Test Papers / Previous Question Papers of IGNOU DCE2 Feature Writing June 2005

DIPLOMA IN CREATIVE WRITING IN ENGLISH
Term-End Examination

June, 2005

DCE-2 : FEATURE WRITING

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

Note : This paper has two Sections, A and B. Answer any five questions, choosing at least two from each section. All questions carry equal marks.

SECTION A

1. Write short notes on any two of the following : (200+200 words) (2x10=20)

(i) Gender bias in writing on women

(ii) Prejudices in book reviewing

(iii) Prerequisites for a travel writer

2. Would you say that familiarity with allied subjects is necessary while about women ? (400 words) (20)

SECTION B

6. Write a feature on the role of women politicians in our country. (1400 words) (20)

7.Draw up a two-day itinerary for a group of foreign travellers in the age group 40 - 45 years, who are visiting a few of your favourite places in the country. (20)

8. You have been sent as a reporter to a tsunami hit area. Prepare a list of 10 questions and their possible answers that you would ask the survivors there. (20)

9. Write a short feature on dowry deaths, highlighting the measures one can adopt to prevent these in the future. (400 words) (20)

10. Read the book review given below and comment on the subject, relevance and style of the book as discussed in the review. (20)

PIECE OF CAKE

BY SWATI KAUSHAL

REVIEW BY NANDINI LAL

This novel is a blithe study of relationships at workand at play, in love and out of it. Sporting a believable cast, a linear plot with satisfying twists and a friendly tone that is neither banal nor syrupy, it explores the chances of landing a promotion and a sexy date and dodging a transfer and an unsuitable suitor.

Minal, endearingly cheerful but earlobeless, loves herwork at a company that makes breakfast bars. But at 29,she is desperate enough to be open to neighbours, colleagues and seminally weird boys her khadi-cladmother sends her way. She is also not above letting her mobile phone blast Kambakht ishq during black-tie plays,flushing diamond rings down loos and flinging garbage when romance does not go well. She juggles flippant retorts with flipcharts and PowerPoint presentations wiihpakoras (oily) and four Guptajis from Uttar Pradesh (oilier).

Battling spinster blues and a career nosedive after her advertisement got leaked to a rival company, Minal is on the look out for a bailout knight and the backstabber. Shetrots out the usual suspecls - hunky radio jockey Ali; rich, boring surgeon Sunil who feeds her dreary, five-star spinach meals; and nasty colleague Aman - and jumpsto disastrous conclusions. And so do we, till the jaw-dropping denouement. We leave her as she is reinstated in the warm embrace of her firm and gets to cut their famous cake.

Swati Kaushal uses her experiences at IIM-Calcutta and Nestle to present corporate intrigue and tidbits on how the quirky Indian market works. This is a debut that keeps the pages turning, a desi Bridget Jones's Diary without the classic hysterical edge.