Practical Grammar and Composition Part 44

16. How to Prevent Taking Cold.

17. How to Cure a Cold.

18. My Best Teacher.

19. My Favorite Town.

20. Why I Go Fis.h.i.+ng.

21. My Favorite Month.

22. What Becomes of My Matches.

23. Baseball is a Better Game than Football.

24. The View from X Building.

25. Why I Go to School.

26. My Opinion of Rainy Days.

27. My Most Useful Friend.

28. Why I Dislike Surprise Parties.

29. Why I Like to Visit at X's.

30. The Police Service of X Town.

CHAPTER X

LETTER-WRITING

NOTE TO TEACHER.--For the purpose of training in composition, in the more elementary work, letter-writing affords probably the most feasible and successful means. Letter-writing does not demand any gathering of material, gains much interest, and affords much lat.i.tude for individual tastes in topics and expression. Besides, letter-writing is the field in which almost all written composition will be done after leaving school; and so all training in school will be thoroughly useful. For this reason, it is suggested that letter-writing be made one of the chief fields for composition work.

In Exercise 75, are given a number of suggestions for letter-writing.

Others will readily occur to the teacher.

THE HEADING

152. POSITION OF HEADING. In all business letters the writer's address and the date of writing should precede the letter and be placed at the upper right hand side of the sheet not less than an inch from the top. This address and date is called the HEADING.

In friendly letters the parts of the heading are sometimes placed at the end of the letter on the left side a short distance below the body of the letter. This is permissible, but to place it at the beginning in all letters is more logical and customary. Never write part of the heading at the beginning and part at the end of the letter.

153. ORDER OF HEADING. The parts of the heading should be sufficient to enable the accurate addressing of a reply, and should be in the following order: (1) the street address, (2) the town or the city address, (3) the date. If all cannot be easily placed on one line, two or even three lines should be used; but, in no case, should the above order be varied. Examples:

Wrong: March 31, 1910, Red Oaks, Iowa, 210 Semple Street.

Right: 210 Semple Street, Red Oaks, Iowa, March 31, 1910.

Right: 210 Semple Street, Red Oaks, Iowa, March 31, 1910.

Right: 210 Semple Street, Red Oaks, Iowa, March 31, 1910.

If only two lines are used, put the writer's address on the first line and the date on the second.

Wrong: January 19, 1910, Sharon, Pennsylvania, The Hotel Lafayette.

Right: The Hotel Lafayette, Sharon, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1910.

154. PUNCTUATION OF HEADING. Place a period after each abbreviation that is used. In addition to this, place commas after the street address, after the town address, after the state address, and after the number of the day of the month. Place a period after the number of the year. Examine the correct address under --153.

155. FAULTS TO BE AVOIDED IN HEADINGS. Avoid the use of abbreviations in the friendly letter, and avoid their too frequent use in the business letter.

It is better to avoid abbreviating any but the longer names of states.

Avoid all such abbreviations as the following: _St._ for _Street; Ave._ for _Avenue; Apart._ for _Apartments; Chi._ for _Chicago; Phila._ for _Philadelphia_.

Wrong: Hardie Apart., Pbg., Pa.

Right: Hardie Apartments, Pittsburg, Pa.

Do not use the sign # before the street number.

Do not omit the word _Street_.

Wrong: 229 Market.

Right: 229 Market Street.

Do not write the date thus: _9/10/10_. Represent the numbers by figures, not words. See ---- 75 and 76. Do not use _st., rd.,_ etc., after the number of the day.

Wrong: 9/8/09.

Right: September 8, 1909.

Wrong: September the Ninth, Nineteen Hundred and Nine.

Right: September 9, 1909.

Wrong: March 10th, 1910.

Right: March 10, 1910.

THE INSIDE ADDRESS

156. POSITION OF INSIDE ADDRESS. In strictly commercial letters the name and the address of the person to whom the letter is being sent should come at the beginning of the letter, and should begin flush with the margin at the left side of the page, and a little below the level of the heading. The second line of the inside address should be set in a little from the margin. See model letters under --174.