88
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
"Dear SE, I don't even know how to express how disappointed I am in you--literally. Because I don't know all the facts. But all the indications I've seen make me fear that the full facts would only ...
- 3,418
53
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
Dear Stack Exchange,
for once can you be honest with us?
Why didn't you give Monica Cellio a second and private hearing?
Yours,
The volunteers who make up Stack Exchange.
&...
- 739
31
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
It depends on what your goal is --an open letter can have many different audiences, and the putative addressee may not be the actual target. With that said, the best structure for a persuasive ...
- 56.4k
19
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
Never I would have believed to consider StackExchange but the mask before the monstrous face of intolerance.
That's not stronger than your first attempt. It's so archaic even experienced writers (e.g....
- 935
16
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
"I am horrified to find..." whatever you are horrified to have discovered
"I am most disappointed..." or maybe "I am shocked" or if the event you are writing about is worse you can say "I am appalled ...
- 261
11
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
I find that in the course of angry letter writing, you are walking a balancing act in which you have an action taken that could be motivated by bad faith or by incompetence or an incomplete picture of ...
- 12.8k
10
votes
Eliminating repetitive “which was ... ” statements at the end of sentences
Do a search for "which was." (or whatever your problem structure is)
Set up a checklist of five different ways to rewrite it:
1) We did such-and-such. I enjoyed it.
2) When we did such-and-such, ...
9
votes
How should I have my male character express strong feelings?
I'm sure at this point someone will say, "You can't make broad generalizations about what ALL men or ALL women do or think or feel!" Which of course is true if taken literally. But we certainly can ...
- 25.5k
8
votes
Using P.S. in a formal email
I use P.S. in emails fairly often. As others points out, P.S. stands for postscript ("after signature") and it means the content was added after the message was signed.
However, just because ...
- 271
8
votes
Accepted
How should I have my male character express strong feelings?
We can't standardise, but we can generalise
As has been mentioned, there is no standard "man" any more than there is a standard "woman". Some women are into ultimate fighting and woodwork. Some men ...
- 296
8
votes
"Dear Stack Exchange, I am very disappointed in you" - How to construct a strong opening line in a letter?
I think there are two important aspects that you should make clear:
That you indeed do care about the issue. Your letter is not just a rant, you sincerely are concerned about the damage the issue ...
- 4,027
6
votes
Accepted
What are proper ways to end a business letter?
I liked this question - writing letters is a professional use of writing skills, but it's becoming rare to the point of looking like a lost art.
The norm (UK, at least) always used to be that if the ...
6
votes
Accepted
How to ask about the details of a job without making it sound like the employer is the one who needs you?
I feel like this sounds like the employer is the one who really needs me and I sound like I am scarce.
That's fair. It seems like the employer does need you more than you need them, and you're not ...
- 887
5
votes
How should I start my daily diary entries?
Are you writing the diary entries for a school project? If this is not a school exercise and you are doing it for yourself then it doesn't matter what anyone tells you. What matters is what feels ...
- 266
4
votes
How should I have my male character express strong feelings?
Men have emotions. The problem in your story is how he expresses them. Writing a diary to a girl sounds like something an emo guy who plays guitar to pick up girls or cuts himself would do. Girls ...
- 964
4
votes
How to write a prompt email?
Regarding the bullet point on the message being "respectful", I would like to point out something which I don't see being stated explicitly in any of the previous answers. This goes equally for both ...
- 3,764
4
votes
Accepted
"Till now" in formal letter
More usual phrases to use in that situation are "until now," "at this point," or "at this time". Using "till" will may the reader think 'til, which is much more conversational.
- 267
4
votes
What are proper ways to end a business letter?
It depends upon the content of the letter.
Just "Thanks," alone can sound off key if there is nothing obvious for which thanks to the reader is warranted, or too light-hearted when providing serious ...
- 98.4k
4
votes
Accepted
How do I explain personal details to my professor without being inappropriate?
Personally, I think adding too many details harms your case --it makes you sound like someone who habitually searches for excuses rather than someone who experienced a valid, one-time emergency. ...
- 56.4k
4
votes
Accepted
How to organize distinct topics in personal letters to friends and family?
Writing to friends and family, you can dispose with formality. You don't need a "structure". "Stream of consciousness" is how such letters were written before computers, before you could rearrange ...
4
votes
Accepted
Formal letter: capitalization after salutation?
In English, "thank" needs to start with a capital. The logical rationale is:
Despite the preceding comma, the line break causes a new sentence to start.
Also see, for instance, this ...
- 166
3
votes
What are proper ways to end a business letter?
I always use, "Best" or "Best wishes". If someone's helped me a lot, I like to end with, "Thanks for everything".
- 443
3
votes
Eliminating repetitive “which was ... ” statements at the end of sentences
Just write your first draft naturally, including whatever peculiarities you generate. Then edit and revise. Your first draft is for getting your ideas out, and revision is for making it read well.
In ...
- 4,069
3
votes
If I write a word with a letter that isn't used, will I confuse my reader?
Using þ in a story will not bring it back as a letter in English. So keep that in mind if you decide to use it.
As for whether an average reader will know how to pronounce these letters, the answer ...
- 156
3
votes
How to write a good cover letter?
Speaking as both a professor and corporate division manager at different points in my life: Your cover letter is not your CV, and (as said by ItWasLikeThat) you should not try to cram your CV into it. ...
- 98.4k
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