PERSONAL LETTER

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KOMPETENSI DASAR

3.6 membedakan fungsi sosial, struktur teks, dan unsur kebahasaan beberapa teks khusus dalam
bentuk surat pribadi dengan memberi dan menerima informasi terkait kegiatan diri sendiri dan
orang sekitarnya, sesuai dengan konteks penggunaannya

4.6 teks surat pribadi
4.6.1 menangkap makna secara kontekstual terkait fungsi sosial, struktur teks, dan unsur
kebahasaan teks khusus dalam bentuk surat pribadi terkait kegiatan diri sendiri dan orang
sekitarnya
4.6.2 menyusun teks khusus dalam bentuk surat pribadi terkait kegiatan diri sendiri dan orang
sekitarnya, lisan dan tulis, dengan memperhatikan fungsi sosial, struktur teks, dan unsur
kebahasaan, secara benar dan sesuai konteks

A. SOCIAL FUNCTION

According to Oxford Dictionary, “A letter is a message that is written down or printed on paper
and usually put in an envelope and sent to somebody.”
From the above discussion, it can be said that a letter is a written message, printed or hand
written, that is sent to someone by other through post or mail or in some other way.

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B. GENERIC STRUCTURE

 The letter must have a heading which contains the full address of the writer along with the
date on which it was written.

 The letter must begin with a salutation written on the left hand corner of the first page, little
lower than the heading. The salutation depends on the degree of intimacy between the
recipient and the sender. It can start with ‘dear’ or ‘my dear’ or ‘respected’ as these words
articulate affection, intimacy and respect.

 The opening sentence of the letter must please the reader and should draw attention and
interest towards the rest of the letter.

 The body of a personal letter must be split into paragraphs with each making a valid point.
This break-up helps the reader better understand the write-up.

 Remind the recipient about the experiences you have shared together and mention
something about that person which you admire. To make the letter more fascinating, you
can include trivial information in an informal manner.

 Such letters must not end suddenly or else they appear rude. You can use different forms of
courtesies and also subtly urge them to write you back before you wind up.

 You can end the letter with salutations like ‘sincerely yours’, ‘yours’ and ‘yours
affectionately’. Though there are other more common usages like ‘cheers’ and ‘see you’ etc,
‘love’ is not generally used by one man while addressing another.

 Sending a letter without signature is absurd. So, before you dispatch it, make sure that it is
duly signed below the subscription.

C. LINGUSITIC FEATURES

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D. TYPES OF LETTER

Letter is an important symbol of human civilization. It has been used as a media of exchanging
information from the primitive age. Letter can be categorized into different types based on
formalities maintained, information contained, purpose of use etc. A comprehensive
classification of letter is shown below- A detailed description of the above mentioned letters is
given below successively-
1. Formal Letter: The letter which is written according to the formal rules and regulations of an

organization is called formal letter. This type of letter always maintains the formalities of the
office strictly. Institutional and business letter fall in this category.
2. Informal or Personal Letter: The letter which does not follow any formal rule and contains
personal information is known as informal or personal letter. This type of letter is written to
relatives and friends for exchanging news or feelings or to seek favors. The basis of writing
personal letter is personal relationship.
3. Business Letter: The letter which contains commercial information and is written among
business people is called business letter or commercial letter. Business letters are formal,
structured and non-personal. Commercial letter contains information relating to trade
inquiry, circular, order, complaint, claims, adjustment, collection relating to trade inquiry,
circular, order, complaint, claims, adjustment, collection etc.
4. Official Letter: When letter is written containing the official information like rules,
regulations, facts and figures, activities, system, procedure etc. it is called official letter. In
other word, when a letter is written following the official decorum, it is known as official
letter. Officials use this type of letter to send official message to other branches and offices.
Official letter strictly follows the prescribed rules, regulations, structure and style of the
office.
5. Social Letter: Letter that is written on any social occasion or purpose is called social letter.
Invitation letters for different programs, thanks letter, condolence letter, congratulation
letter etc. fall in the category of social letter. It is actually one kind of personal letter.
6. Report Letter: Letter that is prepared in the form of report or investigation and is sent to the
person, who has assigned it, is called report letter. In real sense, it is a short report in the
form of letter. The letter sent to the sales manager by the sales man on every day’s sales
volume in an example of report letter.
7. Notice Letter: Notice letter is a letter that is sent to a person notifying or informing him about
any special topic.
8. Circular Letter: A letter that circulates or announces the same information or message to a
large number of people at a time is called a circular letter or a circular. Announce of new
product, change of business address, retirement or admission of partner etc. requires
circulating the certain message. For this purpose circular letter is written.
9. Order Letter: When the quotation of the seller satisfies the queries of the prospective buyer,
he places order through an order letter. So, after granting the quotation, the letter which
the buyer writes to the supplier or seller, requesting him to deliver the prescribed amount
of goods is called an order letter.
10. Complaint Letter: However efficient an organization may be in running a business,
everything does not go all the time according to plan. There will be some mistakes and some
accidents. Letters written to bring these mistakes to the notice of those who must own the
responsibility for them are called claim or complaint letters.
11. Employment Letter: Letters which are written in case of employment are considered as
employment letter. Job application letter, appointment letter, joining letter, promotion
letter etc. are examples of employment letters.

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12. Beyond the above mentioned categories there are some other letters also such as bank
letter, public letter, level letter, increment letter, permission letter etc. There is more
information about what is a Business? Definition of Business Scope.

E. CATEGORIES of LETTER

Personal letters can be divided into two categories depending on the intended recipient:
1. person-to-person letters = Examples of person-to-person letters include character

reference letter, condolence letter, love letter, letter of apology and so on,
2. Person-to-business letters = Examples of person-to-business letters include job acceptance

letter, general cover letter, etc.
For example, a ‘cover letter’ is a business letter but when sent with a resume to a specific
person, the same ‘cover letter’ becomes a personal letter.

F. ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONAL LETTERS?

There are many different types of personal letters. Here are a few you might have heard of:
1. Pen pal

A pen pal is someone you communicate with by sending letters regularly.
2. Fan mail

You write fan mail to someone you idolize or admire. You might choose to write to a famous
actor, rock star, author, or sports hero.
3. Love
You can write a love letter to someone whom you love or care about. In this letter, you
express feelings of affection and romance.

4. Farewell
In a farewell letter you would say goodbye and good luck to someone who is moving
interstate or overseas, or changing schools.

5. Get well
You send a get well letter to wish someone a speedy recovery from illness.

6. Condolence
In a condolence letter you show sympathy, usually for the death of someone close to the
recipient. You might wish them strength through their grief, say you are sorry for their loss,
or share fond memories of the person they have lost.

7. Congratulations
You would send this letter to congratulate someone on a birth, wedding, achievement or
award.

8. Thank you
When you write a thank you letter, you are showing your appreciation to someone. Perhaps
they invited you to their birthday party, gave you a thoughtful gift, or did you a favour. This
is less formal than an appreciation letter, and would be sent to a friend or family member.

9. Holiday / Celebration
Your holiday letter could celebrate a birthday, Christmas, New Year, Bar mitzvah or any other
special event or holiday.

G. ACTIVITY 1

Find another example of Personal letter with your friend. You can search from many
sources.

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H. CONTENT of PERSONAL LETTER

1. The letter must have a heading which contains the full address of the writer along with the

date on which it was written.

2. The letter must begin with a salutation written on the left hand corner of the first page, little

lower than the heading. The salutation depends on the degree of intimacy between the

recipient and the sender. It can start with ‘dear’ or ‘my dear’ or ‘respected’ as these

words articulate affection, intimacy and respect.

3. The opening sentence of the letter must please the reader and should draw attention and

interest towards the rest of the letter.

4. The body of a personal letter must be split into paragraphs with each making a valid point.

This break-up helps the reader better understand the write-up.

5. Remind the recipient about the experiences you have shared together and mention

something about that person which you admire. To make the letter more fascinating,

you can include trivial information in an informal manner.

6. Such letters must not end suddenly or else they appear rude. You can use different forms of

courtesies and also subtly urge them to write you back before you wind up.

7. You can end the letter with salutations like ‘sincerely yours’, ‘yours’ and ‘yours

affectionately’. Though there are other more common usages like ‘cheers’ and ‘see

you’ etc, ‘love’ is not generally used by one man while addressing another.

8. Sending a letter without signature is absurd. So, before you dispatch it, make sure that it is

duly signed below the subscription.

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I. NOTE for WRITING PERSONAL LETTER

1. As a personal letter is a graphic counterpart of speech, avoid pompous and verbose
language. It must be written in simple and clear language with colloquial expressions and in
a purely conversational style. The letter must be lucid and pleasing to the reader.

2. While writing a letter, instead of devoting entire time to yourself, also write about topics
that are of common interest to you and the recipient.

3. If you have a specific purpose in writing the letter, state the message clearly so that the
recipient does not get confused with the details in the letter.

4. If you are writing the letter to someone after a very long time, enclose your picture along to
create a connection with the recipient.

J. HOW DO I WRITE PERSONAL LETTER

1. Begin your letter by writing your name and address in the top right-hand corner of the page.
It is important to include this information in case your return address (on the back of the
envelope) is torn, or the envelope is thrown out. This way the person who receives the letter
will always have your address and will be able to reply to you.

2. Next, write the date on which you are writing your letter. This goes on the left-hand side of
the letter, just above where you will write your greeting. The date is important so the person
who is reading it knows when it was written. It is also helpful for people who like to keep
letters they have been sent and look back on them.

3. Under the date write your greeting. It is acceptable in a friendly letter to be informal with
your greeting. Depending on how well you know the person you are writing to, you could
use "Dear", "Hi" or "Hello".

4. Now it is time to start writing the content of your letter. This is where you put everything
you want to include in your letter. Remember, if you forget anything you can always put it
in the postscript.

5. When you have finished writing your letter, end it by signing off. Depending on how well
you know the person, you could use "Your friend", "See ya" or "From".

6. Sign or write your name under the sign-off.
7. If you have forgotten to include something in your letter or you want to add an extra

message, you can use a postscript (PS). This is written underneath your name at the bottom
of the letter.

K. WHAT CAN I WRITE ABOUT IN A PERSONAL LETTER?

Personal letters can be written conversationally. They can be about whatever you wish. There
are no rules for what you can and cannot talk about, although you should always be kind. Think
about what the person you are writing to might like to read. Here are some suggestions that you
might find helpful:
1. Updates about school, hobbies or your sports team.
2. News about friends, family or your pets.
3. What has been happening in your street, town or city.
4. Holidays, birthdays, school camps, achievements, anything you think is special or exciting

and would like to share.
5. A funny joke you have heard, a good movie you have seen, a fun game you played, or your

favourite song, are all great things to write about.
6. Anything new. A good idea is to think about the last time you saw the person you are writing

to. This will make it easier for you to tell them about new things that have happened since
the last time you saw them.

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7. Remember to ask the person you are writing to about what they have been doing and what
has been happening in their life.

LOOK AT THE EXAMPLE BELOW !

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L. ACTIVITY 2 , WRITE a SHORT LETTER
1. To a friend, telling him how you play your favorite game, assuming that he knows about it
2. To a friend, describing your favorite hobby
3. To a friend, describing a football match
4. To a friend, describing a film which appealed to you very much
5. To a friend, greeting him on the occasion of the independence Day

M. ANSWERING a LETTER

1. While starting your reply to a personal letter, use the customary ‘dear’ along with the first
name of the recipient. You can also use just the name of the person, without any other
salutation, followed by a comma.

2. The first sentence of the letter must be similar to a greeting which you make when you meet
a person face to face as ‘How are you?’ and/or ‘I loved your letter.’

3. After mentioning something which occurred in your life, you can start answering the
questions asked about your life. It is fine to mention problems, but try to balance it with
optimism and good news.

4. Ensure that you ask the recipient some questions regarding his life to facilitate a response
and end the letter with wishes.

N. WRITING SPECIFIC REPLIES

1. If the personal letter that you received mentioned some crisis that the writer is facing then
you must write back an encouraging response. Start the letter by stating your support
followed by a mention of past problems that the person overcame. You can write a few
sentences about their hard work and the effort they put into it and wind up the message by
telling them that you have faith in their mettle and that you are with them in these tough
times.

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2. If you are writing a letter of condolence, make the recipient aware that you are thinking
about them and that you too mourn their loss and are with them in their struggle.

3. Letter writing is an acquired art which stems from genuine desire to connect and reconnect
with people. Writing a personal letter is different from other letters. It is informal in style,
but contains thoughtful content and reflects one’s association with the person addressed.
While writing a personal letter, consider your relationship and familiarity with the recipient.
Also, depending on the nature of the addressee, informality of style and address can swing.
The conventions of letter writing are also very strict in a personal letter. Just because it is
informal in style, you cannot frame it in a relaxed way.

O. LETTER WRITING TIPS

Although there are many different types of letters, here are some general tips and hints to make
sure that every letter is a good letter:
1. Write a draft. Writing a draft, or even planning what you want to say, will mean that the

point of your letter is clear.
2. Make sure your handwriting is clear and neat. Nothing spoils the excitement of receiving a

letter in the mail more than finding it is unreadable!
3. Don't include anything messy in your letter. If you are using glitter or sequins in a letter to a

friend, make sure that they are all stuck down securely and will not spill all over the carpet
when the letter is opened. Also remember that it is not a good idea to decorate your
envelope as this may mean that it will take longer to sort or can cause it to get stuck in the
sorting machine.
4. Make sure that your spelling is correct and there are no grammatical errors. Proofread your
letter before you send it.
5. If you know your handwriting is a bit on the messy side, you can print out an address label
to stick on your envelope, or ask an adult or friend with neat handwriting to write the address
for you!

P. CONTOH PERSONAL LETTER – REPLYING

To a friend who celebrate the birthday

Jalan Mawar 90
Surabaya
02 December 2017

My dear Charley,
It is your birthday on Saturday, so many happy returns of the day. I am sending you a

camera to celebrate the event, as I know you are keen on photography, and hope you will
find it useful.
With all best wishes for the best of luck from your friend.

Your friend Replaying the letter
Tom

26 M.G. Street
Jakarta
15 December 2017

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My dear Tom,
Ever so many thanks for your good wishes and your jolly present. The camera is a

beauty, just the kind I have been wanting for a long time. I shall be able to take some really
fine picture with it. Thank you very much.

Yours affectionately
Charley

To a friend, arranging for an excursion together

5 Magicstone
Bekasi
28 October 2017

Dear A.B. Smith
We both have a holiday next Monday. What do you say to a trip to Murree and a

ramble in the gullies? We could start early, say 6 a.m., in my car, and take some grub with us,
and make a day of it up in the cool. It would be a change from this heat down here. If you
agree, I will arrange the picnic, and be round at your house at quarter to six on Monday
morning. Bring your camera with you.

Your sincerely, Reply, accepting
R.P Brown

90 Magicball
Bekasi

Dear R.P Brown
Many thanks for your invitation. I shall be delighted to go, and shall be ready for you

at 5.45 a.m., next Monday. A day in Muree will be a grand change. Yes, I’ll bring my camera,
and hope to get some good snapshots.

Yours for ever. Reply, regretting inability to join
A.B. Smith

90 Magicball
Bekasi

Dear R.P Brown
It is awfully good of you to propose a day’s picnic at Muree. I only wish I could join

you as I am sick of this heat. But I am sorry to say I shall not be able to get away, as I have
already promised to see a friend in Yogya next Monday. Thanks all the same.

Your sincerely,
A.B. Smith

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REMINDER …

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