Writing (Letters, Notices, Reports, Paragraphs/Essays)
The Writing domain is marked on two things at once: correct format and relevant content. A perfectly written notice with a missing date, or a letter signed "Yours faithfully" to a friend, loses format marks before the examiner reads a single sentence.
Non-negotiable formats
- Notice: drawn inside a box; the word NOTICE at the top; name of the school or club; date; a short heading; body of about 50 words in the third person; name and designation at the foot. No salutation, no "I".
- Report: a headline, a byline ("By a Staff Reporter" or "By Rohit Das, Class X"), past tense throughout, third person, events in order.
- Informal letter: sender's address, date, "Dear Rohan,", three short paragraphs (opening, news, closing), "Yours affectionately," then your name.
- Formal letter: sender's address, date, receiver's designation (not just the name), "Sir/Madam", a subject line, then "Yours faithfully".
Worked example
Task: You are the secretary of the Eco Club. Write a notice about a tree plantation drive. Reasoning: a notice speaks for the body, so the subject is "The Eco Club", not "I". The reader needs the four W's: what, when, where, whom to contact. Model sentence: "The Eco Club of Class X is organising a tree plantation drive on 5 June at 8 a.m. in the school compound. Interested students should register with the undersigned by 3 June."
Traps that cost marks
- Using "I" or "we" in a notice.
- Omitting the date, or writing the date after the signature.
- Mixing closings: "Yours faithfully" belongs to formal letters only.
- Writing an essay that lists points instead of developing two or three in paragraphs with a clear opening and closing line.
- Exceeding the word limit and losing content marks for digression.