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In writing friendly letters try to be natural and sincere without being slangy and slovenly in your language. Study the following letter with care:

Dear Mrs. Thompson,

Clarksburg, West Virginia
December 16, 1922

I am leaving here Tuesday morning at eight o'clock, and will arrive in Huntington at five. If it is convenient, I should like to have you meet me and let me stay with you Tuesday night. I like Clarksburg and my school very much. School was out for the Christmas holidays Friday, and I have been visiting since then.

I hope to see you Tuesday afternoon, but if you are busy please do not go to any trouble for me.

With love,

Margaret

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Parts of the Letter 1. The heading tells where and when the letter was written. Notice that a comma separates the name of the city from that of the state, and another comma separates the day of the month from the year. No other punctuation is needed in

the heading.

2. The salutation (Dear Mrs. Thompson) is written below the heading at the left of the paper. Either a comma or a colon may follow the salutation of a friendly letter.

3.

The body of the letter begins on the line below the salutation.

4. The complimentary close (With love) is written on the line below the last line of the body of the letter. The first word only of the complimentary close begins with a capital. A comma separates it from the sig

nature.

5. The signature is written on the line below the complimentary close, and a little to the right.

Write the letter on page 217 from dictation.

Occasions for Letter Writing

Social life offers many occasions for writing letters. Sometimes we write simply because we wish to tell a friend how we are getting along or to ask about what he is doing. When we have visited a friend or have received any courtesy from him, it is a social duty to write a letter of thanks. We should always promptly acknowledge the receipt of a present and write a letter of thanks for it. We have occasion to write let

LETTERS OF INVITATION

219

ters of invitation and to accept invitations. Sometimes we wish to congratulate our friends on a piece of good fortune or to express our sympathy for them in times of sorrow. Ease and charm in letter writing come only through practice.

Letters of Thanks

Work out in class a letter of thanks for a Christmas' present or for a birthday present. Try to show that you appreciate the gift. Be simple and natural in what

you say.

Suppose that you have been visiting a friend and have returned home; write a letter expressing your thanks for your friend's kindness and hospitality.

Carefully read your letter after you have written it. When you have corrected all the mistakes you see, exchange with another pupil so that you may criticize each other's papers before you hand them to the teacher.

Letters of Invitation

Write a letter of invitation to a boy or a girl friend, asking him or her to spend the next week-end with you. The class may be divided into "dictators" and "stenographers." The dictators may prepare a letter of invitation to be dictated to the stenographers. The stenographers will write the letter (in longhand, of course) as it is dictated. When the letters are finished they will be returned to the dictators for correction. The stenographers may then become dictators and reverse the proceeding.

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Be careful in the use of the verb

phrases have to, must have, could have,
should have, would have. These phrases
are often pronounced as if they were
"hafto,'
'must of," "should of," "could

of," "would of."

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Carefully pronounce the verb phrases in the following

sentences:

1. I have to go down town.

2. You should have gone when I went.
3. Do you have to study this evening?
4. Mother could have helped me.

5. I must have left my gloves at home.
6. He would have come if I had asked him.
7. Sally and I have to go to the village.
8. I wish you could have seen the parade.

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1 From In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems by John D. MacCrae. Used by permission of the Publishers, G. P. Putnam's Sons, of New York and London.

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