German Letter Writing Guide

Your letter should include: The date (at the top) The name and address of the addressee A&#160;greeting A&#160;brief introduction Biographical information about your relative A&#160;short, specific, genealogical request Referral request(s) A&#160;comment about payment </li>Closing remarks </li>Your signature </li>Your return address (including your country). </li></ul> Be brief and simple. Do not ask for too much at one time. The following English-to-German translations will help you compose your letter. Read the sentences in English and choose those that best express what you want to say. Be sure that your sentences are arranged logically. You may want to write your letter first in English using the following sentences, then replace the sentences with their German translations. However you proceed, make sure you type or neatly print your letter and, when necessary, add any diacritical marks and special characters (such as ä, ö, ü, ß) using your computer's&#160;wordprocessing program&#160;or a pen. Do not use this guide as the letter itself! That might insult the recipient and lessen the chance of a reply. Writing Dates Write dates in the European style: day-month-year. Write the name of the month out and write the year in full. For example, write 10. Dezember 1889, not 12-10-89 or even 10-12-1889. <ul>January - Januar </li>February - Februar </li>March - März </li>April - April </li>May - Mai </li>June - Juni </li>July- Juli </li>August- August </li>September- September </li>October-Oktober </li>November- November </li>December-Dezember </li></ul> Greetings Introductions Biographical Information 6. (Give information about your ancestor using the terms from the following list.) Genealogical Requests Referral Requests Payment Closing Remarks and Return Address Follow-up (Use these sentences in follow-up letters as needed.) EXAMPLE LETTER

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