Format is the shape the reader expects, such as a notice, a letter or a message. Register is how formal the wording sounds. Both come from the audience, so choose them after you have checked audience and purpose.
This lesson is part of expository and practical writing in SPM Bahasa Cina.
What does each format need?
Learn the parts of each format as a short checklist.
| Format | Usual parts |
|---|---|
| Notice (通告) | heading, event or message, date, time, place, sender |
| Formal letter (书信) | salutation, opening line, body, closing wish, sender and date |
| Message (留言) | greeting, the point, thanks or closing, name |
The teaching materials at your school set the exact layout. Confirm details with your teacher and use one consistent format in every piece.
Worked example: one request, two registers
Task A: write to the principal, asking permission to hold a book sale in the school hall.
尊敬的校长：
学生谨代表华文学会，向您申请于下个月第二个星期五在学校礼堂举办二手书义卖，所得款项将捐给图书馆。恳请校长批准，不胜感激。
此致
敬礼
华文学会会长 李明 谨上
Task B: write to a friend, asking him to help at the book sale.
阿伟：
下个月第二个星期五我们学会要在礼堂办二手书义卖，你能来帮忙吗？
谢谢啦！
明
| Feature | Principal (formal) | Friend (informal) |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 尊敬的校长 | 阿伟 |
| Request | 恳请校长批准 | 你能来帮忙吗 |
| Closing | 此致 敬礼, 谨上 | 谢谢啦 |
| Sentences | complete, polite | short, relaxed |
The facts are the same: the event, the day and the place. Only the wording and format change.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to use one register for everything. A student writes to the principal in the style of a chat message, or writes to a friend using stiff phrases such as 恳请您批准. Both break the reader’s expectation.
The fix is to decide the register before writing and to read the piece once for words that belong to another register. Words like 啦, 喔 and 咯 suit friends. Words like 恳请 and 谨上 suit formal letters.
Check yourself
Task: write a short message to your teacher, asking to hand in your homework a day late because you were ill.
Which opening is suitable, and why?
- A. 老师，我昨天肚子痛，功课还没做好，可以迟交吗？
- B. 尊敬的老师：学生因昨日身体不适，未能完成功课，恳请老师准许明日补交，不胜感激。
- C. 喂，老师，我没做功课啦。
Answer
B matches a written request to a teacher: polite address, complete sentences and respectful wording.
A is fine for a casual chat but too relaxed for a written request to a teacher, which needs a polite address. C uses casual wording (喂, 啦) that does not suit the reader.
What to study next
Continue with explaining a process in clear stages, then try the practice set. Plan short pieces with the Chinese composition structure planner.
If you want a teacher to rewrite your drafts in different registers with you, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.