How to Write a Notice

Hello Friends... 

Sure, we all are doing well... Be careful, we must stay fit and shouldn't fall ill getting our studies affected. We shall eat and drink healthy, exercise regularly, and won't avoid our domestic and social responsibilities. And whatever time we get for ourselves at the end of the day, we must study hard for most of the time, so that we learn to think... and learn. We simply cannot afford to stop thinking, for we are learners, and we are the chosen ones who got the scope to learn... 

Let's learn to think first...

Today we meet together to learn how to write a notice. But before we learn how to write, shouldn't we ask what is a notice? What is a notice meant for? Who can write a notice? Let's take up these issues one by one before we start to discuss the ways to write a notice.

NOTICE

You must have been served notices for numerous times in your lives starting from your very first school. They provide us with some necessary information on a piece of paper (or letterhead) that we need to know, isn't it?-

Are Notices Different from Letters ?

Similarities

But so does a letter... You receive a letter from your friend and you come to know some bit of information that your friend wants you to know.

Can you think of any other similarity between a letter and a notice?

Yes, there you are, right again... Yes, both letters and notices serve as a tool for communication when both the parties involved in the communication are not present face to face. Surely, we talk to our friends directly when we are face to face with each other, and write letters when we are distant from each other.

Differences

Then how is a notice different from a letter?

Easy... A letter is meant for a single person mostly. However, a notice is meant for a group of persons. When you are school authorities serve you people the notice declaring the forthcoming vacation, dead target to which all the the students and staff of the school which might be close to thousand in number.

And, a letter can be an official letter, or a personal letter. But a notice is always an official communication. That is to say, you can receive a letter written to you by your dearest friend, but you get served a notice only by an authority. The person issuing the notice might be your friend, but even then he doesn't issue the notice being a friend, but being a part of authority.

The Fuzzy Zone

But, interestingly enough, this difference between a letter and a notice is getting diluted day by day. Today, we have many institutions that serve notices which are more like a letter to make the approach more intimate, and less formal-

Formal Notice, the Conventional Way

Shall we now discuss how to write a formal notice in the conventional way? Remember, the key note is being formal- and hence we draft such notices mostly in passive voice. Are you ready?

The Heading

Conventionally notices begin with the heading 'NOTICE'- capital letters being used to write the heading to draw the attention of the target group. This heading is commonly written centrally at the top of the the page.

Subheading

Often, the issuing authority prefers to write the subject-matter of the notice just below the heading within/without brackets. This subheading helps the target group to understand fast what the notice is all about.

Reference Number

I'm quite sure you haven't missed the reference number of the notices you got served with. Why do we have these notices tagged with unique reference numbers? Do you have any idea?

By now, I am certain you have realised that notices are served by institutional and organisational authorities to reach their members, maybe all of them, or maybe a part of them. Now, an institution or an organisation may deal with thousands of members and may have to issue multiple notices a day. How do you think they might understand which notice you are talking about if you visit the concerned authority for further enquiries? Yes, it is the unique reference number of the notice they have issued that helps them to realise which particular notice you are referring to. Conventionally, the reference number is marked along the left hand margin above the body of the notice.

Date

And certainly, no notice gets completed without a reference to the date of issuing the notice. It is very important in the sense that it helps the target group to count the time period if they have to in any case. Apart from that, it also helps to refer to a particular notice, just like the reference number.

The Body of the Notice

The Beginning

Now it's time to understand how the body of the notice is written. It is always very useful to refer to the target group specifically at the very beginning of the notice. Can you say, why?

Simple. It saves the place from being unnecessarily crowded. You must have noticed that notice boards are usually placed at spots where all the members of the institution are supposed to pass by,- like the main entrance, the elevator, or the canteen. Now, if you don't make it clear at the very beginning that the notice you have served is actually meant for only the students of class v, the other students will crowd at the notice boards until they go through the notice at length till they realise that they aren't the target group. Till then, the actual target group does get pushed away by most of the senior students who are always in a hurry and demand to get served first, if they are not as decent as you. And if the crowd gathers at the main entrance of the institution, you can easily realise the degree of inconvenience it might cause. Do you get the argument?

Faster Ways to Share Information

We need to remember that notices are served to share necessary information fast enough. Hence, it is always more practical to share the needed information in tabular form, or it should be highlighted with bullets instead of writing long sentences or paragraphs containing the information so that the target group requires the least possible time to process the information being shared.

The Signing Authority

Hopefully, we still remember that notices can be served only by the competent authority. The signing authority conventionally signs along the right hand margin. You may put your name in capital letters below your signature. And you are supposed to refer to your designation, your institution, and the address of your institution respectively.

The Counter-signature

If the signing authority of the notice is the supremo of the institution, then the notice is already complete. But if it is not so, then the notice is to be countersigned by the supremo of the institution, conventionally along the left hand margin of the page. While drafting the notice you are required to to make space for the counter signature of the supremo of your institution. It's not that difficult at all. You leave a space for the signature marked as the space for countersignature. You also are required to refer to the designation of the supremo of institution, the institution and its address as well.

The Reason

Why do you think it is necessary? Basically, the supremo, being the head of the institution, is the commanding liaison officer among all the departments and committees serving under him or her. It is his/her right to know about the activities and future plans of the different departments of the institution, and it is our duty to inform him/her likewise to avoid any unwanted confusion or clash among the activities of the different departments working for the same institution. For instance, let us consider that your school has got a single conference hall. Now if the sports committee of your institution decides to hold a meeting some day at some point of time and serves a notice accordingly without informing the head of the institution, their schedule might run into a clash with the cultural committee who might have accidentally scheduled a meeting for themselves at the same time. However, if both the departments approach their head to get their notices countersigned (future plans approved), they easily avoid the clash. Do you get the logic now?

Hands on

How about attempting to write a notice on our own? Let's do it then following the given instruction...

Brainstorming

Who is supposed to be the signing authority for the notice?

Yes, the Secretary of the Sports Club of your school is the signing authority here. Hence, while drafting the notice, you need to imagine that there is a Sports Club in your school and you are the Secretary of the club.

Whom you are going to reach out through this notice?

All the students of your school, definitely. And you need to make it very clear at the very beginning of your notice.

Do you think the students might need to know something more than just the time, date and venue of the competition as referred to in the instruction in order to participate?

Of course. How can they participate if they know nothing about the events that are going to be held that day? Why don't you think and make a list of the events that are common in an Inter-School District Sports Competition? You might be remembering that normally we have different events for different age groups in such competitions.

A Model Example

Discussion of the Procedure

Now, here you have my notice ready. What about yours? How is your notice different from mine? 

The Heading

Have you noticed the heading? Yes, it is 'NOTICE' itself, and is written centrally on the top, right?

Subheading

I am sure you haven't missed the subheading, just below the heading, referring to the subject the notice is dealing with. Don't you think that it saves a lot of time for those who are not interested in the subject?

Reference Number

Isn't the Ref. No. ISDSC/21 interesting? I am certain that you have already noticed that it is the acronym of 'Inter-School District Sports Competition', followed by the year. Offices often come up with such easy ways to assign reference numbers to the notices they issue that are easy to interpret.

Highlighted Information

Do you find the way the information is shared in the notice useful? Don't you think that this way saves a lot of time in the sense that you don't have to scan a whole paragraph only to pick the necessary information here?

Assessing the Requirement of Information

Have you included any other information in your notice than that are asked in the instruction? Would you like to explain what you have done and why?  

Go through my notice sincerely as if you want to participate in the competition. Do you find my notice adequate? What more do you think should have been included in this notice?

Read your notice the same way. See if you feel your notice to be complete in guiding a participant to enroll his/her name for the competition. And let me know if you have any thought to share with me in regard to notice-writing down there in the comment box...