Writing Skills: Letters, Reports, Reviews, Expansion
Writing Skills covers letters, reports, reviews and expansion of ideas. The examiner looks for format, purpose, audience and control of language-not length for its own sake.
Letter
A formal letter needs sender's address, date, receiver's designation, subject, salutation, body and closing. Keep the register formal: no contractions, no slang. An informal letter can be warmer but still needs a clear purpose.
Report
Use a headline, byline, dateline and a lead that answers what, where, when and who. Then add detail in short paragraphs. A report is factual; avoid 'I think'.
Review
Name the title, author or director, and genre. Give a brief, spoiler-free outline, then evaluate acting, style or argument with one example, and end with a recommendation.
Expansion of ideas
Interpret the statement, explain its principle, illustrate it with one example, and conclude. Do not turn it into a story.
Worked example
Task: Expand 'A stitch in time saves nine.' Reasoning: the literal image is mending a small tear before it grows. The principle is timely action preventing larger loss. Example: repairing a leaking roof early avoids structural damage. Conclusion: small, prompt corrections are cheaper than neglect. This structure earns marks for unity.
Traps
Missing the subject line or date; writing a review that gives away the ending; using informal contractions in a formal letter; expanding a proverb with a long personal anecdote and no explanation.
Exam habit
Spend two minutes on a skeleton of headings before writing.