The Bantam Book Of Correct Letter WritingPDF电子书下载

BOOK Ⅰ THE BASIC RULES OF SUCCESSFUL LETTER WRITING 1

1．Letter Writing as a Social Asset 1

What the ability to write good letters can mean to you 1

A letter is like a＂visit＂on paper 2

How letters can enrich life－create more enduring friendships 3

The busiest people make the best letter writers 3

Write the letters that don＇t need to be written 5

Send personal letters instead of greeting cards whenever you can 6

If you＂don＇t know what to say＂in a letter 6

2．Personality in Letter Writing 7

Make your letters sound the way you do! 7

Visualize the person to whom you are writing 8

Just write as you speak－that＇s the whole secret! 8

Use your customary words and patter 9

Some easy ways to make your letters sound conversational 11

Keep your language simple－short words are the best 13

How to write with greater ease and clarity 14

People judge you by your letters 15

Avoid careless remarks that may be misunderstood 15

Don＇t write anything you may later regret 16

The letter everyone loves to receive 16

3．The Physical Characteristics of Your Letter 17

The correct stationery for social and personal correspondence 18

Short notes should be handwritten 20

Use of the typewriter 21

The spacing and arrangement of a letter 22

Sequence of pages and folding the letter 23

How to avoid mistakes in spelling and grammar 23

The use of punctuation 24

4．The Parts of a Letter 25

The heading 25

The salutation 27

The body of the letter 28

The close 28

The signature 32

How to address the envelope 35

BOOK Ⅱ YOUR SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 43

1．The General Rules of Social Correspondence 43

All social correspondence has a specific purpose 44

The difference between formal and informal correspondence 44

What you should know about informal correspondence 45

What you should know about formal correspondence 48

2．Dinner Invitations and Acknowledgments 52

Always respond promptly to a dinner invitation 54

Dinner in honor of a special guest or guests 55

Dinner to celebrate a special occasion 57

Dinner followed by concert or opera 57

Dinner by sons and daughters in honor of parents 58

How to postpone or cancel formal dinner invitations 59

How to break a formal dinner engagement 60

Inviting a friend to fill an empty place at dinner 60

Informal dinner invitations－and how to answer them 62

Inviting friends to dinner and the theater 66

When a daughter acts as hostess 66

Note to recall an informal dinner invitation 67

Note to break an informal dinner engagement 67

Note to an intimate friend recalling a dinner invitation 68

Note to an intimate friend breaking a dinner engagement 68

3．Luncheon and Supper Invitations and Acknowledgments 69

Invitations for simple informal luncheons 73

Inviting someone you do not know 74

Supper invitations 76

4．Party Invitations and Acknowledgments 80

Card party invitations 80

For an informal bridge luncheon 82

For a formal bridge luncheon 82

For an informal cocktail party 83

For a formal cocktail party 83

For an informal tea party 83

Formal tea parties 84

Garden party invitations 86

Invitations for house and week-end parties 86

Invitations for showers 89

Invitations for christenings 89

5．Dance Invitations and Acknowledgments 92

Debutante dances and dinner dances 94

Supper dance invitations 95

How to acknowledge formal dance invitations 97

Recall or postponement of formal dance invitations 97

Subscription dances and charity balls 98

Invitations for informal dances 99

The friendly note of invitation 100

Asking an invitation for a relative or friend 101

6．Wedding Invitations and Announcements 103

Announcing an engagement 107

The church wedding 108

Church admission card 110

The home wedding 111

Train and direction cards 112

Wedding announcements 114

Enclosing＂at home＂cards with the announcement 115

Wedding invitations for special and unusual circumstances 116

Invitation to a double wedding 117

The bride with one parent 118

When the bride has no parents 119

Invitations for a second marriage 121

When the groom is in the military services 121

Recalling a wedding invitation 123

How to acknowledge wedding invitations 124

The informal wedding invitation written by hand 125

Bride＇s note of invitation to a close friend 126

To a relative 126

If there has been a recent bereavement 127

To an old friend of the groom－a stranger to the bride 127

To a business associate of the groom 127

Inviting a friend to the reception only 128

Invitations to wedding anniversaries 129

7．Letters of Thanks 130

When and how to acknowledge wedding gifts 131

To relatives 132

To intimate friends 133

To less intimate friends 134

To a business associate of the groom 135

To an old classmate of the groom－a stranger to the bride 135

Shower gifts should be individually acknowledged 135

Notes of thanks for Christmas gifts 136

For birthday gifts 137

For wedding anniversary gifts 138

For a gift for a newborn baby or young child 138

For a＂Bon Voyage＂gift 139

The bread-and-butter letter 140

Thanks for gifts to a patient or invalid 141

Thanks for a favor received 142

Thanks for a letter of condolence 143

Thanks for a letter of congratulation 146

On a birthday 146

On an engagement 146

On a marriage 147

On a wedding anniversary 148

On the birth of a child 148

On graduating from college 148

On winning an honor or distinction 149

8．Letters of Congratulations 149

Congratulations on an engagement 149

Congratulations on marriage 151

Congratulations on a wedding anniversary 152

Congratulations on a birthday 153

Congratulations on the birth of a child 154

Congratulations on graduation 155

Congratulations on winning an honor or distinction 156

Congratulations on a promotion or a new venture 156

Congratulations on a speech or a performance 157

9．Letters of Condolence 158

On the death of a parent 159

On the death of a husband or wife 162

On the death of a child 164

On the death of a relative 165

When death is a release 167

When someone is killed or commits suicide 168

Some famous letters of condolence 169

10．Notes of Sympathy on Illness，Injury and Material Loss 171

To those who are ill 171

To those who have been injured 174

To those who have suffered material loss or damage 176

11．Letters of Introduction 177

To be presented in person 178

To be sent by mail 179

＂Follow-up＂letters of introduction giving additional information 181

A famous letter of introduction 181

BOOK Ⅲ YOUR PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE 183

1．The General Rules of Personal Correspondence 183

Answer every letter promptly－it＇s easier for you 185

You don＇t need literary style to write interesting letters 185

How long should a letter be？ 186

2．Friendly Letters 186

How to begin a friendly letter 187

What to write in a friendly letter 189

What not to write in a friendly letter 190

Consider the person to whom you are writing 192

How to close your letter 193

Examples of letters to personal friends 194

Friendly letter from one man to another 194

Letters to friends in distant places 195

Letters from distant places to friends back home 197

Christmas letter to a friend 199

3．Family Letters 201

The ever-welcome letter from home 201

To a daughter living and working in another city 202

To a husband away on business 204

To a married sister living at a distance 205

Letters to children away at school or camp 207

Excerpts from letters to children written by famous people 211

From a bride to her parents on her honeymoon 213

Letter to a relative who has asked for advice 214

4．Love Letters 215

Examples of love letters from women to men 216

Examples of letters from men to women 218

Excerpts from the love letters of famous men and women 220

Postscript on personal letter writing 220

BOOK Ⅳ YOUR BUSINESS AND CLUB CORRESPONDENCE 223

1．The General Rules of Business Correspondence 223

The parts of a business letter 226

The inside address 228

The salutation 229

The body of the letter 230

The complimentary close 231

The signature 232

Addressing the envelope 234

Suggestions for writing more effective business letters 235

Write your letters from the reader＇s point of view 236

Be sure it sounds sincere 236

Enthusiasm is contagious 236

Courtesy counts in letter writing，too 237

How to prejudge the effectiveness of your letter 238

2．The Tone and Language of a Good Business Letter 239

Abbreviations in business letters 240

The opening paragraph 241

Examples of effective openings for various types of letters 243

The closing paragraph 244

Examples of effective closings for various types of letters 245

The use of postscripts in business letters 246

The Ten Commandments for writing a good business letter 246

3．Examples of Routine Business Letters 248

Letters of order and confirmation 248

Letters of complaint and adjustment 251

Letters of inquiry and acknowledgment 254

Letters about credit 257

Collection letters 260

Acknowledging collection letters 263

Miscellaneous business letters 264

4．Letters That Sell 265

Examples of effective sales letters 268

Letters that sell good will 271

5．Letters of Application 272

Don＇ts in preparing your letter of application 277

Examples of good letters of application 278

Letters of reference 284

Letters of introduction and reference 285

Letters requesting information from references 285

Thank-you letters for help in getting a job 286

6．Your Club Correspondence 287

Notification of election to office 289

Letters of resignation 290

Requests to speak or entertain at a club 291

Answers to invitations from clubs 292

Letter of thanks for speaking or entertaining at a club 293

BOOK Ⅴ CHILDREN＇S CORRESPONDENCE 297

1．The Letters All Children Must Learn to Write 297

Children＇s thank-you notes for gifts 298

Children＇s thank-you notes for hospitality 301

Children＇s personal correspondence 302

2．Children＇s Invitations and Acknowledgments 306

Notes of invitation 306

Notes of acceptance 308

Notes of regret 309

Appendix 311

Forms of Address 311