Guideline for writing a project for subject: English

Guideline for writing a project for subject: English

Applicable both for English Paper -1 and English Paper -2

Literature

What is a Project?

A Project is a creative output from a student’s end where he/she puts in her individual thought about a chapter and in English it may be a Prose or a Poem. It is a genuine individual creation and can never be a copy work, copied either verbatim from the text or copied from someone else or even from the internet.  

The internet is a valuable tool for procuring information but whatever comes from the internet cannot be treated a truth as if from the Bible. The facts that are to be used from there need proper and implicit verification. Again one must know how much fact to be utilised from the internet for his / her Project. Say for example while writing about the author the pupil had referred to the biography of the person on the internet. There he or she finds the author once upon a time had a plate of Mutton Biriyani at the Paranthewaali Galli at Old Delhi and had liked it when he had gone there to attend his nephew’s marriage. Now this information is absolutely superfluous and does not need any inclusion in the project, unless the Project is not on describing the gastronomic sojourn of the writer down the Indian sub-continent.

How it should be done?

Keeping this fact on mind the project on a story or a poem is made up of  8-10 pages which are described below.

The 1^st Page :  The pupil will  introduce to the reader about himself/herself – it must contain his Name/Roll No./ Class/ Subject etc.

The 2^nd Page: The Page Heading will be: The Story/Poem Chosen’:

This introduces the reader with the story or poem the pupil has opted to write along with the name of the author or poet.

If the student chooses a Story the pupil will write “The Story Chosen” for poem the pupil will write “The Poem Chosen”

The 3^rd Page: Comes the ‘Index’ – The pattern is described in Page No.: 4

The 4^th Page: The Heading will be: The Story or Poem in Brief.

The student will describe the prose or poem in brief. If it is a ‘story’ the student will give the heading as “The Story in Brief” and if it is a poem the student will write “The Poem in Brief”

Here the student will describe the main features/ incidents/keystone of the story or the poem in his own words.

Copying the story or the poem from the text is right away discouraged and undesired.

For writing the summary the help form the internet may be taken but the student must recall that whether the information and fact related on the internet tallies with the one given in the class’s prescribed text. 

This should not exceed more that one and a half of a page.  

The 5^th Page: The Heading is:  ‘About the Author/Poet’ –

Here the pupil is required to write about the Author or the Poet.

It the topic on which the student is writing is a prose then it would be “About the Author”, if it is a poetry then she/he should write “About the Poet”

Mainly the information about the author or the poet available at the end of the story or poem should be enough; else the internet may be referred but one must know how much information he or she may put in.

Sometimes certain Poem or Story may be a ballad or a tale or may be just without the name of the poet or the writer. In such case the student will inform the reader on that allotted page as the case may be saying “Information on the writer or Poet is not available”.

The 7^th Page:  The Heading is:  ‘My Conclusion on the Story or the Poem’

Here the pupil is expected to give a definite conclusion on the story. As for example the story goes “the King of a country by mistake punishes his army’s Commander in Chief and after realising his faulty judgement,  he repents till the end of his life.

Now the pupil can draw many conclusions from this fact. He can say:

1.       The King was basically a good person. He realised his fault and repented. Had he been rogue he would not have cared for his misdeed.

2.      The King should have verified before punishing him.

3.       Such is life. The good and the loyal are always punished 

4.      No matter how honest one is, the rich and the powerful always takes an upper hand on their subordinates.

And so on...............

The 8^th Page: The Heading is:  ‘My Views on the Story or Poem’

Here the pupil speaks about his view on the story. Say for example based on the sentences relating to punishment of the Commander of the army in the heading ‘My Conclusion’ a pupil can derive endless views depending upon his perspective.  As for example

1.       The King was a good person and he believed in whatever others said.  

2.      The King, who was the head of the country, lacked personality and could not discharge his duties properly. His repentance at the end may have taught him to be more careful in future.

3.      The writer has wrongly portrayed the character of the King. He shouldn’t have made him such a villain by punishing an honest person of his Office.

4.      The writer has never mentioned in the story whether the King punished the person who gave him such wrong information based on which he punished a good soul. Instead, he punishes himself by his atonement in his late life. I don’t think the writer has made proper justice to his story. 

Thus, depending upon individual’s perspective, there can be innumerable views the pupils can have.

The 9^th Page: The Heading is: ‘My Learning from the Story’

Now, each story or poem has a message or may carry innumerable messages, depending upon the perspective of the pupil. In the story where the King punishes wrongly the Army Chief, a pupil can say in his/her learning:

1.       One, no matter how good at heart he is, should always verify and then take a decision.

2.      One should be beware of such persons like King who does not verify and passes his judgement penalising good people.

3.      A person like King must discharge his duties properly instead of being lazy and depending upon other’s observation.

In this way there can be different learning by each individual from a single story.

The 10^th Page: The heading is ‘Acknowledgement’.

Now we are ending the discussion on the story or poem in the  Project and the time has come to thank the people who has helped the pupil in making the project. Apart from the teachers, extending thanks can go even up to the parents who have bought him/her the text book or the special booklet to make the Project, or even accompanied them to the cyber cafe for the use of internet.

Each should be thanked in separate paragraphs telling the reader about each one’s contribution for making the project successful. 

The 11^th Page: The heading is: ‘Bibliography’.

Here the pupil will say about from where he/she has got the information. It can be the textbook, or Google or any internet site. That should be mentioned for verification by the reader.

How to give the finishing?

Now, the written work being completed, comes the second part of the project, that is winding up. They are as follows.

1.       Number the pages from the 4^th Page titled: ‘The Story in Brief’ till The 11^th Page titling ‘Bibliography’

2.      Now draw the index as shown below  

Sl. No.	Topic Title /Heading	Page No.
1	The Story/Poem in Brief
2.	About the Author/Poet
3.	My Conclusion on the Story/Poem
4.	My Views on the Story/Poem
5.	My Learning from the Story/Poem
6.	Acknowledgement
7.	Bibliography.

3.      Write the Headings as described from 4^th Page to 11^th Page and give their page numbers in the next column as per the page number that particular page carries.

4.      Cover the hardcover with a decent single colour paper, preferably of light shade,  and then top it up with a cellophane paper gluing  it up properly.

5.      Relevant pictures may be used but for writing an English prose or poem where the reader is much more concerned with the language and the findings the pupil has done, such pictures neither create any effect nor do they carry any meaning. As for example while writing a project on a poem that talks about a war made from warships, the picture of canons bursting out fireball from the ship does not appeal to the reader anything.   

6.      Point to note, although a topic as told above may take a few lines, nevertheless each topic should be discussed in separate pages.

7.      Lastly a project is a well thought out analysis of a story or poem made by the pupil solely and alone according to his/her level of thought. It should not be taken as a one day cricket and done in a hurry nor a work copied verbatim from a friend or thoughtlessly from the internet. One should take time in chalking it out, making notes and finally giving it a shape and think it as a product of his or her research work.

*************************