Writing Personal Letters

Here's the Idea The term personal letter includes all letters not written to businesses. Writing personal letters is a way of keeping in touch with absent friends or of expressing your feelings in certain social situations. Personal letters, which are usually handwritten, have five main parts.

The heading contains three lines: one line for the writer's street address, one for the city, state, and ZIP code, and one for the date. None of this information should be abbreviated. The heading appears at the top right corner of your letter.

The salutation is the greeting. Usually beginning with Dear, it is written on the next line below the heading. It starts at the left margin of the page and is followed by a comma.

The body of the letter is the main part. There you write what you want to say in a detailed and conversational way. The body begins on the line following the salutation. Each paragraph of the body should be indented.

The closing is your way of saying "goodbye” You may say Love, or Your friend, for instance. The closing is written on the line below the last line of the body and is followed by a comma. The first word of the closing should align with the first words of the heading.

Your signature is the last part of a letter. Skip a line after the closing and sign your name in line with the first word of the closing. Usually, only your first name is needed.

There are some forms of personal letters written only for special occasions. These social notes includeinvitations and thank-you notes. The notes also have five main parts, but the heading may be shortened to the date only.

If you send an invitation, include all information about the event. If you receive an invitation, reply at once.

Sometimes you will send thank-you notes. One kind of thank-you note is written to thank someone for a gift you have received. Another kind of thank-you, called a bread-and-butternote, thanks someone for his or her hospitality. You would write this kind of note if you stayed overnight as a guest in someone's house.

Check It OutRead this personal letter.

Упражнение 1 Identify the five parts of this personal letter. Is this a well written letter? Why or why not?

Try YourSkill Arrange the following information in the correct form for a personal letter. Add any other information or details that you think might be included in the letter. Be sure to add capital letters and correct punctuation wherever necessary.

31 Forest Street, Fairfield, Iowa 52556, October 23, 1980 dear randy Shortly after you left, I discovered your notebook under the stack of newspapers you had been reading. The notebook is in the mail already, so you should get it in time to finish your English assignment next week. Remember, we have plans to watch more football together on Thanksgiving, until then george

Remember!

· Write personal letters that are conversational, detailed, and neat. Be sure that the heading, salutation, body, closing, and signature follow the correct form.

· Social notes are short forms of personal letters. Write invitations that are specific and thank-you notes that express your appreciation.

Упражнение 2Now Write a personal letter to a friend or relative. You may want to write a social note. Use your own address and today's date in the heading. The body of your letter may be based on either real or imaginary events. Make sure that all parts of your letter follow the correct form. Label your paper

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1927