Collins Letter Writing
The only guide you’ll ever need to help you write better letters, whether for business or pleasure.The world gets smaller and contacts get faster but whether it’s by computer or with pen-and-ink, the need to be able to communicate effectively in writing remains as important as ever. So whether you want to get in touch with a pen-pal, an e-pal, your bank manager, the editor of a newspaper, to make a complaint or declare your undying love, this guide will show you how to make the most of your correspondence. Direct and very accessible, this invaluable book will show you the general rules of good letter writing and will also provide specific advice on letters for specific occasions.Practical advice on the techniques of good letter writingHelps with finding something to say and in planning your letter, for those tricky occasions as well as more ordinary onesProvides guidelines for letters for all occasions, both formal and informalOffers help with grammar and punctuation so your letter is faultlessIncludes forms of address and legal matters, and a section all about e-mailIf you only ever buy one book on letter writing, this should be it!
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Letter Writing
How to Get Results
ESTHER SELSDON
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: Before you Begin – The Purpose
CHAPTER 2: Getting Started – The Basics
CHAPTER 3: Grammar & Punctuation
General friendship & thank you letters
Polite requests & rude letters
CHAPTER 7: Employment Correspondence
CHAPTER 8: Communicating with the Media
CHAPTER 10: The Electronic Age
CHAPTER 11: Filing Correspondence
Despite the invention of the telephone and the apparent casualness of many of our 21st-century arrangements, the written word is still the politest, most permanent means of communication and still the only really satisfactory way to deal with legal and professional correspondence. This makes letter-writing sound horribly responsible and, to many people, putting even the simplest of thoughts on paper to good effect does seem like a daunting task. But it needn’t be. There are basic rules of good grammar, style and approach that can be broken down into their component parts for anyone to learn and follow. This book lists those rules and helps to break down those parts and, in the process, makes the acquisition of good letter-writing skills a more entertaining exercise.
But this is the 21st century and we are now in the modern age of communication. Explanatory chapters on joining the email and internet age are included because it is a rapidly changing world out there and you never know when you might need to employ some of these constantly evolving e-trends. In the same vein, other chapters include sample pro-forma letters that deal with those everyday situations for which you might need to write a precise, businesslike letter but don’t quite know where to start. Of course, the reader can, and should, customise and adapt these model letters to suit their own style and their own needs but a helping hand might just save time.
We all need to write. Whether this be to a lawyer, to a friend or even to someone we don’t happen to like that much, a well-expressed letter may make a small but crucial difference. Stronger, more powerful correspondence can eliminate further unnecessary business correspondence or, even more impressively, might make social correspondence a more regular, more entertaining affair. It’s worth a go. Give it a try.
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WITWOUD: Madam, do you pin up
Your hair with all your letters?
MILLAMANT: Only with those in verse, Mr
Witwoud. I never pin up my hair with prose.
William Congreve, The Way of the World (1700)
Why not telephone? Before you set pen to paper or mouse to mat, ask yourself why you need to write a letter. Think about your reason for writing. Do you want, or need, to make a permanent statement and, if you do, and your letter is put in a box and filed, would you be embarrassed to see that very same letter turn up again in twenty-five years’ time? These are the first questions to ask yourself when you think about whether you should be writing a letter at all.
Generally speaking, we write because the process of putting words to paper is more effective than speech. It demands the sole attention of the recipient while being read and can be more intimate than speech; it is certainly more durable.
Hundreds of letters are opened every morning. You will want your particular missive to be the one that is clearest on the page and therefore read first, and you will want it to be understood immediately and acted upon without delay.
Ask yourself:
• Do I know what my message is?
• If yes, then is my message necessary?
