[etni] More on Semi-Formal Letters

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Greetings, all!

In my continuing quest to discover what a ?semi-formal
letter? is, I performed a google search with
?semi-formal letter? as the key words. To my surprise
there were only 53 hits, as opposed to the 53,000 that
I had expected. 

Most of the hits were syllabi of private EFL/ESL
institutions or rubrics of various EFL/ESL
examinations. 

Only one hit actually told me what a ?semi-formal
letter? is. The Beijing Tengtu Culture and Electronics
Developing Co., Ltd., at:


http://www1.njenet.net.cn/jsjx/czpd/xkjx/c2yy/c2yy14/kzzl1.htm
 

told me the following (the grammar mistake is in the
original):

?Like a formal letter, a semi-formal letter is written
in polite language and a humble tone; no slang is
allowed. However, unlike a formal letter, a
semi-formal one does not require two addresses.
Examples of semi-formal letters include a letter to a
family friend who is not your friend directly, a
letter to teacher concerning your academic work, or a
letter to your resident advisor concerning your
absence from a floor meeting. You can write ?thank
you? not ?thanks?, ?nine o?clock? not?9:00? 

Considering this is the ONLY definition of a
?semi-formal letter? I could find via Google, must I
assume that it is this indeed the definition of a
?semi-formal letter?? Unfortunately, the NBA Handbook
(which never did arrive at my school) does not really
define what a ?semi-formal letter? is or isn?t. 

Further, must I assume that the editor of the paper to
whom the summer 2003 4-Pointers wrote a ?semi-formal
letter? was, in fact, a friend of their families?

Of course, the most problematic and perplexing problem
in this most mysterious and enigmatic dilemma is how I
can get Israeli students to write in ?a humble tone?
in their semi-formal letters.  

Semi-formally yours, 

Jimmy


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