Test Papers / Previous Question Papers of IGNOU DCE1 General Principles of Writing December 2005

DIPLOMA IN CREATIVE WRITING IN ENGLISH
Term-End Examination

December, 2005

DCE-1 : GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF WRITING

Time: 3 hours
Maximum Marks: 100
(Weightage 70%)

SECTION A

1. What is the authorial voice ? What are the various modes of address that an author can adopt ? (350 - 400 words) (20)

2. What would be your advice to someone who wants to become a writer ? List the do's and don’ts. (350 words) (20)

3. How important is the opening to a short story ?(350 words) (20)

4. How can a writer ensure the readability of his/her work ? (350 - 400 words) (20)

5. What are the duties of a copy editor and what kind of preparation or training does a copy editor need ? (350 words) (20)

SECTION B

6. Write a short story of not more than 400 words on any one of the following topics : (20)

(a) Once bitten twice shy

(b) Birds of a feather flock together

(c) Like father like son

7. Write a short story beginning with the following lines. Build it to a climax but do not conclude it. (350 words) (20)

It was my first ever airplane trip and I was going abroad, to France. I was so excited and so nervous that I wanted to shout and sing as well as pray to God silently and avoid all my co-passengers. But the person sitting next to me kept looking at me strangely...

8. Read the poem given below carefully and answer the questions given at the end : (10+10=20)

Homeless

I envy those
Who have a house of their own,
Who can say their feet
Rest on what is theirs alone,
Who do not live on sufferance
In strangers' shells,
As my family has all our life,
And as I probably will.
A place on the earth, untenured,
Soil, grass, brick, air,
To know I will never have to move;
To review the seasons from one lair.
when night comes, to lie down in peace;
To know that I may die as I have slept;
That things will not revert to a stranger's hand:
That those I love may keep what I have kept.

Vikram Seth

(a) Identify the images and discuss the role of imagery in the poem.

(b) What is the theme of the poem ? Discuss its relevance to the title with special reference to lines 5 and 6 of stanza 2.