Session Seven Writing

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SESSION SEVEN

WRITING

Lecture Outline

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Learning Outcomes

7.3. Letter writing

7.3.1. Formal and informal letters

7.4. Curriculum Vitae

7.5. Summary

7.9. Review Activity

7.8. References and Further Reading

7.1. Introduction

There are many types (or modes) of writing such as descriptive writing, persuasive
writing, informative writing, narrative writing, and creative or fiction writing.
Many students are familiar with the basic writing assignments such as book
reports, social studies reports, short stories, and essays on topics such as: "How I
spent my holidays". But these writing assignments should be thought of as
applications of basic writing modes. For instance, a book report is usually a type
of descriptive writing, and an essay on might include both informative and
perhaps persuasive writing.

7.2. Learning Outcomes

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Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lecture you should be able to:
1. Identify different types of letters
2. Distinguish features of various types of letters
3. Write formal letters for different purposes
4. Be able to compile a curriculum vitae
5. Understand features of formal and informal letters

7.3. Letter Writing

Knowing how to write a letter is a fundamental skill you will use in business, school,
and personal relationships to communicate information, goodwill, or just affection.
This lecture will expose you into letter and Curriculum Vitae writing process so that
you can produce them in the correct format. Despite the prevalence of emails and text
messages, everyone has to write letters at some point. Letters of complaint, job
applications, thank you letters, letters requesting changes or making suggestion. You
might have been exposed into various types of letter however, types of letters can be
defined into two categories; formal and informal letters.

Take Note

Our grandparents and great grandparents wrote letters all the


time: to their friends and families, to express condolences, to
complain, to invite someone to visit, to accept an invitation and
to thank people for hospitality

Nowdays, we don’t need to write letters very often and it’s


becoming a dying art. Emails, Facebook, Twitter and instant
messaging mean that we can stay in touch all the time. There are
still, however, times when writing a letter is appropriate, and it’s
good to know when, and how to write one.

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This lecture explains different types of letters, from informal to
formal, and how to write each one but also, how to compile
curriculum vitae for job seeking.

7.3.1. Formal and Informal Letters

a. A good letter should consist of:

i. An appropriate greeting (Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Kathy, Dear Mr Brown)


ii. An introduction clearly stating the reason you are writing.
iii. A main body in which the subject is developed. Begin a new paragraph for each
main point.
iv. Afinalparagraphinwhichyousumupthetopicorexpressyourwishforsomethingt
obe done.
v. An appropriate ending (Yours/Best wishes, + first name, Yours sincerely,
Yours faithfully, + full name).

Style in letters

The characteristic of formal style in letters are:

• The greeting (Dear Mrs Lee, Dear Sir,)


• Frequent use of the passive
• Formal language (complex sentences, non-colloquial English)
• No abbreviated forms
• The ending (Yours sincerely,/Yours faithfully)

The characteristic of informal style in letters are:

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- The greeting (Dear Alex, Dear Dad)
- Informal language and style (idioms, colloquial English)
- Abbreviated forms, pronouns omitted
- The ending (Yours/Love/Best wishes/Regards, Anthony)

Take Note

Informal (Friendly) letter have only one address (yours) whereas


formal letters have two (Yours and the recipient’s)

Friendly letters begin with Dear + first name and end with Yours+
first name

Formal letters begin with:

a. Dear Sir/Madam and end with Yours faithfully + full name

b. Dear Mr/Mrs + surname and end with Yours Sincerely + Full


name

Semi formal letters can begin with Dear Mr/Mrs + surname and
end Yours + full name

7.4. Curriculum Vitae

A CV (Curriculum Vitæ, which means course of life in Latin) is an in-depth document


that can be laid out over two or more pages and it contain a high level of detail about
your achievements, a great deal more than just a career biography. The CV covers

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your education as well as any other accomplishments like publications, awards,
honours etc.

The document tends to be organized chronologically and should make it easy to get
an overview of an individual’s full working career. A CV is static and doesn’t change
for different positions; the difference would be in the cover letter. The document tends
to be organized chronologically and should make it easy to get an overview of an
individual’s full working career.

A typical CV will include the following information

• Name and Contact Information: contact information for your current


institution or place of employment may work best, unless you do not want your
colleagues to know that you are job- hunting.
• Areas of Interest: a listing of your varied academic interests.
• Education: a list of your degrees earned or in progress, institutions, and years
of graduation. You may also include the titles of your dissertation or thesis
here.
• Grants, Honors and Awards: a list of grants received, honors bestowed upon
you for your work, and awards you may have received for teaching or service.
• Publications and Presentations: a list of your published articles and books, as
well presentations given at conferences. If there are many of both, you might
consider having one section for publications and another for presentations.
• Employment and Experience: this section may include separate lists of teaching
experiences, laboratory experiences, field experiences, volunteer work,
leadership, or other relevant experiences.
• Scholarly or Professional Memberships: a listing of the professional
organizations of which you are a member. If you have held an office or position
in a particular organization, you can either say so here or leave this information
for the experience section.

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• References: a list of persons who write letters of recommendations for you,
which includes their contact information.

7.5 Summary

Now that we have learned the basics of communicating via letters


and the types of letters as well, let us focus on some tips for the actual
letter writing.

1] Identify the type of letter

This obviously is the first step of the letter writing process. You must
be able to identify the type of letter you are to be writing. This will be
dictated by the person the letter is addressed to and the information
that will be conveyed through the letter. Suppose you were writing
to the principal of your college to ask for leave, this would be a formal
letter (Types of formal letters with samples). But say you were writing
to your old college professor catching up after a long time. Then this
would be a personal (informal) letter.

2] Make sure you open and close the letter correctly

Opening a letter in the correct manner is of utmost importance.


Formal letters open with a particular structure and greeting that is
formal in nature. Informal letters can be addressed to the person’s
name or any informal greeting as the writer wishes.

Even when closing the letter, it must be kept in mind what type of
letter is being written. Formal letters end respectfully and

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impersonally, whereas informal letters may end with a more personal
touch.

3] Establish the main intent of the letter

Once you start writing, make sure to get to the point as soon as
possible. Especially in formal letters, it is important to immediately
make clear the purpose of the letter.

4] Be careful of the language

A letter is always supposed to be polite and considerate. Even if it is


a complaint letter, the point must be made in a careful and courteous
manner. So it is necessary to use polite expressions and civil language
in all types of letters.

5] Length of the letter

And the other important factor to be considered is the length of the


letter you are writing. It should be kept in mind that formal letters are
generally to the point, precise and short. Lengthy formal letters tend
to not have the desired effect on the reader. The length of an informal
letter is determined by the message in the letter and the relation to the
recipient

7.6 Review Activity

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1. Pretend that you are seeking for employment at a company of
your interest, compile curriculum vitae and cover letter to show
the employer that you meet the requirement of the company
2. Imagine that you are the head of school and you intend to host a
graduation ceremony for finalist. Write an invitation letter to the
CS education as a guest of honour at the occasion.

7.8 References and Further Reading


1. Afolayan, A.& H. Newsum (1983); The Use of English:
Communication Skills For University Students. Longman, London
2. How to write letters, accessed from
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/letter-writing.html

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