INTRODUCTION

EXAMS ESSAY WRITING

LETTER WRITING

PRECIS WEIGHTAGE

SBI PO- MAINS ✓ ✓ NA 50 MARKS

RBI GRADE BPHASE II

✓ ✓ ✓ 100 MARKS

IBPS PO-MAINS

✓ ✓ NA 25 MARKS

LETTER WRITING

INFORMAL LETTERS

written to friends, relatives, parents, siblings (brother/

sister)

FORMAL LETTERS

written to a formal entity like bank manager,

news editor, government officials, etc.

How are essays

evaluated?

Formal Requirement

Development, Structure and

Coherence

Vocabulary & Spelling

Grammar

Content

How are Letters Evaluated?

Components of Letter Format:

Writer’s Address:The letter should have the writer’s address. This informs the recipient of the letter when and where the letter was drafted by you. Also this gives a reference to the reader in case he plans to reply to your letter. The commonly accepted position of the heading is at the top-left or right corner. The address should be in short lines at the corner, each line beginning exactly from under the previous line. Each line should end with a comma and the last line with a full-stop. This is common for both formal and informal letters.

Date: It is essential to mention the date at the end. E.g.: 19th July, 20XX.

In a formal letter, below the writer’s address, you are supposed to write the recipient’s address.

Subject Line:It is absolutely imperative to write a subject in formal letters only.

Components of Letter Format:

Salutation:An initial greeting or Salutation to the receiver of the letter: This contains the greeting to the reader. For e.g., if it’s a letter to your Brother it will “Dear Brother”, if it’s an official letter to a bank manager it will be “Respected Sir” or “Dear Sir”. The Salutation will be present below the heading.

Body of the Letter:This is the main content of the letter, conveying the message to the reader. The style of writing will depend on the type of letter (More of which is given below).(i) It’s important to split the body of long letters to smaller paragraphs. Each paragraph can address one small portion of the body. For e.g., the first paragraph might contain the background of the letter, the 2nd the course of action intended, and a final closing paragraph.(ii) Try to avoid long sentences. Be clear and concise in your letter.(iii) Do not leave room for ambiguity. Try to be as complete as possible.(iv) Be careful with punctuation. A wrong punctuation mark can change the meaning and tone of the letter.

Components of Letter Format:

The courteous ending and Signature: On completing the body, it is important to have a courteous leave taking. These include “Yours Sincerely”, “Yours faithfully” etc. This is present on the right/left corner below the body of the letter. Please make sure that the ending starts with a Capital Case alphabet. Below this, a placeholder for your name is present.

EnclosureIf you have enclosed some documents with the letter (for ex, CV, Certificates etc), leave two spaces belowyour name and write Enclosure/Enclosures. If you have enclosed more than one document, mention thenumber in brackets. For example, if you have enclosed three documents, write- Enclosures (3)

WHAT DIFFERENCIATES AN INFORMAL LETTER FROM A FORMAL ONE?

Letter Writing Topics

• Letter to the editor (formal) : Increase in selfies among youth• Letter from a Principal to Parents (formal) : Importance of parents’ involvement in a

child’s education• You have relocated to a new city. Write a letter to your Branch Manager for updating

your address details and transferring your bank account from PQR branch to XYZ branch(formal).

• Write a letter to your sibling, advising him/her on the importance of exercising and yoga for a healthy life (informal)

• Letter to parents (informal) : New job in a new city and problem faced there.