LECTURE ONE: LETTER WRITING 1

Introduction to Letter Writing
Letter writing is an essential skill. 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 suggestions and so on. Encouraging students to write letters from an early age will improve their communication, social and handwriting skills, and teach them what they need to know about writing and structuring letters.

Advantages of letters
Letters are a way to connect with someone not through the internet. Despite email, letters are still popular, particularly in business and for official communications. Letters have the following advantages over email:
• No special device is needed to receive a letter, just a postal address, and the letter can be read immediately on receipt.
• An advertising mailing can reach every address in a particular area.
• A letter provides immediate, and in principle permanent, physical record of communication, without the need for printing. Letters, especially those with a signature and/or on an organization s own notepaper, are more difficult to falsify than is an email and thus provide much better evidence of the contents of the communication.
• A letter in the sender s own handwriting is more personal than an email.
• If required, small physical objects can be enclosed in the envelope with the letter.
• Letters are unable to transmit malware or other harmful files that can be transmitted by email.
• Letter writing leads to the mastery of the technique of good writing.
• Letter writing can provide an extension of the face-to-face therapeutic encounter.