A Circus Party A Picnic A Saturday Hiking Party A Theater Party A Nutting Party A Boating Party A Visit to the Park Any Other Gathering III. WRITING A NOTE OF ACCEPTANCE While you were writing a note of invitation to a classmate, one of your classmates was writing a note of invitation to you. Write an answer to this note accepting the invitation. IV. WRITING A NOTE OF REGRET Write a note declining the invitation you receive from a classmate. Say something in your note to show that you are sorry you cannot accept ; tell why you cannot attend the party, and express a wish that those who do attend may have a happy time. V. A FORMAL INVITATION The notes of invitation, acceptance, and regret that you have been studying and writing are called informal. Such notes may be written in a different way, making them formal notes. A FORMAL INVITATION 317 One day Grace Brook received this invitation : Mrs. R. D. Walter requests the pleasure of Miss Grace Brook's presence at a Valentine party to be given next Saturday evening from eight to ten. Eighty-four Summer Street "What a queer letter!" cried Grace. "It doesn't seem at all as if Mrs. Walter were writing to me. It seems as if the paper were a messenger telling me what Mrs. Walter wants, just as her cook came over today and said, 'Mrs. Walter wants to know if Mrs. Brook will lend her the rule for the chocolate fudge cake.' Good," said Grace's mother. "That is just how a formal note like your invitation should read just as if the paper were a third person, telling you a message from another." Read the invitation once more. Notice where the address and the date are written. There are no abbreviations used in the address or date. The day of the month is written seventh, not 7. Compare this formal invitation with the informal note on page 313. How do they differ? Look up the words "formal" and "informal" in your dictionary. William Brook, Grace's brother, also received an invitation to the Valentine party. Read Grace's invitation once more, then close your book and write the invitation William received. VI. REPLYING TO A FORMAL INVITATION 1. A Note of Acceptance On Monday morning Grace said, "O Mother, may I go to Mrs. Walter's Valentine party?" "Yes," answered her mother. "Now write a note to Mrs. Walter, telling her that you are pleased to accept her kind invitation." "Mother, must I write? May I not run over and tell her I'll surely be there?" said Grace. "No!" answered her mother. "Every written invitation must have a written answer, and the answer should be returned as soon as possible, so that the person giving the party may know just how many guests to expect. "Get your pencil and a piece of paper and I will help you write your note." Grace brought paper and pencil, and her mother continued, "You said your invitation read as if the paper were a messenger telling you what Mrs. Walter wanted. Write your answer SO that your paper will seem a messenger from you to Mrs. Walter." REPLYING TO A FORMAL INVITATION 319 With her mother's help, Grace wrote this note : Miss Grace Brook accepts with pleasure Ninety-two Winter Avenue Compare this formal note of acceptance with the informal one on page 314. How do they differ? Read again Grace's note accepting Mrs. Walter's invitation. Suppose Mrs. Walter has sent you an invitation; write an answer accepting it. Your note will be exactly like Grace's, except that you will use your own name and address and the date of today. 2. A Note of Regret Poor William could not accept his invitation to Mrs. Walter's Valentine party because he was ill, so his mother sent the following note for him : Mr. William Brook regrets that illness prevents his acceptance of Mrs. Walter's kind invitation for next Saturday evening. Ninety-two Winter Avenue Monday, February the ninth Suppose you are unable to accept Mrs. Walter's invitation; write the reply that you would send to her. Compare William's formal note of regret with the informal note of regret on page 314. How do they differ? Formal notes of invitation should always be answered with formal notes of acceptance or of regret; informal notes of invitation should always be answered with informal notes of acceptance or of regret. VII. WRITING A FORMAL INVITATION Write one of the following: 1. An invitation to a friend to attend a party at your home next Thursday evening. 2. An invitation to a parent or friend to attend a concert at your school next Friday evening. This invitation should come from the class or the school, 3. An invitation to inspect the sewing work of the girls in the class. 4. An invitation to inspect the manual training work of the boys. |