Letter-Writing Letter-writing is a very useful art. All of us have to write letters, as occasion demands—personal letters to friends and relations, business letters, invitations, applications and so on. It is necessary therefore that we should cultivate the art of writing different kinds of letters. . The Form of Letters Each type of letter has its own particular form, but there are certain features common to all types. These are: 1. The Heading. This consists of the writer's address and the date, which should be written in the following manner at the top right- hand corner of the letter paper: 64, Rashtrapathi Road, Secunderabad, 28th March, 2014. Notes. 1. The Heading is not written in official notes of invitation. 2. The date may be written as March 28, 2014. The shortened form 28-3-2014 is used in official correspondence, buit is better avoided in personal letters, as it looks too arithmetical! 3. In letter papers the name of the writer is often printed at the top left- hand corner. 2. Greeting or Salutation. The salutation should be written below the address and date, beginning from the left hand side of the page and should be followed by a comma (nota colon or an exclamation 34n eeea? . a7 ff js sometimes used). The form of the . sag tothe YPC Of letter You write In Salutation will vary ion tbe degree of intimacy yoy have a MT it wll see ¢ your fasly ‘ah the pemon embers o your ; the salutation wi 0 to dear Father, ‘My dear Mother, der Sg py dear is ore intimate and affectionate tan Dey for uncles, aunts, COUSINS, Ef., vou can use ° As : Cither as you like, and as you feel your My dear ae mero o friends, the salutation will be: © -Mr, Rama Rao (not very intimate) My dear Rama Rao (very intimate i and affe jonate) ifthe person is much older than you, you should not be too familiar with him and should greet him as Dear Mr Rama Rao Jo strangers the salutation should be Dear Sir for men, Dear Madam for women. : @ Teachers and Official Superiors are to be greeted as Dear Sir or Sir. @ Honoured Sir and Respected Sir are Indianisms which should be avoided. The Body of the Letter. This is, of course, the main part of the letter. It should be written in a simple, natural style, Though a formal manner is followed in official correspondence, a familiar, colloquial style may be used in personal letters to friends and relations. If the letter is long, it should be divided into paragraphs. You should see that you write all that you want to say before concluding the letter so that you may not have to add a postscript. Leave-taking or Subscription. After you have completed the body of the letter you should write the leave-taking phrase to the right side of the page and put your signature below it thus: Yours sincerely, Prabodh @oS M8 CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURE Mo , OMPORTIoy Notes. |. ‘ | 1 ie ie spostophe i oir, ihr Weir or ter, \ , iI ‘ ever good wth hpingiohew pen | fo seeing you (only when a visits ot) urs sincerely you can i 4. hearts % ; sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours Gffectionately (to idhogh | affectionate brother, Your loving son, errand laid ge te expression used is Yours faithfully ot sometimes YX wade es ‘Ours truly. But while superiors Yo ‘ used, Yours respectful issldom wed except dn) te soon, looking forward etc, to patrons, servants writ ng to masters, etc. Writing 5. The Address on the envelope or , the Superse: should be written very clearly in this tam eA | ShtiK.R.Gopingh 184, Mount Road, or thus: Chennai-2, Shri K. R. Gopinath, 184, Mount Road, Chennai-2. If you are writing to an English-speaking foreigner, don'tuse Shri, but add Esq. (Esquire) after his name, thus: G. F. Andrews, Esq, 35, Esplanade, Kolkata, Note. When you write a letter in an examination paper, don't write yourreal | name or address, You may use 2 fictitious name. Also, after the conclusion | of the letter, write the superscription on the left hand side ofthe paper. Some Specimen Letters 1. Personal Letters Personal letters should be written in a familiar and intimate style, depending upon the degree of intimacy you have with the person addressed. The sentences should be short and simple, as a rule: or loosely connected, rather than formal and elaborate. Conversational idioms and. collogpialeR WRITING 449 be used, as also and shortened ssi vom, sham, ee form ofthe Auitaie, The personal cia beet xude your | pe like al Ys -to talk ang Personality, roe your voice as he goes through You leer 8 should, as i 1 the same time you out thie at don't devote all he Al g, You must wirte about things of common i a Space to on ‘ou know, your correspondent is interested, One bout people ov writing a personal fit shouldbe to give p a — ss05 1 it is addressed, and for this you must show genuine ing cme wre however, you have a particular purpose in writin oi letter. | some message or to make some say, gcompacured by the other details you might put ino mete att sor sting to Your yr pte ere are & few personal letters: 1 210, Hyderguda, Hyderabed-8, 5 15th November 2014 Subhadra, wy dear What are you planning to do with yourself duri the Christ iplidays? Why not pay us a visit, as you have ines to do? You know Hyderabad is a beautiful place with several historical onuments and interesting sights. And the weather in just perfect in jecember—quite cool and pleasant, unlike your hot and humid weather ‘9 Chennai. Iwant you particularly to see the Salar Jung Museum—perhaps the best wllection of art treasures made by an individual anywhere in the world. ular Jung was the Prime Minister of the old Hyderabad State under the \izams. He had no children and he spent all his money, collectitig works \fart from all over the world—Chinese vases, Japanese pottery, Persian yapets, anything you can think of. And then the dressing table of that most ngic queen—Marie Antoinette; items of furniture which belonged to \apoleon, beautiful marble statues from Greece, original paintings from filly... - Thope I have said enough to whet your curiosity. But the thing iat most attracts the common people is a big clock from which a turbaned d be-whiskered man steps out with a hammer in his hand to strike the P= ona metal disc, and having done so, steps back into his hiding place. |RO 350 CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND COMPOSITIgn, 1 do hope you will come this time. Write and say you wit), Yours affectionately, Leela Miss Subhadra Rajaram, 31/B, Manikyavasagar Street, Chintadripet, Chennai. 305, International House, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 19th January 2014 My dear Mummy and Daddy, Many thanks for your letter which arrived this moming. Sorry, I have not been writing as regularly as I should. The fact is I have started cooking my own food here. It is much than the Hostel food and sometimes even better. There is a kitchenette next to my room. Breakfast—porridge, eggs and coffee—can be prepared in about 10 minutes and there is always some bread and cheese and fruit to go with it. Lunch takes about the same time. And the most it takes to Prepare a good dinner is less than an hour. And part of the time you can be watching T. V. in the next room. So it is no trouble at all. Moreover, I have teamed up with a friend of mine, so we share the work, which makes it much easier. Do send me some recipes—for frying fish, cutlets and so on. We can get real good ground (minced) meat here and all the spices and very fine Tice. So we can make anything we want. There are lots of Indians at Intemational House this year. The latest to come is one from Hyderabad who is working for his Doctorate in Geophysics. During the Xmas-New Year break we were invited by several Indian families here. So we went out and ate a lot! My host family also called me over. And we called all the Indian families over. I cooked kheema for forty people. And it was perfectly edible. You don’t believe it? Well....... How is everybody at home? Ask Rema to write to me, unless she is too busy cutting up corpses in the Medical College. Your affectionate son, Ravi| 3 384 116, Veer Say sch Umbai, phoopal, 20th April 2014, ene just seen from the pa that you jhe g. Please, accept my heartiest congas been selected for ge ent of which anyone might be He tis « glorious 5 i U have broy i jie sion to your family, and your ought credit * istic cit . Parents and Telations be # goes YY — inst 0 that success will Not go to your head ang , 140% st, unassuming, PUrposefil and deteny oY Will always pete ms cole Tam sure you Will always remember pene at that din Administrative Servce—vith hace on waite gave plenty of opportunities of se et Punt and your peal A polsound io didactic? Wel, youlzo,thtismyye Havie, ing ese 10 give away, I give advice freely May you becom, ee so shining lights among the administrators of our country,” : With kind regards, Yours Sincerely, 227/A, Santa Cruz, Mumbai, 7th May 2014, My dear Dinesh, Just a line to greet you on your birthday, and wish you many, many lappy returns of the day. May you live to bea hundred and may your funny ife be all bright and happy. didn’t quite know what to send you for a present, but I saw a beautiful ivory figure of the Buddha the other day and bought it for you. Ihope you will like it. I know your great veneration for the Buddha. We are, neither ofus, as young as we used to be, and as days pass by, we are inevitably drawn to such spiritual lights as the Buddha. With affectionate regards, Your old friend, SureshNES AND C 5 om Sig, 67, Sardar Pate Rong My dear Suresh, th a What a Pleasant Surprise it was i . ™ , to receiy, , ane «Nan Couldn’t have thought of a aneoue. at ye pS = es eed. I have always | : sth eh ac a the Buddha signifies, nese Pn ve . ‘Om Thank you once again for your exquisite gift ang . With kindest regards, “vie Yours very Sincerely Di h IL. Invitations mnesh Formal Note of Invitation (This is always written in the Third Person. The writer’s ‘ not at the beginning, but at the end. There is no sautadon ands 2 taking or signature.) 0 leave. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Appadurai Tequest the pleasure of the compan of Mr. and Mrs. Saul Annadurai at dinner on Friday, the 25th of April " 8 o’clock. , 21, Upper Circular Road, Kolkata, 17th April 2014. Formal Note of Acceptance Mr. and Mrs. Saul Annadurai have pleasure in accepting the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Appadurai to dinner on Friday, the 25th of ‘April, at 8 o'clock. 6, Chowringhee, Kolkata, 18th April 2014.cRw em ‘ ni ainote of Refusal for™ | -s, Saul Annadurai regret that ow nd accept the kind invitation co. 2 Previ Mr OP unable to Invitation of Mr. US engagement wpe we ton Friday, the 25th of April, at 8 o'clook Paul A, t i ‘ cpowsinahee , ata, ce pri 2014. 9 if ormal Note of Invitation Lake View, Aurangabad, i 15th dear Mr. Jalaluddin, May 2014, te and I will be very happy if you and y wife and *’ y Mrs.1 4 have dinner with us on Tuesday the 20th at 8 coe in will come om there will be a few other friends also here, but I think you know most of them. : Looking forward to seeing you, Yours very sincerely, Ghulam Ahmed 10 informal Note of Acceptance 6, Pearl Mosque Road, Aurangabad, 16th May 2014. My dear Mr. Ahmed, Thank you very much for your kind invitation to dinner on Tuesday the 20th. My wife and I will be delighted to accept your invitation. I am sure we'll have a very pleasant evening with all the other friends expected to tun up. Very sincerely yours, Jalaluddin484. CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND COMPOSI, il Informal Note of Refusal 6, Pearl Mosque Road, Aurangah, ad, 16th May 2914 My dear Mr. Ahmed, : Thank you very much for your kind invitation. Unfortunately my wife has been laid up with influenza forthe lat threg days. And you know how weak one becomes after a bout of flu, Under the circumstances, we won't be able to be with you on Tuesda and we are awfully sorry to disappoint you. y With best wishes, Yours sincerely, Jalaluddin Ill. Business Letters 12 16, Station Road; Sholapur, 8th July 2014, Messrs Patel, Puranik & Co., 68, Fort Road, Mumbai-1. Dear Sirs, I shall be obliged if you will send me by V. P. P. a set of stainless ste! cutlery, as advertised in your catalogue (p, 152 No. 48) for % 64. ‘Yours faithfully, C. P. Malhotra 13 218, Rashtrapathi Road, Secunderabad, 21st August 2014. Laxmi Publication Pvt Ltd. 113, Daryaganj New Delhi-2en us girs, . pet all be obliged if¥0u Will’ send me : the follow; “asliest convenience: “lowing books Vp a yor” rhe Morning of the World, by 2. in search of Peace, by Neil Richards «2 Opies, 4, The Ape and You, by Brian Darwin— J copies, 5 hep Yours faithfully WV Application ‘ani 4 1. For Leave of Absence 78, Rash Behari Avenue Kolkata, . 17th September 2014, ‘The Principal, presidency College, Kolkata. Dear Sir, As I have been laid up with fever since last evening, I am unable to attend College. I shall be grateful, therefore, if you will kindly grant me leave of absence for two days, Yours obediently, Sushil Kumar Rudra, (IV yr. Student). 15 2. Fora Post 35, Thambu Chetty Street, George Town, Chennai-1. 15th June 2014. To The Manager, Gordon, Mackenzie & Co., Bangalore-3,356 CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND COMPOSiTig,, Deu’ response to your advertisement in The Hindu for an Age; Manager in your firm, I wish to offer myself as a candidate, I was a student of the Madras Christian College, Tambaram, where I graduated in 2006 securing a high Second Class B.Sc, Then I did my M.Sc. in Mathematics in the same College with S as my special subject. I took my M.Sc. Degree in 2008, securin, Class and standing third in the University. From 2008 onwards I have been working in Patny & Co., Chennai a an Office Assistant. I have thus become familiar with all aspects of Office work in a reputed concern. While I was a student I was a member of the Madras Christian College Cricket team, which I captained in my last year, I also play Tennis re Hockey and won the Singles Championship in the Tennis toumament conducted by Patny & Co., last year. Iam 29 years of age; and am quite healthy and capable of hard work. I enclose copies of testimonials regarding my character and abili ties, both from my Principal and Professors at Tambaram and from the Manager, Patny & Co., Chennai. Assuring you of my devoted services, if appointed to the post. istant from tatisticg 8 a First Tremain, Yours faithfully, K.C. Abraham V. Official Letters 16 68, Amherst Street, Kolkata, Sth March 2014, To The Post Master, General Post Office, Kolkata Sir, On the 15th of February I sent a registered parcel containing some valuables to my brother Shri Hridoy Bhushan Misra, Headmaster, ZillahawRITING posishad school, Midnapore. The parce! has a 357 30 fas gs . Teached the {shall be obliged ifyou will kindly make . Addressee spe nner of te reseed Pace eci eae and trace the parcel, loping t0 receive an early reply, itis dated 15.2.2914 Tremain, Yours italy 1 Benoy Bhushan Misra she Directors All India Radio, Hy' Sit, We request you to arrange a weekly qui tp be broadcast over All India Radio, Haina te eccenn wr colleges in the city and even mofussil colleges will il pine this programme by sending teams to take putin tho quiz, = wai If you approve of the idea, we shall be glad to come and discuss the tails with you, in case you desire it. de Hoping to hear from you soon, We remain, Yours faithfully, Madan Mohan (President, College Union, Vivekananda College, Hyderabad) Srihari Rao (Secretary, College Union, Vivekananda College, Hyderabad) Vivekananda College, Hyderabad, 18th July 2014.358 CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND COMPOSITION, VI. Letters to Newspapers The Editor, The Chennai Mail, Mount Road, Chennai-2. Sir, Through the columns of your esteemed daily, may I draw the attention of the Milk Commissioner to the fact that some of the milk bottles di through the milk booths appear to have been tampered with and the milk diluted. Of late it has been noticed that the seals of some of the bottles are loose, and the milk in such bottles is invariably found to be diluted. Milk in the properly sealed bottles is found to be good. Will the Commissioner, please, find out who is responsible for tampering with the seals and diluting the milk? We hope that at least in future we shall be supplied with good, wholesome milk. Yours truly, Mrs. Vimala Vasant 115, Besant Road, Adyar, Chennai, 6th April 2014. Exercise 156 Write the following letters: 1. To your cousin inviting him to come and spend the Diwali holidays with you. 2. To your father asking him to send money for paying your examination fee. . To your uncle thanking him for sending you a birthday present. . Toa friend giving him an account of a picnic you had. . Toa friend, describing your school or college Annual Day, . Toa friend, describing an accident you witnessed. |. Toa friend, expressing sorrow and sympathy at the death of his brother. . Toa friend who is ill, expressing sympathy and trying to cheer him up. Sern awsw