Analytical paragraph and formal letter
Class 10 English · Writing · 6 questions with answers
The analytical paragraph is the most reliably scored question on the English paper, because it has a fixed structure that works for every chart, table or set of cues. Four moves, every time. Learn the four and the question stops depending on what the data happens to be about.
- Writes an analytical paragraph using the same four moves each time
- Describes a trend rather than listing every number
- Lays out a formal letter with every part present
- Writes a subject line that states the purpose in one line
Exercise 1 of 3 · 4 questions
Put the four moves of an analytical paragraph in order, and say what each does.
Put in order · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
Those four moves work for any chart in any paper - rainfall, literacy, sales, screen time. Nothing about them depends on the subject of the data. That is what makes this the most reliably scored question on the paper, and it is why learning the structure is worth more than practising on twenty different charts.
- 1)A. Note the exception, the comparison or the sharpest change
- 2)B. Say what the data is about and where it comes from
- 3)C. Close with what it means or suggests
- 4)D. Describe the overall trend
Answers
- 1) B, D, A, C. Introduce the data, give the overall trend, point out the exception or the sharpest change, then close with what it suggests.
Exercise 2 of 3 · 1 questions
Write an analytical paragraph of about 120 words. A model answer is given.
Write the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
The model does the four moves and nothing else. Notice what it does not do: it does not list all four numbers in sequence. It groups them - cycling and walking together - and picks out the striking one. A paragraph that reads 'eighteen came by bus, ten by cycle, eight walked and four by car' has copied the table rather than analysed it, and that is the commonest weak answer to this question.
- 1)The table shows how a class of 40 students travels to school: bus 18, cycle 10, walking 8, car 4.
Answers
- 1) The table shows how the forty students of a class travel to school each day. The clear majority - eighteen students, or nearly half the class - come by bus, which suggests that most live too far away to walk and that the school bus service is well used. Cycling and walking together account for another eighteen, so nearly half the class arrives without any motorised transport at all. The striking figure is the last one: only four students come by car, the smallest group by some distance. Taken together, the data suggests that the class lives close enough for independent travel and that private transport is the exception rather than the norm.
Exercise 3 of 3 · 1 questions
Write the letter in full, about 120 words. A model answer is given.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
The model letter takes a position, concedes something, and proposes something specific. That third element - a concrete suggestion - is what children most often leave out, and it is what turns a complaint into a letter. Notice too that the concession ('neither possible nor sensible') strengthens the argument rather than weakening it, which is exactly what a mature Class 10 answer does.
- 1)Write a letter to the editor of a national daily about the increasing screen time of schoolchildren.
Answers
- 1) 17, Lake View Road Bengaluru 560001 21 July 2026 The Editor The National Daily Bengaluru 560001 Subject: The rising screen time of schoolchildren Sir, Through your columns I wish to raise a concern that most families will recognise. Schoolwork, entertainment and conversation with friends now all happen on the same device, and the result is that a child can spend most of a waking day looking at a screen without anyone quite deciding that they should. The effects are visible. Sleep is disturbed, outdoor play has almost disappeared in many neighbourhoods, and attention spans in class are shorter than teachers remember. I am not suggesting that devices be taken away, which is neither possible nor sensible. But schools could set homework that does not require a screen, and families could agree an hour each evening when devices are put away. Small limits, agreed rather than imposed, would help. Yours faithfully, Ananya Rao
While your child works
- The four moves work for any chart. Learn the structure rather than practising twenty different data sets.
- An analytical paragraph must group and interpret, not list. Listing the numbers is copying the table.
- Every letter needs a paragraph proposing something. It is the part most often missing.