IQRA UNIVERSITY IU

Faculty of Management SciencesDBA-SUMMER 2014

WELCOME TO THE CLASS

Course Writing SkillsClass Timings Every Thursday and Saturday (08:30 – 11:30 am)Room 308Term Summer 2014Course Lecturer Dr. Imran Khan (Asst. Prof.)Email khan.i@iuk.edu.pkAvailability 8:30 am – 4:30 pmOff Days Monday & WednesdayMeetings/Counselling In class, Board room or SR 2 (No meetings will be allowed in Faculty room)Course Duration 8 WeeksCourse Description Writing Skills HMT 114 is a preparatory writing course designed for students entering

any undergraduate program at university. IUGC provides a lot of opportunities to enhance your skills, particularly in knowledge, soft skills, ability, and credibility so as to enable you to compete and progress both academically and in your future workplace.

Objectives This course will also focus on writing skills, grammar, mechanics and reading will augment students’ proficiency in target language in order to improve their receptive and productive skills. The goal of writing skills course is to support you improve your writing, oral, and collaborative skills necessary for future business courses, thesis writings, written assignments, internships, and professional positions. This course aims to help you express clearly, concisely, convincingly, and create impressive formal presentations that are delivered with confidence and poise. Students will be able to produce unified, well-organized and coherent essays on a variety of topics in preparation for the writing of essays on both academic and non-academic topics.

Learning Outcomes After successfully completing the course you will be able to:

a)write in a variety of styles (narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive)b) critically evaluate a variety of reading passagesc) summarize textsd) paraphrase textse) write for a variety of purposes and audiencesf) apply the writing process (prewriting, writing, and revising)g) demonstrate basic grammar and sentence skills in writingh) demonstrate basic word processing skills in written assignmentsi) develop his/her personal writing style/voicej) Self-edit writing and analyze other writing samplesk) Carry out library and on-line researchl) Plan and deliver a short presentationm) Apply techniques for adapting messages to the audience and for developing effective sentences and unified and coherent paragraphsn) Organize and deliver an oral presentationo) Revise and proofread a message for organization, content, style, mechanics, format, and layout

Delivery Each class will consist of a combination of lecture, discussion, group work, and

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Methods/Format individual writing activities. Sometime will be allowed for starting assignments in class, but most of the writing assignments will be completed outside of class time. Students should expect to put in about four to eight hours of work per week outside of class time.

Attendance All students are required to maintain 80% of his/her attendance. In case the students fail to maintain 80% of attendance, they become ineligible to take the final exam and are awarded “F” Grade. This is a zero tolerance policy.

Course textbook and monolingual dictionary

Langan, J. (2010). Exploring Writing (second edition), New York: McGraw-Hill (Part One, Two, and Four); Monolingual dictionary either Cambridge or Oxford: Level 1 to 7 English Grammar)

Assessment The assessment for the course is based on your class participation, quizzes, writing workshops, assignments which include presentations, mid-term and final exams. For your presentations, portfolios and assignments, the topic must fit within the general area of the course. Do not start to work on the assignment until you have finalised on both topic and format, and this has been recorded by the course lecturer.

Assignment Policy Students who unable to submit an assignment due to any serious reason by the due date should discuss the matter in advance with the lecturer. Late assignments will not be accepted.

Assignment Submission Guidelines

All due assignments i.e. soft and hard copy will be submitted to the course lecturer or CR.

Assignment, Discipline & Academic Requirement

All students are expected to attend the course and maintain the decorum of the class. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. YOU WILL FAIL IF YOU COPY SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! Your assignment will be processed in “Turnitin Software”. If you need any guidance you will seek the course lecturer’s assistance.

Class Etiquette In all areas of the university environment, students are responsible to show respect for others, swearing, or language that is discriminatory or derogatory in relation to race, gender, ethnic background, religious beliefs, age and physical condition is not appropriate. All students must observe respect for each other. Student making fun of anyone’s mistake will be penalized. In groups and in class you must respect the differences of opinion and to bring everyone into discussion. Therefore, it is one of your responsibilities to work together in order to create a comfortable and friendly environment where all students can express their opinions, doubts, questions and queries freely.

Electronic Devices In order to be successful in classes and minimize distractions for others, cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices must be turned off while students are in class. In an emergency situation, the instructor may give a student permission to use a cell phone or pager.

Marks Distribution a) 12 Essays: 10% (Submission hard & soft copy one day before midterm exam )b) Class participation/ workshop activities: 5%c) Ppt. Presentation from John Langan ‘4’ chapters: 5% (After midterm/5 students per class)d) Quiz: 10 % (surprise, either before or after midterm)e) Mid-term: 25% (Exam pattern: Subjective & objective)f) Final Exam: 40% (Exam pattern: Subjective & objective)g) Full attendance: 5 marks h) one absence: 3 marks i) two absences: 1 mark (Bonus Marks will be added in final exam)

Grading Scale [88 – 100 = A; 81 – 87 = B+; 74 – 80 = B; 67 – 73 = C+; 60 – 66 = C; <60 = F]

Individual assignments: Article writing for English for University StudentsTask description: Write articles of 400 words each on 100 issues given below. Select three topics from each

essay type (e.g. 3 topics from Narrative, 3 Descriptive, 3 Cause & Effect and 3 from Comparison & Contrast). Try to make your writings as interesting as possible. Your readers are the ones who have just joined BBA program and hardly have subject

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knowledge about the issues presented. It is better to define the terms first, interest them in your writings by giving examples from their world and discuss with interesting facts.

Turnitin: English used in the articles has to be original. However, you can use books and online services to gather information and put it in your English. The whole texts will be scanned with anti-plagiarism software, Turnitin, which will identify plagiarized parts of the work. Marks will be deducted according to similarity index. Less than 10% similarity will not be penalized.

TASK SPECIFICATIONS

A: Causes and Effects Essay Topics

1. The effect of a parent, teacher, or friend on your life 2. Why you selected your major 3. The effects of cramming for an examination 4. The effects of peer pressure 5. Why some students cheat 6. The effects of growing up with a personal computer 7. The effects of poverty on an individual 8. Why one college course is more rewarding than another 9. Why many people don't bother to vote in local elections 10. Why more and more students are taking online classes 11. The effects of racial, sexual, or religious discrimination 12. Why people exercise 13. Why people keep pets 14. The effects of computers on our everyday lives 15. Why some people choose not to carry a cell phone 16. The environmental effects of bottled water 17. Why reality shows are so popular 18. The effects of pressures on students to get good grades 19. The effects of a coach or teammate on your life 20. The effects of not keeping a personal budget 21. The causes of noise pollution 22. The effects of noise pollution 23. Why so few students read newspapers 24. Why many Americans prefer foreign-built cars 25. Why many adults enjoy animated movies.

B: Comparison and Contrast Essay Topics

1. Two stages of a person's life 2. Two places you have visited 3. Two perspectives on the same place: past and present 4. Two perspectives on the same place: morning and night 5. Two fast-food restaurants 6. An online class compared to a traditional class 7. The Toyota Camry hybrid and the Camry sedan 8. Two candidates competing for public office 9. Two pets in the same household 10. The rules set for you as a child and the rules you have set (or plan to set) for your own children 11. Two professional athletes 12. Two views of your parents: before and after you left home 13. Your experiences before and after giving up a bad habit

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14. Two neighborhoods 15. Two vampires 16. Two ways to break a bad habit 17. A real vacation and a dream vacation 18. Two hosts of late-night talk shows 19. A good boss and a bad boss 20. Bulimia and anorexia 21. Two video games 22. Two classes in the same subject: one in high school and the other in college 23. The car you own and the car you dream of owning 24. Two types of exercise 25. Two ways of studying for an exam

C: Description Essay Topics 1. a waiting room 2. a basketball, baseball glove, or tennis racket 3. a cell phone 4. a treasured belonging 5. a laptop computer 6. a favorite restaurant 7. your dream house 8. your ideal roommate 9. a closet 10. your memory of a place that you visited as a child 11. a locker 12. an accident scene 13. a city bus or subway train 14. an unusual room 15. a child's secret hiding place 16. a bowl of fruit 17. an item left too long in your refrigerator 18. backstage during a play or a concert 19. a vase of flowers 20. a rest room in a service station 21. a street that leads to your home or school 22. your favorite food 23. the inside of a spaceship 24. the scene at a concert or athletic event 25. an art exhibit

D: Narration Essay Topics

1. a memorable wedding or funeral 2. one minute of a football game (or other sporting event) 3. your first day at a new school or college 4. your first day at a new job 5. your last day on a job 6. a disastrous date 7. a moment of failure or success 8. an encounter that changed your life 9. an experience that led to renewed faith 10. a strange job interview 11. an experience that demonstrated how labor-saving devices can be more trouble than they're worth 12. an experience that left you disillusioned

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13. an embarrassing experience 14. a frightening experience 15. a memorable journey 16. an encounter with someone or something you were afraid of 17. an occasion when you experienced rejection 18. your first visit to the country (or to a large city) 19. the breakup of a friendship 20. an experience that showed how we should be careful of what we wish for 21. a significant misunderstanding 22. a dangerous experience 23. an experience that showed how appearances can be deceiving 24. an account of a difficult decision that you had to make 25. an event that marked a turning point in your life

General lay out of your essay should be like the example below.

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INTRODUCTION

(Introduce thesis statement here) 6-7 statements

BODY

(Introduce topic sentence 1) 8-10 statements

BODY

(Introduce topic sentence 2) 8-10 statements

BODY

(Introduce topic sentence 3) 8-10 statements

CONCLUSION

(Wrap up and do not introduce new points) 6-7 statements

Article Assignment Sample One:

DESCRITIVE ESSAY

A CELL PHONE

Cell phones have evolved since past 5 years. Now cell phones are just not a tool to keep in touch with friends and family but a gadget to stay connected to the World. Today, even a small cheap cell phone comes with the features of wireless internet and digital application stores through which one can never get bored. It’s a 12 inch complete package of entertainment.

In particular, the new arrival of the Android software has been proved as a revolution in the cell phones’ market. It’s a virtual store with over 10,000 of amazing mobile applications and software. All kinds of applications are easily downloaded from this market by a single click. It’s full of exciting games, you can download game of your favorite category, and they are full touch games. There are some games to increase your I.Q level as well. Besides that photo editors are also available in a big variety which includes photo collages, frame your photos, and color your pictures and adobe photo shop as well. Through these exciting software’s you can make your photos the way you want.

As we all know music soothes the soul. Music player is another important part of all cell phones today. We can save thousands of songs of our choice in our cell phone. We can listen to them either on loud speaker as well as with hands free. Radio also gives us enjoyment of listening songs, we just have to push a button to listen to radio without hands free, wireless radio have given s commoner freedom from attaching hands free in cell phone.

Snap! And our memory is saved forever. Camera is one of the main features of mobile phones. Just take a picture and we don’t even have to wait for another moment as it automatically gets save in the gallery. We can directly upload it on web through cell phone. It’s easy and saves a lot of time unlike digital cameras who first have to be attached with laptops or computers. We can also share it with others through the use of Bluetooth. Blue tooth is free of cost and software which easily shares our stuff with other cell phones.

Easy to carry, easy to operate, low in prices, available in many colors and models with many attractive applications and functions. Cell phones surely are a gift of science for the present era. They are assisting mankind and helping them in communication as well as enjoyment.

Article Assignment Sample Two:

NARRATIVE ESSAY

A MOMENT OF FAILURE

My vacations just started; so I had lots of leisure time to enjoy. I spent first two weeks of my vacations just sleeping and watching television 2 hours of the day. Then, I started getting bored of watching repetitive programs on the television. So, one day I decided to download and watch a movie from the internet. I went to my room and turned out my desktop computer.

I searched the internet for half an hour then I finally found a horror movie that I thought would be great. It was a newly released Hollywood movie and had been in news for being a thrilling horror movie. I browsed a

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website through which I could download the movie. I went to the website and search the movie and clicked the download button. Finally the process of downloading started; hence, started the annoying period of waiting.

The movie was taking too long to be downloaded as it was a big memory movie. As the time was passing, I was getting annoyed and more annoyed. So, I played some songs so that I could enjoy while the movie was being downloaded. This trick really worked; the time flew by while I was listening to the music. And the movie was half way downloaded.

After few more minutes the movie was nearly 80% downloaded and I took of sigh of sigh of relieve and said to myself “just few more minutes”. Suddenly, my mom cried out to me and said there is only 15 minutes left. First I could not understand what my mother was saying, so I asked her. My mother replied, “The electricity is going to fail in 15 minutes”. The moment I heard it my heart just sank. I wished with all my heart and soul that the downloading be completed in the next 15 minutes.

Every passing minute built more tension. After 7 minutes, the downloading had reached to 90%. By that time I was quite sure that the downloading would be completed and I was very glad about it. Unfortunately, when there was just 4% of remaining downloading, the internet’s speed slowed down. My heart beat rose. I was just praying that the downloading would complete within time.

Finally, there was just 2% of downloading remaining but there was just 1 minute left for the power failure. Alas! The electricity was gone, when there was just 1% remaining. The movie did not download and I was just furious but more than that I was just sad about the moment of failure.

Article Assignment Sample Three:

COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY

THE TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID AND THE CAMRY SEDAN

Cars have become a luxury more than a need. People now want better features and high quality models of new cars. This increasing demand of new and improved cars has leaded the company to produce more cars and new models. Every year new models and cars are introduced. In the same fashion a well known cars manufacturing company Toyota introduced Toyota Camry and Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Toyota Camry is the seventh generation car and in every five year it is redesigned since from 1982.  Toyota claims that the new Camry is not only the current bestselling midsize sedan, but also the safest, quietest, and most fuel-efficient. Camry brought about a sharper look, notably improved the interior quality and improved its driving dynamics. On the other hand, the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid stays the course, but gains a few features that enhance convenience, safety and cabin ambience. For those entire qualities hybrid being sluggish in the name of fuel conservation. The Camry hybrid has brisk acceleration with high fuel economy.

When outfitted with a dual-clutch transmission, the sedan earns EPA ratings of 30 city/40 highway and 34 combined, which is a closer opponent with the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid's. So both the cars have efficient EPA ratings and due to the same reason these cars also attract a lot of customers. Furthermore the fuel consumption is rarely same with high efficiency of pick up skills definitely. Both the cars gives high fuel efficiency and also accommodate with a reliable engine.

On the other hand, these cars are also dissimilar from one another. For instance, in new hybrids the exchange of early battery with lead acid conversions by Cal Cars has demonstrated 10 miles of effective mileage and 20 miles of double mileage range. Moreover now it have 35 miles of electric range. In contrast, the Camry sedan does not provide its user with such effective mileage as it is not accommodated with batteries by Cal Cars. Furthermore Camry hybrid has a far better stylish outlook the Camry sedan with more comfortable inner body.

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This is the same reality that plagues most hybrids which is now leaving merchants lots at record rates in five variant versions. So it's safe to assume this metric isn't a top consideration among hybrid buyers. But the Avalon isn’t a prior. It's a modern, competent luxury sedan that just happens to benefit from an effective hybrid power train. And in this regard it should draw buyers from both wells. Yes, you will definitely not have to hesitate to pay for that car and never feel any regrets. This is combination of complete family and for youngster, a sports car as per their desire for being so speedy always.

References:http://www.carquotes.com/toyota/camry/2012/4dr_sdn_i4_auto_se_sport_/reviewArticle Assignment Sample Four:

CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY

WHY SOME STUDENTS CHEAT

Cheating is a great offense done by a lot of students these days. According to students they have now found a new way to minimize the pressure and effort of getting good grades. In fact these days’ students are being creative when it comes to the method of cheating during an examination or a test. They use different methods like peer reviewing during a test, or carrying cheat sheets or even carrying a cell phone in the examination hall. But the question that rises here is that why some students actually cheat.

The answer to the question is rather easy. There are many reasons for a student to cheat. First and foremost that the student is not fully prepared for the examination. They want ace to the test but they also do not want to work hard to achieve this goal. So they pick up the easy way, so they cheat on tests. Cheating is far easier than studying hard. So students think cheating as a better option to get good grades on tests.

One other reason for cheating is that the students want to maintain their good image in front of the teachers but are not fully confident about their capabilities. Sometimes students are good in studies but they are so afraid of not getting good grades that they decide to cheat on a test. Unfortunately this is a bitter truth. The pressure that builds up during the test sometimes leads the students to the wrong path and even though the students knows the answer but he becomes so afraid of writing the wrong answer that he starts to cheat.

Furthermore, some students just are not interested in studying; they just want the degree or diploma. They have no interest whatsoever about the studies, they just aim to get the degree and then a good job. So such types of students are not even bothered about studying anything at any point of time, they just cheat to get at least minimal passing marks and they are more than happy with their low grades.

But students do not understand the negative impact of cheating. Heating does not only embrace dishonesty in a person’s mind but also leads to disgrace and humiliation. Cheating is considered a crucial offense in a person’s educational career and the students who cheat are not very popular in the eyes of the teachers. Moreover, students do not learn anything so they face a lot of problems during their professional career because they just have the degree not the knowledge.

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