test, on a paper, or in preparation for a task. Distracting activities will be more
enjoyable later without the pressure of the test, assignment, etc. hanging over our
head.

 Review notes and readings just before class:

This may prompt a question or two about something we don't quite understand, to ask
about in class, or after. It also demonstrates to our teacher that we are interested and
have prepared.

Time Management Tips

1) Realize that time management is a myth.

No matter how organized we are, there are always only 24 hours in a day. Time doesn't
change. All we can actually manage is ourselves and what we do with the time that we have.

2) Find out where we're wasting time.

Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more
productively. Daily Activities explains how to track our activities so we can form a accurate
picture of what we actually do, the first step to effective time management.

3) Create time management goals.

Remember, the focus of time management is actually changing our behaviors, not changing
time. A good place to start is by eliminating our personal time-wasters. For a fun look at
behaviors that can interfere with successful time management,

4) Implement a time management plan.

The objective is to change our behaviors over time to achieve whatever general goal we've set
for our self, such as increasing our productivity or decreasing our stress. So we need to not
only set our specific goals, but track them over time to see whether or not we're
accomplishing them.
 51

5) Use time management tools.

Whether it's a Day-Timer or a software program, the first step to physically managing our
time is to know where it's going now and planning how we're going to spend our time in the
future. A software program such as Outlook, for instance, lets us schedule events easily and
can be set to remind us of events in advance, making our time management easier.

6) Prioritize ruthlessly.

We should start each day with a time management session prioritizing the tasks for that day
and setting our performance benchmark.

7) Learn to delegate and/or outsource.

No matter how small our business is, there's no need for us to be a one-person show. For
effective time management, we need to let other people carry some of the load. Determining
Our Personal ROI explains two ways to pinpoint which tasks we'd be better off delegating or
outsourcing, while Decide To Delegate provides tips for actually getting on with the job of
delegating.

8) Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.

While crises will arise, we'll be much more productive if we can follow routines most of the
time.

9) Get in the habit of setting time limits for tasks.

For instance, reading and answering email can consume our whole day if we let it. Instead,
set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it.

10) Be sure our systems are organized.

Take the time to organize a file management system. We'll find more information about
setting up filing systems and handling data efficiently in my Data Management library.

11) Don't waste time waiting.

 52

From client meetings to dentist appointments, it's impossible to avoid waiting for someone or
something. But we don't need to just sit there and twiddle our thumbs. Always take
something to do with we, such as a report we need to read, a checkbook that needs to be
balanced, or just a blank pad of paper that we can use to plan our next marketing campaign.

Effective aids:

 Create a simple "To Do" list

This simple program will help we identify a few items, the reason for doing them, a
timeline for getting them done, and then printing this simple list and posting it for
reminders.

 Daily/weekly planner
Write down appointments, classes, and meetings on a chronological log book or chart.
If we are more visual, sketch out our schedule
First thing in the morning, check what's ahead for the day
always go to sleep knowing we're prepared for tomorrow

 Long term planner

Use a monthly chart so that we can plan ahead.
Long term planners will also serve as a reminder to constructively plan time for
ourself
 53

My Daily Schedule
 54

My Weekly Planner
 55

STRESS
MANAGEMENT
 56

STRESS MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION

Emotional stress usually occurs in situations people consider difficult or challenging. People
may feel stressed in different situations.

Physical stress is a physical reaction of the body to various triggers. The pain experienced
after surgery is an example of physical stress. Physical stress often leads to emotional stress,
and emotional stress often occurs in the form of physical stress (e.g., stomach cramps).

Stress management involves controlling and reducing the tension that occurs in stressful
situations by making emotional and physical changes. The degree of stress and the desire to
make the changes will determine how much improvement takes place.

ASSESSING STRESS

Attitude: A person's attitude can influence whether or not a situation or emotion is stressful.
A person with a negative attitude will often report more stress than would someone with a
positive attitude.

Diet: A poor diet puts the body in a state of physical stress and weakens the immune system.
As a result, a person can be more likely to get infections. A poor diet can mean making
unhealthy food choices, not eating enough, or not eating on a normal schedule.

This form of physical stress also decreases the ability to deal with emotional stress, because
not getting the right nutrition may affect the way the brain processes information.

Physical activity: Not getting enough physical activity can put the body in a stressed state.
Physical activity has many benefits, including promoting a feeling of well-being.

Support systems: Almost everyone needs someone in their life they can rely on when they
are having a hard time. Having little or no support makes stressful situations even more
difficult to deal with.

Relaxation: People with no outside interests, hobbies, or other ways to relax may be less able
to handle stressful situations. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night also helps people cope
with stress.

CAUSES OF STRESS AT WORK

These are typical causes of stress at work:

 bullying or harassment, by anyone, not necessarily a person's manager

 feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining one's own responsibilities
 57

 continuous unreasonable performance demands

 lack of effective communication and conflict resolution
 lack of job security
 long working hours
 excessive time away from home and family
 office politics and conflict among staff
 a feeling that one's reward reward is not commensurate with one's responsibility
 working hours, responsibilities and pressures disrupting life-balance (diet, exercise,
sleep and rest, play, family-time, etc)

SIGNS OF STRESS - STRESS TEST

 sleep difficulties
 loss of appetite
 poor concentration or poor memory retention
 performance dip
 uncharacteristic errors or missed deadlines
 anger or tantrums
 violent or anti-social behavior
 emotional outbursts
 alcohol or drug abuse
 nervous habits

AN INDIVIDUAL STRESS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

 Find the positive in situations, and don't dwell on the negative.

 Plan fun activities.
 Take regular breaks.

Physical activity:

 Start a physical activity program. Most experts recommend 20 minutes of aerobic

activity three times per week.
 Decide on a specific type, amount, and level of physical activity. Fit this into your
schedule so it can be part of your routine.
 58

 Find a buddy to exercise with -- it is more fun and it will encourage you to stick with
your routine.
 You do not have to join a gym -- 20 minutes of brisk walking outdoors is enough.

Nutrition:

 Eat foods that improve your health and well-being. For example, increase the amount
of fruits and vegetables you eat.
 Use the food guide plate to help you make healthy food choices.
 Eat normal-sized portions on a regular schedule.

Social support:

 Make an effort to socialize. Even though you may feel tempted to avoid people when
you feel stressed, meeting friends usually helps people feel less stressed.
 Be good to yourself and others.

Relaxation:

 Learn about and try using relaxation techniques, such as guided imagery, listening to
music, or practicing yoga or meditation. With some practice, these techniques should
work for you.
 Listen to your body when it tells you to slow down or take a break.
 Make sure to get enough sleep. Good sleep habits are one of the best ways to manage
stress.
 Take time for personal interests and hobbies.
 59

REPORT
WRITING
 60

REPORT WRITING

Introduction

Report

The British association for commercial and industrial education has defined a report
as “a document is which a problem is examined for the purpose of conveying information and
findings, putting forward ideas first and sometimes making recommendation.”

A good business report has been defined as an orderly arrangement of factual

information that is objective in nature and that serves some business purpose.

Features of a good business report

Any good report must be

1. Factual
2. Objective [no personal opinion and no bias]
3. Structured in a predetermined fashion
4. Comprehensive
5. Detailed [should have all relevant information]
6. Logical [sequential]
7. Clear
8. Coherent [devoid of all clichés]

Types of Reports:

Reports are of different kinds. They depend upon the organizations and their business
requirements. There are many types of business reports. Broadly they can be classified as

1. Routine/ periodic/ progress reports:

These are the most common types of reports written at regular intervals. The
report facilitates monitoring of work and decision making.

2. Informational reports:
These are reports that examine business situation/ problems and provide
factual information.
 61

3. Justification reports with recommendations:

Often managers have to justify a decision that arises out of the facts gathered
and relevant to the problems. In such cases managers offer recommendations based on
the analysis as interpretation.
4. Situation reports:
Managers are also expected to submit reports about their office trips,
conferences and seminars to keep the organization informed about what they have
gained from the activities. Such reports do not follow a formal order, since they are
informal in nature, letter/memo format in generally used.
5. Feasibility reports:
Based on the analysis and interpretation of cost, benefits, disadvantages and
future possibilities, managers have to print out whether it is feasible to proceed with a
proposed project or not in the means of feasibility reports.
6. Research reports:
Research is the backbone of an organization. Research reports are written to
examine, evaluate and estimate the consensus and the market strategies of any
organization. It is written to evaluate the present and future of the same.
7. Business plan/ proposal:
There are persuasive reports that attempt to secure new business. They answer
all the basic questions that the investor might want to know. The report writer must
write convincingly.

How to become a good report writer?

To become a good report writer the following qualities are mandatory. They are,
1. Sound knowledge in English and Grammar.
2. Ability to use intuition to probe into the vast body of data and gather relevant
information.
3. Good judgment of facts.
4. Ability to write concisely, correctly, clearly and simply.
5. Ability to think logically and objectively.
6. Ability to perceive facts in totality and not in isolation.
 62

Good judgment on the on the credibility of the facts is very crucial and important in
report writing. Reports are business documents and they can always be produced in a
court of law. Therefore, it is of utmost important for the writer to consider the legal
implications of the report before it is finalized.

Reports can be written in

 Letter format
 Memo format
 Formal/ manuscript format

How to construct a long formal report:

Formal reports are usually long and hence they have several parts. The parts can be
divided into four sections, namely

 Prefatory parts
 The body of the Report
 Conclusion
 Appended parts
 Bibliography

Section I - The prefatory parts

It consist only the title. This is only a formality. It appears again on the following page. At
one glance, the reader should know what the report is about. A good title answers – ‘the five
w’s’ (what, why, who, when & where)

Example Title: A survey of cellular phones: Market Potential in Mumbai

Title page (the title, the receiver’s name, date).

Section II - The Body of the Report

Introduction
The writer must mention the authorization of the report, the purpose, and the goal, As in all
form of writing, the introduction should arouse interest in the readers.
 63

Main text

This part includes all the details of the report in a comprehensive analysis of the data
examined. In fact, this is the heart and soul of the report.

Conclusion

This is another important part of the report; very often, busy executives, having limited time
at their disposal, head straight for the conclusion to know the end result of the data. It is very
important to keep to the authenticity of the logical conclusions drawn.

Recommendations

It is included only when it forms a part of the report.

Section III - Appended parts

Generally the appendix contains information that directly supports the report. These, may be
official letters from an organization, questionnaires and responses, or charts and graphs. They
may not include in the main body. The inclusion of the appended parts adds extra importance
to the reports. Whatever it is since the graphical representations of information is a primary
means of communication with clients, inclusion of them in the body as well as the appendix
of the report which adds value to the report.

Section IV - Bibliography

The referred sources such as books, magazines and journals must be acknowledged.
Many researchers take up this part of report writing very casually. The authenticity of the
work without a proper list of sources can be doubted, such violation does not speak very well
of the serious involvement of the reporter. This section lists all sources that have been used
for the report.
 64

LEVELS OF
VOCABULARY
 65

Levels of Vocabulary

Most languages have several levels of vocabulary that may be used by the same speakers. In
English, at least three have been identified and described.

Standard usage includes those words and expressions understood, used, and accepted by a
majority of the speakers of a language in any situation regardless of the level of formality. As
such, these words and expressions are well defined and listed in standard dictionaries.
Colloquialisms, on the other hand, are familiar words and idioms that are understood by
almost all speakers of a language and used in informal speech or writing, but not considered
acceptable for more formal situations. Almost all idiomatic expressions are colloquial
language. Slang, however, refers to words and expressions understood by a large number of
speakers but not accepted as appropriate formal usage by the majority. Colloquial expressions
and even slang may be found in standard dictionaries but will be so identified. Both
colloquial usage and slang are more common in speech than in writing.

Colloquial speech often passes into standard speech. Some slang also passes into standard
speech, but other slang expressions enjoy momentary popularity followed by obscurity. In
some cases, the majority never accepts certain slang phrases but nevertheless retains them in
their collective memories. Every generation seems to require its own set of words to describe
familiar objects and events.

It has been pointed out by a number of linguists that three cultural conditions are necessary
for the creation of a large body of slang expressions. First, the introduction and acceptance of
new objects and situations in the society; second, a diverse population with the large number
of subgroups; third, association among the subgroups and the majority population.

Finally, it is worth nothing that the terms “standard”, “colloquial”, and “slang” exist only as
abstract labels for scholars who study language. Only a tiny number of the speakers of any;
language will be aware that they are using colloquial or slang expressions. Most speakers of
English will, during appropriate situations, select and use all three types of expressions.
 66

1. Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

a. Standard speech c. different types of vocabulary
b. Idiomatic phrases d. dictionary usage

2. How is slang defined by the author?

a. Words & phrases accepted by the majority for formal usage
b. Words & phrases understood by the majority but not found in standard
dictionaries
c. Words & phrases that are understood by a restricted group of speakers
d. Words & phrases understood by a large number of speakers but not accepted as a
formal language

3. The word “obscurity” could best be replaced by

a. Disappearance c. qualification
b. influence d. tolerance

4. The word “appropriate” is closest in meaning to

a. Old c. correct
b. large d. important

5. The word “them” refers to

a. Words c. Memories
b. slang phrases d. the majority

6. Where in the passage does the author explain where colloquial language and slang
are most commonly used
a. Lines 3-5 c. lines 20 – 24
b. Lines 11- 13 d. lines 25- 30

7. Which of the following is true of standard usage?

a. It can be used in formal or informal settings b. It is limited to written language
b. c. It is only understood by the upper classes d. It is constantly changing
 67

8. What does the author mean by the statement “Colloquialisms, on the other hand, are
familiar words and idioms that are understood by almost all speakers of a language
and used in informal speech or writing, but not considered acceptable for more formal
situations”?
a. Familiar words & phrases are found in both speech & writing in formal settings
b. Familiar situations that are experienced by most people are called colloquialisms
c. Informal language contains colloquialisms, which are not found in more formal
language
d. Most of the speakers of a language can use both formal & informal speech in
appropriate situations

9. The author mentions all of the following as requirements for slang expressions to be
created EXCEPT
a. New situations c. interaction among diverse groups
b. A new generation d. a number of linguists

10. It can be inferred from the passage that the author

a. Does not approve of either slang or colloquial speech in any situation
b. Approves of colloquial speech in some situations, but not slang
c. Approves of slang and colloquial speech in appropriate situations
d. Does not approve of colloquial usage in writing
 68

GRAMMAR
 69

COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS

Since the major purpose of any language is communication, it is essential that all speakers of
the English language understand the communicative functions of this language.

While the grammar and syntax of the same type of communicative function varies from
language to language, there is no gainsaying the fact that in English it is easier to assimilate
these function simply because the ease with which they can be understood in this particular
language – English.

The communicative function of an utterance corresponds to the speaker's intention in

producing a given message. For example his/her intention may be to request information, to
thank, to deny approval and so on. The main communicative functions include questions,
statements, requests, commands, exclamations, apology, complaints, warnings and threats.

The correct interpretation by a listener of an utterance's function relies on cues provided by

the grammatical structures (verb tense, affirmative or negative form, etc.) and prosodic forms
used by the speaker associated with the immediate context of the utterance and the shared
knowledge of the participants.
It is true to say that there is no one-to-one relationship between these structures or forms and
the functions they express. On the one hand, a single function can be expressed by a several
different grammatical forms, for example:

Close the window.

I want you to close the window.
Will you close the window?
On the other hand, the same grammatical form can be employed to express a variety
of
functions, for example:
Can you speak Japanese?
Can you lend me a couple of euros?
Can you believe that!
 70

Nonetheless, in selecting and presenting grammatical structures by way of the

communicative functions which dominate in a given human activity, it is possible to focus on
the most pertinent structures for a given target use of language, thus saving the
learners' time and enabling language trainers to suit their pedagogical activities to the real
needs of the learners.

In the space given below write five samples for the above communicative functions
based on the example given in/for each category.

1. QUESTION. (Yes/No) Asks hearer to state whether something is true or false.

Eg. Is what I heard about you true?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

2. STATEMENT. Conveys information.

Eg. Please remove the tea cups.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
 71

3. REQUEST. Asking for something.

Eg. Please give me your pen.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

4. COMMAND. Give orders or demand goods or services.

Eg. Get out of the room.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

5. COMPLAINT. Talking about the shortcomings of good/ services or

individuals.
Eg. The service here is appalling.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
 72

6. THREAT. Promise of dire consequences if orders are not carried out.

Eg. Stay where you are or else!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7. PERMISSION. Seeking positive response for a work or venture

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

8. ADVICE. Suggest a course of action

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
 73

JUMBLED SENTENCES
I.

1. Human beings can walk, run, swim and so on, but robots are usually confined to one
place.
2. Another advantage human beings have is the way the same person can do jobs as
different as making a cup of tea or designing a new machine.
3. It is a known fact that robots have many advantages over human beings.
4. Taking into account all these factors, it should be remembered that robots owe their
existence, to human beings.
5. However, it is also true that humans can do many things that robot can’t.
6. For example, humans can carry out a task without having to be told exactly how to do
it; they don’t have to be programmed.
7. And unlike robots, people can know whether what they are doing is good or bad, and
whether it is boring or interesting.
8. Even if the robots are able to move, they can do so, only in a very limited way.

Ans.

II.

1. But for this preheating mechanism, starting the diesel engine will be difficult.
2. Therefore, diesel engines are heavier than petrol engines.
3. The diesel engine is an increasingly popular engine in automobiles.
4. Finally, diesel engines are noted for their noise, vibration, and smoke.
5. However, plugs are available to preheat the engine.
6. But, it has its own disadvantages.
7. Another disadvantage is that diesel engines are difficult to start in cold weather.
8. For one, the higher compression that makes the diesel more efficient necessitates the
use of heavier engine components.

Ans.

III.

1. For example, more than two decades ago, Eye surgeons realized the value of laser to
treat eye defects.
2. Where the cancer can be directly and accurately attacked laser treatment does well.
3. It is so fine that only the target is attacked and its intensity is enough to destroy
harmful cells.
4. Thus early cancer of the cervix has been widely and successfully treated.
5. It is valuable because the beam can be focused to spot one fiftieth the thickness of a
human hair.
6. For cancer treatment the diseased cells must be killed while their healthy neighbours
are left unharmed.
7. This type of cervix cancer is easy to reach.
8. Today the use of laser for treating eye defects has increased enormously.
 74

9. When the laser strikes that inaccessible spot, it releases a chemical that kills these
cells.
10. While military scientists test lasers against satellites, surgeons use them as accurate
scalpels.
11. Now its pin-point blasting power is used to destroy harmful cancer cells.
12. For cancers that are less accessible, through a new technique, a patient is injected with
a chemical that attaches itself to the cancer cells.

Ans.

IV.

1. Soil bacteria and fungi live by digesting and recycling dead plant material such as
leaves and seed cases.
2. While there is some lab-based experimental evidence to support this theory it has
been difficult to prove it.
3. One wonders why most natural antibiotics come from soil fungi and bacteria.
4. Obviously, it is impossible for the bacteria to carry away their food supply and
therefore they lace surrounding food with compounds that are toxic to other species.
5. A simple explanation is that these organisms use antibiotics to protect their food
supply.
6. A second explanation is that antibiotic production is rooted in the plant material that is
the food source.

Ans.

V.

1. The viewers can manipulate the surrounding that he or she sees during a virtual reality
simulation.
2. Supercomputers are used to crate virtual reality.
3. Though virtual reality is considered to be an industry still in its infancy, its
applications seem limited only by our imagination.
4. Virtual reality is the simulation of a three-dimensional environment that appears real
to the viewer.
5. Thus virtual reality experience needs to be credible in order to enhance human
creativity and productivity.
6. A virtual reality simulation happens in real time or as the viewer watches.
Ans.
 75

VI.

1. This is because, in the west this amounts to only 800 dollars and they have little
motivation to bring down the cost any further.
2. Why is the cost of installing a telephone in India as high as Rs.30,000?
3. The emphasis instead is on adding features while keeping the cost constant.
4. At such levels it would be immediately affordable to over 15 percent of Indian
population.
5. It is here that scientists in India have to take the initiative.
6. They must aim to reduce the cost of telephone and internet access to a much lower
value, say Rs.10,000.
Ans.

VII.

1. They are better at sports than right-handed people.

2. However, they are not as good at mathematics and languages.
3. Left-handed people can do certain things better than right-handed people.
4. The reason for this lies in the construction of the brain.
5. Therefore, left-handed people are better at music, sports and dance.
6. The left controls reasoning or logical thinking.
7. In left-handed people, the right hemisphere of the brain is highly developed.
8. They are better at music and dance too.
9. But right-handed people are better at mathematics and languages.
10. So the right-handed people are better at mathematics and languages.
11. On the other hand, the left hemisphere is highly developed in right-handed persons.
12. The brain’s right hemisphere controls ability in sports, music and dance.

Ans.

VIII.

1. The dissolved cellulose is formed into threads by a technical process.

2. This fibre is, in fact, a reconstituted natural fibre.
3. After that, they are dried on a heated roller.
4. The cellulose is obtained from shredded wood pulp.
5. Finally, they are wound on to a bobbin.
6. It is made by dissolving cellulose in a solution of sodium hydroxide.
7. The threads are drawn from the setting bath of dilute sulphuric acid. Then, they are
wound on reel and washed.
8. Rayon is a man-made fibre.
Ans.
 76

IX.

1. Antarctica which is regarded as a continent by itself is located in this southern polar

region.
2. Geographers have found that there are some important differences between the
northern and southern polar regions of the earth.
3. Antarctica is snow-bound almost throughout the year, but the snow in the arctic melts
in summer.
4. The Arctic region, in the north, is mostly sea, surrounded by masses of land.
5. But, on the whole, both the Polar Regions help nature, in maintaining the ecological
balance.
6. The southern pole, on the other hand, is situated in a land mass surrounded by oceans.
7. Both the regions, in general, have very cold climate.
8. The winter in the Arctic is not as severe as the Antarctic.

Ans.

X.

1. Both had a city-state type of government.

2. Athens and Sparta were the two most –advanced Greek cities of Hellenic period.
3. For example, Sparta was hostile, war like and military.
4. However the differences outweigh the similarities.
5. Whereas, Athens catered more towards the democratic and cultural way of life.
6. Also both took slaves from the people they conquered.
7. The latter city left its mark in the fields of art, literature, philosophy and science.
8. Also, the former passed on its totalitarianism and superior military traditions to the
latter.
Ans.

XI.

1. When there is a language barrier, communication is accomplished through sign

language.
2. Body language transmits ideas and thoughts by certain actions.
3. Many of these symbols of whole words are very picturesque and exact and can be
used internationally.
 77

4. Ever since humans have inhabited the earth, they have made use of various forms of
communication.
5. Other forms of nonlinguistic language can be found in Braille, signal flags, Morse
code and smoke signals.
6. A nod signifies approval while shaking the head indicates a negative reaction.
7. Generally their expression of thoughts and feeling has been in the form of oral speech.
8. Nonetheless verbalization is the most common form of communication.

Ans.

XII.

1. Fiction is the term used to describe novels, short stories, classics and popular pleasure
reading.
2. However the readers can refer these books in a reading room set aside for this
purpose.
3. There are, some areas of investigation, for example psychic phenomena, where
“existence” is uncertain, but for the purposes of library arrangement, these areas are
allocated space within the non-fiction section.
4. Non-fiction describes technical and factual works, and books which cover events and
things that exist in reality.
5. They cannot be borrowed from library.
6. Most public and general libraries have three main areas, fiction, non-fiction and
reference.
7. All the three areas may be contained in one room, or each may occupy a separate
room, depending on the size of the library and the space available.
8. Reference books are simply non-fiction books of a kind, which include encyclopedias
and dictionaries.

Ans.
 78

Spotting Errors

Identify the correct sentence:

1. a. Where I can find a bank?

b. Where can I find a book?

2. a. I look forward to meeting you.

b. I look forward to meet you.

3. a. Requirements for admission change in many of the Anna University’s departments’ and
their various programmes.
. b. Requirements for admission change in many of the Anna University’s departments and
their various programmes.

4. a. My mother wanted me to be a doctor.

b. My mother wanted that I be doctor.

5. a. Don’t go in the sun.

b. Don’t go out in the sun.

6. a. He has not yet gone to the bed.

b. He has not yet gone to bed.

7. a. There is a mercy in nature which binds us to too much realization of horrors outside our
own radii.
b. There is a mercy in nature which binds us to too much realization of horrors outside our
own radius.

8. a. They had completed the work yesterday.

b. They completed the work yesterday.

9. a. What does gibberish mean?

b. what means gibberish please?

10. a. I have good news for you.

b. I have a good news for you.

11. a. A publication may be used in any state where it regularly circulates under a unanimous
ruling by the Supreme Court.
b. A publication may be used in any state where in circulates under a unanimous
ruling by the Supreme Court.

12. a. The woman who works here is from Japan.

b. The woman which works here is from Japan.

13. a. I’ve been here for three months.

b. I’ve been here since three months.
 79

14. a. They cooked the dinner themself.

b. They cooked the dinner themselves.

15. a. I can able to do it.

b. I can do it.

16. a. Travelling in a foreign country, visiting new places and writing travelogues is a new
experience.
b. Travelling in a foreign country, visiting new places and to write travelogues is a new
experience.

17. a. The clever lawyer found that the accused was guilty of false misstatement.
b. clever lawyer found that the accused was guilty of false statement.

18. a. The student apologized on his indecent behavior to his instructor.

b. The student apologized for his indecent behavior to his instructor.

19. a. I was surprised and anger that he did not apologize.

b. I was surprised and angry that he did not apologize.

20. a. He always waits for me till the late evening.

b. He always waits for me until the late evening.

21. a. He flew where his opponents could not come at all.

b. He fled where his opponents could not come at all.

22. a. The police took the miscreants in custody.

b. The police took the miscreants into custody.

23. a. I dipped in it at random, and each of the pieces I have read so far has been a fine
reading experience.
b. I dipped into it at random, and each of the pieces I have read so far have been a fine
reading experience.

24. a. I want to attend Shiksha’s marriage.

b. I want to attend Shiksha’s wedding.

25. a. When did you yesterday see Arnav?

b. When did you see Arnav yesterday?

26. a. He speaks German well.

b. He speaks well Germany.

27. a. Many writers believe that writing a book is easier than editing and marketing it.
b. Many writers believe that writing a book is easier than to edit and marketing it.

28. a. Until you remain idle, you cannot succeed.

b. As long as you remain idle, you cannot succeed.
 80

29. a. She annoyed that I hadn’t waited for her.

b. She was annoyed that I hadn’t waited for her.

30. a. He gave the class some more homework.

b. He gave the class another homework.

31. a. I asked my lawyer for her advise.

b. I asked my lawyer for her advice.

32. a. The programme is about computers and their affects on our lives.
b. The programme is about computers and their effect on our lives.

33. a. I returned back to Germany after two years’ time.

b. I came back to Germany after two years’ time.

34. a. People envy her because she is good at all.

b. People envy her because she is good at everything.

35. a. We all must try to find a solution to the problem.

b. We must all try to find a solution to the problem.

36. a. As you all know, my name is Arnav Singh Raizhadha.

b. As all you know, my name is Arnav Singh Raizhadha.

37. a. I had never visited an hospital before.

b. I had never visited a hospital before.

38. a. They still can’t find an answer for this problem.

b. They still can’t find an answer to this problem.

39. a. Any day was the same.

b. Each day was the same.

40. a. A lot of athletic reporters write for the magazine.

b. A lot of athletics reporters write for the magazine.

41. a. It’s very important to attend to all the classes.

b. It’s very important to attend all the classes.

42. a. I’m taking an intermediate course of English.

b. I’m taking an intermediate course in English.

43. a. My uncle has known me during all my life.

b. My uncle has known me all my life.

44. a. Each of the nurses were very kind.

b. Each of the nurses was very kind.
 81

45. a. Most females want to continue their careers after marriage.

b. Most women want to continue their careers after marriage.

46. a. My favourite menu is cheese and mushroom omelette.

b. My favourite dish is cheese and mushroom omelette.

47. a. Nearly half million people entered the country.

b. Nearly half a million people entered the country.

48. a. The news are never very good nowadays.

b. The news is never very good nowadays.

49. a. There was few people at the funeral.

b. There were few people at the funeral.

50. a. The important thing is your score in overall.

b. The important thing is your overall score.