Letter Writing

Letter writing

The advent of modern technology made communication easy, the art of writing a letter is
considered as an important requirement.
A letter is a written message that can be handwritten or printed on paper. It is usually sent to the
recipient via the mail or post. It is a conversation between two parties.

Parts of a Letter:
There are 6 parts of a letter either it is a formal letter or a friendly/ informal letter.
1. The heading
2. Greeting or salutation
3. Body of the letter
4. Conclusion
5. Signature
6. Superscription en the envelop

Postscript
It comes after the main body and signature in a written letter. According to a research, usually
people read P.S first while reading an email. It is added at the end of the letter.
Heading
This informs the reader where you wrote the letter, and when.
The ‘where” gives the reply (for example address and time when did you write the letter)
The position of the heading is the top right corner of the first page- the address above and date
just below it. The heading and date may alternatively go on the left.
24 John Marg
America 11th street,
16th October 2022
Salutation
Salutation or greeting will depend on the relation in which you stand to the person to whom you
are writing.
To members of your family, for example it will be; dear father, dear mother, dear uncle
To friends it will be; Dear Roshan, Dear John
To business people; Dear, Dear Madam
The position of the salutation is at the left-hand of the first page, at a lower level than the
heading.
Body
This is letter itself, depends upon the kind of letter, the style of a letter to an intimate friend will
be very different from that of a purely business letter or an official communication.
 Divide your letter into paragraphs, write neatly and in an order, with correct punctuation.
 Use simple and direct language and short sentences, be precise, and say it as directly as
possible.
 Try to complete, it is a sign of slovenly thinking when you have to add postscripts at the
end of a letter. Think out what you want to say before you begin to write and put down
your points in some logical order.
The subscription or courteous leave-taking
A letter must not end abruptly simply with the writer’s name. This would look rude. So certain
polite forms of leaving-taking are prescribed. (Yours sincerely, your truly, your sincere friend)
The subscription, or leave taking note must be written below the last words of the letter, and go
to the right side of the page. This is the traditional method. Note that there is a growing tendency
to place the subscription on the left side. The first word of the subscription must begin with a
capital letter, e.g; Sincerely yours
The signature or the name of writer

This must below the subscription such as yours sincerely
John Still
In letters to strangers, the signature should be clearly written, so that the reader may know whom
to address in reply.
A woman should prefix to the name Miss or Mrs (or Sanita, Sandy) in brackets. Ms can be used
by a woman who does not wish to be called Miss or Mrs.
Yours Faithfully,
(Mrs.) J.L. Desai
The address on the envelop (or postcard): The address on the envelop or postcard should be
written clearly, like this
Postage Stamp
Mr B.N Joshi
96 Hill Road
Bandra
Mumbai 000900
To sum up in writing a letter, first write your address and under it the date in the top right hand
corner of the first page. You may alternatively write them on the left.
Then write the salutation (dear teacher, mother etc.) lower down at the left side of the page,
beginning with a capital and put comma after it.
Next begin your letter with a capital letter on the next lower line, to the right of the salutation.
At the end of the letter write the Subscription, or words of leave-taking (Yours sincerely), at the
right/left of the page, with your signature below it.
for example:
16 North Faizabad Road
Chennai
4th October 2022
Dear Sir,
I shall be much obliged if you send me the reports as convenient.
Yours faithfully,
Ali Ahmed
Classification of letters
These are classified according to the different purposes
1. Social letters
2. Business letters
Social letters are classified as friendly letters and these are easy to write with informal language.
St. Dominic’s
Bahawalpur
17th October 2022
Dear mother,
I hope you are doing well. I am glad to know about your health that you are doing well. I miss
all the time we spent together before shifting into a boarding school. It’s been a month since I
am here but still it is very difficult for me to get well-adjusted as I have to face different issues
such as; administration do not allow me to go outside even in parks. I am facing food quality
issue as well.
Please ask Dad to put me into a day-school again. I should be much happier there.
With Love,
From your loving
John
Notes of Invitation
A formal invitation is generally written in the third person, and should contain no heading, no
salutation and no complimentary close. The writer’s name should appear in the body of the letter.
The address of the writer and the date should be written to the left, below the communication.
The reply to such notes should also be in the third person, and should repeat the date and time
mentioned in the invitation.
Formal note of invitation
Mr. and Mrs. John Paul request the pleasure of Mr. K. Smith’s company at dinner on Friday, 21st
September at 8 o’clock.
Noor Palace Road
Bahawalpur
Informal notes of invitation
Bahawalpur
17th September
My dear Sushant,
Will you give me the pleasure of your company at the annual dinner of on Sunday 25th October
at 9 o’clock?
Yours sincerely,
S. Pramila
Business letter
Business letter should be clear, terse and to the point. These much be more formal than friendly
letters. Certain forms of polite expressions are used in it.
I shall be much obliged if you will send me.
Please dispatch at your early convenience. etc.
“Have received, did that”, should be avoided. Instead that, write, “I have received, I just did
that”.
Modes of address
The modes of address vary; to a tradesman
Shri B. V. Rao
Bookseller
12 Ring Road
Karachi
Dear sir,
…………body of the letter…………….
Yours faithfully,
X,Y,Z
To a firm
Messrs K. R. Das and company
Tea Merchants
Faizabad colony
Karachi
Dear sir,
…………..body of the letter…………..
Yours faithfully,
X,Y,Z
To professional men
Mr. K. John Bank Manager HBL
Mr. K. John
11th Street
New York
Dear sir,
……………..body of the letter…………
Yours truly
Example of a business letter
16 Church Street (address)
Bahawalpur
17th September 2022
The Manager
Southern Agency
Multan
Dear Sir,
I shall be grateful if you kindly supply the following items of Wirsah furniture:
1 almirah- model 5
3 chairs- model 6
2 wooden tables- model 2
Please send them carriage forward to the above address, and your bill will be paid on receipt.
Yours faithfully,
X,Y,Z

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