Letter writing

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Date: March 17, 2019

Letter writing is one of the oldest forms of communications that has still prevailed. The key to letter writing is to be apparent about how you will communicate.

In today’s time when people have other forms of communication, they think that letter writing is an obsolete means of communication that is absolutely false.

Writing a letter on paper shows respect and gives a personal touch. Most of the people think that letter writing is a very simple task but when they start to write they get confused.

For letter writing,

before you begin you need to plan what you want to include in it and note down the main points somewhere. If you are handwriting the letter, first make a rough draft and then fairly write it to avoid errors.

However, it would be better to print your letter if you are writing a formal letter.

Include all the important

detail at the start of the letter in formal letters. Write your name, contact information as whereas in an informal letter you just need to mention the date and continue writing. But you do not need to include the address at all if you are using your employer’s letterhead pages. Then start with a greeting, Mention the name after ‘Dear’ if you do not know the name you can address with ‘Sir/Madam’ or write ‘To Whom It May Concern’ and remember to write it on the left side of the page.

Keep in view the objective

and the audience of your letter and open the letter. For an informal letter, you can start with a simple ‘how are you?’ whereas in your formal letter be straight, to the point and crisp. In this paragraph outline the reason for your letter, tell what your intentions are. In short, summarize your letter in this paragraph.

Then come to the main body of your letter,

elaborate on your intentions mentioned in the opening paragraph. You can have more than one paragraph in your body. Avoid any unnecessary details as it will make your letter hazy and vague. Make sure you don’t make this mistake or your letter will end up nowhere.

Keep this paragraph clear and concerning the most important details should be mentioned. You should know what are the most important details, the second significant details, and the minor details. Casual or informal letters do not necessarily require you to be concise as it depends on the relationship you have with the recipient. Make sure your formal letter is no more than two pages as most people do not have enough patience.
Finally come to the closing paragraph of the yourr letter.

You need to tell the recipient

what you expect from him/her. You would like to have a response- a meeting or a phone call. So that he should know the means to communicate with you.
Send your letter with a farewell, a thank you that is a complimentary close is preferred on the left side of the page. Then write your name and your signature lastly