Composition and Creative Writing (Rachana): Format First, Then Content
What Rachana tests
Composition is marked on format, relevance and language, in that order. A plain answer in the correct layout outscores an elegant one with no format. Typical tasks: laghuprasangam (short essay), katha rachana from an outline, sambhashanam (dialogue), pathra rachana (letter) and vivarana (description of an event or place).
Core rules
- Letter: a formal letter carries place and date, the addressee's designation, salutation (Maananeeyan/Maananeeya), a subject line, a three-paragraph body, subscription and signature. Personal letters use priyappetta and a warmer register - never mix the two.
- Essay: a one-sentence opening that states your stand, two or three body paragraphs each carrying one idea with one example, and a conclusion that introduces nothing new.
- Katha: from a given outline add only what the outline implies - setting, motive, turning point, outcome. Keep one tense throughout.
- Sambhashanam: two speakers, alternating lines, natural spoken register, and a purpose (request, complaint, enquiry) that gets resolved.
Worked example
For 'Vayanasala - oru anubhavam', open with the first visit, develop what you read and whom you met, close with what the habit changed. Do not list famous libraries; the marker wants your experience in clean sentences.
Traps
Writing a formal letter in a personal register; overshooting the word limit and losing neatness marks; dialogue that drifts to three speakers; story endings that contradict the given outline; misspelling the salutation.