The Expression of Religious Positivity in Karen Armstrong’s Sīrah Work

Orientalists contributed much regarding their study of the Holy Qur’ān, Hadith and Sīrah since eighteenth century. Few of them attracted Muslim scholars due to the quality of their work about Islam, like the translation of the Holy Qur’ān, the indexes of Hadith literature and the translations of Arabic Sīrah books in English. These orientalists have left a positive impression regarding their contributions in introducing Islamic literature in West in their native languages. This research paper aims to present the expression of religious positivity in modern orientalist Karen Armstrong’s Sīrah work. This selection is based on the status of this Sīrah writer in present time. Her books are best sellers written on comparative religion and a huge number of people study her books and appreciate her for expressing the positive image of Islam in West. In this study, it will be found out that in which style and angle she has presented her works regarding religious positivity especially the presentation of the personality of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) to the non-Muslims and non-religious societies.

Developing Understanding of a Writing Frame for Explanation in Science Writing

My study emerged from the backgrounds of the present teaching and learning practices in explanatory writing in Science subjects. It has been observed that in our current education system, science writing is used for assessment purpose, and is mostly viewed as recording and collecting of factual information. The students' motivation towards science writing is also very low, as it is a mechanical process of writing memorized facts. However, if science writing is further extended to be more interactive, involving student's critical thinking and reasoning skills, then it has potential for learning. The students will find writing tasks much more enjoyable and this will increase their overall learning of the science concepts. The student's attempt of writing for explanation should be supported with strategies, which facilitate students to construct their own explanations during writing. Writing frame is one such strategy and provides students a skeleton, with beginning sentences and connectives to support explanatory writing. Throughout my study, I aimed to provide students with explanations in the form of causal relationships and predictions during teaching and writing of science concepts. During this time, my own understanding of developing writing frames evolved tremendously, which is reflected in my research finding. My research findings showed that the writing process for explanation cannot take place in isolation. Writing for explanation requires a conceptual understanding of the content, innovative teaching strategies, thinking and reasoning skills, a rich learning environment, and the presence of a teacher as a facilitator. I also found that students' misconception regarding science concepts were also highlighted. Another important finding was that writing frames raised motivation towards explanatory writing in Science. However, there were a few factors which impeded my research study. First, my inadequate understanding of writing frame was an impeding. Second, the low proficiency in English language was a barrier for the students in expressing their understanding of science ideas. Finally, there were also some supporting factor which enabled me to do my research that is my own determination and persistence throughout the study and support from the language faculty. The findings from the study has various implications like writing in Science requires an interdisciplinary approach. Finally, recommendations have been drawn based on the findings of the study.