Writing Skills: Letter, Application, Notice, Paragraph, Essay
The writing section rewards format as much as content. A well-argued letter missing its subject line loses marks that a plainer letter keeps. Learn the skeleton of each form and the word limits before you learn the phrases.
Formats to memorise
A formal letter carries sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, a subject line, the salutation Dear Sir or Madam, three short paragraphs (purpose, detail, requested action), and the closing Yours faithfully with your name. An application to the Principal follows the same skeleton, with a subject line such as "Subject: Request for three days' leave". A notice carries the institution's name at the top, the word NOTICE, the date, a short heading, a body of about fifty words, and the issuer's name and designation. A paragraph develops one idea in 100–120 words: topic sentence, three or four supporting sentences, concluding sentence. An essay runs 200–250 words: introduction, two or three body paragraphs with one point each, and a conclusion.
Language control
Use short sentences and the active voice. Avoid contractions, slang and abbreviations in formal writing. Spell Principal correctly.
Worked example
A notice for an inter-house debate: institution name, NOTICE, date, heading "Inter-house Debate Competition", then body giving class, date, time, venue, topic and registration deadline, signed by the Cultural Secretary. The reasoning is that each element answers a reader's question - who, what, when, where, and how to enter.
Traps that cost marks
Omitting the subject line; pairing Dear Sir with Yours sincerely instead of Yours faithfully; exceeding the notice word limit; writing an essay as one unbroken block; and using informal abbreviations.