  LETTER-WRITING Note to Teacher.—For the purpose of training in composition, in the more elementary work, letter-writing affords probably the most feasible and successful means. Letter-writing does not demand any gathering of material, gains much interest, and affords much latitude for individual tastes in topics and expression. Besides, letter-writing is the field in which almost all written composition will be done after leaving school; and so all training in school will be thoroughly useful. For this reason, it is suggested that letter-writing be made one of the chief fields for composition work. In Exercise 75, are given a number of suggestions for letter-writing. Others will readily occur to the teacher. The Heading 152. Position of Heading. In all business letters the writer's address and the date of writing should precede the letter and be placed at the upper right hand side of the sheet not less than an inch from the top. This address and date is called the heading. In friendly letters the parts of the heading are sometimes placed at the end of the letter on the left side a short distance below the body of the letter. This is permissible, but to place it at the beginning in all letters is more logical and customary. Never write part of the heading at the beginning and part at the end of the letter. 153. Order of Heading. The parts of the heading should be sufficient to enable the accurate addressing of a reply, and should be in the following order: (1) the street address, (2) the town or the city address, (3) the date. If all cannot be easily placed on one line, two or even three lines should be
If only two lines are used, put the writer's address on the first line and the date on the second.
154. Punctuation of Heading. Place a period after each abbreviation that is used. In addition to this, place commas after the street address, after the town address, after the state address, and after the number of the day of the month. Place a period after the number of the year. Examine the correct address under §153. 155. Faults to be Avoided in Headings. Avoid the use of abbreviations in the friendly letter, and avoid their too frequent use in the business letter. It is better to avoid abbreviating any but the longer names of states. Avoid all such abbreviations as the following: St. for Street; Ave. for Avenue; Apart. for Apartments; Chi. for Chicago; Phila. for Philadelphia.
Do not use the sign # before the street number.
Do not write the date thus: 9/10/10. Represent the numbers by figures, not words. See §§ 75 and 76. Do not use st., rd., etc., after the number of the day.
The Inside Address 156. Position of Inside Address. In strictly commercial letters the name and the address of the person to whom the letter is being sent should come at the beginning of the letter, and should begin flush with the margin at the left side of the page, and a little below the level of the heading. The second line of the inside address should be set in a little from the margin. See model letters under §174. In formal friendly letters and in letters of a non-commercial nature, the inside address should stand a little below the bottom of the letter at the left side of the page. In informal friendly letters the inside address may be omitted. 157. Punctuation of Inside Address. In punctuating the inside address, place a period after each abbreviation that is used. In addition to this, place a comma after the name of the addressee, a comma after the street address, if one be given, and after the name of the town or city. Place a period after the name of the state or country. Examine the correct inside address under §174.
Do not omit proper titles.
When two or more men are addressed, do not omit the title Mr., before the name of each of the men, unless their names constitute a partnership or trading name.
Avoid all abbreviations of titles preceding the name except Mr., Mrs., Messrs., and Dr. Abbreviations of titles placed after the name, such as, Esq., D.D., A.M., etc., are proper. Do not use Mr. and Esq. with the same name.
Do not place a period after the title Miss. Miss is not an abbreviation. The Salutation 159. Position of Salutation. The salutation should begin flush with the margin and on the line next below the inside address. See correctly written letters under §174. 160. Form of Salutation. The salutation varies with the form of the letter and the relations between the writer and receiver of the letter. Where the parties are strangers or mere business acquaintances the most common salutations for individuals are, Dear Sir, Dear Madam, or My dear Sir, My dear Madam. For a group of persons, or for a company or a partnership, Gentlemen, Dear Sirs, Dear Madams or Mesdames are used. In less formal business letters such salutations as, My dear Mr. Smith, or Dear Miss Jaekel may be used. It is considered more formal to prefix My to the salutation. It is over formal to use simply Sir or Madam in any letter, or to use Dear Sir or Dear Madam when writing to a familiar friend. If one uses a very familiar salutation, such as Dear Brown, Dear John, etc., it is better to put the inside address at the close of the letter, or to omit it. 161. Punctuation of Salutation. Punctuate the salutation with a colon, except in informal letters, when a comma may be used. 162. Faults to be Avoided in the Salutation. Use no abbreviations except Dr., Mr., Mrs. Do not use the abbreviation Dr., when that title is used as a final word in a salutation.
Do not use a name alone as a salutation.
The Body of the Letter 163. The Subject Matter of the Letter. In friendly letters much latitude is allowed in the body of the letter, but business letters should be brief and to the point. No letter, however, should be lacking in the courteous forms or in completeness. 164. Form of Body. The body of the letter usually begins on the line below the salutation and is indented the same distance from the margin as any other paragraph would be indented. See model letters under §174. In commercial letters paragraph divisions are made more frequently than in other composition. Each separate point should be made the subject of a separate paragraph. 165. Faults in Body of the Letter. In letters that are intended to be complete and formal, avoid the omission of articles, pronouns, and prepositions. Avoid also expressions that are grammatically incomplete. Only in extremely familiar and hasty letters should the "telegraph style" be adopted.
Avoid the use of abbreviations in the letter. It is well to avoid the too frequent use of the pronoun I in the letter, though care must be taken not to carry this caution to extremes. I, however, should not be omitted when necessary to the completeness of the sentence. Do not try to avoid its use by omitting it from the sentence, but by substituting a different form of sentence. There is no objection to beginning a letter with I. Punctuate the letter just as carefully as any other composition. Excepting in letters of a formal nature, there is no objection to the use of colloquial expressions such as can't, don't, etc. Unless you have some clear reason to the contrary, avoid the use of expressions that have been used so much that they are worn out and often almost meaningless. Such expressions as the following ones are not wrong, but are often used when they are both inappropriate and unnecessary.
The Close 166. Final Words. Business letters frequently close with some final words, such as, Thanking you again for your kind assistance, I am ..., A waiting your further orders, we are ..., etc. These expressions are not wrong, but are often used when not at all necessary. 167. The Complimentary Close. The complimentary close should be written on a separate line near the middle of the page, and should begin with a capital letter. Appropriateness is the only guide to the choice of a complimentary close. The following complimentary closes are proper for business letters:
The following complimentary closes are proper for friendly letters:
168. Faults in the Close. Do not use abbreviations, such as, Yrs. respy., yrs. try., etc. 169. The Signature of the Writer. The letter should be so signed as to cause no doubt or embarrassment to any one addressing a reply. The signature should show whether the
In signing a company name write first the name of the company, and after it the name of the writer. Example:
Miscellaneous Directions 170. In beginning the letter, place the address and date an inch and a half or two inches below the top of the page. Leave a margin of about a half inch or more on the left side of the page. Indent the beginning of each paragraph about an inch or more beyond the margin. In using a four-page sheet, write on the pages in their order, 1, 2, 3, 4. In the correctly written forms of letters under §174 observe the indentation of the lines. The first line of the inside address should be flush with the margin, the second somewhat set in. The salutation should begin flush with the margin. The body of the letter should begin on the line below the salutation, and some distance in from the margin. The Outside Address 171. Position of Outside Address. Place the address on the envelope so that it balances well. Do not have it too far toward the top, too close to the bottom, nor too far to one side. See addressed envelope under §173. Place the 172. Punctuation of Outside Address. Punctuation may be omitted at the end of the lines of the address. If it is used, place a period at the end of the last line, and a comma after each preceding line. Within the lines punctuate just as you would in the inside address. If an abbreviation ends the line, always place a period after it, whether the other lines are punctuated or not. 173. Faults in the Outside Address. Avoid the use of abbreviations except those that would be proper in the inside address or in the heading. See §§ 155 and 158. Do not use the sign # before the number of the street address. No letters or sign at all should be used there. See §155. Compare the following forms of addresses:
A properly arranged address: 174. Correctly Written Letters
My dear Sir: I have received your letter of inquiry about the sale of my law books. I will say in answer that at present I have no intention of selling them. You may, however, be able to secure what you want from H. B. Wassel, Esquire, Commonwealth Building, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He has advertised the sale of a rather extensive list of books.
My dear Professor Morton: We are trying to establish in the school here some permanent system of keeping students' records. I have been told that you have worked out a card method that operates successfully. If you can give me any information in regard to your method, I shall consider it a very great favor. I enclose a stamped envelope for your reply.
My dear Mrs. Hagon: I wish to thank you for your kind aid in securing Captain Howard to deliver one of the lectures in our course. Only your influence enabled us to get so good a man at so Iowa price.
To whom it may concern: It gives me great pleasure to testify to the character, ability and attainments of Mr. E. J. Heidenreich. He has been a trusted personal associate of mine for more than twenty years. He may be counted upon to do successfully anything that he is willing to undertake. Harry B. Hutchins. My dear Walter: I am to be in the city only a few more weeks before leaving permanently. Before I go, I should like to have you come out and take dinner with me some evening. How would next Wednesday at six o'clock suit you? If you can come at that time, will you please write or telephone to me sometime before Tuesday?
My dear Paul: I shall be very glad to accept your invitation to take dinner with you before you take final leave of the city. The time you mention, next Wednesday evening, is entirely satisfactory to me. I was more than pleased to receive your invitation, for the prospect of talking over old times with you is delightful.
Gentlemen: With this letter I enclose a check for ten dollars, for which please send me one of your small cook stoves, of the sort listed in your catalogue on page two hundred thirty-eight. It will be a great favor if you will hasten the shipment of this stove as much as possible, since it is urgently needed in a summer cottage that I have for rent.
Dear Sirs: Will you please send me a price list and descriptive catalogue of your tapestries and carpets? I have been commissioned to purchase all the tapestries and carpets that may be needed for the new Young Women's Christian Association Building, on Arlington Avenue, this city. I understand that institutions of this sort are allowed a ten per cent discount by you. Will you please tell me if this is true?
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1910.
Gentlemen: I am writing to ask if you can give me employment in your work for about ten weeks beginning June 15th. I am at present taking a course in electrical engineering at Bucknell University, and am in my sophomore year., It is my plan to gain some practical experience in various sorts of electrical work during the vacations occurring in my course. This summer I want to secure practical experience in electric wiring. If you wish references as to my character and ability, I would refer you to Mr. William R. Stevenson, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and to Mr. Harry E. McCormick, Superintendent of the Street Railways Company, Danville, Illinois. Salary is a very slight object to me in this work, and I shall be willing to accept whatever compensation you may see fit to offer me.
Drawsburg, Ohio, May 21, 1910. My dear Norman: I have just heard of your good fortune and hasten to assure you of my sincere pleasure in the news. May you find happiness and prosperity in your new location. But do not forget that your old friends are still living and will always be interested in your welfare.
Gentlemen: I am the holder of Policy Number 2919 in your company. In that Policy, which was taken out about ten years ago, my occupation is stated to be carpenter. Lately I have changed occupations, and am I should like to know if at the present time my policy has any cash surrender value, and if so, what that value is.
My dear Elliot: Will you please send me, as soon as you conveniently can, the addresses of George English, Ira S. Shepherd, and G. N. Wilkinson. This request for addresses may lead you to think that wedding invitations are to be looked for. Your conclusion, I am happy to say, is a correct one; I expect to be married sometime in June.
Dear Aunt Emily: You will no doubt be surprised when you read the heading of this letter and learn that we are now in Vienna. We had really intended, as I wrote to you, to spend the entire months of March and April in Berlin, but a sudden whim sent us on to this city. Until we came to Vienna I had but a very vague idea of the city, and thought it a place of little interest. I was surprised to find it a place of so many beautiful buildings and beautiful streets. Still more was I surprised to find what a festive, stylish place it is. Paris may have the reputation for fashion and frivolity, but Vienna lacks only the reputation; it certainly does not lack the fashionable and frivolous air. The other day in one of the shops here, I discovered, as I thought, We have not received the usual letter from you this week, but suppose it is because we so suddenly changed our address. The necessity of forwarding it from Berlin has probably caused the delay. Father and Mother join in sending their love to you.
Notes in the Third Person 175. It is customary and desirable to write certain kinds of notes in the third person. Such a note contains nothing but the body of the note, followed at the left side of the paper, by the time and the place of writing. Use no pronoun but that of the third person. Never use any heading, salutation, or signature. Use no abbreviations except Mr., Mrs., or Dr. Spell out all dates. 176. Correctly Written Notes in the Third Person. Mrs. Harry Moore requests the pleasure of Mr. Leighou's company at dinner on Sunday, June the first, at two o'clock.
The Senior Class of Bucknell University requests the pleasure of Professor and Mrs. Morton's company on Tuesday evening, June the tenth, at a reception in honor of Governor Edwin S. Stuart.
Mr. Leighou regrets that a previous engagement prevents his acceptance of Mrs. Moore's kind invitation for Sunday, June the first.
Make use of some of the following suggestions for letters. Have every letter complete in all its formal parts. Fill in details according to your own fancy:
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