Writing Skills (Letters, Reports, Articles, Notices)
Writing Skills tests control of format, register, purpose, and brevity across letters, reports, articles, and notices. Marks are lost when the form is wrong even if the language is good.
Formats and registers
- Formal letter: sender’s address, date, receiver’s designation and address, subject, salutation, body paragraphs, complimentary close, name. Use full forms, no contractions, no slang.
- Informal letter: address, date, salutation, personal body, closing; warmth is allowed but purpose must be clear.
- Report: title, byline, date and place, objective opening, factual past-tense account, eyewitness quotation if useful, conclusion or recommendation. Third person, no “I”.
- Article: title, byline, engaging opening, two or three developed paragraphs, conclusion; use examples, not slogans.
- Notice: boxed, “NOTICE” heading, date, bold title, body of about 50 words, issuer’s name and designation. No salutation or address.
Worked example
Task: notice for a lost library book. Weak opening: “Hey, I lost my book.” Revised: “NOTICE / Lost Book / 12 August 20XX / A blue-covered copy of Selected Poems was lost in the library on 11 August. Finder may return it to the library desk or contact the undersigned.” Reason: the revision names the object, place, date, and action; it omits greetings and keeps the issuer visible.
Traps
Do not mix article and report voices; do not invent a false byline; do not exceed the word limit; do not omit the subject line in a formal letter; do not turn a notice into a paragraph without a box and heading.