Writing Business And Personal Letters

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• Publisher: Straightforward Publishing Digital
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781847165466
• eBook ISBN: 9781847166272
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Writing & Presentation Skills

A Straightforward Guide to Writing Business and Personal Letters deals with the production of effective letters and e mails covering both business and personal situations. The book dwells from the outset on grammar and punctuation. It shows the writer how they can express what they are trying to say, how to lay it out and take care that the letter achieves its aims.

PART 1

THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE

1

The Importance of Punctuation

There are a number of essential elements key to effective letter writing, whether business or personal letters. Basic punctuation is extremely important.

Consider how you speak to someone. Generally, what you say is not one long breathless statement. It is punctuated by full stops. When writing, think about how you would verbalise the same statement and insert full stops as appropriate. For example:

We went walking today and we stopped at a shop and bought something to eat and sat down and ate the food and then decided to move on we walked as far as we could before deciding to sit down and take a rest after half an hour we then decided to turn back-------

Immediately, it is obvious that this statement is one long sentence which would leave the listener, or in turn the reader, confused. The correct version might be:

We went walking today, and we stopped at a shop and bought something to eat. We sat down and ate the food and then decided to walk on. We walked as far as we could before deciding to sit down and take a rest. After half an hour we decide to turn back-

The main point is that by inserting full stops we add structure to a sentence.

The use of commas

Whilst full stops are very important in order to add structure and also to separate out one sentence from the next, sometimes there can be a tendency to use commas instead of full stops. Commas have a particular role but can never take the place of full stops.

Commas are used to add a pause to a statement before concluding with a full stop. They are also used to separate items in a list. When using commas to separate items in a list the last one must be preceded by ‘and’.

For example:

Dave liked swimming, football, ice hockey, mountain climbing, fell walking and judo.

Another example:

Peter was preparing his homework for the next day, his mother was cooking, his father was reading the paper and his sister was listening to music.

Beginning a sentence with a conjunction (joining word)

If you begin a sentence with a conjunction (joining word,) put a comma to separate the first part of the sentence from the rest of it. In this sentence, ‘if’ is a joining word and there is a comma after ‘word’.

Here are two more examples with the conjunction underlined. Notice where the comma is placed:

Because it was snowing, we decided to stay inside.

As the sun set, the sky glowed.

Commas are used to separate groups of words within a sentence, in order to give statements within sentences more emphasis. Commas are used in many other areas too, such as before a question (I am not sure about that, are you?) or before a name (do be silent, Jack).

The most important element here, as with full stops, is that when you are composing a letter, think about what you are saying, to whom you are addressing it, and take time to punctuate the statement. This means that the person reading the letter can immediately relate to the contents and can interpret the message.

Making use of semi-colons, colons and the dash

The semi-colon is a very useful punctuation mark. It can be used when you feel that you do not need a full stop; usually the second statement follows closely to the first one. A capital letter is not used after a semi-colon. For example:

The road was getting busier; it was obvious that the traffic was starting to build up.

The idea of traffic building up follows on naturally from the road getting busier. In this case, it might be tempting to use a comma. However, as both statements follow on so closely a semi-colon is more appropriate.

The colon

A colon can be used for two purposes. It can introduce a list of statements, as in the following example:

There are two reasons why you failed: you lost your way, it was dark and you did not follow my orders.

Like the semi-colon you need no capital letter after the colon. The colon can also be used to show two statements reinforcing each other:

Your general punctuation is weak: you must learn to use the full stop and comma more effectively.

Using the dash

A dash is used for emphasis. What is said between dashes – or after the dash if there is only one – is more emphatic than if there were no dash. If you break your sentence in the middle to make an added point, use a dash before and after it:

Peter, Dave, Fred Grace – in fact everyone – had decided to go.

Use of the question mark

We have considered full stops, commas, semi-colons, colons and the use of the dash. We now need to consider the question mark.

The question mark is obviously placed at the end of the question. You should always remember to include the question mark as, if it is missed, the reader of a letter might not take your question to be a question, but a statement.

Example

Is it raining outside?

You are not intending to go out in this weather, are you?

The second question is clearly a mixture of statement and question. To be understood as a question it is important to insert a question mark at the end. If you are using direct speech, the question mark takes the place of the comma and is always placed inside the inverted commas (speech marks):

‘When are you going?’ asked Susan.

Use of exclamation marks

The exclamation mark should be used rarely otherwise it loses its impact. It should not be used for emphasis; your choice of words should be sufficient to provide the necessary emphasis. It is used in direct speech, again in pla...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1 – The Importance of Language.
• Part Two Writing Letters
• Glossary of terms
• Index