Two Notices, Two Readers
Jaspreet is working through a past-paper-style reading task. He is given two short Punjabi texts about the same community event. Text A is a formal notice from a gurdwara committee announcing a Nagar Kirtan on a Sunday, stating road closures from 9 am to 1 pm, a request that volunteers register by the Thursday before, and a contact number. Text B is a message forwarded in a family group chat: it says the procession starts 'around ten-ish', jokes that parking will be a nightmare, urges people to bring water, and mentions that 'the usual aunties' are organising langar. The questions ask him to identify the purpose of each text, explain one difference in register with evidence, and say which text he would rely on for the start time and why. Jaspreet writes that Text B is 'less reliable because it is informal' and leaves it at that.
1. Explain why Jaspreet's answer about reliability would earn limited credit, and rewrite it as a full-mark response.
Read the worked answer
Why it earns limited credit: he has named a feature (informality) and attached a judgement (less reliable) without connecting the feature to the function of each text or to the specific information requested. The question asks which text he would rely on for the start time, which requires him to reason about the purpose and accountability of each text, not to rank them on a formality scale.
Full-mark response:
Text A is a formal public notice issued by an organising body. Its purpose is to inform the community and coordinate action - hence the precise times, the registration deadline and the contact number. Because the committee is accountable for the information and has published it deliberately, it is the appropriate source for the start time.
Text B is an informal interpersonal message. Its purpose is social: to share excitement, warn friends about parking and prompt practical preparation. Its 'around ten-ish' is deliberately vague because precision is not its job, and forwarded messages are often second-hand.
Therefore, for the start time I would rely on Text A, while using Text B for the kind of practical, social information a formal notice omits - the parking reality and the reminder to bring water.
Key move: reliability is argued from purpose and accountability, not from formality alone.
2. The question asks Jaspreet to explain one difference in register with evidence. Model how he should select evidence and write the explanation.
Read the worked answer
Selecting evidence: pick a matched pair - the same communicative job done two ways - rather than two unrelated sentences. The start time is ideal: Text A gives a fixed schedule ('from 9 am to 1 pm'), Text B gives an approximation ('around ten-ish').
Writing the explanation, in three moves:
- Name the difference. Text A uses formal, impersonal, precise language; Text B uses colloquial, interpersonal, approximate language.
- Quote the evidence. Cite the exact wording from each text, briefly.
- Explain the effect. The formal notice addresses the public as a body of readers who need to plan; the approximation in the chat message signals shared context and a social rather than administrative relationship between writer and reader. The vagueness is not carelessness - it is appropriate to the genre.
A caution: do not simply label Text B 'informal' and stop. The mark comes from linking the linguistic feature (approximation, colloquial address, humour about parking) to the relationship between writer and audience and to the text's purpose. Also avoid claiming one register is 'better'; the point is fitness for purpose.