Features of a
Formal letter
There are fixed
rules regarding formal letters.
Layout
·
full
postal address followed by date in top right of letter
·
the name
of person or Department and address you are writing to goes in the left hand
side above greeting but lower down than your address
·
the
greeting is normally 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Madam' or full title if you are
supposed to have met the person or spoken on the phone, or written before. For
example, 'Dear Mr Brown' or 'Dear Dr Jones'
·
ending is
always 'Yours faithfully' if you have opened with 'Sir' or 'Madam' or 'Yours
sincerely' if you have used a name
·
you can
print your initials and name after your signature
Content
Formal letters must be organised in a
proper way to make communication easier.
·
the letter
should begin with an introductory paragraph explaining the general topic of the
letter
·
the main
body of the letter needs to be in a logical sequence and give enough detail to
make the reader 'get the message'
·
the last
paragraph should be a conclusion summarising the main purpose of the letter in
such a way to get the reaction you want, to get something done
·
the tone
of the letter must match purpose outlined in the task - it can be
neutral giving straightforward factual details or emotive using language to
persuade reader about some issue
·
formal
letters must stick to the conventions of
formal writing, no slang, no shortened word forms, etc.
·
always
match letter to purpose of writing
·
even in
personal letters stick to the accepted layout
·
you can
use block style where address is in straight rows and signing off at margin, or
indent where address style slopes and signing off is in middle of page but it
is a good idea not to mix them
If you think you might tackle a Letter Task in the exam, practise layout
style and punctuation so you can concentrate on the content.
Writing a
newspaper report
Reports usually appear in newspapers.
They tell readers about events that have been happening in their local area, or
national or international news. Assignments in the Standard Grade writing paper
usually ask you to write an article for your local newspaper.
Newspapers are read by people who
want information about something that has happened. They want details quickly
so reports have to be easy to read and have a snappy presentation style.
When you plan your news story,
remember that newspaper reports usually provide the answers to the questions WHO,
WHAT, WHERE, WHEN , WHY, HOW?
Look at this example of a newspaper
report
Christopher Brodie is this morning
celebrating his gold medal success in the paralympics 100m sprint.
Yesterday, in the packed stadium in
Sydney, Australia, where the games have been taking place all week, Chris ran
the race of his life to cross the line in the gold medal position.
For any athlete a championship medal
is the ultimate achievement, but for Chris it was also the culmination of years
of determination and courage. The 20 year old was just 5 when he had to have
his right leg amputated below the knee. The pain caused by his artificial leg
was mot enough to stop the lively youngster from Motherwell running around
living life to the full.
When he joined the local athletics
club he never dreamt that he would end up an Olympic champion.
Now, thanks to the pioneering work of
sports scientists and the doctors at Glasgow’s St Thomas’ Hospital, Chris has
been able to take advantage of the latest sports technology, a new prosthetic
sports leg.
“The new leg is made of light weight
materials and the foot section has as close to normal foot movement as an
artificial leg can get,” said Ken Brown, one of the doctors who worked on the
project. Chris backed up Dr. Brown’s claim when he said that the new leg
allowed for fluid movement and a much less cumbersome running style.
Certainly, the benefits the
artificial leg will bring to sports women and men all over the world could be
seen yesterday in Sydney, when Chris Brodie showed the world what a powerful
combination courage and innovation can be.
Can you identify the WHO, WHAT,
WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW in this news report?
·
Who is the
main person the story is about?
·
What has
happened to him?
·
Where did
the event take place?
·
When did
it happen?
·
Why did it
happen?
·
How did it
take place?
Well done if you spotted that the
main person in the story is Chris Brodie, who won the gold medal at the
paralympics in Sydney the day before the report was written. He lost his right
leg as a child and, aided by advances in sports medicine and his determination
to succeed against the odds, has become a world class athlete.
Now study the report again. Look closely for the key features of
a newspaper report.
·
the headline
catches the reader's attention
·
the first
paragraph gives the main point of the story and answers the question who
·
the
following paragraphs provide answers to the questions what, where, when, why
and how
·
the
paragraphs are short and punchy, giving information in a clear and concise way
·
there are
references to what people said, either using direct speech (use of inverted
commas indicates what Ken Brown actually said) or reported speech (no inverted
commas - the main points of Chris Brodie's speech but not in the actual words
he said)
·
use of
past tense because the report refers to an event which has already taken place
How to set
out a play script
A script is a piece of writing in the
form of drama. Drama is different from prose forms of writing like
novels and short stories because it is intended to be performed, either
on stage, radio, television or film. This means that it has to sound effective
when it is read out loud. It also means that it has to be written in a special
form. This section will deal mainly with writing a script for the stage. There
will be a brief section at the end with some pointers for writing a radio
script or a screenplay.
A script consists of -
·
dialogue -
what the characters say, and
·
stage
directions - instructions to the actors and director.
Here is an example of an extract from
a play script. Look at it carefully and note the special layout.
The Bully
Scene: A school playground
Characters: JIM, a first year-pupil
EDDIE, a second-year pupil
(JIM is looking through his bag.
EDDIE comes up and pushes him.)
JIM: (angrily) What do you think
you're doing?
EDDIE: Oh,sorry, did I hurt you? I
was just wondering what you had in that bag.
JIM: What's it to do with you?
EDDIE: I forgot my dinner money
today. And I'm hungry.
(EDDIE grabs JIM's lunch and runs
off.)
JIM: Hey you, come back!
(Enter the JANITOR.)
JANITOR: What's wrong, son?
Notice the following features of the layout
of a play script -
·
Title
·
Scene: say where and when the scene is set
·
Characters: say which characters are in the
scene at the start. You should give any information that we need to know about
them but keep this brief. This might be their age, occupation or relationship
with another character.
For example -
Jean, aged 24
Elizabeth, aged 55, mother of Jean
Bill, a plumber
Any characters who come into a scene
after the start of it should be introduced by 'Enter'. Use 'Exit'
if the character leaves.
The name of the character who is
speaking should be written at the left-hand side of the page (in the margin).
It is a good idea to print it in capitals. Then write a colon:
Stage directions should be
written in brackets.
Key features of a diary/journal:
·
Written in
the first person - I went to the shops (not he went to the shops)
·
Refers to
events that have happened
·
Refers to
people in their life
·
Emotions -
diaries tell how people feel about what is happening and has happened. (This is
a key point for writing composition later on).
·
The
diarist's particular point of view - Adrian Mole is a prime candidate for this
kind of treatment. He manages to blame just about everyone else for his
problems and often does not realise what is going on, although the reader does.
·
Secrets - A
diary is often a place where the writer can write down his or her thoughts and
secrets in confidence.
How to Write an Interview
Think about:
Who is being interviewed?
What is their claim to fame? Why are they
well-known?
Is there a reason why are they being
interviewed now?
Who conducted the interview? Where?
Interviewer’s
name: Question___________________?
Interviewee’s:
name Answer____________________
___________________________________
__________________________________.
( This Question/Answer structure is repeated.)
Conclusion: e.g:
Interviewer: Thank you________________ for
taking
the time to talk to us about __________.
Interviewee: It’s been a pleasure. I’ve enjoyed
it.
Remember,
questions should:
• be interesting!
• encourage extended, detailed answers.
• avoid prompting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers.
• follow-up what the interviewee has said.
• sometimes follow a statement.
http://www.schoolplannerbook.com/felpham/homework/144936/
