No.

of Printed Pages : 4 j DCE-2

DIPLOMA IN CREATIVE WRITING IN

ENGLISH
Term-End Examination
December, 2013
DCE-2 : FEATURE WRITING

Time : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 100

(Weigh tage 70%)
Note : This paper has two sections, A and B. Attempt any
five questions in all, choosing at least two from each
section. All questions carry equal marks.

SECTION - A

1. While writing about women, what are some of 20

the prejudices and biases that one needs to be on
guard against to be effective ? (450 words)

2. Subject, style and relevance are the three concerns 20

which go into a reviewer's final judgement. Assess
the importance of each. (450 words)

3. Pictures and illustrations play an important role 20

in travel writing. Do you agree ? Give reasons for
your answer. (450 words)

4. Discuss in detail the use of interviews in feature 20

writing. (450 words)

DCE-2 1 P.T.O.
5. Write short notes on any two of the following :
(200 words each) 2x10=20
(a) Informative articles for the tourist
(b) Interviewing rural women
(c) Theme-based interviews
(d) Importance of being acquainted with allied
works on the subject while reviewing a book

SECTION - B

6. Write a short feature article on the statement : 20

"Urban women are more intelligent than their
rural counterparts". (450 words)

7. Write a travel article (for 65-70year olds) 20

describing a religious place, outlining all the do's
and don'ts, that the pilgrims would need to
observe on their visit. (450 words)

8. you have been sent to interview a very rich and 20

famous person who has the world at his feet, but
still lives a very simple and frugal life. List 10
questions that you would ask him of his/her
personality and their possible answers so that a
clear picture emerges. (450 words)

9. Write a book review of any book that you have 20

read. Keep in mind all the guidelines that you
have learnt about reviewing. Remember to give
the title, author and price of the book. (450 words)

10. Comment on the subject a style of the following 20

extract, in your capacity as a book reviewer.
(450 words)
Room by Emma Donoghue
Emma Donoghue's remarkable new novel,

DCE-2 2
 "Room," is built on two intense constraints: the
limited point of view of the narrator, a
5-year-old boy named Jack; and the confines of
Jacks physical world, an 11-by-11-foot room
where he lives with his mother. We enter the book
strongly planted within these restrictions. We
know only what Jack knows, and the drama in
immediate, as is our sense of disorientation over
why these characters are in this place. Jack seems
happily ensconced in a routine that is deeply
secure, in a setting where he can see his mother
all day, at any moment. She has created a
structured, lively regimen for him, including
exercise, singing and reading. The main objects
in the room are given capital letters - Rug, Bed,
Wall-a wonderful choice, because to Jack, they
are named beings. In a world where the only other
companion is his mother, Bed is his friend as much
as anything else. Jack, in this way, is a heightened
version of a regular kid, bringing boundless
wonder and meaning to his every pursuit.
Although I hate to reveal plot points, some are
necessary to discuss the book, and early on, the
story reveals that Room is actually a prison, with
a villain holding the key, and that Ma (as Jack
calls his mother) is being kept against her will.
Fierce claustrophobia sets in-what had seemed an
odd mother-child monastery is now Rapunzel's
tower or Anne Frank's annex or a story from the
news about a stolen child living in a hidden
compound. Jack, interestingly, does not feel
trapped; that the two live in Room against his
mother's will is not something the son knows right
away, and this contrast creates the major fissures
and complexities in the book: Room is both a jail
and a haven.

DCE-2 3 P.T.O.
 Once it is known that Ma doesn't want to be
there, the careful, painstakingly constructed
framework of the characters' days takes on a new
tenor. That Ma can engage and interest a lively,
bright boy while enduring the despair of their
situation turns her into a heroic figure. When, later
in the book, someone mentions how "zeitgeisty"
it is, in our thing-ridden times, to make do on so
little, Ma is horrified, and we are horrified, yet
we are riveted by her manner of coping-in the
same way we're riveted by Anne Frank's bravery-
and amazed by her capacity for adaptation.
Donoghue goes the distance with "Room" and
she brings her story to a powerful close that feels
exactly right. This is a truly memorable novel, one
that can be read through myriad lenses-
psychological, sociological, political. It presents an
utterly unique way to talk about love, all the while
giving us a fresh, expansive eye on the world in
which we live.

DCE-2 4