Q1.
King Bruce was inspired by the spider that kept on trying till it was successful. Think about the steps you can take to overcome a difficult situation and write them down. Now, write a letter to your cousin on how you plan to overcome any difficult situation. Also, advise not to quit and persevere. Remember to use transition words like ‘To begin with…', ‘Next…', ‘After that…', ‘Then…', ‘Finally…', to share the steps of your plan. You may begin: 20, Rajendra Nagar / Jeevanpur / 23 August 20XX / Dear Monika, / Thank you for your letter asking me about… and end: Yours affectionately, / Deepa
Answer
What the letter must contain: the sender's address, the date, the salutation Dear Monika,, a first paragraph that refers to her letter, a middle paragraph giving the steps in order with transition words, a paragraph of advice not to quit, and the subscription Yours affectionately, Deepa.
Sample answer:
20, Rajendra Nagar
Jeevanpur
23 August 20XX
Dear Monika,
Thank you for your letter asking me about how I am coping with Mathematics this year. You were right — the first two months were very hard, and there was a week when I decided to stop attending the extra class altogether.
Here is the plan I finally made, and it is working. To begin with, I stopped calling the whole subject “difficult” and wrote down the exact three topics I could not do. Next, I fixed forty minutes every evening for those three topics only. After that, I began keeping a small “mistake notebook”, in which I write only the sums I get wrong and why. Then, once a week, I take that notebook to my teacher and ask her about two mistakes. Finally, I re-do the same sums on Sunday without looking, to check whether I have really learnt them.
My advice to you is simple — please do not quit your music practice. We read a poem in school called Try Again, about King Bruce, who was ready to give up until he watched a spider fall eight times and climb a ninth. As the King said, “All honour to those who try.” A skill is not lost when you fail at it; it is lost only when you stop.
Do write and tell me how the practice is going. Give my love to Uncle and Aunt.
Yours affectionately,
Deepa
20, Rajendra Nagar
Jeevanpur
23 August 20XX
Dear Monika,
Thank you for your letter asking me about how I am coping with Mathematics this year. You were right — the first two months were very hard, and there was a week when I decided to stop attending the extra class altogether.
Here is the plan I finally made, and it is working. To begin with, I stopped calling the whole subject “difficult” and wrote down the exact three topics I could not do. Next, I fixed forty minutes every evening for those three topics only. After that, I began keeping a small “mistake notebook”, in which I write only the sums I get wrong and why. Then, once a week, I take that notebook to my teacher and ask her about two mistakes. Finally, I re-do the same sums on Sunday without looking, to check whether I have really learnt them.
My advice to you is simple — please do not quit your music practice. We read a poem in school called Try Again, about King Bruce, who was ready to give up until he watched a spider fall eight times and climb a ninth. As the King said, “All honour to those who try.” A skill is not lost when you fail at it; it is lost only when you stop.
Do write and tell me how the practice is going. Give my love to Uncle and Aunt.
Yours affectionately,
Deepa
Tip: An informal letter needs no subject line. Keep the paragraphs short and let the transition words do the joining.