Creative Writing Skills: Long

The letter to editor is a type of formal letter addressed to the editor of a newspaper/publication or magazine with the intent of complementing, informing, criticising or communicating a particular piece of information. Article writing is a type of writing that is written to reach a massive audience with the help of the press.

Format for letter to the editor:

• Address of the sender: This segment involves the address of the person by whom letter is written to the editor.
•  Date of letter: The date on which letter was sent to the editor should be mentioned.
• Designation: The Designation of the person receiving the letter- ‘The Editor’ should be written. 
• Address of the editor: The address of the person to whom the letter is written should be provided.
• Subject of letter: The subject of the letter should be precisely written specifying the objective of writing a letter within a few words.
• Salutation: This is extremely important as it reflects courtesy of an individual. The words like sir or madam should be used.
• Body: It is the most important part of writing a letter to the editor. It should carry all the information regarding the objective of writing a letter to the editor. There are three main parts of the body under the letter to the editor: introduction, content, and conclusion.
• Appeal to the editor: This part reminds the editor to take appropriate action with respect to the matter discussed in the letter.
• Name of the sender: The name of the person or signature of the person writing letters should be specified.
• Sender’s designation: If the person writing the letter belongs to any organisation then the designation can be provided below.

Key points remember while writing letter to editor: 

• Be polite.
• Follow proper format.
• Try to use simple language.
• Be more precise. 
• Do not exaggerate the issue.
• Stay positive in approach.
• Follow the sequence of facts.

Format of article writing: 

1. Heading/Title: The heading or title specifying what the article about should be written.
2. Writer’s name: Writers name should be specified as (e.g. By ABC).
3. Body: The body of the article should be provided. The body is considered to be the soul of an article so it should be well written. There are three main parts of body-

1. Introduction: It includes introductory information regarding the subject matter.
2. Factual paragraph: This paragraph tells about the main issue for which an article is being written. It should contain all the necessary information regarding the issue.
3. Additional information: If some short of necessity information is left to be discussed in factual paragraphs, then it should be discussed here.
4. Conclusion: Under this paragraph of an article, opinion, recommendation, anticipation or appeal can be made. 

Things to keep in mind to write good article:

• Target audience: Article writers should identify the concerning reading group before writing an article.
• Purpose: The purpose of writing an article should be clear.
• Collection of information: Significant Information regarding subject matter of an article should be collected.
• Organise: The information collected should be arranged in the logical manner.

Conclusion:  

The ability of an individual to write information in such a way that readers can easily understand its meaning is known as writing skill. Long creative writing skills can include letter written to an editor and article writing. One must be careful about grammar and diction to write an impactful article and letter.