Page:When You Write a Letter (1922).pdf/72



The friendly or social letter should have a considerably different form from the business letter. It should taboo abbreviations entirely, it should be written on plain stationery such as has been already suggested, and it should begin and end differently from the business letter. The complimentary beginning should be "Dear Mr. Green" or "Dear Walter," as the closeness of the relationship decides. There is little if any difference between "My dear Grace" and "Dear Grace," some authors holding that one form and some that the other is the more formal. I