Writing Skills (composition, letter, précis, dialogue, expansion of ideas)
Writing Skills tests format, register, coherence, and economy. The main tasks are prabandha (composition), patra (letter), saaransha (précis), sambhashane (dialogue), and aashaya vistarana (expansion of ideas). Each has a different shape; a good essay structure is not automatically a good letter.
Core formats
- Prabandha: Introduction → two or three developed points → conclusion. Avoid a list of sentences.
- Patra: place and date, salutation, subject, body, closing, signature. Keep formal and informal registers separate.
- Saaransha: reduce to about one-third; keep only the central argument; add no opinion.
- Sambhashane: natural turn-taking, each speaker responding to the previous line.
- Aashaya vistarana: paraphrase the idea, illustrate it, then conclude.
Worked example
Expand: “ಮೊದಲು ಯೋಚಿಸು, ಆಮೇಲೆ ಮಾತನಾಡು.” Reasoning: first restate the idea-speech without thought causes avoidable harm. Then illustrate with a consequence: a hasty promise made before checking facts creates distrust. Finally conclude that reflection makes speech responsible. Do not merely repeat the proverb in different words.
Traps that cost marks
- Missing letter elements such as date, subject, or signature.
- Using spoken-style contractions in a formal letter.
- Adding personal comments to a précis.
- Writing a dialogue as two unconnected speeches.
- Expanding an idea without an example or conclusion.