It is absolutely necessary for everyone to acquire the art of letter-writing for practical reasons. Hence, every educated person should know how to write a clear letter. Though, there are several kinds of letters ( friendly letters, business letters etc.), certain matters of form are there which are common to all. The five points of form that should be taken into consideration while writing any kind of letter are as follows:
1) The Heading
2) The Greeting or Salutation
3) The Communication or Message - the body of the letter
4) The Subscription or Conclusion
5) The Signature
1) The Heading - This consists of the writer's address and the date. This informs the reader where you wrote the letter and when, i.e. on which date.
2) The Greeting or Salutation - Depending on the relation you have with the person you are writing the letter to, the form of greeting will vary. To family members, friends, it will be - Dear Father, Dear Rahul etc., whereas to business people, it will be - Dear Sir etc.
3) The Communication or body of the letter - This is the letter itself, and the style of the writing will depend on the kind of letter you wish to write. The style of a letter to your close friend will be completely different from that of a purely business letter. However, the points that apply to all letters are as follows:
a) Divide your letter into paragraphs
b) Use simple and direct language - do not use long words and flowery language. Be direct in saying what you want to say.
c) Be complete
d) Write neatly - Do not give the reader unnecessary trouble with bad hand writing.
e) Check your punctuation - Incorrect use of punctuation may change the whole meaning of a sentence.
4) The Subscription or Conclusion - The letter should not end abruptly. Certain forms of polite leave-taking are suggested, such as: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully etc.
5) The Signature or the name of the writer - This must be present below the Subscription. For example:
Yours sincerely,
A.L. Pandey
Everyone has sometimes to write letters of some sort, and knowing the basic points of letter-writing is therefore, truly a necessity.