{"id":332,"date":"2014-07-25T20:09:57","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T20:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/writershandbook\/?post_type=chapter&p=332"},"modified":"2014-07-25T21:11:49","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T21:11:49","slug":"14-4-writing-personal-letters","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-styleguide\/chapter\/14-4-writing-personal-letters\/","title":{"raw":"14.4 Writing Personal Letters","rendered":"14.4 Writing Personal Letters"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n
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14.4<\/span> Writing Personal Letters<\/h2>\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Know the purposes of personal letters and what people expect from personal letters.<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Understand the typical formats of personal letters.<\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Recognize typical components of personal letters.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\nPersonal letters might seem to be a quaint form in the twenty-first century, and there\u2019s no question they have an old-fashioned feel to them. But it\u2019s precisely their unusual, almost rare nature that can make them so powerful. The very act of taking the trouble to find a stamp, envelope, and postal address elevates the importance of your message as the sender. As the recipient, when you open your mailbox and find a personal letter from someone, you tend to honor the care that person has taken to communicate with you in this medium. Imagine being the only job applicant who writes a personal letter of thanks for an interview, or the only former student who writes a personal letter of thanks for a letter of recommendation. Yes, it\u2019s quaint and old-fashioned, but it can also be a very effective way of distinguishing yourself from the crowd. And sending a personal letter to a close friend in a time of need or celebration can still be just the right thing to do.\r\n\r\nPersonal letters are just that\u2014personal. Hence you can create them in any way you like. You should, however, keep in mind that once you write and send a personal letter, it becomes a permanent, tangible written record, even more so than an e-mail or a post on a friend\u2019s social networking site. So make sure you write information and use a written format with which you want to be permanently associated.\r\n\r\nThe following lists present some typical features of personal letters.\r\n
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    Typical Purposes for Personal Letters<\/h2>\r\n