LIC AAO Mains Preparation | How to Write a Letter ?

As the Preliminary Exam of LIC AAO is over and Mains exam is scheduled to be held on 28 June. Approx. one month is left we should start our preparation for mains without waiting for the result of the Preliminary exam.

In LIC AAO Mains, there is no Objective test of English Language. However, there is a descriptive writing test of English Language of 25 marks containing 2 questions (1 essay and 1 letter writing task) and must be answered within 30 minutes total. This test will be of qualifying in nature and the marks in English Language(descriptive) will not be counted for ranking. 

In Mains exam, Letter Writing is asked in every exam. It is a Part of Descriptive writing which has its weightage and you had to secure qualifying marks in it to clear this section.

 The questions asked in the mains exam are difficult to deal with when compared to the prelims exam. When people prepare for their mains examination, they mostly focus on getting their grips stronger over the subjects that will be asked in the objective type test forgetting that the descriptive test is important too. If you do not qualify this test, you are more likely to lose the opportunity to clear the exam. 

The main aim behind this test is to test one’s ability to communicate with the one to whom the letter is being written. To prepare for letter writing, the first and foremost requirement is to know about the type of letters being asked and the format of these letters. There is two types of letters are asked in the exam: Formal letters (To address professional relationships, officials, etc) and Informal Letters (To address near and dear ones). In this Article, we present few writing tips of Letter Writing.

Tips for Informal Letter Writing:

Date and Address: The writer should mention his/her own address in the letter they are writing. It should be written on the right-hand corner of the page. After the address, leave a line and write the date. The date shows when the letter was written.

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 Shikha,“.

Text or Body: While writing the content of the letter, keep in mind the following:

Paragraphs should be indented.

Informal language should be used keeping in mind the person you are writing the letter to. You cannot write ‘Hey dude! What’s up?’ to your father.

Active voice makes your letter sound more conversational and makes it more interesting to read, so, try using active voice.

Try putting questions in your letter as they act as a good base on which you can write your letter.

Tips For Formal Letter:

Address and Date: Your address then addresses of the person you are writing to and after address write a date. Address and Date always write on the left side.

Greetings and Salutation: The most common way to start off an informal letter is with Dear Sir or Madam. Greeting and Salutation write on the left side.

Text Or Body: Content should be to the point and easy to understand for the Reciever. Most letters in English are not very long, so keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organizing it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much.

Ending a Letter: 

1) Yours faithfully

If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

2)Yours sincerely

If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

For complete Practice, We will also have a book on Descriptive Writing Book which contains 90+ Solved Examples of Essays, Letters, & Precis.