Notice Writing: Purpose Reversal and Register
In the Writing Skills section, students must write a notice in not more than 50 words for the school notice board. The given details are: a black umbrella with a brown handle was found in the library on 12 August; students should claim it from the school office after 2 p.m. One student submits: 'Notice: I lost my umbrella. It is black. If anyone see it please give me. I am in class 12. Thank you.' The draft is 30 words. The rubric awards 2 marks for format, 2 for content coverage, and 2 for expression. The teacher must decide whether the draft meets the purpose (it says 'lost' rather than 'found' and asks the owner to give it to the writer).
1. Assess the draft against the three rubric criteria. What mark out of 6 would you award, and what is the single most serious flaw?
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Suggested award: 2/6.
- Format (1/2): There is a heading, 'Notice', but no date, no signature, and no designation. A school notice normally needs a date and the name or office of the issuer.
- Content coverage (0/2): The draft omits the essential facts: that an umbrella was found, where it was found (library), when (12 August), and where and when it should be claimed (school office after 2 p.m.). Worse, it reverses the transaction: it says 'I lost my umbrella' and asks the finder to give it to the writer. The notice is supposed to announce a found item and invite the owner to claim it.
- Expression (1/2): The meaning is broadly clear, but 'If anyone see it please give me' contains an agreement error ('anyone sees') and the tone is personal and informal rather than public and impersonal.
The single most serious flaw is the purpose reversal. A reader would not know that an umbrella is waiting in the office, and the notice gives no claim procedure. Format and expression matter, but a notice that defeats its own function cannot score well on content.
2. Rewrite the notice in 45–50 words, using the given details and appropriate register.
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NOTICE Found: Black Umbrella
A black umbrella with a brown handle was found in the school library on 12 August. The owner may claim it from the school office after 2 p.m. on working days. Students should describe the umbrella before claiming it.
[Name], Head Boy
Date: 13 August 2025
(46 words, excluding the date line.) The rewrite states the item, place, date, claim point, time, and a simple verification condition. It uses third person and a public register rather than 'I'.
3. The student asks why a notice should not say 'I'. Explain the register and audience conventions, and whether first person is ever acceptable.
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A school notice is a public announcement addressed to many readers who may not know the writer. 'I' makes the notice personal and can confuse the audience: a reader seeing 'I lost my umbrella' may think the notice is a private appeal and not know whether to contact the writer, the office, or nobody. The writer's identity belongs in the signature or designation, not in the body.
The usual register is impersonal: third person and passive constructions - 'An umbrella was found'; 'Students are requested to claim it'. This puts the information, not the writer, at the centre.
First person is acceptable in personal classified advertisements or informal circulars where the writer is directly appealing to a known group. In a school notice board notice, however, the convention is to use an impersonal public voice.