Learning Practical Letter-writing

Learning Practical Letter-writing

Through standardized format and chunks, anyone can learn letter-writing needed in day-to-day life

By Mukesh Sharma

After Alexander Graham Bell, the world has come of age. The prototype of wired-telephone, the internet has brought about a revolution in the field of communication, and has shrunk the world into a tiny cell-phone. No longer the much-awaited postman of yesteryears knocks at the door and shouts ‘postman’ today.

But it doesn’t mean that age-old practice of letter-writing has become ‘extinct’ and has lost its importance. To lovers of English literature and writers, still it is a classified genre of English literature; and the students love to read the collected letters of Thackrey, George Eliot, Swinburne Henry, James, Kathenn Mansfield, D.H. Lawrence, etc. To advocates, it is an instrument to serve legal notice. To authorities, it is the way to communicate specifically. To school-goers, it is the most important question in English paper. To government services aspirants (SSC, UPSC, etc.), it is an unavoidable part of descriptive English.

What is noteworthy, during long writing/teaching profession, this blogger has observed that not only students but also common people who use English as a second language, face problem in the Practical Letter-writing, needed in day-to-day life. This blogger wrote a book entitled Whom and How to write Complaint Letter by Mukesh Sharma in 2001; it turned out to be the best seller and was approved for purchase by 17 American Universities/Institutions including US library of Congress (New Delhi), Delhi Text Bureau, Delhi University etc for school/college libraries.

English is based on standardized phrases and chunks. To a second language learner who doesn’t have good knowledge of these indispensable phrases/chunks, the letter writing becomes rather a taxing exercise.

To a student or any person who use English as a second language, the easiest way to learn letter-writing is through standardized FORMAT based on standardized CHUNKS; with basic knowledge of English, anyone can write any type of letter. In fact, the most professionals use standardized formats and chunks related to particular matter. All budding advocates rely on precedents (standardized method of writing affidavit, petitions, etc.) for quick disposal of work.

Defining a letter

What is a letter? A letter can be defined as a purposeful and persuasive and to the point written communication through which the writer 'speaks' to the addressee with due respect in order to seek his/her personal indulgence/intervention in some specific matter, for its needful solution.

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Learning Practical Letter-writing

Categorization

According to practical needs of letters in day-to-day life, letters can be categorized as follows:

1.       Personal letters: Though all the letters are personal letters, it reflects the feelings and knowledge of the writer, specifically speaking, any letter addressed to kith and kins or friends may be termed as personal letters. It may further be related to: well being, congratulations, condolence, advice and invitation.

2.     Official letters: usually addressed to official holding public office/authorities. It may be complaint letter, grievance letter or a whistle blower.

3.       Letter to Editor: Since newspapers are looked upon as surrogate of public opinions, it is an age old practice to write letters to Editor related to some social/political issue or comments on any write-up/article/news published in the newspaper.

4.       Letter to Ambassador: It is not an ordinary letter related to any ordinary issue/matter. An Ambassador represents his/her country in the host country where he/she is posted, and tackles the matter of bilateral interests diplomatically. Even the government of host country can’t give ‘direction’ to the Ambassador; it can simply request or send the ‘demarche’. However, being a member of public, any citizen of the host country may write to Ambassador on merit.

5.       Business letter: It is a common correspondence between two persons or companies doing some business in mutual interest. It is usual letters may be related to introduction, payment or any other matter pertaining to business.

6.       Job letter: As the nomenclature suggests, it is related to ‘job’  –  a letter written to any business organization that has advertised the vacancies in its company or business establishment.

Contents and Format

A letter consists of certain contents which are essential ingredients of letter-writing:

1. Senders address  2. Date  3. Address of the addressee 4. Subject  5. Addressing  6. Introductory para 7. Middle  8. Request  9. Concluding line/remarks  10. Salutation  11. Closing

The format of the letter as shown below would give the idea of the placement of the contents in the letter:

Ground Rules and Chunks

The students-writers must keep certain ground rules/useful tips in their mind for acquiring letter-writing skill:

1.       Every letter should be,preferably, on printed letter-head. If no printed letter-head is available, better type out name, address, and mobile number at extreme right at the top of the page:

From:

Ramlal Sanwal,

B-14, Mukherjee Nagar,

Delhi-110009

Mob.: 9874561000

2.       A letter must follow left hand alignment, the popular format. Each content must start from fixed left hand, starting from 1.5’ left margin as shown in format.

3.       Date must be written on the left in the style:

 November 30, 2018

4.       No ‘To’ on the letter-head above the address of addressee. It is always on the envelop.

5.       Address of addressee must follows the style:

 The police Commissioner,

Police Head Quarter (HQ),

ITO,

NEW DELHI-110002

6       The name of the addressee may be mentioned after the address (except in personal letter).

Kind Attn.: Sh. Ramlal Tiwari

                   ….(designation)

7.       Don’t forget to mention ‘subject’. It must reflect the content of the letter in nutshell like the headline of a news story:

Sub.: Complaint against Mr. X, S/o Mr.Z, R/o………….(Mob…….), with respect to …………. (contents of subject may vary as per the subject matter of letter)

8.       Addressing the addressee:

i.                    My adorable Mom/Dad/ My dear friend/ My respect-worthy uncle etc. (for personal letters)

ii.                  Dear Sir,/Hon’ble Sir (if addressed to Minister/PM etc.) (for official letter)

iii.                Sir, (letter to Editor)

iv.                  Your Esteemed Execellency (letter to Ambassador)

v.                   Dear Sir/Dear Mr. Sachin Singh, (Business letter)

vi.                 Dear Sir/Respected Madam (Job Letter)

9.       The main body of the letter must consist of I)Introductory para, ii) Middle, iii) Request, iv) Concluding para/lines, v) Salutation, vi) Closing followed by sender name in capital.

i)                    Introductory Para

a.       Personal letter (well being chunks)

Hope this letter of mine finds you all in pink of health, and with the grace of God, and blessings of elders, I am also doing well here

b.      Personal letter (congratulatory chunks)

My joy knew no bounds when I learnt from newspaper that you had cracked UPSC and had secured 10^th rank.

c.       Personal letter (condolence chunks)

It is a matter of great sorrow that your beloved grandfather is no more.

d.      Personal letter (advisory chunks)

I have learnt that you have not fared well in your class test.

e.      Personal letter (invitation chunks)

Thanks for your invitation letter regarding the marriage of your …………. Indeed, it is a matter of celebration.

            Official letter (chunks)

a.       As a victim, I would like to lodge complaint against the captioned person in the light of certain hard facts as under

b.      With due respect, I wish to bring to your kind notice the problem of …………..

c.       As an over harassed/disgruntled citizen, I would like to draw your kind attention to ….

              Letter to Editor (chunks)

Through the columns of your prestigious newspaper, I wish to wake up the authorities concerned with respect to problem of …………….in the largest interest of public.

               Letter to Ambassador (chunks)

At the very outset, I apologize for intruding upon the precious time of Your Gracious self by writing this letter, but I am constrained to do so for seeking the personal intervention with respect to ……………………

              Business letter (chunks)

a.       Introductory

We have great pleasure to introduce ourselves as a fast upcoming company dealing in …………with five years business standing in the market.

b.      Payment

This has reference to captioned outstanding bill raised against the supply of …….two month ago and it is still unpaid despite many follows up which is against the paytment terms.

             Job letter (chunks)

This has reference to your ad published in HT dated ……….regarding the vacancy for the post of Sale Executive in your prestigious organization, and I wish to submit my candidature for the same.

ii)  Middle:
The middle of all the letters consists of all the important points related to purpose of writing-letter mentioned in separate paragraphs in brief. A writer may describe it in simple English/simple sentences.

iii) Request: 
It is inevitable part of all the letters. It may be put in simple standardized sentences which are common to all the letters e.g.:

I, therefore, request you to kindly look into the matter and take needful action in the largest interest of justice and the common people.

iv) Concluding lines: 
In almost all types of letters, a common chunks can be used as a part of concluding remarks/line:

Hope my prayer would be answered favourably.

v) Salutation
The salutatory phrases usually used at the end of the letter which is common to all the letters, us:

With most respectful regard.

vi) Closing: 
Common to all the letters, and may be written:

Yours truly,

      Sd.

(RAM SINGH)

Mind you, writing is a matter of practice. More you write, more you learn to write. This blogger sincerely believes, the valued readers who use English as second language, would find the tips useful.

Copyright © 2018 by Mukesh Sharma

Learning the Art of Essay Writing

Learning the Art of Essay -writing

It is an exercise to discover what you know

By Mukesh Sharma

To the majority of Indian students, particularly, with Hindi medium dreaming of government services through various competitive exams conducted by SSC (Staff Selection Commission), UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), etc. on all India basis, Essay-writing in English is rather a challenging task. Says Kavya Chaudhary a UPSC aspirant, "When it comes to attempt the compulsory essay question based on unprepared topic the mind goes blank; even if attempt is made to write something, mind starts translating the Hindi thoughts into English." "The biggest problem is that  the thoughts comes in Hindi (mother tongue) only; mind is not able to think in English," adds Kavya despairingly.

Learning the art of Essay-writing

Essay- construction

With years of experience as a journalist, this blogger maintains that the Essay-writing is like the construction of a building  -  a student got to be an Architect, Mason and a Decorator,  all rolled into one. As an architect knows how to draw the layout plan for the proposed construction , a student must know how to come up with the outlines or synopsis to express his/her viewpoints / thoughts on the topic of the Essay asked, comfortably and quickly. As a mason lays the bricks after bricks  and erects the wall, a student must have an idea to churn out sentences after sentences to construct an Essay. As decorator decks up the outer and interior of the building to make it look attractive, a student must know how to endorse the thoughts with the quotes of others who are authorities in their respective fields, to make the write-up interesting, capable of sustaining the interest of the reader/ examiner.

Good Architect

Now the pertinent question is how to become a good Architect, Mason, and a Decorator. Mind you, all the skills are learned in three stages:

1) Acquirement of knowledge related to particular field.  2)  Practice   3)  Use

A budding cricketer first acquires the essential knowledge pertaining to cricket game; he must put that knowledge to good practice on the pitch; and after that, he must go to field to play the match.

Mind and Sentences

As far as Essay- writing is concerned, if a student is not able to think correctly in English, he/she won’t be able to write accurately. What is noteworthy, the mind always thinks in terms of sentences, not words. When a student writes or speaks, his/her mind doesn’t make sentences; it always supplies the pre-conceived sentences which are already collected by it (mind) during years of academic pursuit right from 1st standard to PG level. As a result, a sort of corpus of mugged up sentences is created in the mind -  no sentence for fresh thoughts. Of Course, in the absence of needed or right sentences, mind starts translating the Hindi sentences into English that leads to non-standardized sentences or poor English as all the languages defy translation into other languages for example:

 Millions of people bathe in Ganga on the occasion of Kumbh Mela 

(non-standardized sentence translated from Hindi thought)

Millions of faithful take holy dip in Ganga on the eve of Kumbh Mela 

(standardized sentence in English)

Root Sentences

Now question arises how to feed mind with standardized sentences. As per the research work of this blogger, there are total 123 standardized sentences that cover English language in totality; no thought or sentence exists beyond that; it may be termed as Root Sentences. As all the numbers are born out of 0-9 digits only, all types of English sentences come out of these 123 sentences only (it has been discussed at length in the book Secrets of Good English by Mukesh Sharma, a best seller and 5 star rated available on Amazon.in).  Since each sentence has its own Syntactical Formula (grammatical arrangements of the words in a sentence), a student learns all the necessary grammatical rules automatically without the need of cramming. Conventional Grammar doesn’t teach sentence-making. But this method not only teaches sentence-making but also helps to understand the confusing grammatical rules with all clarity.

Mapping on

If Hindi sentences are mapped on these 123 standardized English sentences, a student learns to think in English through Hindi sentences. With good practice, mind starts thinking directly in English. If a Hindi knowing child is told ‘mango’ means aam, it will retain and use ‘mango’ because the mind knows it represents aam. Look at a few examples:

Mom has been waiting for you since morning (standardized sentence)

Ma tumhara subah se intezar kar rahi hai (Hindi)

S +has/have/ had/ will have + been + Ving + O + Since/ for (Syntactical Formula)

I have been looking for you for an hour  (mapped on sentence)

If Rahul Gandhi were/had to marry, he would have married.

Yadi Rahul Gandhi ko shadi karni hoti to kar nahi leta. (Hindi sentence)

S + were/ had to + V1+ O, S + would have + V3 + O (Syntactical Formula)

If he were to resign, he would have resigned. (mapped on sentence)

Obviously, if such mapping on method is adopted and adapted, thousands of sentences in English can be fed in mind and churned out. What is a language? Of Course, it is group of sentences. If one knows sentence-making, it means that one has learnt the language.

Root Words

But the problem is the words, related to different situations of life, are inevitable to create the thoughts - if no words, no sentence; no sentences, no thoughts. Now the question is how to learn thousands of words. And the solution lies in the knowledge of Root words or Key words. Here the phrase ‘root word’ should not be mistaken for its Greek or Latin origin. It has nothing to do with that. In English, there are 1000-1500 important Root Words (Key words). These root words specifically collocate or pair with other words and make standardized phrases. In fact, English is a language of phrases. A phrase is nothing but group of words. In a group of words, a single word has no meaning. It is the collective meaning that counts. For example:

Jump red light (to cross the red light)

Jump queue (to break the line)

Jump bail (to abscond after the release on bail)

Jump the gun (to act in haste or before right time)

Jump on the bandwagon (to join activities that has become popular or follow crowd)

Elite English

See, ‘jump’ which is a root word, has produced different standardized phrases. These phrases constitute standardized sentences which are part of elite English; it is used by English Newspapers, Native Speakers, Member of Elite Class, and is also the basis of English papers in all the competitive exams. Each root word produces average 10-15 phrases. Just 1000 root words can shoot up a vocabulary of 10K. To speak good English, one needs 500-1000 words/ phrases; 1000-4000 to be a writer; Shakespeare used 8000 and average English Newspaper uses not more than 2000, rest is repetition. What is to be noted here, sheer knowledge of Hindi meaning of phrases doesn’t help. Each phrase is used in a standardized sentence. A student must learn the meaning of phrases through the standardized sentences it is used in –  10K phrases means 10K sentences in the mind.

Needless to say, armed with 10K sentences, thinking would become rather easy, and a student would be able to play with the language. All Journos/ Writers resort to this method, and become prolific writer or good speaker. Such knowledge helps in Essay-writing considerably.

Sentence- Framing

The next step a student must move on is Sentence Framing. It is rather different from sentence-making. Though there are 123 types of sentences, it can be summarized in three types of sentences: 1) Simple Sentence – One subject and one predicate 2) Compound Sentence - two main sentence joined with conjunction 3) Complex Sentence - One main clause/ sentence and one or more than one subordinate clauses/ sentences. Certain thoughts are comfortable in simple sentences; some in compound sentences; and others in complex sentences. The Newspapers, mostly, use complex sentences. The students can have a fair idea of such sentences from any good grammar book like High school English Grammar and Composition by P.C Wren and H. Martin.

Having had the knowledge of right sentences based on Standardized phrases, good understanding of Sentence-framing, Chunks (standardized sentences, used to start a paragraph, student can have a fair idea of such chunks from internet too) and Connectives/ Conjunctions (help to maintain the flow of thoughts from one sentence to another and from one para to another), now Essay-writing can be discussed precisely and purposefully.

Defining an Essay

What is an Essay? The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary tersely defines it: “a short piece of writing by a student as a part of a course of study.” Broadly speaking, it is an exercise that aims to communicate personal views on a particular subject; a venture into communication; an exercise to discover what you know.

Types of Essay

An Essay can be classified into 5 categories: 1) Narrative Essay - seeks to narrate some event or series of events e.g. Story of Gandhi, biographies etc. 2) Expository Essay- exposes and explains the subject e.g politics, religion etc. 3) Reflective Essay - consists of reflections and thoughts on some subject e.g. Habit, qualities, etc  4) Imaginative Essay - reveals feelings and experience e.g. If I were PM of India etc 5) Descriptive Essay - describes some place or thing e.g. Delhi etc.

Style of Essay

Language of the Essay should not be verbose or bombastic. Try to express, not to impress. Besides that a good Essay must have: 1) Unity- development of one theme with a definite purpose. 2) Order - must follow an order to reach to conclusion. 3) Brevity - must not exceed the prescribed limit. 4) Style – conversational and easy. 5) Personal touch - must reflect personal feelings and opinion.

Starting

Whatever is the topic, think on FOUR COMMON outlines: 1) About the topic (Introduction) 2)Minuses - negative side of the subject. 3) Pluses - positive points related to subject. 4) Conclusion - drawn on the points discussed, and must reflect personal opinion. Under ‘about the topic’,  explain the subject matter of the topic in the light of acquired knowledge, and that will constitute the introductory paragraph and further set the tempo for Essay-writing . As a coin has two sides, each topic has minuses and pluses. Each thought that reflects the negative side of the topic must be given a separate paragraph. Each para must begin with a Leading Sentence(outline), and be developed accordingly. Here use of standardized chunks can be helpful in constituting the leading sentences. The thoughts expressed in paragraphs can also be authenticated with the quotes of the renowned people/ writers, who are authority on the subject. It lends credence to the thoughts of the student- writer. Likewise, all the thoughts reflecting the pluses must follow the same method of expression.

Last para of the Essay constitutes the conclusion drawn on the basis of all the thoughts expressed in the preceding paras. It must point out the personal views and opinion of the student-writer.

In nutshell, this blogger concludes that with good practice, an Essay can be penned down on any topic or subject.  A student-writer must keep in mind that he/she has to find answer to 5 Ws (What, Where, When, Why and Who) and 1 H (How) all through essay-writing process - a common formula used by all the writers. With his didactic words, renowned Rudyard Kipling inThe Elephant’s Child, says:

“I keep six honest serving men

They taught me all I Know;

Their names are What and Why and When,

 And How and Where and Who.”