The Notice That Cannot Be Acted On
You are the secretary of the Literary Club at Government High School, Nabha. The club will hold an inter-house declamation contest on 14 August in the Activity Hall at 9 a.m. Only students of Classes IX and X may enter, and names must reach you by 10 August. Your English teacher asks you to put a notice on the school board. Your first draft reads: 'All students are informed that a declamation contest will be held. Interested students should give their names. It will be a good chance.' The teacher marks it incomplete and says it must not exceed 50 words, must be signed by you as Club Secretary, and must use the standard notice format with a heading, date, and closing. You have one period to revise it before the board is cleared for the morning assembly.
1. Identify the four pieces of information that must be added so that a reader can act, and name the one sentence in the draft that should be removed. Explain why each addition matters and why the removed sentence does not belong in a notice.
Read the worked answer
The four additions are:
- Date and time - 14 August, 9 a.m. Without them a reader cannot arrange attendance.
- Eligible classes - IX and X only. Otherwise younger students may prepare for an event they cannot enter.
- Venue - the Activity Hall. A notice without a place is not actionable.
- Registration deadline - 10 August. This tells readers when to act.
Remove: 'It will be a good chance.' It is the writer's opinion, not information. A notice reports facts and instructions; persuasive comments belong in an announcement speech, not on a board where students scan for what, when, where, and by when.
2. Rewrite the notice in no more than 50 words. It must include the school name, a heading, a date, the body, and your signature as Club Secretary.
Read the worked answer
GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL, NABHA
NOTICE
14 August - Inter-House Declamation Contest
Students of Classes IX and X are informed that an inter-house declamation contest will be held on 14 August at 9 a.m. in the Activity Hall. Interested students should give their names to the undersigned by 10 August.
(Club Secretary)
The body is 44 words, so the notice stays within the 50-word limit. The heading and school name identify the source; the date and signature make the notice official and traceable.