Two Sevens That Are Not Equal: Moderating the Formal Letter
The composition item is a formal letter worth 10 marks, split by the panel as format 4, content 4, language 2. Candidates write to the headmaster asking for a bonafide certificate needed for a scholarship application. Script X has a flawless layout - sender's address, date, receiver's designation, subject line, 'மதிப்பிற்குரிய தலைமை ஆசிரியர் அவர்களுக்கு', formal close, signature - but its body runs: 'நான் போன வருடம் நன்றாகப் படித்தேன். எனக்குச் சான்றிதழ் வேண்டும். கொடுங்கள்.' Script Y supplies roll number, class, the name of the scholarship and the submission deadline, and closes politely, but it has no date, no subject line, and opens 'அன்புள்ள தலைமை ஆசிரியருக்கு'. Both evaluators scored each script 7/10. One insists Script Y should be failed outright for the salutation. You must produce a mark split that separates the two scripts by at least two marks and a one-line rule the whole panel can apply without further argument.
1. Produce the mark split for X and Y, itemising the components, and justify which script ranks higher.
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Script X = 6 (format 4, content 1, language 1). Script Y = 8 (format 2, content 4, language 2).
Format, itemised so the panel applies it identically: address and date (1), receiver's designation and subject line (1), salutation and formal close (1), signature block (1). X takes all four. Y loses date and subject, and its salutation is the informal one - 2.
Content: roll number, class, the document required, the reason (the named scholarship), and the deadline. X supplies none - it does not even name the certificate - 1. Y supplies all - 4.
Language: X's body is spoken register ('போன வருடம்', 'கொடுங்கள்') inside a formal letter - 1. Y is grammatical and courteous - 2.
Y ranks two marks higher because content is the purpose of the letter and format is its envelope. Both 7s were arrived at by impression; that is why they were identical.
2. Is 'அன்புள்ள தலைமை ஆசிரியருக்கு' wrong, or only informal? Give the rule, and say why failing the script for it is indefensible.
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It is grammatical but mis-registered, and it belongs inside the format component.
'அன்புள்ள' is perfectly good Tamil; it is simply the address used for intimates, juniors and near-equals, whereas a headmaster is addressed 'மதிப்பிற்குரிய தலைமை ஆசிரியர் அவர்களுக்கு'. A candidate who uses the informal address has broken a convention the syllabus teaches, so the one salutation mark within format is not earned. Nothing more.
Failing the script is indefensible on two grounds. The 10 marks are 4 format, 4 content, 2 language; the panel cannot invent a penalty larger than the component the error sits in. And the content of Y is strong, which the fail would erase. Panel rule: a register slip is capped at the format component it belongs to and never touches content. Tell Y's author exactly that, because the gap between 'wrong' and 'wrong for this reader' is the entire point of the letter-writing unit.
3. Rewrite the opening of Script Y - salutation, subject line, first body sentence - and explain why this is the highest-value repair.
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Rewrite:
'மதிப்பிற்குரிய தலைமை ஆசிரியர் அவர்களுக்கு,'
'பொருள்: கல்வி உதவித்தொகைக்கான சான்றிதழ் பெறுதல் குறித்து.'
first body sentence: 'நான் இந்தப் பள்ளியில் பன்னிரண்டாம் வகுப்பில், பதிவெண் 2214இல் பயில்கிறேன்; … என்ற உதவித்தொகைக்கு விண்ணப்பிக்கப் பள்ளியின் சான்றிதழ் தேவைப்படுகிறது.'
And the date must be added directly beneath the sender's address.
Why this is the best repair: the salutation fixes register, the subject line tells a busy headmaster in one line what the letter is for, and the opening sentence places the writer by class and roll number - particulars Y already possesses but has buried. Two lines of rewriting recover three of the four missing layout marks and improve readability, without touching content that is already sound. Feedback should therefore target the opening, not the letter.