Writing Skills: essay, report, letter and notice formats that score
Writing Skills: essay, report, letter, notice
This domain rewards format discipline first and content second. A well-written essay in the wrong shape, or a notice without a date and designation, loses format marks before the examiner reads the prose.
Formats to memorise
- Notice: boxed, the word NOTICE at the top, then heading, date, body answering what/where/when/who/why, name and designation. About 50 words.
- Report (newspaper): headline, byline, place-date, a lead paragraph answering the 5W1H, then detail in descending order of importance; past tense, third person.
- Formal letter: sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject, salutation, short body paragraphs, Yours faithfully. Informal: Yours affectionately/sincerely, personal tone, no subject line.
- Essay: introduction stating a position, two or three body paragraphs with one idea and one example each, conclusion that returns to the position without repeating it.
Worked example
Notes: annual sports meet, 12 December, school field, events 200 m, relay and tug of war, chief guest a local doctor. Model notice:
NOTICE Inter-House Sports Meet 10 December 20XX The annual sports meet will be held on 12 December on the school field from 8 a.m. All events - 200 m, relay and tug of war - are open to every house. Report to the games captain by 7:30 a.m. R. Das Sports Secretary
Reasoning: the heading names the event, the date line is the issuing date, the body answers the five questions in three sentences, and the designation gives the notice authority.
Traps
- Putting the subject line after the salutation in a formal letter.
- Writing a report as a first-person narrative in the present tense.
- An essay that lists points without paragraph structure.
- Ignoring the word limit and the given notes.
- Signing a notice without name and designation.