+Style+.—Be perspicuous. Paragraph and punctuate as in other kinds of writing. Avoid blots, erasures, interlineations, cross lines, and all other offenses against epistolary propriety. The letter "bespeaks the man." Letters of friendship should be colloquial, chatty, and familiar. Whatever is interesting to you will be interesting to your friends, however trivial it may seem to a stranger.
Business letters should be brief, and the sentences short, concise, and to the point. Repeat nothing, and omit nothing needful.
Official letters and formal notes should be more stately and ceremonious. In formal notes the third person is generally used instead of the first and the second; there is no Introduction, no Conclusion, no Signature, only the name of the Place and the Date at the bottom, on the left side of the page, thus:—
_Mr. & Mrs. A. request the pleasure of Mr. B.'s company at a social gathering, on Tuesday evening, Nov. 15th, at eight o'clock.
32 Fifth Ave., Nov. 5_.
Mr. B. accepts [Footnote: Or regrets that a previous engagement (or illness, or an unfortunate event) prevents the acceptance of ——; or regrets that on account of —— he is unable to accept ——.] with pleasure Mr. & Mrs. A.'s kind invitation for Tuesday evening, Nov. 15th.
Wednesday morning, Nov. 9th.
THE CONCLUSION.
+Parts+.—The Conclusion consists of the +Complimentary Close+ and the +Signature+. The forms of the Complimentary Close are many, and are determined by the relations of the writer to the one addressed. In letters of friendship you may use, Your sincere, friend; Yours affectionately; Your loving son or daughter, etc. In business letters you may use, Yours; Yours truly; Truly yours; Yours respectfully; Very respectfully yours, etc. In official letters you should be more deferential. Use, I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant; Very respectfully, your most obedient servant; etc., etc.
The Signature consists of your Christian name and your surname. In addressing a stranger write your Christian name in full. A lady addressing a stranger should prefix to her signature her title, Mrs. or Miss (placing it within marks of parenthesis), unless in the letter she has indicated which of these titles her correspondent is to use in reply.