1. PES/ENG/IX/074
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A PUNJAB EDUSAT SOCIETY PRODUCTION
SUBJECT : ENGLISH
CLASS : IX
CHAPTER : APPLICATION AND LETTER WRITING
MODULE : PART 5- PERSONAL LETTERS
ANCHOR-1
Welcome back, dear children!
So far we have gone through different kinds of formal letters and applications. In this
session we will discuss an important aspect of our life, personal writing. After this
module you will be able to
TEXT ON SCREEN WITH VO.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Know about friendly letters
• Write friendly letters
• Send social notes
• Understand certain abbreviations commonly used in letters
SUPER (IMAGE 1 TO APPEAR FIRST WITH THE TEXT.)
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL LETTERS
“LETTER WRITING IS THE ONLY DEVICE FOR COMBINING
LONELINESS WITH GOOD COMPANY!”
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ANCHOR-2
Yes, It is so true!
Friendly letters share personal feelings and information among friends and family, while
social notes relay or refuse an invitation. They also express our gratitude,
congratulations, or condolences. Friendly letters express your own ideas; you generally
have a far wider choice of content with them than you do with a business letter.
Nonetheless, an effective friendly letter must still be clearly organized and carefully
thought out. Signed, Sealed, Delivered: I'm yours
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EACH FLOWER TO POP UP AS THE VO SPEAKS THOSE LINES.
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SHARING
PERSONAL SOCIAL
FEELINGS NOTES
CONDOLENCE
LETTERS
PERSONAL
GRATITUDE
CONGRATULATI
ON LETTERS
SHARING
INFORMATION
INFORMAL
LETTERS
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SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO BE NOTED
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We need to know a general format for the personal letters as it is slightly different from
the formal letter writing. Let us look at the differences in personal letters with respect to
the formal letters
 You need not write your address within the letter just write the date in
place of the address you write in official letters
 The subscript should be written on the left side of the page itself. It is a
new method in use these days. All things are aligned to the left these days
except the date.
 No punctuation marks are used in the entire letter. Hence it is called open
punctuation letter
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It shall be clear through the following example
TEXT ON SCREEN WITH VOICE-OVER:
March 25, 2009
Balakrishna Swamy
36, Chowringhee lane
Calcutta
Dear Balu
With Love
Mrinal
ANCHOR-3
You can see in the above example that no commas are used after each line as we had
done in the official letters. This is done in order to make the letters informal and hence
friendly in nature.
What happens when you get a gift you detest . It still deserves a thank you note. Don't
lie and gush about the gift. Instead, be polite and more general in your thanks. After all,
a gift is just that— a gift rather than an obligation.
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Here is a sample of a personal ‘Thank You’ letter.
TEXT ON SCREEN WITH VOICE-OVER:
March 25, 2009
Jyoita Sheshan
Tikona Park
Delhi
Dear Aunt
Thank you for the lovely soft quilt. The colors exactly match the decor of my den: lime
green, bright purple, and day-glow orange. It was very thoughtful of you to make me a
gift that is functional as well as beautiful: You know how I always get cold at night
watching the Boogie Woogie. Now I can snuggle up in my quilt and enjoy the show. You
know I will treasure the valued gift for years and think of you with great affection.
Fondly
Mrinal
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Letters of Condolence
ANCHOR-4
A letter of condolence is much more appreciated than a phone call because it's tangible
proof that the person cared enough to write. Many people keep meaningful letters of
condolence and re-read them in times of pain. Letters of condolence must be written
with tact and sincerity.
Here is one letter written by Abraham Lincoln condoning the death of five sons of a lady
who had lost their lives in the battle field.
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Abraham Lincoln wrote the following letter of condolence
TEXT ON SCREEN WITH VOICE-OVER
Executive Mansion, Washington
November 21,1864
Mrs. Bixby
Boston, Massachusetts
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Dear Madam
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-
General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons, who had died gloriously
on the battle field. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which
should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss, so overwhelming.
But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the
thanks for the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage
the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the
loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a
sacrifice, upon the altar of freedom.
Yours sincerely
Abraham Lincoln
ANCHOR-5
Finally ,in the last episode of this chapter we learnt the different aspects of a personal
letter. These letters are more flexible in terms of format. They carry emotions and speak
about the relation between the writers and for whom it is written. One must have a good
vocabulary to express their feelings. The styles of these letters vary from person to
person. But before we end the chapter we must recheck what all have we learnt.
Text with VO.
Question and Answer Session
(Answer flashes after three seconds of the question)
 What is the role of personal letters?
Ans-Friendly letters share personal feelings and information among friends and
relatives.
 What are social notes?
Ans- Social notes relay or refuse an invitation.
 Why are personal letters also called open punctuation letters?
Ans-No punctuation marks are used in the entire letter.
 Give one basic difference between the formats of the personal
letter which distinguishes itself from the formal letters.
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Ans-Sender's address is usually not written in personal letters.
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Tips for writing good letters
ANCHOR-6
Summing up, dear children, let’s look at this image with some important tips for
writing informal letters.
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POP UP THE SCROLLS, ONE BY ONE, AS THE VO SPEAKS THOSE LINES.
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Make sure that they are Write in your best
well written. handwriting.
The layout of your letter
Think about what you should be in short
want to say. paragraphs.
If necessary,make some
Use the right style of
notes separately on a
writing and language,
small sheet of paper, so
depending upon the
that you do not forget
person to whom you
anything.
are writing.
IMAGE-III
TEXT WITH VO.
Make sure that they are well written. It can be very annoying for someone to have to
struggle to read handwriting. Always use your best and clearest handwriting.
Think about what you want to say. If necessary make some notes on a separate sheet
of paper first. This will ensure that you do not forget anything.
Think about to whom you are writing the letter. Use the right style of writing and
language — formal or informal, business like or friendly.
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Lay out your letter using paragraphs. This makes it easier for the reader.
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Abbreviations Used in Letter Writing
VO with Text on Screen
•
asap = as soon as possible
•
cc = carbon copy (when you send a copy of a letter to more than one person,
you use this abbreviation to let them know)
•
enc. = enclosure (when you include other papers with your letter)
•
pp = per procurationem (A Latin phrase meaning that you are signing the letter
on somebody else's behalf; if they are not there to sign it themselves, etc)
•
ps = postscript (when you want to add something after you've finished and
signed it)
•
pto (informal) = please turn over (to make sure that the other person knows the
letter continues on the other side of the page)
•
RSVP = please reply
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SUMMARY
VO WITH TEXT ON SCREEN
So children, we come to the end of this chapter and our series of application and letter-
writing.
We have learnt the following things:
 Introduction to letter-writing.
 Different types of letters
 Importance of different types of letters
 Different formats for various letters
 Common errors made in letter-writing
ANCHOR-7
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With this, we come to the end to our last module on Letter Writing. I am confident that
by now, you’d have mastered the art of letter writing, for whatever occasion that you’d
need. Remember, its practice that makes a man perfect. I hope you will not desist in
writing a few letters till you achieve perfection that will go a long way into shaping your
professionalism in future. This is your very own anchor signing off. Until next time, good
bye and good luck.
This script has been reviewed by-___________________
Date-____________________
Word Count- 1275
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