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A letter is a written message from one person to another. The role of letters in communication has changed significantly since the 19th century. Historically, letters were the only reliable means of communication between two persons in different locations. As communication technology has diversified, letters have become less important as routine communication. The development of the telegraph, telephone, and the Internet have all had an impact on the writing and sending of letters. In modern industrialized nations, the exchange of personal letters has become less common, being replaced by technologies such as the telephone and e-mail. By analogy, the term letter is sometimes used for e-mail messages with a formal letter-like format. Historically, letters exist from the time of ancient Egypt and Sumer, through Rome and Greece and China, up to the present day. Letters make up several of the books of the Bible. Archives of correspondence, whether for personal, diplomatic, or business reasons, serve as primary sources for historians.
Advantages Letters are still used, particularly by companies and advertisers. This is because of three main advantages: The letter-delivering process Here is how a letter gets from the sender to the recipient: This whole process, depending on how far the sender is from the recipient, can take anywhere from 2-3 days to 3-4 weeks. International mail is sent via trains and planes to other countries. United Kingdom The following is the normal way to set out a letter: (Note: This is the style in the UK. See below for the format used in the US.) United States The following is the modified block format for a business letter, common in the United States: The sender's address and closing generally begin about one-half to two-thirds of the way across the page. The full block format is similar. In this format, however, all sections begin at the left margin. Also, paragraphs are not indented at all, rather beginning at the left margin along with all other lines. A single blank line is used to distinguish paragraphs. See also Types of letters | ||||||||
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