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Social letters refer to letters of etiquette or duty letters in various communications of social life.The general purpose of social letters is to maintain and promote friendship，though every social letter has a specific purpose.Social letters are written in a brief，friendly and polite manner.

The style and tone of social letters can be greatly varied.Generally speaking，the style and tone of a social letter differ from those of a business letter—the former is casual，whereas the latter is formal.However，for either of them，the language should be clear and direct.Social letters can be either formal or informal，depending on the situation at hand.

Some examples of social letters are letter of invitations，letter of congratulations，letter of apology and letter of thanks.

Letter of Invitations

Invitations need to be sent out one or two weeks in advance.They can be written on a card，typed，or hand-written among close friends.If there are many things to explain，you can write an invitation letter.Content，place and time need to be clearly given.Keep the following in your mind:

●Highlight the purpose of the gathering (meeting，conference，party，etc.).

●Make the reader feel his/her attendance is truly expected.

●Provide all the details that the receiver needs in order to attend:date，time，location，etc..

●Ask for a response，by a specific date if necessary.

Here are some useful expressions.

●Why don’ t you come...

●How about coming...

●We’ d think it’ d be a good idea if...

●We’ d really like you to...

●Is there any chance of you coming...

●We were wondering if you could/wanted to...

●Is it convenient for you to...

●I am writing on behalf of all the members of our Literature Society to ask...

●We should be very grateful if you could give a talk on...to...

●It is a pleasure for me to invite you on behalf of/in honor of...

●You are invited to attend...

●We invite you to join us in...

●It would be a great pleasure to meet you on...

●Would you be willing to share with us...

●I am delighted to invite you to visit...

●We hope you will be able to attend...

●We are all looking forward to hearing your views.

●I am looking forward to your reply，and eventually，seeing you.

●Would you please let me know as soon as possible if you can accept my invitation?

●I hope you will be able to accept this invitation，and if you would kindly indicate time of your arrival，I will arrange for you to be met.

●Should you require any assistance，please feel free to contact me or Mr....，secretary of the Organizing Committee.

On behalf of the University of Ariona and the IEEE Computer Society，I would be very pleased to invite you to attend and chair a session of the forthcoming 2012 International Conference on Parallel Data Processing to be held in Bellaire，Michigan，from October 25 to October 28，2012.

You are an internationally acclaimed scholar and educator.Your participation will be among the highlights of the Conference.

We sincerely hope that you could accept our invitation.As you know，this is the 20th anniversary of the Conference and we plan to make it a truly international meeting.We have accepted many papers from several foreign countries，including two from China.

If you can come，please let us know as soon as possible，since we have to prepare the final program soon.We are looking forward to your acceptance.

Our organization would very much like to have someone from your company to speak at our conference on international trade.

As you may be aware the mission of our association is to promote international trade.Many of our members are interested in the achievements your company has made.

Enclosed is our preliminary schedule for the conference which will be reviewed in weeks.I’ ll call you on 1st July to see who from your company would be willing to speak to us.I can assure you that we’ ll make everything convenient to the speaker.

Letter of Congratulations

The letter of congratulations is frequently written in our daily life.We write letters of congratulations when we hear about good news， such as marriage，birthday，honor，promotion，graduation and admission，and when we celebrate festivals such as Christmas，and other traditional or national festivals.祝贺信要写得及时，得到喜讯后应立即动笔。信中要提到具体的喜事，表达出写信人的喜悦心情，并致以衷心的祝贺。总而言之，祝贺信用词要亲切有礼，表达出真诚的喜悦之情。

Process of Writing Letters of Congratulations

●Use the word“congratulations”early in your letter.

●Mention the reason why you congratulate someone，such as graduation，promotion，honor.

●Tell how happy，pleased，proud or impressed you are and why.If necessary， tell how you learned about the good news.If you read it in the newspaper，enclose the clipping or photocopy of it.

●Re-express your congratulations or express your wishes in the last part.

●Make a most careful choice of words and greetings，for appropriacy is the best policy in writing letters of congratulations.

●Handwriting is preferred，because it makes the recipient feel affectionate.

●I congratulate you...

●(Warm/Sincere)congratulations on...

●Congratulations and all good/best wishes!

●Please accept my congratulations on...

●I am so pleased/glad/delighted/thrilled to hear that...

●It was a great pleasure to hear the good news that...

●I wish you every success.

●All the very best for the future.

●Many happy returns! (祝您长寿! )

●My best wishes to you!

In the first sentence you should write the reason for expressing thanks in a leffer of thanks.The rest includes details about the situation and the letter ends by re-expressing your appreciation.It remains friendly in tone and common courtesy is welcomed by the reader.Sign the letter in handwriting.Be sure you spell the name and title of the receiver correctly.Most importantly，describe the details of your enjoyment and pleasure to make your thanks sound sincere.

Here are some useful expressions.

●Please accept my sincere/grateful appreciation for...

●I sincerely/deeply/warmly appreciate...

●I am sincerely grateful to you for...

●It was good/fine/nice of you...

●I would like to thank you for...

●I was deeply touched by...

●We are indebted to you...

●I am thankful/obliged to you for your unselfish assistance during...

●I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation of your kind help you rendered me.

●It was kind and generous of you to do this for me，and I appreciate it more than I can say.

●My appreciation to you for your generous help is beyond my words.

I wish I could repay it some day.

●Words fail me when I want to express my gratitude to you.

●Thank you for your letter inviting /offering /confirming...

●I am very grateful to you for letting me know/offering/writing...

I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you yesterday about the position of (job title)with (Company Name).

I really enjoyed meeting with members of the office and learning about the job.The entire team certainly seems to be highly skilled and motivated and the work itself seems as rewarding as it is challenging.From our discussion，I gained a strong sense of (Company Name)’ s commitment to its clients and its employees.I also enjoyed our discussion of my opportunities and future within the firm.

I feel strongly that I possess the qualities required as a (job title).I believe my education and experiences have prepared me well for a future with you.I eagerly anticipate our next meeting.

Thank you for considering me for this opportunity.

An effective letter of apology is an important part of taking quick action to remedy the problem and then go on with life.It actually helps improve a relationship.In order to make a letter of apology effective，write it as soon as possible after the offensive action takes place.Rather than focusing on the damage you have caused， write about what you will do to rectify the situation.Choose your words carefully and express yourself clearly and simply.Keep your apology letter short and to the point.Try to set up a time when you can apologize in person，then back up your apology with considerate behavior in the future.写道歉信时一定要记住你是在对自己的言行负责，所以语气一定要诚恳，不要找托辞。

Here are some useful expressions.

●It is thoughtless/inconsiderate of me to do ...

●I am afraid what I have done has caused many inconveniences to you.

●I sincerely hope that you can understand that I offended you unintentionally.

●Please accept my sincere apology for...once more.

●I am so sorry to have put you to so much trouble.

I am writing you with regard to the submission of my final thesis.I would like to apologize for submitting it two weeks after the deadline.Unfortunately，I was caught in a bicycle accident in Xidan in the middle of June and my right hand and leg were seriously injured.The ligaments were torn and required medical attention.It took me almost three weeks for my hand and leg to heal.I understand that school requires strict adherence to deadlines.I trust that on account of my situation，you will accept my thesis so that I may graduate on time.I would be glad to submit my medical receipts if necessary.

Extension　知识拓展

The invitation card is the most formal invitation letter，though very short in length，usually less than 14 lines.Due to its formality，the card would involve complete names instead of abbreviations，and salutation is very formal，for which Mr.and Mrs.are most preferred.The card is written in third person so that“I”or“we”are not used in invitation cards.You must very politely deal with people，time，place，and event in such a short length.