Means of formal communication is called notice. It is written to a particular person or a group. It is almost like a news item informing targeted person or group about an important event or information. The notice can be treated as an invitation for meeting, an announcement for an event, issuance of instructions, or to make appeals etc.
Notices are mostly written and displayed at a public place where these notices are accessible to all. They can be glued on notice boards. If it’s meant for a wider audience it will even be printed in a newspaper. Like the govt, publishes any problems or information through notices, published in national and native papers.
Notices should cover important points of information which are to be communicated to the public. Below are the five points that the notice should cover, the five W’s-
- What
- Where
- When
- Who
- Whom
In order to provide the complete and precise information, the notice must cover the above mentioned W’s.
Since notices are a proper document it ought to follow a structure or a complete format. Though there’s no correct or rigid format on how to write a notice.
All notices can be in completely different formats employed by different people/organizations and will show some variations. However, it is ideal to follow a somewhat similar format for simple understanding and uniformity. Let’s check out the foremost used format of notices.
- Name of Issuing Organization/Authority: At the top, you will write the name of the person or company that is issuing the said notice. This will help identifying the readers, the notices as “important” or “unimportant” to them.
- Title: When writing a notice we should mention a proper and clear title “NOTICE” which should be at the top. This will help in attracting the attention of the people targeted to the notice. Notices are mostly written and displayed at a public place where these notices are accessible to all. It is important to note that they are not lost in the background of multiple information available in the newspaper. Hence, a clear and bold title mentioned will help in attracting the public’s attention.
- Date: After the main title the date should be mentioned on which the notice have been released. Since this is an important, public and a formal document date is important as these documents stay on record.
- Heading: Then an appropriate heading to the notice should be mentioned. It should be easy to understand and clear to read. This heading should provide a clear purpose of the published notice.
- Body: After the heading, in the body, a brief and to the point information of the notice to be mentioned, like email writing format. Since, it is the main content, it should be crisp and clear.
- Writer’s Name: At the end of the notice, write the name and designation of the person who has written the notice or on whose behalf the notice is published. The notice is also should be signed by authoritative person who will be its authority and is the person responsible to the validity of it.
Example of Notice writing
Q: On the occasion of Holi your group housing society has planned a feast for all society members. Acting as the president of your group housing society you have to write a notice inviting all society members to this holi festival gathering. Provide crisp and only necessary information.
Ans:
XYZ Group Housing Society
NOTICE
28th July 2019.
Holi Festival Gathering
On the auspicious occasion of Holi, the Society has organized a gathering followed by lunch. All members of the society are requested to attend the event in the main garden of the society at 8:00 am on the 30th of July 2019.
ABC
President of XYZ Group Housing Society