Composition and Writing Skills: Essay, Letter, Precis, Paragraph
The writing section is marked on format, content and language control, all three. A well-argued essay with the wrong format or a precis that exceeds length will lose marks even when the ideas are good.
Formats to fix in memory
- Prabandha (essay): bhumika (introduction), madhyabindu (two or three developed points, one paragraph each), upasamhara (conclusion that returns to the title). No headings inside unless permitted.
- Patra (letter): sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject (formal), salutation (Sraddheya for formal, Priya for personal), body, closing (Iti), signature. Informal letters drop the subject line and use warmer salutations.
- Precis: about one-third of the original, in your own words, no examples or opinions, retains the main argument, and ends with a suggested title where asked.
- Paragraph: one topic sentence, three to five supporting sentences, no stray idea.
Worked example with reasoning
Original: "Rainfall in the district has fallen for the third year. Farmers who once grew paddy now buy vegetables from the town. The block office has not repaired the canal since 2019." Precis: "Three years of poor rain and an unrepaired canal have forced local farmers to abandon paddy and buy vegetables." Reasoning: the cause-and-effect chain is kept; the date 2019 is a detail and is dropped; the length is about one-third; no opinion is added; nothing essential to the argument is lost.
Traps
- Exceeding the word limit, which is penalised separately from content.
- Adding new ideas in a precis.
- Wrong or missing salutation and subject in a formal letter.
- Writing a story when an expository essay is required.
- Losing the title link in the conclusion.