Letter writing

 what is letter writing ?

letter writing is an important form of communication. It may be written for personal or professional purpose. Letters are written to convey ideas, thoughts, feelings, observations, information, greetings, or to enquire about something . A good writer effectively conveys through a letter in a manner that the reciver can clearly understand the various details.

Some letters by famous personalities have been compiled together into books like letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to his daughter Indira Gandhi, from prison titled. Letters from a Father to His Daughter. Letter by a Nobel Laureate VS Naipaul written to his father have also been compiled and titled between father and son ; family letters. Similarly, letters by PG Wodehouse have been compiled and titled A life in letters . Such has been the importance of letter writing for years . For official communication also  a letter is avery good medium. 

Kinds of Letters 

letters can be broadly categorised as follows : 

1.Personal or informal letters 

2.Official or formal 

3.Notes of invitation or social letters 

Personal or Informal letters: These letters are written to communication with friends, family members realtives or acquaintances. They are written for different purposes 

- to congratulate , invite ,request, share thoughts and feelings,convey greetings and so on . The language used is simple and infomal in such letters. 

Official Letters : These letters are written toofficials of organisations and firms , heads of institutions and government bodies, editors of newspapers and magzines, etc. They are mainly written to give or collect information , make complaints, to raise and highlight important issues , to give suggestions, make requests, express views and opinions to apply for leave or job, make recammendations and so on. The language used is formal impersonal polite and precise,. The points included should be dealt with a simple. direct and sustematic way.  One should also quote reference numbers, advertisement details order number invoices number cheque / demand draft number file number etc,.and other relevant details wherever rquired. Sentences should be short and to the pont. A void contractions like I'll /I won't /I'd. 

Keep these points in mind while writing informal letter.

Sender's Address : Start with the address of the sender usually written at the top left corner of the page, it includes the sender's house number ,street name ,city and postal code. If the recipient id in another country, do not forget to write the country name as well in the address.

DATE: IT  is written below the sender's . It allowsthe recipient to have reference as when the letters was written. 

Opening: The opening of an informal letter begins with a greeting or salutation like Mrs (for a married woman),  Ms (for an unmarried woman), Dear  [first name] and Hello [first name]. The greeting is gollowed by the beginning of the body of the letter which must start by asking the well-being of the recipient. 

Body : The content of the body of an informal letter must be written in an iintimate and pleasant tone.The body includes the reason for writing the letter and explanation and details of concerning topic. 

Conclusions : Say a meaningful and affectionate goodbye to the recipient and invite him to write back or reply to your letter. 

Signature : Some common sign offs for informal letters include Best regards, Best wishes , Hugs,Lots of love , XOXO etc.  

FORMAT OF INFORMAL LETTER :

..................................................................................}      HEADINGS (ADDRESS OF THE SENDER)

..........................................DATE

..........................................SALUTATION

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..................................................................................           (Body of the letter)

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...........................Subscription/Complementry close

................................Signature.