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To Our Young Readers:
So, in connection with the upcoming 50th anniversary of “Facebook” my children recently asked me, while “Walking Jimmy” our digital dog was outside, what we used to do when we wanted to write a letter or comment not having the luxurious comfort of instant “I-Chat”. I thought to myself that this would be the appropriate time and place to give some history lessons and explain to anyone who might be interested how ‘’hard’’ communication “back in the old days” really used to be.
Due to my profession as a journalist, I would like to start with an illustration of how to write an article: Step 0 is, no matter what kind of text you write, to define what to write about and who to approach. After making that clear, one should structure the article and write using a style, structure, and tone which is appropriate for the type of article one is writing. For example, a newspaper article will need to offer information in a neutral, chronological form and be written with accessible but not “overly-colloquial” language. An academic article will need to follow the general 5-paragraph essay form and be written with conceited, formal language. Some articles can be written in more informal language, since they intend to connect with the readership on a personal level and should follow a form allowing the segmentation of information to be clearly visible parted in sections and “steps”.
If one wants to write a letter being more personal and direct to someone, it is very important to decide how formal the letter needs to be first, what depends on the relationship to the recipient. If one is writing to a governmental office, potential employer, an official or anyone else with whom you hope to have a professional relationship with, the letter should be formal. While you are writing to your current employer, a co-worker you do not see socially, a distant or elderly relative or someone you do not know very well, the letter should probably be rather formal. Then, one should write or type the complete address at the top of the letter as well as add the present date. Leave a few spaces after the date and write out the complete name and title of the person you are writing to. On the second line you write the name of the company or organization (if applicable). Write the address on the third line, and the city, state and ZIP code on the fourth line. Now, one should start the actual writing by starting with the salutation. The salutation one uses will depend on ones relationship to the recipient of the letter just as the formality of the letter. Furthermore, one should write the name of the recipient after the salutation, and again depending on the relationship one has with the recipient, either with or without courtesy title. After having written the letter in an adequate style, one should end the letter with a complimentary close, to establish a connection with the recipient, such as ’’sincerely yours’’, ‘’kindest regards’’ or for less formal letters simply ‘’sincerely’’.
So, now if you ever want to communicate like “back in the old days”, you have the capabilities to do so. It would be great to see more people write something as personal as letters instead of taking the easy way such as writing to someone via e-mail or “Whats-app”-messages.
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