Rachana (Composition): Anuchhed, Patra-Lekhan, Suchana and Vigyapan
Rachana rewards format discipline more than literary flair. The paper sets an anuchhed or essay, a letter, a suchana and a vigyapan. Examiners mark the skeleton first - heading, salutation, date, signature - and the content second.
Anuchhed / essay frame
Use four blocks: भूमिका (one or two sentences defining the topic), विषय-विस्तार (causes, examples, statistics or incidents), समाधान (practical measures), उपसंहार (a forward-looking closing line). Keep paragraphs short; do not introduce a new idea in the conclusion.
Patra-lekhan
Order for a formal letter: प्रेषक का पता → दिनांक → प्राप्तकर्ता का पता → विषय → सम्बोधन (महोदय / आदरणीय) → body → समापन (भवदीय / सादर) → नाम. Informal letters drop विषय and use प्रिय. Formal letters state the purpose in the first two lines.
Suchana
Box the notice, write the heading सूचना, then cover what, when, where, for whom and how, with contact detail and signature. Fifty to sixty words is enough.
Vigyapan
A slogan of five or six words, one benefit line, and contact or logo. No full sentences, no paragraphs.
Worked example
Task: a suchana for a school science exhibition. Reasoning: the notice is valid only if a reader who missed the assembly knows the date, venue, time, who may participate and whom to contact. A notice that says only "science exhibition will be held" fails the format even if grammatically perfect.
Traps
- Writing a formal letter as a continuous essay with no विषय line.
- Using प्रिय आदरणीय महोदय - the salutations collide.
- Putting the date after the body instead of above it.
- Writing a vigyapan in full sentences.
- An anuchhed that lists problems with no समाधान block.