Write Me a Letter!
Hi everyone! I said I’d write a letter, so here’s an example. It’s a letter to my sister’s dog.
c/o Department of English Language and Culture,
Catholic University of Korea, Songsim Campus
43-1 Yeokgok 2-Dong, Wonmi-gu
Bucheon City, Gyeonggi-Do 420-743
South Korea
[email
phone number]
10 May 2006
Duncan Sellar
Dog House #5,
Winnipeg, Manitoba M5F 5T6
Canada
Dear Duncan,
My name is Gord. Maybe you don’t remember me, because I left Canada a long time ago. You’re a pretty stupid dog, so I guess it’s possible you forgot me. I am your master’s brother. I was thinking about you and I thought I’d write you a letter.
I was thinking about you because I think you’re very lucky to have my sister as your master. Have you ever realized that? I think you probably haven’t realized that, because you’re even dumber than most dogs! But you really are very lucky, because your master Annie is patient, generous, and kind to you.
First of all, Annie is always patient with you. She doesn’t get angry when you make a mess. For example, you once vomited on her bed, but she didn’t get angry. She just put you outside, and cleaned up the mess. She also never annoyed with you, even though sometimes you disturbed her life. For instance, you often made loud sounds and barked at the neighbour’s dog. However, Annie didn’t mind. She just accepted that as part of your personality, and that helped her to be very patient with you.
Next, Annie is generous to you. She always gives you treats and wonderful snacks. For instance, she bought you tasty dog bones for Christsmas, and last year she even bought you doggy-chocolates! She was also generous with her time. For example, she was always happy to take you for a run, or to play with you when you felt lonely. I think you had a much more generous master than other dogs.
Finally, I think Annie was also so kind to you. I remember her always being gentle with you. For example, when you were a puppy and your legs hurt because you were growing, she would hug you and play with you until the pain stopped. She also never punched or kicked you like some kids do when their dogs are misbehaving. For example, you once knocked her down the stairs. She fell on her head, and she was very dizzy and frustrated, but she didn’t even shout at you! She just said, “That’s okay, Duncan made a mistake.” I think very few dogs have such a kind master, don’t you?
For all of the above reasons, I think you’re such a lucky dog. I hope that you are very thankful for this, and that you remember this fact. Next time you see Annie, wag your tail very hard and give her a nice big lick on the face. She will appreciate it, and you will feel good showing your love to your wonderful master. If you have any questions about this letter or would like to contact me for any reason, please feel free to use the contact information above.
Sincerely,
Gord Sellar
I forgot to mention in class — your letter doesn’t have to be serious. You can discuss the class, but you don’t have to. I’d be just as happy if you wrote about how you feel about school in general, or discussed something else altogether. The exercise is just to write a letter in the format above, using all the writing skills we’ve learned in a slightly new context. One note: it’s important to remember to indent your letter — I can’t indent this because it’s on the internet! Also, please remember to double-space your letter when you type it for me! Any questions?
UPDATE: I don’t want to add pressuring homework to your workload, so I’m going to do the following: as long as the letter shows evidence of real effort, and includes some of the techniques we studied in class, then you get a check mark for it. All that needs to happen is I receive it, and read it, and you get a check mark, which is towards your homework grade. If you write a letter using none of the techniques we studied (and reminded ourselves about), then you get an X and your homework mark will not benefit from the assignment. I think that’s better for you than extra stressful homework. So relax, and have fun with this assignment. You’re very free to write whatever you like.
Your sample is really impressive sir. By the way I have some questions. Do I have to write your address on top of a letter paper as well as on envelop? should receiver’s name be right after date? and can I hand in my letter on Tuesday class ?
Donghoon on May 10th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Donghoon,
Yes, the address goes on both the letter and the envelope. This is because usually people throw away the envelope after they open it, but with the address on the letter they can still reply by mail. But you should know that this is the BUSINESS letter form. When you’re writing a personal letter (something that’s not connected to business or work) then you can leave out your address from the top of the letter, and just have the address and date at the top. (In that case, type the receiver’s address, skip a line, date, skip a line, then start the letter.) The only letters on which we never include the date are very personal, like to close friends or family.
The receiver’s name should have a space before it, and so should the date. The stupid computer messed up the formatting, but I’ll fix it now.
And no, you can’t hand in your letter. You have to MAIL it to me!
Go to the post office, buy a stamp, and put it on the envelope and send it to me. It will be delivered to me. That’s part of writing a letter, too!
By the way, make sure to read the UPDATE at the end of the post. I added something about how this letter will be counted toward your mark.
mistergord on May 11th, 2006 at 2:10 am
should we also make the address double space??
eunjoo on May 17th, 2006 at 8:03 am
And that letter is really funny and brilliant, kkkk… (>�?
eunjoo on May 17th, 2006 at 8:36 am
Eun Joo,
Thanks, I had fun writing it.
You shouldn’t double space the address normally. In fact, real letters don’t need to be double spaced. But please double space the one you will send to me… except the addresses! Don’t double space the addresses!
mistergord on May 17th, 2006 at 9:27 am