FSc Notes & Essays

I got off the bus stop lugging a heavy laden school bag on my shoulders. I sighed and wished I didn’t have to walk a further ten minutes to reach home. I leisurely began making my way home. The footpath was a bit uneven in places and if I weren’t careful I might’ve tripped. A sudden barking interrupted my train of thought and I glanced over to my left side. A small white bungalow with a sloping crimson roof could be seen. Prominently displayed just outside the gate was a tiny white signboard that said “Beware of dog”. I decided to heed the warning and quickly moved past that house. The next few houses were similar to the ones I had just passed. In most of them I could spot an inflatable swimming pool lying in the garden. Inflatable pools had rapidly gained popularity as the temperature soared in recent weeks. One saintly person had installed a drinking water fountain outside his house from where I took a quick sip to soothe my parched mouth before heading on. In the di...

Outlines Birth and parents. Sold to a business firm. Under the table of the Manager. My daily food. Kicked by the master and degraded. The last and days. I should be spared the unpleasant task of introducing myself, for, I am sure, you must have seen me very often. I have from my very birth a weak constitution, so much so that you can actually count all my ribs. I have so very little weight that if a strong breeze blows, I would be blown along with it. People feed me with scraps of useless papers. Sometimes they feed me till I burst. My father was a poor man from Frontier who settled with my mother and brothers in Karachi. We were many brothers and sisters. As soon as we were born we were kept on the shelf of a small dingy shop, the rear portion of which was used as my master’s house. Every day I saw scores o my brothers going away and I did not know where they were going. I waited for them in the evening, but they would never come back. Once my father took me down from the shelf and m...

Outline: The spread of ancient Egyptian Egean civilization by commerce. The East India Company and India. The opening up of Africa and Japan. The evils connected with the spread of civilization by trade. Missions, and sometimes conquest, are less objectionable. Civilization has been carried from one country to another by conquest and religious missions, but perhaps mostly by commerce. In ancient times, it was, probably, Egyptian traders that brought civilization flourished 2000 years before Christ. Probably, trade, through the Phoenicians carried that civilization to Greece, and to all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. It was not only Roman arms, but also Roman commerce, that civilized many barbarian nations under Roman sway; later, it was not only the military power, but also the commerce of the Arabs that brought eastern civilization to many lands, and to Europe. In more modern times, it was a trade that led to Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the English to India and the...

Outline:- Not only the poor, but even rich men believe. Science dates from very ancient times. Shakespeare’s works have many allusions to this. But science does not admit any force in it. It is usually the custom, among a section of Hindus to have the horoscope of a child drawn up at birth by an astrologer. In the large cities, many profess this old art and advertise claims in the local press to foretell the future and to give advice regarding business, love affairs, and such things. While the uneducated people are the greatest believers, even well-to-do citizens are not above going to such men for their guidance. Reliable or otherwise, it is a scientific study on regular lines, and the training of an astrologer is long and thorough. It is known, from old writings and inscriptions on pillars, that the ancient Egyptians and the Chaldees practiced the cult of astrology. They studied the phases of the planets and left charts with the different signs of the Zodiac. A man’s life was thought...

Nothing is probably more horrible than the scene of war. It is not the death of millions of lives but it is their manner of dying which strikes terror into the heart and creates disgust in the very soul of humanity. When people die on millions on the battlefield, it is but natural that many children are rendered homeless, many women are made widows and many parents are deprived of their sons. The very separation between husbands and wives, between brothers and sisters, between parents and children is a painful sight. These are the after-effects of every war. But warfare in modern days is a more horrible affair than it used to be in the days of yore when people used to fight only with the bow and arrow, the sword and the battle-ax, the lance and the javelin. But now there is the machine gun, the torpedo, the submarine, the depth charge, the mustard gas, the air-bomber, the tank and so many other latest destructive inventions of science. There is no escape from destruction in the land, w...

Outline: Four brothers and five sisters. Plenty of company. Always the youngest was the center of interest and attention, till the next came. Not so much food, not such good clothing as if there had been fewer. But the love and companionship of brothers make up for everything. In our family, there are ten. I have two brothers and two sisters younger than myself, while two brothers and three sisters are my seniors. It is a fine big circle at mealtimes, as you can well guess. My father has never been a rich man and is now earning two hundred and twenty rupees a month. With the price of food what it is nowadays, you can well realize that our meals are not luxurious, and then nothing can be wasted. But we have always had plenty of simple, nourishing food, and none of us have ever had to go hungry. So we are much better off than millions of poor people in our country. With regard to clothing, also, it is always difficult to make both ends meet. The prices of cloth are high, and it is a cons...

Outlines. We can only conjecture. Unexpected things. The tendency to depend so much on machines. Possibility of exhaustion of food supplies. On the whole, I am glad I am living now. In writing on such a subject as this, there is one thing which is a great consolation to me. My views cannot be contradicted or proved to be wrong. You must wait for five hundred years to test them out, so I am on safe ground in setting forth my opinions. There are various tendencies and trends; which lead us to ascertain conclusions. In the first place, a great feature of our modern life is the extent to which men are depending on machines to work for them. A man seldom thinks of walking a distance if he can be taken quickly to his destination in a motor car. There are trains, tram-cars, buses and so walking is becoming an old-fashioned method of travel. We do not see men digging up their fields nowadays or guiding the oxen with the plow. Instead of the horror steam or motor-tractor is used to break up the...

Outline: Introduction. Life and work. Conclusion. It is not easy to choose whom one likes when one has several authors. As we pass on from one class to another. In our school life, we begin to like more and more writers whose works we read in elections. By the time we reach the degree classes, we would have read many stories, poems, and essays prescribed in the syllabus. Each piece that we read has some fine quality in it which endears it to us. We begin to like one author after another in the course of our earlier education. A time comes when the number of these writers grows larger. And this is not all. We hear the names and stories of other writers whose works are not prescribed in our courses. We hear of those writers from our elders at home. These are equally attractive for us. We hear the stories of our own literature in those of foreign countries. The result of this is that we are very often unable to vote for one particular writer when the choice is so wide. And yet we do make ...

Outline: Introduction. Description of the ideal. Conclusion. Every creature seeks happiness, and man plans for it, consciously. But few very few indeed, can claim that they have gained happiness. In the first place, we do not know what precisely happiness is. To seek a thing is better than to have it. This is the law, of the human mind. “To travel hopefully is better than to arrive,” said Stevenson, and he was right. Happiness is also a thing whose pursuit inspires us with hope, but not its possession. Secondly, there is no common, universal standard of happiness. It varies with the culture and temperament of people. Indeed, it is well known how one man’s food is another man’s poison. And in the same way, one man’s happiness may well turn out to be another man’s worry! Yet is a fact that all men seek this unknown thing and it is because they hope to get it sometime, somewhere, that they exist at all. A life without hope is a living death. We live by hope, effort, and expectation. Since...

Outline: The English system of government. Political parties are a natural result of it. Conservatives and Liberals-both needed.  The advantages of the party system. Its disadvantages. The party system is best studied in the English method of government. The English way of governing by an elected parliament is by free discussion based on popular representation. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, it is “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” The Parliament (or rather its most important part, the House of Commons) consists of representatives elected by the people of Great Britain. They, after open discussion, make the laws of the country by majority vote. Now all the people of a big nation are not likely to think exactly the same on all questions policy. As a matter of fact, there is generally a good deal of difference of opinion. People who hold one view naturally want to get it accepted, and people who hold the opposite view naturally oppose them. To get their v...

Outline: Introduction. Description of my ideal. Conclusion. Ideals are food for the mind as bread is food for the body. They are dreams of perfection. Men are both angels and beasts. They have bodies and instincts of hunger and thirst, and these must be satisfied. But they have minds and souls and by these, they become human and even divine. if we do not cherish ideals we are no better than our dumb brother, the beasts of the field and birds of the airs. But even the birds of the air sing songs when their bodies are fed and so men too begin to think and dream as soon as the wants of their bodies are fulfilled. As soon as we fill our bellies, our minds begin to wake up and look about. We look up at the stars and begin to wonder. We respect our nursery rhymes: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, He I wonder what you are; Up above the world so high; Like a diamond in the sky! This is a rational and healthy state of mind. The beauty of the world makes us think, wonder, and ream and deals are th...

Outline: Reading stores the mind with knowledge. Debating makes one quick of thought and ready of speech. Making written notes makes one accurate and exact. The quotation is completed. Bacon’s words are to be kept in mind by public speakers. Good books are storehouses of human knowledge and wisdom. Anyone who has the key can enter these storehouses and help himself. What is the key? Simply the ability to read. He who can read can store his mind with the great thinkers of the world. The man who never opens a book has a comparatively empty mind. He, no doubt, learns something from his own experience and from others; but to what mankind has learned and thought and done his mind is a blank. But he who reads widely and judiciously has a full mind. “Reading maketh a full man”. By “conference” Bacon means discussion, debate. To be a good debater, one must have a quick and ready mind. He must be able to see a point quickly, to think quickly, and to have a quick reply to arguments ready. Taking...

Outline:  Definition of a lie. Problem; can a lie ever be justified? Example. Conflict between two loyalties. “White lies” of society. Conflict between truth and charity. A lie is the uttering of what we know to be false with intent to deceive. Note the two elements. A novel is not a lie, for, though it is fiction, it does not intend to deceive; the ancient teaching that the earth was flat was not a lie, because it was not then known to be false. Can a lie ever be justified? Some would say never. But the question is not so easily answered: Take a case like this. A friend, in times of persecution and danger, takes refuge in your house and begs you to hide him. You take him in, and promise you will not reveals his hiding-place to his enemies. They come to your house in search of him, and ask you if he is there. What are you to do? If you say “yes”, you break your promise and betray your friend; if you say “no, you tell a lie. Difficult, is it not? Probably most would agree that a lie...

Health is better than wealth is a very apt saying. The health of the body is essential for man, for without it, his life will be a burden both to himself and to others. Great care should be taken to preserve health and to secure a sound mind in a sound body. There is a very close connection between the body and the mind, and both are interdependent; if the body is not sound, our mind cannot work properly. Our health depends on moderation in eating and drinking, the proper exercise of all organs, and sanitary surroundings. We cannot be too careful in the matter of diet. We should eat only wholesome food, which may be easily digested, and provide nourishment to the body. We should not stuff the stomach with all sorts of things. Our clothes should be light and neat, and according to the season, so that they may protect us from the inclemencies of the weather. Our houses should be well-lighted and well-ventilated. We should breathe plenty of fresh air and should carry on our work in the op...

Outline: Introduction. Ideal occupation for idle days. Conclusion. The most difficult thing for youths is not to be able to do anything. Youth is a time for activity-good, bad or indifferent. And in the course of life, there come days in which there is little or no scope for any activity. It is at such periods that youths will grumble, rebel, and generally become mischievous. An idle mind is proverbially the Devil’s own workshop. And idle days are forced on the youths in many ways: Holidays, strikes, rainy days, and others. What would I do on a rainy day I do on rainy days? Well, I will do many things. I will cite here a few of the ways in which I will use my forced idleness. For idleness is forced on me when I cannot move out of my house. There are many such days in Pakistan. Our rainy season offers several opportunities for being idle. I say, opportunities advisedly. Many friends of mine grumble at such days. They tell me that they are bored on such days. The list of their complaints...

Outline: Introduction. My plan for investment Conclusion. There are many ways in which money could be usefully or uselessly employed. However, people usually do not have millions; they have not even thousands, nor even hundreds. One among a million, perhaps, has a million. In Pakistan at any rate, it is rare to become a millionaire. And when one is a millionaire one does not write essays, unless, the essays bring millions-which they do not. So, when a choice is given, we should gladly take it and proceed to say what we may and can do in the matter. Here are a few ways in which millions could be used, misused, and abused. If one is a millionaire, one usually becomes bankrupt. Why? Just because money is like strong liquor. It intoxicates. Money brings power, and power easily degenerates most of us. Charles Lamb, a fine essayist, tells a good story about a man who misused his money. It seems this man was born in a rich family. He inherited much but he spent more. And if you asked him to b...

Outline: Introduction. Their uses. Their misuses and danger. Conclusion. An advertisement is a notice to buyers, giving description and price of all sorts of things. It is needed for the convenience of consumers and the profit of producers. It gives choice to the public to pick and choose what they like. It increases the sale of goods and tells people the range and variety of goods. Though it is true that good wine needs no bush, yet it is also true bad coins drive away good ones! That is to say if good things are not advertised bad things will be pushed up and bad will displace good ones. As population increases and the markets become wider, the advertisement of goods becomes inevitable. In small communities, like the small villages, there is not much need to advertise. But in towns and cities is a great need to do so. No sales could be pushed up even of good things if they are not properly advertised, displayed, and demonstrated. There is thus a great need to advertise goods. In an a...

Outline: Introduction. My dream of an ideal College. Conclusion. To dream is a very pleasant exercise of fancy. It is good to do this because it widens our interest and hopes about our future. It also makes us more serious and responsible in outlook. We must free: ourselves from the cramping limitations of the present and look into the future. We must also glance at the past for the same purpose. We must not shut ourselves always in the present, Life becomes boring when we live always in the present. It becomes exciting and hopeful when we begin to imagine future possibilities. There is of course a danger in dreaming. It may make us neglect the present. It may make us only dream and do nothing else. This must be avoided. Dreams should inspire us to action. They should be creative agents, driving us to effort and achievement. If we avoid this danger of only dreaming and doing anything else, our dreams become active forces for good. We discussed too many topics for different classes so w...