Descriptive for SBI and UIIC: Letter writing Pattern and tips
1) Essay ( 20 marks)- On any topic be it economic, social, political, etc
2) Letter ( 10 marks)- Business letter or informal letter
- What is the aim of having this section in exams?
Well the banks want to know how well versed you are with English language and how well can you put across your thoughts on a topic in writing. Well it even tests your typing speed and your comfort level with computers.
- How to improve our English?
Well English is like any other language, the more you expose yourself to it, the better you will get at it. So make sure you read a lot on a daily basis. Along with this just add one more exercise to this, i.e. to copy down one editorial section in a notebook on a daily basis, while copying down give special attention to the language, the way grammar is used, the way words come together to form sentences. This exercise will not only help improve your English but will also improve your writing skills.
- How to improve our writing skills and skills to express on a given topic?
Well for that make a list of topics that you feel that can come in exam, and then on read about them. Once you have an idea about the topic, try writing it down in your own words. Slowly and steadily you will be able to express yourself in any given topic.
I) We present to you a few writing tips and format of Business Letter Writing
A business letter, as the name suggests, is a letter which has a formal tone and is used for business purposes. Apart from this, business letters are also written for conveying messages to people who we do not know personally. This makes the business letter different from the usual casual or informal letter.
While writing a business letter, a person has to follow certain rules. One of the most important rules is that it should be short and concise. Businessmen do not have the time to read long letters and hence, the letter should not be more than a page i.e., with maximum 2-3 paragraphs. Apart from this, you have to follow a unique format for business letters, which differs to a large extent from informal letters.
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Business Letter Writing Tips:
It will be a good idea to gather some crucial information on the things that you have to keep in mind while writing a business letter. Here, you will find some important tips for the same.
Sender’s address and date:
According to the rules, it is important to begin the letter with the address and other contact details of the sender. Followed by this, one has to mention the date on which the letter is written.
Recipient’s name and address:
After you have written the date, you have to mention the recipient’s name and full address. This should come 4-6 lines after the date.
Salutation:
Once you are done with the address of the recipient, you have to begin the letter with a salutation. The salutation should have a greeting word or phrase followed by a personal title – Mr./Ms. – and the full name of the person. Some of the letter salutations that you can use for business letters include Dear (full name), Dear Sir/Madam, etc. If you do not know the name of the recipient, it would be best to begin with To Whomsoever It May Concern.
Subject: After the salutation comes the subject line where you have to mention the purpose of the letter in short. Make sure that the subject line is in upper-case characters and is aligned either to the left or to the center.
Body:
The body of the letter can have 2-3 paragraphs. In the introduction, talk about the reason for writing the letter and in the following paragraphs, you can give the necessary details. It is important to maintain double-line spaces between paragraphs when you are writing a business letter.
Complimentary closing:
Once you finish writing the letter, you have to end it with a complimentary closing. Some of the closings include Respectfully Yours, Sincerely, etc. Leave four blank spaces after the complimentary closing and then, write your full name. The blank space should be used to sign your name.
Enclosure:
If you have enclosed some document with your letter, it is important for you to mention it just below your name. Leave two spaces and write ‘Enclosure’ or ‘Enclosures’ below it. If you have attached more than one enclosure, do not forget to mention the correct number in brackets.
BUSINESS LETTER FORMAT:
Address
Telephone Number
Email Address
Date
Recipient’s Name
Address
Dear Mr./Ms. (Recipient’s Full Name),
Subject: (PURPOSE OF THE LETTER)
In the first paragraph, you can introduce yourself, if the recipient does not know you. After this, mention the purpose of the letter. (Use Double Paragraph Spacing)
In the second paragraph, give out the details i.e., the facts that support the statement you made in the first paragraph. You can end the letter with this paragraph or you can have another one, if the information you want to convey does not fit in this paragraph. Complete the letter by thanking the recipient for taking out time to read the letter.
Respectfully Yours,
(Your Signature)
(Your Name)
Enclosure(s) (mention the number)
- Write a Letter to the Manager of a Bank requesting for granting loan for further studies.
Ans.
XYZ
E-block Nirman Vihar
Laxmi Nagar
New Delhi – 110090
Date – 6/March/2013
To
The Manager
Bank of India
New Delhi
Subject – Application for the loan for studies
Sir,
I have come to know that your bank provides loans to deserving students to pursue higher studies. I should like to be considered for grant of loan under this scheme.
I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have qualified the entrance test for Engineering. I am keen to join this course. But I belong to a poor family. Hence, my father cannot afford the expenses of my higher studies.
Therefore, I request you to kindly grant necessary loan for my higher studies. I promise you that I shall abide by all the terms and conditions of the loan. I will be happy to produce certificates and documents which you may require in this connection.
Looking forward to receiving an earlier and favourable reply.
Your’s faithfully
XYZ
A few examples of Business Letter:(15 marks)
- Writing a job offer acceptance letter for the post of Assistant Manager
- Complaint to CEO regarding the extra work in office
- Letter to bank manager requesting to extend the joining period as you have received the offer letter for the bank job.
- Write a letter to the Editor, the Hindu, expressing your deep concern on the impact of adult graded cinemas on young minds.
- Write a letter to your manager asking permission for a leave to attend a family function.
- Write a letter to a student preparing for his Board Examination giving tips healthy study habits.
- Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper commending it on an article published in it regarding Environmental awareness and adding your own views on the duty of every citizen to protect the environment.
- Write a letter To the bank manager for closing of your savings account Write a letter To you bank for a loan to have higher studies in USA.
- Write a letter to the company for accepting the job offer of an assistant manager in the company
- Write a letter on behalf of your department to the CEO of your company for working in late hours and not appreciated by management members.
- II) INFORMAL LETTER FORMAT:
Date and Address: The writer should mention their own address in the letter they are writing. It should be written on the right hand corner of the page. Writing this address is optional, because one may feel that the recipient knows you well so what’s the need? However, it’s not necessary that the recipient will remember your address always. So it’s better that you write the address. After the address, leave a line and write the date. The date shows when the letter was written, obviously.
Greetings or Salutation: The most common way to start off an informal letter is with a ‘dear’. Since this letter is meant for your friends or family, there is no need to greet them as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’. Put the name after that and then put a comma. e.g Dear Mike.
Text or Body: While writing the main content of the letter, keep in mind the following:
- Paragraphs:They should be indented.
- Informal language usage:While writing the letter be as friendly as possible. But don’t go overboard. Do keep in mind to whom you are writing the letter. Don’t write to your father, ‘Hey dude! What’s up?’, but at the same time don’t make the letter boring.
- Punctuations, spellings and grammar:While writing a letter, nothing can be worse than spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Wrong use of punctuations can change the entire meaning of what you are trying to convey. Things such as ‘how are you hope you enjoyed your holidays. Suman going to New Delhi yesterday’ makes so sense. It will only confuse the reader. So be careful while writing your letter.
- Use active voice:Active voice makes your letter sound more conversational and makes it more interesting to read. It’s as if the person is conversing with you face to face.
- Put in questions:Questions in your letter act as a good base on which you can write your letter on. Also, it motivates the reader to reply.
Close with a Compliment: After writing the letter, sign off in a friendly manner such as ‘Love,’ or ‘Missing you loads’, ‘Love you forever,’, etc. Don’t forget to put a comma after the compliment. Add your name after that.
Post script (PS): Sometimes, while in a hurry, we often forget to include something in the letter. You can put that in the post script, at the bottom of the letter as P.S. I ranked first in class last week.
There, now if you follow all this, you know how to write an informal letter. So here’s a sample which you can refer to while writing the letter in the SBI PO Exam.
Sample Letter : Letter to a friend inviting him for your birthday party.
12 XYZ Lane,
PO Box: 1234,
New Delhi
13th February 2014
Dear Aditya,
How are you my friend? It has been some time since we met. How was your trip to Kerala? Hope you enjoyed. I received all the postcards which you had sent me from there. Thanks a bunch! I loved each of them.
Hey! Guess what? My Aunt has organized an early birthday party for me, and she has asked me to invite all my friends. You know very well that no party of mine is complete without you. So please be at my place this Sunday. The party doesn’t start till 4, but do come early so then we can play with my new play station. Bring Anjali along with you too. Don’t be late.
Hope you parents are all right? Give them my regards. And wish you all the best for your basketball match today. Miss you loads pal. See you this Sunday.
Take care,
suraj
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