Kemahiran Menulis Terarah - Directed Writing
Directed writing gives you a situation and a set of notes, then asks for a specific text type: a formal letter, an informal letter, a report, a speech or a notice. You are not free to invent a topic - the content comes from the notes, and the marks come from format, register and how completely you convert each note into Punjabi prose.
Formats and register
- Formal letter: your address, date, recipient's address, salutation ਸਤਿਕਾਰਯੋਗ ਮਹੋਦਿਆ / ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਜੀ, a subject line, body paragraphs, and a closing such as ਆਪ ਜੀ ਦਾ or ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀ.
- Informal letter: ਪਿਆਰੇ ਹਰਪਾਲ / ਪਿਆਰੀ ਮਾਂ, warm opening, personal news, closing ਤੇਰਾ/ਤੁਹਾਡਾ.
- Report: title, date, and a body covering what happened, when, where, who was involved and what was decided.
- Speech: greeting formula ਸਤਿਕਾਰਯੋਗ ਮੁੱਖ ਅਧਿਆਪਕ ਜੀ, ਮਾਣਯੋਗ ਅਧਿਆਪਕ ਸਾਹਿਬਾਨ ਅਤੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਸਾਥੀਓ, then a direct address using ਤੁਸੀਂ, and a closing thanks.
- Formality in Punjabi lives in pronouns and verb endings: ਤੂੰ is intimate, ਤੁਸੀਂ is polite, and elders take plural verbs.
Worked example
Notes: annual prize day / chief guest the District Education Officer / 15 May / hall decorated by students. Weak line: ਸਾਲਾਨਾ ਇਨਾਮ ਦਿਵਸ ਹੋਇਆ। Better: ਸਕੂਲ ਦਾ ਸਾਲਾਨਾ ਇਨਾਮ ਦਿਵਸ 15 ਮਈ ਨੂੰ ਹੋਇਆ, ਜਿਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਮੁੱਖ ਮਹਿਮਾਨ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਹਾਲ ਨੂੰ ਸਜਾਇਆ। Reasoning: all four notes are folded into one grammatical sentence with a relative ਜਿਸ ਵਿੱਚ, so nothing is left out and no note sits as a bare fragment.
Traps that cost marks
- Using ਤੂੰ in a letter to an official.
- Omitting the subject line or the date in a formal letter.
- Mixing report headings with letter layout.
- Adding invented content that the notes never mention.
- Leaving notes as unconnected short sentences instead of linked prose.