Writing Skills - Letter, Notice, Report, Paragraph and Essay
Writing Skills - Letter, Notice, Report, Paragraph and Essay
The writing section of Odisha BSE HSC English (SLE) checks whether you can produce a complete text for a real purpose: a formal or informal letter, a notice, a report, a paragraph, or an essay. Format, audience, tone, and relevance carry marks alongside grammar and spelling. A technically correct answer on the wrong topic still loses content marks.
Core rules
- Formal letter: sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject line, salutation, three short body paragraphs (purpose, details, action), and closing with name. Avoid contractions and slang.
- Informal letter: friendly salutation, personal tone, clear sequence of news or requests, and a natural closing.
- Notice: the word NOTICE at the top, name of the institution/organisation, date, a heading, the 5Ws in the body, and the writer's name and designation. Do not use a letter format.
- Report: headline, byline, place and date, a lead paragraph answering what/when/where/who, then factual details and a short conclusion. Use past tense and third person.
- Paragraph: one controlling idea, a topic sentence, supporting details, and a closing sentence. Do not start a second topic.
- Essay: introduction, two or three body paragraphs with one point each, and a conclusion that answers the prompt.
Worked example
Prompt: 'You are the Secretary of the Eco Club. Write a notice about a tree-plantation drive.' Model opening: 'NOTICE / Eco Club, Government High School / 12 January 2025 / TREE-PLANTATION DRIVE / The Eco Club will plant 50 saplings on the school ground on 18 January 2025 at 8 a.m. Students of Classes IX and X should report to the Games Teacher with their own water bottles. / Secretary, Eco Club.' Reasoning: The notice names the body, date, heading and event; the body gives what, where, when, who and what to bring; the signature carries a designation, not a personal address.
Traps that cost marks
- Omitting the subject line in a formal letter.
- Writing a notice as a letter or forgetting the date/designation.
- A report with no byline or no lead paragraph.
- A paragraph that switches topic halfway.
- An essay with no conclusion or with unsupported claims.