Today is our topic of discussion Writing a description advanced

Writing a description advanced

 

 

What do you know about the role of rural women in the following agricultural activities? Write a short paragraph on each activity (5-7 sentences). No 1 is done for you.

Rice cultivation

(sowing/planting, weeding, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, storing, marketing, etc.)

Animal husbandry

(feeding and milking cattle and goats, fattening cattle, keeping poultry, etc.)

Homestead forestry

(fruit trees mango, jackfruit, lemon, guava, banana, bamboos, palms, plums, etc.)

Use of agricultural residues

(rice husks, rice stalks, bagasse, coconut pith, banana trees/plants, dry leaves, etc.)

Example answer:

Rice cultivation

Our rural women play a major role in rice cultivation. They can sow aus rice or plant aman seedlings after the field is prepared. They can also do the weeding when weeds grow with the young plants. Most harvesting and post-harvesting work is done by them.

After threshing the grains either by hand or by using cattle or a machine, they winnow the dust, pieces of grass, leaves etc away by the winnowing fan (kula). Then they dry the grains and put them in the store. Or they make them ready for husking or for marketing.

Think about the following questions and write answers to them.

a) Are the rural women involved in agricultural activities skilled workers? (Mostly no)

b) If no, how can they carry out all the four types of activities mentioned in the example answer above? (experience, learned by doing, etc.)

c) Make a list of activities which rural women have learned to do by doing over time. Also make another list of activities which could be effectively carried out only by skilled workers.

d) How can the rural women increase their efficiency through skills training?

 

 

Now combine all the answers to the above questions (a-d) so that they make a well-planned composition.

Note these words and expressions.

thresh (v) – beat the grain out of the plants. Threshing is usually done by hand or by turning 3-5 head of cattle round and round on the spread-out plants. Threshing can also be done by a threshing-machine.

market (v) – to prepare the rice by threshing, winnowing, drying. etc. for sale. Also to organise its sale by taking it to a market place, shop, etc.

husbandry (n) – farming/management

cattle (n pl) – cattle are bulls and cows. (‘head’ is used with cattle to mean a unit of a flock or herd. Twenty head (not heads) of cattle are grazing in the field.

fatten (v) – make a cow/bull fat usually by giving the animal special feed. The livestock officer at the thana instructs rural women about how to fatten a cow or a bull.

poultry (n pl) – chickens, ducks and other birds that are kept for their eggs and meat

residue (n) – unused part or portion. Rice husks, stalks are agricultural residues.  They remain after the use of rice.

husks (n) – Husks are the outer covering of grains (rice, wheat) or seeds.

 

 

husk (v) – to remove husks from rice by a ‘dheki’ or machine

bagasse (n) – dry pulp that remains after the extraction of juice from sugarcane or similar plants. Bagasse is used as fuel or for making fibreboard.

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing a description elaborate

Writing a description elaborate

Look at this picture and try to think about these questions and then write answers to them.

 

Fig : A tea garden

1. What is the woman doing? (pluck)

2. In which district or districts can you find this scene?

3. What will she do with the leaves when her basket is filled up? (deliver to the factory or to the vehicle used for carrying them to the factory)

4. How do we get made or manufactured tea out of these leaves? (leaves prepared in the factory….)

Read the following description of tea manufacture.

(1) Fresh tea shoots are plucked from a garden. Each shoot usually has two leaves and a bud.

(2) These leaves are then taken to the factory for manufacture. There in the factory these leaves are treated in various methods and style.

(3) The leaves are first made to pass through a process called withering. As a result of a 12-18 hour-withering, loss of moisture and some chemical changes take place in the leaves.

(4) The next stage in the tea manufacture is distortion of the withered tea leaves, known as processing. The leaves are loaded into a rolling machine where they are ruptured, crushed, torn and curled. It is here where the tea gets flavour, colour and aroma.

(5) Immediately after the leaves are crushed and bruised, fermentation begins. In this process, through a series of chemical reactions, green colour turns into coppery black.

(6) The well-fermented leaves then are passed through the dryer for drying. During drying more than half the weight of the withered leaves is evaporated. Drying is required to make the leaves suitable for storage and transportation.

(7) The last stage in the tea manufacture is sorting. After the leaves are dried, they are quickly cooled off. Then the tea particles of different sizes are separated through a mechanically operated sieve with meshes of varying sizes. As the leaves are sorted. They are packed according to a number of grades.

 

 

Read each of the paragraphs in B above in which an action or a sequence of actions has been described. Notice how a bold-printed word in a paragraph helps to express the sequence of actions within the paragraph or between two paragraphs. These words are: first, next, after, then, as a result, last, etc.

Since they connect one action or idea with the other or since they indicate the sequential progression of actions/ideas, they are called connectives. Now write how these connectives are linking two or more activities in the whole text.

Example

The word then in the second para shows how the action of plucking tea shoots (para 1) leads to the action of taking these shoots to the factory for manufacture (para 2).

Activity: Describe the process of making sugar from the sugarcane.

Clues:

Farmers grow sugarcane-ripe sugarcane stalks sold to the sugar mills- stalks are shredded (cut) soft pith (spongy substance) is put into crushers juice is extracted-boiled-decolourised (made colourless) -crystallised (made into crystals)-packed-marketed

 

 

Use different paragraphs for different activities, showing the use of connectives in describing the whole process. Some other connectives are: but, so, therefore, though, consequently, this, that, however, etc.

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing a description

Writing a description

Look at these pictures and write the numbers of the pictures in the appropriate blanks below.

 

 

Fig : At the Sundarbans

1. Some tourists are walking inside the Sundarbans.

2. Local people are carrying ‘golpatta’ (used for making house roofs) in their boats.

3. Spotted deer are drinking water.

4. This paddle steamer ferries between Dhaka and Khulna.

5. The Royal Bengal Tiger is swimming in a creek.

6. A tourist is enjoying the scenic beauty of the mangroves and the river in the Sundarbans.

Look at the pictures and write a short paragraph for each question in Column A. Develop the paragraph using the points given in Column B against each question. No 1 is done for you.

 

 

Example: Where is the Sundarbans?

The Sundarbans is in the southwestern part of Bangladesh. It is spread in the southern coast of three districts Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat along the Bay of Bengal.

Note these words.

paddle steamer (n) – a large steamer. It is pushed through the water by the movement of large wheels which are attached to its side

creek (n) – a narrow strip of water that goes from a sea or lake into the land

mangroves (n) – trees that grow along coasts or on the banks of large rivers in hot countries

bask (v) – to enjoy the warmth and light (of the sun), e.g. Crocodiles bask on river banks. Too much of basking in the sun is not good for your skin.

herd (n) – a herd is a large group of animals of one kind. All the animals in a herd live together. e.g. herds of deer
in southwestern part ‘in’ indicates ‘inside’/’within’. e.g. Rangpur is in the north of Bangladesh.

[Notice the use of ‘on’ and ‘to’ to indicate locations. e.g. The river Dauki is on the north of Tamabil (on the border). Meghalaya is to the north of Bangladesh (outside).]

boar (n) – a wild male pig

snipe (both sing and pl) – a type of bird with a long beak. It normally lives in wet land.

Activity: Describe the sea beach at Cos’x Bazar. Use these clues?

1. Where is it?

(Give location – 160 km from Chittagong)

2. How big is it?

(World’s largest natural sand beach 120 km wide beach. stretching up to 330 meters at low tide)

3. What are the main attractions for the tourists?

 

 

(scenic beauty: rolling waves-boats at a distance moving slowly sunset, sunrise on the waters bathing, swimming-walking along the beach collecting shells, taking photographs or just viewing the scenic beauty sitting under a beach umbrella staying at picturesque motels, cottages along the beach, enjoying fried and grilled sea-fish-shopping at the beach shopping centres)

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing reports 2

Writing reports 2

 

 

For case 2, for example, in Lesson 7.1 above, the writer may prepare the following outline for his report.

Causes of primary school dropouts in ‘X’ thana

It is assumed that the writer has collected information about the number of primary schools, population, their occupation, literacy rate, teachers, their qualifications and commitment to their profession, enrolment rate, dropout
rate, causes of dropouts as reported by the teachers, parents, the thana education officer, student themselves.

He/she has got all the necessary data through interviews, discussions, TEO office, questionnaire, etc. Now he/she gets down to writing an outline for his/her report.

Outline

Introduction :

Purpose of the report (TOR) — size and population of the union

Body:

Number of schools-size of the catchment area for each school food for education – dropout rate causes of dropouts people’s attitude — their occupations-poverty-children’s help

Conclusion:

Education to be meaningful to their life — students going to schools willingly

Recommendations :

Training of teachers – practical components to be included in the curriculum school hours to be convenient community involvement education for the parents academic supervision -physical structures with greater facilities

 

 

Note these words and expressions

it is assumed –  that it is taken to be true that; it is supposed that—–

assume (v) – to take as true; to suppose

literacy rate – number of people in a country (or a region) who can do simple reading, writing and counting, e.g. The present literacy rate in Bangladesh is about 40%. This means about 40 people out of 100 can read, write and count at the basic level.

enrolment rate – number of children per 100 who get admission to a class, e.g. The present enrolment rate at the primary level in Bangladesh is about 70%. This means out of 100 children 70 are admitted or enrolled.

dropout rate – number of students who do not continue their studies for various reasons, e.g. The present dropout rate at the end of the primary cycle (i.e. at the end of class 5) is more than 50%.

dropouts (n) – students who drop out (i.e. who leave school without finishing their studies)

commitment (n) – strong belief; responsibility

profession (n) – occupation (here teaching)

catchment area – The catchment area of school is the area (i.e. the village town or city area) from where the students come to school.

Write the report on Causes of primary school dropouts in….. (your)….. thana union (based on the outline in A above)

Remember, for writing this report you will have to go to the thana education office or Directorate of Primary Education and visit as many schools as possible in your area for collecting necessary information.

Once you have got enough materials, facts, information, write your report using the format: Introduction, Body, Conclusion and Recommendations. Put charts, fact sheets, etc (if you have collected) in relevant places within the body of the report or put them at the end as appendices. Also give a bibliography if you have made use of any documents, books, journals, etc.

 

 

This report should be in about 2500 words (10 pages or so). So give a summary or abstract in about 250 words before Introduction. But write the summary after you have written the report and add it to the final draft.

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing reports 1

Writing reports 1

 

 

A. You can write a report on an event, on a situation, on almost anything. Yesterday, for example, there was a clash between two football teams. Your school team and the AB School team were playing the final match in the Inter-School League Cup.

Immediately after half-time something happened with a penalty and the supporters of both the teams were found running into the field. They started pushing each other. For about half an hour it was a complete chaos. The play had to be abandoned. Now your headteacher has asked you and two of your colleagues to write a report on the incident. Let’s call it case 1.

Again, a researcher, asked by an NGO or a government department, may come to a thana and spend a few days talking to the children, parents and teachers. He has got an assignment to write a report on the causes of Primary Schools Dropouts in Trisal.

Let’s call it case 2. In both the cases the report writers have got reasons why they are writing their reports. In casel, they were asked by the headteacher to write the report, and this assignment is part of their job. In case 2, the researcher must have a written contract or a TOR (terms of reference) in which the following things are specified:

– Deadline for submitting the report

– Lenghth of the report

– Amount of money the writer will receive for writing the report, (etc.)

Notice, in case 1 there may be no written TOR. They might have been just asked by the headteacher to write the report.

B. Once you know why you are going to write a report, the next thing for you is to try to evaluate the reader(s) of your report. In case 1 above, the headteacher has asked for the report. But even other teachers and outsiders like managing committee members and police authority may be its readers.

In ease 2, the report is likely to have  even wider readership. So the writer as he/she goes on writing the report must ask himself/herself, “How much does the reader already know? How much does he/she need to know? How best can I give him/her the information/facts he/she needs?”

 

 

C. After you have known your reader(s), you have to identify the sources of information and collect it for writing the report. There are various ways of collecting information or data. You can observe events, situation, you can interview people (for both cases 1 & 2), you can also study reports, journals, documents, books, etc.

and prepare a questionnaire. But remember all the information, facts you have collected for your report, may not be true or may be biased. So before you use any information in your report, test its reliability.

This you can do by taking into account the status and position of the person you are going to interview and the reputation of the writers/publishers of reports, journals, books, etc. you are going to study. Perhaps, the easiest way of assessing the value of some information is to ask more than one person about its reliabity.

Thus equipped with all the necessary information, facts, etc., you are now ready to start writing the report.

Note these words and phrases.

readership (n) – The readership of a newspaper, journal, magazine or book is the number and type of people who read it.

questionnaire (n) – A questionnaire is a set of questions circulated among a lot of people. They fill in the

questionnaire (i.e. answer it) – The sender collects the filled in questionnaire, analyzes the answers and finds information, facts for his/her report or survey.

 

 

reliability (n) – If some information is reliable it is likely to be correct. So reliability of the information is its correctness.

by taking into account – by considering

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing memorandums

Writing memorandums

 

 

A memorandum or memo (pl memorandums or memos) is a letter written inside an organisation. Memorandums usually carry messages which the employees of an organisation exchange at their work. Here is a model memo. Read it carefully.

German-Bangla Association

Date : 12 March 1999
To : Nazrul Islam
From: Rudia Sheffer

Subject:

Cost information for a 3-day training workshop at NAPE

The last Board meeting decided to hold this workshop at NAPE on 15-17 May with 20 participants from different places in greater Mymensingh district. Invitation letters have already been sent to the participants. Could you please find out how much the cost for the following would be ?

1. TA for 20 participants (list with their home addresses attached)

2. Costs for hostel rooms

3. Costs for food and refreshments

4. Costs for workshop hall/room equipped with OHP, whiteboard, etc.

Please call me if you need to know anything more. I’d be glad if you could give me the information by March 25.

Note the following aspects of the memo

1. Usually large organisations have printed memo stationery with headings such as name of organisation, Date, To, etc. However, handwritten memos are also used. In that case the name of the organisation does not have to be written.

2. A memo does not use any salutation (i.e. Dear Sir, etc.). It also does not have any complimentary ending (i.e. Yours sincerely, etc.).

3. A mema does not have to be signed. The writer just initials after his/her typed name.

However, in the case of a handwritten memo the writer usually initials it after the whole message.

 

 

Memorandums can also be written for circulating a policy/directive of an organisation. Here is a model memo written by the Executive Director of an NGO to all the employees. Read it carefully.

Project for Underprivileged People (PUP)

Date: October 14, 1998
Το : All employees
From: Hasanul Kabir Chowdhury

Subject:

Lunch at PUP Cofeteria

PUP is going to have its own cafeteria on the ground floor of Building 11 from November 1. You can have lunch there at subsidised rates. You can entertain one guest but for that you need to buy a guest coupon from the cafeteria counter.

You don’t have to pay cash for your meals. The cafeteria will maintain a register for the employees. Please make sure that they have rightly marked you present or absent for a meal. The lunch bills will be deducted from your monthly pay. If you don’t eat the cafeteria meal, you can still go there and eat your packet lunch/snacks you have brought with you.
All possible care is being taken to serve hygienic food and safe drinking water.

Write the following two memos.

(a) In A above Rudia Sheffer wrote a memo to Nazrul Islam requesting information about the costs of a 3-day workshop. Now Nazrul Islam replies also in a memo. Write the memo for Nazrul Islam. (The costs of different items don’t have to be exact. Approximate charges will do).

(b) The ABC Company paid huge telephone bills for the last 2 months. In a Board meeting some measures are suggested to check this excessive use of the company phones from the next month. Some of the measures are:

–  All officers below directors will lock their phones during their absence.

– All NWD calls will be given through reception. The Receptionist will record the phone number and the purpose of an outgoing NWD call.

 

 

– One phone at the reception will be available 24 hours for emergencies.

Now write a memo on these directives asking all the employees to follow. The writer is the Managing Director of the ABC company.

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing a letter to the newspaper

Writing a letter to the newspaper

 

 

If you want to write to a newspaper, the topic/issue you want to write about must be of public interest. The language of the letter must be simple and clear so that it is easily understood by the general or at least by the majority of the readers. Send your letter or take it personally to the letter-to-the-editor section with a covering letter. Here is a model covering letter.

The Editor The Daily Star
House 11, Road 3
Dhanmondi R/A
Dhaka 1205

Dear Sir,
I would request you to publish the following letter in your widely- circulated daily. The letter tries to ventilate public demand for rebuilding a bridge on the only road connecting the northern unions of Sribordi thana to the district headquarters, Sherpur.

Yours faithfully
Rafiquddin Sarker
Village: Sujanpur

Thana: Sribordi
District: Sherpur

Rebuild the Sujanpur bridge

Sir,

The Sujanpur bridge has been badly damaged by the recent floods. The bridge is on the river Tenachira. It is on the district board road at Bashkanda, not very far from the thana headquarters. It was a wooden bridge which was used by all types of vehicles-trucks, buses, jeeps, cars, rickshaw-vans, rickshaws, etc and the pedestrians as well.

The transport of all sorts of agricultural and farm products from the rural areas to the district town takes place through this road. Also finished goods from towns and cities come to the local trading centres through this road. But with the flood washing away more than half of the bridge, the lifeline for many of the rural people seems to be cut off.

Though the bridge has been temporarily repaired, trucks and buses are still off the road. Light vehicles use it very cautiously. The transport of some essential goods is carried out by boat. However, this cannot go on for long. The bridge must be rebuilt.

The local people think that the bridge should be rebuilt with concrete not just repaired with wood for its sustainability and long-term benefits for the people of this area. They appeal to the concerned authority for immediate action.

Yours truly
Rafiquddin Sarker
Sujanpur

 

 

Note these words and phrases.

covering letter – a letter sent with a document, account or with goods briefly explaining the contents

ventilate (v) – make an issue or a grievance widely known

headquarters (n) – The word always ends with an ‘s’, but it can be either singular or plural. Abbreviation is HQ. e.g. The Bangladesh Biman’s headquarters is/are in Dhaka. It means a place from which an organisation is controlled.

lifeline (n) – anything on which somebody or something depends for existence

sustainability (n) – If anything lasts long it is sustainable. The quality or state of being sustainable or being alive is sustainability.

appeal (v) – make an earnert request

Write answers to these questions.

1. What does a covering letter that goes with a letter to the editor of a newspaper say?
(Cluse: identity of the writer- importance of the subject/issue- purpose)

 

 

2. Write two paragraphs- one on agricultural products and the other on a poultry- farm products which are likely to be transported from the rural areas through the Sujanpur bridge to the district headquarters and to the capital city. Mention what transport (i.e. vehicles) is used for carrying these products.

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing a letter of request

Writing a letter of request

 

 

Read this letter carefully.

October 1998

The Project Director

DAE-DANIDA Strengthening Plant Protection Services (SPPS) Project

Plant Protection wing

Department of Agricultural Extension Khamarbari, Dhaka 1215

Dear Sir,

Supply of 4 copies of “Illustrated Guide to IPM in Rice in Tropical Asia”, published from IRRI, Philippines

VFAP is an NGO. It gives necessary training to farmers, agricultural workers coming from all over the district. Side by side with conducting training programmes, we develop extension resources and training materials. To facilitate these activities VFAP has a library which is user- friendly and has a good collection of books and journal on agriculture, especially Bangladesh agricultural extension activities.

We should be grateful if you would send us 4 copies of the above- mentioned guide for our library use. I am sure, the book will help our trainers, researchers and farmers to be acquainted with the latest IPM technology required for our agricultural development, especially in rice IPM.

May we look forward to receiving the book?

Yours sincerely

Kazi Salam Sikdar Executive Director

 

 

Note these words/expressions

DAE

Department of Agricultural Extension. This department is under the Ministry of Agriculture and is headed by a Director General.

DANIDA

Danish International Development Agencies

IPM

Integrated Pest Management. The integrated way of using insecticides (e.g. DDT) and biological control (e.g. birds used to consume locusts) is the basis of pest management.

IRRI

International Rice Research Institute in Philippines. We have BRRI (Bangladesh Rice Research Institute) at Joydebpur.

User-friendly

If anything is user-friendly, the users can easily and comfortably use it. The library is user- friendly, which means there are facilities and arrangements in the library (i.e. adequate desks, chairs, easy-to-find books and journals, proper lighting, ventilation, etc.) which help and attract people to come and work there.

We should be grateful if you would

This is a formal expression used to request services, things or information. You can also use: I would be grateful if you could… etc.

to be acquainted with

If you are acquainted with something, you know about it because you have learned it or you have experienced it.
Also you may be acquainted with a person. In that case it means you have met him or her and you know him or her.

May we look forward to receiving

The body of a request letter usually ends with this kind of expression. You may also use: I look forward to receiving……..

 

 

We look forward to your help and cooperation.
I look forward to seeing/meeting you Monday, 12 May.
We look forward to continuing our long association. (etc.).

 

Today is our topic of discussion Writing an information letter

Writing an information letter

 

 

Read this letter carefully.

Dear Penny,

It seems a long time since you left Dhaka. You might have seen on TV how Bangladesh is now in the grip of a devastating flood. Or, you must have heard or read about it in the newspapers. This flood that started in July has taken a serious turn. All the major rivers in the country are now flowing much above the danger level. Two-thirds of the country are now under water.

We cannot take our car out. The road in front of our house is under 2 to 3 feet water. Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and the eastern part of the city are the worst affected areas. We can get out of the house either by rickshaw or boat. Imagine a boat plying on a road in Gulshan or Baridhara!

The people, especially the slum dwellers and the poor, have been living in untold sufferings. However, they are getting flood relief, though I don’t know whether the relief they are getting is enough. The weather forecasts are saying that the flood waters would start receding from the 15th September. We are eagerly waiting to see that.

All for now, Penny. I hope this finds you, Peter and Laura keeping well and happy in London.
With very best wishes to you all.
Yours ever

Salma Afrin Chowdhury

 

 

Note these points

Inside address

This letter does not have an inside address, as it is not necessary in this type of informal letters. But, it may have its inside address like an official letter. However, the address of the reader comes on the envelope.

Salutation

The usual forms of salutation used in informal

Dear Kamal

letters are:

Dear Jane (Kamal, Jane, etc. are first names)

Dear Father

Dear Uncle Zahid (Father, Uncle, Aunt, etc., when used in salutation are written with the capital beginning.

Subject

You don’t have to mention the subject of an informal letter.

Body

The body of an informal letter could be of any length and on any topic of personal interest. It usually begins with telling that the writer has or has not been in touch with the reader for some time. And the writer has something to tell the reader or wants to know something from the reader.

However, the message, ideas or feelings of the writer should be expressed in simple, clear language as far as possible.
The body of the informal letter always ends with best wishes, regards, love and the like to the reader.

 

 

Ending

The following endings are used corresponding with the salutations.