Writing Skill-Letter Writing
Two Kinds of Letters: Letters may be roughly divided into two kinds of classes.
A. Informal or private or friendly letters.
B. Official letters or business letters or complaint letters.
The first form of letters is basically
written for the sake of an interchange of kind feelings and thoughts politely
between friends or relatives, who live at some distance apart and cannot communicate
in any other way. In the same class must be included letters of introduction,
congratulation, condolence, invitations, and answers to invitations.
A. INFORMAL OR PRIVATE OR FRIENDLY LETTERS:
Care to be taken in
general:
Letters
are written in various forms and for various purposes, but there are certain
general rules that are applicable to all of them.
a) Handwriting:
Bad hand writing and scribbling may create
bad impression in the mind of the readers. Hence avoid scribbling or bad hand
witting in all circumstances, Make a habit of writing legibly even to your most
intimate friends. Half the pleasure that your friend might have from your
letter will be destroyed if it is difficult for him to read your writing.
Secondly, in formal letters, legibility plays a vital role since illegibility
may lead to misreading of what you write, and this may have serious and
undesirable consequences. Do not have to apologize at the end of your letter:-
‘Excuse this scrawl; I had a bad nib; The ink wouldn’t run; It was too thick.
b) Spelling:
Good
spelling is as important as good handwriting, and should not be neglected even
in the most familiar forms of correspondence. A word misspelt creates a bad
impression, whoever the reader may be.
c) Punctuation:
Much
vagueness is sometimes caused by not putting the stops in places where they are
needed, or by putting them in wrong ones. Bad punctuation shows either
carelessness or ignorance on the part of the writer.
d) Revision:
Try to
revise what you have put in your letter. Make a point of reading your letter
over before you put it into its envelope. You may have left out a word, and the
omitted word might happen to be the most telling word in the sentence; - the
omission (for example) of such a little word as not would make an important
difference in the sense.
Four
parts of an informal or a private letter:
An informal letter consists of four different
parts:-
1) The heading: - i. e.
sender’s address. This gives the writers place of residence and the date of
writing the letter.
2) The salutation: - i.e.
the way by which the writer greets the addressee (receiver).
3) The body.
4) The ending.
Address:
- This consists of (a) the place where the letter is
written, (b) the date of writing it. The heading is written at the top of the
first page on the right hand side and might run as follows-
Shri Nivas,
55,
Patel
Nagar,
New
Sanghvi,
Pune-27
19th Sept., 2022
Note 1. The writers name
should not be written as well as the address.
2. We can also write the date as – 27
May, 2008 or May 27, 2008.
Salutation: - The form of salutation or greeting depends upon the degree of relationship or intimacy existing between the writer and the addressee.
(1) The most familiar form such as might be used in a letter between brother and sister or between intimate cousins, or between very intimate friends unrelated by blood, is to write – My dear Pranav, or My dear Sushma, or My dear Rahul or Dear Sujata, etc. The modern tendency is to write Dear – (omitting My)
(2) Blood-relation can be addressed as-
My dear Father, My dear Mother, Dear Uncle, Dear Auntie if from a young child.
(3) A married woman can be addressed – Dear (or My dear) Mrs. Patil or Dear Madam, according to the degree of intimacy. An unmarried woman should be addressed as Dear Miss Patil or Dear Madam.
Ending: - The form of the ending should always go with that of the salutation.
(1) For blood- relation such forms as the following are suitable: - I am (or I remain) your affectionately, your affectionate (or loving) son, father, nephew, brother, uncle, etc.
(2) For intimate friends who are not related by blood, the words used at the close of the letter generally are: - yours ever, yours always, yours most sincerely, yours very sincerely, Ever yours sincerely, yours affectionately.
The words yours sincerely sometimes written in inverted order as sincerely yours, though less effusive, are suitable for almost any degree of friendship that is well established.
(3) A student if addresses his or her teacher follows your obedient pupil, or yours obediently.
Body of the letter: -
The body of a letter is of course main part of it.
The following points should be attended
to:-
(1) Mind your grammar.
There should not be any grammatical mistakes in the body of the letter as the
purpose of writing this letter is to exchange our ideas or thoughts with our
friends or relatives. They should not find troublesome while reading the
content of letter. (2) Use familiar style. Your letter should not
contain formal language. The background and psychology of the listener should
be taken into consideration.
(3) Use simple and direct language; - Avoid the
use of long and involved sentences. Use short sentences and simple words. Say
simply and directly what you want to say.
(4) Divide your letter
into paragraphs. The division of letter into short paragraphs makes it easier
for the reader to follow the different parts.
INFORMAL LETTERS:
1. Write a letter to a friend apologizing for your failure to attend a dinner party given by him. Explain to him why you could not attend the party.
30,
Happy Villa,
Capital Road,
Pune.
19th Sep., 2022
Dear Pritam,
You must be thinking me very rude for my
failure to attend the dinner party at your houses these day before yesterday,
but let me assure you that I was helpless in the matter. I am very sorry I was
not able to keep my promise; but when you know what it was that prevented me; I
hope you will understand and excuse me.
I was
just getting ready to come to your houses when I received a telegram telling me
that my cousin, Mr. Gangasan had met with a serious accident and was lying in a
dangerous condition in the
I sat the
whole night by his bedside, and I am glad to say that he is a little better
now, though it may be weeks before he completely recovers.
So now you
see why I could not come. I hope my absence did not upset your arrangements too
much.
Your affectionate friend,
Aditya
2. Write a letter to your friend, congratulating him on winning a scholarship in the University Examination.
40,
Swarg,
Marine Road,
Pune.
19th Sep., 2022
Dear Rahul,
I have just heard of your brilliant success in the Matriculation
Examination. May I offer you my heartiest congratulations?
It is
indeed a rare distinction that you have achieved. To have secured the third
position amongst the successful candidates in the University and to have won
the merit scholarship are both splendid achievements of which you and your
parents ought to be proud.
Mother
too sends her congratulations, and wishes you still brighter success in the
future. You have really brought great honour to your family and deserve the
congratulations of all of us.
Your affectionate friend,
Kirti
3. Your uncle has sent you a present of five hundred rupees on your birthday. Write a letter of thanks to him, and tell him how you propose to spend the money.
56, Punyai,
Pune.
19th Sep., 2022
My dear Uncle,
What an excellent
present you have sent me! Five hundred rupees! Thank you very much indeed for
having made me such a generous gift.
Five
hundred rupees! It means too much for me. Now I shall be to able to get many
things I have been badly wanting for some time.
I
should like some books too. It is so cheap; it will cost me just under Rs. 50/.
Then I shall have a fairly good library at my disposal.
But I
also want wrist watch. I know watches are very expensive these days, but I
really need one, and I know I can get a good one for about Rs. 150/.
Hoping
that you are in the best of health and with renewed thanks for this excellent
present I am,
Your loving nephew,
Ganesh
The second
form consists of official or complaint or business letters.
B. OFFICIAL OR BUSINESS OR
COMPLAINT LETTERS:
Kinds of Formal Letters:- the term formal letter is intended to include all kinds of letters.
(A) These letters are written to or by some man in his business capacity and not as a private friend, - such as a schoolmaster, a manufacturer, a tradesman or retail dealer, a merchant or wholesale dealer, a banker, a lawyer, a contractor, a broker, an agent, a professional man of any kind.
(B) A public business letter (more commonly known as an official letter) is one written to or by any one in his official capacity, such a person may be either holding some public office or representing some important public association.
PARTS OF A FORMAL LETTER:
1. Sender’s address
2. Receiver’s address
3. Reference (if it is an
application letter)
4. Subject
5. Salutation
6. Body of the letter
7. Subscription
Official Letter-Example
1. Write a letter to the Principal of your college for giving concession in your college fees.
X. Y. Z.
166, S. N. 72/1-C,
Om Apparment,
Ganeshkhind
Aundh,
Pune.67
19th Sep.,2022
To,
The Principal,
Aundh,
Pune-67
Sub: For giving fee concession.
Sir,
I am a first year science student in your college. Respectfully, I want to say that my father who was working in a Private firm has lost his job and is now unemployed. It is very difficult for me to pay the college fee as my parents have no regular source of income.
I stood
first in the annual examination last year and I am very much interested in
continuing my studies. I, therefore, request you to grant me fee concession so
that I may attend the college and continue my studies.
Thank you,
Yours obediently,
X.
Y. Z.
Business Letter-Example
2. Write a letter to a book seller ordering books.
X. Y. Z.
55,
S. N. 65/1/D,
Sai Nivas,
Pashan,
Pune.09
19th Sep.,2022
To,
The Manager,
Messrs Ideal Book Company,
Dadar,
Mumbar-4000026
Sub: Order for the few books.
Sir,
I shall
be much obliged if you will send me the following books as early as possible:
1. 51 Modern Essays 10 copies
2. Pickwick Papers 10 copies
3. Tenses and Rudiments 10 copies
4. Wren and Martin 10 copies
__________
Total 40 copies
You may send these to the above address, and your bill will be paid on receipt of the books.
Thank you,
Yours truly,
X. Y. Z.
3. Write an official letter to the Postmaster-General,
concerning a lost Money Order.
X. Y. Z.
155,
S. N. 72/1-C,
Bhakti Nivas,
Sai Chowk,
Pimple Gurav
Pune.61
19th Sep., 2022
To,
The Postmaster-General,
Pune-09
Sub: About lost of money order
Sir,
About a
month ago, I sent a money order for Rs. 120 to my brother, Dr. L. C. Patil, 18,
I have been highly inconvenienced through what appears to be the carelessness of the postal authorities. I should be much obliged if you would look into the matter immediately; the number of the money order receipt is 1371; it is dated January 15, 2008 and stamped Pune, P. O.
Yours
faithfully,
X. Y. Z.
Complaint Letter-Example
4. Your Junior College is situated far away from your
locality. Write a letter of complaint to The Depot Manager about the
inconvenient bus timing.
X. Y. Z.
Flat No-601,
Surya Nagari,
Gajanan Chowk,
New Sangvi,
Pune-27
19th Sep.,2022
To,
The Depot Manager,
P. M. T.,
Pune.
Sub:
Inconvenient Bus Timings.
Sir,
I am a
student of
Due to
this my friends and I are late and have to miss the first lecture. We therefore
appeal to you to look into the matter promptly.
We would
suggest that you ensure that the buses leave on their scheduled time and also
add an extra service for the convenience of the students. There are a number of
school going children too who await of the same service in the morning.
I, on
behalf on all sufferers, kindly request you to take prompt action.
Thank you,
Yours
faithfully,
X. Y. Z.
5. An approach road to your locality is to be built,
but due to non-co-operation from the concerned authorities the work is held up.
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Ask for help.
X.
Y. Z.
155, S. N. 72/1-C,
Nisa
Nivas,
Pashan,
Pune.09
19th Sep.,2022
To,
The Editor,
Times of
Mumbai-400001
Sub:
Road work held up: Non-cooperation from authorities.
Sir,
I would
like to bring to your notice the plight of the residents of
In
January 2019, the P.M.C. undertook the task of widening the main road and
building an approach road to
I
would appreciate if you could help us by first of all publishing this letter
and getting us a reply from the concerned authorities. We are all honest
tax-paying citizens but do not enjoy even the basic peace of mind.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
X. Y. Z.
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Compiled By-Dr. Salunkhe T.B.
