University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila

Subject: Functional English

Essay: A Good Command Of English Is Important For

Good Career

Submitted To: Miss Fareeha Zaheer

Submitted By: Zain Raza

Registration No: 16-SE-97
Democracy means the government for the people and by the people. It means rule by the
people. The name is used for different forms of government, where the people can take part in
the decisions that affect the way their community is run. In modern times, there are different
ways this can be done The people meet to decide about new laws, and changes to existing ones.
This is usually called direct democracy. The people elect their leaders. These leaders take this
decision about laws. This is commonly called representative democracy. The process of choosing
is called election.

Elections are either held periodically, or when an officeholder dies. Sometimes people can
propose new laws or changes to existing laws. Usually, this is done using a referendum, which
needs a certain number of supporters. The people who make the decisions are chosen more or
less at random. This is common, for example when choosing a jury for a trial. This method is
known as sortition or allotment. In a trial, the jury will have to decide the question whether the
person is guilty or not. In Europe, trials with a jury are only used for serious crimes, such as
murder, hostage taking or arson. To become a stable democracy, a state usually undergoes a
process of democratic consolidation.

After people hold an election, the candidates that won are determined. The way this is done can
be simple: The candidate with the most votes gets elected. Very often, the politicians being
elected belong to a political party. Instead of choosing a person, people vote for a party. The
party with the most votes then picks the candidates. Usually, the people being elected need to
meet certain conditions: They need to have a certain age or a government body needs to
determine that they are suitably qualified to perform the job. Not everyone can vote in an
election. Suffrage is only given to people who are citizens. Some groups may be excluded, for
example prisoners. For some elections, a country may make voting compulsory. Someone who
does not vote, and who does not give a good reason usually has to pay a fine.
Democracy may be direct or indirect. In a direct democracy, everyone has the right to make laws
together. One modern example of direct democracy is a referendum, which is the name for the
kind of way to pass a law where everyone in the community votes on it. Direct democracies are
not usually used to run countries, because it is hard to get millions of people to get together all
the time to make laws and other decisions. There is not enough time. In an indirect or
representative democracy, people choose representatives to make laws for them. These people
can be mayors, councilmen, members of Parliament, or other government officials. This is a
much more common kind of democracy. Large communities like cities and countries use this
method, but it may not be needed for a small group. This kind of government was developed
long ago by the ancient Greeks in the city of Athens.

They had everyone who was a citizen (slaves, women, foreigners, and children could not vote)
get together in one area. The Assembly would talk about what kinds of laws they wanted and
voted on them. The Council would suggest the laws. All citizens were allowed in the Assembly.
The Council were picked by draws (lottery). The participants in the Council would change every
year and the number of people in the Council was at the most 500. For some offices the Athenian
citizens would pick a leader by writing the name of their favorite candidate on a piece of stone or
wood. The person with the most votes became the leader.

The Parliament of England began from the Magna Carta, a document which showed that the
King's power was limited, and protected certain rights of the people. The first elected parliament
was De Montfort's Parliament in England in 1265. However, only a few people could actually
join in. Parliament was chosen by only a few percent of the people (in 1780, less than 3% of
people joined in). The ruler also had the power to call parliaments. After a long time, the power
of Parliament began to grow. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the English Bill of Rights
made Parliament more powerful. Later, the ruler became a symbol instead of having real power.
Democracy is almost everywhere in the world. Europe has used its form of government for
almost half a century.
Africa is experiencing democratic reform; and new, democracies have taken root in Asia.
Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused.
Freedom and democracy are often used to mean the same thing, but they are not the same.
People in democracy have many rights. This form of government isnt just for the government, It
helps the people. Also how democratic leaders are elected. Democracy is mostly good for small
and older communities, where the whole town or community can get together and vote together
on decisions that can be an advantage to all the towns people. Democracy is almost everywhere
in the world. Europe has used its form of government for almost half a century. North and South
America are now virtually a hemisphere of democracy; Africa is experiencing democratic
reform; and new, democracies have taken root in Asia. Democracy may be a word familiar to
most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused. Freedom and democracy are often used
to mean the same thing, but they are not the same. People in democracy have many rights. This
Democracy is mostly good for small and older communities, where the whole town or
community can get together and vote together on decisions that can be an advantage to all the
towns people.

Rights include freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion and conscience, freedom
of assembly, and the right to equal protection before the law. While the state protects the rights of
its citizens, in return, the citizens give the country their loyalty. It clearly shows how important
democracy is for the stabilization of a country. So definitely democracy is very important.