Introduction:
A letter is a written communication between two person. It takes the place of conversation, so it should be as simple and straight forward as day to day conversation is. We should remember, however, that conversation of an educated person is up to the mark. So the language should be impressive, clear and grammatical. People today are very busy, and seldom have time to read and write long letters. So no attempt should be made to go into unnecessary details, or to write conventional sentences about weather, health and general well-being of the person addressed. A letter should be to the point.
Children are expected to learn how to write letters, notes and messages. They have to be aware of different styles of writing, the use of formal and informal letters, and to select style and vocabulary appropriate to the intended reader. Handwriting too is an essential element. In the Standard Assessment Tests Level 2 handwriting is required:
A letter is a written communication between two person. It takes the place of conversation, so it should be as simple and straight forward as day to day conversation is. We should remember, however, that conversation of an educated person is up to the mark. So the language should be impressive, clear and grammatical. People today are very busy, and seldom have time to read and write long letters. So no attempt should be made to go into unnecessary details, or to write conventional sentences about weather, health and general well-being of the person addressed. A letter should be to the point.
Children are expected to learn how to write letters, notes and messages. They have to be aware of different styles of writing, the use of formal and informal letters, and to select style and vocabulary appropriate to the intended reader. Handwriting too is an essential element. In the Standard Assessment Tests Level 2 handwriting is required:
- To be legible
- Have a consistent size and spacing of letters
- Show flow and movement
- Show a confident personal style
- Thus letter writing exercises can fulfil two elements of the curriculum
Letters are prose-compositions. They should not unnecessarily be used as a vehicle to express poetic thoughts and sentiments. The language of a letter should be clear and correct but not flowery or superfine, because in that case the personal touch of conversation is lost, and a letter begins to give us a feeling of superficiality. It looks more like a pose, or an exercise in fine composition, than a true expression of one's feelings.
A letter should be sincere. Any attempt to indulge in mental acrobatics, or to show by a process of superficial reasoning that you can prove the impossible, or say clever things which look nice so long as one does not think about them, will leave a bad taste.
Conventions of Letter Writing:
Letters are generally divided into two classes:
i) Social letters: Social letters include all kinds of friendly letters, invitations, requests made to friends and their replies to them. We shall first deal with this kind of letters.
ii) Business letters: Business letters are different from social letters. Here the personal touch is not very important. Moreover, we have to hide our feelings, whatever they may be. It is good to show warmth towards the other party, though without being sentimental. We have to be brief and clear in this busy world, where no one can spare time for matters not related to the business. Teh form of this kind of letters is different from that of social letters.
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