AMIETE – ET/CS/IT
(NEW SCHEME) – Code: AE99/AC99/AT99
Subject: COMMUNICATION SKILLS & TECHNICAL WRITING
Time: 3 Hours Max. Marks: 70
NOTE: There are 9
Questions in all.
· Question 1 is compulsory and carries 20 marks. Answer to Q. 1. must
be written in the space provided for it in the answer book supplied and nowhere
else.
· Out of the remaining EIGHT Questions answer any FIVE Questions. Each
question carries 10 marks.
Q.1 Choose the appropriate alternative in the
following: (2
10)
a. When the reported speech is reproduced the actual words of the speaker, it is called ______________
(A) direct narration (B) indirect narration
(C) descriptive narration (D) journalistic narration
b. In transforming sentences from Direct to Indirect narration, the tense of the reporting verb ___________
(A) is always changed (B) is never changed
(C) is sometimes changed (D) can be changed or not as one desires
c. There are ________ main verb patterns in the English language.
(A) 25 (B) 50
(C) 16 (D) 26
d. The basic sentence pattern in the English language is _____________
(A) object-verb-subject (B) object-subject-verb
(C) subject-verb-object (D) subject-object-verb
e. The antonym of ‘smoker’ is _______________
(A) smoking (B) non-smoker
(C) un-smoker (D) no-smoker
f. The synonym of
‘ask’ is _____________
(A) tell (B) inquire
(C) order (D) clarify
g. None ____________ so deaf as those who will not hear.
(A) is (B) are
(C) was (D) were
h. Paraphrase means the ___________ of the sense of the passage in other words.
(A) restatement (B) opposite
(C) statement (D) none of these
i. Four years ____________ needed to acquire B.Tech. degree.
(A) are (B) is
(C) total (D) totally
j. Unilateral communication is an example of _______________
(A) soft skills (B) hard skills
(C) feedback skills (D) interpreting skills
Answer any FIVE Questions out of EIGHT Questions.
Each question carries 10 marks.
Q.2 a. What are the merits / demerits of a written communication? Explain. (6)
b. List the seven C’s
that a person should keep in mind for effective
oral
communication. (4)
Q.3 a. Do as directed: (6)
(i) He said, “I want to purchase a car.” (Change to Indirect
Narration)
(ii) None but the brave deserve the fair. (Change to Affirmative
sentence)
(iii) Owing to bad health, he could not travel. (Change to Compound sentence) (iv) He paid off his debts which he had earlier contracted. (Change to Simple sentence).
(v) God is invisible. / God created the world. / The world is visible. (Combine the above three sentences into a single sentence.)
(vi) It is now time to say prayers. (Change to Passive Voice)
b. Written below are
four incorrect sentences. Write the correct sentences. (4)
(i) The officer ordered the soldier to immediately report.
(ii) The income tax provision of tax relief not only applies to permanent employees but also to casual workers.
(iii) My mother, that is a housewife, is forever busy.
(iv) Girl students must either wear sarees or salwar kameez.
Q.4 a. Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions on the same.
‘Man has been defying the elements since he appeared on
earth. Driven by the necessity of survival, by his love of adventure and by an
insatiable curiosity where the unknown is concerned, he has braved the oceans,
the mountains, the deserts, the skies and finally space.
For several centuries man has lifted
himself into the air with balloons, but it was not until the twentieth century,
that Orville Wright, in 1903, made man’s first powered flight. His average
speed for the trip was 31 miles an hour.
Both the speed and altitude of man’s
flights have increased since that time – slowly at first and then by great
leaps. The speed of sound (about 735 miles an hour) was exceeded in 1947.
Present-day aircraft fly regularly at more than twice that speed. The X-15 has
flown at more than 4100 miles an hour.
Now, in space, man has achieved altitudes measured in hundreds of miles and speeds measured in thousands of miles an hour.
As far as the rigid requirements of
space travel are concerned, man is not the most efficient mechanism. He
requires an environment very closely resembling that in which he lives on
earth. In order to survive he needs adequate oxygen, barometric pressure,
temperature control and the elimination of toxic agents. He is a relatively
heavy object and the equipment required to protect him in space flight of even
short duration weighs hundreds of pounds.
In space, man must cope with
isolation, confinement and even radiation which menace his life. His efficiency
and reliability are variable. As a power source he is slow and frequently
inaccurate. He requires rest, food and relaxation and unlike a machine, he is
not expendable.
Notwithstanding all this, there has never been any doubt that man would challenge the dangers of space as he has challenged every other unknown. For, inspite of his shortcomings, man brings to space exploration certain attributes which no one has ever succeeded in building into a machine. He brings intelligence, judgement, determination, courage and creativity. He can use all of these attributes in case of the unforeseen. By simply adding man and his capabilities to a machine, the chances of success in a space mission are enormously increased.’
Questions:
(i) Why has man been defying nature?
(ii) What are the requirements of space travel?
(iii) What attributes of man are likely to
bring him success in
space exploration? (32)
b. What strategy
should one follow for improving one’s reading fluency? (4)
Q.5 a. What are the
various styles of writing generally followed? List them
with
a short description of each. (6)
b. What is the
information that should be contained in the agenda of a meeting? (4)
Q.6 a. What are the
various stages of the listening process? Describe in brief
each
of them.
(6)
b. What are the main
components of soft skills? (4)
Q.7 a. What are the objectives of a group discussion? (6)
b. List the various
methods and sources used for collecting data for reports. (4)
Q.8 a. What points need to be kept in mind while writing good business reports? (6)
b. How is the Preface
of a report different from the Foreword? (4)
Q.9 a. When
preparing for an interview, list some of the general questions
that
one should prepare for in advance. (6)
b. What are the main
points to be kept in mind while writing a resume? (4)