Transactional
Writing
A guide to formats
i
, Contents
Introduction………………………..…………………………………………………….. 1
Friendly letters ………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Formal letters
Letters of complaint …………………………………………………………….. 4
Letters to the press ……….…………………………………………………….. 6
Letters of application ……...…………………………………………………….. 9
Curriculum Vitae ………………….…………………………………………………….. 11
Dialogues ……………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Interviews ………………………………...…………………………………….. 15
Articles
Newspaper articles ……………….…………………………………………….. 17
Magazine articles ……………………………………………………………….. 19
Reviews …………………..…………………………………………………….. 21
Obituaries ………………...…………………………………………………….. 23
Speeches ……………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Eulogies …………………..…………………………………………………….. 27
Agenda ………….………………..…………………………………………………….. 29
Minutes ……….………………….…………………………………………………….. 30
Short report …………………………………………………………………………….. 32
Sample topics ……………………..…………………………………………………….. 34
Transactional rubric ……………….…………………………………………………….. 39
i
,Introduction
A transactional writing piece is written for a specific purpose and audience. While an essay
is a more creative exercise, with the purpose of entertaining, arguing or reflecting, a
transactional writing piece has a more specific purpose. For example, the purpose of a letter
of complaint could be to receive a refund, while the purpose of a speech could be to get the
audience to take some sort of action. When writing a transactional piece, your choices of
the content, style, tone and format of your writing should always be appropriate to and
aligned with the purpose and the audience of the piece.
This booklet is a guide to the formats of some of the transactional pieces you should be
familiar with, and includes tips on content and style. At the end of the booklet, you will find
topics taken from past Grade 11 and 12 Paper 3 examinations from the last few years for
you to use as practice, as well as a rubric showing the aspects that will be considered when
your teacher is assessing your work.
Remember that planning your work before you start writing the piece is essential if the
content is to be well structured or organised. After you have written the piece, ensure that
you reread your work, revising what you have written, if necessary, by changing the order of
the content, adding or removing content, and rewording sentences to ensure that they are
clear. Once you have revised, edit your work to remove any errors in spelling, sentence
structure or punctuation. All these changes can be made on the first draft of your writing,
known as your rough draft. Only once this process is complete, should you rewrite your
piece neatly, to help make your work legible for your teacher. This should take you 35
minutes per transactional piece. Remember that the word count given is only a guide.
1
, Informal or friendly letters
6 Cape Road
Newton Park 1
Port Elizabeth
6000
18 June 2012 2
Dear Grandma 3
I just finished my first day as a Grade 10 at Alex and it was such a shock! 4
The first part 5 of the process was being divided up into new subject classes. I had to say
goodbye to most of my friends in my registration class and was put in English, Maths,
Science and Art classes with a bunch of virtual strangers! At least I still see my friends in
Afrikaans and Life Orientation.
Then 5 when we finally reached our new classrooms, we were given long lectures about
how we are now Seniors and what a big difference there is between Grade 9 and 10. Our
new textbooks are twice as thick as any of our Grade 9 textbooks and we were even given
homework – on the first day – in Maths!
For the first five minutes of break, everyone sat around in stunned silence until the new
Grade 8s walked past with their enormous book bags and even more dazed expressions
than ours. That made us feel a bit better.
I can see Grade 10 is going to be a big challenge but I look forward to all the good times
we’ll have and to achieving all the goals I’ve set for myself, even though it’ll mean a lot of
hard work. I’ll keep you updated on my progress! 6
Your grandson 7
Sino 8
2
Writing
A guide to formats
i
, Contents
Introduction………………………..…………………………………………………….. 1
Friendly letters ………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Formal letters
Letters of complaint …………………………………………………………….. 4
Letters to the press ……….…………………………………………………….. 6
Letters of application ……...…………………………………………………….. 9
Curriculum Vitae ………………….…………………………………………………….. 11
Dialogues ……………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Interviews ………………………………...…………………………………….. 15
Articles
Newspaper articles ……………….…………………………………………….. 17
Magazine articles ……………………………………………………………….. 19
Reviews …………………..…………………………………………………….. 21
Obituaries ………………...…………………………………………………….. 23
Speeches ……………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Eulogies …………………..…………………………………………………….. 27
Agenda ………….………………..…………………………………………………….. 29
Minutes ……….………………….…………………………………………………….. 30
Short report …………………………………………………………………………….. 32
Sample topics ……………………..…………………………………………………….. 34
Transactional rubric ……………….…………………………………………………….. 39
i
,Introduction
A transactional writing piece is written for a specific purpose and audience. While an essay
is a more creative exercise, with the purpose of entertaining, arguing or reflecting, a
transactional writing piece has a more specific purpose. For example, the purpose of a letter
of complaint could be to receive a refund, while the purpose of a speech could be to get the
audience to take some sort of action. When writing a transactional piece, your choices of
the content, style, tone and format of your writing should always be appropriate to and
aligned with the purpose and the audience of the piece.
This booklet is a guide to the formats of some of the transactional pieces you should be
familiar with, and includes tips on content and style. At the end of the booklet, you will find
topics taken from past Grade 11 and 12 Paper 3 examinations from the last few years for
you to use as practice, as well as a rubric showing the aspects that will be considered when
your teacher is assessing your work.
Remember that planning your work before you start writing the piece is essential if the
content is to be well structured or organised. After you have written the piece, ensure that
you reread your work, revising what you have written, if necessary, by changing the order of
the content, adding or removing content, and rewording sentences to ensure that they are
clear. Once you have revised, edit your work to remove any errors in spelling, sentence
structure or punctuation. All these changes can be made on the first draft of your writing,
known as your rough draft. Only once this process is complete, should you rewrite your
piece neatly, to help make your work legible for your teacher. This should take you 35
minutes per transactional piece. Remember that the word count given is only a guide.
1
, Informal or friendly letters
6 Cape Road
Newton Park 1
Port Elizabeth
6000
18 June 2012 2
Dear Grandma 3
I just finished my first day as a Grade 10 at Alex and it was such a shock! 4
The first part 5 of the process was being divided up into new subject classes. I had to say
goodbye to most of my friends in my registration class and was put in English, Maths,
Science and Art classes with a bunch of virtual strangers! At least I still see my friends in
Afrikaans and Life Orientation.
Then 5 when we finally reached our new classrooms, we were given long lectures about
how we are now Seniors and what a big difference there is between Grade 9 and 10. Our
new textbooks are twice as thick as any of our Grade 9 textbooks and we were even given
homework – on the first day – in Maths!
For the first five minutes of break, everyone sat around in stunned silence until the new
Grade 8s walked past with their enormous book bags and even more dazed expressions
than ours. That made us feel a bit better.
I can see Grade 10 is going to be a big challenge but I look forward to all the good times
we’ll have and to achieving all the goals I’ve set for myself, even though it’ll mean a lot of
hard work. I’ll keep you updated on my progress! 6
Your grandson 7
Sino 8
2
