Creative Writing

TIME TO BE CREATIVE

 

CREATIVE WRITING HELPS BREAK BARRIERS AND IS A POPULAR SUBJECT IN WESTERN UNIVERSITIES,

 

THE editor of a leading literary journal, who is also an established writer, once said: “I can't understand why there is this mushrooming of creative writing courses. Why should a writer be taught to write?” 

   Another renowned writer answered, “As one who has developed a Master of creative writing course at the university, I can't let that one go.” This conversation occurred at a literary meeting in a pub at the Leith Literary Festival in Edinburgh a few years ago, where I was a discussant. 

   Creative writing as a taught university discipline has been an American reality for many years. Britain has seemed quite shy about embracing the idea of introducing the subject in its academic institutions for a while. The turnaround has come from students’ demand, older resistances have given way and creative writing has become one of the fastest growing departments in many universities. 

   On a rough national average, there are 50 applicants for every university place in creative writing. 

   The Open University, which is Britain's largest higher education institution and an A grade University, started off with short three-month courses which proved immensely popular. 

   Then it introduced a second level Creative Writing course which I taught in its very first year. The enthusiasm of students was overwhelming and the tide remains high. 

   Last year, I joined the new literature department at Napier University in Edinburgh, which has been rated as Scotland's top modern university and is of the first five in the UK. 

   With English literature, we have realised that we have to introduce creative writing, respecting students’ demand. We are starting joint honours degrees this October and a Master in creative writing in the following academic year. Why should aspiring writers be taught to write? From teaching in numerous creative writing workshops and on intensive courses like those run by the prestigious Arvon Foundation, I have realised that I missed out on such opportunities when I was in the lonely role of trying to find my ‘voice’ as a writer. 

   Creative writing courses break the first barriers as they address the difficulty of ‘starting to write’, facing the cold reality of a ‘writer’s block’ and in helping the student to discover her/his particular genre(s) and most importantly, a distinctive ‘voice’, through various task driven modes. In the workshop-led method, constructive peer criticism becomes the backbone of the journey towards the final ‘acceptable’ piece and is the training that prepares the writercritic for a future when s/he can stand back from her/his work and judge it dispassionately. 

   Creative writing courses encourage the student writer to allow a ‘cooling off ’ period to have a fresh perspective of what was written earlier and to face bravely the benefits of paring down 

   one’s own work. 

this shared creative environment, students not only learn from each other but have the encouragement we all need to develop what we are best at as writers. 

This, I feel, is an opportunity to build up a portfolio of publishable work. And the hard reality of the commercial world of finding a literary agent and a publisher, assessing the right literary journal for one’s work and knowing about the various outlets for one’s writing — whether on page or the web — is invaluable. 

Perhaps it is time to take the initiative to develop creative writing as a discipline in Indian universities. 

 

 

 

   Sunil Sharma 

    Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

             &

www.dilsedesi.org

The Counsellor -- 17

 

Technical scribe 

Are there are any institutions where one can pursue a formal qualification in technical writing? 

Gobind Ballabh

 

Few universities in India offer education in technical writing, and online courses can be very expensive. On the internet you can access mailing lists like TECHWR-L, TechComm, and TWIN that are akin to daily online seminars for Indian writers.There are few journals or books available for technical writers to hone their skills. It is not mandatory to have a technical background to enter this profession. Though there is better scope for science graduates many professionals from the field of journalism, English and even advertising move into in technical writing. 

   Most entrants tend to pick up the skills through on the job training. However, knowledge of DTP tools (Page Maker etc), development tools (RoboHelp) and web tools (HTML and XML coding is a definite advantage for an online environment. Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL), www.scdl.net , offers one-year certificate course in Instructional Des. Shortterm courses in technical writing are also offered by the University of Pune, Department of Journalism; University of Cochin; and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. 

   Society for Technical Communication, India Chapter organises training and networking activities in this field. They also have a regular newsletter "Indus" which carries articles on technical communication, particularly in the Indian context. For more details you can log on to: www.stc-india.org. Technical writers in India have joined hands to form TWIN (Technical Writers of India) - an association that provides a platform to share their experiences and exchange information.

 

 Details are available on www.twin-india.com  The Writers Block (TWB) #30 Service Road, Domlur Layout, Bangalore 560071,

 

 www.twb.in , offers following courses: 

• The TWB fundamental certification programme 

• The TWB associate certification programme 

• The TWB Online course in Technical Writing (Distance mode) Also check out the following: 

• Technical Writers of India, Mumbai 

• Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore 

• Technowrites Pvt Ltd, Pune 

• S A international, Ltd, Chennai 

• TASC Consulting Pvt Ltd, Mumbai 

• TechnoPoint, Bangalore 

Looking ahead 

I am crazy about sports and would love to run a sports management company. Please give me some tips. Do I need to get a degree in mass communication? 

   Meena Vashisht

 

No, an academic degree is not absolutely necessary, although some background in marketing, either through education or experience, should help. 

   Managing celebrities is a well-established concept abroad. In India, it is more in vogue with film stars, but now cricketers,tennis players and golfers are also becoming savvy about their image. People who are creative, confident, self-motivated and have an eye for detail are well suited to work as event managers or public relation managers for companies that organise sporting events. If you have a sports background, it would be useful. 

• Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences, Pune, offers a postgraduate diploma in sports management 

• Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Science, New Delhi offers a one-year postgraduate diploma in sports management 

• Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management, www.iiswbm.edu, Kolkata offers a one-year postgraduate diploma course in sports management 

• Alagappa University, department of distance education, Karaikudi, www.alagappauniv.org, offers a postgraduate diploma course in sports management through distance learning 

Financial Engineering 

What is financial engineering? What are the careers that financial engineers can pursue? What are the courses available? 

Vaishno Prashad

 

Also known as financial mathematics, mathematical finance, and computational finance, financial engineering applies mathematical methods to resolve problems in finance. 

   It draws on tools from applied mathematics, computer science, statistics, and economic theory. Quantitative finance is a well-developed discipline that is gaining ground as global financial markets grow and become integrated. 

   Investment banks, commercial banks, hedge funds, insurance companies, corporate treasuries, and regulatory agencies employ financial engineers to tackle problems like development of new financial products, valuation of derivative securities, structuring portfolios, risk management and scenario simulation. 

   Quantitative analysis has brought innovation, efficiency and rigor to financial markets and to the investment process. And as the pace of financial innovation accelerates, the need for highly qualified people with specific training in financial engineering continues to grow in all market environments. 

   Financial engineers apply their skills in a broad selection of finance-related careers including the pricing and trading of securities, financial modelling, sales, risk management and portfolio management. The skill sets acquired in a good financial mathematics programme at the masters level prepare students for many interesting fields. Moreover as it is increasingly recognised in financial firms that computational and mathematical skills are critical to the success of all organisations, the market for students with financial mathematics degrees continues to broaden. 

   There are dozens of masters degree programs in financial mathematics and engineering around the world. The majority of these programs are in the US, but there are programs in Canada, UK and continental Europe, as well as nearer home, in Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

 

 

 

Sunil Sharma

   Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

& www.dilsedesi.org

 

 

Effective Letter Writing

 

An open letter

 

 ADVICE to  PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS AND COUNSELLORS ON HOW TO MANAGE AND ISSUE EFFECTIVE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION TO STUDENTS

 

PRINCIPALS, teachers and counsellors, in your line of work, you are often requested to give Letters of Recommendation for your students. My sympathies are entirely with you - you are already overburdened with work, have loads of corrections to do, extra-curricular activities to supervise, bureaucratic processes to deal with at your institution, and above all, your own curriculum to complete. 

 

   Writing these letters is, perhaps, the least of your concerns. And more often than not, students ask you at the last minute, and then annoyingly begin to badger you for them within a day or two. A more thankless task in the course of your work cannot be imagined - as I said earlier, my sympathies are entirely with you. 

 

 

  Another way to look at this, perhaps, is that students are actually paying you an enormous compliment by requesting you to give them these Letters of Recommendation. They are conveying to you that they believe you know them well, and have sound knowledge of their intelligence, work capacity, integrity and other interests. Small comfort, but there you are. 

Here are a few tips to assist you: 

POINTS TO REMEMBER    

If you are regularly requested to give Letters of Recommendation (LoRs), put up clear guidelines in your office for students 

 

   Specify the amount of time you require and add a few extra days as a margin of safety. Students should be notified to give extra copies of the blank LoRs with their names and data filled in.You may want to keep your own copy for reference, and in case of an error, valuable time could be wasted in arranging for extra copies. Besides, you shouldn't have to make copies yourself — that is the student's job 

 

   You deal with hundreds of students within the span of a few years --- you cannot be expected to remember the details about each and every student you teach. Ask the student to give you copies of their board exam results, and a short note on prizes, awards, participation in extra curricular activities, voluntary work, and leadership positions held 

 

   Ask students to provide details about the universities and colleges where the LoRs are going. This achieves two objectives — you will be able to give more effective letters, and it will ensure that students do their homework and familiarise themselves with their target institutions 

 

   If the student has taken standardised tests such as the SATs, TOEFL or IELTS, GRE, GMAT or any others, ask them to provide copies of the same.You will have validated proof of their academic potential 

 

 

  Students are usually asked to write an application essay (also known as a Statement of Purpose, or SOP). Ask the student to give you a copy of his/her SOP if they have already written one --- it gives you valuable pointers about the future plans of the student, which you can comment upon in your LoR 

WRITING THE LETTER 

Now for the actual letter. It is important to differentiate LoRs from routine 'character certificates' that are issued by schools to all their students. 

 

   North American universities evaluate students on several parameters --- the most common being academic strength as indicated by their scholastic achievements in class exams, class rank and standardised tests. They also look for leadership qualities, abilities outside the classroom such as sports and athletics, debating, theatre, quizzing etc, extra curricular involvement, voluntary and community work, and special interests and abilities. 

 

   It is important to remember that universities and colleges abroad are not completely familiar with the Indian education system. One common misnomer is the name 'public school'.What those abroad do not know is that in India, public schools are, in fact, very 'exclusive' schools, which admit students only after rigorous testing. 

 

   For Canada and the US, public schools are literally that — public schools which charge no tuition fee, and are open to all residents within that particular school district. It is therefore comparatively easy for a bright student to rank in the top 5, 10 or 20 ^th percentile of his/her class in Canada and the US. It is crucial to include information about how students have already been through several filters before getting where they are. 

 

   Further, the Indian education system uses a formal, measured, rigid system of communication, whereas 

the Western world uses a relaxed, informal, spontaneous, but more analytical method of communication. It would be best to adapt to the international norms in this respect. Be generous in your estimation of your students' potential, but don't gush --- that would be going to the other extreme. 

 

It is also important to emphasise that your own school sets standards that are considerably higher than the board exams (which most private schools in India do), and your reasons for doing so. The class exam results may therefore not be a true reflection of the final results the student will receive in the boards. Most foreign universities make admissions decisions in January-February; well before the board results are available. 

 

 

 

Sunil Sharma

    Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

 

Tips on Writing an Effective Dissertation

Dissertation dos

Dissertation writing is a complex procedure that calls for thorough research, enhanced presentation skills and conviction to the chosen topic. Tips on writing an effective dissertation
CONSIDERED one of, if not the most exhaustive academic written assignment of a student's life,a college dissertation takes an average of 10 to 12 months of extensive research, reporting and analysis before completion.

Devi Singh, director, IIM Lucknow avers, "A dissertation is reflective of a student's seriousness and analytical bent towards his or her academics. It is one of the best indexes to measure your understanding of any course." He further adds, "Dissertations are also an integral part of the acclaimed master's programme and must always be treated seriously and professionally both by students and teachers." Since it is practically impossible to compile the entire research in a single burst of creativity, teachers often suggest that students take a step-wise approach.

The first step in writing the dissertation is to establish priorities. Nishi Pandey, director of UGC, Academic Staff College, Lucknow University suggests, "Remember that your paper will require a significant investment of time that has been previously devoted to some other activities. You need to develop a strategic plan, which should include a time frame for achieving the set goals."

The basic element for completing a dissertation successfully is to adhere directly to the basic subject knowledge, the format and structure requirements. Nishi emphasizes that it is very important for the student to establish a direct connection with the topic at hand, so that the resulting dissertation is clear and crisp, even to another reader.

Carlyle McFarland, Christian College and English Academician, adds, "As a student or researcher, one must remember to focus on the language usage, in that a command over the language and an in-depth understanding of what you mean and what you are writing is a must."

Other elements such as the abstract, introduction, body, conclusion, references and others should be perfectly formatted as well.

The topic chosen should be quite provoking so as to attract plenty of information for depiction."Filtering the right information, classifying it and breaking it up into contents would make a reader/ examiner appreciate the decision making abilities of the writer and his or her professional spirit towards arguments and their illustration," opines Nishi.

A common myth in dissertation writing is that you start writing at chapter one and finish at chapter five. This is seldom the case. The most productive approach in writing the dissertation is to begin by writing those parts that you are most comfortable with. Then move about in your writing by completing various sections as you think of them. At some point you will be able to spread out in front of you all of the sections that you have written. You will then be able to sequence them in the best order and see what is missing.

To ensure that your final dissertation is neat and clear, prepare a list of key words that are important to your research and use this set throughout. There is nothing more frustrating to a reader than a manuscript that keeps using alternate words to mean the same thing. For instance, if you've decided that a key phrase for your research is 'educational workshop', then do not try substituting other phrases such as 'inservice programme','learning workshop','educational institute', or 'educational programme'.

Finally, refrain from plagiarising. Singh warns, "Students need to be careful as institutes are now updated with plagiarism detecting softwares, which are being used prevalently." Thus the days when a copypaste job was acceptable, owing to the lack of resources to check the originality of a dissertation,are long gone.You can be inspired, but directly copying someone else's text is simply not acceptable.

AT A GLANCE

STAGE 1 Thinking about the topic

STAGE 2 Preparing the proposal

STAGE 3 Conducting the dissertation

STAGE 4 Writing the dissertation

STAGE 5 Sharing the outcomes of the dissertation

STAGE 6 Revising the dissertation


Sunil Sharma
Moderator
Dil Se Desi Group