Different kinds of writing have different shapes. A surat kiriman tidak rasmi (informal letter) goes to family and friends; a surat kiriman rasmi (formal letter) goes to an organisation and has a subject line. A catatan harian is a dated diary entry, a dialog is a conversation set out speaker by speaker, a laporan records an event in order, and an ucapan is a speech that opens by greeting the audience.
What your child will learn
- Identify a kind of writing from its features
- Choose suitable openings and closings
- Order an essay: introduction, points, conclusion
Know it by its features
Look for the giveaways: an address at the top right and a warm greeting (informal letter); a subject line and “Yang benar,” (formal letter); a day and date and the word “saya” (diary); names followed by colons (dialogue); “Disediakan oleh,” (report); “Yang dihormati…” (speech).
A good essay has a pendahuluan, several isi — each with one main point, an explanation and an example — and a penutup.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Surat kiriman rasmi ditulis kepada…
✉️- adik-beradik
- kawan rapat
- diri sendiri
- pihak berkuasa atau organisasi
Show answer
Answer: pihak berkuasa atau organisasi. Contohnya: guru besar, pengurus syarikat.
2. Penulisan yang manakah bermula dengan sapaan seperti “Menemui sahabatku Aina yang dirindui…”?
- ucapan
- berita
- surat kiriman tidak rasmi
- laporan
Show answer
Answer: surat kiriman tidak rasmi. Sapaan mesra ialah ciri surat kiriman tidak rasmi.
3. Dalam surat kiriman tidak rasmi, alamat penulis ditulis di…
✉️- tengah-tengah surat
- bahagian bawah surat
- belakang surat
- sudut kanan sebelah atas
Show answer
Answer: sudut kanan sebelah atas. Alamat pengirim ditulis di sudut kanan atas.
Tips for grown-ups
- Collect a real example of each format: a letter, a notice, a report from the school magazine.
- Write the same news — a class trip — as a diary entry and as a report.