Effective Letter Writing: Techniques & Etiquette, Slides of English Language

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Letter Writing:

Reading and Thoughtfully Corresponding

By: Abiha Tahir

DEFINITION OF “LETTER”

Letter

“A written or printed communication directed to a

person or organization.”

(http://education.yahoo.com/ reference/dictionary/entry/letter)

Letters may be created and sent as:

● E-mail or electronic transmissions (including faxsimiles)

● Hand-delivered transmissions

● Regular mail transmissions

LETTER WRITING ETIQUETTE

Etiquette is good manners or appropriate or accepted social

practices that reflect and promote civility.

When should you write a letter?

● To thank someone who has been gracious, kind or helpful to

you.

●When you need assistance or answers to help you make intelligent

decisions.

● To respond to a letter or letter request that you have

recently received. (do not wait too long)

● To create legal documents that record information and support

claims.

● To show that you are a courteous, professional, detail-

BEFORE WRITING A LETTER...

● Read (1) the letter or letters to which you need or want to

respond; or (2) read a written announcement or article

motivating or requesting a letter response.

(News stories, displays and billboards, and even oral

comments that others have voiced may spark your passion to write

a letter. Listening, is therefore important to letter writers.)

●Examine the tone (language) of the letter, announcement

or other printed material to which you will respond. The tone

of the motivating piece helps you determine the tone of your

written response (formal or informal).

●Identify your audience and purpose in order to determine

the type of letter you will write (formal or informal).

● Think about / Plan your response.

LETTER MECHANICS –

1. PRONOUN (POINT OF VIEW)

The use of personal pronouns is

important in letters... I, he, she, it, we,

they, you

●In a letter, do not refer to yourself in the

third person by using one or the writer.

●It is perfectly natural and appropriate to

refer to yourself as I and to the reader as

you.

LETTER MECHANICS –

3. ACTIVE VERSUS PASSIVE VOICE

Examples

PASSIVE Sentence : It was discovered that the

salary totals were incorrect.

Who discovered “it” [the problem]? The

underpaid employee, The payroll specialist, The

Accounting Department, An Intern, The IRS? (Be

specific.)

Revised ACTIVE sentence: The Accounting

Department discovered that the salary totals were

incorrect.

TWO CATEGORIES OF LETTERS

●Business Letters (format writing; more formal

writing that may share elements of essay writing)

Personal Letters (often informal; may be

addressed to a friend or familiar

acquaintance about a personal subject; may

regard a personal problem, issue or even a

personal business matter pertaining to ones

personal finances or personal legal matters)

PERSONAL LETTERS...

WHETHER TYPED OR HANDWRITTEN, MAY INCLUDE PERSONAL TOUCHES

THAT REFLECT YOUR STYLE OR PERSONALITY.

December 4, 2007

Dear Maxwell,

I just wanted to take a moment to write to you to

express my thanks for the extra tutoring help you gave

me this fall as I struggled in my Math 1112 course.

People like you make our world a better place

simply because you take the extra time to help others

overcome fears and learn important skills. I think I can

safely say, you are going to make a great math teacher

one day!

You stand head and shoulders above others in the field

Salutation

(Greeting)

Date

Complimentary

Closing

Signature

Special stationery

●Write as soon as possible after the incident.

●Apologize, but do not go overboard by saying, "I am very, very, very

sorry."

●Keep it simple and to the point. Summarize what you are

apologizing

for, and apologize only for the particular situation or problem. Be

brief.

●Apologize cheerfully and sincerely. Do not express feelings of guilt.

●Explain what you will do to correct the mistake or situation.

● Do not put blame on another person and do not blame problems

on

computer errors or carelessness.

Guidelines for Writing Apologies:

WHEN TO WRITE A PERSONAL THANK YOU,

CONGRATULATIONS OR APPRECIATION LETTERS

To thank or show gratitude for:

● Gift

● Group efforts

● Introduction to other people

●Invitations to speak

●Helpful advice or suggestions

●Personal favors

●Recommendations for position or awards

●References

●Sympathy

●Volunteers

●Graduations

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING PERSONAL

APPRECIATION / THANK YOU LETTERS:

●State what you appreciate and briefly explain why.

●Do not add other news or information not related to the

appreciative gesture

● Be brief, warm, and sincere. (Two to three lines should

suffice.)

Example:

Thank you for the character reference you provided to Troy

University on my behalf. I truly appreciate your willingness to

provide the reference, as well as your time and attention to

completing it. Again, thank you, and best wishes. – Tina Applicant

●Postcards may be used for short notes. Personal notes should

be handwritten.

PRACTICE EXERCISE – PERSONAL

LETTER (CHOOSE TWO)

●Write a thank you letter/note card to

someone who has recently helped you

●write a congratulatory letter/note to

someone who has recently achieved an

outstanding honor.

●Design an invitation to an event you will

host December 22, 2007.

Practice Exercise

Create an invitation or personal letter/note. See

handout.