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Letter Writing
How to Get Results
ESTHER SELSDON

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1: Before you Begin – The Purpose

Why write?

The pen

Pen or mouse?

Choosing your materials

Writing tools

CHAPTER 2: Getting Started – The Basics

Is it clear?

How to top and tail a letter

Paragraphs

Layout

Titles

CHAPTER 3: Grammar & Punctuation

Why study grammar?

Punctuation

Spelling

Abbreviations

Tips on style

CHAPTER 4: Personal Letters

Presentation

Apologies

Writing to children

Condolences & congratulations

Fan mail

General friendship & thank you letters

Love letters

Polite requests & rude letters

CHAPTER 5: Business Letters

Presentation

Junk mail

Sample business letters

CHAPTER 6: Technical Matters

Headings

Presenting facts

Memos

CHAPTER 7: Employment Correspondence

Job applications

References

Rejections

Letters of resignation

Complimenting an employee

Reprimands

Dismissals

CHAPTER 8: Communicating with the Media

Requesting media coverage

Declining media coverage

Letters to the editor

Personal letter

Specific articles

General grievance letter

CHAPTER 9: Legal Matters

Libel

Your rights

Copyright

Without prejudice

Communication with solicitors

Threatening legal action

CHAPTER 10: The Electronic Age

Email

World wide web

Faxes

CHAPTER 11: Filing Correspondence

Filing

Keeping copies

Security & Data Protection Act, 1984

Creating an archive

CHAPTER 12: Postage

Envelopes

Types of postage

Poste restante

Forwarding mail

Small packets

Private mail systems

Appendices

Copyright

About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION

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.

WHAT THE ICONS MEAN

The Web Tip icon alerts you to where relevant website addresses appear in the text. If you are browsing through the book or specifically looking for website information, these icons will take you straight there.

WEB TIP

Helpful tips throughout have been highlighted in tinted panels.

Write a letter by hand rather than using a word processor if you want it to be more personal or intimate.

1
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
THE PURPOSE

• WHY WRITE?

• THE PEN

• PEN OR MOUSE?

• CHOOSING YOUR MATERIALS

• WRITING TOOLS

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.

WHY WRITE?

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?

• If yes, then is the recipient my friend?

• If yes, then would a telephone call be more appropriate?

• If no, then is this mainly a social or a professional communication?

• If professional, then am I trying to make an impression?

• If yes, then will I be embarrassed to be reminded that this letter exists in a year’s time?

• If no, then continue.

THE PEN

The modern fountain pen was invented by Lewis Edson Waterman in 1883 and technology hasn’t looked back since. Waterman created a special device which managed to slow down the ink feed to the nib and thereby reduced the chances of any extra ink leaking from the pen. The age-old habit, familiar to cinema-goers all over the world, of dipping a quill into an ink pot was instantly eliminated. Writing became faster – and faster still in 1943 when Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian inventor, patented his quick-drying, ball-point pen. Since Biro’s new invention did not leak at high altitude and could even be used underwater, it was offered as a writing tool to US and UK forces during the Second World War. It was an immediate hit. But the revolution had only just begun.

The world’s first ‘proper’ computer was built in 1948. It was called the Manchester Mark I and stored and processed any information fed into it very quickly by use of an electronic transistor.

In 1958 Texas Instruments, an American firm, produced the first integrated circuit or silicon chip. All the electrical components in the computer were now combined into one slice of silicon, a type of quartz which was grown artificially and cut into very thin slices. Up to 500 chips could be made from each of these slices and each of these chips could contain, in turn, up to 500 photographic copies of the design of the electrical circuit. In layman’s terms, silicon chips are minute and contain a lot of information. The silicon chip enabled the arrival, in 1982, of the word-processor as a mainstream writing tool. Nowadays, things are even easier. Computer programmes have been developed which introduce the concept of formula letters, facilitate the addressing of envelopes and introduce the idea of instant mass mailing.

Write a letter by hand rather than using a word processor if you want it to be more personal or intimate.

We now have a whole spectrum of ways to convey our message. The crucial part is deciding which is the right one for you. Just because a word-processing programme exists, this doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to use it. The decision is yours.

Main types of communication:

• handwriting

• word-processed letter

• fax

• email

Ask yourself:

• Is this letter to a friend?

• Is it urgent?

• Is it complicated?

• Is it personal?

• Does it involve figures and charts?

• Should you have written it yesterday?

• In what form would you want to receive this information?

PEN OR MOUSE?

Of any courteous letters, now: There are so few.

Ben Jonson (1616)

Once you have come to grips with the idea that your letter may exist for ever, and yet have still decided to take the plunge, then your next step must be to decide on the most suitable medium for your communication. Is the correspondence friendly, is it an apology and how much information needs to be imparted?

Writing is a slow business. We think much more quickly than we write and pen and ink merely add to the laboriousness of the process. If you wish to convey the idea that you have poured precious, loving care into your correspondence, then old-fashioned penmanship would be the most suitable choice.

Handwritten letters, in other words, demonstrate the fact that the person who sent them cares.

A printed letter can be impersonal but will always be legible.

The main negative aspect of a handwritten letter, mundane though it might be, is that a lot of people’s handwriting is not very pretty. There’s really little point putting in the extra time if no one will be able to read your letter anyway. Be honest with yourself. Is your handwriting easily legible? You already know what you are trying to say. Bear in mind that your reader might have to guess.

Word-processing is the composition of a document using a personal computer. Clearly, when a lot of facts are involved a word-processed letter will always be more effective, but for, say, a bereavement note it might be totally inappropriate. The process of computing can sometimes make the task of letter writing seem very industrial and rather formal but the results are sure to look modern, clear and businesslike.

On the plus side, with today’s printers, you can choose a particular font or paper size or graphic design in order to make your word-processed letter look softer or more casual. In any event, the printed letter is now so ubiquitous that a typewritten letter is unlikely to send out any particular signals. There are, today, very few occasions when even a social correspondent would be shocked to receive a letter in a printed format – although, of course, it is still more flattering to receive a handwritten communication.

There is one pitfall to this apparent ease of communication, however, which many computer users fail to see. Just because it looks good instantaneously, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right. The words flow fast – communication speeds are beginning to catch up with the speed of thought – but that doesn’t make them lovely. It is very easy to miss a mistake on a screen and it is very easy to believe that your letter is as stylish in content as it is in appearance. Just remember that it may not be …

Word-processed letters, in other words, demonstrate the fact that the person who sent them is a professional.

CHOOSING YOUR MATERIALS

Once again, think about the kind of impression you are trying to convey. Do you wish to be seen as a formal or a casual correspondent, and should the tone of your letter be friendly, brusque or merely factual? Once you have decided whether your letter is personal, business or other correspondence, you can choose which material is best suited to convey your desired tone.

Ask yourself:

• what are you trying to achieve by writing?

• do you like the recipient?

• is that a relevant question?

If the answer to the last question is ‘no’, then you should definitely be word-processing.

PAPER

HEADED OR UNHEADED? The letters that you send are an expression of your personality. They signify to the world outside how you would like to be seen and they do this before you have even reached the end of your first sentence. The wrong stationery may, therefore, create entirely the wrong impression before the contents of your letter have even been considered. Given this factor, it’s probably a good idea to make the correct stationery selection at the very beginning of the process. You’re just giving yourself all the advantages you can.

ILLUSTRATION 1 Headed paper can be kept simple and needn’t be expensive

Historically, it was considered correct to have headed paper for business correspondence and plain paper for personal. Things have moved on. Nowadays it is imperative to have headed paper for business letters and unusual not to have it for personal correspondence. Headed paper makes life easier for the recipient. If he or she feels the urge to reply straight away then he or she won’t have to go digging around in old files and address books in order to get the required information. The necessary information, by the way, includes an accurate postcode as well as a telephone number (with full area code) and, if possible, an email address. It is not really necessary, and possibly inelegant, to include your name, as this will be at the bottom of your letter in any event.

The right kind of stationery, especially headed paper, can make all the difference.

It may also be considered slightly suspect to write a personal letter on unheaded paper. If you have the recipient’s correct address and you must do, since you are writing to them, then why shouldn’t they have all your particulars? Mutuality breeds trust.

Unheaded paper may be suitable for friends whom you know well. It may also be suitable for covering letters accompanying other materials or for very brief notes to almost anyone, but, generally speaking, when in doubt, and if at all possible, stick to headed. It looks more attractive.

Headed paper, though, doesn’t necessarily have to be fancy embossed stationery ordered from an upmarket stationery firm. For simple business correspondence, and certainly for friends, it is perfectly acceptable simply to print your headed paper at home on your own printer. However, professionally printed paper, unless you have all the latest technology, is normally smarter. In this particular case, it seems, you pay for what you get. Appearance may not make any difference to the end result of your correspondence, but, on the other hand, it may. Again, it’s best to use all the advantages you can.

Keep the design simple and the print bold and make sure that the words are large enough to read easily.