The students have already practised paragraph writing. How does an article differ from a paragraph ? In fact an article is an advanced writing which may or may not contain more than one paragraph. You may say it is something between a paragraph and an essay. Articles narrate the personal feelings of the writer on a particular subject. Its style must be simple. The following examples may help the young learner to learn how to write an article.
1. The Purpose Of Education
In modern times, people know the importance of education. Every parent wants to educate his child. Yet, I wonder if we have yet realized what the real purpose of education is. I am afraid to most of us, it helps to earn more money and perhaps more respect in a society which values money and power. But even uneducated people have earned a lot of money and gained respect. I would therefore say that this earning and spending is not the real purpose of education.
To my mind, education should help us to perfect our mind in four basic abilities. First of them is the ability to express oneself orally and in writing. Second quality of an educated mind is clarity of thought. Third, he should be able to make valid judgements in conflicting matters. The last and the most important thing is to learn what is important and unimportant in the world.
2. The Aim Of Life
I am sure every boy and girl has to encounter such questions from elderly people. They would ask a teenager, “What is your aim in life, my son ?”. To such questions, you generally reply that you want to become a doctor or an engineer or a leader, so on and so forth. Yet, think for a while. Is it the aim of life or a means of livelihood ? None of these can ever truly be the aim of life. Since many people have made their jobs their aims of life, much trouble has cropped up.
So, do not make your career your aim of life. I cannot suggest what this aim should be. All that can be said is that it should be something very high like a star in the sky. Take an example. What was Mahatma Gandhi’s aim in life ? Some of you might say that it was the freedom of India which is not true. He was a sad person on the day of India’s independence. Arundhati Roi wrote a novel, became famous and got a lot of money. Then she gave up all her time and energy to serve the poor. What is her aim ? So make your own aim and live for it.
3. Drinking Water
Everybody knows that water is very important for our life. We need water for cleaning, agriculture and in cooking. However, its most important use is drinking. The drinking water must be pure. If it is not so, it may cause disease and death. So there are many ways by which we purify our water. The simplest way is to boil the water before drinking. These days many water purifiers are also available in the market. But these are costly gadgets and everyone cannot afford them.
It is the duty of the government to provide pure drinking water to the people. The main source of such water is rain. The crisis occurs when there is less or no rain fall. That is why the conservation of rain water has become very important. We must do everything possible to preserve drinking water.
4. Co-Education
Co-education is becoming more and more acceptable in the country. It has many advantages. Some people say that it enhances the performance of the students. It also makes them more disciplined. Perhaps the greatest advantage of co-education is that it teaches students how to behave with the opposite sex.
Yet, there are many people who consider co-education an evil. Their argument is that in co-educational schools, the students pay less attention to their studies. They are always trying to spend some time with the opposite sex. This is true to some extent. However, it happens with those students who enter a co¬educational institute in their teens. Those who enter in a co-educational institute in primary classes, do not become a victim of this syndrome.
5. Patriotism
Patriotism means love for one’s country. A patriot is ready to sacrifice everything for the love of his country. Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Swami Vivekananda were among great patriots. It is not, however, the same thing as nationalism. A nationalist wants his country to dominate other countries. A patriot respects the rights of other nations. The nationalist says : “My country, right or wrong”. A patriot says, “My country, may she always be right”. A patriot is, therefore, a man of high character who believes in the idea of ‘Vasudhev Kutumbakam’ which means that the whole world is a family. It has been rightly said :
“Not gold but only men can make
a nation great and strong.
Men who for truth and honour’s sake
stand fast and suffer long.”
6. The Role Of Money In Our Life
Since early childhood, we are being told : “If money is lost, nothing is lost; if health is lost, something is lost but if character is lost, everything is lost”. Yet we find people running after wealth from the cradle to the grave. So, it is difficult to agree with the old saying.
The truth is that human beings are made of body and soul. For those who do not believe in soul, I would replace the word ‘soul’ with mind. As far as the body is concerned, money is of the highest importance. We can’t maintain this body without the things which money gives us. But soul or mind is equally if not more important for us. For them great ideas and good character is important. So I will conclude that money has an important role to play but it is not all.
Either way the teacher or student will get the solution to the problem within 24 hours.