Edgar Said:

I'm writing a letter in old English style and could use some help?

We Answered:

What you should do is google search on colonial era letters - and I am sure it will bring up examples that you can use as reference.

Edna Said:

Need help writing letter to owner regarding damages to my car from a tree from their property?

We Answered:

The manager is not a lawyer and you should have told her not to be interpreting laws, You are right, this would not be an act of God. Besides, even where there have been storms and lighting plaintiffs have sometimes prevailed, where the lightning strikes and storms were considered a common occurrence (foreseeable).

The tree fell because of landlord's/managers failure to take care of the property for which they were responsible. Trees have to be trimmed every so often, there may even be a city ordinance to that affect where you live, but you do not need it to win your case.

Take pictures of car, branch that fell (or a description). Get the local weather report of that day, find out if it has happened before. Obtain at least two estimates for repairs. Send the manager and the landlord a certified letter return receipt requested telling them if the matter is not resolved within the next fifteen days from the date of this letter, you will take legal action and then they may be paying for the attorney costs also. You can tell them in the letter, this has nothing to do with an act of God, it has to do with negligent failure and a breach of duty owed to a tenant by her landlord.

If your damages is under five thousand dollars, you do not have to get a lawyer and can sue them in a small claims court (Small claims courts do not allow lawyers,but you can consult one locally, if you want), I do not think you need to. Some states may have a lower limit.

Do not need to tell them you will sue them in small claims, that will be a surprise, local municipal court will give you the papers to file, cost is under a hundred dollars; you have an excellent chance of winning, I think they will settle.

Dave Said:

Not great at writing a letter stating employment?

We Answered:

Make friends with your counter parts in other similar companies. Exchange ideas and industry trends. Usually such letter formats of most of the companies are similar. While exchanging ideas and other notes, exchange formats too. Amend those formats according to the needs of your company. You will observe, After amending few formats, that you are able to make some small letters, on your own very conveniently. Each and every boss, desire contribution from each subordinate. Bosses are result oriented, every where. Once you too, becomes result oriented, you too will become boss favorite.

Make serious attempt, and surly you will succeed, and will recognised and will also start climbing the ladder in your company. Performers get identified, Quickly !

With all the Best.

Perry Said:

Is there a specific term for the style of letter writing during the American Civil War?

We Answered:

Rogers Platt Spencer developed a form of copperplate-style handwriting that was referred to in the era as Spencerian. He simplified the writing of the era to make it easy for the masses to learn to write, particularly in the public schools.

Spencerian ranged from very elegant for formal documents to regular in correspondence to sloppy in quickly scribbled notes. Some clerks' report books featured all three variants in one book.

The format was a little different- date and approximate location went in the upper right corner (ie, "near Manassas, Virginia"). The "Dear name" was the same, as was the topic matter - home, family, friends, news, weather &c. was the same. Slightly different closings - "having nothing more at present to write I now close this letter" and the signature was usually the person's name, not "your loving son", &c.

Lewis Said:

Is it a good thing to apologize for writing mistakes in a letter?

We Answered:

Unfortunately, you're question isn't very easily answered, since apologizing for written errors is a case-by-case basis and entirely up to your own style. However, there are a few things you keep in mind.

For one, if the recipient of the letter is a grammer nazi, then apologizing for possible mistakes at the beginning of the letter might help ease said nazi's frustration. Of course, if you know him well enough to know he's a grammer nazi, he's probably a friend, so, although polite, apologies are unnecessary.

Also, if the letter is highly emotional, such as a love letter or a letter of frustration, errors are actually a sign of that emotion and rarely incur rebuke. For such letters, don't bother to apologize. It won't hurt the message, but it's just unnecessary.

Finally, if the letter is professional or business-related, check and re-check until you're convinced there are no errors...maybe even have a friend check it after you're finished. Bottom line: convince yourself the document is error free, and don't make apologies for errors that you don't see. This is one situation where it's almost better to screw-up and not apologize than it is to apologize without screwing-up...honestly though, if it's business-related, you're better off just getting it right the first time.

As a general rule, it can never harm a letter to apologize, so, if you think an apology may be in order, go for it. Don't grovel, but a short perhaps comical "beware of danerous spellings" would suffice. There really is no given situation where apologies are required, since most situations that really emphasize accuracy assume you got it right and have nothing to apologize for.

Thus, after all that, I say: "Trust your own instincts!"

Darren Said:

Is there a specific APA style for writing a letter?

We Answered:

Who writes a letter using APA style?