LETTER WRITING

Informal

Formal

Informal Letters (letters to family, friends, relatives etc.)

Senders Address

e.g.

KV Kunjban,
Airport Road,
Agartala.

Date

e.g.

24th July, 2015 or July 24, 2015.

Greeting/ Salutation

e.g.

Dear friend, My dear Ram,

Body of the letter/Contents

1st paragraph- 2-3 lines

Introduction

2nd paragraph- 6-7 lines

Details of the topic

3rd paragraph- 2-3 lines

Conclusion/ Summing Up

Subscription/Leave-taking

e.g.

Body of the letter

Yours lovingly
Mahesh
Yours affectionately
Rakesh
Your friend/son/brother/sister/daughter etc.
Ravi, Rachana etc.

Formal Letters (letters to government, public officers, editors etc.)

Senders Address

e.g.

KV Kunjban,
Airport Road,
Agartala.

Date

e.g.

24th July, 2015 or July 24, 2015.

Receivers Address

e.g.

C-15, Akash Apartments,

Classic Plaza Road,
Bhubaneswar.

Subject

e.g.

Need for street-lights

Greeting/ Salutation

e.g.

Sir/Madam or Respected Sir/Madam

Body of the letter/Contents

1st paragraph- 2-3 lines

Introduction

2nd paragraph- 6-7 lines

Details of the topic

3rd paragraph- 2-3 lines

Conclusion/ Summing Up

Subscription/Leave-taking

e.g.

Body of the letter

Yours sincerely/ Yours faithfully

Mahesh
Yours obediently (only for Principal & teachers)
Rakesh

E-mail
To :

ram@gmail.com/kvkunjaban@rediffmail.com

CC :
Sub : e.g. vacation planning/ crimes against women
Greeting/ Salutation:

e.g.

Dear friend or Respected Sir/Madam

Body :
1st paragraph- 1-2 lines

Introduction

2nd paragraph- 4-5 lines

Details of the topic

3rd paragraph- 1-2 lines

Conclusion/ Summing Up

Subscription/Leave-taking:

N.B.- 1.

e.g.

Body of the E-mail

Yours lovingly
Mahesh
Yours sincerely/ Yours faithfully
Priti
Yours obediently (only for Principal & teachers)
Rakesh

Address of the receiver is not written in Informal letters but it is written in Formal
letters.
2.
As per modern style, everything is written on the left side and in subscription after
words like- lovingly, sincerely etc., comma is omitted but you may mention it.
3.
Remember there is no apostrophe in Yours
e.g. Yours
( Right )
Yours (Wrong)
Yours lovingly(Right)
Your lovingly (Wrong)
Your friend
(Right)
Yours friend (Wrong)

ARTICLE

Magazine

Newspaper

Articles are written to express views, opinions or give information on various themes.
Format:
1. Heading
2. Name of writer
3. Body (2-3 paragraphs)

:
:
:

e.g.
Internet & Students
e.g. by Sneha
- Introduction
- Details (Give facts, examples, compare and contrast,
if possible)
- Conclusion

Important Points:
Title/Heading should be small and eye-catching.
Introductory paragraph and conclusion should be small. (2-3 lines)
There must be sequential or logical development of ideas.
Be original.
Use effective style (word-selection according to subject).
Keep word-limit in mind.
SPEECH

Speech is a form of public speaking wherein the speaker expresses his views orally. Speech
should start with addressing the gathering.
Begin speech by addressing like- (for school speeches) Honourable principal sir, Vice
principal sir, respected teachers and dear friends or
(for other public speeches)Good morning. Ladies and gentlemen
Today I am delivering a speech/ Today I am going to speak on/ Today I am standing before
you to express my views on etc.
Use expressions like- In my opinion, In my view, As far as I know, According to
me/Gandhiji/Vivekanand etc.

DECLAMATION
Declamation is also a speech, especially rhetorical. It may be in written form and delivered by
the writer himself or someone else.
DEBATE
Debate is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. It is a broader form
of argument. In a debate one speaker prevails over other by presenting better arguments.

 Begin your debate like- Honourable jury, all the participants, one and all present here. Good
morning. Today I am going to speak in favour of /against
Use expressions like- In my opinion, It is my view, I strongly believe, I completely agree
with, I totally disagree with, My learned friend just remarked, My worthy friend will
appreciate, I would like to draw your attention etc.

REPORT
Reports are written about those activities/events which we have seen ourselves.
Reports are written in order of the occurrence of the events.
It is always a past experience, hence past tense is used.
It is written in objective manner and III person.
Mostly it is written in Passive Voice, however in modern trend it is a mixture of both Active
and Passive voice.
FORMAT OF THE REPORT

Write Title/Heading in the middle of the page.

Mention report-writer just below the title or on the left side.
Mention date and place on the left side of the next line.
If it is a newspaper report, mention initials of newspaper before the reporter like T.O.I, H.T.,
I.E., Raghav.
e.g
Child Labour
by- Kesha
Agartala, July 24, 2015.

STORY-WRITING
Story-writing is an art. To write a good story, make the whole plot(beginning to end) clear in
your mind before writing.
Remember Well begun is half-done and Alls well that ends well.(Good beginning and end
are important.)
Insert dialogues where possible. They make story interesting. Dialogues must be short and
interesting.
Give names to characters. Even animals can have names. These names should be short &
interesting.
Keep word limit in mind. Dont write too much because you wont get more than
the maximum allotted marks.
Give a suitable title to the story. Title can be based on the main character, object, incident or a
proverb.
Write the story in the past tense.
DIALOGUE WRITING/COMPLETION

First read the instructions about the dialogue or the given initial lines of the dialogue to make
sure what you need to write.
Make sure the dialogue is lively, natural & interesting.
You may use colloquial forms and short forms in the dialogues such as Ill, dont, isnt etc.
Both the persons (generally) in the dialogue must be given almost equal space. If you have to
write the dialogue in 60 words, both characters should have about 30-30 words of dialogues.
Keep word limit in mind. Dont write too much because you wont get more than
the maximum allotted marks.
End your dialogue in a way that the dialogue seems complete.

Common topics for Letters/E-mails:

To friend inviting for birthday, marriage ceremony
Expressing sorry to attend the same
To father asking for money for a tour/picnic/fees etc.
To brother/friend to study sincerely/about result/ about preparation for exam etc.
About description of a visit of a hill-station, popular destination etc.
Thanking parent for a birthday gift
Congratulating friend on success
Condolence on somebodys death
To principal about repair, better water facilities, canteen, need for computers, need for extra classes
etc.
To police commissioner about increasing crimes
To municipal commissioner about the problem of stray dogs/cows, need for better roads, street lights
To traffic police for road safety, traffic jam etc.
Common topics for Speech/Declamation/Debate/Articles:
Advantages & disadvantages (pros & cons) of television, mobile phones, internet, computer
Good or bad- CCE, Co-education
Child labour, Impact of video games, junk food, corruption, poverty, global warming, female
foeticide, girl child education, women empowerment, education, effect of polythene bags,
importance of walking/exercise
Common topics for reports:
School celebrations like- Ganesh Puja, Saraswati Puja, Teachers day, Annual day, Sports day, Interhouse competitions, Youth day, Van Mahotsav

Visit to a book fair, craft exhibition, blood-donation camp,accident site

========== BEST OF LUCK===========