Composition (Insha): Essay, Letter and Report
What Insha tests
Composition tests planned writing: mazmoon, khat, darkhwast, report and sometimes iqtabas. Marks come from relevance, structure, Urdu expression and format. A good essay is not a list of sentences; it has an unwan, tamheed, body paragraphs and natija.
Core rules
- Mazmoon: choose three or four points before writing; one paragraph per point; end with a forward-looking natija.
- Khat: use the correct salutation, opening, body and closing; keep formal register for rasmi letters.
- Darkhwast: state the request in the first two lines, give the reason, then close politely.
- Report: answer what, who, when, where, why and how; use past tense and third person.
- Iqtabas: copy the passage accurately and add one short line explaining its relevance.
Worked example
Essay topic: 'صاف پانی کی اہمیت'. Outline: water is a basic need; dirty water causes disease; conservation and filtering; conclusion on individual and community duty. Reasoning: each body paragraph develops one point, and the conclusion returns to the topic. This is stronger than repeating 'water is important' five times.
Traps
- Drifting into 'environment' without linking back to water.
- Using a friendly letter format for a darkhwast.
- Forgetting date and signature in a formal letter.
- Adding personal opinion inside a report.
- Copying an iqtabas with spelling changes.