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00:00:27Thank you for joining us.
00:00:30For a perfect cup of tea, Shalimar Shef, Guru Masala, Jiburi Rashul Shad.
00:01:00And we have Mrs. Trina Dasgupta from Gordana High School and she is going to take your class today. Welcome
00:01:06ma'am.
00:01:07And on the other side of the television set, the students, you can call us if you have any kind
00:01:14of doubts, questions and queries related to today's topic.
00:01:18Feel free to call. The phone number is being displayed on the television screen.
00:01:23Now ma'am, how are you going to start your class today?
00:01:26First of all, thank you for the kind introduction.
00:01:30I am going to talk about two topics today as you very correctly said.
00:01:34The argumentative essay and email.
00:01:37But I would like to state right at the start, the beginning, that this class is primarily meant for classes
00:01:449 and 10.
00:01:46Those studying for the ICSC.
00:01:49So, let's switch over. Let's begin without further ado children.
00:01:53We are going to start with the argumentative essay.
00:01:56And I can see the subtopics have already been written on the board ma'am.
00:02:00That's right. Absolutely. Those are the topics we are going to deal with.
00:02:04And we will begin with the first of the two, argumentative essay.
00:02:08Okay ma'am. So, let's proceed.
00:02:11So, let us begin.
00:02:13So, children, an argumentative essay is a lot, if you look at it, like a debate.
00:02:21It involves strategic planning, cleverly thought out strategies, a lot of good thoughts, logical arguments put into a format.
00:02:34If you think of our grand chess master Vishwanathan Anand, you would know that a lot of his chess moves
00:02:46were made with critical thinking and planning done from before.
00:02:52So, how do we write an argumentative essay which brings in these elements of planning and critical thinking?
00:03:02The first thing you need to remember is, everything has to be put in within a structure.
00:03:09Now, your composition is constricted or rather you have the liberty of writing up to 300 to 350 words.
00:03:20350 words.
00:03:22Now, how do you calculate whether you have written 300 and 350 words?
00:03:27300 or 350 words?
00:03:29All right.
00:03:30So, the way you need to do this is, you can go to any old exercise book of yours, open
00:03:38it, and what you do is, count the number of words you have written on every line.
00:03:44Or take one line and count the number of words on that line.
00:03:48Then what you do is, you count the number of lines in the page.
00:03:54What happens next?
00:03:55So, you've got the number of words on a line, maybe five words, and then you have the number of
00:04:02lines on the page, which could be, let's say, 20.
00:04:06So, you multiply the two.
00:04:09Five into 20, 100 words per page.
00:04:12So, now you know that in order to write 300 words, you will have to write three sides.
00:04:19Or in order to write 350 words, you will have to write approximately three sides and a half page.
00:04:26Easy?
00:04:26So, if you do that in advance, you know how much space you are going to be covering for the
00:04:33300 to 350 words.
00:04:35Okay?
00:04:36Easy.
00:04:37Now, the next thing is that you have to get into a logical, well-constructed structure.
00:04:44Imagine a building.
00:04:46A beautiful building.
00:04:49The most beautiful building will fall down, crumble where it stands, unless there is a strong structure.
00:04:56Right?
00:04:57A strong framework.
00:04:58So, what you need to do is, you need to plan well.
00:05:03You need to plan in advance so that you have a logical sequence of ideas.
00:05:10The next thing is that you have to keep in mind that using correct style and format, all these points
00:05:18will be covered in detail today.
00:05:20You will then arrive at a conclusion.
00:05:23All right?
00:05:24So, we are going to go on to the next part.
00:05:28Of this presentation.
00:05:30Put simply, what have I said so far?
00:05:35First of all, we need to examine the ideas in the topic.
00:05:40The topic is given to you.
00:05:42You will look at it carefully, read it carefully.
00:05:46There are always two or three words or ideas that pop out at you, that stand out.
00:05:53So, we need to examine those ideas very, very carefully.
00:05:58Once we have read the essay carefully and understood those ideas, we have actually understood how to take the argument
00:06:07forward.
00:06:09Because, we will then know which stand to take.
00:06:14Are we going to write in favor of the topic?
00:06:16Have we understood and agree with the topic?
00:06:19Or do we write against it?
00:06:21Once we know what we want to do, we can persuade others, in this case the reader, maybe your teacher,
00:06:29to react to what you are writing.
00:06:32To be persuaded round to your point of view.
00:06:36So, now, we are looking at the topics themselves that we are going to be working with today.
00:06:44So, the first topic that you see in bold on the screen is, the best things in life are free.
00:06:51And look at your hint.
00:06:53The words are given there.
00:06:55Give your views for or against this statement.
00:06:59So, I have underlined the or to make it clear that you have to write one thing or the other.
00:07:07Before you elaborate, I need to interrupt you because there is a student named Anish from Bangalore.
00:07:14So, he is on the phone line and he has some queries to make clear.
00:07:18Yes, Anish.
00:07:20Go on.
00:07:21Good morning, ma'am.
00:07:22I'm Anish.
00:07:23Good morning, Anish.
00:07:24Do tell me.
00:07:25My question is that, suppose we are writing an essay.
00:07:29Yes.
00:07:30And we run out of ID ads.
00:07:33Alright.
00:07:34Is that your question?
00:07:35Yes.
00:07:36How do we proceed from there?
00:07:38Alright.
00:07:38So, Anish, it's very, very important that you plan in advance.
00:07:44Like I spoke about the building where you have a framework.
00:07:47So, part of your planning and you need to make time, give yourself time to do that.
00:07:53In fact, I would advise you to take one or two minutes to read the topic and to let those
00:07:59ideas come in.
00:08:00And then maybe you can put down your ideas.
00:08:03I'm going to deal with a number of ideas very soon after and you'll find that it's not as daunting
00:08:09or difficult as you might think.
00:08:11So, actually, ideas, it's more important how well you place the ideas.
00:08:17Alright.
00:08:18Even with one or two, you can make it a very strong argument and win your case.
00:08:23That means, madam, whether you construct a building or construct an essay, you must have a crystal clear idea of
00:08:30the topic and planning.
00:08:32A foolproof planning should be there.
00:08:34Excellent.
00:08:35That's right, ma'am.
00:08:35Absolutely right, sir.
00:08:37I'm sure you were one of my students earlier.
00:08:40Beautifully put because I seem to have conveyed it and you have picked it up even before I have, literally.
00:08:45Thank you so much.
00:08:47Hope that answers Anish's question and we will go on with the presentation.
00:08:52Okay.
00:08:52So, as I said, if we look at the topic, the best things in life are free.
00:08:59You have to give your views for or against this statement.
00:09:03You will see on the screen that we have put up another topic.
00:09:07Closed circuit television, CCTV must be installed in every classroom.
00:09:12Give your views again, either for or against.
00:09:15Now, that, children, is a lovely set of questions for you.
00:09:19It's actually four topics.
00:09:21If you look at the for and against, it's actually for and against, for and against.
00:09:26So, four topics you can deal with.
00:09:28Today, we are primarily going to deal with the best things in life are free.
00:09:33But I'll also talk about the best things in life not being free for the introduction part of it.
00:09:39So, we are now going to look at how to analyze these topics.
00:09:48Now, as I said earlier, when we have a topic, it's clearly there in your question paper.
00:09:55First, you read and as you read, you let the words or ideas in the topic pop out at you.
00:10:03Alright?
00:10:04So, here in the topic, the best things in life are free.
00:10:08You actually have two sets of ideas.
00:10:11In one basket, you can put the best things in life.
00:10:15And in the other basket, you can put the word free.
00:10:22Already, ideas would be coming into your head on reading this topic.
00:10:27What you need to do is establish the relation between the two.
00:10:31The best things in life and the concept of it being free.
00:10:35How can the best things in life be free?
00:10:39So, we are going to look at how that can be done.
00:10:43If you have understood what the argument or topic wants to say,
00:10:47we can actually now go into how to analyze and look at the introduction.
00:10:53How to start the topic itself with your understanding clear.
00:11:01The introduction is what we are going to do next.
00:11:05Alright?
00:11:06So,
00:11:07I need to interrupt once more, ma'am.
00:11:09Yes.
00:11:10Because another student is there on the phone line.
00:11:12Vaidya Kaira is there from Mumbai.
00:11:14Yes, Vaidya.
00:11:15Go on.
00:11:15So, you know, I have a doubt in what do you mean the well-constructed argument.
00:11:23Right.
00:11:24Okay.
00:11:25So, that's a very, very valid question.
00:11:27And I will be dealing with it today.
00:11:30Well-constructed means well-built.
00:11:32So, see, you have 300 to 350 words.
00:11:36You are not writing a novel.
00:11:38So, you don't have the luxury of time.
00:11:40You have to make every single one of those 300 words speak for you.
00:11:46Get you those marks.
00:11:47Be effective.
00:11:48Right.
00:11:49So, the way is that you have to logically construct it with introduction, body, conclusion.
00:11:57Like any other composition.
00:12:00So, it's like you're looking at a human body.
00:12:03Alright?
00:12:04A face of a person coming towards you.
00:12:07If the person comes towards you with a smile, your attention will be arrested.
00:12:13You will look at that person and perhaps be interested or like what you're seeing.
00:12:19Once you like what you're seeing, you are going to want to know more about the person.
00:12:24Why is he or she smiling at you?
00:12:26Is it someone you know?
00:12:28Someone you've met earlier?
00:12:30An argumentative essay is a lot like that.
00:12:33We will need a hook.
00:12:37Something to garner interest in the reader.
00:12:41So, the way we do the introduction, which is like the face of the person coming towards you.
00:12:48Like the head of a tree, let's say, is the introductory bit.
00:12:52And then we get into the body, which would be the trunk of the tree or the body of the
00:12:56person.
00:12:57And then, of course, the feet, the conclusion.
00:13:00Without the feet, of course, you would topple over.
00:13:02Right?
00:13:03So, that is what a well-constructed essay is all about.
00:13:06Introduction, body, conclusion.
00:13:08So, we're going to do the introduction now.
00:13:11Right?
00:13:11And for the introduction, what we need is a hook.
00:13:16So, what is a hook here?
00:13:18A hook is something designed to capture interest.
00:13:23There are many ways to write interesting introductions.
00:13:28I have given you three examples.
00:13:31It could be an anecdote.
00:13:33It could be a startling statistic.
00:13:36Or it could be a simple explanation of the problem.
00:13:40That is also equally effective.
00:13:43Don't use flowery language.
00:13:45Don't worry about all that.
00:13:47You just need something which will make the reader feel that, wow, there's something in this essay that I need
00:13:55to read.
00:13:56And there's something about this child which is interesting, the way of thinking.
00:14:01Right?
00:14:02The next thing that needs to be done in the introduction is that you will introduce your essay topic.
00:14:10So, you've put in something at the beginning like an anecdote which is like a short, simple, interesting story.
00:14:18Usually based on real-life incidents or something which could be real, realistic.
00:14:24So, short, like a very, very short story.
00:14:27Or a statistic.
00:14:29And you need to be sure that your statistics are correct.
00:14:31Don't just make up figures out of the blue.
00:14:34Avoid otherwise.
00:14:35Or the simple explanation.
00:14:37Then what you're doing is, you're introducing the essay topic and stating your stance.
00:14:44Which means, are you going to write for the topic, in favor or against.
00:14:52Once you have put these two elements into place in the introduction, you will be able to move smoothly into
00:14:59the body or the next part of the argument.
00:15:02So, now what we're going to look at is examples.
00:15:06Okay, ma'am, I have a query.
00:15:08Yes.
00:15:08Of course, our students are there to ask their questions, but I also have a query.
00:15:12Of course.
00:15:13The question is that students are well aware of debates.
00:15:16Yes.
00:15:17Thanks to the news channels.
00:15:18Yes.
00:15:18Now, debates, you are discussing argumentary bases.
00:15:23So, argumentary bases are similar to debates or there is a little bit of subtle difference between the two?
00:15:29Okay, so that's a very good question, sir.
00:15:32Yes, debates and arguments are very, very close to each other.
00:15:36Debates have certain structural features which are a little different in the sense that the topic is called the motion.
00:15:44Then, you know, everybody dealing with the topic or the topic itself is put into this place called the house.
00:15:50So, we say the house believes and then you name the motion.
00:15:53So, there are a few structural differences.
00:15:56You don't have to use complete sentences.
00:15:58Of course, you have your eyes and your facial expression and you can, you know, there's a lot of thunder
00:16:04and lightning when debaters are on stage or behind the camera in a television studio.
00:16:10In an argumentative essay, you have to really know your words well.
00:16:16You have to use those words effectively.
00:16:18It's the same concept that you are introducing.
00:16:22You're putting forth arguments like you would in a debate and you are trying to persuade your reader to come
00:16:31round to your point of view.
00:16:33To try to persuade him that you are right.
00:16:37So, yes, in that way, a debate and an argumentative essay are absolutely the same.
00:16:43Okay.
00:16:43It's just the written form.
00:16:46And it has also been seen that when there is a debate specifically on a political issue, there are two
00:16:54parties, two opponents and they have their own ideas, own thoughts, own sayings.
00:17:01When students will deal with, students are going to deal with argumentative essays, can they argue both sides of the
00:17:09topic?
00:17:10Absolutely not.
00:17:12This again is an excellent question.
00:17:13I will be dealing with this later on.
00:17:15It's very, very imperative that you stay with one.
00:17:19See, we are reasonable people.
00:17:21We can always understand what the other point of view will be.
00:17:24But in this case, since students, you only have 300 to 350 words to write in.
00:17:30It's not only really, it's adequate.
00:17:32But you should utilize all 350 words to write your point of view.
00:17:39Put forward your argument strongly.
00:17:41I think that is what is required at this point of view.
00:17:45Because at this stage, because everyone knows the other side, right?
00:17:50You have to win them over, bring them over to your way of thinking.
00:17:55So, make sure you take one stance, write one side and it goes logically.
00:18:03The arguments one after another to the logical conclusion.
00:18:07So, you have already stated it in the introduction and then you go into the body with your arguments and
00:18:14end accordingly.
00:18:14Okay.
00:18:15Ma'am, another one more student is there on the phone line.
00:18:18Sridam Reddy is there.
00:18:19And he has some queries to make it clear.
00:18:22Yes, Sridam, go ahead.
00:18:25I have a doubt, ma'am, that the marks of the compression will be divided according to the content, meaning,
00:18:33right?
00:18:33How to show the expression and meaning in it?
00:18:36All right.
00:18:37So, Sridam, you are actually going to build in your expression and style into the content.
00:18:44It's very important that you read a lot.
00:18:47Read meaning whether it's fiction, non-fiction, whatever interests you.
00:18:51The more you read and perhaps practice writing, you will find that content, style, all become part of the flow,
00:18:59part of the same thing.
00:19:01But what I will deal with a little later also will be things to avoid where you can miss out
00:19:08on marks because of errors.
00:19:10But otherwise, what we require in an argumentative essay is very simple, straightforward language.
00:19:18All right?
00:19:19So, that is what we would be needing.
00:19:21So, can we go into examples of the introduction, please, next?
00:19:25And we will see how to deal with two introductions.
00:19:31The first one is where we are speaking for the topic, in favor of the motion.
00:19:37So, on a sultry day in May, a little girl sits waiting at the doorstep for her daddy to come
00:19:46home.
00:19:47Her father, weary, after a hard day in the evening, seeing her on the doorstep, he ruffles her hair and
00:20:00his face breaks into a smile.
00:20:02The little girl returns the smile.
00:20:06She stands on tiptoe to dab at his face with the handkerchief she clutches in one chubby little hand.
00:20:21Now, here you can see that we've got a little anecdote or a little situation at the beginning.
00:20:28Where you have this little girl waiting for her father to come home.
00:20:32Obviously, I think the thought that would pop into your mind, the idea would be that of the love shared
00:20:39between the two.
00:20:42So, what you're saying is, I contend, which means that I believe, I state with firm conviction, with firm belief
00:20:57that the best things in life are free.
00:21:01So, this will allow you to move smoothly into the body of the letter.
00:21:06I have also done or looked at the other side of the story.
00:21:10This is the second example where we're talking about the huge 1 billion plus population that India has today.
00:21:21So, this is one where you deal with statistics.
00:21:23And in this 1 billion plus population count, the overall literacy rate is a meager 70% of which just
00:21:3640% of Indian adolescents manage to attend secondary school.
00:21:43Does not this go to show that the best things in life are not free, is not education one of
00:21:50the things that are intrinsic to having a good life, intrinsic to what a child wants?
00:21:57If the best things in life were free, we would have a 100% literacy rate.
00:22:03And the World Bank would not have had to commit over $2 billion to the development of education in India.
00:22:14Right?
00:22:15So, here again, we've had the example and we've had the other side, example for the other side, showing that
00:22:23the best things in life are not free.
00:22:25Probably, probably your first point would be that education should be available easily, freely to every child across the nation,
00:22:36across the world, in fact.
00:22:37So, the next thing we're going to do is, having dealt with the introduction, we're going to go into structuring
00:22:43your argument, which is the body of the essay.
00:22:48And here is where I deal with that point, which came up earlier, the query about the points, not having
00:22:55enough of them.
00:22:56In fact, what we see normally, usually, is that you being children and brimming over with excitement and energy and
00:23:04ideas.
00:23:06In fact, in a classroom today, of course, I have many more in my classroom than I normally would have
00:23:11within a small four-walled classroom.
00:23:14But I would have lots and lots of ideas.
00:23:18Now, children, you could write 10, 12, 15, you know, 20 ideas.
00:23:23But the point is, not making a shopping list, not writing out so many ideas.
00:23:30The idea is that you need to pick up four or five points that you feel you can write about.
00:23:38Just four or five points.
00:23:40And then, you develop each of these points.
00:23:46Right?
00:23:47So, what you need to do is, bring each of these points into a separate paragraph.
00:23:55In that paragraph, state the point first and then bring in an example to illustrate.
00:24:03Which means, you can write from your personal experience.
00:24:08You can bring in ideas, anecdotes, something you've read in the newspaper.
00:24:14Something that will contribute to explaining this point and making it stronger.
00:24:22Now, something else that you can do, which I find that many clever writers can do, is introduce humor.
00:24:32Now, even with that first example we have of the introduction, where you have that little child reaching up a
00:24:39chubby little hand to wipe the father's face.
00:24:42Right?
00:24:43Now, here, the humor bit could come in.
00:24:46If you say, of course, we could think of the other chubby little hand creeping into the father's pocket to
00:24:54look for the chocolate,
00:24:56which she knows that he must have brought back for her.
00:25:00Right?
00:25:00Showing that she actually was looking for the chocolate.
00:25:04But then, one can't take away from the love, can one, of that little scene between the two.
00:25:11And the humor part of it, just be a little careful because this is serious content.
00:25:18When you write an argument, it is a serious subject matter.
00:25:24So, you have to deal with it in a manner such that humor introduced does not take away from the
00:25:32seriousness of the subject.
00:25:33In fact, it should not in any way lessen the gravity or the seriousness of your arguments.
00:25:42There should be no jarring note, something which is out of tune.
00:25:46So, only introduce humor if you are very, very sure that you can.
00:25:51But if you can, it is fun.
00:25:54Because the teacher reading it, you will then have established a connect with her, a relationship.
00:26:00The teacher will have a nice little laugh, a good little laugh and think that, okay.
00:26:06So, this reader is so at ease, sorry, this writer is so at ease that he or she can actually
00:26:13share a joke with me.
00:26:14Right?
00:26:15So, we love that.
00:26:17We love to see children having fun with their written work.
00:26:21And that is what creative writing or essays is all about, having fun.
00:26:25Right?
00:26:27Also, you can add statistics, facts or data, of course.
00:26:32But as I said earlier, only if you are very sure of the claims.
00:26:37Which is why in the earlier introduction, I had said around 1 billion or 1 billion plus population.
00:26:45Okay.
00:26:45Around 70% or around 40%.
00:26:51Okay, ma'am.
00:26:52We need to take a quick short break.
00:26:55If you please quickly wrap up, ma'am.
00:26:57All right, absolutely.
00:26:59So, what we can do quickly is, we can just go on to the next slide, which is ideas you
00:27:08can use for your arguments.
00:27:10I'll just read out the ideas and maybe after the break, we'll elaborate a little on this.
00:27:15Sure.
00:27:15So, the ideas you can use for your arguments are love, loyalty and trust, happiness, imagination and the power of
00:27:28creation, and smiles.
00:27:30Which are just like that song which says, they're just like a magic penny.
00:27:36Lend it.
00:27:37Spend it.
00:27:38You'll have so many.
00:27:39We're talking about smiles.
00:27:41Okay.
00:27:42There'll be so many, they'll roll all over the world.
00:27:45A magic penny, which doesn't cost anything, a smile.
00:27:49So, isn't that one of the best things in life?
00:27:52A smile that you can give away and you'll get many more back in return.
00:27:59Okay.
00:28:00So, it's time for a quick short break and within no time, we are coming back.
00:28:04Stay tuned.
00:28:20I'll see you next time.
00:28:27Can we do some chapter-wise question index?
00:28:32Rao Martinez
00:28:34Vigita Shohaika series
00:28:36Vigita Shohaika series
00:28:53Vigita Shohaika series
00:29:08Contribute
00:29:09J medication
00:29:26Also
00:29:57Thank you very much.
00:30:27Welcome back.
00:30:27Ma'am, you were discussing about the ideas of writing and argument in a way.
00:30:32Yes, that's right, sir.
00:30:33So, this is what I would like to elaborate on next.
00:30:36Okay, ma'am.
00:30:37Please.
00:30:37Right.
00:30:37So, basically, children, we were talking about the ideas that you could use in the content
00:30:43or the body part of the essay.
00:30:46So, the ideas were what we had talked about earlier.
00:30:49I just named them at that point.
00:30:50Of course, the first one that pops to mind is love.
00:30:53Love, nothing could be bigger or more obvious in or among the best things in life, basket.
00:31:03So, love.
00:31:04Love, of course.
00:31:05We are talking about love for your family or of your family, friends, community.
00:31:11Love is a word that you can use lots of examples with to illustrate.
00:31:18Loyalty and trust.
00:31:20Now, your loyalty could be towards people, friends, your family again.
00:31:26It could be towards an institution like your loyalty towards your school, your trust and
00:31:32faith in your school that they will help you through your school years.
00:31:35It could be towards an idea.
00:31:37Here, I need to be honest in whatever I do.
00:31:41Right?
00:31:42So, you stick by that idea.
00:31:43It could be love and trust and loyalty towards your country.
00:31:48Happiness.
00:31:49Here's something where you can let yourself, your ideas, just go out and have a real fun
00:31:55time out there because you're going to be imagining things, creating things.
00:31:59Here, you can use another ploy, another strategy of argumentative writing.
00:32:06You can use contrast and comparison.
00:32:10So, what you can do here is you can compare the simple pleasures of life with those that
00:32:20money can buy.
00:32:21Now, if you think of going to a swanky neighborhood mall and looking for maybe a mobile or something
00:32:29expensive to pick up, I would say that probably gives momentary satisfaction for some time.
00:32:36But if you look at the deeper things, where you are actually going out, maybe you're going
00:32:43to the park often.
00:32:44You're going for a walk in the park or if you're lucky, you live in the countryside, maybe out
00:32:49into the countryside, to a forest.
00:32:52You're going for a walk.
00:32:53You're retreating into a corner, a private little corner of your own with a favorite book,
00:32:59a favorite book or an author, just reading.
00:33:02You're playing.
00:33:04You could be baking a cake.
00:33:05The happiness these simple pleasures bring.
00:33:08I think we're discovering a lot of them now in these days.
00:33:13Unparalleled, one would say.
00:33:16Then imagination and the power of creation.
00:33:19Now, here, you can talk about simple things.
00:33:23You could also talk about people like scientists, like Albert Einstein, being able to imagine
00:33:30another dimension.
00:33:32You could talk about Amerigo Vespucci, who you know, imagined that there was another continent
00:33:40and he landed up on the shores of South America and he actually had that continent named after
00:33:48him.
00:33:49Can you imagine the excitement of that moment when he set foot on that land, which was earlier
00:33:57thought to be part of the Asian landmass?
00:34:01Imagine.
00:34:02Imagine.
00:34:02So, you need to imagine and you must have the power to create anything that you like.
00:34:08All that is free.
00:34:09It's there for you inside your heads.
00:34:11Your hands are with you.
00:34:13Just go ahead and create whatever you'd like.
00:34:16And, of course, the words smiles, as I said, which are just like a penny to be given away
00:34:22free.
00:34:23Okay, ma'am.
00:34:25One more student is there on the phone line.
00:34:27Adit Mehta is there from Mumbai.
00:34:30Yes, Adit.
00:34:30Go ahead.
00:34:32Yes.
00:34:32My doubt was like there are, like you told to write an essay of 350 words.
00:34:39So, I was asking like in that, is like a typing word counted or else all the meaning words
00:34:46are only counted?
00:34:48No, Adit.
00:34:49Every single word is counted.
00:34:51So, you're quite right.
00:34:53All the words in that essay are words in the essay.
00:34:57So, it's a total of 300 to 350 words.
00:35:01All right.
00:35:02So, that's a simple straightforward answer that you can remember.
00:35:05350 words includes even the tiny article A or I for that matter, the word I.
00:35:12All right.
00:35:13So, we're going into now, again, re-emphasizing how important it is to write either for or against.
00:35:24It's very important to take a clear stance for or against the motion.
00:35:30Do not sit on the fence, which means you must cross the fence.
00:35:37You must either stay on this side of the fence or cross the fence.
00:35:41And you must, must, you just must decide whether you are speaking for in favor of the topic or against.
00:35:51Class 10.
00:35:52You are beginning the Merchant of Venice Act 4.
00:35:56Here, you will see how Portia, dressed as a lawyer, argues a case in court.
00:36:04And she is able to defeat Shylock, the merchant, who is demanding his pound of flesh.
00:36:11He has very strong arguments.
00:36:13He has a legal bond on his side.
00:36:16All the terms of the bond have been gone against in the sense Antonio has failed to repay the money
00:36:23in time, failed to give back what he said he would.
00:36:27But Portia's arguments are so strong that she is able to win the case.
00:36:33So, your argumentative essay, too, must be so well thought out that your points will win the case for you.
00:36:41It's all about how well you construct your argument.
00:36:49So, we go into next, how to conclude.
00:36:55What do we need to do?
00:36:57As I said earlier, even the conclusion is so important.
00:37:02Because, suppose you're going to a birthday party and you're going to give your friend a present, right?
00:37:08If it's sloppily packed, the ribbon's coming undone, the wrapping paper's coming undone, probably your friend will be taken aback,
00:37:17repelled.
00:37:18But if you give a nicely, neatly packaged present, the nice packaging, the finishing touch, the present may be lovely
00:37:26inside, but the finishing touch needs to be so nice, so attractive.
00:37:31That is what is going to leave a kind of lasting impression, especially in terms of the essay.
00:37:38So, what you do is, you conclude with an idea which will intrigue, meaning interest the reader, and leave him
00:37:46thinking.
00:37:47Leave him thinking about how interestingly you wrote.
00:37:51For example, this topic seems to say that money cannot buy everything.
00:37:57You need to delve deeper.
00:37:59You could end with that thought.
00:38:02What this simple statement does is, it says for you again, it speaks for you, that money cannot buy everything.
00:38:10You need to go deeper and look for more values, for better values in life.
00:38:20I'll end with saying that you know, children, that this essay carries 20 marks or a quarter of the marks
00:38:32of the paper.
00:38:32The paper you're sitting for is worth 80 marks, and you are fighting here for 20 marks.
00:38:40So, make the fight an enjoyable one.
00:38:43Take it as a challenge and write in such a way that whatever you have thought out, you're able to
00:38:49put down on paper.
00:38:50Use one or two minutes to read the topic, and then another two minutes to jot down points or plan
00:38:56out how this essay is going to progress.
00:39:00There's no one to stop you jotting down points if you wish to.
00:39:03You can do that, and it will help you put forward your progression or train of thought.
00:39:11Okay, I need to interrupt you once more, ma'am, because another student is there on the phone line, Gausia
00:39:16Sikander is there.
00:39:17Yes, Gausia, what do you have to ask?
00:39:20Good afternoon, everyone.
00:39:22Good afternoon.
00:39:24Ma'am, my question is, should we go for argumentative essays where statistics is required or not?
00:39:31All right, so Gausia, hopefully you will get a topic which will not require you to write something where a
00:39:40lot of specific statistics are required.
00:39:43You should always choose a topic which you are comfortable with, something that you feel you can write passionately about.
00:39:52When you have an emotional connect with your topic, that is when you write best.
00:39:58So, if you feel that the topic is something that requires a lot of statistics or is something you are
00:40:04not comfortable with, please try to avoid it.
00:40:08And if you get a single topic, let's say in a school test, then I'm sure that you will be
00:40:14able to deal with it.
00:40:15Just keep reading and let your words speak for you.
00:40:19So, it is similarly important, what you must know, you need to know what should be incorporated and what should
00:40:26be avoided.
00:40:27That's right.
00:40:28Okay, please proceed, ma'am.
00:40:30So, we go into common errors of essay writing that we need to avoid.
00:40:35So, again, if the topic is not read carefully or understood well, you can go wrong.
00:40:40You should not interchange styles.
00:40:44Sometimes we've had an argumentative essay which is written like a narrative because the child has written an entire incident,
00:40:52described an incident that happened to you.
00:40:54So, avoid that.
00:40:56Be very careful.
00:40:58There are words that hint at what kind of essay it is.
00:41:01In argumentative, you would have give your views for or against.
00:41:05In descriptive, you would have describe such and such.
00:41:08Short story says, write a short story.
00:41:10So, stay with that style of essay.
00:41:13Make sure you have paragraphs and that each paragraph has one idea which is developed adequately.
00:41:20Do not begin sentences with and, but or because and do not use short forms, informal language, numerals, contractions, incorrect
00:41:36syntax, grammar.
00:41:38You know, the way you have written your sentences, words jumbled up, put in the incorrect order.
00:41:43So, you need to avoid all this lack of punctuation, incorrect spelling.
00:41:49You must, you just must be so careful that these common errors are avoided.
00:41:55There was a question earlier about style and this is where I meant that I would be coming in with
00:42:01certain thoughts.
00:42:02These are the common errors that you need to avoid when you are doing essay writing.
00:42:08If you leave these out and the rest of your essay is simply beautifully written, as I said, in simple
00:42:16language, you will be a winner.
00:42:18Your essay is bound to pick up good marks.
00:42:22Okay, ma'am, may I take another phone call from Shafnodeep Ramanik from Jhar Gram.
00:42:26Yes, Shafnodeep, your question?
00:42:28No, ma'am, I had a question that will the suggestions be given on the topic which we want to
00:42:34write?
00:42:36Sorry, Shafnodeep, are you saying that the suggestions that are given on the topic, whether you should write them?
00:42:42No, ma'am, actually, ma'am, from the paper, will the suggestions be given or we have to ourselves write?
00:42:49I see. So, in the paper that you get, some topics at times have guidelines, one or two.
00:42:58Right at the class 10 level, you will have ideas which come out.
00:43:02So, we discussed that earlier. Of course, the best things in life are free as a short topic.
00:43:07Sometimes you have a topic which has a few more pointers.
00:43:10So, if there are more pointers, all the ideas that pop out at you, pick them out, put them into
00:43:17a basket, put them into another basket, see the relation and work with that.
00:43:22Yes, every idea must be dealt with carefully and in detail.
00:43:28Ma'am, I think we should go a little faster, ma'am.
00:43:31Right. So, we now need to go on to the next part, which is email.
00:43:37So, our conclusion at the end of the day for this was how well we engage with the topic, respond
00:43:43to it, and build our essay around the topic is going to dictate exactly how successful we were.
00:43:51Great job, children. I'm sure I'm going to get brilliant essays to read next time round.
00:43:55Going on to emails.
00:43:57Okay.
00:44:00Now, emails.
00:44:01So, email writing.
00:44:03Now, children, gone are the times when you had to wait days, sometimes months, or even years in this case.
00:44:13This is a little bottle, and people would actually put letters into the bottle and set sail, let it set
00:44:21sail on the sea.
00:44:21So, the bottle would go through many adventures, and you could hope it would land up on some distant shore.
00:44:27In fact, such bottles have been known to travel over continents, I mean, to separate continents, over many seas.
00:44:35And if your name, contact number is there, if you're lucky, somebody from some other continent might just call you
00:44:42up and say,
00:44:42I found your letter. Hi. How are you doing?
00:44:45But, gone are the days when letters took a long time to travel.
00:44:49Of course, handwritten letters are still used, but even more common, now we have come to emails,
00:44:57where you have, before almost, you can click the send button, you can have the letter traveling.
00:45:08And reaching the person whom it is supposed to reach.
00:45:12So, with email writing, we're going into the next part, where candidates will be given a specific situation.
00:45:21Right?
00:45:21So, you see that we've traveled from the long letter, the letter which takes a lot of time,
00:45:28to the part where the letter goes electronically in the matter of a few seconds.
00:45:34So, the e-mail, electronic mail, what happens here?
00:45:40Candidates will be given a specific situation, and they will be required to,
00:45:45number one, write the text for a notice based on given directions.
00:45:50This has already been covered in a previous class.
00:45:53And number two, write an email on the same content as the notice.
00:45:58So, the two are very closely interlinked.
00:46:02Right?
00:46:03Very closely interlinked.
00:46:05Because you will find that whatever you write in the notice, a large part of it will be reflected in
00:46:11the email.
00:46:12Because they will basically be dealing with the same topic.
00:46:15The notice is in-house.
00:46:18So, it is put up on your school notice board, for example.
00:46:22That's an example.
00:46:24And the letter will probably be sent to, let's say, a principal of a neighboring school.
00:46:30So, what we need to look at next is the topic itself.
00:46:35So, the topic says, your school is hosting an inter-school debate competition.
00:46:42Write a notice for your school informing them of the event.
00:46:48Then, part B, write an email to the principal of a neighboring school informing her of the event and requesting
00:46:59her to send a team to participate.
00:47:02So, what are you doing?
00:47:03You've put the notice up about the inter-school debate on the school notice board.
00:47:07And in the next part, you're writing an email to the principal of a neighboring school.
00:47:12And there are two elements that you need to remember here.
00:47:15One is, you are informing the principal about the event.
00:47:20And number two is, you are requesting her to send a team to participate.
00:47:27Alright?
00:47:28So, let's look at how to do this.
00:47:32Now, whenever you're doing email writing, you have to remember that you have a notice which was covered in an
00:47:39earlier class.
00:47:40And the notice actually says, war of words, the title, the next line has the event and then you have
00:47:47the details of the notice.
00:47:49We are now going to look at the format of the email.
00:47:54So, if we look at the format of the email, we will see how closely linked the two are.
00:48:04First of all, let us deal with the format per se as we see it as unique to the email
00:48:13and also in certain parts similar to a formal letter.
00:48:19The first line says, principalbluebellschoolatgmail.com
00:48:31I think I will need to use the board for this.
00:48:44So, the first line of the email is...
00:48:57Let's leave it at that.
00:48:59Okay.
00:49:04Now, what happens is, you do not have to write the word to here before the word principle.
00:49:10This is because when you open the computer screen, of course, emails are written on the computer.
00:49:18What you see is the word to already there and a little rectangular box next to it.
00:49:23This is the sender's address, the e-address, which will take your letter to that particular person.
00:49:32All right?
00:49:33Not the sender, sorry, the receiver's address.
00:49:35So, what you have is principalbluebellsatgmail.com
00:49:40Now, we would suggest, since we give you mostly formal letters to deal with in the email in school,
00:49:47of course, there are informal and formal both emails to be written.
00:49:52But in school, at the class 10 level, you will mostly be dealing with emails written in a formal style.
00:49:59It is good to write the designation of the person and perhaps the organization that the person belongs to as
00:50:06part of the email address.
00:50:08That makes it plausible, rather than just giving an individual name.
00:50:14Then, of course, you have the at sign and then gmail.com.
00:50:19So, three elements.
00:50:21One, two, and three.
00:50:24These three need to come in to make it a plausible address.
00:50:28Okay, ma'am, may I have your permission for taking another call?
00:50:31There is another student named Rejoy Martha Reja from Mumbai.
00:50:38Yes, Rejoy, go ahead.
00:50:41Yes, Rejoy.
00:50:42Ma'am, I had a doubt.
00:50:44Yes?
00:50:45Ma'am, if you get an option of attempting an essay in our letters,
00:50:51so, like, what essay would be most probable to score?
00:50:55Would Mark's life, it would be an argumentative answer, a descriptive answer, or what?
00:50:59All right.
00:50:59So, if you're talking about choice of essay,
00:51:02then what I will say is something that I mentioned a little earlier
00:51:06about going with the essay topic you are most comfortable with,
00:51:10which means that it is not necessary that an argumentative or descriptive or narrative essay will bring you more marks.
00:51:19When you read the topics,
00:51:21choose the topic that works best for you,
00:51:25that you feel you can write on,
00:51:27that you understand the best.
00:51:28Choose that topic, write on it, and you are bound to score well.
00:51:33All right?
00:51:34Okay, ma'am.
00:51:34So, coming back to emails, and we've done the first line,
00:51:38and now we are going to do the second line, which is the subject.
00:51:41Now, here, you have the word subject also written on the computer screen itself,
00:51:49and you have a little box next to it,
00:51:51so you do not need to write the word subject at all.
00:51:54What you will do is here, you will refer back to the notice,
00:51:58and you will pick up the second line of the notice,
00:52:03and you will bring it to the second line here.
00:52:06It's like doing copy-paste.
00:52:08The only thing is here, what are you doing?
00:52:10You are copying what you yourself have written,
00:52:14not something someone else has written.
00:52:16You are copying what you yourself have written in the notice,
00:52:19and bringing it here.
00:52:20So, you are going to make it,
00:52:24you are going to write,
00:52:27inter-school,
00:52:31inter-school debate competition.
00:52:35You'll have to pardon my handwriting,
00:52:36because my pen is slipping all over the board.
00:52:39Inter-school debate competition picked up from the second line of the notice.
00:52:43Now, these two carry half a mark each.
00:52:47So, you have picked up one mark.
00:52:49This is a five mark question.
00:52:52You have picked up one mark,
00:52:53because we are going to give you a half tick here,
00:52:56and a half tick here, which is half a mark each.
00:53:00The next thing you do is the salutation.
00:53:03So, you write,
00:53:06Dear Madam or Dear Sir,
00:53:09no slash and a comma.
00:53:12That will give you another half a mark,
00:53:14and for this,
00:53:15follow what you have been doing for the formal letter.
00:53:18Dear Madam or Dear Sir,
00:53:20that's it.
00:53:21Now, I'll just leave out the body,
00:53:23and jump straight to the subscription.
00:53:24I'll come back to the body in a minute.
00:53:27For the subscription,
00:53:28what you need to do is,
00:53:30you need to write,
00:53:34Yours faithfully,
00:53:37put a comma.
00:53:38Please don't put an apostrophe here.
00:53:40That's wrong.
00:53:41It's not yours.
00:53:42So, I'm going to rub that out.
00:53:44That's a common mistake.
00:53:45It's just simply,
00:53:47Yours faithfully,
00:53:49with a comma,
00:53:50and your full name.
00:53:54In upper lower case,
00:53:56you don't need block letters here,
00:53:58because this is actually a typewritten form
00:54:01in reality,
00:54:03in real life.
00:54:04And, of course,
00:54:05you can put your designation if you wish here.
00:54:10But, what is compulsory,
00:54:12for again,
00:54:13another half mark,
00:54:14is that you write yours faithfully,
00:54:16and your full name.
00:54:17So, now,
00:54:18you can see that you've picked up two marks,
00:54:20out of the five.
00:54:22So, we have three more marks to play with.
00:54:25And, this is where we're going to talk about,
00:54:27how the rest of the letter goes.
00:54:29Alright?
00:54:30So, what we have is,
00:54:32three elements here,
00:54:34in between,
00:54:35in the body.
00:54:35And, for that,
00:54:37what we're going to do...
00:54:37Before you elaborate, ma'am,
00:54:38I beg your pardon.
00:54:39Before you elaborate the body part of the email, ma'am,
00:54:41I need to take,
00:54:43probably this will be the last call.
00:54:44Jyotir Moy Chodhuri is there,
00:54:46on the phone line.
00:54:47Yes, Jyotir Moy.
00:54:50Sir,
00:54:51my question is,
00:54:52if,
00:54:54my question is,
00:54:55Yes.
00:54:55if you have been given a question that,
00:54:58in argumentative essay,
00:55:01that,
00:55:03you have the four,
00:55:05as well as,
00:55:06again.
00:55:07So,
00:55:07I have,
00:55:08I have points,
00:55:10both for,
00:55:10four,
00:55:11as well as,
00:55:12again.
00:55:12Means,
00:55:13I have equal amount of,
00:55:14points for,
00:55:16as well as,
00:55:17again.
00:55:17So,
00:55:18in that case,
00:55:19what do we do?
00:55:19Right, Jyotir Moy.
00:55:20So,
00:55:21this is something,
00:55:22where you are going to show,
00:55:23that you're extremely clever,
00:55:26by ignoring,
00:55:27one part of the argument.
00:55:29This is where you make a choice.
00:55:31And show,
00:55:32that you are a thinking individual.
00:55:35Right?
00:55:35You are,
00:55:36extremely intelligent,
00:55:37so you have points,
00:55:39for both sides of the story.
00:55:41Equally strong.
00:55:41But you need to make a choice here.
00:55:43You have to,
00:55:45go ahead,
00:55:45with one side of the story.
00:55:47If you write both,
00:55:49you're going to lose marks.
00:55:51A lot of marks.
00:55:52You're going to have to stay with,
00:55:53one clear stand.
00:55:55Okay, ma'am.
00:55:55We are on the verge of the confusion,
00:55:57ma'am.
00:55:57Please.
00:55:58How many minutes do I have left, sir?
00:55:59We have only two minutes left.
00:56:01All right.
00:56:01So,
00:56:02quickly,
00:56:02what we're going to do is,
00:56:03we're going to do the body of the email.
00:56:06For that,
00:56:07remember,
00:56:08your opening sentence is very,
00:56:10very important.
00:56:11It carries half a mark,
00:56:13the opening sentence.
00:56:14So,
00:56:15the opening sentence would be something like,
00:56:18our school is celebrating,
00:56:20its 50th anniversary.
00:56:22We plan to hold many competitions
00:56:26in order to celebrate this event.
00:56:29And one of them will be the inter-school debate competition
00:56:34to which you are invited.
00:56:36Now,
00:56:37the opening sentence could be a couple of sentences
00:56:39or one.
00:56:40It will talk about the topic
00:56:42and lead in towards the body.
00:56:45So,
00:56:45basically,
00:56:46you are informing the principal
00:56:48about the war of words debate competition.
00:56:51It is a reflection
00:56:52of the event
00:56:54as given here
00:56:56in the subject line.
00:56:58If you write the opening sentence well,
00:57:01you are going to pick up another half a mark.
00:57:05I'm moving again
00:57:07now to the body.
00:57:09For the body,
00:57:10where you can pick up two marks for expression,
00:57:13you have to look at
00:57:15the details given in the notice
00:57:17which are
00:57:18date,
00:57:20time,
00:57:21venue.
00:57:21Just pick up from the notice
00:57:23and put it there.
00:57:24No flowery language,
00:57:25straight out.
00:57:26Then,
00:57:27ask the principal to send
00:57:28a team,
00:57:30a senior debate team.
00:57:32Say,
00:57:32perhaps,
00:57:33that the topic will be given
00:57:34an hour earlier.
00:57:36Okay.
00:57:36and ask her
00:57:38to participate.
00:57:40The closing sentence,
00:57:42which again carries
00:57:43half a mark,
00:57:45in the closing sentence,
00:57:46what you will have is
00:57:47a polite way
00:57:49of ending
00:57:50the mail.
00:57:51You are going to say,
00:57:52we look forward
00:57:53to your participation
00:57:55in the event.
00:57:57Half a mark there.
00:57:58So,
00:57:59you have picked up three marks,
00:58:00half a mark opening,
00:58:02two marks expression,
00:58:03the body of the letter,
00:58:04and half a mark closing.
00:58:06Okay, ma'am.
00:58:06And you have your email.
00:58:08Okay,
00:58:08here we need to conclude.
00:58:09Before,
00:58:11going to the conclusion,
00:58:12I request to madam
00:58:13to give the
00:58:14home tasks
00:58:15for the students.
00:58:17Right.
00:58:18Children,
00:58:18if you would like
00:58:19to practice,
00:58:20of course,
00:58:21a good place
00:58:22for you to look
00:58:23would be
00:58:27www.cisce.org.
00:58:30You will find
00:58:31a lot of question papers,
00:58:33specimens,
00:58:33samples.
00:58:34The samples
00:58:35we have spoken
00:58:36about today,
00:58:36you will find
00:58:37some of them there.
00:58:38So,
00:58:39if you refer there,
00:58:40you will find
00:58:40a lot of homework.
00:58:42Also,
00:58:42the essay topics
00:58:44that I gave,
00:58:45you can write
00:58:46those on your own.
00:58:48The best things
00:58:49in life are free
00:58:50and CCTV
00:58:51must be installed
00:58:52in every classroom.
00:58:54That is your home task.
00:58:55Please write
00:58:56four argumentative essays
00:58:58on that
00:58:59and email.
00:59:00Just look at the site
00:59:01and pick up
00:59:01your topics.
00:59:03and you will be done.
00:59:04Okay.
00:59:05Thank you,
00:59:06madam.
00:59:06This was a very useful
00:59:07class,
00:59:08I suppose.
00:59:08Thanks a ton,
00:59:09ma'am.
00:59:10Thank you very much.
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