Ability to write a good letter is one of the key factors a candidate needs to know if he or she want to pass English language in WASSCE exams.
A letter writing is either formal or informal letter. An informal letter or a friendly letter or a personal letter carries one address at the right corner of the paper and is the type of letter written to friends, relations, parents who are close to you, while a formal letter on the other hand should have two addresses at both right and left corner of the paper, the type written to an organization for employment, letter to an organization or government establishment calling for sitting of projects or calls eradication of menace in a particular area.
Letter writing could be narrative, descriptive, expository or argumentative. So any question in WAEC on either of the above whether to tell how an event happens, describe or argue should have the following brilliant features:
- Address: When you are writing a letter whether formal or informal letter, it must have address or addresses and a date written. Unlike an essay writing, a candidate should note that this is very important in essay writing.
- Introduction: Having a good introduction in letter writing is the key to have a good marks in your letter writing. You don’t jump into writing on any topic without giving the examiner the insight or central idea of what you are writing on. It shows a focal point and directs the marker or the examiner’s mind towards a good end.
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- Body of the Letter: This tells the story or describes or argue in details events that happened with good diction or language otherwise referred to as good grammatical structures in sequence, that is, one good point in a paragraph linking the other.
- Good and simplified diction: Otherwise referred to as simple and carefully selected words to build up your topic letter. In this wise, a candidate should avoid bombastic words; that is the use of big words that may complicate issues or defeat the whole write up. Employ good English in your explanation and avoid too long sentences to drive home your points or argument.
- Mechanical Accuracy: Develop the idea invariably. The problem is that most students shift topics and lose focus within their paragraphs because they do not know how to adequately develop their ideas.
They usually know the paragraph needs to be longer, but they don’t know how to expand their idea to fill that length. Indeed a paragraph should be at least half a page long. Good punctuations like coma, semi colon, invited comas, exclamation mark and full stops should be applied appropriately.
- A good letter must have conclusion: A good conclusion or preferred end of any good letter in WAEC should have an overview of the entire topic, elements of logicality, carefully selected words, brilliant technicalities and a brilliant end.
