Writing Skills: Composition and Compositional Tasks
What is tested
Writing tasks assess format, content, register, coherence and accuracy. Typical tasks include formal and informal letters, notices, posters, reports, paragraphs, articles, speeches and dialogues.
Core rules
- Format earns marks before content. A notice needs institution name, the word NOTICE, date, heading, body and signature or designation.
- Identify audience and purpose in the first line; keep one register.
- Use a clear structure: opening, development, closing. One idea per paragraph.
- Keep to the word limit; examiners reward concision.
- Check subject–verb agreement, tense and spelling before you finish.
Worked example
Task: Notice for an inter-house quiz. Reasoning: A notice is not a letter, so no salutation. Put the school name at the top, then NOTICE, date, heading 'INTER-HOUSE QUIZ', body answering what, when, where and who may participate, and end with 'Principal' or the organiser's designation. Keep it under 50 words. Do not invent a prize amount unless asked.
Traps
- Writing a letter when a notice is asked.
- Missing the date or signature.
- Mixing 'respected sir' with a notice or poster.
- Adding irrelevant details to fill space.
- Using SMS abbreviations in formal writing.
- No paragraph breaks in a 150-word letter.