Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports (ISC Class 12)
Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked
Employment letters are the job application (solicited or unsolicited, with a biodata), interview letter, offer of appointment and resignation letter. A report is a formal written statement of facts, classified as statutory or non-statutory, private or public, informational or interpretative, and routine or special. Its format runs from title and terms of reference to findings, conclusions, recommendations and appendix.
Learn the order of the letters, with biodata enclosed in the application, and the report parts from title to appendix.
Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.
Understand Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports
1. Job application. A solicited application answers an advertised vacancy: cite the advertisement (newspaper and date) and the post. An unsolicited application is written on the candidate's own initiative, asking whether a suitable vacancy exists. Both enclose a biodata.
2. Biodata (curriculum vitae). Personal details, contact details, educational qualifications, experience, skills, extra-curricular activities, languages, references, declaration, place, date and signature.
3. Interview letter (employer to candidate): date, time, venue, documents to bring, and whom to contact.
4. Offer of appointment (employer): the post, pay and allowances, date of joining, probation, place of posting, and a request for written acceptance.
5. Letter of resignation (employee): intention to resign, the last working day after the notice period, an optional brief reason, thanks, and a request for relieving and settlement of dues.
6. Reports. A report is a formal written statement of facts on a matter, often with analysis, conclusions and recommendations, prepared for a specific reader after investigation.
| Pair | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Legal requirement | Statutory: required by law | Non-statutory: internal need |
| Readership | Private: internal, confidential | Public: meant for the public |
| Content | Informational: facts only | Interpretative: analysis and advice |
| Frequency | Routine (periodic): regular intervals | Special: one occasion or problem |
A report belongs to one type from each pair. A guard's report on a one-time theft is informational, private, non-statutory and special.
7. Format of a report (report writing itself is not required): title; addressee and date; terms of reference (scope and purpose); procedure (how facts were gathered); findings; conclusions; recommendations (interpretative reports); appendix; signature with name and designation.
8. Appendix. Supporting material (tables, charts, questionnaires, documents) placed at the end. It keeps the main text short and readable while giving full evidence to those who want it. An index lists contents and is different from an appendix.
Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports: key facts
- Employment letters
- Application
- Interview call
- Offer of appointment
- Resignation
- Sender changes: candidate, employer, employer, employee.
- Report types
- Statutory or non-statutory
- Private or public
- Informational or interpretative
- Routine or special
- One from each pair.
- Report format
- Title
- Addressee
- Terms of reference
- Procedure
- Findings
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- Appendix
- Signature
- Learn the order.
How to answer Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports questions
Questions ask you to draft an employment letter, to differentiate two types, or to classify and explain a report.
- 1For a letter, decide the writer and the receiver first, then follow the parts of a business letter.
- 2For a job application, say whether it is solicited and refer to the advertisement, then list qualifications and enclose the biodata.
- 3For a report, classify on all four bases separately and give a reason for each.
- 4For the format or appendix, state the item, its place in the report and its role.
Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Unsolicited application
Suppose a young graphic designer writes to a local publisher asking whether any vacancy is open, though no advertisement has appeared.
Is this a solicited or an unsolicited application?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- There is no advertised vacancy.
- She writes on her own initiative.
Answer: Unsolicited.
Memory hook: Solicited means asked for.
Classifying a report
Imagine a store manager writes a report on a fire in the stockroom last night, for the owner only, listing only what happened.
Classify the report on all four bases.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Not required by law: non-statutory; for the owner only: private.
- Only facts: informational; one occasion: special.
Answer: Non-statutory, private, informational, special.
Memory hook: Law, reader, content, frequency.
Tricks to remember Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
Sender of each employment letter
Candidate writes the application and the resignation; employer writes the interview call and the appointment.
Use it when: Avoiding interchange of sender and receiver.
LRCF
Law, Reader, Content, Frequency are the four bases for classifying a report.
Use it when: Classification questions.
Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Classify the report · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
A branch prepares a weekly sales summary for its regional office only; no law requires it. It is best described as:
(a) statutory and special
(b) non-statutory, private and routine
(c) public and special
(d) statutory and interpretative
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- No law requires it: non-statutory.
- Only the regional office reads it: private; it recurs weekly: routine.
Answer: (b)
Example 2: Solicited and unsolicited · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Priya reads a newspaper advertisement for a trainee accountant, while her friend Ritu sends a letter to the same firm without any advertisement. State the type of application each writes and what the first line of each should refer to.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Priya writes a solicited application; her opening refers to the advertisement, naming the newspaper, date and post.
- Ritu writes an unsolicited application; her opening says she is enquiring whether a suitable vacancy exists.
Answer: Priya: solicited, citing the advertisement. Ritu: unsolicited, asking about vacancies.
Example 3: Appendix and its role · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Suppose a report on a proposed new branch contains 12 pages of survey tables. Where should the tables be placed, and why?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The tables are supporting material, so they go into the appendix at the end of the report.
- Placing them there keeps the findings and conclusions short and readable.
- Readers who want to check the evidence can still find it.
- A summary or index at the start may refer to the appendix.
Answer: In the appendix, to keep the main report concise yet fully supported.
Example 4: Classify on four bases · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Suppose a bank's head office asks its inspection team for a one-time report, to be read only by the board, examining a fraud in one branch and recommending changes. Classify it on each of the four bases with reasons.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Non-statutory: no law requires it.
- Private: only the board reads it.
- Interpretative: it analyses the fraud and recommends changes, not mere facts.
- Special: prepared for one occasion.
Answer: Non-statutory, private, interpretative, special.
Example 5: Draft an offer of appointment · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Suppose you are the HR Manager of Brightway Foods, 18 Mill Road, Ludhiana 141001. Draft an offer of appointment to Mr Karan Sethi, 42 Garden Colony, Ludhiana, for the post of Accounts Executive at Rs 28,000 a month, joining on 1 April, six months' probation, posting at Ludhiana, asking for written acceptance.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Letterhead of Brightway Foods, reference number and date, inside address of Mr Karan Sethi.
- Salutation, subject: Offer of appointment as Accounts Executive, reference to his interview.
- Body: offer the post at Rs 28,000 a month, joining on 1 April, probation of six months, place of posting Ludhiana; ask him to send written acceptance by a stated date.
- Close: Yours sincerely, signature, name and designation of the HR Manager.
Answer: A complete offer with post, pay, joining date, probation, place and acceptance request, signed by the HR Manager.
Where students lose marks in Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Treating the appendix as the index
The index lists contents; the appendix holds supporting material.
Wrong working
Appendix is a list of the pages of the report.
Right working
Appendix is supplementary material such as tables and questionnaires placed at the end.
Do this: Say supporting material, at the end.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Classifying a report on only one basis
A report belongs to one type from each of four pairs.
Wrong working
It is a special report.
Right working
It is non-statutory, private, informational and special.
Do this: Check each of the four bases.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Writing a resignation without the last working day
The notice period matters to the employer.
Wrong working
I resign with immediate effect.
Right working
I resign and my last working day will be after completing the notice period, on a stated date.
Do this: Always give a date.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Exam tips
- The syllabus asks for the types and format of reports but not report writing: learn the lists.
- Draft employment letters in the same full-block format as trade letters.
- In a solicited application, quote the advertisement's newspaper and date.
- Use a biodata layout with headed sections.
Practice questions on Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
Name the report that is prepared at regular intervals, such as every month.
Hint
Frequency.
Answer
A routine (periodic) report.
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
State two details an interview letter should contain.
Hint
When and where.
Answer
Date and time, venue, documents to bring, and whom to contact (any two).
Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Which of the following is informational and which is interpretative: (i) a list of sales figures for the month, (ii) a study of why sales fell, with recommendations?
Hint
Facts versus analysis.
Answer
(i) Informational: presents facts only. (ii) Interpretative: analyses facts and gives conclusions and recommendations.
Q4 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Suppose an employee wants to resign from 1 July after serving a notice period of one month. State the date by which she must submit her resignation, and list the contents of her letter.
Hint
Work back from the last day.
Answer
One month before 1 July, so by 1 June. The letter states her intention to resign, the last working day, an optional brief reason, thanks, and a request for relieving and settlement of dues.
Q5 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
A candidate sends a biodata that lists only name, address and marks. List the sections that are missing and explain why a complete biodata helps the employer.
Hint
What an employer screens.
Answer
Missing: contact details, experience, skills, extra-curricular activities, languages, references, declaration, place, date and signature. A complete biodata lets the employer compare candidates quickly and verify claims, and so decide whom to call for an interview.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.What does solicited mean for an application?Show answer
It is written in response to an advertised vacancy.
2.Which report is required by law?Show answer
Statutory.
3.Where does the appendix appear?Show answer
At the end of the report.
4.What does an interpretative report add to facts?Show answer
Analysis, conclusions and recommendations.
Employment Letters, Biodata and Business Reports: frequently asked questions
Do I have to write a report in the exam?
No; the syllabus asks for the meaning, types and format, not writing a full report.
Is the interview letter written by the candidate?
No. The employer writes it to call the candidate.
Can a report be both statutory and special?
Yes, for example a report required by law after a specific event, since the bases are independent.