Our present outgoing batch of O’ Level Class has four native speakers. Muhammad Abubakar Mian is one of them, an American from New York who speaks exhibiting all nasal sounds like Americans do. There are many things that add to his charms other than just being a native speaker. He’s a humble soul; very respectful one; sparks humour in his writings and speaking; he’s studious, hard working and hence a brilliant student; takes pride in being a Muslim and a Pakistani. However, what caps him off is his glittery status of being a pure literary soul with very impressive expression in both speaking and writing. Hence, for each of the tasks assigned, most often his is the answer that serves as a model for others’. Once again, a big kudos for Abubakar! Now gear up guys for a question on Formal Writing. See you tomorrow early morning as my first period is scheduled nowhere else but with you.

Letter to a friend inviting him to be in your team to represent your school in a general knowledge competition

Points to be incorporated:

When and where the competition will take place

A request to your friend to join you in the team

Why you think your friend is the best choice for your team

What preparation you should both do

Details of the prizes in the competition                                                     

                                                                                          

Dear Wasiullah,

I am very well aware of how you’ve always wanted to take a trip to Europe. Not a second goes by that you aren’t buried deep in a book or magazine on European history or culture. Well, I have a very exciting bit of news for you: The principal of our school has selected me for a general knowledge competition taking place in our city. The top prize for this competition is a wonderful tour of Europe being paid for the mayor himself. Since each school will be competing in teams of two, I would like to have you by my side for the showdown.

When I first learned of the competition and what the prize was going to be, I immediately thought of you. The more I think about your expertise however, I’ve decided that you are most definitely the best person for the competition. While the competition does not entirely have to do with Europe, I’m certain that many of the questions will be related to world geography, important historical figures and the like. Furthermore, you’re exposed to quite a bit of infotainment through movies and TV shows which will further augment your performance in the competition. Lastly, I am selecting you because I trust that you will work very hard to win because the top prize is something you’ve always wanted (longed for/dreamed of ----- you’ve already used ‘want’).

The competition is going to be held at Islamabad Convention Center next Saturday from 3 in the afternoon to 9 o’clock at night (in the evening). In terms of preparations, please do spend your time this week taking in as much general knowledge and information as possible. We can consult our school and public libraries; can bookmark websites exclusively designed on general knowledge related stuff; can also ask our teachers to be of some help etc. I look forward to not only competing alongside you next week, but also taking home the grand prize.

I’m all eyes to receiving an enthusiastic response from your side

Yours with love

Abubakar

Abubakar

Last week, boys of O’ Level Class attempted a comprehension passage by responding to a pack of short questions set on that. Alongside, to help them boost up their vocabulary, they were given the task of sorting out vocabulary words and then by involving them, develop a story. Muhammad Abubakar Mian has taken the lead by managing to drop his story into my mail box earliest of all others. I’d like to call it a massively successful attempt because all vocabulary words incorporated seem to have been employed as if there was no deliberate insertion of these words into the text. However, I’m not very pleased with where he left his story i.e. ending. In the capacity of being a reader, I feel unsatiated. Still, I find it a job well done. (humayun)

The White Knight had an important announcement to make........

Sir Edward, a public figure who was loved by his people and had a reputation of being one of the leading knights in the kingdom, had lost his sword. A knight losing his sword was an unthinkable thing and a cause for great embarrassment. If anyone found out about his predicament, he would be the laughing stock of the entire city. Sir Edward knew that he needed an imitation of his old sword, fashioned out of the finest metal, as soon as possible – but there was one problem: the unfortunate knight did not have enough money to cover the expenses.

Sir Edward, thankfully, had an old friend by the name of Marth who was a blacksmith. Marth’s blacksmithing business had flourished in the last few years thanks to many things, but principally due to growing demand for metallic goods. Marth was the only person Sir Edward could turn to, and so the knight made his way to the shop. On his way there, Sir Edward realized how much easier it was to move around without a sword. The swords Knights had, were quite cumbersome and carrying them was a laborious task.

The knight emerged in Marth’s shop at around four in the afternoon. The shop was conveniently empty as Sir Edward slowly took off his heavy cloak.

“Edward, my old friend, it’s so nice to see you!” Marth shouted from across the room.

Skipping all pleasantries, Edward drew Marth close and explained the situation.

“Is that why you’re wearing that heavy cloak… to hide from the people? How is it possible for a knight of your caliber to be so afraid of what other people might say or think of him? You are Sir Edward the White Knight, yes, but you are also human. And humans make mistakes – like losing things once in a while.” Marth exclaimed.

It was with these words that Sir Edward made an important realization: Knights shouldn’t have to be afraid of coming out about losing their swords. After all, Knights were the prime target for thieves and other criminals. Without another word, Edward made his way to the city square. The White Knight had an important announcement to make, an announcement that would free other knights from permanent embarrassment and ridicule.

Vocab

Principally

Fashioned

Flourish

Permanent

Turn to

Lead

Reputation

Cover

Laborious

Emerged

Cumbersome

Convenient

Imitation

Muhammad Abubakar Mian

O’ Level Final Year

Boys of O’ Level were asked to gather vocabulary related with a snowy day, and then develop a story in which they would be incorporating all that vocabulary. Let’s see how very successful Muhammad Abubakar Mian’s attempt is. I believe a compelling quality opening; vocabulary capable of representing the situations and feelings; variety in the sentence structure, variety in vocabulary, variety in situations, description of feeling and emotions and situations; use of descriptive verbs + all this coupled with an engaging content; engaging content means the author has the ability to keep dragging his/her readers along till end by keeping their minds hooked up. That’s all what makes a story a truly interesting stuff . See for yourself, Muhammad Abubakar Mian does deserve applause for a job well done --- quite effortlessly. A big kudos, Abubakar

....I called the number back but to no avail…

What I woke up to would have been called a frozen wonderland if it wasn’t for the howling wind still raging outside. A violent and unrelenting blizzard had overtaken the small town of Dearborn, Michigan. This storm of deathly white was unlike anything Dearborn had seen before. Virtually everything in the town was under a blanket of snow, and not a soul stirred in any of its streets. Businesses and most public services were closed, as people trapped themselves in their homes while seeking refuge from the Siberian environment. How much longer will this blizzard last? I wondered, while slowly creeping out of bed and making my way to the kitchen.

Perhaps a nice, warm cup of coffee will fight off the frigid cold that still holds a tight grip over my body, I thought. As I was sipping on the coffee, however, my cellphone rang - but only for a few seconds. It stopped ringing as soon as I took it out of my pocket. The missed call was from an old lady that lived about a block away. Perplexed as to why she was calling so early in the morning, I called the number back but to no avail. Suddenly, the freezing cold came rushing over my body once more. Maybe she’s in trouble and needs my assistance? Being her only friend and contact in the entire town, she didn’t have anyone else to turn to.

A part of me wanted to quickly gulp down the coffee and just as quickly crawl back under the comfy bed sheets. While the warmth of the bed sheets might have shielded me from the blizzard’s arctic grasp, it would not have provided closure as to why Ms. Lee had just left a missed call. As this internal conflict of emotions played out in my head, I unconsciously got myself dressed - ready to face the icy tempest.

With one last deep breath, I swung the door open and trudged out into the snow. Hugging my coat like a joey clinging to its mother’s pouch, I turned in the direction of Ms. Lee’s house and made my way towards it. Every few steps a debilitating gust of sleet and snow hurled itself against me. Bracing myself for more of these aggressions being carried by the blizzard, I thought of my relationship with Ms. Lee. Unfortunately, I didn’t know much about her and neither did she of me. What I was certain of however, was that I was the closest thing to a friend she had anywhere in this town. It was my responsibility, then, to make sure she was okay. ‘Maybe she has fallen somewhere in her house and is unable to get up,” I feared.

After a few more minutes of walking, I finally made it to the house. I rang the bell and then heard a shout from deep within the house. The exclamation put my body into overdrive as I turned the door knob and sprinted inside.

“Ah! Abubakar, it’s so nice to see you. I just finished baking some cookies. Why don’t you sit down and eat?” (…describe your reaction as well --- in a sentence or two. How did you feel like? Shocked? Sad? Bored? Happy or what? Besides, whatever you revealed in the end could have been something more forceful, more enthralling one. That blast surprise I was waiting for turned out to be rather weak here.)

Muhammad Abubakar Mian
O' Level Final Year
PakTurk International School & College
Islamabad

O’ Level students are fully clear on this point that when getting hold of a topic for story writing, and intending to use first person pronoun ‘I’, they can pose to be anybody, like a mom, a baby, a shopkeeper, an elderly person or a young man etc. See the way Muhammad Abubakar Mian seized the topic, triggered/prompted his imaginative explosive to cause this ‘big bang’ you call ‘a short story’. Intensely engaging right from the first word he dropped onto the sheet, the story is compellingly believable. With crispy, punchy sentences most naturally gushing out like a water spring, and well-connected like pieces in a chain, the story itself unfolds all information, the background, the present scenario and a likely future. You’d feel as if you were watching this incident with your own eyes. It’s like a Hollywood movie scene.

Muhammad Abubakar Mian was asked to generate a short story using the following two sentences anywhere in the text.

“Blood was still oozing out of his nose…”

“I had never expected her to betray me like that.”

Blood was still oozing out of his nose as I slammed him against the wall and continued to beat him to a pulp. His tattered shirt was red all over, but no amount of bleeding would stop my onslaught. My fury of punches continued to rain down on him as I blocked out the screams of my wife. She pleaded me to calm down, but that was like asking a bull to stop and wait as an entertainer tied his shoes - impossible. In retrospect, I’m not exactly sure where all that intense energy had come from, but come it did, and when it came, it was violent. 

The stranger had touched my wife in the privacy of my home. I use the word “stranger” lightly as he was a stranger to me but might not have been a stranger to these walls. My wife could have let him in on a number of occasions. This was a possibility that I did not want to believe, but was forced to at least consider. I had never expected her to betray me like that. These thoughts raced through my mind as my one-sided offensive continued. 

There was one thought that resonated throughout my body more so than the others: ‘This was my fault. It was my neglect that had led my wife to what she has done.’ She was not to blame, and neither was the man at the receiving end of my fists. The latter was only taking advantage of the former’s unfortunate situation. The thought of this magnified my anger ten-fold, but it was through this anger that I realized the man before me was now motionless. His whimpering had subsided and his body grew cold. The next sound I heard was that of a police siren going off somewhere in the distance as two men in blue jackets kicked down the door.