PRESS RELEASE IN ENGLISH – MODULE 1

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH – 2 BHM SEM 2

Press Release In English

A press release is a written statement about a matter of public interest which is given to the press by an organization concerned with the matter.

What is a Press Release?

 Meaning:

A press release is an official (written or recorded) statement that a company makes to the news media, and beyond. We are talking about the same thing whether we call it a “press announcement,” a “press release,” or a “news release.”

Definition: A press release (also known as a news release) is a brief document that shares something newsworthy you have done with the press and other media outlets. It is a marketing tool used to increase the visibility of your brand, often via including links, which increases your rankings in search engines. It also gets published by high traffic websites thus creating a positive perception of your brand.

It is usually sent to journalists and editors who may use the information to write a news article.

Initially, press releases were developed as a contact mechanism between company PR staff or public relations companies and the media. Yet now that online news outlets such as Yahoo News and Google News provide such an abundance of material from the press release and RSS makes it easy to syndicate news, press releases can effectively be used as a direct contact tool for customers.

In modern times, press releases also enable customers to locate news releases online via a web search, or read them on a company’s blogs or can be sent to mass media outlets. You can also use press releases to communicate directly with your clients, as well as with bloggers, writers, and other key players in your industry.

But as a marketer, one should know what other strategies need to be coupled with the traditional press releases in order to make them effective. 

Types of Press Releases

1. Product Launch Press Release
2. Rebranding Press Release
3. Expert Position Press Release
4. Award and Recognition Press Release
5. Charitable Initiative Press Release
6. Mergers and Acquisitions Press Release
7. Executive, Staff and Employee Press Release
8. “Updates on the existing products” Press Release
9. Event Press Release

Reasons why you need to write a press release:

1. Garners attention and awareness

Journalists and media outlets have far more reach than your business alone, so it makes sense to use press releases to garner more attention and awareness.

2. Helps build relationships

Sending press releases is a mutually beneficial exercise. Journalists need stories – if you can help them with this,  it could be the start of a relationship with someone in the media industry.

3. Improves your search engine optimization

If you can incorporate keywords efficiently, your rank for those keywords on search engines can shoot up. 

 Also, if a journalist uses your contributions for an article or blog post, it could get you back links from their company’s website (back links are one of the best ways to get your content to the top of a search engine).

4. You can manage your image

An effective press release is also a good way to control how your business is viewed. You can build your brand image and shape public perception through an informative official statement with facts to counter any negative publicity. 

One major question you may have is:

When do you Need a Press Release?

Ideally, a press release is a viable outlet whenever you want to share content that’s newsworthy.

But how do you decide if your content is newsworthy?

For content to be considered newsworthy, there are a few factors that you need to take into consideration:

• Impact – is someone going to be affected by this information?
• Immediacy – is this urgent news?
• Recognition – is this about something well-known?

Most successful press releases satisfy at least two of those three criteria.

How To Write a Press Release: 7 Steps

Here’s your step-by-step guide on how to craft a well-written press release:

1. Find Ways To Be Newsworthy

As you’ll be pitching to journalists, create a news release with that in mind.

Here’s how to give journalists what they want:

Exclusive Data or Research

Journalists love anything exclusive. They also happen to love data. Giving them exclusive data in a media release is a good way of offering both.

News jacking

While you may not be able to provide journalists with your own breaking news event every time, you can use a content marketing process called newsjacking.

Simply put, newsjacking is the process of injecting your brand into a current news story to make it more relevant and eye-catching. For example, if something is viral on social media platforms like Twitter, tying your news release to it is a smart way to get traction.

Emotional Connection

Stories with an emotional connection resonate better with a target audience and lead to more social traction.

If you can get people emotionally invested in your brand, chances are your audience might be willing to give it a shot.

2. Write Your Press Release Headline

Your press release headline is the first thing anyone’s going to see, so you have to make sure it’s perfect.

The goal of your press release headline should be to get in, impress the journalist, and get out.

The three core tenets of writing a press release headline are:

• Use action verbs
• Be direct
• Be comprehensive

If you’re still struggling with your headline, you could always try a headline analyzer to give you an idea of where you stand.

3. Craft Your Lede

Your lead is the first paragraph in your press release.

Usually consisting of 35 to 45 words, it summarizes the most critical parts of your press release.

This first paragraph has to answer the “5 Ws” as concisely as possible.

• Who: Who’s involved in the news story? Which person or company is involved?
• What: What’s happening? What’s it about?
• When: When did this story or event happen? When is it going to happen?
• Where: Where did this story or event take place?
• Why: Why is this information relevant to a reader of these media outlets?

4. Write Your Body Paragraphs

The goal of the body is to describe all the relevant details of the story and your brand’s involvement in it. The key word here is relevant. 

Every great press release uses the inverted pyramid formula to do this:

You include the most pertinent details right at the top and then get into the less vital aspects as you go on.

5. Include Supporting Quotes

Including quotes is a good way to boost the credibility and personality of your press release to a reader. However, always ensure that your quote is relevant in the context of the article.

6. Write Your Boilerplate Text

Your boilerplate is a standardized copy of what your organization is and stands for. When you write a boilerplate, you are essentially condensing facts, business aspirations and marketing goals – all into one short paragraph. 

You can even include your company logo here if you want to.

For a more in-depth look at how to write the perfect boilerplate, click here.

7. Add Media Contact Details

You need to include your media contact information for reporters to get in touch with you. Include your email id and phone number to give them a point of contact when they want to reach out to you.

Press Release Format and Template

The next step in learning how to write a press release is to understand the press release format.

If your press release conforms to a format that a journalist is familiar with, your odds of getting published are higher.

IMPORTANT: Before you write a press release you MUST do something newsworthy, in other words have news which journalists actually want to cover!

Your hook for the story/finding you’re pitching must be based on a trending topic journalists are covering right now.

Here’s a typical press release format:

 (i) A headline and a subheading that stands apart

A title that captures the attention of people and explains clearly what the release is about – Is it about a product launch? Awards and recognition? Mergers and acquisitions?

(ii) Location

• It describes the location of where you are and where the news is taking place/

where you get the news.

(iii) Strong Lead

This is where you explain in one sentence your content/ newsworthy study.

(iv) Body

This information should be easily skimmable information provided in decreasing levels of importance. It’s a very good idea to add in quotes throughout the body to back up your arguments.

     (v) Boilerplate

A few words to describe your company to the public.

(vi) Press Contact and information

Include the name and contact details of your media coordinator or executive communications. Typically, anyone who can get in touch with the reporter to get more information.

Press release template outline

[INSERT ATTENTION GRABBING HEADLINE]
Strong Lead Sentence

Summary Bullet Point One (if makes sense)
Summary Bullet Point Two (if makes sense)
Summary Bullet Point Three (if makes sense)

[DATE],[CITY], [STATE]

Introductory Paragraph

[QUOTE]

[Second Paragraph]

[Third Paragraph]

[QUOTE]

Closing Paragraph

[BOILERPLATE]

Name of Press Contact:
Phone:
Email:

Best Practices to adopt while constructing a Press Release

Here are some of the best practices to follow when announcing press releases:

1. Make your headlines cut the clutter

No matter how well configured it is, mundane news will not give you the results. Focusing on a given topic is important. To both news search engines and readers, reliance on too many keywords and details will only dilute the message.

2. Optimization

Optimize a press release using web page optimization principles and bear in mind that the most important keyword phrases need to be at the top of the document. However, as mentioned earlier, this is a double-edged sword and it is very important to choose the right keywords in the right frequency to keep the communication crisp and appealing.

3. Define your objectives

It is important for a marketer to ask himself – What am I targeting to achieve out of a particular press release? It can be building brand awareness, brand equity, or creating a buzz around social media. It is necessary to recognize this at the outset, as you will have to follow various approaches to achieve each of these goals.

4. Gun for the right beat

A marketer can have the greatest press release ever, but if the sales pitch goes to the wrong journalist, all the returns on the marketing investment will go astray. When pitching the press release, you need to take the following things into account:

• Whether the target audience of the journalist or publication is in tandem with yours
• Whether the publication covers the territory that your product or service is involved in

5. Use infographics and visual content

Represent your story in the most vivid way possible including infographics with key statistics and details, product images, or a video demo. Replace those dry numbers with a vibrant map that underlines the point visually. This adds value to your press release and can make a difference in convincing a journalist to cover your story over another.

6. Provide a Clear Call-to-Action

Don’t just let the press release hang out in the open. Wrap it up with a clear call-to-action that will guide the journalist or blogger in taking the next step.

But don’t overdo it either. Prefer using just one CTA per press release. For example, if your press release concerns the launch of a product, you could use:

• Sign up now to receive daily updates
• Demo Request (Supply is limited)

Documentary & Feature Film – MODULE 1

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH 2 – BHM SEM 2

Documentary & Feature Film

What is a Documentary

A documentary is a film that provides a factual report on a particular subject. It is an accurate representation of real events, people, situations, emotions, and reactions or conditions. The main aim of a documentary is informing and educating the viewers. It also maintains a historical record. A documentary can also inspire or persuade the viewers to raise their voice against injustice or take actions to stop it.

A documentary is factual and concerns public matters rather than private ones. A documentary could be about various subjects such as a major injustice in the society, a political event, a historical event, life circle of an animal, etc.

Documentaries may contain recorded spontaneous action, but they can also be scripted in advance. However, documentary filmmakers do not create events or characters; they only attempt to recreate the reality. Therefore, documentaries have no actors, sets, or made-up locations. They are filmed in real locations with real actors. Compared to feature films, documentaries are made with a low budget.

Documentary Movies!

Documentaries are often used to reveal an unusual, interesting or unknown angle.

It is a genre of movie making that uses video & film scenes, photographs and/or sound of real people and real events which when edited together creates a particular story, viewpoint, message or experience.

Documentaries can be funny, poignant, disturbing, ironic, absurd, inspirational, amusing, shocking or any combination.

Traditionally, documentaries are 30-minutes to 2 hours in length (to fit within a television schedule or for theatrical release). However, documentaries are often shorter in length, especially in recent years with the advent of the Internet and web video.

What is a Feature Film

A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or “movie”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term feature film originally referred to the main, full-length film in a cinema program that also included a short film and often a newsreel.

Most feature films are between 75 and 210 minutes long. The first narrative feature film was the 60-minute

The term feature film came into use to refer to the main film presented in a cinema and the one which was promoted or advertised. The term was used to distinguish the longer film from the short films (referred to as shorts) typically presented before the main film, such as newsreels, serials, animated cartoons, live-action comedies and documentaries.

 

A feature film is a film that is made for the purpose of entertaining the audience. They are often commercial films. Comedy, action, romance, mystery, thriller, horror, and adventure are some common subjects in feature films. The main aim of these films is to entertain the viewers; they provide an escape from the reality.

Difference Between Documentary and Feature Film

 

The main distinction between feature film and documentary is that feature films are based on fiction; they have imaginary events, characters and situations. Even if the film is inspired by real events, the writers, and the producers have the creative freedom to incorporate fictional characters and situations. These films will have a smooth flow with carefully structured action and dialogues. The action and dialogues are never spontaneous; they are scripted and practiced in advance. In addition, feature films require a huge budget compared to documentaries.

Documentary and feature film are two different types of films. The difference between documentary and feature film lies in their purpose and subject matter. Documentary aims to educate, inform and inspire the viewers whereas feature films aim to entertain the audience. Documentary deals with facts and reality whereas feature films deal with fiction. This is the main difference between documentary and feature film.

 Definition

Documentary is an accurate representation of real events, people and situations.

Feature Film is a film that tells a fictional story, event or narrative.

Purpose

Documentary aims to educate, inform, instruct and inspire the audience.

Feature Film aims to entertain the audience.

Fiction vs Reality

Documentary deals with reality.

Feature Film deals with fiction.

Budget

Documentaries usually have a low budget.

Feature Films usually have a high budget than documentaries.

Action and Dialogues

Documentaries may have recorded actions.

Feature Films always have scripted dialogues and actions.

Actors

Documentaries may use real people and real locations.

Feature Films may use actors and sets.

A documentary is a “reality-based” movie.

Documentary film is a broad term to describe a non-fiction movie that, in some way, tries to capture, recreate or “document” reality. 

Documentary vs Feature Film

You may be wondering how a documentary is different from a feature film.  Although each genre is constantly evolving, there are a few key differences.

“Real People” vs. Actors — In general, documentaries use real people in real life situations to tell a story, whereas a feature film uses actors.  Of course documentaries sometime include “reenactments” using actors to recreate a scene and feature films can use “clips of real events”.   But in general, this is a key distinction.

Real Life vs. Fantasy — In general, documentaries are meant to capture in some way “real life” whereas a feature film creates a whole new world that may or may not be based on real events or real people.   The difference here is fact vs. fiction.

Cost — Documentaries tend to be far less expensive to produce than a feature film.  With a feature film, there are often elaborate sets, costumes, actors, exotic locations, spectacular effects, etc which can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.  Whereas a documentary is often much less complex.  Again, these are general statements because with improving technology and lower costs for movie-making equipment, there are some feature films being made really cheap these days.

SKIMMING & SCANNING – MODULE 1

BHM COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SEM-2

SKIMMING & SCANNING

SKIMMING

Skimming

Skimming is sometimes referred to as gist reading where you’re trying to glance over the material to grasp the main idea.

The way you do this is to read the first and last paragraph and check for any dark headings.

Skimming may help in order to know what the text is about at its most basic level.

You might typically do this with a magazine or newspaper and would help you mentally and quickly shortlist those articles which you might consider for a deeper read.

You might typically skim to search for a name in a telephone directory.

Skimming Saves Your Time 

Skimming will certainly save you a lot of time as you grasp the main idea of whatever you are reading, but do not expect your comprehension to be high during the process.

However, skimming is useful when your goal is to preview the text to get a better idea of what it’s about. It will help prepare you for deeper learning.

Definition : As learning expert and author Pat Wyman says in her online course, Total Recall Learning™ for Students skimming is a terrific idea to get an overview and mental picture in your mind which will help improve your memory.

This strategy makes it much easier to recall what you’re about to read.

1. Take a look at the table of contents first.
2. Review the subheadings in each chapter
3. Quickly read the first paragraph in that section
4. Check out anything in your text that is in bold or italics
5. If there is a chapter summary, now is a good time read it over.

This completely prepares your brain to have an overview of what this chapter is about.

You can then go on to use scanning to find specific important ideas.

Scanning is commonly used in everyday life, for example when looking up a word in a dictionary or finding your friend’s name in the contacts directory of your phone.

Skimming example of newspaper skimming is speed reading for cursory overview for general information. Going through an entire newspaper quickly through the headlines is an example of skimming. Going through a data-table quickly to elicit an overall idea of the topic on which data is presented is an example of a skimming technique of reading. Do not expect a deep comprehension of the written text after skimming. Reading only the headings of chapters is skimming.

Skimming is the process of quickly viewing a section of text to get a general impression of the author’s main argument, themes or ideas.

There are three types of skimming: preview, overview, and review.

Preview skimming

Most often followed by a second skimming or a thorough reading, preview skimming is used

• in selecting a book.
• in surveying a chapter before reading or studying.
• in finding appropriate material for use in research.
• in sorting through correspondence before answering it.

You preview in an effort to learn about the ideas presented and the structure of their development.

Method: Read the first paragraph, and the headings and first sentences of later paragraphs and sections.

Overview skimming

You use overview skimming to sample the reading material more thoroughly than you do in a preview, as you may not intend to read the material at a later time.

Method: As you do in preview skimming, you would read the first paragraph, the headings and first sentences of paragraphs and sections, but in addition, as you alternately read and skim, you alert yourself to the structure and content of the material through an awareness of paragraph patterns, thought transitions, and clue words.

This awareness will help you to understand the content, to recall more information, and to see relationships more clearly and quickly.

Review skimming

Your purpose with review skimming is to re-familiarise yourself with material you have previously read thoroughly or skimmed.

Method: Prepare yourself by trying to remember as many of the ideas and details clearly. It may be that you already have a good grasp of the main ideas and will be stopping primarily to note significant details – names, places, terms, etc. You may be trying to establish in your mind a sequence of events or a procedure, or you may be attempting to fill in a skeleton outline to clarify the structure of the whole.

Familiarity with the material will enable you to skim over a great deal of it, stopping only when necessary.

SCANNING

SCANNING:

Imagine if you went to the Louvre museum only to see the Mona Lisa. You’d quickly walk through all the corridors and rooms merely glancing at the walls until you found it. Scanning is quite similar to that.

It is one of those kinds of reading where you read to search for a particular piece of information. Your eyes quickly skim over the sentences until you find it.

You can use this method when you don’t need to go deep into the text and read every word carefully. Scanning involves rapid reading and is often used by researchers and for writing reviews.

Scanning

Scanning is considered as a helping hand in reading texts that are heavy and need to be searched upon. This works like the Ctrl+F command and is assisted by the keywords to be searched in the given text. Scanning is Rapid Reading with importance in research and preparing reviews. For students, it works as a ‘bullet way’ to locate answers to specific questions. Scanning, basically, works to find answers to the-Wh Questions like What-When-Where-Who and Why.

It is simple to understand the meaning of the term itself. It attempts to get specific information and scans through the available texts.

Uses of scanning:

 

Picture yourself visiting a historical city, guide book in hand.

You would most probably just scan the guide book to see which site you might want to visit.

Scanning involves getting your eyes to quickly scuttle across sentence and is used to get just a simple piece of information. You’ll be searching for specific words or phrases that will give you more information and answer questions you may have.

Interestingly, research has concluded that reading off a computer screen actually inhibits the pathways to effective scanning and thus, reading of paper is far more conducive to speedy comprehension of texts.

Something students sometimes do not give enough importance to is illustrations.

These should be included in your scanning. Pay special attention to the introduction and the conclusion.

SCANNING EXAMPLES:

 

Imagine if you went to the Louvre museum only to see the Mona Lisa. You’d quickly walk through all the corridors and rooms merely glancing at the walls until you found it. Scanning is quite similar to that.

It is one of those kinds of reading where you read to search for a particular piece of information. Your eyes quickly skim over the sentences until you find it.

You can use this method when you don’t need to go deep into the text and read every word carefully. Scanning involves rapid reading and is often used by researchers and for writing reviews.

Scanning is reading with a specific purpose in mind for specific information. When one reads an entire text/document quickly while looking for specific information, it is called scanning. For example: Going through an entire newspaper and looking for specific news related to the India-Pakistan cricket match. You scanned to get specific information about Delhi University admissions and cut-offs.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SKIMMING AND SCANNING:

Skimming is about going through the whole article, whereas scanning is just finding out the specific text or pattern. Therefore, scanning requires a higher understanding of word recognition than compared to scanning. Unlike skimming, in scanning the reader is already aware of the text he wants to search in the document. However, in skimming, the reader usually has no or little idea about the document. Skimming is more about reading and understanding, whereas scanning is all about searching or finding. Therefore, both are different from each other.

Comparison between Skimming and Scanning:

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	Skimming	Scanning
Definition	A technique for fast reading. A reader reads the article in order to get the general idea of it.	A technique in which a reader tries to search a particular text or word in the document
Requirement	Ability to go through the article quicklyAbility to understand what can be relevant and not in reading	Ability to find quicklyUse of fingers can be effective while looking for a  specific informationFocus on key words
Purpose	Generally to get the general idea of an articleTo sample a book before actually purchasing it	Generally to search a telephone number from a listTo find a particular quotation in a book
Method	Read the title carefullyFirst paragraph and introduction need to be read carefullyEmphasis on the reading of first sentence of every paragraphHeading and sub headings should be readPictures, charts or graphs should be noticedWords or phrase that are italicized or boldface must be noticedSummary or last paragraph is important to understand the conclusion	Reader must be clearly aware of the specific information that needs to be searched in the documentClues must be used to find the answer – like if one is searching for a date, then only numbers should be looked forHeadings can be helpful in suggesting the location of the desired informationOne should be careful in reading and skipping the sections of the passage
BASIS FOR COMPARISON	SKIMMING	SCANNING
Meaning	Skimming is a way of reading something in a fast manner so as to grasp the main points.	Scanning means to look carefully and quickly at the written material so as to locate something.
Method of Reading	Quick	Selective
Involves	Reading out the maximum content in minimum time.	Finding out the required data.
Objective	To take a birds-eye view of the text.	To spot and cast specific facts.
Familiarity	The reader is not familiar with the text.	The reader knows what he is searching for.

Key Differences Between Skimming and Scanning

The difference between skimming and scanning are discussed here in detail:

1. Skimming can be defined as a type of reading in which the reader reads the text quickly to have an idea of the concept, subject matter, main points and gist, without paying close attention to the excessive detail. On the other hand, scanning refers to the reading technique, in which the reader moves his eyes over the entire text in order to locate specific keywords which he/she has in his/her mind.
2. Skimming is a quick reading method, whereas scanning is a selective reading method.
3. While skimming involves reading out the maximum amount of material in the minimum time, scanning is a method of searching out something in a fast manner.
4. Skimming technique is used with the aim of taking an insight of what is contained in the study material, without reading it word for word. On the contrary, when the reader uses scanning he/she wants to find out the specific fact, keyword or information, of his/her need.
5. Skimming is used to get acquainted with the text you have not read yet. Conversely, in the case of scanning the reader has the knowledge of what he/she is looking for, in the given text.

Conclusion

Basically, skimming tells you what information is contained in the section or in the document as a whole. In this, the reader runs his eyes quickly over the large chunks of material to pick the main points. On the contrary, scanning tells you where the information of your requirement is located in the text.

Hence, one can skim the passage to understand its essence, whereas one can scan it to find certain words, numbers, dates, etc.

TYPES OF READING TECHNIQUES – MODULE 1

READING SKILL

TYPES OF READING TECHNIQUES

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body,” said English author Joseph Addison.

 As you need exercise to build your physical strength, you need to read to build your mental muscles.

People read for a variety of reasons—to pass time, to seek answers, or to clear their heads.

Whatever their reasons for reading, it is a great way of exercising the brain and improving communication skills.  You can choose the right type depending on objective.

The four main types of reading techniques are the following:

• Skimming
• Scanning
• Intensive
• Extensive

Skimming

Skimming is sometimes referred to as gist reading where you’re trying to glance over the material to grasp the main idea.

The way you do this is to read the first and last paragraph and check for any dark headings.

Skimming may help in order to know what the text is about at its most basic level.

You might typically do this with a magazine or newspaper and would help you mentally and quickly shortlist those articles which you might consider for a deeper read.

You might typically skim to search for a name in a telephone directory.

Skimming Saves Your Time 

Skimming will certainly save you a lot of time as you grasp the main idea of whatever you are reading, but do not expect your comprehension to be high during the process.

However, skimming is useful when your goal is to preview the text to get a better idea of what it’s about. It will help prepare you for deeper learning.

Definition : As learning expert and author Pat Wyman says in her online course, Total Recall Learning™ for Students skimming is a terrific idea to get an overview and mental picture in your mind which will help improve your memory.

This strategy makes it much easier to recall what you’re about to read.

1. Take a look at the table of contents first.
2. Review the subheadings in each chapter
3. Quickly read the first paragraph in that section
4. Check out anything in your text that is in bold or italics
5. If there is a chapter summary, now is a good time read it over.

This completely prepares your brain to have an overview of what this chapter is about.

You can then go on to use scanning to find specific important ideas.

Scanning is commonly used in everyday life, for example when looking up a word in a dictionary or finding your friend’s name in the contacts directory of your phone.

Skimming example of newspaper skimming is speed reading for cursory overview for general information. Going through an entire newspaper quickly through the headlines is an example of skimming. Going through a data-table quickly to elicit an overall idea of the topic on which data is presented is an example of a skimming technique of reading. Do not expect a deep comprehension of the written text after skimming. Reading only the headings of chapters is skimming.

SCANNING:

Imagine if you went to the Louvre museum only to see the Mona Lisa. You’d quickly walk through all the corridors and rooms merely glancing at the walls until you found it. Scanning is quite similar to that.

It is one of those kinds of reading where you read to search for a particular piece of information. Your eyes quickly skim over the sentences until you find it.

You can use this method when you don’t need to go deep into the text and read every word carefully. Scanning involves rapid reading and is often used by researchers and for writing reviews.

Scanning

Scanning is considered as a helping hand in reading texts that are heavy and need to be searched upon. This works like the Ctrl+F command and is assisted by the keywords to be searched in the given text. Scanning is Rapid Reading with importance in research and preparing reviews. For students, it works as a ‘bullet way’ to locate answers to specific questions. Scanning, basically, works to find answers to the-Wh Questions like What-When-Where-Who and Why.

It is simple to understand the meaning of the term itself. It attempts to get specific information and scans through the available texts.

Uses of scanning:

 

Picture yourself visiting a historical city, guide book in hand.

You would most probably just scan the guide book to see which site you might want to visit.

Scanning involves getting your eyes to quickly scuttle across sentence and is used to get just a simple piece of information. You’ll be searching for specific words or phrases that will give you more information and answer questions you may have.

Interestingly, research has concluded that reading off a computer screen actually inhibits the pathways to effective scanning and thus, reading of paper is far more conducive to speedy comprehension of texts.

Something students sometimes do not give enough importance to is illustrations.

These should be included in your scanning. Pay special attention to the introduction and the conclusion.

SCANNING EXAMPLES:

 

Imagine if you went to the Louvre museum only to see the Mona Lisa. You’d quickly walk through all the corridors and rooms merely glancing at the walls until you found it. Scanning is quite similar to that.

It is one of those kinds of reading where you read to search for a particular piece of information. Your eyes quickly skim over the sentences until you find it.

You can use this method when you don’t need to go deep into the text and read every word carefully. Scanning involves rapid reading and is often used by researchers and for writing reviews.

Scanning is reading with a specific purpose in mind for specific information. When one reads an entire text/document quickly while looking for specific information, it is called scanning. For example: Going through an entire newspaper and looking for specific news related to the India-Pakistan cricket match. You scanned to get specific information about Delhi University admissions and cut-offs.

Intensive Reading

 

Among the different types of reading skills, intensive reading is used when you want to read carefully by paying complete attention to understand every word of the text. It is where you would examine and decipher each unfamiliar word or expression.

As the term states, intensive means in-depth. This reading method is especially used when reading academic texts, where the goal is to prepare for an exam or to publish a report. This method helps retain information for much longer periods.

USES OF INTENSIVE READING:

 

You need to have your aims clear in mind when undertaking intensive reading.

Remember this is going to be far more time consuming than scanning or skimming.

If you need to list the chronology of events in a long passage, you will need to read it intensively.

This type of reading has indeed beneficial to language learners as it helps them understand vocabulary by deducing the meaning of words in context.

It moreover, helps with retention of information for long periods of time and knowledge resulting from intensive reading persists in your long term memory.

This is one reason why reading huge amounts of information just before an exam does not work very well.

Students tend to do this, and they undertake neither type of reading process effectively, especially neglecting intensive reading.

They may remember the answers in an exam but will likely forget everything soon afterwards.

 

 

Extensive reading

Extensive reading involves reading for pleasure.

Because there is an element of enjoyment in extensive reading it is unlikely that students will undertake extensive reading of a text they do not like.

It also requires a fluid decoding and assimilation of the text and content in front of you.

If the text is difficult and you stop every few minutes to figure out what is being said or to look up new words in the dictionary, you are breaking your concentration and diverting your thoughts.

Extensive reading is one of the methods of reading that people use for relaxation and pleasure. Adopt this method when the purpose is to enjoy the reading experience. It places no burden upon the reader and due to its indulgent nature, it is seldom used if the text isn’t enjoyable.

This is one of the methods of reading that occurs naturally. It’s how you’ve read as a child and while growing up.

This method of reading helps you understand words in context and enriches your vocabulary.

Example:

Because there is an element of enjoyment in extensive reading it is likely that students will pick up a magazine and flip through the pages. They take in, only the headings or the pictures to get a broad idea of what the magazine covers.

 

criTICAL READING:

 

Among the different types of reading strategies, critical reading has a special place. Here, the facts and information are tested for accuracy. You take a look at the ideas mentioned and analyze them until you reach a conclusion.

You would have to apply your critical faculties when using this method. Critical reading is often used when reading the news on social media, watching controversial advertisements, or reading periodicals.

Conclusion:

Various types of reading leads to different outcomes. Choosing the right one can be instrumental in furthering your goals. Further, diversifying your reading habits to include different types of reading will enable you to become a better writer and speaker. Improving your communication skills will enable you to convey your ideas with precision and clarity. It’s not always easy to get your point across. But reading gives you the power to understand multiple perspectives. Building a reading habit can be effective in the short and long run.

Reading Skills – Module -1

READING SKILLS:

Meaning: Reading is a basic life skill.  It is a cornerstone for a child’s success in school, and, indeed, throughout life. Without the ability to read well, opportunities for personal fulfillment and job success inevitably will be lost.  –Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading 

Definition : Richard Anderson and the Commission on Reading define reading as the process of constructing meaning from written texts.  

Skilled reading is:

• constructive: learning to reason about written material using knowledge from everyday life and from disciplined fields of study;
• fluent: mastery of basic processes to the point where they are automatic so that attention is freed for the analysis of meaning;
• strategic: controlling one’s reading in relation to one’s purpose, the nature of the material and whether one is comprehending;
• motivated: able to sustain attention and learning that written material can be interesting and informative; and
• a lifelong pursuit: continuous practices, development, and refinement. 

Objectives of Reading Skills: 

Reading will activate and reinforce other skills

• Reading develops critical thinking skills.
• Reading cultivates the love for reading, and develops oral and silent reading skills.

• Reading helps us how to connect the ideas and concepts to real life experience.

• It helps to expand vocabulary and learn new vocabulary in context.

• Reading develops the ability to summarize both the main idea and specific details from a reading passage.

ADVANTAGES OF READING:

A book is our best friend. In our society we have friends and foes. Even the so-called friends can cheat us in times. However, books are our never-failing friends. Just like a good friend, it gives us company during idle time. A good book guides us in our lives.

Books are the voices of wisdom, past and present. The knowledge stored up in them invites us and gives us joy.

We read books not only for instructions but also for entertainment. It is the most harmless occupation for using time in a productive manner. The bookshelves are the standing source of joy to all book-lovers. To an educated man there is no pleasure comparable to the pleasures of reading books. Books provide us with varieties of entertainment. Some give us loud laughter, some a smile and some only an unexpressed joy.

Books help us forget for a while the cares and anxieties of daily life. Those who can read books are lucky indeed. A reader of books forgets his worries for the time being and finds pleasure from it. Money cannot buy peace of mind. Power cannot heal our sorrows. Books can, when all other fail.

A book is the windows to the outside world. The books on traveling can take us into the jungles of Africa, to the desert of Sahara, to the top of Everest or to the ice-fields of the Arctic. And all the while we can relax in bed or on armchair.

A book can put us in the time-machine. It can take us the great minds of the past and the present. Books on antiquity bring vividly to us the world of the past. We go back in thought to the dim, old days of the past.

Books can broaden our mind and gladden our heart. We see into the secrets of life and universe in the books on science, religion and literature. We love books for all these reasons.

Knowledge itself is also a great source of pleasure. Books on expeditions and adventures fire our imagination. Detective stories give us thrills and keep us absorbed. From all these we derive both pleasure and surprise.

However, there are numerous books and we need choice of books. We do not have enough time and energy to read all these books. We know, good books ennoble our minds, while bad books pollute it. Our time is precious; we cannot waste it by reading trash. So, we should read those books which may be our best companions, which can enlarge our vision and make our life more meaningful.

Strategies/tips for reading improvement:

1. Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will be motivated to understand. You will feel satisfaction in accomplishing a task that you enjoy, and which you consider meaningful. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.

2. Read material that is at your level, or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a conventional dictionary is tedious, and the results of the dictionary search quickly forgotten. It is better to stay within your comfort zone and keep reading. Soon you will be able to take on more difficult content.

3. Learn to read in depth, stay on the same subject for a while. If you are familiar with the subject you are reading about, you will understand better. Do not just read short articles. Commit to books. Stay with one author for at least one book. If the subject matter is new to you, you should even try to read a few different books or articles about the same subject, before you move on. This way you will meet the same vocabulary and ideas often, helping you to learn. You will also be able to get deeper into the subject and your reading confidence will grow.

4. If you have trouble reading, listen first. Many great works of literature were written to be read out loud. Learn to appreciate the art of the narrator. Listen to audio books or audio files of the material that you are reading. This will help make difficult content seem more familiar. If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.

5. Let your imagination get involved. Good readers get engrossed in their reading and let it trigger their imagination. Learn to enjoy your reading without asking too many questions or analyzing too much. It will just spoil the sensual enjoyment of the reading experience. You do not need to predict or analyze. Just enjoy and look forward to absorbing the information, ideas and thoughts expressed by the writer.

6. Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way. Neither you nor a teacher needs to “monitor” your understanding. Learn to enjoy reading, even while feeling that you do not fully understand or remember what you have read.

7. Recognize that the key is to read a lot. You may develop a system for keeping track of new words that you encounter in your reading, using lists, or Flash Cards, or other memory systems available on the Internet or elsewhere. However, the main growth in your vocabulary and reading skill will come just from reading as much as you can. So learn to enjoy reading and read a lot. Keep reading, and you will become a better reader.

Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or manual, or report or other material that have to read for school or work, you may need to underline, take notes, and read some parts over again, in order to retain what you are reading. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the cognitive techniques you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.

BARRIERS OF READING:

• Lack of grammatical and linguistic competence:

Many people cannot read effectively because they fail to decrypt grammatical and lexical units of language in the text. They lack the ability to differentiate and recognize the words, sentences, expressions, used in the text. It hampers the process of reading. The reader may stop reading further if he fails to understand the text grammatically.

• Lack of motivation:

Reading for information and knowledge requires motivation and discipline. Many people think reading as boring and time consuming task. Lack of proper motivation and goal may create barrier to reading.

• Lack of concentration:

If the reader lacks concentration while reading, he just will turn pages after pages without much comprehension. Reading is psycholinguistic process. It requires careful attention of the reader.

• Proper light and ventilation:

A reader has to struggle a lot to read in dim light or dark rooms. If proper ventilation is not there in the reading room, reader may feel suffocated or tired.

• Size of the book:

Normally, people prefer reading small size articles and texts. If the book contains volumes of pages, it decreases the interest of the reader.

• Articulating the words and sentences loudly:

Many readers have habit to articulate loudly or murmur the words in the text. They buzz each word which creates a barrier to speed reading.

• Putting finger, pen or any object on the words and sentences while reading:

Many people put their finger or pen on the text while reading. They move the finger or object from word to word which lowers down the process of reading.

• Narrow eye span:

Many readers read the text into independent eye shift between each and every word. They have narrow eye span. It not only decreases the speed of reading but also affects the comprehension. Shorter the eye span, slower the speed and comprehension. Readers require proper training and techniques to expand their eye span.

Stages in Reading a text

It is important to break down the reading process into the following stages:

Before reading get an overview of the text:

• skim the table of contents, headings and subheadings
• read the introduction and conclusion
• scan the relevant sections to locate where your topic is discussed

During reading closely follow the development of the ideas in the text:

• read actively – write in the margins, highlight phrases, take note of important points
• don’t forget to examine diagrams and figures as they are information-dense
• read critically – ask yourself questions; for example, Is the argument logical? Is it biased? Is there enough evidence to support the author’s conclusions?

After reading think over what you have read. Make a brief summary of the main ideas and concepts in the text.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – MODULE-1

I. Effective Communication

Meaning: Effective communication is a communication between two or more persons in which the intended message is −

• properly encoded
• delivered through appropriate channel
• received
• properly decoded and understood by the recipient(s)

Communication is said to be effective when both.

 sender and receiver in the communication, assign similar meanings to the message and listen carefully to what all have been said and make the sender feel heard and understood.

Definition 1: R.W. Griffin, “Effective communication is the process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message intended”.

Definition 2: American Management Association (AMA) has defined effective communication based on the following ten points −

• Clear idea regarding topics and receiver of communication.
• Determination of purpose.
• Understanding the environment of communication.
• Planning for communication with consulting others.
• Consider the content of the message.
• To make the receiver aware about the value of communication.
• There must be feedback from the receiver.
• To define properly whether communication messages are of short-run or long-run importance.
• All actions must be suitable with communication.
• Good listening.

Definition 3: Effective Communication is defined as the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.

II. Characteristics / 7C’s of Effective Communication

The characteristics or principles of effective communication are for ensuring a productive communication. The major characteristics are as follows –

• Completeness of the Message

Communication must be complete so that better decision-making will be taken by the latter. It develops and enhances the relationship.

• Clearness and Integrity of the Message

The message to be conveyed or sent must have clarity and integrity for better understanding. Clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of the message. The pith and substance of the message should be based on honesty and accuracy.

• Conciseness of the Message

The intended message must be free from verbosity and should be so written that it is intelligible at the first sight. Short and intelligible message sent to the receiver is ever appealing and comprehensible. It saves time and cost as it is understood at the first instance.

• Consideration of Physical Setting and the Recipient

In order to make communication more effective, the overall physical setting, i.e., the media of communication and the work environment, must be considered. The content of the message must take into account the attitude, knowledge, and position of the recipient.

• Clarity of the Message

The message should have clarity of thoughts and ideas in order to be understood clearly. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words and symbols.

• Courtesy to be Maintained

The sender’s message should be so drafted or prepared that it should be polite, reflective, and enthusiastic. It must show the sender’s respect for the receiver and be positive and focused at the receiver.

• Correctness of the Message

The drafting of the message should be done in such a manner that the final message doesn’t have any grammatical errors and repetitions of sentences. The message should be exact, correct and well-timed.

III. SKILLS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Conveying a message effectively is an art as well as a skill developed after continuous practice and experience. The predetermined set of skills required for an influential communication process are as follows:       

• Observance: A person must possess sharp observing skills to gain more and more knowledge and information.
• Clarity and Brevity: The message must be drafted in simple words, and it should be clear and precise to create the desired impact over the receiver.
• Listening and Understanding: The most crucial skill in a person is he must be a good, alert and patient listener. He must be able to understand and interpret the message well.
• Emotional Intelligence: A person must be emotionally aware and the ability to influence others from within.
• Self-Efficacy: Also, he/she must have faith in himself and his capabilities to achieve the objectives of communication.
• Self-Confidence: Being one of the essential communication skills, confidence enhances the worthiness of the message being delivered.
• Respectfulness: Delivering a message with courtesy and respecting the values, believes, opinions and ideas of the receiver is the essence of effective communication.
• Non-Verbal Communication: To connect with the receiver in a better way, the sender must involve the non-verbal means communication too. These include gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, postures, etc.
• Selection of the Right Medium: Choice of the correct medium for communication is also a skill. It is necessary to select an appropriate medium according to the situation, priority of the message, the receiver’s point of view, etc.
• Providing Feedback: Effective communication is always a two-way process. A person must take as well as give feedback to bring forward the other person’s perspective too.

IV. Barriers to Effective Communication

There are certain obstacles which sometimes hinder the process of communication, making it less useful for the sender as well as the receiver. These barriers are categorised under three groups.

Barriers Involving Words

Words play an essential role in the process of communication. Any disturbance or distraction in the way a message is presented may lead to miscommunication. Following are the different types of communication barriers related to words:

• Language: It is a medium of communication. If the sender is making excessive use of technical terms, it will become difficult for the receiver to understand the message clearly.
• Ambiguity and Overuse of Abstractions: Even if the message is presented in a non-realistic or vague context involving a lot of notions, the receiver won’t be able to connect with the idea properly.
• Disorganised Message: When the words are not organised systematically to form a powerful message, it loses its efficiency and meaning.
• Information Overload: The effectiveness of communication reduces when a person keeps on speaking for an extended period. Thus, leading to the receiver’s exhaustion, who won’t be able to keep track of everything that is conveyed.

Barriers Involving People’s Background

People belong to different backgrounds, i.e., culture, education level, gender, etc. These attributes majorly affect the efficiency of the communication process. It involves the following related obstacles:

• Attitudinal Differences: At times, people are resistant to understand or change their mind when they have set their views about a particular topic. Their attitude obstructs meeting the purpose of the communication.
• Demographic Differences: The difference in age, generation, gender, status, tradition, etc., creates a lack of understanding among people and thus, hinders the process of communication.
• Lack of Common Experience or Perspective: The experiences of a person develops their perspective of seeing things in a particular way. This perspective varies from person to person. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a receiver to relate with the sender’s experience or views as he might have never gone through it himself.
• Jumping to Conclusions: Some people lack the patience of listening to others and often jump to conclusions between the communication, thus neglecting the motive of the message.

Physical Barriers

These barriers can be experienced directly but challenging to overcome. These include:

• Physical Distance: When people communicate over long distances, they miss out the non-verbal aspect of communication, since the gestures and expressions of the receiver cannot be interpreted.
• Noise: The environment or the communication system sometimes involve unwanted noise which interrupts the process of communication making it inefficient.
• Physiological Barriers: One of the most common barriers to effective communication is the physical disability of the people involved. Some of these are hearing impairment, poor eyesight, stammering, etc.

Thus, we can say that the significant purpose of communication is to pass on the information to the receiver in such a manner that it does not lose its significance. At the same time, the message must be received in its purest form.

V. 4S’s  Effective Communication

An understanding of the 4 S’s is equally important.

Shortness. It is often said that   “Brevity is the soul of wit.”. The same can be said about communication. If the message can be made brief, then transmission and comprehension of messages is going to be faster and more effective. Flooding messages with high sounding words does not create an impact. Often, the receiver has spent a major chunk of his time in trying to decipher the actual meaning of the message.

Simplicity. Simplicity both in the usage of words and ideas reveals clarity in the thinking process. Using simple terminology and equally simple concepts would help.

Strength. The strength of a message emanates from the credibility of the sender. If the sender himself believes in a message that he is about to transmit, there is bound to be strength and conviction in whatever he tries to state. Half-hearted statements or utterances that the sender himself does not believe in adds a touch of falsehood to the entire communication process.

Sincerity. A sincere approach to an issue is clearly evident to the receiver. If the sender is genuine, it will be reflected in the manner in which he communicates.

MODULE – 1

BHM COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SEMESTER 2