Composition and Functional Writing: Formats That Earn Marks
This domain covers notice, report, formal and editorial letter, paragraph, essay and precis. Format carries marks before content does, and each form has a fixed skeleton the examiner checks quickly.
Fixed skeletons
- Notice: inside a box; the word NOTICE as heading; institution name; date; a heading line; body answering what, when, where, who and whom to contact; name and designation at the foot. Around 50 words, no first person 'I', no salutation.
- Report: headline, then reporter's name and date, then a lead paragraph answering what happened, where, when and with what result; past tense; third person; quotations from witnesses.
- Formal letter: sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject line, salutation, body in short paragraphs, closing and signature.
- Letter to the editor: state the problem, give one or two concrete instances, suggest action; no personal grievance.
- Paragraph and essay: topic sentence, development with reasons and one example, concluding sentence. Precis: roughly one-third of the original, in your own words, no quotation.
Worked example
Task: a notice about an inter-house debate. Reasoning: a notice is public and impersonal, so no 'I hope you will come'; it must be scannable. Model: 'NOTICE / Inter-House Debate / The Literary Club will hold an inter-house debate on the motion "Social media does more harm than good" on 12 August at 11 a.m. in the school auditorium. Interested students of Classes XI and XII may register with the undersigned by 8 August.' Then name and designation.
Traps
- Writing a letter when a notice is asked.
- Omitting the subject line or the date.
- Contractions and slang in formal letters.
- Report without a headline or date.
- Precis that copies whole phrases or exceeds one-third.
- Exceeding the word limit and losing format marks.