Lesson No. 16 - Letter Writing

LETTER WRITING

A letter is a conversation by post. We write letters to communicate with our friends and families living away from us. We write to express our feelings, to get information, to invite others on weddings, to request some one to get our job done. There are three main classes of letters are of two types;

1. Formal
2. informal

FORMAL LETTERS
Formal letters consist of business letters, letters to the editor / press, application, notices, complaints and invitations etc. The language of such letters is formal and precise. They deal only with the subject in question and unnecessary details are avoided.

INFORMAL LETTERS
They are written to the relatives and friends. They may contain many details other than the specific matter for which they are written. The language of such letters simple and casual. One may introduce sentiments and emotions according to the mood.

Now let's see, what the requisites of letter writing are, or what the proper format of a letter is.
Every letter, whether formal or informal, must have these parts;

1. Your address
2. Date
3. Address to whom the letter is written
4. Salutation
5. The body
6. Complementary close
7. Signature

Now study the following letter carefully to see how and where each of the above part is placed in the letter.

An application of a father to the Headmaster / Headmistress of his son / daughter requesting him to grant leave for one week.

15-Sarwar Road,
Lahore Cant.
August 5, 2003.
The Headmaster,
Central Model School
Lahore

Dear Sir,
This is to inform you that my son, Salim, a student of 10th-A has fallen seriously ill. The doctor has advised him to take rest for one week as he is unable to attend school. I should be grateful if you could grant him leave form August 8 to August 14. The doctor's medical certificate is attached for your information please.
I assure you that I, on his recovery, will personally make arrangements to get his missing lessons prepared.

Yours truly
Muhammad Aamir

A letter to father telling him about the performance in the paper of English.

2, New Hostel
Lower Mall,
Lahore.
August 8, 2003.

My dear father,

I feel very happy to inform you that my performance in the paper of English was very good. I attempted all the questions and was able to finish writing the paper in time.

The questions on grammar and composition were easy to attempt. The poetry section was a bit difficult, but any way I managed to do the required questions. I was left with no time to revise and correct the mistakes, which I might have made in a hurry to write more. However, I am satisfied with my performance on the whole.

It is really a reward of the blessings of God, your prayers and my hard work that I am hopeful of getting good marks. I am sure you will remember me in your best prayers for my success in the examination.

Regards and love to mother, sisters and brothers.

Yours affectionately,


(Saba Batool)

In both these letters the address is given on the top and then the date which can also be written as 8th August 2003 or August 8, 2003. In the second letter no address of the person to who it is written is given because in an informal letter a son or daughter knows the address of his her father. The following table shows the relevant salutations and complimentary close, which are used in letters.

Addresses - To the relatives

Salutation

Dear father/My dear father,
Dear mother/
My dear mother,
Dear sister,
Dear uncle,
Dear cousin etc

Complimentary Close

Yours
affectionately, or
Your affectionate or
loving son,
daughter, niece
etc

Addresses - To friends Dear friend,

Salutation
Dear Saba.
My dear Saba etc

Complimentary Close

Yours sincerely
Or Your sincere friend or Yours

Addresses - Business letter

Salutation

Dear Sir/
Dear Madam

Complimentary Close

Yours faithfully
Yours sincerely
Yours truly

Addresses - Editor of a newspaper/ Headmaster

Salutation

(Dear) Sir / Madam

Complimentry Close

Yours truly or
Yours faithfully

Addresses - Teachers, Professor, or Principal/Headmaster (Letters/Applications)

Salutation

Sir / Madam

Complimentry Close

Yours obediently

Note: The teacher should tell the students to write to their family members, relatives and friends to practice letter writing. Students can be asked to write letters of good wishes, invitations, thanks etc. and formal letters to convey acceptance or refusal to an invitation to a party.

EXERCISES

Q: 1 Tick (-/) the right answer.

i) You are writing a letter to a friend. How would you salute him?
(a) Dear Friend (b) Dear Madam (c) Respected Friend

ii) You are writing an application to the Headmaster requesting for leave. Would you start as
(a) How are you? (b) My application will find you in the best of health (c) It is to inform you that I am not well.

iii) You are writing a letter to your father thanking him for the gift. Your first sentence would be
(a) I miss you (ii) I see you and (c) I feel very pleased.

iv) You have written a formal letter. How would you write the complimentary close?
(a) Yours sincerely (b) Yours loving and (c) Yours loving son Ali

v) Where will you write your address?
(a) In the middle of the page (b) On the left side of the page and (c) On the right side of the page.

.

PRONOUNS enter