Notice writing: format marks, word limits and an unnecessary slogan
The writing section of a terminal paper asks for a notice in not more than 50 words, carrying 5 marks (format 2, content 2, expression 1), announcing an Inter-School Elocution Competition. The five points given are: competition on 12 August, school auditorium, Std VIII to X may participate, names to the class teacher by 5 August, contact the cultural secretary. Amrita submits 95 words: correct NOTICE heading, school name at the top, '12/7/2024' written just under the heading, all five points worked into full paragraphs, an added slogan 'Speak up, stand out!', and she closes with her own name. Kabir submits 48 words: school name, the word NOTICE, the heading 'Elocution Competition', all five points in three short sentences, and closes with 'Kabir Patil, Cultural Secretary'. Neither has written the date of issue except Amrita, whose 12/7/2024 is ambiguous.
1. Mark both notices out of 5 on the format/content/expression split, and explain why two scripts with the same total are not equally good.
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Amrita - 4/5. Format 1/2: school name, the word NOTICE, a heading and the writer's name are present, but the issuer's designation is missing and '12/7/2024' is ambiguous - it can be read as 12 July or 7 December, and placed under the heading it looks like the date of the event rather than the date of issue. Content 2/2: all five points. Expression 1/1: clear and accurate, though the register is wrong - full paragraphs and a slogan belong in a speech, not a notice.
Kabir - 4/5. Format 1/2: school name, NOTICE, heading and full signature block with designation, but the date of issue is missing entirely. Content 2/2: all five points. Expression 1/1: three crisp sentences, exactly the right register. His heading omits 'Inter-School', which is acceptable because the detail can sit in the body.
Why the equal total hides a difference: the marks are lost in different places. Amrita's failure is generic (she has not internalised what a notice is for), while Kabir's is a one-element omission that a checklist would have caught. In the report, Kabir's is the easier fix and should be described as such; Amrita needs the model text in front of her, not a rule.
2. Amrita is over the word limit by 45 words. How should the excess be treated, and does the slogan cost her marks?
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Treat the word limit as a design constraint, not an arithmetic penalty. There is no mark for length in the split, so deducting 'one mark per 10 extra words' would be inventing a rule. The excess is absorbed through the expression and format marks: a notice that doubles its limit has stopped being a notice and become a paragraph, which is precisely what costs her the format mark.
In practice: do not add a separate penalty line; instead, in the margin write 'A notice is read standing up - cut to 50 words' and let the format mark carry the consequence. If the scheme allowed halves, expression would drop to ½; with whole marks, keep expression at 1 and take nothing further, because her content is complete and accurate.
The slogan: it costs no mark directly, but it is evidence for the expression comment. A notice is an impersonal, functional text; 'Speak up, stand out!' belongs to a poster or a speech. Write it as feedback ('cut the slogan; a notice persuades by being clear'), not as a deduction, or you will be penalising a candidate twice for the same misjudgement of register.
3. Which single change to Amrita's notice would gain her the most marks? Show the rewritten notice and the margin comment you would write.
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The single change: complete the signature block and put an unambiguous date of issue directly under the word NOTICE. Four or five words convert format 1 into format 2, and it is the cheapest mark on the page - cheaper than anything she could add to content, which is already full.
Rewritten notice (46 words):
GREENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL, PUNE NOTICE 25 July 20XX INTER-SCHOOL ELOCUTION COMPETITION The competition will be held in the school auditorium on 12 August. Students of Std VIII to X may participate. Submit names to the class teacher by 5 August. Amrita Deshmukh, Cultural Secretary
Margin comment: 'Format 2/2 now - date of issue under NOTICE, designation after your name. Note how short a notice can be when every point is stated once: the paragraphs and the slogan were doing no work. Keep all five points; cut everything else.'
Why not just tell her to shorten it? Because shortening alone would have left the format mark where it was. Rank the losses before writing feedback: a missing element is always worth more than an excess of words, and the candidate should be told which of the two is costing her the mark.