Writing Master

Preparing to Write about a Visual

2011-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Writing a story is always a great idea to begin with, simply because that's the start of a creative personality. A few years ago, one of my well wisher told me that spending 1 hour a day practicing free hand writing makes a person smart and mentally healthy. Since that day I have been spending at least an hour browsing through the internet and coming across different picture which I could draft in to a story. Overtime this practice has helped me overcome my hesitation while talking in English and has also help me with my general knowledge. Why general knowledge you might asked? That's because you can write a story without having a little background information. So let's begin, to start writing a new story from a visual elements, you need to analyze the picture than interpret what it means, research and collect as much information as possible and finally write a critique on your finding and also on your interpretation of the picture. Here is an how it is done:

Analysis:

· Cause and Effect and compare and contrast.

· The purpose of the image is to inform us about the problems that are caused to our environment by producing factory smoke and also by the cigarette smoke.

· The man smoking is equivalent to the factory chimney on the landscape.

· It is possible that the artist is an environmentalist and he wants to persuade the observer by informing them about the crisis we cause to the world we live in.

Interpretation:

· People should try to stop smoking if they can not stop the factories around them.

· The visual only shows the face of the man smoking and the chimney of the factory blurred in the background so that we can give importance to the face and the chimney and the cigarette in the shape of a chimney.

· The image can be found on the website: http://blaklitegraphics.deviantart.com/art/Fight-Global-Warming-Poster-1b-100726523

Synthesis

· Read a lot of books that discuss the similar issue where the image is persuading the viewer by informing them about the causes and the effects.

· I have been to environmental campaigns during the high school where we schools all over the Dubai gather in one particular school and celebrate Green day.

Critique:

· The artist main aim as I said may be is to compare the cigeratte smoke with the factory smoke

· The main aim is achieved because of the image that has such a strong foreground compared to its background.

· Artist is trying to persuade all those who smoke to stop the activity as soon as possible as this is affecting the mother earth.

When to use Has, Had or Have?

2011-09-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

First, you have to make sure that you understand the tense that you are using. For example; If you use has alone it is referring to the "third person" and saying that that person possesses something.
(She has a beautiful car.)
When we use have we are either talking about ourselves or the general idea of possessing something
(I have a great husband. It would be nice to have a bigger house).
Had on the other hand is referring to something that was possessed in the past...but not now.
(I had a good job...but now I don't).
Generally speaking the only difference is the time frame or tense that you need to use and also who is being referred to.

Here are some more examples to help you see the difference.

Have

I have a great job.
I have an Oxford dictionary.
I have blue eyes.
I have a great boss.

Has

She has a horrible job.
He has the biggest oxford dictionary.
She has green eyes.
He has a mean boss.

Had

I had a great job before the economic crisis. Now I am unemployed.
He had an Oxford dictionary but someone stole it last week.
I had blue eyes when I was born but they changed to brown when I was two years old.
I had a great boss in my old company.

When to use Their or There?

2011-05-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

Again, there are many among us who find themselves in a situation when they simply do not know when to use 'their' or 'there' while writing an article. This is again due to homonyms which confuses the writer. So here is a quick briefing on how and when to use these to words correctly.

Their
Their is the third person plural possessive adjective, used to describe something as belong to them. Their is nearly always followed by a noun.

Where is their car?
Are these their pens?
Their books are on the table.
This is their room and this is ours.
What happened to their dog?
Their being here is causing some problems.

There
There has several different uses.
1. Adverb that means the opposite of "here"

He's over there.
Stop right there.
Do you want to sit here or there?

2. Pronoun that introduces a noun or clause.

There is something strange going on.
Is there a phone?

3. Adjective that emphasizes which person.

That guy there seems to be in trouble.
Those there look good.

4. Noun that means "that place."
From there, we drove to Boston.
I'm not going in there!

When to use Affect or Effect?

2011-05-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

When I was learning English, I always found myself struggling when to use Effect or Affect while writing an article. Many beginners falls into this difficulty. So here is an article I found in yourDictionary.com which briefly describes the difference between the two types and when to use these words while writing.

Affect

In order to understand the correct situation in which to use the word affect or effect, the first thing one must do is have a clear understanding of what each word means. According to yourDictionary.com, the word Affect means:

To have an influence on or cause a change in: Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar.
To act on the emotions of; touch or move.
To attack or infect, as a disease: Rheumatic fever can affect the heart.

Effect

The word effect has a different meaning. Here is the meaning according to yourDictionary.com:

Something brought about by a cause or agent; a result.
The power to produce an outcome or achieve a result; influence: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain. The government's action had no effect on the trade imbalance.
A scientific law, hypothesis, or phenomenon: the photovoltaic effect. |
Advantage; avail: used her words to great effect in influencing the jury.
The condition of being in full force or execution: a new regulation that goes into effect tomorrow.
Something that produces a specific impression or supports a general design or intention: The lighting effects emphasized the harsh atmosphere of the drama.
A particular impression: large windows that gave an effect of spaciousness.
Production of a desired impression: spent lavishly on dinner just for effect.
The basic or general meaning; import: He said he was greatly worried, or words to that effect.

Grammar Rules for Affect and Effect

Now that we have the two definitions, how do we know which word to use? Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind:
1. If you are talking about a result, then use the word "effect."

Example: What effect did the loss have on the team?

2. It is appropriate to use the word "effect" if one of these words is used immediately before the word: into, on, take, the, any, an, or and.

Example: The prescribed medication had an effect on the patient's symptoms.
Example: In analyzing a situation, it is important to take the concepts of cause and effect into consideration.

3. If you want to describe something that was caused or brought about, the right word to use is effect.

Example: The new manager effected some positive changes in the office. (This means that the new manager caused some positive changes to take place in the office.)

4. Affect can be used as a noun to describe facial expression.

Example: The young man with schizophrenia had a flat affect.
Example: The woman took the news of her husband's sudden death with little affect.

5. Affect can also be used as a verb. Use it when trying to describe influencing someone or something rather than causing it.

Example: How does the crime rate affect hiring levels by local police forces?
Example: The weather conditions will affect the number of people who come to the county fair this year.

How to write a Critical Response?

2011-05-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of how to write a critical response. Critical response writing is a way of expressing your view point to your audience. It can be a positive reply or negative but the ideas you put forward should make sense and should be constructive. You need to tell the audience why you disagree or agree with the author. You need to be concise and to the point. You need to take care of the important points and avoid unnecessary details. I read an article a while back which was on video games, try googling for this article, its a must read, if you are interested in knowing the potentials of video games.

According to the article “Can Video Games be good for Kids?” the author points out that obesity is the major concern among children in the United States. The article suggests that unlike video games, physical exercise is not very popular among children as compared to parents. Taking this into account, researchers have turned towards video games for a possible solution to the fight against obesity. The study was conducted on the effect of “active video games”; this involves physical interaction of the players with the gaming environment, as compared to the more common passive games which involve sitting in front of a screen. The study shows that time spent playing active games “results in meaningful increases in energy expenditures and heart rate compared with the seated screen environments”. Despite the need for more conclusive case studies on the length of time needed for children to spend on these active games, researchers believe that the active gaming approach could control and perhaps even prevent child obesity. Whether children favor active gaming over passive video games still remains to be seen but the author feels compelled by the fact that parents will now have an option to consider when they are buying video games for their children.

I was indulged in to this article because unlike other articles it doesn’t accuse video games for spreading destructive messages among children but instead focuses on the fact that this new form of entertainment could open endless possibilities which could be used for the betterment of society. I was very impressed by the research that was mentioned in the article that active video games could be used to control and prevent obesity in children. Although, this research is old since many in the past had abandoned the study due to lack of funding but now due to the presence of home based arcade system such as Nintendo WII, which is an active gaming platform, many technology experts believe that such video gaming consoles could revolutionize our society since such system could simulate the natural environment and allow individuals to interact with the games realistically. In the past, these active games were only available in the Arcade parlor but due to advancement of technology which leads to better portability of the devices, any home based entertainment system could be made in to an active gaming system. After reading this article, I strongly believe that video games could educate children or train them by providing friendly and entertaining environment.

Earth Hours Award

2011-05-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

As you all are aware, we celebrate Earth Hour every year on 27th of March. This event is a contribution to the decrease in the consumption of water and electricity worldwide. Earth Hour is a call for global action to individuals and business to switch off electrical equipments and lights for one hour in an attempt to spread awareness regarding global warming and the moderate consumption of natural resources.

More than 4000 cities took part officially in this event in 88 world countries including Pakistan. Yes Pakistan! If you don't believe me then visit www.earthhour.org. Participants switched off the lights in these countries as part of their support for Earth Hour.

If there is any such thing as “Earth Hour Award” than I would like to nominate my country for this award. Compare to all other countries, Pakistan is a true contender and worthy for Earth Hour Award, all thanks to its strong and gallant political will-power and leadership. Why and how you ask? Let me take a deep breath and explain.

Ever since independence, that is 1947. Pakistani leaders have been preparing their fellow citizen for the unforeseeable energy disaster. One after another we saw numerous magnetic personalities who devoted their energy and spend countless night in the hope of coming up with a sadistic policy that would help Pakistanis in the long run. Ultimately, a plan was put forward that was so awe-inspiring that lesser mind do not fully comprehend its potential and world’s greatest mind are still baffled by it.

Under the guiding hand of some all knowing nutcracker, Project “NOT 4 YOU” was passed by the Pakistani parliament, right after a military coup, although Parliament do not function under army coup but it happened. The aim of the project was to keep Pakistanis away from basic necessity of life like water, electricity and so on, only to prepare them for the unforeseen future without energy. It was a tough and impossible decision but eventually the plan worked. Now Pakistanis no longer use electricity, at least not in Pakistan. Citizens of developed nation celebrate Earth Hours once a year but Pakistani spend 350/365 days a year (excluding leap year) celebrating Earth Hours. That’s more than any country in the world had ever care for the environment. Because of this, lifestyle in Pakistan is completely different when compare to the rest of the world. For instance, you might be wondering that since there is no electricity, people would actually save a lot of money but you would be wrong in your assessment. Pakistanis LOVE paying bills even if they don’t use electricity, water etc. They will pay anyone’s bill, your bill, my bill, your neighboring countries bill; you got my point, right?

Project “NOT 4 YOU” had a great impact on Pakistani society and way of life too which had me and people in Pakistan so confused that concerned parent and grandma/grandpa no longer blame TV for destroying their country’s culture because TV runs on electricity which Pakistani do not have. What surprise me the most is why would you need a TV if you don’t have electricity? I don’t know! Some of the most noticeable impact of this policy on Pakistani society is that THIVES do not steal at night because of pitch black darkness anymore (in fact they do it in broad day light) and most importantly Young lovers, who spend hours talking with one another or walking hours together holding hands under the dreamy starry night sky, do not recognize each others in broad day light!!

Pakistan deserves an award from U.N. for being so rigorous in its policy to protect the environment. Through good and hardworking leadership Pakistanis are now expert in living in harsh conditions. If “NASA” ever decides to send manned mission to Mars then they should consider sending a Pakistani. Therefore, I urge you all to spread the word and nominate Pakistan for “Earth Hour Award”. Feel free to share your thoughts on this issue. Long live Pakistan.

I am BACK!!!

2011-05-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Good Morning ladies and Gentlemen:

Yes, I was gone for a very long time and I was unable to update this blog. I was in a financial crisis and felt very lonely and sad, I had lost all my motivation to continue writing in this blog but I am back now and I hope to continue writing for my peeps. In these past few months, I had learned a great deal of story telling technique. I will share my articles, essay and short story with you all hoping that by adopting my writing style, at least, you might be able to start producing an effective documents.

So wish you all Good luck and hope to see you here again.

Another Casualty of the BP Oil Spill

2010-07-22T01:53:00.001-07:00

Another Casualty of the B.P. Oil Spill

I found a very interesting picture on the net. Those of you who are not following news at all should know that oil spill in Gulf of Mexico has threaten lives of various maritime specifics, including Aquaman, who is a super hero. When I first saw this image, I immediately burst in to laughter because I simply could not digest myself seeing a superhero killed by British Petroleum...LMAO. Anyhow, I would like you all to post a story behind this image, similar to the one I post a couple of days ago. Happy posting.

Writing a funny article [Sarcasm in article]

2010-07-22T01:52:00.001-07:00

We all love to read funny articles. Let's face it, nothing refreshes you more than reading a funny excerpt from a article. When we were in school we all wanted to write an article or story that sound funny and smart, simply because we want to share with others our sense of humor. Its a fact that as soon as we start writing, we find ourselves buried in confusion and by the end of the day we realize that our article/story doesn't sound funny anymore. This is when we usually gives up, we need to have an incentive to write, right?

Here is one example of writing that I experimented with a long time ago. A long time ago while surfing the net I came across an image (as shown below), which shows the condition comic superheroes/heroines has fallen into after the global economic recession. I don't know what struck me but I was very impressed by this image and hence started writing a small article detailing what might happen to our comic superheroes that might have led to there downfall.

How do you start writing like this?

Do a bit of a research before writing. Get your facts right. Nothing is more funnier than the truth. in my case , I like read comics therefore it was easier for me to search for the exact name of the person I am writing about, get a bit of his/her background, education etc. Try to make your article as authentic as possible
Refer to as many sources as possible. Note down everything that comes to you mind on a piece of paper
Make drafts. It is always a good idea to make drafts. Keep in mind even professional writers also like to keep at least 3 draft. Third draft being the final draft. Writing draft helps you edit and improve you ideas and also help you make you article coherent.
Apply your imagination. Write on a piece of paper whatever comes in your mind, Good, Bad and Ugly. whether it will end up in the final draft or not is entirely up to you but this way you have all the ideas that you would need in order to produce an effective article.
Believe in yourself. Don't be afraid to experiment. Even Scientist do experiments thousands of time just to reach to a perfect solution.

Here is the article I wrote long time ago:

I recently saw a picture over the internet, which happens to show our super heroes begging for food and work, courtesy of Global Recession. I saw Captain American heating himself from what appears to be a garbage bin with Human Torch inside. What cracked me up was that Spider man was standing on the corner of the bench on which Batman was sitting without his shoes and broken tooth accompanied by drunk Superman. Spiderman was holding a banner in his hand “Will fight crime 4 food”. I was very impressed by this picture so I thought I should try test my writing skill.

Yes, the global economic recessions are spread so far that even the comic book heroes are not saved. Conditions there are so bleak that our heroes cannot fight crimes and work at the same time. Let us look at one of our superhero’s daily routine and try to analyze what factors would play a major role in his downfall. I’ll focus on Peter Parker a.k.a Spiderman because...humm…well, he’s a teenager and a college student like us or most of us.

For starters, our favorite neighborhood superhero “Peter Parker a.k.a. Spiderman” is just a brilliant science whiz teenager who had to independently teach himself that “with great power comes great responsibility” after being bitten by genetically engineered spider. Current economic recession would be too harsh for “Spidey” simply because apart from fighting crime, he is also pursuing his degree in Empire University, the same university where most of the superheroes/villains graduated from( I seriously need to go there for Masters). When I first began reading Spiderman comic books, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone could earn enough from freelancing job (photography) and be able to pay off his university fees and apartment rents at the same time. This question haunted me for years than finally after taking economic 201/202 in university. I figured that he could have taken student loans to support his education, which clearly means that he is already under debt to begin with. Apart from paying off his education debt, he also needs to pay off his rents, eat to survive and have to spend some money on Mary Jane in order to keep her happy too. But current economic crisis would not let Peter Parker from making ends meet. Daily Bugle, the leading newspaper “Spidey” is freelancing for, could heavily be affected by the economic crisis. As the paper rate increases, Daily Bugle would have no option other than switching from traditional newspaper to electronic newspapers, this is what Washington Post and New York Times had being doing ever since recession struck. This would translate into reducing staff force, which also means freelancers have to say “BYE BYE”. Maybe a new CEO could take over and decides to fire all freelancer from the company based on the assumption that it’s not difficult to take picture of Spiderman hoping from roof top, since half of the population knows their hero; all you need is a mobile with 3 Megapixel camera and a steady hand to take photo shots. All in all, this will devastate Spidey’s life forever, he will have no work, no hideout and won’t have Mary Jane, his only love (superhero or not, no woman would prefer living with a financially broke). Therefore, Instead of fighting crime for Justice, our hero will fight crime for food. This is what happens when you hand over the world to Graduates of “School of Business Studies”. If you enjoyed this article than next time I’ll focus my attention to other remaining heroes.

Hope you had a great time.

Assignment: Chose a character from the picture and write an article. If you want to share with us than post the article on the site. I would be very happy to see you result.

Welcome

2010-07-22T01:50:00.000-07:00

Salam, Hi, Salut, Gotentag,

And welcome to "Writing Master". As you are all aware writing an article or making a proposal in English language is not an easy task especially if English is your 2nd Language. We need to take care of the grammar, spelling etc. Therefore, in order to produce an effective document it is necessary to strengthen our basic. The purpose of this blog is to show our reader how to produce an effective document and what things should be kept in mind when writing any document. I believe in learning by examples, therefore, I will be posting as many example as possible. One way of learning is by replicating. Please keep in mind that by replication I do not mean plagiarism. By replication I mean that you should read the examples/document and try to adopt the same writing style and only by practicing can you be able to make yourself a distinctive style and would be able to distinguish between different writing formats to produce an effective document.

I guess that would be enough for today, make full use of this blog and if anything arises leave you command and I will try to respond as soon as possible. All the best and God speed.