I found it difficult to write a letter that was personal but still formal. Reading several examples given in class showed me how to add in information about yourself without sounding informal. It also discovered how you do not have to tell personal information in order to have a letter be relatable. Your tone can control how your letter can be perceived and what emotion, if any, is expressed. I learned that it is good to be relatable in inquiry, complaint, and response to each of these because it can help to get rid of other emotions such as anger that could possibly overtake your letter.
In the complaint letter, I had a difficult time not having an angry tone. The pictures helped to shift my tone because they were showing what I was explaining, and I did not have to try and convince them that there was something wrong with my textbook. Pictures acted as proof of the complaint being discussed. The inquiry letter was easier to use a curious tone and the pictures did not act as proof, but as an aid to the written text. The response letter required me to think of ways to “mend a friendship” in a way. This letter needed an apologetic tone without taking all the blame upon myself or the company I was representing. The links that were inserted helped to show the reader that the company wished to still do business and other ways that could be achieved.
In this project I learned how to develop a consistent relatable tone in a professional letter. I am now able to use strategies to keep business and how to handle complaint and inquiry letters in the professional world. Using certain formats, word usage, and tones can now help me to write other types of professional documents such as transmittals, emails, and others.