1. PES/ENG/IX/049
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A PUNJAB EDUSAT SOCIETY PRODUCTION
SUBJECT :ENGLISH
CLASS :IX
CHAPTER :APPLICATION & LETTER WRITING
MODULE :INTRODUCTION
“WRITING LETTERS NEEDS WISDOM”
WHAT A LOT WE LOST WHEN WE STOPPED WRITING LETTERS .
YOU CAN’T RE-READ A PHONE CALL”
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MM 1 The above image to be shown first with the VO, speaking the two quotations giving
a gap of two seconds between the two quotations.
Then scene changes to two young boys, casually dressed, talking amongst themselves,
sitting in front of a table and talking to each other. There are some letter pads and pens
strewn on the table.
Avinash: Have you ever thought why one needs to give a letter in writing when a student doesn't
attend classes?
Mrinal-Because it is formal and one can explain things clearly in writing.
Avinash: You made a good point. A written document has greater value in the public world than an
oral statement.
Mrinal: That's fine Avinash about the public affairs. But why do we prefer writing letters to friends
(posts, e-mails) despite the telephonic conversation.
Avinash: You have put an interesting question; I feel we can get a clear answer through a study
about writing letters. Let's do it and see. What do you say?
Mrinal: I agree with you completely.
ANCHOR-1
So friends, the conversation about the importance of letter writing has given us a good reason
to study and see it. It’s not only today, but from ages, letter writing has been a very important
means of communication and the pigeon was a very popular bird for sending messages far
and wide. The pigeon was trained up for this purpose and from centuries it has been a very
faithful bird. You must be thinking why I am giving you the history of the communication
system. There is a very interesting and important reason behind it. Can you think of the
change of quality and content of writing messages through the pigeon in the yesteryears
and the SMS of today? Let us think about this and realize the importance of writing letters,
even in today’s fast moving world. This must have given you enough reason to think that
‘letter writing’ is not obsolete and we need to learn the correct system and language of writing
letters. So let’s make a fine move towards it.
SUPER
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
VO with Text and image on Screen
After this lesson, the students will be able to
• Describe the importance of letters
• Differentiate between formal and informal letters
• Identify various parts of a letter
• Correct some common mistakes in writing letters
• Use the correct salutation and subscript for different letter types
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SUPER
Letter Writing
ANCHOR-2
Letter writing is an art and a good letter is distinguished by the same qualities as those which make
any other piece of skilled composition. Again like any other piece of writing, a letter reveals the
personality of the writer. From this definition we get to know that:
VO with Text and image on Screen
1. A letter has the qualities of a skilled composition.
2. A skilled composition should have the following qualities
a. Unity : Sentences must come together in flow to achieve the purpose of the letter
b. Good language: A good language is one which conforms to the context. It should be
clearly understood by the recipient.
c. Formal language in case of public conversations and informal in case of private
conversations. For instance, you would greet your friend with ‘hello’ but not the principal
of your college.
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MM 2. Show the two boys again, talking to each other.
Avinash: 0h! This is one important reason why we write letters to friends. It simply reflects our
emotions and hence our personality.
Mrinal: This will also ensure a good bonding between friends.
Avinash: Mrinal, does letter-writing come naturally to everyone? How can we learn to write letters?
What are the different types of letters?
ANCHOR-3
Letter-writing is a skill that has to be developed.
In general there are two types of letters: Formal, that are written to convey official business and
information and
Informal, which are personal letters to communicate with friends and family.
Formal letters are sent out when we need to write to various public bodies or agencies for our
requirements in civic life. For example, we might have to ask for a certificate or to inform a change in
our address.
A letter is usually one in a series of exchanges between two people or parties.
Here is an example of an informal letter.
VO with Text and image on Screen
06 East Patel Nagar
New Delhi- 110008
July 16, 2009 Dear Sanjana,
It feels like such a long time since I last met you, although I know it's only been several weeks since I
saw you. So far my summer vacation has been great!
I spend all my weekends at the art classes. I am learning how to make sketches, many more than
you can.. I have also been playing lots of volleyball, and building a nice collection of stamps. During
the past weekend, I won the 3rd prize in a dance event too. It was a very exciting and challenging
event! I wish you were there too.
I hope the summer's been going well for you too. There's only a month and a half left for the summer
vacation to be over and after that it's back to school again! .Let’s meet for some time before the
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school starts? I would love to have you over for lunch some day, may be next week? Missing you a
lot.
Bye for today.
Your friend,
Astha
P.S. My mother says hi.
SUPER
DIFFERENT PARTS OF A LETTER
ANCHOR-4
We cannot generalize the parts of a letter. The reason is that there is no single kind of letter. Letter-
writing has different types depending upon the situation. A letter may be personal, written to a friend
or any member close to you. A letter may be official, like an application, a request, a complaint etc.
This large variety makes it impossible to provide with a single format for letter-writing. Yet we can
generalize a few parts of a letter. Following are those parts
SUPER
PART I – SENDER’S ADDRESS
VO with Text on Screen (Only the bold part is Text on Screen. Rest is Voice Over)
A letter begins with your address at the left hand top of the paper followed by the date.
For instance if Mrinal is writing a letter to Avinash then the address of Mrinal has to be at the top left
corner of the paper as shown:
11, Chandni Chowk
Delhi
March 25, 2009.
If you have a printed letter head, your name should appear at the left-head top of the letter, thus-
Mrinal Chandra
11, Chandni Chowk
Delhi
March 25, 2009
SUPER
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PART 2 – SALUTATION
VO with Text on Screen (Only the bold part is Text on Screen. Rest is Voice Over)
After this comes the salutation.
The form of salutation in official or formal letters is Sir/ Miss/Madam
Cut to MM 3.( The two boys to be shown in animation)
Mrinal: Don't we say Respected Sir or Respected Madam ?
Avinash: No, you are wrong in saying it. Since the word’ Sir ‘or’ Madam’ is itself a word of respect,
there is actually no need for the additional word’ respected.’
Mrinal: Indeed, Avinash. I wonder why nobody ever thought about this earlier!
ANCHOR-5
Friends, we need to be aware of such common mistakes which truly differentiate a common piece of
writing from a great one. Another important point to be noted in the above salutations is the use of
capital letters for the first letter of each word. Never write-
Dear sir
[this shall appear on the screen as the anchor says]
It should be
Dear Sir
[this appears on the screen as the anchor says it]
TEXT WITH VOICE OVER
In private or personal letters: Dear Harish, Dear Babuji, Dear Amma
And in letters to acquaintances: Dear Mr/Mrs./Ms
In letters to older people like the highly respected ones: Revered Sir
ANCHOR 6
From these points we get to know that salutation is the general feature of a letter but the type of
salutation varies according to the type of letter one is writing as shown earlier. Let us move on to the
remaining parts of a letter.
SUPER
CONTENT
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We now come to the main body of the letter. Here, in different paragraphs, we need to describe the
major theme of the letter along with supporting details.
In case of private letters it completely depends on the writer who is writing it and in case of an official
letter there are certain prescribed rules which need to be followed.
We shall discuss this aspect in details in our next module/
VO with Text on Screen
The letter ends with a subscription.
ANCHOR 7
The subscription varies according to the nature of the letter as a salutation does. In case of official
letters it should be either Yours Faithfully/Yours Sincerely. Here there is a difference as well. Native
English speakers follow the tradition that
VO with Text on Screen
Subscript ‘Yours Sincerely’ should be used when the salutation’ Dear Sir’ is used.
When the salutation ‘Sir ‘is used ‘ Yours Faithfully’ needs to be used. Let us follow the tradition
In case of private or personal letters one can say’’ With Love’,’ With Best Wishes’, etc.
ANCHOR 8
If you have forgotten to include something in the text of the letter, you can add the same at the
bottom. This is known as Post-Script. A post-script that is something written after the Address on the
envelope. The abbreviation P.S. is used for this purpose.
SUPER
SUMMARY
VO with Text on Screen
Today we have learnt-
• Letter writing is an art and a good letter is distinguished by the same qualities as those
which make any other piece of skilled composition.
• A letter should have the following qualities
o Unity : Sentences must come together in flow to achieve the purpose of the letter
o Good language: A good language is one which conforms to the context. It should
be clearly understood by the recipient.
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o Formal language in case of public conversations and informal in case of private
conversations. For instance, you would greet your friend with ‘hello’ but not the
principal of your School..
• There are two types of letters – formal and informal.
• Formal letters are those written to strangers for some official or business purpose.
• Informal letters are those we write to our friends, relatives, etc
• The general format for a letter is to write the sender’s address and the date on the top
right corner, the recipient’s designation and address at the left hand side. Then the
salutation, the letter’s body, the subscript and finally the signature.
Before we go on to the question-answer session, let us create some images on ‘LETTER
WRITING’, which should leave an impression in your mind , as you move on to answer the
questions.
LETTER WRITING Qualities- Unity of Thoughts
;Good Language related to the
context ;Formal lang. for Public
Conversation
Salutation Body of
‘Formal
the letter
’ to
subscript
Strange
signature.
rs
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‘Informal’ to
Friends and
Relatives etc.
The Recipient’s
Sender’ position and
s address on the
2
Addres left side.
Types- LETTER
s and
Formal, WRITING Date on
Informal
ISAN the top
right
ART
SUPER
QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
VO with Text on Screen
(Question appears and after 3 seconds the answer appears)
Ques What comes on the top right corner of a letter?
Ans. Sender’s Address
Ques Where do we write the date?
Ans. Just below the sender’s address on the top right.
Ques What format should we follow to write the date?
Ans. We must write the month in words to avoid confusion between the day and the
month.
Ques What comes after the sender’s details?
Ans. We write the designation and address of the recipient after it on the left side.
ANCHOR
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With this we come to the end of our first module. We shall now move on to our next module,
especially focused on formal letters, the subject line for formal letters, as well as letters written with
different purposes. Till then, good bye.
Name of the Subject Expert - -------------------------------
Signature - ----------------------------------------------------
Date - ----------------------------------------------------
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