To whom it may

concern:
It gives us the greatest pleasure to enlighten your brains
with the fundamentals of the art of writing LETTERS!
We have worked diligently to make this presentation,
and we hope you consider us worthy of your time.
Please sit back and enjoy!
Sincerely,
Noah Hamlen,
Rebecca McBrayer,
Mark Osella,
Stephanie Palis, and
Danica Woo
 Letters
And the art of writing them
HOW WOULD YOU
DEFINE THIS GENRE?
A letter is a readable
communication between two or
more parties
Personal direct communication
A traditional letter typically includes
a:
Heading
Salutation
Message
Closing
Signature

http://expense-report.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/example-
of-personal-letter-5letter-jpg.jpg (Trimbur 161)
THE HISTORY OF A LETTER

Standard paper

Telegraph

Internet
(Jones) (Methods of Communication...)
 Discussion Question

Given the four examples of a letter (Elvis, Obama, and formal

correspondence), what are the differences you notice
between them?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eOmOMAww-TQP0e96fzTttX1ZURghsXNDWCKh44
BPc4s/edit?usp=sharing
 WHAT TYPES OF LETTERS ARE THERE?

The genre of letters can be divided into four sub-genres:

Informal Informal Formal Formal

Correspondence Persuasive Correspondence Persuasive
INFORMAL CORRESPONDENCE

Informal voice
Written to personal contacts
Family
Friends
Acquaintances
Written for:
Conversation
Affection http://thesocialmediamonthly.com/wp-content/
Special occasions uploads/2014/07/friends.png
INFORMAL PERSUASIVE

Informal voice
Written to personal contacts
Annoying neighbors
Roommates
Social network friends
Written for:
Changing annoying habits
Changing political views
Changing minds
Personal
Traditional letter
Relaxed
grammar and
spelling
Intimate
EXAMPLE OF A PERSONAL LETTER
I want to hear much oftener from you than I do. March 8 was the last date of any that I have yet
had. -- You inquire of whether I am making Salt peter. I have not yet attempted it, but after Soap
making believe I shall make the experiment. I find as much as I can do to manufacture cloathing for
my family who would else be Naked. I know of but one person in this part of the Town who has
made any, that is Mr. Tertias Bass as he is calld who has got very near an hundred weight which
has been found to be very good. I have heard of some others in the other parishes. Mr. Reed of
Weymouth has been applied to, to go to Andover to the mills which are now at work, and has
gone. I have lately seen a small Manuscrip describing the proportions for the various sorts of
powder, such as for cannon, small arms and pistols. If it would be of any Service your way I will
get it transcribed and send it to you. -- Every one of your Friends send their Regards, and all the
little ones. Your Brothers youngest child lies bad with convulsion fitts. Adieu. I need not say how
much I am Your ever faithfull Friend.

(Adams)
 TEXTS AND
SOCIAL MEDIA
Structure
Short, choppy answers
Slang and
abbreviations
Casual grammar
Informal, laid back
tone
Multimodal elements
EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1AhrEhQ0mg
TIPS FOR WRITING A PERSONAL LETTER

Identify why you Keep your

are writing audience and
Consider if purpose in mind
multimodal Appropriate
elements are grammar,
appropriate structure, tone

(Trimbur 191-195)
FORMAL CORRESPONDENCE

Written to a Written for: Formal voice

professional Networking
(Linkedin)
contact
Communicating
Employer
(memos)
Former teacher
Coworker

http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/memo/images/Memo_logo_lg.png
 BUSINESS LETTER
Structure
Similar to a traditional letter
Organized, proper grammar
Tone
Formal, professional

https://www.thebalance.com/sample-cover-letter-for-a-human-resources-generalist-job-1918520
 EXAMPLE AND HOW TO

Letterhead (If available)

Date.
Addressee info

Greeting

Message.

Closing.

Signature)

https://image.slidesharecdn.com/331d2c6e-9476-419f-ac59-7fc10461b318-160301190215/95/acceptance-letter-of-northeastern-university-1-638.jpg?cb=145685
8944
TIPS
Maintain perfect grammar
Poor grammar, even if minor, reflects poorly on the
author in a professional setting
Proofreading and peer-revision is helpful
Use clean formatting
No matter the quality of the writing, messy formatting
will ruin the message
Letterheads instantly improve the aesthetic of a
professional letter
Avoid slang
Slang ruins the professional quality of a formal letter

(Trimbur 191-195)
 FORMAL PERSUASIVE

Formal voice Written to

Written for: professional
Requests contacts:
Job Employers
recommendations Political
Cover letters representatives
Business owners
To Whom It May
Concern
Often read by many

(To Whom It May Concern Letter Format)

http://www.sampleletterpro.com/may-concern-letter-format.html
EXAMPLE AND HOW TO

Heading
Authors contact
information
Date
To Whom It May
Concern
Introduction of self/state
purpose of letter
State
qualifications/reason for
hire
Express gratitude
Signature

http://www.sampleletterpro.com/may-concern-letter-format.html (Heathfield)
 OPEN LETTER

Purpose Tone

To communicate or connect with Conversational,

larger audience passionate, sincere
Persuade, protest, react or call to Can be very personal
action and direct, or
Structure persuasive and
deliberate
Can be whatever author wants
Whichever is the most effective way to
communicate thoughts or ideas
 EXAMPLE AND TIPS
http://opnlttr.com/letter/open-letter-man-i-cheated
In Class Exercise
Write an Open Letter (10 min)

Can be formal or informal

Can be to whoever or whatever
Keep the styles and rules that were
talked about in the presentation in
mind

Read in class
WHY WRITE A LETTER?

Cathartic
Frequently used as a therapeutic technique
Margaretta Jolly - Therapeutic letter writing has been
viewed by psychologists as a powerful form of creative
writing in health care settings.

Archival
Leaves ephemera for future generations
Every kind of letter is archival
Liz Stanley - Although seemingly ephemeral, digital
communications are actually more durable than their
material predecessors, for while messages may be
deleted, this does not mean they are necessarily
obliterated or destroyed.

(Stanley) (Jolly)
MULTIMODAL
ELEMENTS

Physical Elements
Accompanying
literature
Printed pictures
Digital Elements
Attachments
Images
Gifs!
Links
Audio

http://giphy.com/gifs/filmeditor-classic-film-writing-3ohA2MOrFgV6qHCpm8

(Trimbur 167)
 ?
HOW WOULD YOU
CITE YOUR
SOURCES?

Informal Formal
letters letters use
typically standard
forgo citations
citations
 KAHOOT! QUIZ
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/00bcffea-
9a10-42bf-93ad-b563d720c831
WORKS CITED

Adams, Abigail. To John Adams. 5 April, 1776.

"Celebrities Read Mean Tweets #9." YouTube. N.p., 16 Dec. 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
Heathfield, Susan M. "Sample Cover Letter for a Human Resources Generalist Job." The Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
Jolly, Margaretta. "What I Never Wanted To Tell You: Therapeutic Letter Writing In Cultural Context." Journal Of Medical
Humanities 32.1 (2011): 47-59. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Jones, Malcolm. "The History and Lost Art of Letter Writing." Newsweek. Newsweek LLC, 03
June 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.
"Methods of Communication That Have Threatened Letter Writing." Smithsonian National
Postal Museum. Smithsonian Institution, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
"Open Letter To: The Man I Cheated On." Opnlttr. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
Stanley, Liz. "The Death of the Letter? Epistolary Intent, Letterness and the Many Ends of Letter-Writing." Cultural Sociology 9.2
(2015): 240-55. SAGE. Web. 2017.
"To Whom It May Concern Letter Format." Sample Letter. N.p., 07 June 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
Trimbur, John. The Call to Write: Brief. 6th ed. United States: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
"University Acceptance and Denial Letters." The Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web.
PICTURES CITED

Digital image. Expense Report. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://expense-report.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/example-of-personal-letter-5letter-jpg.jpg>.
Digital image. Giphy. Pro. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://giphy.com/gifs/filmeditor-classic-film-writing-3ohA2MOrFgV6qHCpm8>.
Digital image. Sample Letter. Pro. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.sampleletterpro.com/may-concern-letter-format.html>.
Digital image. Slide Share. N.p., n.d. Web.
<https://image.slidesharecdn.com/331d2c6e-9476-419f-ac59-7fc10461b318-160301190215/95/acceptance-letter-of-north
astern-university-1-638.jpg?cb=1456858944>.
Digital image. The Social Media Monthly. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://thesocialmediamonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/friends.png>.
Digital image. Trust Centre for Neuroimaging. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/memo/images/Memo_logo_lg.png>.
Digital image. The Balance. N.p., n.d. Web.
<https://www.thebalance.com/sample-cover-letter-for-a-human-resources-generalist-job-1918520>.