Writing Skills (Essay, Letter, Report, Notice, Advertisement)
What the section tests
Short writing tasks - an essay, a letter, a report, a notice and an advertisement. Marks fall on format, content points, organisation and language, in that visible order: a correct format earns credit before the first sentence is read.
Formats to reproduce exactly
- Letter: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, salutation, subject line (formal only), body in two or three paragraphs, subscription, name. Informal letters drop the subject line and the receiver's address.
- Notice: the word NOTICE, a heading, the date, a body answering what/when/where/who, then name and designation - all inside a box.
- Advertisement: classified ads are one short paragraph under a bold category line; display ads use a slogan, a few features and contact details.
- Report: heading, byline ('By …'), past tense, third person, closing recommendation.
Worked example
Situation: a blood-donation camp on 12 August; registration closes 5 August. Reasoning: the heading names the event; the body must answer date, time, venue and deadline; the signature block names the Principal. Every question a reader would ask is answered in four lines - that is the real test of a notice, not decorative language.
Traps
- Drifting off the essay topic by paragraph two; keep one idea per paragraph and return to the key word of the prompt.
- Mixed register: 'Yours faithfully' with a named recipient, or slang in a formal letter.
- Padding past the word limit and losing content marks.
- Omitting the box, the date or the designation on a notice.
- Writing a report in the first person and present tense.