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    Thank You Notes: Step One: The Basics

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    Rafiqus Salam
    The document provides step-by-step instructions for writing an effective thank you note, including who to send one to, supplies needed, how to address the envelope, what to include in the greeting, body, and closing of the note, as well as examples of good and poor notes. Key recommendations are to be thoughtful, personalize the note for the recipient, use proper grammar and avoid slang, and express appreciation for the specific action or gift.

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    Thank You Notes: Step One: The Basics

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    Rafiqus Salam
    19 views7 pages
    The document provides step-by-step instructions for writing an effective thank you note, including who to send one to, supplies needed, how to address the envelope, what to include in the greeting, body, and closing of the note, as well as examples of good and poor notes. Key recommendations are to be thoughtful, personalize the note for the recipient, use proper grammar and avoid slang, and express appreciation for the specific action or gift.

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    The document provides step-by-step instructions for writing an effective thank you note, including who to send one to, supplies needed, how to address the envelope, what to include in the greeting, body, and closing of the note, as well as examples of good and poor notes. Key recommendations are to be thoughtful, personalize the note for the recipient, use proper grammar and avoid slang, and express appreciation for the specific action or gift.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    19 views7 pages

    Thank You Notes: Step One: The Basics

    Uploaded by

    Rafiqus Salam
    The document provides step-by-step instructions for writing an effective thank you note, including who to send one to, supplies needed, how to address the envelope, what to include in the greeting, body, and closing of the note, as well as examples of good and poor notes. Key recommendations are to be thoughtful, personalize the note for the recipient, use proper grammar and avoid slang, and express appreciation for the specific action or gift.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 7

    Thank You Notes

    Your step-by-step instructions for penning the perfect card

    Step One: The Basics


    To whom do I to send thank you notes?
    Anyone who went out of his/her way to help you – she may have made a donation to
    your group or invited you into her home, etc. Even an action on your behalf, like allowing
    you to visit a workplace or putting in a good word for you, may warrant a thank you
    note.

    Why I need to send a thank you note?


    It recognizes the recipient while also showing your own generosity and maturity.
    Someone has been kind toward you – return the favor in this personal and thoughtful
    way.

    Step Two: The Supplies


    Black or blue pen (absolutely no brightly colored inks!)
    Thank you card and envelope
    Postal stamp
    Address of recipient
    Note: Write only on the bottom half of the inside of the card (below the crease)

    Step Three: Addressing the envelope


    Use the recipient’s correct title on the envelope as well as in the salutation (see Step Four)
    Include your return address!

    Your Name
    123 Main Street Stamp
    Stillwater, OK 74075

    Mr./Mrs./Ms./Title Jane Jones


    Company/Institution Name if Applicable
    111 North Broadway
    Oklahoma City, OK 12345
    Step Four: The Salutation
    The salutation is the greeting line of a letter or card; it generally begins with “Dear Mr.
    X.” The formality level of the salutation depends on your relationship to the person to
    whom you are sending the note. If the recipient is your sister, you can use her first
    name. If it is an elder or a person in a position of authority or respect, then use Dear
    Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr./Senator/etc. If in doubt, err on the side being too formal.

    Use a “,” after the salutation for a less formal relationship


    Use a “:” after the salutation for a formal relationship

    Date

    Dear Name, or :*

    Sincerely,

    Your Name

    Step Five: The Body of the Note


    Grammar:
    Contractions (like you’d, we’re, can’t) are informal so if you are writing a note to
    someone in a position of authority or of importance, do not use contractions.
    Do not start two sentences in a row with “I”. The thank you note is for the benefit of its
    recipient and should not focus on the author.
    Watch out for homophones and homonyms; affect vs. effect, bare vs. bear,
    compliment vs. complement, capital vs. capitol etc. Know which one is correct.
    Be careful to not overuse “so” and “very.” Thank you notes are usually short, so
    repetition is highly noticeable. Get creative with your words and spice it up a bit!

    The following words may confuse many thank you note writers:

     alot vs. a lot vs. allot: Alot is not a word at all, so do not use it. A lot mean “a
    large number.” Allot means to “parcel out.”

     affect vs. effect: Affect most commonly means something like “to influence” or
    “to change” and is a verb. For example, “The rain affected Karen’s plans.” Effect,
    which is a noun, has several subtle meanings but the most common is “a result”.
    For instance, “The rain had no effect on Bob’s plans.”

     Assure vs. ensure vs. insure: Assure is the only one of the three words that means
    “to reassure someone or to promise.” For example, “I assure you that the
    chocolate is fresh.” Ensure chiefly means, “to make certain or to guarantee.” “He
    must ensure that the chocolate is indeed fresh.” Lastly, insure can be
    interchangeable with ensure in some cases, but it is easiest to keep these words
    straight by reserving insure for references to insurance. “I need to insure my car.”

     further vs. farther: You use farther to talk about physical distance and further to
    talk about metaphorical or figurative distance. For example, “How much farther
    is it to the next town?” and “I’m further along in my book than you are in yours.”

     good vs. well: It’s wrong to use good as an adverb after an action verb. For
    example, you would say “He ran well” instead of “He ran good”. If someone asks
    you how you are doing it is perfectly fine to say “I am good” or “I am well” -
    choose whichever you prefer.

     into vs. in to: Here is an example with explanation. “He walked into the room.”
    (Which direction was he going? Into the room.) “We broke in to the room.”
    (“Broke in” is a phrasal verb. What did you break in to? The room.)

     it’s vs. its: It’s with an apostrophe always means “it is” or “it has.” Its is the
    possessive form of it. For example, “It’s lunch time” and “The tree needs its
    branches trimmed.”
     may vs. might: The difference between may and might is subtle. If something is
    likely to happen, use may: “Sue may come over later.” If something is a stretch,
    use might: “Billy might win the lottery.”

     then vs. than: Then has an element of time. It can mean “next” or “at that time”
    For example, “We ate, then we went to the mall.” Than conveys a comparison,
    “DVDs are more expensive than video cassettes.

     your vs. you’re: Your is the possessive form of you. “Are these your shoes?”
    You’re is a contraction of two words: you are. “You’re going to do well on your
    test tomorrow.”

     who vs. whom: You use who when you are referring to the subject of a clause
    and whom when you are referring to the object of a clause. “Who loves you?”
    The one you are asking about in this sentence is the subject, so you use who. If
    you are asking “Whom do you love?” the answer to that question is the object of
    the sentence so you use whom.

    Good Words to Use


    Admire Appreciate Benefactor
    Compliment Delighted Enjoyed
    Favorite Flattered Generous
    Gracious Grateful Happy
    Hospitable Impressed Indebted
    Kindness Large-hearted Lovely
    Memorable One-of-a-kind Overjoyed
    Overwhelmed Perfect Pleased
    Remarkable Satisfying Sensational
    Special Superb Thoughtful
    Thrilled Treasure Valuable
    Contribution Commendable Stunned
    Refreshing Thankful Honored
    Good Phrases to Use
    Am pleased/grateful An excellent idea Appreciate this opportunity
    As a token of our gratitude Convey my personal thanks to Deeply appreciate
    Deep sense of gratitude Delighted in Enjoyed it/ourselves enormously
    Made us feel so welcome Generous gift Greatly affected by
    Heartfelt thanks I appreciated I cannot thank you enough
    I plan to use it for/to It was a great pleasure It was extremely kind of you
    I will never forget I wish to express my sincere Know that I am grateful for
    Many thanks Most sincerely grateful for My personal thanks
    Please accept my gratitude Quite out of the ordinary Show my appreciation
    Very thoughtful of you We are so thankful for We were especially pleased
    What a joy to receive Your kindness/generosity Your very generous gift
    Your efforts made this possible Thanks again Honored by

    Step Six: Example of a Poor (but Funny) Thank You Note


    Mr. Smith,
    Thanks so much for the money you gave to our club. We don’t know what we’ll do with
    it… You didn’t give as much money as Mr. Johnson, but we appreciate it anyways!

    Sincerly,
    Billy

    Why is this a poor thank you note?


    1. It thanks Mr. Smith only for the monetary donation, and not the thoughtfulness
    behind it. Mr. Smith gave the money for some reason, which Billy failed to
    acknowledge.
    2. The salutation is too informal – note the lack of any greeting like “Dear.”
    3. Billy fails to tell Mr. Smith what the club will do with the money, or even what
    they plan to do with it (making the donation sound unwanted or unappreciated).
    4. The word “anyways” is too casual/slangy for a thank you note.
    5. Billy misspelled “Sincerely” in the closing. Avoid using words with unfamiliar
    meanings or spellings in your thank you notes.
    Step Seven: A Good Thank You Note Template
    Fill in the blanks within this template to collect your thoughts before writing a thank you
    note. Then, using the information you inert into this outline, write a flawless letter
    without fear!

    Dear _____________________________:

    Thank you so much for your generous donation to the ______________________.

    It was so ________________ of you/ your organization to


    _________________________. You have made a meaningful impact on
    ______________________________.

    Your contribution to __________________________ is widely known an appreciated by

    (Check all that apply)

    _____ myself/many
    _____ my parents
    _____ my classmates
    _____ the community

    Your __________________ will serve to remind us of your_______________________.


    (Circle Two)

    Generosity Money Thoughtfulness School Spirit

    Compassion Fame Kindness

    Please know how much your contribution is appreciated.

    Gratefully,

    _________________________
    Step Eight: Write your own thank you note

    Materials for this handout taken from:

    The Art of the Handwritten Note: A Guide to Reclaiming Civilized Communication by Margaret
    Shepherd. Broadway Books, New York City, New York.

    How to Say It: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences & Paragraphs for Every Situation by Rosalie Maggio.
    Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliff, New Jersey.

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