Composition: Letter, Essay, Report and Précis
Domain and what it tests
The Composition / writing skills domain tests format, organisation, register and accuracy in letters, essays, reports and précis. Examiners look for a clear purpose, logical paragraphs and correct grammar; a technically perfect format with irrelevant content still loses marks.
Core rules and concepts
- Letter: sender address, date, salutation, subject, body paragraphs, closing; formal and informal registers differ; avoid SMS abbreviations.
- Essay: thesis in the introduction; one idea per paragraph; examples and explanation; conclusion that returns to the thesis.
- Report: headline, byline, date and place, past tense, passive where the agent is unknown, factual tone, attributed quotations.
- Précis: read twice; identify the main idea; reduce to about one-third length; use own words; keep continuous prose; add no opinion.
Worked example
Original: 'Many students memorise definitions without understanding them. Such learning disappears after the examination. Understanding, by contrast, lasts because it connects new ideas to old ones.' Model précis: 'Memorised definitions fade after examinations, while understanding endures by linking new ideas to existing knowledge.' Reasoning: the précis keeps the contrast, removes the example of students, uses own wording and stays far below the original length.
Traps
- Missing subject line or wrong salutation in a formal letter.
- Writing an essay that ignores the exact topic.
- Using present tense throughout a news report.
- Copying sentences into a précis or exceeding its limit.
- Inserting personal opinion into a précis or report.