ENGLISH

WRITING SKILLS
 LETTER WRITING
1. FORMAL
• We live in a world of technology backed communication. E-mails, texts, etc
are most of our preferred modes of communication. However, letters still
have a major use and importance in our society. Especially formal letters
written to authorities or professional contacts, because they generally stay on
record. Let us learn the correct format and language of formal letters.
Formal Letters
A formal letter is one written in a formal and ceremonious
language and follows a certain stipulated format. Such
letters are written for official purposes to authorities,
dignitaries, colleagues, seniors, etc and not to personal
contacts, friends or family. A number of conventions must
be adhered to while drafting formal letters. So let us take a
look at a sample format of a formal letter.
Sender’s Address
The sender’s address is usually put on the top right-hand
corner of the page.

Date

Receiver’s Address
After leaving some space we print the receiver’s address
on the left side of the page.

Greeting
This is where you greet the person you are addressing the
letter to. Bear in mind that it is a formal letter, so the
greeting must be respectful and not too personal. The
general greetings used in formal letters are “Sir” or
“Madam”. If you know the name of the person
the salutation may also be “Mr. XYZ” or “Ms. ABC”.
Subject
*Body of the Letter
This is the main content of the letter. It is either divided
into three paras or two paras if the letter is briefer. The
purpose of the letter should be made clear in the first
paragraph itself. The tone of the content should be formal.
Do not use any flowery language. Another point to keep in
mind is that the letter should be concise and to the point.
And always be respectful and considerate in your
language, no matter the subject of your letter.

*Closing the Letter

At the end of your letter, we write a complimentary losing.
The words “Yours Faithfully” or “Yours Sincerely” are
printed on the right side of the paper. Generally, we use
the later if the writer knows the name of the person.

*Signature
Here finally you sign your name.
What is an Informal letter?

An informal letter, also referred to as a friendly letter, is

a personal letter written to friends or relatives. It is
written in personal fashion. You can write it to anyone with
whom you have a non-professional relationship, although
this doesn't exclude business partners or workers whom
you're friendly with either.

There are fewer formatting rules for informal

letters than there are for business or formal letters. The
letter can be used for some reasons like conveying
message, news, giving advice, congratulate recipient,
request information, asking questions, etc. It is a personal
letter, written to whom you are familiar with, like friends,
siblings, parents or any other closed one. While writing an
informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use
of personal or emotional tone.
 Format of Informal letter
Address
The first thing to write is your address,

Date

Greeting

Now since you know the person you are writing to, the
greeting can be informal as well. If it is a friend or
someone close to your age you can greet them by their
first name, like “Dear Alex”. If you are writing to your
relative like your mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may
greet them as such, for example, “Dear Mom”. And if you
are writing to an elder person, someone you respect
greatly you can address them as Mr or Mrs
Introductory Paragraph

And now we begin writing the actual letter. The

introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You
might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or you
may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and
great spirits

Body of the Letter

The letter overall should maintain a friendly tone. But you

have to adjust the language and the wordings according
to who you are writing to

Conclusion

In the conclusive paragraph sum up the reason for writing

the letter, i.e. summarize the letter. Say a meaningful and
affectionate goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to
invite the reader to write back or reply to your letter.
Signature

There is no one way to sign off informal letters. Since they

do not follow a strict format, you may sign off as you
please. Some commonly used phrases are
•Lots of Love
•Best,
•Best Wishes,
•Kind Regards,
•Kindly,
Letter to the Editor Format

1. Sender’s address: The address and contact details of

the sender are written here. I
2. Date:
3. Receiving Editor’s address:
4. Subject of the letter: The main purpose of the letter
forms the subject. It must be written in one line
5. Salutation (Sir / Respected sir / Madam)
6. Body: The matter of the letter is written here. It is
divided into 3 paragraphs as follows -
Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself and the purpose of writing
the letter in brief.
Paragraph 2: Give a detail of the matter.
Paragraph 3: Conclude by mentioning what you expect
from the editor. (For example, you may want him to
highlight the issue in his newspaper / magazine).
7. Complimentary Closing
8. Sender’s name, signature
Sample Letter to the Editor
Q1. You are Radha G, member of NGO AWAAZ. Write a
letter to the editor of a national daily for a public
movement to clean the Yamuna river. (You must introduce
yourself, describe how the people are to be blamed for
polluting the river and suggest the need for installing water
treatment plant to clean the river).
A.
33, Jal Vihar
Wazirabad, New Delhi - 33
Dated: 17 July 2017
The Editor
Hindustan Times
New Delhi.
Subject: Need for people’s movement for a clean Yamuna
Dear Editor
I am Radha G, member of NGO AWAAZ. I am writing to
you in order to highlight the deteriorating condition of river
Yamuna.
The city of Delhi is getting contaminated water from river
Yamuna. The residents are to be blamed for this. They
pollute the river with garbage, sewage and filth. The river
water is full of bacteria, plastic, chemicals and other waste
materials. It is unfit for consumption.
The people have been demanding a Water Treatment
plant. The authorities have not yet responded to the
repeated requests.
I request you to highlight the problem in your newspaper
and arouse public interest. We all need to get together in
order to get the plant set up in the area.
Thank You
Yours sincerely
Radha G
Member AWAAZ.
Job Application Letter Format
Biodata Format
The Biodata or CV is generally divided into four parts as
follows-
•Personal Details
•Qualifications
•Experience
•References
It goes like-
BIO-DATA (HEADING)
NAME
FATHER’s NAME
DATE OF BIRTH – In expanded form
ADDRESS
AGE
CONTACT NO.
EMAIL ID
NATIONALITY-Indian
MARITAL STATUS
QUALIFICATIONS-
•Qualifications must be written in tabular form with the
above mentioned heads.
WORK EXPERIENCE- It should be written from latest to
the oldest along with the duration.
ACHIEVEMENTS
LANGUAGES KNOWN
SKILLS
WEAKNESSES
HOBBIES
REFERENCES
DECLARATION
DATE
PLACE
SIGNATURE
NOTE: The resume can be a part of the letter or as an
enclosure
Articles
An article is a piece of writing written for a large audience.
The main motive behind writing an article is that it should
be published in either newspapers or magazines or
journals so as to make some difference to the world.
It may be the topics of interest of the writer or it may be
related to some current issues. The topic can either be
serious or not-so-serious; Same goes for its tone and
language.
Objectives of Article Writing
An article is written with the following objectives
•It brings out the topics or the matter of interest in the
limelight
•The article provides information on the topics
•It offers suggestions and pieces of advice
•It influences the readers and urges them to think
•The article discusses various stories, persons, locations,
rising-issues, and technical developments
The Format of Article Writing
An article must be organized in a proper way so
as to draw the attention of the readers. The basic
outline for an article writing format is
1.Heading / Title
2.A line having the writer’s name
3.Body (the main part of the article, 2 – 3 paragraphs)
4.Conclusion (Ending paragraph of the article with the
opinion or recommendation, anticipation or an
appeal)
Steps for Writing Format
Think of the topic you want to write the article
about. Only after you’ve decided your topic you
can go ahead and undertake the further steps in
the process one by one:
Target Audience: Identify the concerning reading
group
Purpose: Find the objective or aim of writing the
article
Collect & Select: Gather as such information as
possible. Also, identify the details that are most
significant
Organize: Arrange the information and the facts
in a logical way
Speech Writing Format:
It is to their skills as orators that many great leaders owe
their fame. The great speeches of Elizabeth I, Winston
Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and even
Barack Obama are as memorable in their achievements.
Being an effective speaker is one of the best ways of
achieving prominence in whichever field that you are.
Success depends on both your careful preparation and
careful presentation and therefore speech writing is very
important. As far as preparation is concerned, a lot of
people get very nervous when they think of speaking in
public and are inadequately prepared. Preparation is
essential, you need to choose and organize material
appropriately, rehearse and build up your confidence. A
presentation is as important as preparation. You need to
concentrate on your style as well as your content. How to
speak is as vital as what you speak about. Therefore once
you fix the content you need to rehearse and be polished
in your speech. Let us now delve into a detailed speech
writing format.
 Format
•Salutation or greeting
•Disclosure of topic
•Narration of facts, presentation of data, relevant
examples, etc.
•Sensible deviation from the topic
•Draw conclusion in an innovative and imaginative way.
 What is Debate Writing?
A formal discussion on a particular matter in a public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are put
E.g. "Last night's debate on the Education Bill"
•Introduction/Salutations,
•Problem,
•Solution and
•the conclusion.
Let us discuss each of them in detail.

1. Introduction- This includes salutations and the topic

(including FOR/AGAINST the motion).
For Example:- Good morning everyone. Esteemed judges,
honourable guests, respected teachers and my fellow
students. I, (name given in the question or else, XYZ) feel
honoured to have been given the opportunity to speak
(FOR/AGAINST) the topic- (name of the topic).
2. Body (Problem)- This is the main paragraph or the
body of your answer.
•Always begin with the meaning of the topic or the
explanation of the topic in not more than a line.
•Then start quoting the issues. Now here, it is important
you follow a sequence. It is possible that you have too
many points or very few points. When you have a lot of
varied points, it is better you choose a few best ones and
write a line on each. In case you have very few already,
explain them in at least two lines each.
•Make sure you are clear with your thoughts, only then
you'll be able to put them into words unambiguously.
3. Solution- "For every problem, there is a solution."
This paragraph needs to be short and crisp whereby; you
are supposed to give a rational and practical solution for
all the above problems.
•In case you are not able to figure one out, keep in mind a
few general ones. It could involve spreading awareness,
campaigns, stringent laws and their strict implementation,
education, etc.
•Using a quote never hurts. It can be general ones like,
on working together. Every situation can be faced and
solved if there is unity. So here are a few handy ones.
"Wherever there is unity, there is always victory."
"Unity is strength."
"United we stand, divided we fall." And many more.

4. Conclusion-
This paragraph needs to be short and precise.
What is a poster?
A poster is a very useful means of making an
announcement or appeal, issuing a notice, advertising a
product or bringing about awareness on any issue of
public interest. A poster should be visually attractive and
readable from a distance. They are extensively used by
NGOs, political parties, government departments, etc.
FORMAT of a Poster

NAME OF ISSUING AUTHORITY

TAGLINE
TITLE/NAME OF THE EVENT (exhibition, workshop, etc.)
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS
ILLUSTRATION (WITH A CAPTION)

WHEN (date and time) AND WHERE

ENTRY FEES (if any) AND OTHER RELEVANT
INFORMATION
CONTACT INFORMATION
ISSUING AUTHORITY- By whom or by which organisation the poster is being
published.

TAGLINE OF THE EVENT- it has to be in accordance with the question. A catchy

tagline for the occasion. It should be clearly visible. Thus, it can be bold, underlined
or in capitals.

TITLE OF THE EVENT- it should be short and as per the question.

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS- This is optional. For example:- Guest speaker, etc.

ILLUSTRATION- It involves pictorial representation. For eg., a drop of blood for a

blood donation camp.

DATE, TIME AND VENUE- It is very important to mention date, time and venue of
the event. It is a point you cannot risk forgetting.

CONTACT INFORMATION- In case of any queries, the targeted audience should

have someone to contact to.
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION- If there is any other
information mentioned in the question and is supposed to
be there in the poster, it is important you mention it.