Transactional writing · Grade 8
Transactional writing does a job in real life: it records, informs, invites or asks for something. In CAPS you write diary entries, dialogues, notices, invitations, CVs, reports, agendas and minutes. Each one has its own layout, so learn the format as well as the words.
Key facts
- A diary entry is personal: the date or Dear Diary, the first person, the past tense for what happened and your feelings about it.
- A dialogue is set out like a play script: the speaker's name on the left, a colon, then the words, with no speech marks: Sipho: Are you coming to the match? Directions go in brackets.
- A notice is short and clear: a heading, the key facts (what, when, where) and who it is from. An invitation gives the occasion, the date, the time, the venue and how to reply (RSVP).
- A CV (curriculum vitae) lists your personal and contact details, education, skills, experience and references under clear headings.
- A formal report has a title and headings such as introduction, findings and recommendations. An agenda lists what a meeting will discuss; the minutes record who came and what was decided.