It is said that writing as an epistolary genre is leaving the past. Nobody already seals the written-down leaflets in an envelope, does not stick stamps and does not send letters by mail. However, we still continue to write letters, although we send them most often by e-mail. Writing letters has its own rules that must be followed in order to look worthy in the eyes of the interlocutor.
Instruction manual
1
Letters to a friend can also be different: letters of congratulations on a celebration, an invitation to visit, letters of thanks and information letters, as well as apologies and sympathies. There can be a huge number of reasons to write a letter to a friend.
2
In English, there are special appeals to the person to whom you write and phrases by which the letter is completed. The choice of a particular phrase depends on your relationship with a friend. Start writing with the words: dear, dearest or darling plus the name of the recipient. You can start a letter with just a name.
3
In addition to knowing certain phrases, you will need knowledge of common English names and surnames, geographical names in English and abbreviations used in letters. For example, the following abbreviations are usually used for days of the week: Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun and months: Jan, Feb, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.
4
Start the first paragraph with a link to the last contact, thank your interlocutor. The phrases will help you: Thanks very much for your letter or It was great hearing from you again. If you have not answered for a long time, then you should apologize using phrases, for example, I'm sorry I haven't written
.or Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote, but … Explain the reason.
5
The body of the letter should be informative so that your friend wants to read it to the end. Try to answer all your friend’s questions and ask yourself as many questions as possible. In this way, you will maintain interest in correspondence.
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At the end of the letter, refer to the following contact with the addressee: I'm looking forward to seeing you (hearing from you), do write again soon or hope to hear from you soon. Finish writing one of the phrases: Sincerely yours - sincerely yours, yours faithfully (yours truly) - always faithful to you, ordially yours - yours truly, ever yours (as ever or yours as always) - always yours, lots of love (kisses) - kiss, yours affectionately (lovingly yours) - loving you. And they will answer you!
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If you do not yet have a pen-friend who you could write in English, then you can find him at www.interpals.net , www.penpalgarden.com , www.penpalparty.com . As a rule, these sites are invited to register and fill out a simple questionnaire.
