Writing Well: Stamp of Approval

Stamp of Approval

Because personal letters express your own ideas, you generally have a far wider choice of content with them than you do with business letters. However, an effective personal letter must still be clearly organized and carefully thought out. The following tips should make your task easier.

Ten Tips for Writing Great Personal Letters

1. Never apologize for not having written or for running out of ideas. You're not on trial here.
2. Reread any recent letters you received from the person to whom you are writing. This will help you answer the person's questions and include items of interest to the reader.
3. To make your ideas come alive, use vivid sensory impressions, descriptions that appeal to sight, hearing, smell, and so on.
4. Also include figures of speech, such as similes and metaphors.
5. Dialogue makes your writing more specific and interesting, too.
6. Never assume that your reader knows the complete cast of characters in your life, especially newcomers like your daughter's boyfriend (the one with the ring in his navel and hole in his head). Identify all unfamiliar people and places you mention.
7. Check your grammar and usage carefully. Even though your letter is informal, you want to get it right and prevent misunderstandings.
8. Reread for errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and logic.
9. Make your letter easy to read by typing or writing clearly.
10. Try to end your letter on a positive note. Avoid lame endings like, “Well, that's all I have to say” or “It's late so I'll end this letter.” A strong ending leaves your readers thinking the good thoughts—and thinking well of you.

Return to Sender, Address Unknown

When you address the envelope, follow the style you used in the letter. Here are a few more guidelines:

• If you typed the letter, type the address on the envelope. The style should match.
• If you wrote the letter longhand, write the envelope longhand. Be sure your writing is legible: Don't make the post office play 20 Questions.
• Addresses are electronically scanned, so center the recipient's name and address in the lower middle quadrant.
• Don't use Mr., Mrs., or Ms. when you write your own name on the return address.
• Use only standard abbreviations for streets, states, and countries.
• To insure speedy delivery or return, include the zip code in both the recipient's address and your return address.
• Be sure the envelope is large enough to meet postal service regulations. Otherwise, they won't accept it.
• Use sufficient postage. If in doubt, have the letter weighed at the post office.

Zip It Up

Following are the standard US Post Office abbreviations for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and a few other handy places. Notice that the zip code abbreviations for states aren't followed by periods.

State	Zip Code Abbreviation
Alabama	AL
Alaska	AK
American Samoa	AS
Arizona	AZ
Arkansas	AR
California	CA
Colorado	CO
Connecticut	CT
Delaware	DE
District of Columbia	DC
Florida	FL
Georgia	GA
Guam	GU
Hawaii	HI
Idaho	ID
Illinois	IL
Indiana	IN
Iowa	IA
Kansas	KS
Kentucky	KY
Louisiana	LA
Maine	ME
Marshall Islands	MH
Maryland	MD
Massachusetts	MA
Michigan	MI
Minnesota	MN
Mississippi	MS
Missouri	MO
Montana	MT
Nebraska	NE
Nevada	NV
New Hampshire	NH
New Jersey	NJ
New Mexico	NM
New York	NY
North Carolina	NC
North Dakota	ND
Ohio	OH
Oklahoma	OK
Oregon	OR
Pennsylvania	PA
Puerto Rico	PR
Rhode Island	RI
South Carolina	SC
South Dakota	SD
Tennessee	TN
Texas	TX
Utah	UT
Vermont	VT
Virgin Islands	VI
Virginia	VA
Washington	WA
West Virginia	WV
Wisconsin	WI
Wyoming	WY

Never use any abbreviation if there is the slightest chance of a misdelivery or misunderstanding. In that case, write out the full place name.

Short and Sweet

The following list gives some of the most common abbreviations for geographical terms. Notice that unlike zip codes, these are true abbreviations, since each one ends with a period.

Place	Abbreviation
Avenue	Ave.
Building	Bldg.
Boulevard	Blvd.
County	Co.
District	Dist.
Drive	Dr.
Fort	Ft.
Highway	Hwy.
Island	Is.
Mountain	Mt.
National	Natl.
Peninsula	Pen.
Point	Pt.
Province	Prov.
Road	Rd.
Route	Rte.
Square	Sq.
Street	St.
Territory	Terr.

Now, let's turn to a specific type of personal letter: the social note.