Contextual Interpretation 1

Functional English
BBA
Session 2024-28
Submitted To:
Mam Husna
Submitted By:
Group Members
Sohaib Ali BSF-24002519
M. Raheel BSF-24002518
M. Asad BSF-24002505
Tassawar BSF-24002537
M. Moiz BSF-24002523
Huzaifa Ali BSF-

24002522
University of Education
CONTEXTUAL INTERPRETATION
Contextual interpretation refers to the understanding information by

analyzing the surrounding context or situation.
It involves:
a. Tone
b. Bias
c. Stereotype
d. Inference
e. Assumption
Tone:
The tone of a passage is the writer’s attitude or feeling about the

subject that he or she is presenting.
 Tone is the author's voice and attitude towards the subject, the
audience, and the characters.
Importance
 Tone helps engage with your target audience and elicit a particular
feeling and emotion in the reader.
 In business writing, a more formal tone can help you present an

organized, confident attitude.
 In storytelling, a casual or playful tone can help you bring your

reader closer to your characters.
Types of tone
Fearful
But what if I make a fool of nobody likes me?

Humorous
It’s not a party, it’s a poolside bacchanal.
Impersonal
It’s just something to do, I guess
Desperate
I need to make this party count.
Persuasive
Don’t worry, a fun night out is exactly what you need.
Inspirational
Sometimes, all it takes is one magical night to turn your life around.
Bias:
Bias is a tendency to lean in a certain direction, either in favor or against a

particular thing.
1. A prejudice against something an author is writing about

2. A favoritism for something a writer is writing about
Gender Biased Language
It is a sub-form of language bias based, as the name suggests, on

language use that perpetuates certain stereotypes of genders or stresses
superiority of one gender over the other.
Example:
1. Mankind
2. Man made
3. Man hours
4. forefathers
Another examples
 Age — Calling older people “the elderly” or “the aged”.
 Ability or health status — Describing people with different

abilities or health conditions as “wheelchair-bound” or “victims” of a
disease.
 Religion — Referring to members of one religion as “fanatic” and to

those of another as “devout”.
 Race and ethnicity — Using “blacklist” and “whitelist” instead of

“blocked list” and “allowed list” in software solutions. This implies
that “black” is somehow bad while “white” is good.
 Social class — Labeling people as “poor” or “lower class” to

describe their socioeconomic status.
Types of Bias
1. Confirmation bias: occurs when the writer consciously or

unconsciously cherry-picks facts and evidence that support what
they already believe to be true.
2. Anchoring bias occurs when the writer relies too heavily on a
single source of information or opinion (e.g. only left-leaning media
sources or only right-leaning media sources.)
3. Groupthink bias involves showing favoritism towards a person,
entity, etc. because it belongs or identifies with the same group as
you. This can lead to tribalism, prejudice and misguided opinions.
4. Stereotype bias happens when broad generalizations are made
about a certain group of people without taking into account
individual differences.
5. Cultural bias refers to the tendency of some people to privilege
certain cultural beliefs or norms over others.
6. Generalization bias takes place when the same ‘catch-all’ filter is
applied to large groups of people, professions, entities, etc. treating
them as a monolith, when in reality there are clear differences
among group members.
Stereotypes
The language used to make preconceived judgements or

assumptions about a person or group of people.
Stereotypes are formed through our observations of others in daily

life, which is then reflected in the language we use to refer to
specific groups of people in society.
This refers to broad generalizations of people from different cultures

in different countries.
For example:
1. British people have a ‘stiff upper lip’ (don't show much emotion) and
drink tea a lot.
2. All Chinese people know martial arts.
3. Americans are loud and patriotic.
Social stereotypes
 This refers to the preconceived ideas of people in different social

groups, which includes: age, class, skill etc.
Examples include:
a. Upper-class people are posh and 'stuck up'.

b. Teenagers are irresponsible.
c. Lower-class people are lazy and not as smart.
Racial stereotypes
 This refers to the assumed characteristics of a particular race. These

are often considered to be the most negative, as they can lead to
bias and discrimination, harmfully representing certain races.
Examples:
1. Asians are good at maths.

2. Black people are athletic and tall.
3. Hispanic people are lazy.
Religious stereotypes
This refers to preconceived beliefs of particular people in different

religions. They are often used to discriminate against certain
religions, which can cause conflict between different religious
groups and portray religions in a negative light. They also negatively
affect the perception of religious individuals; instead of highlighting
the extreme acts of a few people, religious stereotypes make
generalizations which lead to people assuming that entire religious
groups are capable of such things.
Examples:
a. Muslims are terrorists.
b. Christians are overly judgmental.
c. Jews are greedy.
Inference
An inference is the process of drawing a conclusion from supporting

evidence.
It’s when you go beyond the evidence and reach some further
conclusion.
We also make inferences when we read literature. The author gives

us clues about what’s going on, and we have to figure things out
based on that evidence.
We draw inferences all the time when we say things like:
 “I don’t see Anne. She said she was tired, so she must have gone
home to bed.”
 “Sarah’s been at the gym a lot; she must be trying to lose weight.”
Example:
 You’re about to enter a classroom. It’s 8:57, and there is lots of

chatter coming from inside the room.
 You infer that there’s a 9:00 class that hasn’t started yet.
 In this example, we have some basic evidence (the time and the
noise), and we can infer that class hasn’t started yet. We can’t be
sure that the inference is correct, but it’s reasonable to reach this
conclusion anyway.
Importance
 Without inferences, there’s no way we could understand our world.

It’s all well and good to ask for evidence and proof, but sooner or
later we inevitably have to go beyond the evidence and actually
draw a conclusion!
 Inferences are also critically important for literature, because

otherwise authors would have to explain everything to us out loud –
how boring! Instead of saying “Harry turned red and started
yelling,” the author would have to say “Harry felt angry.” That
would be much more dry and less fun to read. So authors make
their books compelling by giving you clues and rich details, then
letting you draw your own conclusions as a reader.
Assumptions
 Assumptions are beliefs or ideas that we hold to be true — often

with little or no evidence required.
 Assumptions are fundamental beliefs that we accept as true without

proof or empirical evidence for their claims.
 Often, our assumptions are subconscious. We don’t realize that

many of our claims and beliefs have a range of underpinning
assumptions that have not been sufficiently scrutinized
Halo Effect
 The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias that influences how we perceive

other’s abilities based on our overall impression of them.
 Example: “She’s Good at This, so she Must be Good at That”
Just-World Assumption
 Just-World Bias occurs when we tend to assume that justice will

prevail in the universe. As a result, we tend to falsely attribute
consequences to moral reasons, maintaining the belief that the
universe is fundamentally just.
 Example: “He Probably Deserved his Misfortune”
Cultural Ignorance
 Cultural Ignorance is an assumption that mistakenly universalizes

one’s own cultural norms.
 Example: “Everyone Celebrates Christmas”

Optimism assumption
 Optimism Bias refers to the assumption that positive outcomes will

happen in the future, often to a greater extent than is objectively
likely.
 Example: “It will all Work Out”
Fixed Mindset
 Fixed Mindset is a belief an individual has about their abilities and

talents as being unalterable, static characteristics.
Example: “I cannot improve, no matter how hard I try.”
Availability Heuristic
Heuristic is a mental shortcut which inclines us to make judgments based

on immediate and salient examples in our minds, rather than examining
the larger context or statistical reality.
 Example: “I’ve seen it happen a lot recently, so it must be

common.”
Sarcasm:
Sarcasm is a form of speech where someone says the opposite of what they mean, often to
mock, criticize, or create humor. It typically relies on tone, context, or exaggeration to
convey the intended meaning, which is usually not the literal interpretation of the words.
Example
If a friend shows up late to a meeting and you say,"Wow, you’re so punctual!" you're being
sarcastic, as you actually mean the opposite—they are not punctual at all.
Irony
Definition
Irony is a rhetorical or literary device where there is a contrast between expectations and
reality. It highlights the difference between what is said, done, or expected and what actually
happens, often leading to humor, surprise, or poignancy.
Types of Irony
There are three main types of irony:
1. Verbal Irony
 What it is: When someone says the opposite of what they mean.
 How it works: The true meaning is revealed through tone or context.
 Example:
o If it’s pouring rain and someone says, “What a lovely day!”
This contrasts the statement with the actual situation, creating irony.
2. Situational Irony
 When the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected.

 It creates surprise or a sense of humor because the result is contradictory to the normal
expectation.
 Example:
o A fire station burns down.
o A lifeguard drowns during a pool party.
3. Dramatic Irony
 When the audience knows something that the characters in a story do not.
 This difference in knowledge creates tension, humor, or suspense as the audience waits for
the characters to discover the truth.
 Example:
o In Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows Juliet is alive when Romeo believes she is
dead, leading to a tragic ending.

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Functional English

Sohaib Ali BSF-24002519

Huzaifa Ali BSF-

Contextual interpretation refers to the understanding information by

The tone of a passage is the writer’s attitude or feeling about the

 In business writing, a more formal tone can help you present an

 In storytelling, a casual or playful tone can help you bring your

But what if I make a fool of nobody likes me?

It’s not a party, it’s a poolside bacchanal.

It’s just something to do, I guess

I need to make this party count.

Don’t worry, a fun night out is exactly what you need.

Bias is a tendency to lean in a certain direction, either in favor or against a

1. A prejudice against something an author is writing about

Gender Biased Language

It is a sub-form of language bias based, as the name suggests, on

 Age — Calling older people “the elderly” or “the aged”.

 Ability or health status — Describing people with different

 Religion — Referring to members of one religion as “fanatic” and to

 Race and ethnicity — Using “blacklist” and “whitelist” instead of

 Social class — Labeling people as “poor” or “lower class” to

1. Confirmation bias: occurs when the writer consciously or

The language used to make preconceived judgements or

Stereotypes are formed through our observations of others in daily

This refers to broad generalizations of people from different cultures

2. All Chinese people know martial arts.

3. Americans are loud and patriotic.

 This refers to the preconceived ideas of people in different social

a. Upper-class people are posh and 'stuck up'.

 This refers to the assumed characteristics of a particular race. These

1. Asians are good at maths.

This refers to preconceived beliefs of particular people in different

a. Muslims are terrorists.

b. Christians are overly judgmental.

c. Jews are greedy.

An inference is the process of drawing a conclusion from supporting

We also make inferences when we read literature. The author gives

We draw inferences all the time when we say things like:

 You’re about to enter a classroom. It’s 8:57, and there is lots of

 Without inferences, there’s no way we could understand our world.

 Inferences are also critically important for literature, because

 Assumptions are beliefs or ideas that we hold to be true — often

 Assumptions are fundamental beliefs that we accept as true without

 Often, our assumptions are subconscious. We don’t realize that

 The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias that influences how we perceive

 Example: “She’s Good at This, so she Must be Good at That”

 Just-World Bias occurs when we tend to assume that justice will

 Example: “He Probably Deserved his Misfortune”

 Cultural Ignorance is an assumption that mistakenly universalizes

 Example: “Everyone Celebrates Christmas”

 Optimism Bias refers to the assumption that positive outcomes will

 Example: “It will all Work Out”

 Fixed Mindset is a belief an individual has about their abilities and

Example: “I cannot improve, no matter how hard I try.”

Heuristic is a mental shortcut which inclines us to make judgments based

 Example: “I’ve seen it happen a lot recently, so it must be

There are three main types of irony:

 When the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected.

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