46. Friendly Letters.—There are five main parts to every letter: (1) the heading; (2) the salutation; (3) the body, or what is written; (4) the complimentary ending; (5) the conclusion. In a friendly letter the heading, which consists of the post-office address of the writer and the date of writing, is sometimes omitted, although it is always best to write the date, even in letters of the greatest intimacy. Some of the usual salutations in letters to near friends or relatives are: My dear Mother, Dear Father, Dear Mary, My dear Mrs. Smith, My dear Aunt Martha. According to the degree of intimacy the usual complimentary endings are: Sincerely yours, Very sincerely yours, Cordially yours, Heartily yours, Yours ever, Affectionately yours, Yours lovingly, Your loving daughter, Your affectionate son, etc. In letters to members of the family or close friends the first name only is sometimes signed.
The following are good typical forms for friendly letters:—
(1)
Dorset, N.H.,
May 10, 1906.My dear Gilbert,—
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—————————Faithfully yours,
James Meyer.
(2)
Butte, April 16, Thursday.
Dear Mother,—
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—————————Your affectionate son,
Henry.
The ideal in friendly letters is to write to your correspondent what you would say to him if you could see him, and to answer the questions he would put to you. If you are away on a visit, for instance, the questions he would probably ask are, "What sort of a place is it where you are? Are you having a good time? What are you doing to amuse yourself?" Try to think what sort of a letter you would like to have him write if he were away, and write accordingly.
Although you wish to write naturally and almost as though you were talking, it is best to make out a list of the really important things you wish to say, or you will find that you have come to the end of your letter without stating some vital facts you wished your friend to know. It has been said that a friendly letter should be like a conversation, but you must remember that it is a conversation limited in time. If you were about to see your friend for only a half hour, it would be well to think of a few main facts you wished to tell him, or questions you wish him to answer, and bear them in mind; otherwise your time might come to an end before you had said the important things. Even for the most informal letter it is always best to make an outline, although it may be a very brief one.
Suppose you wish to describe the way in which you spent Christmas away from home. Probably nothing very unusual happened, and you may think an outline unnecessary; but you will find, even in relating the facts of one day, that if you do not have some plan and keep in your mind the main events in their proper order, you will be likely to write a confused and incomplete account of what you did. Some such outline as the following is needed:—
Introduction. The place where I was,—city, country, or village; the weather; general conditions. (This information can be given as briefly as you please, in a paragraph, but it is essential to understanding what you say about Christmas Day itself.)
Main Body of the Letter. Morning. Why we hung up our stockings, and how we received our presents. Dinner. How we helped prepare it, and any special features of it. Afternoon. Coasting. Evening. Charades, and the one we thought particularly good.
Ending. Inquiries about your friend's Christmas, friendly greetings, and the close.
A letter written on the above outline follows:—