FORMAL LETTER (Question 2): the full skeleton, every element labelled, with a complete worked example.

THE SKELETON — every element below is required

1. SENDER’S ADDRESS — top left, two or three lines.
2. DATE — below the address, written out (12 March 2025).
3. RECEIVER’S DESIGNATION AND ADDRESS — The Principal / The Municipal Commissioner, then the institution and its address.
4. SUBJECT LINE — "Subject: ..." in one line. THE MOST COMMONLY OMITTED ELEMENT.
5. SALUTATION — "Sir," or "Madam,". Not "Dear Sir" with a name, not "Respected Sir" in a letter to an office.
6. BODY — three paragraphs: why you are writing, the detail, what you want done.
7. CLOSE — "Thanking you," then "Yours faithfully,".
8. SIGNATURE — your name, and your designation if you hold one.

MARKS DIVISION (10 marks) Format — about 2 marks, awarded MECHANICALLY, element by element. These are the easiest two marks in the paper and the most carelessly thrown away. Content — about 4 marks. Every point the question asks for must appear. If it says "offer possible solutions", solutions are compulsory. Expression and tone — about 2 marks. Courteous, impersonal, no sarcasm, no exclamation marks. Grammar, spelling and punctuation — about 2 marks.

LENGTH: about 120-150 words of body text.

WORKED MODEL

14, Lake View Road Kolkata 700029

12 March 2025

The Municipal Commissioner Kolkata Municipal Corporation 5, S.N. Banerjee Road Kolkata 700013

Subject: Request for a bus stop at Lake View Road

Sir,

I write on behalf of the residents of Lake View Road and the three lanes adjoining it to draw your attention to the absence of any bus stop in our locality.

The nearest stop is at Gariahat crossing, a walk of almost two kilometres. For working people this is an inconvenience; for the elderly, for schoolchildren and for those carrying shopping it is a real hardship. Worse, buses are in practice flagged down wherever passengers happen to be standing, so that they halt in the middle of a busy road. There have been two near-accidents at the junction in the past six months.

May I respectfully suggest the following remedies:

1. A bus stop with a shelter may be constructed near the Lake View Road junction, where the road is wide enough for a bus to pull in.
2. If a permanent structure requires time, a marked halting point with a signboard may be provided immediately.
3. Routes 12B and 45 already pass this way and could be directed to halt here at no additional cost.

I shall be grateful if the matter is looked into at an early date.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully, Ria Sen (Secretary, Lake View Road Residents’ Association)

THE PHRASES THAT EARN EXPRESSION MARKS "I write to draw your attention to..." "May I respectfully suggest..." "I shall be grateful if..." "Thanking you," before the close

THE MISTAKES THAT COST THEM Omitting the subject line. "Yours faithfully" versus "Yours sincerely" — use FAITHFULLY when you address an office ("Sir"), SINCERELY when you address a named person ("Dear Mr Sen"). Emotional register: "This is completely unacceptable and I demand action" loses marks that "I shall be grateful" gains. Complaining without offering the solutions the question asked for. Read the question twice and count its tasks.

NUMBERING your suggestions is worth doing — it makes the content marks visible to the examiner at a glance.