Chapter IX: The Letter

=45. Various Kinds of Letters.=--You have seen that the diary or journal is the most informal and simple form of written expression, since it is intended, as a rule, for the writer only. The letter is less personal than the diary, because it is addressed to one other person; but it is more personal than general writing (description, stories, etc.), which is addressed to a number of persons, most of whom the writer does not know. Letters differ widely according to their purposes, but the merit of any sort of a letter may be judged by putting yourself in the place of the person receiving it, and trying to feel whether you would be satisfied by it.

Letters may be classified as follows according to their purposes:--

1. To bridge over, as far as possible, a separation between
people who know each other well, and to take the place of a
conversation between them. _Friendly letters._

2. To arrange matters of social intercourse in the most correct
and pleasing manner, to extend and accept or refuse invitations,
etc. _Social letters._

3. To give information or ask questions as clearly as possible.
_Business letters._

4. To give information or ask questions as briefly as is
consistent with perfect clearness. _Telegrams._

5. To take the place of going about and telling many people the
same thing. _Notices._

6. To present a request for a favor in the most persuasive
manner. _Petitions._

=46. Friendly Letters.=--There are five main parts to every letter: (1) the heading; (2) the salutation; (3) the body, or what is written; (4) the complimentary ending; (5) the conclusion. In a friendly letter the heading, which consists of the post-office address of the writer and the date of writing, is sometimes omitted, although it is always best to write the date, even in letters of the greatest intimacy. Some of the usual salutations in letters to near friends or relatives are: My dear Mother, Dear Father, Dear Mary, My dear Mrs. Smith, My dear Aunt Martha. According to the degree of intimacy the usual complimentary endings are: Sincerely yours, Very sincerely yours, Cordially yours, Heartily yours, Yours ever, Affectionately yours, Yours lovingly, Your loving daughter, Your affectionate son, etc. In letters to members of the family or close friends the first name only is sometimes signed.

The following are good typical forms for friendly letters:--

(1)

DORSET, N.H.,
May 10, 1906.

MY DEAR GILBERT,--

-----------------------------
------------------------------------------
------------------

Faithfully yours,
JAMES MEYER.

(2)
BUTTE, April 16, Thursday.

DEAR MOTHER,--

--------------------------
------------------------------------------
---------------------------

Your affectionate son,

HENRY.

The ideal in friendly letters is to write to your correspondent what you would say to him if you could see him, and to answer the questions he would put to you. If you are away on a visit, for instance, the questions he would probably ask are, "What sort of a place is it where you are? Are you having a good time? What are you doing to amuse yourself?" Try to think what sort of a letter you would like to have him write if he were away, and write accordingly.

Although you wish to write naturally and almost as though you were talking, it is best to make out a list of the really important things you wish to say, or you will find that you have come to the end of your letter without stating some vital facts you wished your friend to know. It has been said that a friendly letter should be like a conversation, but you must remember that it is a conversation limited in time. If you were about to see your friend for only a half hour, it would be well to think of a few main facts you wished to tell him, or questions you wish him to answer, and bear them in mind; otherwise your time might come to an end before you had said the important things. Even for the most informal letter it is always best to make an outline, although it may be a very brief one.

Suppose you wish to describe the way in which you spent Christmas away from home. Probably nothing very unusual happened, and you may think an outline unnecessary; but you will find, even in relating the facts of one day, that if you do not have some plan and keep in your mind the main events in their proper order, you will be likely to write a confused and incomplete account of what you did. Some such outline as the following is needed:--