Writing is considered one of the
fundamental processes of an educated and literate individual. It also give them
an opportunity to showcase their individual proficiency in the art. Albeit,
this is the generation of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), e-mail
and many other forms of information, communication and technology, you still
must master the art of letter writing. You write your parents/guardians,
siblings, friend/well-wishers, relations; you write to schools/colleges,
institutions, companies and other business organizations.
The letter is one of the most
regular kinds of writings. Okenwa (2000) notes:
“Easily, the most popular form of writing is the letter. Surprisingly,
this form is also easily the least understood and most abused of all the form
of writing. Even literature and non-literate users of this form have been known
to by claims to its matery by virtue of the fact that it is more commonly used
means of communication.
You do not study the art of
writing letters for test or examination purposes only; rather you write for
many other reasons: to notify, to keep in touch, to convey greetings, wishes
and regards. Thorough letter writings you could send congratulatory messages,
invitations, complaints: you apply for jobs or scholarship awards, request.
Permissions of all kinds: you order for goods, et cetera.
Many author, of one, Oh Teik Bin,
observes that many people love to receive letters but not many have learnt to
like letter-writing. It will be of your benefit if you develop the art of letter-writing. Write to
your family members, friend and well-wishers, and other relations. Write to
companies/firms, corporate bodies and the press to request for information or
to express your views, opinions and suggestions. For so doing, you will learn
how to write letters and will learn to love this art in future. For individuals
that knows how to write, it is a complete joy to be able to express your
thoughts and ideas in writing. A sense of satisfaction it will be seeing your
letter in print.
Another choler, Bel-Molokwu (1997,
p. 106) state:
“Letter constitute a very powerful means of communication and have become
one very important means of record-keeping in business because the writer has
an opportunity to organize properly his thoughts while writing a letter, the
contents of letters are more reliable. But the beauty of the letter is that it
makes for easy referencing. It also makes for more effective communication in
business. Consider what business management, organization and control would be
without letters.
ARE YOU WRITING TO WHOM
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-Government agencies
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-Business organizations
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Parents
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-Business partners
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-Distant relations
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-siblings
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Companies
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-An old relation/friend
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Mates
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Corporate bodies
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-An old relation/friend
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Friends
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A person you do
not know
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Acquaintances
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You must understand that if the
receiver is in any way displaced with your letter, it may not achieve any
purpose. No parent (father or mother) will send money to daughter or son who
letters offends him or her; an employer is hardly likely to offer an
appointment to someone whose application is below the expected standard : a
letter writing may cause very serious misunderstanding among friends, siblings
or relations. When writing a letter, we must constantly keep in mind the person
we are writing to. The more conscious we
are of this, the more likely we are to make our letter just right for that
person (Slitton 1981 p.3)
Some Vital Aspects
of Letter Writing
1.
Conventions
This deals:
i)
Writing out the addresses and the date
ii)
Ways of greeting
iii)
Ways of opening and closing
2.
Tone
In
oral communication, from the tone of speakers voice, you could fathom
whether he is addressing a friend, an acquaintance, a stranger or an elder.
Just like a speech, a letter has tone and it is from this that one could
identify the kind of relationship between the writer or transmitter (Tx) and
the recipient or receiver (Rx) of the letter.
Tone therefore is largely a matter
of words – its use and its arrangement in sentences. In a letter, it can be
indicated by the amount of personal detail you include:
1. If the tone of a letter is informal or familiar, you would expect a lot
of personal detail.
2. If the tone is formal or distant, you expect little or no personal detail.
Grieve and Pratt
note that the tone of a letter:
a) Reflects the attitude of the
transmitter the receiver
b) Reflects the relationship between the transmitter and recipient or
receiver.
c) Reveals the transmitters’ awareness of the etiquette of written communication.
When you choose the wrong form of expression, it is very
easy to make the tone quite different from what you had intended to write, a
bad impression is possible created.
3.
Language
a. Avoid high-sounding and wordy expressions.
b. Be straightforward, precise and simple, because in letters you want to be
understood quickly and easily. In English, people think that those who use
pompous words and phrases in their writing or trying to show off their
knowledge.
c. There are certain fixed rules of grammar, sentence structure and
punctuation you must observe to avoid passing
on a different meaning from the one you intended.