BBA LLB ENGLISH SEM II

Section I Theoretical Considerations:

Topic I Introduction to communication

The term communication is derived from the Latin word ‘communis’ which means ‘common’ and
denotes the act of imparting, conveying or exchanging ideas through speech, writing or signs. It is one
of the fundamental needs of human beings. Thus communication can be considered as an individual as
well as social need.

Communication – Defined

Communication is the art of transmitting information, ideas and attitudes from one person to another.
It is the process of transmitting a message from a source to an audience through a channel.
Conversation is the most common kind of communication. In conversation, the person who speaks is
the source and the person who listens is the audience. What is transmitted by the person who speaks is
the message and the spoken voice carried through the air is the channel.

Some important definitions of communication:

i. Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages through channels which
establishes common meaning between a source and receiver. ----Ban and Hawkins
ii. Communication is the process of social interaction. ---Dharma and Bhatnagar.
iii. Communication is the process by which messages are transferred from a source to a
receiver.
iv. Communication refers to the act by one or more persons, of sending and receiving
messages, distorted by noise, within a context, with some effect and with some opportunity
for feed-back.
v. Wilbur Schramm thinks of communication as a sharing process. He traces the word
communication to the Latin word ‘communis’ which means common. According to him,
when we communicate, we are trying to share information, an idea or an attitude with
someone. ‘’for Wilbur Schramm, “the essence of communication is getting the receiver and
sender ‘tuned’ together for a particular message”
Thus in most general terms communication implies a sender, a channel a message, a
receiver, a relationship between sender and receiver, an effect, a context in which
communication occurs and a range of things to which messages refer.

Communication is the expression and exchange of facts opinions, ideas or feelings. Communication
may be intrapersonal i.e. when we are trying to communicate with ourselves or it ay be interpersonal
when we convey a message to others. In interpersonal communication, there must be at least two
persons to allow the completion of the process. One takes up the role of a sender and the other that of
receiver. A medium is used to enable the transmission of the message.
Components of communication / Elements of communication/ universals of communication:

1. Source: the person who sends a message or signal

2. Receiver: the person who receives the message or signal. The receiver could be an individual or
group.
3. Context: communication always takes place within a context. It has four dimensions: physical,
social, physiological and temporal. It can either restrict or stimulate communication process.
4. Message: any idea opinion, thought etc. that is send and received. It may be verbal or non-
verbal; it may be written or oral; it may be gestural
5. Channel: the route along which the message is send. It may be physical eg. Voice; it may be
mechanical, e.g. telephonic; it may be social, e.g. mass media
6. Noise: it refers anything that distorts or interferes communication. It may be psychological;
cultural; environmental or physical; or linguistic
7. Encoding: it is the process of translating the message into a language or code so that the idea can
be transmitted to the receiver.
8. Decoding. It is the act of understanding or comprehending a message
9. Feedback: it refers to process by which the communicator gets information as to whether the
receiver has received the message effectively.
10. Effect: It is the result of communication. Communication has always some effect on the receiver
or on the sender or both of them.

Types of Communication

1. Intrapersonal: communication that takes place within an individual. E.g. our thoughts,
meditations, inner monologues etc
2. Interpersonal: it refers to the face-to-face communication between two or more persons. It is the
basis of all sorts of communication. It is the life-blood of every society.
3. Group communication: it refers to communication by many persons in a face to face situation.
4. Interactive communication: it refers to communication via new media such as computers
5. Mass communication: it is the process of delivering information, ideas and attitudes to a large
number of heterogeneous, assorted and anonymous audiences via mass media.
6. Trans- personal communication: communication with Gods and deities.
7. Mass-line communication: it refers to communication to a vast audience such as the public
speeches of great thinkers and leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.

Professional Communication

Professional communication involves sending and receiving of formal and professional messages
in an organizational set up. It follows a set pattern such as sequence of elements in a report. It may
 be oral or written. It is always intended for a specific audience like customers, subordinates etc. It
has its own jargon, graphics etc. for achieving the professional purposes.

Features of successful professional communication.

1. It is a two way process. Information is transmitted between individuals and/or organization. It

intends to develop understand among them.
2. It is a continuous process of meaningful interaction among persons in an organization so that the
organizational goals may effectively be attained.
3. The role of the sender and the receiver keep changing. i.e. there is turn-taking.
4. It includes both verbal and non-verbal forms.
5. It disseminates important ideas, thoughts, plans etc.
6. Communication skills involves oral, written and non-verbal means.

The importance of communication in a professional / organizational set up:

The importance of communication has increased greatly in the professional /organizational field in
these days. The following factors are responsible for the growing importance of communication.

1. Growth of multinational companies

Due to the growth of multinational companies, business houses usually operate all over the
world. People of these companies are working everywhere. They are keeping in touch, sending
directions. Getting feedback is possible only when effective communication lines are kept
working.

2. Growing importance of human relations.

Workers in an organization are not like machines. They have their own hopes and
aspirations. Management has to recognize them and should work with the spirit of integrtation
so that human relations may be maintained. This may be achieved through effective
communication.
3. Public relaions
Every organization has a social responsibility towards customers, government, suppliers and
the public at large. Communication is the only way to project a positive image of the
organization
4. Technological advancement
The world is changing very fast owing to scientific and technological advancements. These
advancements deeply affect not only the methods of work but also the compositions of groups.
In such a situation, proper communication between superiors and subordinates become
necessary.
5. Growth of trade unions
No management cab be successful without taking the trade union into confidence. Effective
communication will create relationship between the management and the workers. It will
promote harmony and peace
6. Competitiveness

Firms which communicate better sell better. The better communication skills of salespersons,
the larger the number of customers can be attracted. Salesmanship is primarily an art of
communication.

Apart from this, companies compete with one other through advertisement and other
propaganda strategies for securing a higher position in the market. All these require effective
communication.

7. Understanding and co-operation

An effective communicating system is essential for establishing understanding and co-
operation between the management and the employees. Only when the employees know
whatis expected of them, the management can utilize their potentialities. Through effective
communication employees get job satisfaction. This will ultimately lead to the organizational
growth and results in its good will.

Functions of professional communication.

Professional communication aims at achieving the following aims:

1. Advising.

Even a competent professional cannot have specialized knowledge of all branches such as
taxation, publicity, engineering, law etc. In order to succeed in profession, every
professional will have to seek frequent advice. The superiors are also expected to advice th
subordinates and the junior employees. A proper and timely interaction with experts in the
related areas helps the management take wise decisions.

2. Counseling.
Counseling department of an organization is expected to help the employees overcome
their personal or psychological problems. Effective communication help them share their
problems to the counseling department and the department will help them regain their lost
physical and mental vitality.

3. Giving orders
Without receiving orders, the subordinates cannot know what is expected of them.
Order is an authoritative communication. While giving orders, the superiors should never
hurt the feelings of the subordinates. Ordering without insulting or coercion is an art. It
requires successful and effective communication skills.
4. Providing instructions.
Instruction is a kind of order giving guidance to the employees as to how they should
carry out their work. For this effective communication is necessary.

5. Marketing.
Effective communication is the key to successful marketing. Communication is the very
basis of marketing. No marketing strategy can be effective without effective
communication.
6. Persuading.
Persuasion is the effort to influence the attitudes, feelings or beliefs of others.
Effective persuasion is needed to make buyers buy the goods and services offered by the
organization. Similarly lazy, idle, incompetent or indifferent employees have to be
persuaded to come up to the expectation of the organization. Effective communication
helps the management to inspire such workers.
7. Giving warning
If the employees do not obey the rules of the organization, it becomes necessary to warn
them. Warning is a forceful means of communication. It carries with it a sense of urgency.
Effective communication is essential for giving warning effectively.

8. Raising morale.
Morale stands for the sum of several qualities such as courage, determination, clarity,
and confidence. It binds people with a sense of ‘we-feeling’. It motivates them to work in
co-operation and in harmony.

9. Staffing.
Communication is needed in the recruitment process to find potential employees of merit.
The newly recruited employees are to be told about the organizational structure, plans,
policies and goals.

10. Advertising.
Persuasive and catchy advertisings can only be conceived and created with effective
communication skills.

11. Projecting image

Communication is of vital importance in projecting the image of an enterprise in the
social environment. The brochures, advertisements, notices, announcements and circulars
are designed to project the image of the organization.

12. Making decisions.

Communication plays an important function in solving problem and making appropriate
decisions to improve the organizational performance.
 13. Getting feedback.
Feedback refers to the receiver’s reaction to the message. It helps the sender of the
message to see how effectively the message has been delivered and comprehended.
Feedback is a form of communication send back to the sender.

Verbal and Non-verbal communication.

Communication is generally classified into verbal and non-verbal based on the vehicle
used for communication. Communication with the help of linguistic system is termed as verbal
communication. Verbal communication has two manifestations or modes. One is speech and the other
is writing. Thus verbal communication can be further classified into oral and written communication.

Oral communication.

A face-to-face interaction between the sender and the receiver is called oral communication. In this
type of communication, there could be two or more than two persons who use spoken language as a
medium of communication.

Written communication.

Communication using the written mode to transmit messages is termed as written communication.
Reports, proposals, books, pamphlets, handbooks, letters, emails, circulars, etc. come in this category.

Non-verbal communication

When a message is communicated without using linguistic system, it is termed non-verbal. In this type
of communication, non-verbal cues such as facial expression, gestures or signs are used for transmitting
and receiving messages.

Non-verbal cues to communication can be further classified into two:

i. Body language
ii. Para linguistic features or supra-segmental features.

Body language involves aspects such as personal appearance, walk, gestures, facial
expression, hand movements, posture, and eye contact.

Paralinguistic features include a person’s voice, volume, pitch, paused, articulation, voice
modulations or intonation.
 Body language.
Body language refers to all the modes of expression other than using linguistic system. It
included personal appearance, manner of walking, gestures, facial expprepssions, hand
movements, postures, and eye contact. The vocabulary of body language is universally
common. It is interprpeted and understood with the help of universal signs, cues, and
symbols. The study of body language is known as Kinesics

Important elements of body language.

1. Personal appearance.
A person’s external appearance is of great importance. A speaker whose appearance is dirty
or shabby ca
nnot win the heart of the listeners. One should be very careful in choosing dress, kame-up,
shoes and hair style. If it goes wrong one cannot be successful in the professional field. A torn
up dress, an unpolished worn out shoe and an uncombed hair etc. are sure to make a poor
impression

2. Posture.
Posture refers to the way we sit, stand and carry ourselves. Our posture is a reflection our
world view. A person with down cast look is not going to win. One must hold ones head high in
pride. It is a sign of confidence and ease. A person whose posture is appropriate is sure to
command respect and attention from others.

3. Gestures and hand movements.

Gestures play a significant role in interpersonal communication. Gestures refer to bodily
movements such as waving, raising eye-brow, making a fist etc. Waving indicates saying
goodbye. Making a fist or biting teeth is an expression of anger, raising of eye-brow indicates
surprise or inquisitiveness etc.
The speaker’s or listener’s gestures emphasize their state of mind. The impact created by
these gestures is significant. There are good as well as bad gestures. one should be very careful
in interpersonal communication to avoid using gestures which are likely to create a bad
impression.

4. Eye contact
Eyes reflect the mind. One can tell lies but his/her eyes reveal the truth. Eyes reflect one’s
attitude and reaction. Maintaining an eye contact in inter personal communication is the most
important non-verbal cue. If the interviewee avoids eye contact during a job interviews, he/she
is most likely to lose than win.
 5. Facial expression.

Paralinguistic features

We can express our attitudes, emotions and feelings with the help os different aspects of our voice.
There are different aspects of voice which can be carefully worked on to create the right type of impact
on our listeners while we deliver a speech or participate in a group discussion. Paralinguistic features
include rate, pauses, volume, pitch, intonation etc.

Rate

Rate refers to the number of words we utter per minute. Speaking too fast is related to lack of ease.
Those who make rapidly delivered speeches, in fact want to finish their speech rapidly and rush back to
their seats. A person who lacks confidence, feels nervousness and to overcome the nervousness, he/she
speaks fast , not being able to stand in front of the audience. Such speakers fail to win the audience. A
rapidly delivered reveals the speakers lack of confidence. It makes the speech unintelligible.

Similarly too slow a pace of the speech is also likely to cause monotony and boredom. The audience
starts feeling bored and loose interest in the speech.

Studies suggest that a rate between 125 and 150 words per minute is ideal in professional situations.

Pauses

It is believed that a speech without pauses would establish a speaker as eloquent and impressive.

But such speeches are in fact immature.

Pauses are essential parts of human interaction. We pause between different thought units on our
day-to-day interactions. Therefore if we do not pause while speaking in professional situations, it makes
our speech unnatural. Pauses lend credibility to the speech. If we pause, we display a sense of security
and assurance that we know how to proceed in our speech.

Volume.

A speaker who speaks at a low volume is judged as lacking in confidence. On the other hand, a speaker
who speaks at a very high volume may turn to be boorish. A speaker who does not maintain an
appropriate volume cannot be the master of the situation. The optimum volume is determined by
observing the reactions of the audience.
Pitch and intonation.

When we listen to someone speakin, we can distinguish continual variations in the levels at which the
voice is pitched. In this way the speaking voice to some extend resembles the singing voice. These are
called intonation patterns. The intonation patterns are different in different languages. With the help
of intonation the listener can make out whether a particular utterance is a statement, question, a
command or request. With the help intonation, one can find out the attitude or mood of the speaker.
i.e. whether he is bored, worried, pleased or surprised.

For e.g. if a person says ‘the lady is beautiful’ with a falling intonation, he makes a statement. If the
same sentence is uttered with a rising intonation, it implies questioning the attitude of another. If the
same sentence is uttered with a fall-rise tone, he means something quite different. He seems to mean
that the lady is beautiful, but there is something wrong about her.

Thus there are three intonation patterns

1. Falling intonation:
It is used in ordinary statements
It is used to make WH questions
It is used in commands
It is used to make exclamations

2. Rising intonation:
It is used in incomplete utterances. Very often as the first clause of the sentence
It is used in yes/no questions
It is used in polite requests
It is used in WH quest ions asked in a warm and friendly manner.

3. Falling-rising intonation
It is used for special implications. For example, the statement ‘the lady is beautiful’ implies
that the lady in question is beautiful, but there is something wrong in her character.

Suprasegmentals
Word stress, sentence stress pitch and intonation, and juncture together form the
suprasegmental features of communication.
Stress is the result of great breath effort and muscular energy employed while uttering a
syllable. Word accent is a very important feature of English. Intelligibility to a great extend
depends on word accent. Not all the syllables in a word are uttered with the same breath effort
and muscular energy. The syllables that are more prominent than others are said to receive the
accent. Word stress falls on a syllable.
Just as there is word stress, there is also sentence stress. In a sentence the words that stand out
from the rest are stressed and they are marked with a vertical bar [ I ] above the word that is
stressed. For example, the sentence “I bought a book yesterday’ can have four shades of meaning based
on the word that receives the sentence. If the first word ‘I’ is stressed, it means that ‘I’ and no one else
bought the book. When the stress is placed on the second word, “bought’, the suggestion is that ‘I
bought the book, and not borrowed’. Thirdly, if the word ‘a’ is stressed, it implies that ‘I bought only one
book’. Again, if the word ‘book’ is stressed, what is implied is that ‘I bought a book and not a pencil or
anything else’.

Juncture refers to the phenomenon of pauses made between two words to distinguish them in
meaning. For example, the sound /aiskri:m/ may mean either ‘I scream’ or ‘ice cream’. The distinction is
made only by the pauses made between the two words. ‘an aim’ and ‘a name’; ‘a dress’ and ‘address’;
‘that is tough’ and ‘that stuff’; etc. are other examples where juncture is applied.

Proxemics/ space distance

Proxemics refers to the study of space distances maintained in interpersonal as well as

professional communication situations. Space matters much in interpersonal communication.
While communicating in formal situations, it is quite important for us to understand and respect
the territories of other professionals and see that they never feel intruded. If the speakers stand
too close to the listeners in formal situations, they are likely to resist the speaker’s presence.
Humans have a psychologically defined territory and beyond that limit not many are welcomed.

Standing far away from the listeners is also not advisable. It may communicate a sense of
alienation and lack of warmth. Therefore it becomes important to understand the different
zones into which the psychological territories of human beings can be divided.

The following are the various psychological zones maintained in space distance:

1. Intimate zone
The intimate zone of space distance in interpersonal interaction, is shared only by
spouses, lovers, children, parents and very close relatives and friends.

2. Personal zone
When the personal and the professional relations fuse, it becomes possible for
professional to enter each other’s personal zone without appearing to be intruders. The
distance maintained by people in a zone varies from a couple of inches to a couple of feet.
The distance is indicative of absence or presence of the warmth to be maintained in formal
relations.
 3. Social zone.

The distance maintained between a couple of feet to several feet is suggestive of the social
zone that we maintain while interacting with strangers or occasional visitors such as gardeners,
plumbers, electricians, etc. In professional gatherings, people sometimes are seen maintaining
this distance.

4. The public zone.

In most professional communication situations, public zone is most commonly
maintained by the speakers and their audience. Consequently, we find a defined area from
where the speaker has to address his/her listeners. Though a distance of some feet is
usually maintained between the speaker and the listener while they share a public zone, the
actual distance maintained differs from culture to culture.

Haptics.
Haptics is the study of the different ways in which people greet each other. The question how
people greet each other when they meet, depends a lot on the culture and environment in
which communication between them takes place. A.G Gardiner in his essay on “Shaking of
Hands” gives an account of the different ways in which people of different nations greet one
another when they meet. Of course, a handshake is a common etiquette that people in almost
all situations seem to observe. Hugging, kissing, embracing, touching one’s own heart with the
tip of the fingers, putting hands together and say ‘Namaste’ are the different ways in which
people greet. Very often we see people exchanging handshakes while communicating a
welcome greeting as well as signaling a departing greeting. In some very formal situation, we
see the heads of states, such as the prime ministers of two countries, shaking hands with their
counter parts. In such situations a hand shake generally signals the sealing of a contract or
agreement.

A handshake among professionals is regarded as a sing of warmth that is required to be

communicated in almost all human interactions.

Formal communication
Formal communication flows along prescribed channels which all organizational members desirous of
communicating with one another are obliged to follow. Every organization has a built-in hierarchical
system that can be compared to a pyramid. It can, therefore, be understood that communication flows
from top-downwards. But it is not always so. Communication in organization is multi-diamensional or
multi-directional.

Following are the directions in which communications are sent.

i. Downward
ii. Upward
 iii. Horizontal or lateral
iv. Diagonal or crosswise.

Advantages of formal communication.

i. The formal channels account for most of the effectiveness of communications.

Great care has to be taken in sending across any letter or report through the
‘proper’ formal channel.

ii. Formal channels cover and ever-widening distance as organizations grow. Through
them, it is easier to reach out to the branches of an organization spread far and
wide.
iii. The formal channels, because of their tendency to filter information, keep the
higher lever managers from getting bogged down.
iv. Formal channels of communication consolidate the organization and satisfy the
people in managerial position.

Informal communication/grapevine communication

Communication may be informal. The informal communication is termed grapevine. The

term grapevine originated during the world war. The cables used for sending telegraphic
messages appeared to be grapevines. It is not possible to trace the origin and destination of
grapevines. So also the origin and destination of informal communication cannot be easily be
traced.

The ‘Grapevine’ is one of the recognized channels of informal communication. According to human
psychology, a person likes to form and move in groups. They interact on serious and non-serious issues
and they spread it fast whether the information is correct or not. This process is known as rumour.

The larger the organization, the more active is the rumour mill. The phenomenon of grape vine is
based on generally three factors:
i. Formation of favoured group
ii. Lack of self confidence
iii. Feeling of uncertainty due to lack of directions

Merits of grapevine:

i. Speedy transmission
ii. Feedback value: the managers get the feedback regarding their policies, decisions,
etc, by way of grape vine.
iii. Support to other channels: grape vine is a supplementary or parallel channel of
communication
iv. Psychological satisfaction. It gives immense satisfaction to the workers and
strengthens their solidarity.
 Barriers to effective communication.

A communication of the message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive it
in the same manner. Quite often, there is miscommunication due to one barrier or the other. Barriers
mean obstacles that stands in the way of effective communication. Barriers can arise at any stage of
communication process.

Following are the main barriers to communication

1. Noise:
Noise refers to the distracting element that breaks the concentration of the sender or
receiver and prevents him/her from paying attention to the content of the message. Distraction
(noise) can be physical or psychological. Noise can lead to miscommunication. Measures must
be taken to overcome it.
2. Semantic barriers:
Semantic s refers to the study of meaning of words and signs. Semantic barrier occur due to:
i. Sender and receiver interpret the same words in different manner. It may be due to
the ambiguity of the words used.
ii. Words carry different nuances, shades and flavors to the sender and receiver.
iii. Faulty translation
iv. Poor expression power or ability.
3. Cultural barriers:
We live in a globalized would and may come across individuals of different races, regions, and
nationalities. The same category of words, phrases, symbols, actions, colors mean different
things to people of different cultural background.
4. Psychological:
Emotions play a very important role in our life. Both encoding and decoding of messages are
influenced by our emotions. A message received when we are emotionally charged up will have
a different meaning for us than when we are calm and composed.
5. Status consciousness.
Subordinates are too conscious of their low status. They are often afraid of expressing their
views. At the same time, the superiors keep distance from their juniors. They think that
consulting subordinates is something below their dignity.
6. Poor listening:
Poor listening may lead to serious communication problems. Too many people are interested
in talking and mostly talking about themselves. Poor listening accounts for incomplete
information and also for poor retention.
Means to overcome the barriers of communication.

Following are some of the ways to overcome the different types of barriers
i. Send the data only to the people who require it.
ii. Emphasize the major ideas
iii. Delete unwanted details
iv. Maintain transparency in policy matters
v. Ensure clarity in message
vi. Understand other’s emotions
vii. Understand other cultures and language variations and use the approptiate variety in
the given context.
viii. Measure
ix. that information overload does not affect the communication environment adversely
x. Maintain openness and acknowledge that people have different perceptioons and views
regarding things.
xi. Encourage innovative ideas and views so that people do not unnecessarily live in fears
xii. Listen attentively to others
xiii. Speak with clarity and conviction.

Communication barriers can be overcome by observing the following principles:

BREVITY. CLARITY. SIMPLICITY. ACCURACY & APPROPRIATNESS.

Brevity

Brevity is the ability to express ideas in a few possible words without affecting the
essence of it. Brevity is the soul of wit. To achieve brevity, we need to be clear,
accurate, and precise and focus on the relevant points. Avoid unnecessary figures of
speech and adjectives as well as illustrations. Avoid circumlocutions and unnecessary
parallelism.

Clarity

The first and foremost standard in communication is clarity. Being clear is essential for
effective communication. For clarity in epression one must keep in mind the nature of
the listeners. For example political leader’s speech change with the kind of audience
they address. The words they use for the daily wage earners are so different from the
words they use for businessmen.

Simplicity
 Simplicity is the ability to give expression to our ideas is a simple language ordinarily
used by common man. For achieving simplicity one must follow certain rules both on
semantic and syntactic levels. Be careful to use only words that that normally
understood by the listeners. Do not try to project your scholasticism. Sentences used
must be as simple as possible. Avoid the use of foreign words, unfamiliar words and
obsolete words.

Accuracy.

There are many obstacles to being clear. Lack of sense of intellectual responsibility
and causal approach issues are often responsible for unclearness or obscurity in
expression. Our thoughts and speech become vague and obscure due to strong
emotions such as fear, anger or depression.

Appropriateness and precision

Appropriateness is a standard of communication skill. It is close related with accuracy. One
cannot be appropriate without being precise. To achieve appropriateness, one should be
careful to talk about only relevant matters. Appropriateness must be maintained not only on
ideological level but also on semantic and syntactic level;
A person who talks about things that are irrelevant to the issue under enquiry or speaks
about such irrelevant things cannot go far in business of life. s

Section 2. Placement related skills

Topic: Group Discussion

A group discussion is a formal discussion which involves a few participants who sit in a group
to discuss a top or a case given for this purpose. It is a methodology used by an organization to
gauge whether a candidate possesses certain personality traits and skills that are desirous for
the achievement of the overall objectives of the organization.
In group discussion, there are six to fifteen members in a group and they are asked to sit in a
circular, semi- circular seating style. They are given fifteen to forty-five minutes to discuss a
topic or a case study depending on its nature.
Or
Types of group discussion
There are two types of group discussion

1. Topic-based
2. Case-based
Topic based GD can be divided into three types..
 i. Factual
ii. Abstract
iii. Controversial
Factual group discussions are related to day-today socio-economic facts or
environmental issues. E.g. the growth of tourism in India.

Abstract topics relate to intangible entities. Topics such as ‘No.13 is ominous’ or ‘money
makes you poor’

In controversial group discussion, the participants are bound to maintain two self-
opposing attitudes: one group favouring the given topic and the other group arguing
against it. Eg. ‘Health Tourism: a boon or a curse’

Case based discussion is real-life simulated situations. Usually these involve some kind
of problems which are to be resolved, the key to such topics is that there is no right or
wrong answer, but your approach to the solution is highly important.

Traits required for a candidate to perform well in a group discussion.

i. Reasoning ability
Reasoning ability helps the participant express his/he ideas and opinions in a convincing and
rational manner.
ii. Leadership.

An effective leader discusses the topic assertively and tries to help the group reach the objectives.
Leadership qualities include clarity, objectivity, perception, poise, and communication skill.

A leader would be someone who facilitates discussion. he shows direction to the group he/she co-
ordinates the efforts made by the members, he also contributes to the GD at regular intervals with
valuable insights.

iii. Openness.
Openness implies responsiveness to the needs of the members of the group as well as to the
needs of the other group. To be open, one should never get emotionally involved. One must be
objective.

iv. Assertiveness.
The member engaged in the discussion must put forth his/her point in a very emphatic, positive
and confident manner.

v. Initiative
 Participants have a tendency to start a GD to get initial benefit of the points. But that is a risk.
One must initiate the topic only if one is well versed.
vi. Motivation.
In order to exhibit good leadership skills, one must always try to encourage the
participants.
vii. Attentive listening.
Participants must listen carefully to others whey they present their views. It will help one
understand the ideas presented. It will also help one get one’s ideas analyzed by others. It will
enable one to critically ascertain their validation.
viii. Awareness.

One must be well versed in current issues. The participant is expected to know what is happening in
the world around him. He must have an awareness of the political, social, economic, religious
developments that are taking place on global level.

DYNAMICS OF GROUP BEHAVIOUR/ ETIQUETTE AND MANNERISM TO BE FOLLOWED IN GROUP

DISCUSSION.

In a group discussion the behavior of the group matters much. The group members tend to have
difference of opinions. But it must never adversely affect the discussion taking place in a smooth and
proper manner.

Following are the etiquettes to be followed while engaged in a group discussion.

i. Friendliness.
The participant must bear in mind that he/ she is not against the person but against the idea
put forward by the co-participant. He/she must be approachable and easy to talk to.

ii. Encouraging participation from co-participants.

When a co-participant is non-responsive, it is desirable for a participant ot motivate or
encourage him/her without hurting his/her feelings and without being dominative and
dismissive.
iii. Avoiding emotions.
In a GD, it is not desirable to display your emotions. An emotionally immature person can
be never realize the goals of the discussion. An emotionally balanced person is never easily
hurt, never quick to anger, and easily forgiving.

iv. Avoiding peer discussions.

Whatever information you intend to share, it must be addressed to the whole group and not
to one or two members. In a GD one should never discuss only with one or two members.

v. Leadership.
A group without a leader can be a waste. An effective leader discusses the topic assertively and tries
to help the group reach the objectives. Leadership qualities include clarity, objectivity, perception, poise,
and communication skill.

A leader would be someone who facilitates discussion. he shows direction to the group he/she co-
ordinates the efforts made by the members, he also contributes to the GD at regular intervals with
valuable insights.

Attributes of leadership:
i. Clarity vi. Erudition
ii. Objectivity vii. maturity
iii. Discernment viii. amibiality
iv. Expression xi. patience
v. Composure x. motivation.

Tips for opening a GD.

i. Never open the GD in a hurry

ii. Collect enough points to set in motion
iii. Try to speak and contribute as early as possible
iv. Be well versed in the topic

Tips for concluding a GD.

i. Don’t end up in haste

ii. Keep the conclusion brief and concise.
iii. Avoid raising new points
iv. Do not project your ignorance in an attempt to be humble
v. Try to include the major points discussed, not merely your own points.

TOPIC: HOW TO FACE AN INTERVEW.

The word interview comes from ‘inter’ and ‘view’. ‘inter’ means in between and ‘vie’ means fo see.
In fact, an interview is a process in which the employer gets an opportunity to see whether the
candidate is suitable for the position vacant, and the candidate tries to prove that he/she possesses the
desired skills and knowledge.

Desirable qualities to be acquired before facing an interview:

i. Clarity of thought
ii. Balanced point of view
iii. Logical thinking
iv. Sincerity
v. Capacity to conceptualize
vi. Presence of mind
vii. Cool composure
viii. Maturity
ix. Openness
x. Good understanding
Preparation for a successful interview requires the candidate to do the following.

1. Know the company

A knowledge about the history of the company, its products and services and the
projects undertaken and details regarding its growth is an essential precondition for
appearing an interview.

2. Know yourself
A knowledge of your own strengths , weakness, opportunity and threats should be
essential for successful participation in the interview.

3. Showing yourself as qualified for the job.

It is essential that you make a good lasting impression on the interviewers. The
interviewer must be impressed by your knowledge and personality. You must believe
that you are the best candidate .

4. Review the common interview questions.

There are a few questions that are asked in most of the interviews. Write out your
answers to such questions that can be expected such as the following:

Tell me about yourself

What is your greatest strength/ weakness?
Explain how you would be an asset to the organization?
Why do you want this position?

5. Prepare questions you want to ask the interviewer

Employers are as interested in your questions. Ask intelligent questions such as:

What would be my first assignment?

Would you please tell me about the people I would be working with?

6. Using proper verbal and non-verbal cues

Following are a few verbal and non-verbal tips required before, during and after an interview.

i. Make sure that you are dressed professionally, neatly and your shoes are well polished
ii. Enter the interview room with head held high to show your confidence
iii. Greet the interviewers without nervousness
iv. Sit up straight with your hands relaxing completely and lean slightly forward in your chair to
show your interest
v. Don’t sit on the edge of your chair
vi. Maintain an eye contact with the interviewer while answering the questions and while the
interviewer is asking questions to you
vii. Smile occasionally to show your enthusiasm
viii. At the end of the interview, stand up and thank the interviewer for the opportunity.

TOPIC: PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

Presentations are made every day---to the teacher at the school, to the boss at the company,
in front of the customer, before the court and even for friends and relatives. We need
different kinds of attitude for different kinds of presentations. We would learn how to
modify our presentations. If you are a political leader or a solicitor, you must be eloquent,
passionate, clever and well versed in rhetoric and must have inter personal and
communication skills.

Know the audience

The first and the foremost criterion required for a good presentation is to know your
audience. The speaker must know who his/her audience is before drafting the materials for
the presentation. The speaker must change the register (variety of language used) in
accordance with the type and nature of the audience. One cannot use the same kingdof
language while speaking in different occasions. The register used to address a wage earning
community would be entirely different from the one used to address a business community
or to a gathering of solicitors.

The objective of presentation

It is important to know the objective of your speech. I.e. whether you are speaking to
inform or to persuade.
An academic presentation is generally a mix of informative and persuasive speaking.
Decide upon the following areas before you deliver your speech:

1. Language to be used
2. Delete unnecessary information
3. Ice breaking: it is intended to gather information about your audience by asking them to
participate in a group activity. Presenters often circulate hand-outs and questionaires to
gather information.
Techniques of effective presentation:

1. The beginning:
The very beginning of the presentation should be electrifying in effect. Surprise the audience
and grab their attention as Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” has addressed the
roman mob:
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him”

The beginning can be done using any of the following strategies:

i. Asking a question
ii. Correcting a misconception
iii. Defining
iv. Citing an anecdote
v. Presenting facts and figures.
vi. Telling stories.

Repetition
Repetition is always a good idea for making your audience take note.

Summarizing.
Summarizing is also and effective presentation strategy. Keep summarizing
each part of the presentation and use it as a linkage with the following part.

Conclusion
The conclusion must be effective. While concluding quote famous quotations, ask
rhetorical questions and summarize. Do never exhibit your ignorance or ask for
forgiveness for your limited knowledge. Do not trigger a new topic . never advise the
audience.

Structure of the presentation

Introduction----3 minutes
Main Body------15 minutes
Conclusion-------2 minutes
Question answer session 10 minutes.

VISUAL PRESENTATIOIN
A presentation of statistical data, figures, and so on is made vivid by the use of
visual aids. Through the visual display of ideas, we make our audience see what they
hear.
 The following are the different kinds of visual aids:

i. Board- black/white
ii. Flip charts- it is a large pad of paper on a board
iii. Diorama
iv. Overhead projectors
v. Power point presentation.

When to use visual aids:

Visual aids are used to present:

i. Numerical and statistical data

ii. New date or plan unfamiliar to the audience
iii. Comparative statement of facts
iv. New interpretations of old data.

Advantages of visual aids

i. We respond easily to what we see

ii. Promotes interests and arrests attention
iii. Saves time spend in discussing various ideas
iv. Increasing the effectiveness of communication.

The role of non-verbal communication in professional presentations

Since a presentation is a live performance, non-verbal communications skills while

speaking will influence the audience. Non-verbal body movements, gestures, and
facial expressions positively or negatively modify the meaning of the message to a
great extent. Attention should be given to the following aspects of non-verbal
behavior:

 Appearance
 Maintaining good positive posture
 Maintaining eye contact
 Use positive gestures and hand movements to reinforce your argument
 Do not stand fixed. Move with ease and freedom between your screen and your
position before the audience.
 Smile and look relaxed while answering the questions.
 TOPIC: HEARING AND LISTENING.

Communication involves the sills of listening and speaking. To become a good

communicator, you need to develop these skills. Your competence in listening contributes to
the development of your speaking skills. Effective listening is one of the most important skill
to have today.

Difference between listening and hearing

When we are awake in the morning, we hear various sounds and noises such as the
chirping of birds, barking of dogs, the noise of vehicles pass by, etc. But it does not mean that
you listen to all of them. You listen to only those sounds and noises that you are interested
in. in a family get together you hear so many person speaking, but you don’t listen to all of
them.

Thus hearing is an involuntary activity and hence it is automatic. On the other hand, listening
is a voluntary activity and hence it is deliberate.

Active listening
An active listening is very essential for good communication,

Tips for developing active listening skills.

i. Make eye contact

ii. Use appropriate gestures and facial expression
iii. Show enthusiasm or interest in the topic
iv. Use verbal signals such as o.k. or alright

BARRIEERS TO LISTENING

i. Lack of interest
ii. Partial listening
iii. Fast speed of delivering the message by the speaker
iv. Failure to ask for clarifications
v. External noise
vi. Engaging in other activities
vii. Physical discomfort
viii. Listeners negative attitude
ix. Tendency to read the speakers mind
x. Listener’s biases and prejudices
xi. Tendency to show superiority
 Tips to overcome listening barriers:

i. Try to be get interested in the topic

ii. Be careful to listen fully
iii. Do not hesitate to ask for clarification
iv. Keep away from external noise
v. Don’t engage in other activities while listening
vi. Try to seek remedies for physical discomfiture
vii. Develop positive attitude
viii. Never anticipate the speaker’s mind
ix. Be objective and never be biased against the speaker on account of
his class, caste, colour gender or nationality
x. Maintain humility

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
THE COUTR SCENE

Shakespeare’s “the Merchant of Venice ’ reaches its climax in the court scene. Antony the good hearted
young merchant of Venice, borrows a three thousand ducats from the wicked Jewish merchant for the
sake of his friend, Bassanio. The condition is that unless Antony is able to pay back the principal amount
within a three months’ time, Shylock shall be entitled to cut a pound of flesh from any part of the
debtor’s body. Three months elapses and Antony fails to pay off his debt.

The Duke of Venice refers the case to Bellario, a learned Doctor of Law. Being unwell, Bellario sends a
young lawyer who is Portia in disguise. She at first tries to soften the Jew’s heart with a short speech on
Mercy. But the Jew remains adamant. Portia asks if Antonio is not able to pay the sum. Bessanio offers
to pay the amount even tenfold. But the cruel Jew rejects it in the open court. Bessanio requests the
Duke to twist the law. Portia points out the danger in doing so.

Now Portia pretends to give way to Shyliock”s demand. Victory and vengeance seem to be within the
grip of Shylock. He even begins to sharpen his knife and gets hisbalance ready to cut a pound of flesh
from Antony’s body.

Quite unexpectedly, the tables are turned against Shylock. The Jew is entrapped. Portia declares that
Shylock can take a pound of flesh , but he should not shed a drop of bleed. Shylock is shocked. He is
now eilling to accept thrice the amount he has lent. But he has already rejected it in the open court.
Besides, he is a foreigner who has plotted against the life of an innocent Venitian, and therefore,
according to the Venitian Law, he has to forfeit all his possessions , one half would go to the state and
the rest to the victim. His life is at the mercy of the Duke. However, shylock is pardoned since he agrees
to embrace Christianity and to bequeath all his wealth to his daughter Jessica who has eloped with a
Christian youth named Lorenzo.

Shylock’s character is seen at its best and worst in the Court scent. He has no sense of guilt or
sentiment. he tells the Duke that in a society that sells slaves, he has the right to take a pound of flesh.
The Duke is dumbfounded. Shylock is quick witted. He asks the Duke If he will set free all his slaves and
marry them to his sons, If so, Shylock says, he is willing to forfeit the pound of flesh. He sharpens the
knife and turns down Portia’s request for a surgeon. But in the end he leaves the court saying, “I am not
well” we pity him.

Portia’s role in the scent is quite appropriate, Her role is rather difficult. She has to keep up the
pretense before her husband. In saving Antonyo, she has two objectives---to deliver her husband’s
friend and to maintain her husband’s honor by discharge of debt

Improbability in the court scene

1. The Duke never presides at the trial

2. Portia’s disguise is incredible
3. Her demand for not shedding the blood since it is not mentioned in the bond, is absurd. She
could also have objected to the use of knife since it is not mentioned
4. She demands that shylock could not take less thean a pound. It is also foolish. Because every
creditor has the right to forfeit a part of what is due to him
5. The suit itself is inadmissible because it is a murder attempt by legal means;

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Of Judicature
JUDGES ought to remember, that their office is jus dicere, and not jus dare; to interpret
law, and not to make law, or give law. Else will it be like the authority, claimed by the
Church of Rome, which under pretext of exposition of Scripture, doth not stick to add
and alter; and to pronounce that which they do not find; and by show of antiquity, to
introduce novelty. Judges ought to be more learned, than witty, more reverend, than
plausible,and more advised, than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and
proper virtue. Cursed (saith the law) is he that removeth the landmark. The mislayer of a
mere-stone is to blame. But it is the unjust judge, that is the capital remover of
landmarks, when he defineth amiss, of lands and property. One foul sentence doth more
hurt, than many foul examples. For these do but corrupt the stream, the other corrupteth
the fountain. So with Solomon, Fons turbatus, et vena corrupta, est justus cadens in causa
sua coram adversario. The office of judges may have reference unto the parties that use,
unto the advocates that plead, unto the clerks and ministers of justice underneath them,
and to the sovereign or state above them.

First, for the causes or parties that sue. There be (saith the Scripture) that turn judgment,
into wormwood; and surely there be also, that turn it into vinegar; for injustice maketh it
bitter, and delays make it sour. The principal duty of a judge, is to suppress force and
fraud; whereof force is the more pernicious, when it is open, and fraud, when it is close
and disguised. Add thereto contentious suits, which ought to be spewed out, as the surfeit
of courts. A judge ought to prepare his way to a just sentence, as God useth to prepare his
way, by raising valleys and taking down hills: so when there appeareth on either side an
high hand, violent prosecution, cunning advantages taken, combination, power, great
counsel, then is the virtue of a judge seen, to make inequality equal; that he may plant his
judgment as upon an even ground. Qui fortiter emungit, elicit sanguinem; and where the
wine-press is hard wrought, it yields a harsh wine, that tastes of the grape-stone. Judges
must beware of hard constructions, and strained inferences; for there is no worse torture,
than the torture of laws. Specially in case of laws penal, they ought to have care, that that
which was meant for terror, be not turned into rigor; and that they bring not upon the
people, that shower whereof the Scripture speaketh, Pluet super eos laqueos; for penal
laws pressed, are a shower of snares upon the people. Therefore let penal laws, if they
have been sleepers of long, or if they be grown unfit for the present time, be by wise
judges confined in the execution: Judicis officium est, ut res, ita tempora rerum, etc. In
causes of life and death, judges ought (as far as the law permitteth) in justice to remember
mercy; and to cast a severe eye upon the example, but a merciful eye upon the person.

Secondly, for the advocates and counsel that plead. Patience and gravity of hearing, is an
essential part of justice; and an overspeaking judge is no well-tuned cymbal. It is no grace
to a judge, first to find that, which he might have heard in due time from the bar; or to
show quickness of conceit, in cutting off evidence or counsel too short; or to prevent
information by questions, though pertinent. The parts of a judge in hearing, are four: to
direct the evidence; to moderate length, repetition, or impertinency of speech; to
recapitulate, select, and collate the material points, of that which hath been said; and to
give the rule or sentence. Whatsoever is above these is too much; and proceedeth either
of glory, and willingness to speak, or of impatience to hear, or of shortness of memory, or
of want of a staid and equal attention. It is a strange thing to see, that the boldness of
advocates should prevail with judges; whereas they should imitate God, in whose seat
they sit; who represseth the presumptuous, and giveth grace to the modest. But it is more
strange, that judges should have noted favorites; which cannot but cause multiplication of
fees, and suspicion of by-ways. There is due from the judge to the advocate, some
commendation and gracing, where causes are well handled and fair pleaded; especially
towards the side which obtaineth not; for that upholds in the client, the reputation of his
counsel, and beats down in him the conceit of his cause. There is likewise due to the
public, a civil reprehension of advocates, where there appeareth cunning counsel, gross
neglect, slight information, indiscreet pressing, or an overbold defence. And let not the
counsel at the bar, chop with the judge, nor wind himself into the handling of the cause
anew, after the judge hath declared his sentence; but, on the other side, let not the judge
meet the cause half way, nor give occasion to the party, to say his counsel or proofs were
not heard.

Thirdly, for that that concerns clerks and ministers. The place of justice is an hallowed
place; and therefore not only the bench, but the foot-place; and precincts and purprise
thereof, ought to be preserved without scandal and corruption. For certainly grapes (as
the Scripture saith) will not be gathered of thorns or thistles; either can justice yield her
fruit with sweetness, amongst the briars and brambles of catching and polling clerks, and
ministers. The attendance of courts, is subject to four bad instruments. First, certain
persons that are sowers of suits; which make the court swell, and the country pine. The
second sort is of those, that engage courts in quarrels of jurisdiction, and are not truly
amici curiae, but parasiti curiae, in puffing a court up beyond her bounds, for their own
scraps and advantage. The third sort, is of those that may be accounted the left hands of
courts; persons that are full of nimble and sinister tricks and shifts, whereby they pervert
the plain and direct courses of courts, and bring justice into oblique lines and labyrinths.
And the fourth, is the poller and exacter of fees; which justifies the common resemblance
of the courts of justice, to the bush whereunto, while the sheep flies for defence in
weather, he is sure to lose part of his fleece. On the other side, an ancient clerk, skilful in
precedents, wary in proceeding, and understanding in the business of the court, is an
excellent finger of a court; and doth many times point the way to the judge himself.

Fourthly, for that which may concern the sovereign and estate. Judges ought above all to
remember the conclusion of the Roman Twelve Tables; Salus populi suprema lex; and to
know that laws, except they be in order to that end, are but things captious, and oracles
not well inspired. Therefore it is an happy thing in a state, when kings and states do often
consult with judges; and again, when judges do often consult with the king and state: the
one, when there is matter of law, intervenient in business of state; the other, when there is
some consideration of state, intervenient in matter of law. For many times the things
deduced to judgment may be meum and tuum, when the reason and consequence thereof
may trench to point of estate: I call matter of estate, not only the parts of sovereignty, but
whatsoever introduceth any great alteration, or dangerous precedent; or concerneth
manifestly any great portion of people. And let no man weakly conceive, that just laws
and true policy have any antipathy; for they are like the spirits and sinews, that one
moves with the other. Let judges also remember, that Solomon’s throne was supported by
lions on both sides: let them be lions, but yet lions under the throne; being circumspect
that they do not check or oppose any points of sovereignty. Let not judges also be
ignorant of their own right, as to think there is not left to them, as a principal part of their
office, a wise use and application of laws. For they may remember, what the apostle saith
of a greater law than theirs; Nos scimus quia lex bona est, modo quis ea utatur legitime

Legality of book-banning

THE RECENT order of forfeiture passed by the government of West Bengal in respect of a Bengali book
entitled Dwikhandita written by a Bangladesh writer, Taslima Nasreen, has again brought to the fore the
question of legality of such order of banning and proscription of books.

Banning of books was unknown in India before the Britishers imported the concept to serve and protect their
imperial hegemony. Even though mostly Christians by faith, they signally failed to learn from the life of
Jesus Christ that crucifixion of the Messenger could not annihilate the message but made it more
efficaciously vibrant and effulgently operative. You can kill the thinker, burn his writings, but not his thought
or expressions.

In the West, book-banning is as old as book-writing. Homer'sOdyssey was banned in Rome in the beginning
of the First century. Translation of the New Testament by Tyndale was banned in England in the 16th
century. So was Martin Luther's translation of the Bible in the 17th century in Germany. Galileo's writings as
to the rotundity of the Earth were also destroyed in the 17th century. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was
banned by Russia in the 19th century. Henry Ford'sMy Life and Works was banned in Soviet Russia and so
were Dr. Zhivago of Pasternak and Gulag Archipelago of Solzhenitsyn. The long list is still getting longer with
myriads of instances. Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses has also found place in that list.

The book Dwikhandita has been banned by the State government in exercise of the powers conferred by
Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which now contains the general law relating to book-
banning. The only ground on which the order has been passed is that two paragraphs in that book, referred
to in the schedule of the order of forfeiture, appear to the State government to contain matters which
"promote, or attempt to promote, enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, or disharmony, or
feeling of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious groups and the publication of such matters is
punishable under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code."

Assuming that the paragraphs referred to in the schedule relating to the founder of Islam are in very bad
taste, and, therefore, the followers of Islam may have good reason to be offended, it is to be noted that the
writer herself is also Muslim by religion. It has, therefore, been urged that by using such abusive words
against the founder of her own religion, the writer cannot be held guilty of promoting hatred or enmity
between different groups on grounds of religion. Reliance has been placed on the decision of the Supreme
Court in Bilal Ahmed Kaloo of 1997, where it has been ruled that the gravamen of the provision of Section
153A "being promotion of feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will `between different' religious or racial or
linguistic or regional groups, or castes or community, it is necessary that at least two such groups, or
communities should be involved and "merely insulting the feeling of one community or group without any
reference to any other community or group cannot attract" the provisions of Section 153A.

Those who disapprove the order of forfeiture have also urged that it is now beyond any doubt or dispute in
our constitutional-cum-administrative jurisprudence that no order to the prejudice of any person can be
passed without giving the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Reference has been
made,inter alia, to the decisions of the Supreme Court in Binapani Dei of 1967, in A.K. Kraipak of 1969 and
also the well-known seven-judge Bench decision in Maneka Gandhi of 1978, to show that the Supreme Court
has firmly settled this principle with anxious and zealous advertence.
It has been urged that if that is the settled position in law, then no order of forfeiture of books can at all be
sustained unless the party interested has been provided with reasonable opportunity of being heard in the
matter, whether before or even after the decision. It is true that in a decision of the Allahabad High Court in
Lalai Singh Yadav of 1971, it has been held that since the party aggrieved can make an application to the
High Court assailing the order (as now provided in Section 96 of the present Code), the absence of any
hearing by the State government would not be fatal. If that is the correct position in law, then the
horrendous result would be that an order of conviction and sentence, without giving the accused proper
opportunity to defend himself, would not be bad, as the accused would nevertheless have a right of appeal
to the higher court.

Incompatible with the Constitution

Many persons have criticised Dwikhandita as obscene, repulsive and without any literary merit. But those
who are condemning this order of forfeiture have urged that, whether a classic or a pornography, these
draconic powers vested in the State government to forfeit any book or writing on the ground that the
matters contained therein appear to the State government to be punishable under one or the other Sections
of the Penal Code, without giving the party affected any opportunity of being heard by the State
government, are absolutely incompatible with our Constitution and also the due process of law ensconced
therein by the Supreme Court.

It has been conceded that in urgent cases requiring immediate action, where providing hearing to the party
may defeat the very purpose, an order without any pre-decisional hearing may not be fatal. But it has been
urged on the strength of Maneka Gandhi and other authorities, judicial as well as textual, that in such a
case, a post-decision hearing by the authority making the order is a must for legal and efficacious survival of
the order, however poor substitute such post-decisional hearing may be.

A.M. BHATTACHARJEE

This article is intended for an overview on legal drafting and difference of legal English and
general English. The principles are based on personal practical experience and observation of
legal writing of Justices, Judges, eminent lawyers, senior colleagues and book of known legal
authors. The information shared in this article would definitely helpful to develop understating
with legal English and drafting fundamentals.

1. Difference between Legal English & General English for communication.

Before to begin with legal English, we need to understand the difference between Legal English
and plain English. Plain or general English writing is used for communicating thoughts,
observation, stories, description etc. but legal writing is slightly different. Legal writing defines
the rights and liabilities. It is defines the statutory position, legal obligation, legal provisions,
statue, factual description etc. Legal writing is intended for interpretation. Interpretation by the
court will effect overall result. That’s why legal writing should be in such manner that no other
interpretation can be taken out of a sentences other then the intended by the writer.

2. Understand the objective of writing

Objective of writing set the language of the document. When you are writing a formal letter,
response to a letter, business mail then your language could be a common English. But when
you know that writing a letter could hamper your legal rights then the wordings should be
carefully chosen.

First see, what it the objective? Does the objective is to reply a complaint where customer is
annoyed by default ? No, the objective is to save the actually handle an annoyed customer.

3. To whom you are addressing ?

‘Addressing’ indicates the person for whom the document is written for. It is ‘know your
audience’ rule. Legal document is used before judges, judicial staff, other lawyers, clients,
parties to the agreement, common public information and so on.

If a document is written for a judge then certainly legalese would be easily understood. It is
written for lawyer or some other authority then even the legal jargon can be understood. But, if it
is written for a common public or client then the tough legal language would annoyed the reader.

4. Use of reference Material & Document Design

Every Legal documents have a unique design. These designs are evolved in the past 200 year of
the legal history. A design of a agreement would be different from a plaint or design of legal
notice to an individual would be different from public notice. One should refer the prevailing
practice of design a document.

5. Introduction of Context

The introduction of a document is very important in legal writing. In the introduction, the writer
should mention what is coming up. Introduction gives a clear understanding what is the whole is
matter is all about. Keep following basic rules in mind for introduction.

Put the significant facts upfront : Ask yourself, whether a reader would understand the matter by
the introductory material.

The facts should be presented in a way that even an average person can understand by bare
reading. Use short, simple and easily understandable language so that reader go thorough it
quickly and ask you- ‘okey …what is particular about the event that happened after this.?

6. Description of facts in Chronological order

Ideally, the facts should be presented in chronological order. The first incident should come first
to be followed by second incident and so on. It is give clarity to reader about the sequence of the
event.

7. Understanding with Legal terminology

Have basic understanding with the legal terminology and its meaning.
Understand the impact of the legal terms so used in document.
Check what any other legal professional would interpret the term.
The legal terms should be used very carefully with an understanding the interpretation before
court.

8. Use of Legal Jargons and Latin

Legal Jargons and Latin. Legal jargons are the word which only a legal professional can
understand. It is often seen that legal professional feel pride using legal jargons and latin. Words
like ‘thereon’ ‘therewith’ ‘whereas’ ‘hereinafter’ are not commonly used in general English but
these words are heavily used by legal professionals. We have described these words in separate
chapter in this book. It is commonly known as legalese.

It can be acceptable when you are writing for consideration of court of legal fraternity who are
accustomed to read and understand. But it may scared a lay man. Specially, Latin is very difficult
to pronounce and even more difficult to understand.

9. Short sentence, paragraphs and heading

Short sentences gives space to the reader to have pause and understand what is written. A
paragraph containg 3 to5 short sentence in a sequence then it is enough. The new paragraph
should be in line with the last paragraph. It should have some linkage with the previously told
facts. Continuity is important.

10. Grammatical Corrections

Like general English, a legal document should be grammatically correct. Legal document once
written shall ever remain as piece of evidence and shall be examined by several people. Specially
by judges, lawyers and well –knowledgeable client. There should not be any mistake in
grammar.

11. Mare sure by re-reading and edit five times

Edit the document five time at least. Don’t hesitate to edit once more. Rule out every possibility
of mistakes in grammar, spellings, commas, parenthesis, chronology etc. Every time you will
find scope of improvement in the sentence construction, paragraph length and even sequence.

12. Beginning of the sentences

Beginning of the sentence can be by ‘But’ and ‘And’. However, the general English don’t allow
to use ‘But’ and ‘And’ at the begning but in legal English it is almost universally accepted in
legal faternity. Beginning of facts can also be state by ‘That’ or ‘Whereas’ whichever suits the
most. There is no any hard and fast rule but the beginning should directly jump to the core
message that writer wish to communicate.
13. Check suitable substitute words or one word expression

Legal English is all about the expression by the parties. The expression largely depends of choice
of word. Be careful in choice of word.

The Bajaj dispute and mediation

By Sriram Panchu

Parties to a conflict often have the best suggestions for resolving it... A litigative process
discourages such communication; mediation actively encourages it.

NEWSPAPERS HAVE reported the split in the Bajaj industrial family, and the appointment of
Sharad Pawar and Dhirajlal Mehta as mediators. Five members — the brothers Rahul and
Shishir, and cousins Shekhar, Madhur and Niraj — make up the senior family team.
Roughly, each of the five has a 1/5th share of the family stake in each group company. The
Rs. 6,000-crore group comprises 25-odd companies in areas ranging from two-wheelers to
ayurvedic medicines. The largest and most successful is the Rs. 4,000-crore Bajaj Auto. This
is controlled by Rahul Bajaj, best-known face of the group. None of the companies run by
the others measures up to Bajaj Auto in profits or prominence. Sons have now joined
fathers in the enterprises.

Differences have now come to the fore, and while their origin and cause remains a matter of
speculation, it does appear that Mr. Shishir Bajaj has expressed his desire to have full
control of the companies he now runs, and to sell his shares in the other group companies,
including Bajaj Auto.

It was wise to refer this matter to mediation, instead of the usual responses to a dispute —
giving in, uneasily patching up, or litigation — each damaging in its own way. Wise because
mediation is essentially a no-loss and no-risk process. Mr. Pawar and Mr. Mehta cannot give
an award or impose a result on the parties; their job is to help them reach an agreement
that all parties can accept. Mediation is an entirely voluntary process, and parties have the
freedom to terminate it any time they feel it is not serving their interests. Because of its
consensual nature, mediation enables a solution that is sustainable because the parties
have crafted it, and durable because they will respect it for this very reason. If the
mediation is unsuccessful, recourse can be had to the formal legal process. As a matter of
fact, mediation displays a high rate of success even in complex cases, with considerable
savings in time, cost and relationships. Worldwide, it is the fastest growing dispute
resolution method. How does it work? First, the mediators will endeavour to find out the
nature, and source, of the dispute. Since communication is treated as confidential, the
parties are able to talk freely. Behind legal rights often lie perceptions of unfairness,
domination, insecurity, needs and priorities. The decision of the younger Bajaj brother may
have these elements; if uncovered, a full solution is rarely possible; but once out on the
table, it is much easier to deal with them. This process also allows for a certain amount of
venting of feelings, though done in a civil fashion; it helps to get emotions out and out of
the way, it also helps the others appreciate the extent of hurt feeling.

An agenda of issues to be resolved is then drawn up. It might read like this: is a parting
necessary? If not, what changes, structural and otherwise, would be necessary? How is this
to be arrived at, implemented and monitored? Does this satisfy the over-all requirements of
the larger family? On the other hand, if parting is seen to be the desirable outcome, how is
this best achieved? What is the method of valuation of shares to be followed?

What are the other commonalities, such as family trusts, that need to be delinked or
otherwise arranged for? What will be the shape of future relationships, commercial and
personal? Are there matters of fact that need to be ascertained, such as share price, asset
base, inter setransactions? Experienced mediators will, however, know that as the lines of a
solution open up, it becomes unnecessary to resolve many disputes on facts which appear
intractable in the beginning.

Once the preliminaries are through, the heart of the mediation process commences. All
parties in conflict take positions on what they want and how much they will part with. So
long as they are on this plane, it is a me-versus-you, right and wrong, win-lose
transactional situation. Consensual resolution is almost impossible in this mindset, since any
gains to one are perceived as a loss to the other.

Mediators rely on three keys to unlock a conflict: a) Move contestants from the positions
they have taken to examining their long-term interests. Whether emerging as company
prosperity, family amity, personal development or any other formulation, parties will find
that their long-term interests underscore the virtual necessity of a harmonious settlement.
b) Administer doses of realism — show parties that their assumptions about the legal
strength of their case and expectations of the court process may be excessive. How much of
a worthwhile solution can they get, and in how much time. Oftentimes, both sides get
bruised in a law fight, a clear winner being difficult to spot. c) Make disputants confront the
alternatives, almost always unpleasant, available to them if they do not reach settlement at
the negotiating table. What are they looking at — uneasy continuance of the status quo
which hampers proper functioning and, when it erupts, will be the worse for the years of
waiting; efforts to sell out to a third party interest; company petitions by minority
shareholders questioning virtually every act; worsening of family relationships.

The flexibility of the process enables it to be designed to suit the demands of the individual
case. Disputed facts can be ascertained with joint fact-finding exercises, or with the help of
experts. Indeed, experts function better as neutrals, free from the impositions, subtle and
stated, of partisan evidence. Joint meetings enable parties to give their version of the
dispute and the opportunity to listen to that of the other side. Separate meetings with the
mediator enable parties to speak openly, to look at strengths and weaknesses, voice fears
and concerns. Confidential information can be shared with the mediator, with a request to
avoid disclosure. Parties to a conflict often have the best suggestions for resolving it; they
know what is most important to them and where they can yield, where they can work
together and what they would really like to see as the outcome. A litigative process
discourages such communication; mediation actively encourages it by providing an
environment of both safety and opportunity of communication. With this freedom, parties
can brainstorm options for resolution — and evaluate and explore them. Can room be made
in Bajaj Auto? What about Bajaj Auto Finance? Can other profitable lines be made available
to one branch? Are other compensations possible? Even if a parting is necessary, can a split
be avoided? Are there synergies in working together?

Once the process of serious generation of options starts, parties will be surprised to see how
creative the process can be as they shift attitudes and energies from blame and
recrimination to jointly search for solutions. Options for settlement get discussed, discarded,
modified and refined to yield a fair and workable settlement. Sometimes, results may be
had only gradually and in a phased manner; in certain situations, a partial result may only
be possible and yet be desirable to none; some situations will call for close monitoring and
frequent review to make calibrated, fine-tuned changes — all this can only come about with
a nuanced and sophisticated approach which is not possible in the adversarial processes.
The business world, which is respectful of relationships and acutely aware of the damage
done by conflict, will find value in mediation. All the more where boardroom disputes affect
house and kin.

TOPIC: WRITING A PROFESSIONAL LETTER

Professional letters are formal letters. They are written to

communicate with professional organizations, educational
institutions and other such public bodies. These letters are written
for specific purposes. The writer of such letters should be familiar
with the rules governing formal letters.

Elements of a formal letter

i. Sender’s name and address
ii. Date e.g. 1 January 2013
iii. Reference number if any
iv. Receiver’s address
v. Subject line
vi. Salutation e.g. DE\ear Manager
vii. Body
viii. Closing /complementary close e.g. yours faithfully
ix. Signature
x. Enclosure notation. i.e. ‘encl.’true copies of all testimonials.

CURRICULUM VITAE AND COVERING LETTEER

CV stands for curriculum vitae. It is known by several names: resume, personal profile, bio-data etc. In
short CV is a sell- introduction to promote you. To be able to promote yourself in the job market, you
need to know how to prepare a good resume.

A resume is usually attached to an application letter . it is the covering letter. It is therefore read
only after the application letter. But you should prepare the resume first.

Tips for preparing good resume

I. It should be written specifically in terms of the job’s requirement

II. Highlight the qualification and experience or achievement specific to the job in question
III. Emphasize your strengths
Difference between a resume and an application letter/covering letter

A resume contains:

i. Personal details
ii. Education
iii. Experience
iv. References

An application letter or a covering letter is planned like a sales order. Gain attention and interest and ask
for action. The application letter shows your communication skills to your potential employer. It
functions as an interview request by impressing the potential employer with your abilities and
education. It needs to be written very skillfully.

An application letter contains;

i. Identify your objective in the first paragraph

ii. Give sufficient evidence of your ability in the second paragraph
iii. Ask for an interview opportunity in the third paragraph.
iv. At the end suggest that you would like to come for an interview at the employer’s
convenience.
Principles of writing an effective application letter.
i. Coherence
ii. Correctness
iii. Simplicity
iv. Emphasis
v. Originality
vi. Sincerity
vii. Empathy
viii. Convention.
Keep your letter brief. Like the resume, it should be spotless, nicely typed and centred on
white pate of about 21 cm. by 29.5. cm.

Given below are a specimen resume and a covering letter

 CURRICULUM-VITAE

AKSHITA MEHAR

21/A GANDHI NAGAR II SRTREET

COCHIN pin------

Phone--------

E-mail-------

JOB OBJECTIVE: To work as a management trainee in an industry where my education in

management, with a specialization in marketing management, may be developed. My ultimate goal is
to be a senior executive in marketing.

PEERSONAL PROFIEL

Date of birth

Marital status

SPECIALISATION

*marketing management and sales

*Human resource management

EDUCATION

*Post graduate diploma in Business Management from Calicut university

*BBALLB from Government Law College, Calicut

*Senior Secondary from kendriya Vidhyalaya, Calicut

*Higher Secondary from GVHS Puthiyara, Calicut.

SCHOLARSHIP/AWARDS

Goovt. Of India Sports Talent Search Scholarship Scheme

INTERESTS AND ACHIEVEENTS

*Awarded certificate of merit for contribution to sports

SEMINARS PRPESENTED

 “Impact of globalization on the Women Choir Workers in Kreala”at The Centre For Advanced
Learning amd Research for Management Studies, University of Calicut
PEPRPSONAL OBJECTIVE
 To create a truly competitive arena wherever I work.
 To bring my enthusiasm and confidence to the organization and the people I work with
 To learn lessons in leadership and team work

STRENGHTS

*Team player

* self-confidence and goal oriented

*fast learner with an ability to excel

WORK EXPPERIENCE.

 Workers as a trustee in the R & D . ENTERPRISE NEXUS

 Conducted research for GENERAL MOTORS Ltd

REFERENCES

Available on request.

SPECIMEN OF A COVERING / JOB APPLICATION

AKSHITA MEHAR

21/A GANDHI NAGAR II SRTREET

COCHIN pin------

Phone--------

E-mail-------

6 April 2013

The general manager

Human Resource Department

Sales and Marketing

L C Electronics India Pvt Ltd.

Cochin

6736565

Sub: Application for the post of Assistant Marketing Manager.

Dear Sir.

Please consider me as a candidate for the position of Assistant Marketing manager, advertised in Times
of India, 1 April 2013. The position is especially attractive to me for I know that LG offers a wide variety
of household durables for which my education and work experience have prepared me.

As my resume shows, I received my MBA with a specialization in Marketing Management from the
University of Calicut. I have performed various duties in the marketing department of Samsung
including consumer research work for the new products.

While at Samsung , I gained a lot of experience in marketing/research and product designing under
excellent supervision.
 I am a hard working person who enjoys the challenges of marketing. I love travelling. Enclosed is my
resume for your consideration. I do hope that I shall an opportunity of an interview for the position of
Assistant Manager Marketing at L C Electronics India Pvt Ltd.

Yours truly

Signature

Akshita Mehra

Encl.

ESSENTIALS OF GRAMMAR

Parts of speech

In English, there are certain elements such as noun, pronoun, adjective verb, adverb, preposition ,
conjunctionetc. These are considered the essential parts of speech.

Nouns

Noun is a word that refers to the name of a person, place, or thing.

Proper noun: the name of a place or a person is a proper noun. It begins with a capital letter. E.g. India,
Rama.

Common nouns: a noun that stands for a common entity e.g. bit, man, cat, cow

Collective nouns: a nooun that stands for a number of persons or things taken together as a unit.

The following are examples of collective noouns:

The army, the police, the jury, the mob, the committee

Abstract nouns: the words that express the notions that one cannot touch smell hold or hear. E.g.
wisdom, honesty, vision, integrity, insight, secularism, mankind

Pronouns: these are words used in place of nouns. They may be :

i. Personal :
I person : I, we
II person: You
III person: he/she/it // they.
 ii. Relative Pronouns:
Which, what, who, whose, whomthat

iii. Possessive:
Mine, ours, yours, theirs, its, hers

iv. Reciprocal:
Each other, one another

v. Reflexive:
Myself, ourselves, yourself, himself etc

Adjective:
Adjectives are words used to qualify a noun.

Defensive venture ; fortunate girl; immature decision; basic knowledge;

corporate management; violent storm; objective approach; cultural analysis;
systematic approach; high time.

The words in italics are adjectives

These adjectives can be changed into nouns

Adjectives Nouns

--------------------------------------------------------

Defensive defense

Fortunate fortune

Immature immaturity

Basic basis

Corporate Corporation

Violent violence.

Objective object

Cultural culture

Systematic system

High height.
Adverbs:

An adverbs qualify the verb, an adjective or another adverb

Eg. Quickly, highly, slowly, very, fast, hard, too, up, down, well, late

He ran very fast.

They worked hard

The fielder picked up the ball quickly

Fill in the blanks with a suitable adjective

i. The number of women MPs has increased ------across the country

ii. ---------, the record is shared by two athlets from Kerala
iii. The raw material was -----cheap
iv. Do you--------feel nervous before the examination
v. It’s ------impossible for us to buy a house in the city
vi. He tried -----to find the joh
vii. The food was ------hot for me
viii. She plays the violin very ------
ix. He entered the room-----and sat in the corner
x. The car swered---------

Answers

[significantly; currently, reasonably; uusually; financially; hard’; very; well; quietly, incredibily]

These adverbs can be changed into adjectives or nouns

Noun adjective adverb

Significance significant significantly

Current (homonym) current currently

Reason reasonable reasonably

Usual usually

Finance financing financial

Hard hard
 Quiet quiet/quietly

Prepositions:

A preposition is placed before a noun or its equivalent in order to show its relationship in terms of time,
place, case etc. Prepositions are also used along with verbs

The relation that a preposition expresses can be:

i. Time relation
ii. Place relation
iii. Position relation’ state relation
iv. Cause relation purpose relation.
Examples:
He came at five O’ clock
He is in the room
He is standing between john and hack
She is in a trouble
They jumped up for joy
They stood firm for their rights

Preposition --- a selected list

Accustomed to; interested in; acquainted with; known for; composed of
Located in; concerned with; made of; disappointed with
Married to; discriminated against; pleased with;
Divourced from; prepared for; excited about; addicted with
Tired of; prevented from; forbidden to; congratulate …on
Consists in; abstain from; plead for; deal in /deal witih
Excited about; angry with; anxious of; look at/ look after/ look into
Abide by; swear by; blame for; account for; apply for; depend on,
Concentrate on ,focus on, relly on, point out, agree to/agree with, add to compare to,
apply to , bring under. Associate with, bring up, bring with, compare with.

The word “get” conveys the following meanings when used with the proposition given
below:

Get about = move or spread

Get across = be understood
Get ahead = make progress
Get along = manage
Get at = gain access to
Get away = escape
 Get over = forget
Get round = persuade.

Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:

1. The earth goes ------the sun.
2. All the cows----the pasture are mine
3. He is fond --------music
4. He is engrossed----studying
5. Your success depends-----how you work
6. He hankers-----bread and butter
7. My father has great affection ---me
8. He is ----to go
9. She has great regard----him
10. The quit India Movement ws launched ----1942

Answers
[round, in, of, in, on, after, for about, for,in]

Complete the sentences with suitable prepositions

1. The result did not agree------the assumptions

2. Mr. Duby pointed-------the mistakes in the sampling technique
3. The class was divided----ten groups
4. No one compared the date -----the previous findings
5. The young voter no longer abstain-----voting.

Answers
[with, out, into, to, from]

Complete the sentences with suitable verbs and prepositions:

1. The college expenses start to ------- even before you enroll

2. The research will------in three phases
3. This department-----physical chemistry
4. Whose talent can ------Yehuda’s’?
5. The people need a government they can------

Answers
[add up, carry out, specialize in, compare with, rely on]

Correct the following sentences:

1. He is endowed by wonderful creative talent
2. I am grateful for all your support
3. He was poorly judged with his teachers
4. They deal with electrical goods
5. The poem deals in environmental issues
Answers
[endowed with; grateful to; judged by; deal in; deal with]

Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions

1. At the station, he parted ----his friend

2. I can’t plead----the manager for you
3. The teacher is annoyed -----the boy’s behavior
4. True happiness consists ----contentment
5. The child takes ---her mother
6. He looked ----the dictionary for the word
7. He has been avoiding me -----last Monday
8. He has not seen me ---more than two weeks
9. They put-------a brave fight
10. When I was looking for my passport, I came----these old photographs
11. We have to abide----certain rules
12. They deal----electrical goods
13. There is no exception ----this rule
14. They insisted ----going

15. He was deprived -----his chance

16. We must guard ourselves-----mistake
17. I differ ----you in this matter
18. Misers are unwilling to part---money
19. The cake is ---the cupboard
20. He went -----the army
21. Please look -----the clients statement carefully
22. This officer is far ---corruption
23. He was looking ---his boys
24. She was angry -------her son
25. Sydney’s “Apology for Poetry” abounds-------allusions
26. There is no limit ---his desires
27. His house is ---that street
28. I prefer a comedy -----a tragedy
29. I was angry -------what he said
30. The prisoner was accused -----murder

Answers [ parted with, plead with; annoyed at; consists in; takes after; looked into; since
last Monday; for more than a week; put up; came across; abide by; deal in electrical goods;
exception to; insisted on; deprived of; guard ourselves against; differ from; part with; on the
cupboard; to the army; look into the client’s statements; far from; looking after; angry with;
abounds in; limit to; in that street; prefer comedy to tragedy; angry to what he said’ accused
of]

Phrasal prepositions---a selected list:

1. In front of 12. In spite of
2. In order to 13. Owing to
3. Instead of 14. For the sake of
4. In regard to 15. In the course of
5. With regard to 16. Except for
6. But for 17. Because of
7. In accordance with 18. On account of
8. On behalf of 19. Along with
9. In comparison with 20. Apart from
10. In view of 21. By means of
11. Together with 22. Due to.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions are connectors that link words, phrases and clauses. There are three types of
conjunctions:
i. Co-coordinating conjunctions
[FANBOYS] i.e. For, And, Nor, But. Or, Yet, And, So. These are used to join equal
parts of a group of words
e.g. bread and butter
Above the ankles but below the knees
She wanted to apply for the job yet she had doubts about it.
Co-ordination conjunctions are used to join parts of compound sentences,

ii. Subordinating conjunctions:

If connectors imply coordinate words, or phrases or sentences, they are called co-
coordinators. But if they subordinate one or more of the clauses to some other
main clauses, they are called subordinators
 [WABESITEU] i.e. When, What, Where, Who, Whose, Whom, Why, Which; Whether;
Whenever, Wherever, Whatever, Whom so ever…….; As, Although; Because; Even
though; Since, So---that; If, In case, Though, That, Till, Unless
Subordinating Conjections connect independent clauses with dependent clauses.
They are used to form complex sentences.

iii. Correlative conjunctions

These are various other ways of combining simple sentences . the following are the
most important correlatives:

1. Either…….or
You may either return the book or pay its fine

2. Neither….nor
He will neither do it not allow any one to do it

3. Not only….but also

He not only kept away from the meeting but also refused to give the reason

4. As well as
He attended the funeral as well as participated in the condolence meeting

5. Both-…and
He was both a good composer and a good director
6. While
She wore a red sareee while her sister wore a green one

7. As soon as
As soon as the train arrived, the passengers rushed in

8. No sooner…than
No sooner had the train arrived, than the passengers rushed in

9. Scarcely….when
Scarcely had we boarded the train when it started to move

10. Hardly….when
Hardly had the bus stopped when the passengers started scrambling for a place
in it.

Change the following pairs of sentences into : (i) simple (ii) compound and (iii)
complex sentences
 1. He is old. He does a lot of work
Ans.
In spite of his old age, he does a lot of work (simple)
He is old, but he does a lot of work (compound)
Although he is old, he does a lot of work (complex)

2. He was irresponsible. He lost his job.

being irresponsible, he lost his job (simple)
he was irresponsible so he lost his job (compound)
since he was irresponsible, he lost his job (complex).

3. The storm subsided. We continued our journey

The storm having subsided, we continued our journey (simple)
The storm subsided and we continued our journey (compound)
When the storm subsided, we continued our journey)

4. He was sitting on a wall. A scorpion bit him

Sitting on a wall, he was bitten by a scorpion (simple)
He was sitting on a wall and a scorpion bit him (compound)
While he was sitting on a wall, a scorpion bit him (complex)

5. It was very cold there. He could not continue to live there

He could not continue to live there due to cold climate

It was very cold there, so he could not continue to live there

As it was very cold there, he could not continue to live there

TENSES
There are three basic verb tenses :

i. The present: He enjoys playing foot ball

ii. The past: he enjoyed playing foot ball
iii. The Future: he will enjoy playing foot ball

Each of these has four varities

i. The simple present: I read the news paper daily

ii. The present continuous: I am reading the news paper
 iii. The present perfect: I have read the newspaper
iv. The present perfect conticuous: I have been reading the news paper
i. The simple past. I read the news paper yesterday
ii. The past continuous: I was reading the news paper when they came
iii. The past perfect: I had read the whole news before I left for college
iv. The past perfect continuous: I had been reading the news paper till the
train arrived
I. The simple future: I will read the news tomorrow
II. The future continuous: I will be reading the news paper in the
evening
III. The future perfect: I will have read the whole news by the time
the sun set
IV. The future perfect continuous: I will have been reading
Ramayana for 25 years by 2015.

Fill in the banks with suitable tense forms of the verbs given in brackets

1. I -------(wait) here for the last two hours

2. I -------(see) that you have come for the meeting in time
3. He said that he ----(suffer) from fever for three days
4. The thief ---(sleep) when the police came
5. While he ----(dig) in the garden, he found a treasure
6. If she asked me, I ----(tell) her
7. If you had asked me, i------(help)
8. If you invite me, I……(come)
9. If I were a bird, I ---(fly)
10. By the time you reach the station, the train -----(leave)
11. By the time we reached the station, the train ----(leave)
12. He ----(finish) the work before the manager came
13. I----(want) to speak to the manager
14. Do you-----(know) where he is?
15. An honest man always ---(tell) the truth

Answer

[have been waiting, see, had been suffering, was sleeping, was digging, would tell, had helped,
shall/will come, would fly, will have left, had left, had finished, want, know, tells]

PHRASAL VERBS ----verbs used with adverb particles

Following are a few phrasal verbs
Abide by = be faithful to
You have to abide by the rules

Abound in = plenty of
The pound abounds in fish

Blow up = explode
The bridge was blown up by the terrorists

Give away = distribute

The chief guest gave away the prizes

Give up = abandon
He gave up the idea

Go ahead = proceed
Go ahead with your project

Go on = continue
The workers go on with their strike

Hold on = wait
They asked us to hold on

Hold up = stop
The angry people help up the train

Look after = take care of

You should look after your parents in their old age

Look down upon = despise

One should not look down upon the poor

Look forward to = expect

We look forward to your arrival

Look up = refer
Please look up the dictionary for the meaning of the world

Make up for = compensate

You have to make up for the time you lost during your illness
Make up ones mind = decide
He made up his mind to appear for the Judicial Service Examination

Come across = meet

I came across an old book in the shelf

Do away with = abolish

Abraham Lincoln made a great attempt to do away with slavery

Call at = visit a place

I called at the minister’s office

Call on = visit a person

I called on the minister at his residence

Call off = cancel

The workers called off the srike

Get at = reach
I can’t get at the ceiling

Get off = descend

I got off at Calicut

Get through = pass

He just got through the examination

Get out = escape

He could not get out of the well

Put off = postpone

The university was forced to put off the examination
Put up = stay
As it was too late, they put up in a hostel
Put on = wear
Why don’t you put on your best dress
Put up with = tolerate
It is difficult to put up with emotionally immature persons

Run down = weaken

She looks run down these days
Run after= pursue
The police ran after the thief
Run out = exhaust
She says that the sugar has run out

Taken aback = shock

He was taken aback tp hear the news of his failure
Take down = write
Take down the notes
Take off = remove
He took off his hat
Take off = to leave the ground
The plane took off at 2 pm

Turn away = refuse admittance

Don’t turn away the poor
Turn down = refuse an offer
Don’t turn down any offer
Wind up = conclude
It is time to wind up the meeting
Work out = calculate.
The secretary worked out the expenses

Wipe out = destroy completely

It is difficult to wipe out poverty

Fill in the blanks with correct phrasal verbs

1. It will take a long time to ----poverty from India

2. The chairperson ----the meeting
3. The teacher asked the students to -----notes
4. The plane ----at 2 pm
5. They ----the thief
6. The rice had ------
7. It is not easy to ------that fellow
8. He has -----all his effort for the development of the region
9. He just wanted to -----the examination
10. The strike was -------
11. You have to --------all that you do
12. The bridge was-------by terrorists
13. In the end he had to ------
14. The minister -----the prizes
 15. In spite of many difficulties, he -----to go on.

answers

[wipe out, wound up, take down, took off, ran after, run out, put up with, put in, get through, called off,
account for, blown up, give in, gave away, made up phis mind]

Articles ( a , an & the )

Illustrations of indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’

1. A university
2. An hour
3. An honour
4. Am American
5. A European
6. An honest person
7. An heir
8. An heirloom
9. A hotel
10. A horse
11. An honorarium
12. A uniform
13. A union leader
14. An MLA
15. An FCI agent
16. A unique quality
17. A united family

Illustration of the uses of the definite article ‘the’

1. The English language/people

2. The Himalayas/the pacific ocean/the Ganges
3. Everest(don’t use ‘the’ before the names of single peaks or islands
4. Srilanka
5. The Hebrides
6. The Titanic/ the Spanish Armada
7. Christians go to church on Sundays (don’t use the church)
8. He is going to the church to paint the wall (here the article ‘the’ is used
9. I am going to college
10. My father is coming to the college to attend the PTA meeting
11. I go to bed at 10 pm (don’t use ‘the’)
 12. The rich always exploit the poor
13. Asoka the great, was a patron of Buddhism
14. He is the wisest man I have ever met
15. The hottest day
16. The most beautiful sight
17. The red and the white rose in the garden looks beautiful
18. The mango tree on the road side is dangerous
19. The banyan tree near the temple is very huge
20. He was the first man to arrive on the scene.

Model questions

Write an essay

1. Define communication and explain its elements with the help of a model
2. The significance of non-verbal communication in professional set up
3. Distinguish between formal and informal communication
4. What are the principles of effective communication (brevity, clarity etc)[the seven Cs of
communication]
5. What are the barriers to communication, suggest measures to overcome them
6. Distinguish between hearing and listening
7. Characteristics of the language of law
8. What do you mean by paralinguistic communication. Explain some of the paralinguistic cues
9. What are the different types of group discussion. Explain. What are the dos amd son’ts of
participating in a GD (the etiquettes of GD)
10. What are the techniques to be used in professional presentation
11. What are the preparation to be made before attending an interview
12. The significance of the trial scene in “ Merchant of Venice”
13. Ambedkar’s contribution to the Legal field
14. Abdul Kalam as role model for the new generation
15. What are Francis Bacon’s concerns in the essay “Of Judicature”
16. What does Battacharjee say about the legality of book banning

Write short notes

1. Intonation
2. Paralinguistic features
3. Grapewine
4. Barriers to communication
5. Noise
6. Encoding and decoding
7. Feedback
8. Communication model
9. Advocate as a conductor
10. How does Portia out wit Shylock
11. Non-vernal communication
12. Differece between hearing and listenng
13. Types of GD
14. Seven Cs communication
(c larity of exppession, completeness of information, conciseness of message, concreteness
in presentation, courtesy towards the listeners, correctness of facts and consideration for
receiver)

A list of Words that sound similar

Bring out the meaning of the following pairs of words making use of them in sentences of your
own

Beneficial-beneficent

Check-cheque

Cite-site-sight

Disease-decease

Dependant- dependent

Device-devise

Elicit-illicit

Emigrant -immigrant

Ghastly-ghostly

Historic – historical

Human-humane

Lose – loose

Momentary- momentous

Negligent- negligible

Observation- observance
 Persecute- prosecute

Plain-plane

Popular-populous

Practice-practize

Stationary-stationery

Union unity