Letter-Writing Marks: Format, Register and the Word-Limit Rule
A Class 10 letter-writing item is worth five marks: format 2, content 2, language 1, with an advised length of 80-100 words. The prompt asks for a letter to the Headmaster requesting three days' leave to attend a sister's wedding. Draft A is 72 words, has the sender's address, date, salutation, subject, body with dates and reason, and 'Yours obediently', but misspells 'marriage'. Draft B is 158 words, grammatically strong and complete in content, but has no sender's address and opens 'Respected sir, I am informing you'. Draft C is 95 words with full format, but its request reads 'You must give me leave' and the reason appears only in the final line. The school's internal correction policy deducts one mark for exceeding 100 words, although the board's question paper states no such penalty.
1. Award board-rubric marks to Drafts A, B and C.
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Draft A - 5/5 with a note. Format 2 (address, date, salutation, subject, closing all present); content 2 (three days, dates, wedding, request); language 1 - 'marriage' is a single slip in an otherwise controlled letter, so the holistic language mark stands. Note the spelling in the margin.
Draft B - 4/5. Content 2 (all details, clear), language 1 (accurate), format 1 - the sender's address is missing, and it is the first element of the prescribed format. 'I am informing you' is stiff but acceptable.
Draft C - 4/5. Format 2, content 2 (reason and dates present, though misplaced), language 0 - 'You must give me leave' is a command addressed to the Headmaster. The grammar is fine; the register is not. The language mark covers appropriateness as well as accuracy, which is why an error-free sentence can still lose it.
2. Decide whether the internal one-mark penalty should be applied to Draft B, and justify your decision so it survives moderation.
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Do not deduct on a board-pattern paper. The five marks are distributed by the rubric (2+2+1); a length penalty creates a sixth, undeclared criterion and makes the score hard to defend at revaluation. The board paper prints no word limit, so 80-100 words is advice to students, not a marking rule.
Apply the internal penalty only in school practice tests where students are told the rule in advance, and here write '158 words - trim in exam' in the remark column. If the department wants the penalty, it must be announced with the rubric before the test, not introduced during correction. Consistency matters more than severity: penalising B at 158 words while leaving A at 72 words (also outside the advised range) would be indefensible.
3. Rewrite the two problem sentences in Draft C and explain the changes in terms of register.
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Original request: "You must give me leave." Original placement: reason given only in the final line, after the demand.
Rewrite: "I request you to kindly grant me leave for three days, from 12 to 14 August, as I have to attend my sister's wedding at Kolhapur."
Why:
- 'You must' + second person is a command; a student addressing a Headmaster occupies a lower position and needs a deferential modal ('I request you to kindly grant').
- The reason is fronted with 'as', so the request is presented as following from a cause rather than as an order followed by an excuse.
- The dates stay in the body, where they belong; the salutation and 'Yours obediently' are unchanged.
Content is identical to Draft C; only politeness and order change - which is exactly what the language mark rewards.