3. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PERSONAL ENGLISH LETTER
3.1 The Aims of Writing Formal English Letter
In general, as we have discussed in the previous chapter, letter is a written communication from one to another. It is clear that a letter expresses the aim of
the letter writer to the recipient. In personal letters, the general aims of writing the formal letter are:
• To deliver personal information such as : announcement, declaration, etc. • To represent the letter writer’s desire, any individual or organization.
• To be a reminder. It means that old letters which have already kept can be re-opened to help them in finishing some problems.
3.2 Parts of Personal Letter
3.2.1 Sender’s Address Heading
The sender’s address also can be heading of letter by using the name of the organization or company on the top of the letter, and followed by the
complete address. In England, the layout of address is as follows:
Number, Name of Street St Name of Road Rd
Name of Avenue Ave Name of Gardens Gdns
Name of Close Village or town
Country if necessary; not for major towns Or cities like London, Manchester, Liverpool, etc
Post Code. For example:
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• 31, West Street Levenshulme
Manchester 21 England
• 141, H.A.Manaf Lubis Helvetia Timur
Medan Helvetia 20124
3.2.2 The Date
This is written exactly as in a personal letter. Remember, however, that it is especially important in personal letters to write the date, as this is a
convenient way of referring to the letter later if the sender need to. In England, this would be written as:
3
rd
February 2000, or 3 Feb.2000 or 3.2.2000
or 3.2.00 In America, however it would be:
February 3, 2000 or 2.3.2000 It is therefore better to write the date in words to avoid confusion.
3.2.3 Salutation
If the writer knows the name of the person to whom he is writing, write Dear Mr.Floris, Dear Mrs. Floris, etc. Remember that a personal letter is
always written to a person you already know. • For a friend of your own age, whom you would normally address by given
name, such as “George”, “Alice”, you would write ‘Dear George’, ‘Dear Alice’.
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• For a brother, sister, or cousin you would also use his or her given name christian name in exactly the same ways as for a friend. We do not in
modern English, write ‘Dear Brother’, ‘Dear Sister’. If your brother is called John, then write ‘Dear John’, and so on.
• For your mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, uncles, and aunts you write the name of the relationship, because that is the name you use when
talking to them. Therefore, we write ‘Dear Mother’, ‘Dear Grandfather’. • For a friend or acquaintance who is much older than you, for example a
friend of your father’s or you school-teacher, you write ‘Mr.’, Mrs.’ or ‘Miss’ plus their family name surname. If the person is a doctor, a
professor, or holds a military rank, then that title will replace the ‘Mr.’, ‘Mrs’ or ‘Miss’. Thus we might write ‘Dear Mr. Rolland’, ‘Dear Professor
Harry’, ‘Dear Doctor George’, ‘Dear Captain Collin’. • For a particularly close friend or relation you may write ‘My dear’ in place
of ‘Dear’.
3.2.4 The Body of Letter
This should consist of three paragraphs: an introductory paragraph, the middle paragraph, containing the main body of the letter, and the final,
concluding paragraph. The following general principles should be remembered, and may be started here :
• The letter should be devided into paragraphs, although it is very short.
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• Start the first paragraph on the next line after the salutation, and about an inchi in. Example :
Dear Mary, Thank you for your…..
• In a personal letter, the language may be more coloquial than formal essay. In particular, contracted forms for example ‘I’m’, ‘you’re’ are permitted.
However, you must be gramatical and be careful to show clearly the development of your ideas.
• Be very careful about the last sentences. This should be a complete gramatical sentences.There is no need to have a special last sentences
although, frequently we do finish the letter with some wish, usually using the verb ‘to hope’. Example :
I hope you you have a nice holiday or I hope you get better soon. Then we can write a suitable valediction, as suggested below.
3.2.5 Complimentary Close
The choice of the proper complimentary close depends upon the degree of the formality of the letter. Among the complimentary closes to choose
from are: • Yours sincerely
• Sincerely yours • Sincerely
• Yours faithfully
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However, the most two common complimentary closes are “Yours faithfully” used only with Dear SirSirsMadam and “Yours sincerely” used
with personalized salutation; you know the recipient’s name in the salutation. For example: If you write Dear John : in the salutation, so you should write
Yours sincerely in the complimentary close.
3.2.6 The Signature
The signature of the writer is affixed just below the complimentary close. If you are on very friendly terms with the person you are writing to, and he would
address you by your given name, then you write just your given name here. You write your signature as legibly as possible. If you letter has been
typewritten, you may type your name under the written signature. In any case a signature written in following longhand, your normal joined handwriting must
appear.
3.3 The Language of Personal Letter