I get asked to write a lot of recommendation letters. Today I\u2019m writing three of them. Perhaps because I have so many other things to do today, I\u2019m wasting time staring at my computer screen, pondering the particulars of letter writing, with which, up until now, I have not unduly concerned myself.<\/p>\n
How should I open a letter to scholarship granting organization about which I know little and in whose ranks I know no one? This calls for trying out options.\u00a0 \u201cTo Whom it May Concern\u201d sounds pompous and impersonal, not a good combination. \u201cDear Sir or Madam\u201d sounds like I\u2019m a time traveler from the 1800\u2019s. \u201cDear Friends\u201d sounds presumptuous. Who am I to presume friendship? I know that friends are merely strangers you haven\u2019t met yet, but I will probably never meet the faceless, nameless recipient of the scholarship request letter I am typing. \u201cDear Colleagues\u201d has a nice egalitarian ring, but again, it\u2019s kind of presumptuous. In what sense are we colleagues, sharing values and goals and a common mission? \u201cGreetings Earthling\u201d (This is risky, since only 1 in 100 people will not find that ridiculous), \u201cHey, What\u2019s up?\u201d won\u2019t do. \u201cDear Person Who Will Read this Letter, Dear Bureaucrat, Dear Scholarship Decider Person, Dear Intern Who Opens all the Mail and Sorts it\u201d \u2013 all of these sound snarky despite their accuracy of detail.<\/p>\n
And then there is question of how to end the letter.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s to a religious organization, I could say \u201cin Christ,\u201d but that sounds like I\u2019m holding Christ accountable for the entire contents of the preceding letter, which is hardly fair. I could say, \u201cLove,\u201d but that\u2019s way too familiar. I could say \u201cGrace and Peace,\u201d that\u2019s not bad. But if I\u2019m going to go for a benediction like that why not \u201cFaith, hope and love?\u201d or \u201cPeace out?\u201d I could go for the secular version of \u201cGrace and peace,\u201d which is \u201cBest regards.\u201d Or I could go for brevity and just say \u201cBest,\u201d but that seems a little flippant or lazy like I couldn\u2019t motivate myself to type \u201cregards\u201d in addition to \u201cbest.\u201dThen there is the time honored \u201cSincerely,\u201d which is an odd farewell, because if you are really sincere why do you have to remind the reader at the very end that your intention in writing the letter is sincere and that the letter is sincere? \u00a0That\u2019s the equivalent of people saying \u201cI\u2019m going to be honest with you.\u201d I always, in my mind supply the question (for once?)<\/p>\n
And then there is the question of how to sign the letter. \u201cAlyce,\u201d seems too informal. \u201cAlyce M. McKenzie\u201d sounds awfully formal. AM sounds like I\u2019m quoting from Exodus I AM who I AM. AMM just involves too many \u201cM\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
All right, I have other things to do; I need to make a decision.<\/p>\n
For my standard opening, from now on I\u2019m going to go with \u201cHey there\u201d
\nFor my standard closing, I\u2019m going to balance the flippant familiarity of that opening with a lengthy, repetitive and overly sincere closing, \u201cWishing you all the best in the crucial and important work that you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
On second thought, I can\u2019t do that. There is too much at stake. Conventions must be met. Jobs and funding are better served by dignified letters devoid of the personality quirks of the author. So I must risk qualities that go against my nature: \u00a0pomposity \u201cTo Whom It May Concern\u2026. and lack of imagination,<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Alyce M. McKenzie<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I get asked to write a lot of recommendation letters. Today I\u2019m writing three of them. Perhaps because I have so many other things to do today, I\u2019m wasting time staring at my computer screen, pondering the particulars of letter writing, with which, up until now, I have not unduly concerned myself. How should I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n