On March 23, 1994, the body of Ronald Opus was found at the base of a ten-story building, having fallen to his death. The medical examiner, Dr. Mills, quickly determined that Ronald died from a shotgun wound to the head. But as the investigation unfolded, a web of bizarre coincidences and twisted intentions began to emerge. Ronald Opus had originally planned to take his own life. He jumped from the roof of the building, leaving behind a note expressing his despair. But as he descended past the ninth floor, his fate took an unexpected turn. A shotgun blast from a window struck him in mid-air, killing him instantly. The twist? Neither Ronald nor the shooter knew that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor to protect workers from falling debris. This net would have likely saved Ronald’s life, preventing his suicide from succeeding. Instead, the shotgun blast made the net irrelevant. Dr. Mills, puzzled by the chain of events, concluded that although Ronald intended to commit suicide, the intervention of the shotgun blast meant this could not be classified as a suicide. It was now a homicide. The source of the shotgun blast was traced to an elderly couple’s apartment on the ninth floor. The man, enraged during an argument with his wife, had threatened her with a shotgun. In his fury, he fired, but his aim was off, and the blast went through the window, striking Ronald as he fell. Although it seemed like an accidental death, things became murkier when the elderly couple insisted that they believed the shotgun was unloaded. The husband explained that it had long been his habit to use the unloaded gun to intimidate his wife, but he never intended to harm her. This led to speculation that Ronald's death might have been a tragic accident—if only the gun had been unloaded. Further investigation revealed a shocking detail. A witness came forward and revealed that the elderly couple’s son had loaded the shotgun about six weeks prior to the incident. The son had been angry with his mother for cutting him off financially, and in his spite, he loaded the gun with the hope that his father would shoot her. Though the son had not directly pulled the trigger, he was now implicated in the murder of Ronald Opus. His actions, driven by a twisted desire to see his mother harmed, had inadvertently caused a death. The charge of murder was now leveled against him. But the final revelation turned everything upside down. The son, who had loaded the gun, was revealed to be none other than Ronald Opus himself. In a fit of deep despair over his failed attempt to have his mother killed, Ronald had staged a jump from the building, only to meet his end at the hands of the very weapon he had set in motion weeks earlier. In a stunning turn of fate, Ronald had unintentionally caused his own death—not by his own hand, but through a cruel chain of events he had orchestrated. The case, which had started as a bizarre homicide, was now officially closed by the medical examiner: a suicide, brought about not by the fall, but by the tragic culmination of Ronald Opus’ dark intentions. Sometimes, as the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction.

A true murder story in Urdu - Hindi

PRÉCIS OF CORRESPONDENCE AND INDEXING

“The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.”  Fenelon Correspondence:- The object of making a précis of a series of letters or documents is to present briefly and distinctly the substance of the correspondence in the form of a continuous narrative, so that one could master in a short time all the salient points of the original. Hence all the essential points in the original should be presented in a connected and readable shape and expressed as clearly as possible and as concisely as is compatible with distinctness. Before attempting to extract from each letter or document the information necessary for your purpose, go through the whole collection rapidly to form an idea of the general drift. Next re-read slowly and carefully from the beginning, finding out everything that bears so what you have decided to be of prime interest. Mark the important passages. Often a letter supplies a summary of a previous letter. In such a case, the second letter is sufficient by itself, and you can neglect the first. You are not bound to follow the sequence of letters, any one of which may be merely formal for your purpose. If the contents of a letter are months and years anterior to the date of writing, it may require an early place in the narrative. Hence before attempting to make a précis, it is necessary to arrange the letters in their natural order, if they are not already so arranged. In making a précis of evidence given in the courts of law or before a commission, the minutes should be carefully read. The main points to be grasped are – Who is giving the evidence? In what capacity does the witness give evidence? What is the general purport and the conclusion drawn? The answers to these questions should, appear in the narrative form, in the same ways as a précis of a reported speech is written. Avoid the frequent questions and answers given in the original. Abridge the whole in a connected narrative. Avoid using names and titles as far as possible. Market reports, stock exchange reports, and similar topics are treated in a similar manner. Indexing:- For all practical purposes, an index can take the place of a précis. It is to be supplemented by a précis only when the whole matter must be put in a narrative form, as in the case of a report of a correspondence drawn by a secretary for his committees. An index should show at a glance the date of each letter, the names of the correspondent (writer) and the addresses, and the capacity in which they write. It should also indicate briefly the subject of each letter. This is done in a tabular form, which is generally a ruling into four columns, the last of which requires as much space as the first three together, the third being equal to the first and the second. Form or Ruling for Index S. # Date From and to whom Subject 1 2 3 4

How to make a precis-II

7. Finally, revise the précis carefully to make it read as a continuous whole. It should appear like an original composition. It should not read jerky. All jarring elements should be made smooth, and the whole précis should look like a systematically developed and smooth piece of prose. Each sentence should follow naturally and sensibly from the preceding one. When you think you have done your best, you may write out your précis neatly and carefully. Keep as nearly as possible to the same average of words to a line, so that it might help you in counting the words of the précis. State at the end, the exact number of words used by you in the précis. Make the final copy in a neat and legible hand. Mind your spelling and punctuation. Remember that most of the candidates get low marks in précis- writing not because they do it badly but because they write it illegibly and commit mistakes in spelling and punctuations. Spell accurately and punctuate carefully. The first rough draft written on the rough side of your answer book should be crossed out before making a fair copy of it on the right hand side of your answer book. Note:- 1) Nothing foreign should be introduced into the précis. No additions should be made, even though you know much more than what the passage contains. You have not to make any adverse or favourable remarks on the contents of the passage; rather you are required to stick to the original as closely as possible. 2) Be particularly careful about your language. Most o the students fail to make a good précis because they cannot express their ideas in a simple and lucid style. Your language should be as clear and simple as possible. Avoid verbiage. High-flown and ornate style is not desirable. Let the style of your précis be natural and unaffected.

How to Write a Precis

5. Put the original away and write out the first rough draft of the précis. After having read the passage carefully, having supplied a title and sub-headings, and having revised the skeleton plan, you are now in a position to write out a rough draft of the précis. Remember that on no account should the original be consulted at this stage. In the actual writing of the précis you should depend entirely upon your memory, with the skeleton plan to help you. You should overcome the temptation of looking at the original, for then and then alone the précis can be written in your own words, otherwise it will imperil your independence of style and preciseness. A précis must always be written in your own words and not in those of the original. Some students cull certain expressions and phrases from the original and join them with conjunctions and think that they have done what the examiner wants; but they get no marks for such an answer. They must know that a composition which is a hotchpotch of outstanding expressions, phrases, clauses taken from the original is not a précis. Précis in a new composition – a re-expression of another man’s ideas. Arrange your précis in paragraphs. Write the rough draft of the précis on the rough side of the answer book. 6. Count the words in the original and those in your précis. Your précis should, in no case, exceed one-third of the length of the original; but if the examiner has instructed you to keep to a certain limit, you must carry out his instructions. If your précis is longer than that limit, you should decide how many more words you should cut down. Condense again some of your sentences without bringing about any change in the sense of the original passage. Here you can employ several devices, which depend entirely on your mastery of the English language and your ability to express and curtail than on any given set of rules. a. You may cut down the number of words by using one word for several words; b. You may change a clause into a phrase; c. You may avoid un-necessary words and expressions; d. You may see that no idea is expressed in more than one way. Un-necessary repetition of expressions and ideas must be avoided. e. If the original contains illustrations, figures and quotations, they should not appear in the précis. f. You may replace two negative expressions by one positive. Remember that the words of the title are not to be counted in the number of words to be used in making a précis.

How to make a Precis

3. Find sub-headings. Read the passage again and jot down the salient points. If the original consists of paragraphs, find a title for each paragraph; and these titles may serve as sub-headings to your main title. If the original is an un-paragraphed passage you should subdivide it, and set down headings. Thus you will get a skeleton of the ideas contained by the given passage. This is all that is necessary to put on paper before the actual writing of the précis. 4. Read the original again. This reading will give you a correct impression of the relative importance of the ideas in the original. If it does, the skeleton plan must be corrected. If the writer of a passage emphasizes a certain point, you are also required to emphasize that point; and if he has not developed a certain point, you are not required to develop it. You should not give undue importance to any point but you should stick to the sense expressed in the passage. You must make sure that nothing essential has been omitted. In short, your précis must be well-proportioned.

“Brevity is the soul of wit.” - Shakespeare – Hamlet. Act II, Sec.2 1. Read through the whole passage carefully, once, twice or as many times as you feel it necessary to comprehend clearly its broad meaning. Determine the main idea of the passage. Generally speaking, you should read t thrice; but if you do not grasp the sense completely even then, you should read it again. The comprehension of the sense of the passage depends on your mental equipment and also on the style of the passage. The more well-up you are in English, the quicker you will comprehend the contents of the passage. The easier the passage, the less the labour required to understand it; but if the passage is difficult or complicated, it will have to be read many times and with great concentration. A careful and close study of the given passage is to be made not only for making a précis but also for answering any questions on it. However, précis-writing is a good test of your capacity to read intelligently and get the pith of whatever you read; and this is what your examiner, who sets a question on précis-writing, wants to know. 2. Give a suitable title to your précis, indicating briefly the subject of the passage. It should be as concise and pithy as possible. Beware of vagueness. Supply the title even if the examiner does not ask for it. In making a précis of a long speech or discourse, the title will be a long one because it must indicate as to who delivered the speech and on what occasion. In other cases and most especially in descriptive passages, the title must be concise and pithy. ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’ and a brief title lends an impressive colour to the whole précis.