Writing letters is an art, a very personalised art. It reveals how good you are in expressing yourself and connecting with the addressees. Some people write very good love letters, full of romantic sentiments. They pour their heart in words. Some write to the point official letters in professional way. There are people who keep writing letters for ‘Letter to the Editor’ column, mostly brief compositions on some current issues. Business letter must be brief and clear. Personal letters can be emotional and poetic. Your letter represents you in the form of words. So, the words must touch the addressee and convey the exact message or the emotions of the sender. Hence, a letter needs to be carefully composed.
Most of the rules of the compositions and essay also apply to the letters. Continuity, logic, purpose and emphasis are desirable aspects of it. The letter writer should be careful about the choice of words. He should be conscious of the implied significance of expressions. A wrong word can hurt others or defeat the purpose of the letter. In writing personal letters one should keep the intellectual level of the receiver in mind and moderate the letter accordingly. Your letter must breathe and pulsate with life. The reader should perceive you as talking through words.
Good handwriting adds great value to the letter. It is always a pleasure to read a letter written clearly, legibly and gracefully. A personal letter can be made touching by adding a sketch or picture of some shared object or experience. Such a letter should always be written in hand.
There are several forms of letters. It can be personal, romantic, social, business, official, application, complaint, comment, open, public, appeal or some other kind. But the letter must have a personality and a structure conforming to the prevalent norms. And each letter has its own form and function.
A letter must be neat, clearly written with proper margins on all sides. It will reflect your orderly character and love for norms, codes and the style which combine to project you as an ideal citizen. That will evoke respect for you in the reader of your letter. The over-writing, crossed- out words or sentences, substitutions and hotch-potch look will create negative picture of the writer. The receiver can perceive you as an indecisive and unsure person. Break the subject matter of the letter in appropriate paragraphs. Don’t talk too much about yourself. Keep ‘I’s and ‘me’ to the barest minimum. A letter should not be too crowded or empty. Strike a healthy balance. Use blue, black or deep green ink. Never pen your letter in red ink. Write in straight lines. The envelop should also be neat, clean and of proper size.
A typical letter has following parts in serial order:
1. Heading—It consists of (a) address of the letter writer and (b) the date.
2. (a) Sub-heading—In formal letters above heading is followed by the name/designation of the addressee and his address.
(b) Subject—In formal letters, the subject of the letter must be written below the sub-heading. Mention reference of any related document if any.
3. Salutation
4. Body of the letter
5. Emotional bonding line to conclude the body
6. Courtesying
7. Signature of letter writer
8. Subscription on the envelope
1. The Heading : It reveals to the reader the address from which the letter was written and when. The address given should be complete postal address.
Example:
14/306, Sant Nagar,
Burari, Delhi-110084
3rd March, 2007
(Note—The date can be written in full or the month abbreviated.)
2. Sub-Heading : In a formal letter name/designation and address of the addressee is written under the heading.
Example:
The Editor
Times of India
Bahadurshah Zafar Marg
New Delhi-110002
3. Salutation : An endearing address to the reader opens the door to the main body of the letter. It is in the form of a salutation or greeting which depends upon the relationship between the writer and the reader of the letter.
To relatives : My dear father, dear mother, dear sister, dear brother, dear uncle etc.
To friends : Dear Sohan, Dear Raghavan etc.
To business persons : Dear Sir, Madam, etc.
4. The Body of the letter : The composition of the body of the letter depends upon the purpose and subject matter of the letter and to whom it is addressed to. The formal letters are brief and to the point. There is no beating around the bush. Informal letters are not subject to any rigid rules. There is freedom of emotional expressions. But there are some general rules one must keep in mind—
❑ Use simple and direct language. Keep the sentences short. Avoid long and tongue twisting words.
❑ Be clear about what you want to say and convey as directly as possible. Don’t be evasive.
❑ Before writing a letter give a thought to what you want to say. Arrange the subject matter in your mind in logical order.
❑ Unless the matter is brief, divide it into paragraphs to mark the change in the subject matter wherever it occurs.
❑ Write in neat hand and in straight lines.
❑ Put commas, semi-colons and full stops carefully to retain the exact meaning of what you are writing.
5. Bonding Line : Do not end the body of the letter abruptly. Give it a nice emotional or polite finish with appropriate bonding line.
Example:
In informal letters : Give my love to…, Hoping to see you during vacations, Take care of yourself, Pay my regards to…., With love, I will wait for your reply, I miss you badly, etc.
In formal letters : With regards, Thanking you, etc.
6. Courtesying : After the bonding line, the writer should not write his name abruptly. The name or signature should be preceded by polite courtesying in the form of humble introductory words. It is called subscription. Example:
Yours faithfully
Yours sincerely
Yours truly
Sincerely yours
Your loving friend, son, brother, sister, nephew etc, whatever relationship applies.
7. Signature : The name of writer or signature must be written below the subscription.
Example :
Yours faithfully
Gaurav Kumar Sharma
Note : Name should be written clearly in formal letters besides signature to let the reader know the writer’s name. In informal letters just signature will do if the relationship is close and the reader is familiar with the signature of the sender.
8. Address on Envelope : The address of receiver should be written very clearly on the envelope preferably in capital letters. Don’t forget to write the Pin Code number. The sender can write his name and address on the left hand bottom corner of the envelope.
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