![Nixon Thank You Letter to Elvis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Nixon_Thank_You_Letter_to_Elvis.jpg)
A letter of thanks or thank-you letter is a
letter
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
that is used when one person/party wishes to express appreciation to another. Personal thank-you letters are sometimes hand-written in cases in which the addressee is a friend, acquaintance or relative. Thank-you letters are also sometimes referred to as letters of gratitude. These types of thank-you letters are usually written as formal business letters.
Some psychological research indicates that expressing gratitude by writing such letters can have emotional benefits, but this does not apply to all circumstances. News media have covered the tradition of handwritten letters of thanks from a cultural perspective, suggesting in particular that the extra effort represented by handwriting (as opposed to
text messaging, for example) makes these letters more emotionally significant for sender and recipient alike.
Good thank you letters can benefit from using a recognized format.
References
Further reading
*
*{{cite book , title=365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life , first1=John , last1=Kralik , publisher=
Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
,
Random House Australia
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, date=January 27, 2011
thanks, Letter of
Gratitude