Our present post deserves applause. Originally sparked by Anas Haider of class O’ Level, and then heavily edited by Muhammad Abu Bakar Mian, the story highlights a globally recognized problem: bullying. Keeping our scenario in view, the story is focused on school bullying, a topic on which you’ll find loads of material available on the internet. What is school bullying? In Ken Rigby’s words the answer is it has varied shapes, like: “psychological, emotional, cyber, social or physical harassment of one student by another at school or within the school community. This includes at school and within its grounds, in transit between school and home, local shopping and sporting centres, at parties or local parks and in cyberspace. The playground is the most common place for bullying to occur. Bullying involves an initial desire to hurt, this desire is expressed in action, someone is hurt, the action is directed by a more powerful person or group, it is without justification, it is typically repeated, and it is done so with evident enjoyment.” Ken Rigby (1998). See a successful use of an oxymoron in the last line: "emotional excursion".

I was shocked to find my friend Sami among the bullies of the Class

Sometimes you will find your friends doing the unimaginable. This is what happened to me when I realized Sami was a class bully. I learned that being betrayed by a friend in such a way hurts a lot more than when it’s just another person.

As far as I knew, my friend Sami was a close companion and confidant.

It was an anxious night as I sat revising for my upcoming English test. I could not have known of the horrible day that would soon follow. After a good night’s rest, I found myself in the testing room with the English paper in front of me. While solving the paper, I noticed the two students sitting behind me trying to cheat. I hid my paper from their prying eyes and did my best to pay absolutely no attention to their chatter. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that the students sitting right behind me were the bullies of the class.

These students, one of which was Sami, didn’t say anything to me as I handed my paper in. When I got home however, Sami asked me to drop by our favorite hangout spot. My mother told me to go after eating lunch, but I convinced her otherwise. Upon reaching my friend Sami, I found myself in a disheartening situation. In a fierce burst of anger, he threatened to kill me for not helping him cheat during the English exam. I asked him if there was anything I could to do make it up to him. Hearing this, he offered to forgive me if I gave him a large sum of money. Agreeing to his terms, I ran home as fast as a lion. Running into my mother’s arms, she asked me why I was gasping for air. I told her we played a lot of football and that I was exhausted. After having lunch, I went to my room and spent much of the night pondering over what I should do next. To whom should I tell my story? Suddenly, an epiphany went off in my head, and I decided to consult with my Vice Principal.

The following day, I informed my VP of the entire ordeal and the difficult situation I now found myself in. My Vice Principal suggested that I give him the money, and have the shady deal recorded on camera. That way, I would have solid proof of Sami’s blackmailing. Thankfully, everything worked out just the way we planned and Sami was expelled from the school.

If you find yourself being bullied, the best thing to do is consult someone else. It’s never a good idea to go through such an emotional excursion alone.

Anas Haider

Class O’ Levels

PakTurk International School

Chak Shahzad Campus, Islamabad

Boys of O’ Level Final, the other day, were challenged by their language teacher to produce a story within 40 minutes time, in a way that the ending must have some sort of surprise. Here is what our writing genius Muhammad Abubakar Mian ‘blurted out’. Witty and amusing stuff!!

I had practiced saying it a hundred times, but when the moment came, I just couldn't open my mouth.

“I had practiced saying it a hundred times, but when the moment came, I just couldn’t open my mouth!” Wasiullah wailed.

Upon hearing this, the entire room burst into a thunderous roar. It was hard not to laugh at Wasiullah’s misfortune. Wasiullah, the shy gentleman in our group of friends, was retelling his failed attempt at befriending the pretty girl living across the street from him.

“And what happened next?”

I questioned while trying to conceal my smile as best I could.

“Absolutely nothing.” He murmured. “She stood there looking at me expectantly with those soft pearly eyes of hers. She waited a few seconds for me to say something, but I guess she gave up as the next thing I saw was the small of her back and her golden-brown hair.”

“Soft pearly eyes? What the hell have you been smoking, man?”

“I smoke only the sweet fumes of love.”

Wasiullah replied as a smile quietly stretched across his face. His mood seemed to have been improving. It was clear, however, that Wasiullah had something special brewing in his heart for this girl, and that it was up to us to get the job done.

It was decided that I would be the one to accompany our lovestruck knight on his next expedition. Wasiullah seemed to be having an issue with introducing himself. For this reason, my task was to take care of the introductions before quickly leaving the two of them to themselves. Wasiullah informed me that the girl went for a stroll through Central Park every day at around three in the afternoon. We decided that this would be the best time for making contact with her. The next day both of us made our way to a bench near the entrance of the park and began waiting patiently. After about an hour of sitting around, Wasiullah let out a nervous squeal.

          

“There she is!” he yelped.

 Mustering as much suave as I could, I slowly made my way towards her.

 “Hi there.” I hollered.

The girl, however, walked right past me. Befuddled, I caught up with her and put my hand on her shoulder. Once she turned around, I told her my name with an inviting smile. This is when the girl pointed to her ear and I made a harrowing realization. The girl, who our dear Wasiullah had so quickly fallen in love with, was deaf.

Muhammad Abubakar Mian, O’ Level Final Year
PakTurk International School
Chak Shahzad Campus, Islamabad

A short story by our intelligent Armughan Aslam, a hard working boy in my O’ Level class. True that some areas and some of the sentences need improvement here, this still is worth reading a text. Armughan, as you will see, can successfully incorporate vocabulary words. His imaginative ability is also commendable. I’m sure he will most certainly be doing lots better in his future attempts.

“I realized that the man walking down the street had done something abnormal…”

I had never been so anxious in my whole life. My blood pressure had skyrocketed, and I was in a state of anguish and confusion. I could never have expected that the new Mercedes, which I had bought less than a week ago, would be stolen so effortlessly.

It was a sunny afternoon of November. I was driving back home after a hectic day in the office in my brand new Mercedes Benz. After years of promotions, hard work and savings, I was finally able to afford this luxury, and it made me extremely jubilant. As I rolled into my street, I noticed a tall, hairy man worriedly searching for something. In the span of a second, I realized that the man walking down the street had done something abnormal: he took hold of a garbage bag near my home and started pacing in my direction. I had to brake hard in order to save the man, who quickly came up to my door. Then, darkness!

When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the lopsided sidewalk, with a faint pain in my head. I remembered the man squealing “Please forgive me” before landing a blow on my head with a rod. Worse, he had gotten away with my up-to-date Mercedes, which made me angry as a charging bull. Without a second to waste, I headed to the nearest police station and registered an FIR against the culprit. During the while, I overheard policemen conversing with each other.

“Have you heard the news? A bomb cleverly hidden in a garbage bag is out there somewhere in the city.” yelped one policeman to the other. “If we don’t find it soon, it can surely wreak havoc.” Before I had time to think, a sudden newsflash illuminated the LCD mounted on the wall: A bomb had just set off a few miles away from town. Soon the news spread like wildfire, and footages from the scene where being broadcasted live. All of a sudden, I felt a jolt within, because the dilapidated automobile damaged by the explosion was actually mine!

Just then, it struck my mind: the man, who apparently had robbed me of my car, had actually tried to dispose of the bomb as far away as possible from the city. I could not help tear at the fact that he had sacrificed his life to save the lives of hundreds. I informed the policemen of my story, and they too couldn’t help but praise the bravery of that man. That day, my faith in humanity was finally restored.

Name: Armughan Aslam

Student of O’ level Class

PakTurk International School, Islamabad

“He could never resist the temptation” was the topic given to our O’ Level final year students in their monthly performance test for November, 2014, and here is what Muhammad Sohaib Shahid blasted off for us to enjoy. See the engaging style. Words and sentences in his writings shape in a way that they keep you dragging till the end. You feel like finishing the story and then attend anything else in your life. Well done, Sohaib!

“He could never resist the temptation”

Like always, he did not see it coming. His over-weight soccer boots did not balance him which made him skid across the wet floor. Alan had slammed into the fireplace resulting in a bad bruise. To his fortune, Henry had just put off the fire but Alan, strained in excruciating pain, gave a high pitched moan.

 Mum and Henry hurried downstairs and on finding Alan severely hurt, gave him some aid. Wiping charcoal off his leg, Alan tried to walk but with each stride, he doubled the pain. It turned out that Alan had to miss a vital game for his team.

Alan and Henry, being twins were passionate in soccer. Although Henry never played since he froze due to nervousness in an equally important game, he was just satisfied watching his gifted brother play. He would recall the moments  he played together with Alan and always wanted to relive them but Alan, who was the heart of the team, would suggest him not to.

“Tell the coach about my leg……argh …, you…have gotta make it there” Alan insisted.

It did not take much before Henry hit the road. On arriving at the field, he missed the presence of his brother in the squad. Saddened, he grabbed a bench and impatiently waited the team’s recruitment. The coach was shouting the names of the starters when Henry heard him say “Alan”. It was time for Henry to innovate, since he could never resist the temptation.

As Henry seemed totally identical to Alan, he decided to fill his space.

“Just a moment, coach “, he blurted out quickly and then crept into a room where he got strut in the kit. Soon he was among the players and “The Hull Tigers” were all set to attack.

This newly born “Alan” felt overjoyed as the match progressed. It seemed he had overcome his nervousness completely. The crowd would appreciate his every effort, considering it to be Alan’s regular game though it was Henry who had managed to play like him. It was the last moment of the match when out of nowhere, the football bolted into the net. Henry who had barely played a month had scored the winner for his team.

Hull Tigers had won the cup!

Henry, extremely jubilant, rushed back home and beheld before his brother the trophy. Alan on having already received the victory news by a text message chirpily exclaimed, “well, there’s been a while we haven’t played together”.

Muhammad Sohaib Shahid
O' Level Final Year
PakTurk International Schools & Colleges,
 Chak Shahzad Campus, Islamabad

Tips on how to write answers to the questions appearing at the end of Passage 2 in GCE O’ Level English

Tips on how to write answers to the questions appearing at the end of Passage 2 in GCE O’ Level English

1.      Read first 2/3 questions. It will help make your mind keen enough.

2.      Then give the passage a quick, thorough reading.

3.      Next, once finished with your first reading, get back to the questions area. Read all 2/3 questions set against paragraph 1. Then holding a pencil or pen, underline areas where you find their answers.

4.      Why to read all 2/3 questions constructed on a paragraph?

(It helps you know how much information/detail is to be given responding to each of the question, or else you are likely to do the mistake of giving detail in an answer which is, in fact, required in the answer to the next question.

5.      Mentally arrange your answer first before writing. See, how many words you can substitute with different (own words) easily. Substituting all words is not required.

6.      Write your answer--- always write a complete short sentence, and never depend on just a phrase (even if the marking scheme allows to), because it’s been noticed that many of the candidates end up giving a structurally wrong phrase which is incapable of communicating the right answer.

7.      Write in dark blue or black pen to help your answers become conveniently visible for the examiner.

8.      Give just as much information as is required. Avoid giving extra detail.

9.      Always number your points in your answer for a question that carries two marks.

10. On Vocabulary Question:

a)     Never write a complete sentence.

b)    Always write a short phrase which should be no more than seven (07) words.

c)     Do not write literal meanings of the words.

d)    Write meanings that are contextually closer to the words.

e)  Even if you do not know literal meaning of a word, you can successfully sense its meaning by reading that part of the text repeatedly.

f)  Remember, knowing literal meanings of words is neither necessary, nor humanly possible since there are millions of words which no one can memorize.

g) Your talent and skill ‘To sense the meaning of a given word’ is what the examiner, in fact, asks for.

h) Always manage to review your answers. Stay assured, we all commit minor mistakes while writing for the first time since human mind, during that while, remains in the grip of thought process.

Tips and Techniques for Summary Writing in Passage 1 in GCE O' Level English (1123)

Tips and Techniques for Summary Writing

Instructions	Examples
1.        By holding a pencil, underline all vocabulary words in the points box. Next, write a synonymous word close to each word.	Fixing      Enough   The idea of installing sufficient number of lifeboats was contemplated but rejected. Thought of            discarded
2.        Incorporate more than one point in each of your sentences.	The idea of fixing enough lifeboats was considered by the manufacturers but was discarded to avoid needless expense, thinking that Titanic would not sink.
3.        Avoid using passive voice wherever it is possible.	Passive: The captain was not listened to by the owner. Active: (The owner did not listen to the captain.)
4.        Do not write the obvious.	Steve started eating healthy food I love to wear a cap She drank a glass of water Father took his medicine regularly		OBVIOUS to be able to gain strength. on my head. to quench her thirst. to be able to get rid of the disease.
5.        Use single word adjective or adverb rather than adj. clause and adv. clause	Adj. Clause A man with gigantic height came close to him. A tall man came close to him. Adv Clause They played football showing lots of energy. Adv They played football energetically.
6.        Never write superfluous and pointless text.	Superfluous Text There are many benefits of reading books. Some of them are simply superb with which you can excel others around. For example, you enhance your knowledge on finding solutions to a variety of issues. Another benefit is that reading helps you improve your expressive power.			Smart Reading books helps you enhance your knowledge and expression.
7.        Do not write synonymous words.	Each and every player was equally interested. Every boy was interested. Michael called him over and over again. Michael called him repeatedly. Or Michael called him again.
8.        Do not use an adverb to describe an adjective to emphasize the significance of something.	·          …but that was absolutely useless. …but that was useless. ·          Mother told him it was unavoidably important. Mother told him it was important. ·          It was highly appealing. It was appealing.
9.        Do not use ‘that’ in reported speech.	·          Mother told him that it was important. Mother told him it was important. ·          Sami suggested that we should relax for a while, but we were so very excited that we rejected the idea. Sami suggested to relax, but we rejected the idea.
10.     Avoid giving reason where it seems unnecessary.	Sami suggested that we should relax for a while, but we were so very excited that we rejected the idea.
11.     Shrink clauses to phrases and phrases to single words.	The man who was wearing a big, blue coloured cap came forward. The man wearing a cap came forward. It was a lecture that covered every aspect of the topic. It was a comprehensive lecture.
12.     Precision: Be precise and write single words instead of definitions.	I realized its importance was more than usual. I t was doubly important. She had a whole collection of documents that contained detailed information about the event. She had a dossier on the event. A person who is too curt in his or her dealing abrupt For years dreadful memories of the crime she had committed kept coming to her mind. For years she was haunted by guilt. A situation that does not allow any viable solution Complicated Sami was feeling extremely irritated and he dropped the idea of attending his cousin’s birthday party. Frustrated, Sami changed his mind.
13.     When showing contrast, use connectors.	On the other hand, on the contrary
14.     Sometimes, you can show a list of so many points in a single sentence.	She had many different chores to do before moving to the market. She was to cook food as per her husband’s desire. She had a pile of washable clothes waiting for her to finish. Next, she wanted to make a couple of important phone calls that seemed unavoidable. Also, she was planned to reading a book review on her laptop. Cooking, washing, making phone calls and reading a book review were the jobs to be finished before her moving to the market.
15.     Your summary must be continuous prose, and not in points form.
16.     Do not paragraph. Your summary must appear as a single paragraph.
17.     Use formal language words.	Informal About Guy Mind-blowing Nuts	Formal Concerning/pertaining to Man, boy Astounding/astonishing Mad/absurd
18.     Keep having a look at the list of serious errors and minor errors. SERIOUS ERRORS 1.        Wrong verb forms. 2.        Serious tense errors. 3.        Serious errors of sentence structure, especially in setting up subordination. 4.        Omission or obvious misuse of prepositions. 5.        Wholesale misunderstanding over the meanings of words used. 6.        Serious errors of agreement. 7.        Ingrained weakness of punctuation, i.e. the habitual comma replacing the necessary full stop. 8.        Mis-spellings of a minor nature. Count as a serious error when the form of the word is severely mangled. 9.        Obvious slips of repetition or omission. 10.    Breakdown of sense.	MINOR ERRORS ·         Minor errors of punctuation, i.e. the failure to complete pairs of commas in parenthetical ·         Phrases/clauses, omissions of stops after introductory words like 'however'.

Guidelines on How to do Comprehension Passage 1 in GCE O' Level English (1123)