UNIT III: READING AND WRITING SKILLS

What is Reading?
Reading is to mind what exercise is to the body, to enhance knowledge. Reading
comprehension is the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and to
integrate with what the reader already knows. The proficiency in reading refers to
self esteem improvement. In order to enhance proficiency in reading we should adopt
methods like; reading various materials, long proportion reading, circle unknown
words, recall and improve understanding while reading, improve attention and
concentration, promote personal involvement and critical thinking.

Techniques for Good comprehension aka READING STYLES:

1. Skimming: It is the quick process, previewing the text (read quickly) for getting
a gist of something and noticing major points in order to understand the text,
the type, purpose of the author and general contents. You read quickly to get
the main points, and skip over the details. It's useful to skim: to preview a
passage before you read it in detail, and also, to refresh your understanding of a
passage after you've read it in detail. The technique you use when you're going
through a newspaper or magazine, long reports or even some profound article.

2. Scanning: It means reading slowly and carefully while looking for specific
information, or reading something with utter focus. It is extremely useful in
searching information when you are trying to find something in particular. The
technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move
your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are
relevant to the task you're doing. It's useful to scan parts of texts to see if
they are useful to you; like, the introduction or preface of a book the first or
last paragraphs of chapters, the concluding chapter of a book.

3. Churning: This process is slower in reading style that involves grasping of

concepts. It means "chewing the cud" (churning out butter from milk) i.e.
contemplating or analyzing/ extracting meanings from the words or sentences
in order to follow the process of interpretation. After you skim and scan the text
quickly to get the core idea and a general gist of the content. In other words,
you must have a slow reading of the text once or twice so as to understand its
primary and secondary ideas in detail.

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The process involves:
a.) Reading between the lines- to understand the hidden meanings and
intention behind the explicitly stated words. This means to understand
the implied meaning or what is being unsaid by 'connecting the dots'.
Suppose, one of your friends says, 'i am eagerly looking for your
birthday party'. But when you say 'I am afraid it may be cancelled for
some reasons' he/she doesn't appear to be concerned. In such
situations you can understand that your friend is not interested in
your birthday party.

b.) Inferring meanings- lexical and contextual- this refers to enhancing

your vocabulary can boost your reading speed and comprehension.
Good vocabulary enables you to detect subtle differences in sentence
meaning that may hold the key to the meaning of an entire paragraph
or passage. We can categorize the word ‘ knowledge’ into four
categories:-

1. I never saw it before.

2. I have heard of it but don't know what it means.
3. I recognize it in context- it has something to do with...
4. I know it.

Reading requires you to make inferences that depend on the prior

knowledge-lexical word and contextual meanings. This is the first step
towards understanding a written message, one need to perceive words
and phrases used to recognize their definitions to follow what you read.
The words in isolation convey one meaning but words integrated (linked)
groups convey other i.e. special meanings. Therefore it is necessary:

 To have domain knowledge to give meanings to otherwise

confusing sentences. (know individual meanings of words)
Example: gigantic and luminous; the earliest star formed like a
pearl inside a shell of swirling gas.
 Don't stop reading when you are not able to recall the word
meanings.
 Get a clue of the meaning of a word from the text.
 Meaning of an unknown word through its extended
definition or stated qualities.
 If you know antonyms you can guess the meaning.
 Remembering words through appropriate phrases;
"hallowed halls of academia".

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 c.) Understanding the Discourse Of Coherence- It refers to logical
development of ideas through a piece of writing on a particular subject. It
uses a variety of expressions like; but, yet, so, as, since, while, whereas,
nonetheless, despite, consequently, either, indeed, eventually, hence, in
conclusion. These words are used to join the ideas to one another and are
called 'connectors' or 'signal words’; it shows the connection between what
has been written and what is going to be written. To achieve discourse of
coherence- avoid short sentences, maintain logical organization of sentences,
and transition up to your use.

4. Assimilation: It refers to taking in or comprehending the text so you can

answer the questions based on the text. It is the end process after skimming, scanning
and churning. It includes --

a.) Structure of the text- Most text starts with title and sometimes
subtitle, after that comes the introduction and the body followed by
conclusion and summary. An important aspect of reading is prediction. The
better you can predict what you are going to read, the faster and more
effectively you will read. The prediction process begins with the title as we
take a guess about the text (when paragraphs are linked in a way to put
subject matter prediction in the right way).
b.) Structure of a paragraph- A typical paragraph consists of three parts:
first, topic sentence, which is the heart of the paragraph, the topic
sentences contains the new aspects of the subject of the text; the second
part consists of sentences which develops support for the topic sentence. It
may contain arguments, explanations, details, examples, and other
supporting evidence. The third part of the paragraph is often summary or
linking sentences to the next paragraph.
c.) Punctuation- It is partly based on grammar. Commas are used to separate
clauses. If you understand the meaning and usage of punctuation marks, it
will be easier to understand the grammatical structures. Punctuation also
refers to how the author wants you to interpret the text.
d.) Author's viewpoint- The author shows his/her opinion either by adding
certain phrases or by adding value to a word; shows expressions of surprise,
shock, regret, happiness etc.
e.) Summarize- It is advisable to make notes of essential information in the text,
the result is a short outline of the text containing all its important aspects.
The following steps should follow to write a summary: familiarize yourself
with material, select important information, paraphrase information, insert
link between sentences and paragraphs (using connectors), and adjust length.

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 EFFECTIVE WRITING TOOLS
‘Effective Writing’ is a writing which has a logical flow of ideas and is cohesive. This means
it holds together well because there are links between sentences and paragraphs that
makes it readable i.e., clear, accurate, and concise. When writing on a paper, try to get your
ideas across in such a way that the readers will understand them effortlessly,
unambiguously, and rapidly, in a straightforward way. The five features of effective writings
are –

 Focus: Focus is the topic/subject/thesis established by the writer in response to the

writing task. The writer must clearly establish a focus point to write effectively. The
focus must be determined in light of the method of development chosen by the
writer. If the reader is confused about the subject matter, the writer has not
effectively established a focus. If the reader is engaged and not confused, the writer
probably has been effective in establishing a focus.
 Organization: Organization is the progression and completeness of ideas. What the
writer establishes for the reader is a well-organized composition, which exhibits a
constancy of purpose through the development of elements forming an effective
beginning, middle, and end.
 Support and Elaboration: Support and Elaboration form the extension and
development of the topic. The writer provides sufficient elaboration to present the
ideas or events clearly. The two important concepts in determining whether details
are supportive are the concepts of relatedness and sufficiency.
 Grammatical Conventions: Grammatical conventions involve correctness in
sentence formation and usage. The errors in the sentence formation will lead the
reader's misunderstanding of the ideas conveyed.
 Style: Style is the control of language that is appropriate to the purpose, audience,
and context of the writing. This refers to choices of words choice and sentence
fluency. Skillful use of precise, purposeful vocabulary enhances the effectiveness of
the composition through the use of appropriate words, phrases and description to
engage the audience.

TOOLS FOR EFFECTIVE WRITING

 Clarity: This refers to the understanding of concepts clearly first and then present it
in a manner that offers clarity to the reader. The writer should try to understand the
subject from the audience perspective. Words such as ‘maybe’, 'probably', not only
confuse the readers but also reflect a lack of clarity on the writer's part.
 Accuracy: It means that even slightest variations and discrepancies in facts and
figures may lead to loss of meaning or significance, especially when presenting
figures of sales or expenditure values.
 Correctness: Using conventional grammar, spellings, and punctuation properly. This
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 also refers to the information that should be organized into proper headings and
subheadings, so that readers' time do not get wasted in trying to figure out the
details.
 Descriptiveness: It doesn't refer to the detailed length of the document written to
cover topic at length, but to cover each aspect of the object being described.
Descriptive language should not be overly flowery but should be describing the
object/ concept clearly.
 Language: The language is a tool for putting thoughts into reality. The choice of
words reflects our clarity of thoughts. It is the perception of an individual that gives
shape to language and communication. For technical writing we must choose
denotative words i.e. dictionary meaning, which is objective in nature, interpreted in
one way. The denotative words are without emotional overtones. The purpose in
technical writing is to 'express rather than impress'. Therefore, words having direct
meaning must be used.
 Appropriateness: It refers to 'catering the audience needs' as well as the purpose
of communication while dealing with technical topics. The style and content should
meet the readers' expectations. For example- the children's book will be treated
differently from the mature audience. One should take care of: the suitable use of
language, avoiding deceitful language and euphemism. Avoiding slang, apt idiomatic
expressions, use group specific jargon, avoid biases and stereotypical language.
 Acceptability: This is applicable to legal policies, rules and regulations. Being
inclusive of the audience from different strata of society. It involves a lot of sensitive
issues and requires a cautious and precise use of words.
 Conciseness and flow: It means the good command over language to write in a
clear and concise manner, sentences should contain no unnecessary words, a
paragraph should not have unnecessary sentences for the same reason. We should
remove redundancy (uneducated who have never attended school), reduce clauses
to phrases to single words which can be shortened into adjective clause, avoid use of
words ‘really’, ‘very’, ‘quite’ etc., edit phrases that can be omitted without loss of
meaning, avoid euphemism (indirect words or phrases that people often use to refer
to something, embarrassing and unpleasant), in order to make it more acceptable
than it is. Example - don't be monkey with electrical equipment (advising - to be
extra cautious while using electrical gadgets.)
 To achieve flow in writing: Make sentence relationships apparent, use cohesive
devices to join sentences (however, since, because, since, though), interlink
sentences with proper ideas, arrange sentences in logical ideas and order (to
achieve clarity), deep thoughts and development.

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WRITING METHODS
Writing is a means of communication and an interpersonal skill to communicate ideas and
thoughts in a readable form. We can use several different writing methods to make the
writing more engaging and exciting and keep the audience reading until the end of the
piece. There are generally seven types of writing pattern. These are -

 Inductive Pattern:
a) This method of writing means from specific to general (from details to a
generalized statement) by supporting the ideas one by one and leading to
general statements containing core ideas.
b) It includes a topic sentence (main idea) at the end i.e. the main summarising
idea of the whole paragraph is found in the last sentence.
c) Example – An international aid agency donated a hospital in remote area.
This was a brand new purpose built facility that would serve a large
community that at that point had no health care. But, the government lacked
the funds to equip or staff the hospital. Moreover, the building itself was
located far away from the river, which was the main means of transport for
local people, so access was almost impossible. Sadly, this health facility
remained empty and unused.

 Deductive Pattern:
a) This method of writing means from general to specific (from a generalized
fact/ statement to a specific inference) by general statements containing core
ideas leading to supporting ideas one by one.
b) It includes topic sentences first and then examples, details etc.
c) Example- My boss said the person with the highest sales would get a
promotion at the end of the year. I generated the highest sales, so I am
looking forward to a promotion.
 Spatial Pattern:
a) It emphasizes the visual description of a particular idea, detail, related to
location and direction etc.
b) In this you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you
in your space.
c) You create a picture for your readers, and their perspective is the viewpoint
from which you describe what is around you.
d) This approach makes it easier for writers to paint a vivid picture for readers.
e) The description goes from inside to outside, left to right, bottom to top
(varies from the process of the object).
f) Words like To the left; To the right; Between; Below; Under; Behind; In front;
Parallel to; Adjacent to; Across; To the side; Over; There; Beyond; Center, etc.
are normally used to draw a picture of where things located.
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 g) Example - On my desk there’s a laptop, mouse, pen cup, console phone, and a
notebook. There are also several knickknacks and a wrist pad. The coffee bar is
well stocked and the television is on low volume.
 Linear Pattern:
a) Linear or sequential fashion present logical progression of a process.
b) In linear fashion events are written in the specific order in which they
happen or in the order in which they appear.
c) If the author is presenting some ideas in linear writing, he writes down the
idea logically step by step on the paper in such organized manner that the
idea evolves or builds on progressively. Here one argument or statement
leads to another in a natural way.
d) In linear writings, first comes the topic statement then the supporting
statements then conclusion.
e) Example 1, for idea– Who was Steve Jobs? Do you have an i-phone or i-pad?
Do you wish to have one? They are products of the company called Apple,
and it was Steve Jobs who created - Apple.
f) Example 2, for process – Uninstalling a program needs a few simple steps.
First go to the Start Menu. Then go to Control Panel. Click, Uninstall a
program. Then select the program you want to uninstall.
 Chronological Pattern:
a) This refers to ideas organized in order of appearance in time, gives the
importance of date and time, followed by records from earliest to recent.
b) In this pattern, events are written in the order in which they occurred or they
would occur if the future is being assumed or predicted.
c) Chronological writing narrates, informs or explains a process.
d) Chronological order is often used in a narrative essay or stories or how some
incident took place. The author starts from the beginning and then tells about
all the main events leading up to its ending. He doesn’t jump from one thing
to another in the past but move in sequential order.
e) Example 1 - Describing the education and achievement in an interview.
f) Example 2 – Radhika was born in a small town, where she lived until she was
three years old. Next, she moved to the metro city – New Delhi. There she
received her entire education and secured a good job. But her real dream was
to be a classical dancer. She began to train in a nearby institute of classical
dance. Soon, her talent bloomed and her master began to recognize her
potential. After 7 years of rigorous training, she received her first break to
dance at a huge national event.
 Exposition Pattern:
a) This refers to detail or explanation of a topic, called 'informative' followed up
by examples and illustrations (figures) to support that information.
b) Example - Photosynthesis, the process by which green plants and certain

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 other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy. During
photosynthesis in green plants, light energy is captured and used to convert
water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic
compounds.
 Interrupted Pattern:
a) This refers to the use of punctuation marks like ,(), -, !, " ",etc. to add
emphasis to the sentence and interrupt the sentence in between.
b) It also means breaking the chunks of ideas primarily to elaborate and
emphatic (clear understanding). The pause/ interruption in the dialogue due
to tonal variations, gaps or some vocalized sound (like umm, hmm, ah etc.).
c) Example- Watch out! "Our team is going to win".

FORMAL LETTERS

Definition of a Formal Letter:

Formal Letters, also called Business Letters or Professional Letters, are letters that are
written in a strict and specific format. Formal letters are naturally much more formal in
style than informal/friendly letters.
Formal letters can be written for a number of reasons such as,

 To express your concerns while working in a professional setup

 To provide official information across your workspace
 To order goods, to apply for employment, etc.

Structure of a Formal Letter:

 In order to be able to write a formal letter, you have to first understand the reason
behind the letter.
 As far as formal letters are concerned, the structure of the letter changes depending
on the type of letter.
 There are certain rules to be followed to be able to draft a formal letter.
 Every sentence should be well thought out and laid down in such a way that the
message you want to convey should be precise and clear to the reader.

Types of Formal Letters:

There are different types of formal letters. They can generally be labelled under the
following terms:

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  Business Letters
 Letters of Application
 Letters to Newspapers (Not in syllabus)
(A)Writing a Formal Letter – Parts of a Formal Letter
When writing a formal letter, always be respectful and conscious of your language, no
matter what the subject of the letter might be. To write a formal letter, there are some
points to be remembered.

1. Always start with the sender’s address

2. This is followed by the date.
3. The receiver’s address comes next. The receiver can be the name of the firm or the
one who represents the firm.
4. The subject of the letter is very important. It is a statement of the purpose of the
letter. It should be written in a single line.
5. The salutation can be Dear Sir/Ma’am. If it is a person you know well, you can
address them by their name, ‘Dear Shrinath’.
6. The body of the letter can be written in 3 paragraphs.
 The first paragraph should be aimed at introducing yourself and stating the
purpose of your letter.
 The second paragraph should furnish all the information about the matter.
 The third paragraph can be a concluding paragraph where you lay out your
expectations regarding the matter.
7. To close the letter, you can use a complimentary closing like ‘Yours faithfully’,
‘Yours Obediently’, ‘Yours sincerely’, etc.

8. Unlike informal letters, the signature should include your name (in block letters) and
designation below your signature.

SAMPLE –

Sender’s Address
Date: XX/XX/XXXX
Name / Designation of Receiver
Address of the Receiver,

Subject:

Salutation (Dear/ Respected) Name (Mr/Mrs/ MS),

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 -----------------------------------------------------Body of the Letter -----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Signature / Name of the Sender

Designation of the Sender

(B.)Business Letters:
Business letters should be terse, clear and to the point. There is no room for any kind of
stories in a business letter. Before you start to write a business letter, there are a few things
you should keep in mind.

 Use simple, everyday language to convey the message clearly instead of using
flamboyant and overemphatic vocabulary.
 Never use jargon that is commonly used in business when you write a business
letter.
 Avoid using abbreviations as much as possible.
 The modes of address vary according to the type of letter and the receiver.
 Clear and exact descriptions of the articles necessary with the expected quality and
quantity should be listed with utmost care when you write a letter to order goods.
 When replying to a business letter, always quote the date of the letter you are
responding to and its reference numbers (if any).

Formal/Business letters include letters from an employer to the employees and vice versa,
letters to order and replace goods, letters of serious concern to an officer of higher rank,
letters of complaint, etc.

SAMPLE—
Sender’s Name
Sender’s Company Name
Sender’s Street Address
Sender’s phone number and/or email address

Date

Recipient’s Name
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Recipient’s Company Name
Recipient’s Street Address
Recipient’s phone number and/or email address

Subject:

Dear Name,

[Introduction – this is where you explain the purpose of the letter such as why you are writing
it, what you hope to achieve from it, and any other important information you want to state
upfront.]

[Middle Section – this is where you elaborate and provide more detail about what you
outlined in the first paragraph. There may be several more paragraphs like this depending on
how long the letter needs to be]

[Conclusion – this is the place where you wrap up and summarize things. There may be a call
to action or next steps included in this paragraph.]

Sincerely,

Signature
Name of Sender

EXAMPLE --
Business Letter Sample – Letter to the publisher ordering books for your store
Javed
Read More Book Store
24, Crosby Lane
Bangalore 600045

20th August, 2019

The Manager
Zack Publishing House
Mumbai 400012

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Subject: Requirement of new books for the store

Dear Sir,
I have received the books that you sent last week. The books are in perfect condition, and
they were delivered on time. Owing to the great service rendered, I would like to order
more books that would be a great addition to the wide range of books available at my store.
Given below is a list of books that I would like to purchase:

Title of the Book Author No. of Copies

Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte 3

Treasure Island R L Stevenson 2

A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking 4

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! Richard Feynman 2

I shall be grateful if you could send me copies of these books as mentioned by VPP as early
as possible to the address given.
Thank you in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Signature
JAVED
Manager, Read More Book Store

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 NOTICE
What is Notice Writing?
A notice is a written formal announcement intended for a large group of people. A notice
follows a very precise form of writing where just the key points about the concerned topic
are mentioned. Any extra details are avoided in notice writing. Since notice writing is a way
to reach a large number of people in a short time, it’s important that the unnecessary
detailing is avoided.
For example, suppose you have to write a notice to inform a group of people about an
event. All you have to do is inform people about what the event is about, where and when it
will take place, and sign it off with your designation. So how would you write a notice for
that? Let’s learn about the format in which notices are written.

Format of Notice Writing:

Just like letters and articles, notice writing too has a particular format, which is as follows --
 Name of the Organisation – The first thing to write is the name of the
organisation/school/college from where the notice is being issued. This will help
people identify who has published or put out the notice.
 Title – The title for any notice writing is the word “Notice” itself. This is to let the
readers know that they are about to read a ‘Notice’.
 Date – The next important thing that should be kept in mind while drafting the
notice is to write the date. The date is written in the left corner of the notice. The
date helps the readers to understand when the notice was issued. Writing dates also
helps to use it as a reference for future use.
 Heading – The heading of the notice refers to the subject of the notice. In the
heading, you have to write briefly about what the notice is about. This helps the
readers to have an idea about what the notice might consist of.
 Body – The body contains the main content of the notice. But one must keep in mind
that the body of the notice should be kept short and informative. Only necessary
information would be written in the body, which is usually written in passive voice.
 Signature and Designation – The notice ends with the signature of the person who
composes the notice and their designation (in capital letters). It helps the readers to
understand who has issued the notice.

Tips/ Technique for Notice Writing:

 No details – Notice writing is not about details but about the exact information you
need the readers to know. While writing a notice, one must always keep it short yet
informative.

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  Correct Heading – Since the notice is meant for a large audience, it’s important that
they understand what the notice is about. For that, the writer has to wisely choose
the notice’s heading.
 Format – It is very crucial that the writer maintains the format of the notice. Make
sure you use a large font size for the name of the organisation (probably 14), a
smaller font for the next two lines containing the term ‘notice’ and what the notice is
about. See to it that you use capital letters for ‘notice’. This is done in order to draw
attention to it. The body of the notice can be written in a comparatively smaller font
size (probably 11 or 12). End the notice with the signature of the individual issuing
the notice followed by their designation in block letters.
 Clarity – Even if notices are meant to be short, you have to make it clear to the
readers what the notice wants to convey. If the message of the notice isn’t clear, it
might give rise to ambiguity among the readers.

Notice Writing Template--

Name of the School/College/Organisation

NOTICE

Date

Title/Subject of the Notice

----------------------------------------------Body of the Notice---------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Signature

DESIGNATION

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EXAMPLE --

St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School

NOTICE
15/04/2022
Summer Vacation

Dear Students/Parents,
The school will remain closed from April 25th to June 2nd for summer vacation. The last day
of attendance would be 24.04.2022. Parents are asked to pick up the students from their
classrooms after the exams on the last day.

Signature of the Principal

PRINCIPAL
St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School

AGENDA
An agenda, also called a docket or a schedule, is a list of activities in the order they are to
be taken up, from the beginning till the adjournment. An agenda helps in preparing for a
meeting by providing a list of items and a clear set of topics, objectives, and time frames
that are needed to be discussed upon.

Format of an Agenda
An Agenda normally includes the following elements −
 Meeting Agenda Title − At The top; preferably center-aligned.
 Meeting Information − Description of the purpose.
 Objective − Description of Agenda.
 Date − For maintaining records of correspondence.
 Location − The place of meeting.
 Time − The actual time of commencement of the meeting.
 Meeting Type − Brainstorming or Discussion or Assessment.
 Time of Arrival − Time to begin the meeting.
 Time of Adjournment − Time the meeting ends.
 Attendees − Number of people present, with their names.
 Preparation for Meeting −

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 o Please Read − instructions to be followed
o Please bring − things supposed to be carried that day
o Action Items −
Last Action Responsible Authority Due Date

New Action Responsible Authority Due Date

o Other notes − other instruction or information to be taken down.

EXAMPLE --

Meeting Information − Update after meeting representatives of Hasta La Vista.

Objective − For the purpose of interior decoration of our office premises.
Date- 23rd April, 2023
Location- Meeting Room-1
Time- 6:30 PM
Meeting Type- Discussion
Time of Arrival- 6:00 PM
Time of Adjournment- 8:30 PM
Attendees- Mohtahsim M., Kiran K. Panigrahi, Gopal K Verma, Manisha Shejwal
Preparation for Meeting:
Please Read - Hasta La Vista Company Brochure, Quotation Document
Please bring - Competitor Company’s quotation, hourly rates analysis
Action Items:
Due Action:

Updates from Hasta la Vista Gopal K Verma 30th April, 2015

Find Hasta la Vista’s competitor Manisha Shejwal 30th April, 2015

New Action:

Send email to their Head of Marketing Manisha Shejwal 5th May, 2015

Other notes - Products to purchase for the interior décor.

Some of the Major Advantages of Writing a Meeting Agenda are:

 By sharing the agenda ahead of time, participants of the meeting may duly prepare
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 to address the issues.
 Having a meeting agenda helps in quick decision making.
 A meeting agenda helps in guaranteeing that all the issues you want to discuss in the
meeting are covered.
 Meeting agendas save time by avoiding unnecessary discussions.
 A meeting agenda aids in the preparation of meeting minutes and resolutions.
 By preparing a meeting agenda, the meeting members can discuss their thoughts
and views informally before the meeting.

Some organizations that are usually required to record meeting minutes include non-
profits, government entities, schools, public companies, and trade unions.

MEETING MINUTES
 Meeting minutes are an official record of a meeting for its participants.
 In meeting minutes, the term “minutes” has nothing to do with time. In fact, it comes
from the Latin term “minutia” (which means trifles or details). In other words,
meeting minutes are the details (or short summary) of what happened during a
meeting.
 Meeting minutes are a written record of the conversation and decisions that are
made over the course of a meeting.
 Meeting minutes serve as proof of why and how a company/ organization/
institutions came to certain decisions.
 They highlight the key issues that are discussed, motions proposed or voted on, and
activities to be undertaken.
 This written record can then be used to either inform team members who weren’t
able to attend what happened or to keep track of decisions and action items that can
be revisited.
 Minutes from previous meetings can therefore be used in order to make future
organizational decisions.
The minutes of a meeting are usually taken by a designated member of the group. Their
task is to provide an accurate record of what transpired during the meeting. Generally, the
secretary is responsible for recording meeting minutes.

Why are Meeting Minutes important?

Meeting minutes serve as proof of why and how a company/ organization/ institutions
came to certain decisions. This can be helpful in answering any questions that arise in
reference to decisions that have been made or the discussions that were held.

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Importance of meeting minutes:

 They are a record of a group’s decisions and actions.

 They are a reminder of who was given assignments.
 They are evidence of deadlines.
 They are a benefit for people who are absent when decisions are made.
 They can also provide legal protection for any organization.
 This can be used as official and document to confirm the ethical, fair practices of any
organization.

General Meeting Minutes Format

1) Date and time of the meeting.

2) Names of the participants.
3) Purpose of the meeting.
4) Agenda items and topics discussed.
5) Key decisions and action items.
6) Next meeting date and place.
7) Documents to be included in the report.

END

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