essay text message

Rachael Ritchey

Texting Conversations in Writing: What’s the best format?

I was reading a great post on Dan Alatorre’s blog today, “3 Ways to Show a Text Conversation” (that’s no longer available). It was talking about how to write text messaging in our manuscripts. He presented several ways of accomplishing it, but after some research and feedback he felt only one was a truly worthwhile way.

The problem with it, as Dan mentioned, is that there is no standard format for writing a text message conversation into a story. He suggested the best format possible be made the standard. 

I had a thought about what I would assume texting talk should look like when reading a story. Here’s my spin:

What about offset like in the box without the box? You know? I’m going to write a quick story piece and insert a section of text talk to try to illustrate what I mean.

In advance, I’m sorry for the screen shot. I wanted to make sure the formatting would show and make sense.

Gretchen looked at her watch and flopped down on the couch with an exasperated huff. She’d gotten home from work expecting to spend the afternoon with her boyfriend, but his text was nothing short of a downer. Dating a firefighter definitely had its annoying moments, but she couldn’t deny he sure looked good in suspenders.

With this it’s like a double tab (and by tab I don’t mean really tab! Use the ruler/indent features to properly format) for one person and a triple tab for the POV person  (I’m being lazy and using this term for the character from whose perspective we are seeing).

For consistency, the POV person would always be the triple tabbed one (farther to the right) like in a text box on your phone. The person texting you is always on your left and you are always on the right (or at least that’s how it is on my phone and computer).

Keeping the lines shorter and having double space between speakers also gives the appearance of texting. The POV is not in italics while the other person is. I’ve never thought of trying to write text conversations in a book, so it’s an interesting concept to consider.

Something like this hearkens back to how long quotes, songs, and other added elements are offset within a story. It relieves the need for beats (unless you want to add in what the POV character is doing or thinking while texting, which I think is a good thing) and dialogue tags for the texts.

I’ve never read texting within a story before, so this is a new concept for me, but I’m curious to know what you think of this possible method. It would be great to make sure we as writers have a consistent way of writing text message conversations in our manuscripts that are both easy for us to format and easy for our readers to follow.

I’m not sure how this element would be rendered with some software when auto formatting into epub and mobi formats, but I’d be curious to know.

But if I were to put texting into my manuscript, this is probably–and I’m way far away from 100% on it– how I would accomplish text message dialogue in a manuscript. Am I way off base or on to something? 🙂

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40 responses to “Texting Conversations in Writing: What’s the best format?”

[…] solution I came across for the formatting issues above is using tabs to format text. Here is an […]

‘Fifty Shades of Gray’ does it nicely. I had never seen it before. It was so natural that I came to anticipate their next conversation. I no longer have the books so can’t say exactly how it was formatted, but there were italics, maybe names, and it was indented I believe. The texting of their banter was beautiful.

Like Liked by 1 person

Would you say it was similar to this? I think with the advancement of technology, eventually it will be that texting conversations will look just like the screen layout of a phone. Even ebook will have that ability. At the point, I think it would be great to just name yourself and someone who would be willing to text back and forth with you the names of your characters and then get a screen print of the back and forth dialogue of the two characters to put as an image in the book. 🙂

An interesting topic. I recently had a story published with a text conversation by a trade publisher, and he offset it, but he didn’t use the shorter lines. I think I like it better that way, but I’m willing to be convinced otherwise. 🙂

Like Liked by 2 people

I figure the more we can make it look like texting the better. Congrats on another published story, Cathleen! I sure miss our regular chats on here. How is everything else going?

I tried putting an emoji with a text when I first formatted a book for Kindle – when I uploaded and previewed, the darn thing kept appearing on top of the text no matter what I did. I ended up deleting it.

That’s exactly the main issue with formatting that we are essentially discussing. I’m hoping we can find a consistent and easy way. It’s frustrating when the formatting won’t stick.

Same thing happened to me! Most annoying.

[…] Texting Conversations in Writing: What’s the best format? BY RACHAEL RITCHEY […]

I just read Dan’s post. I like your idea, Rachael. It feels and looks more text-like. My only concern would be the interruption of sentences that describe movement and other things going on, so I might add the persons name before each text piece to lessen confusion. But then again, adding text messages to a story is something I haven’t tried yet, so I can’t say for sure what I’d like best yet. 🙂 I do like the “tabs” idea of yours though! And like you said, it’d be interesting to find a way to make it work for ebooks. It’s a mystery for you to solve, Detective Rachael! I look forward to what solutions you come up with! 😀

haha I’ll keep mulling it over. No matter how you look at it, texting-talk in a story just looks out of place. I like to imagine some really cool formatting feature in the future that is basically a box that looks like a standard phone screen with all the little icons and time and stuff at the top and then the text bubbles below that…it would be this cool thing the author would just input the text of the conversation into to make it look like a phone screen on paper for those bits. Would be so cool…

Loved it! Linked back to this post. So timely for me. Thanks.

Thanks Jean! It caught my attention and now I can’t think of much else. hahaha

Posting tomorrow! Hope you like it. Threw in my thoughts, for the 2 cents they’re worth. Let me know what you think.

Can’t wait to read it! 🙂 Thank you!

This is how my Skype transcripts come out if you copy them. Or close. I mean with time and who says what

Ahhh! I see. I’ve never tried to copy out a Skype transcript, but then I’ve barely uses Skype. haha I should have more conversations that way. 🙂

Interesting idea, may be useful someday, and your proposed format looks good too! Thanks!

Thanks Ellie! The only issue is testing to see if it’s easy to get the formatting to “stick” when published for ebook! 🙂 I’m glad it might be useful.

In the worst case scenario you can do like this: 5:03 JACK: whatsup 5:05 SALLY: chillin 5:06 JACK: I’d warm you up now 🙂

Five minutes. No answer. Ten, fifteen minutes. Jack nervously devoured his fingernails and kicked himself for a blunter, as if saying ‘Too much, you idiot’. Finally the coveted ‘ping’ came through.

5:28 SALLY: ummmm 5:29 JACK: just kidding! Seriously! When is the com201 paper due?

HAHA Love the awkward flirting. haha I think the time stamp is an interesting touch. 🙂 Otherwise that’s similar to something Dan mentioned on his blog post about it. 🙂

Oh I did not read that post 😉 I will now

Like Liked by 3 people

TESS! You’ve NEVER texted, ever?! Not in the history of the world? hahaha You might have the right idea. Really, if you’ve ever had an instant conversation on Facebook messaging, Google Hangouts, or some other online real time messenger then you’ve texted because it’s basically the same thing. 🙂

Oooh. When Messenger first came along, I chatted. Huh. Now my memory’s going too. Waa. +(~.~)+

haha who needs it? 😉

Nice! Save the tech stuff for computers. 🙂

I saw Dan’s post too, and thought it was so interesting. I like what you have done here, and I was thinking the same thing with having text show up like it does on your phone. I did a short conversation of text in one of my Blogbattle stories, but I indented the POV person, and then used the right justification button for the second person, so that one was on the left and the other on the right.

I am all about the formatting, and also like to format things so that they are appealing to the eye, and think of the flow for the reader. With that said, the way I did it probably would not be a good solution, because the eyes would be darting from left to right, and might be frustrating for a reader. I do like this solution you came up with, but…as far as flow goes, since we read from left to right, maybe reverse it, where the POV person should be the double tab, and the second person the triple tab. But my thought had always been, have it as close to the real thing as possible, within the limits of book formatting.

What I have actually seen in books are text messages that are formatted like an email. These were very lengthy text messages, so it worked. There was a bold header with the two and from names, and the message was in italics. That would not work for short text messages, or how text messages really are in real life. It’s a great topic to explore, because text messaging isn’t going anywhere, and is just another element for writers to use to draw their readers in 🙂

Just a humble opinion from a novice writer, but an expert reader 😉

I lovehearing your thoughtful opinion, Carrie Ann. It’s great to get a broader understanding of the topic. I have no idea why I’m feeling so driven to figure this out except I enjoy puzzles and I agree that texting is not going anywhere any time soon. I’m sure we’ll see more and mite of it in books as time goes on.

I included a text stream in my first novel and did it by alternating the text alignment so that it was consistent with how a text box would show on a phone. However, this proved to be an absolute pain in the tuckus when it came time to format my book for an e-reader.

That’s my concern with it, too. I love solving puzzles and problems, so I think that’s probably why this is bugging me. There has got to be a way to format texting conversation that reads well and is not a headache to format. Haha

I have sometimes made use of texts in my short stories, but never thought of formatting. I don’t like texts packet with only letters but no words, for some reason even as a teen I did write out most words except when I’m a rush.

Haha I go back and forth when using texting abbreviations. It is related to the timev when texting was not unlimited and you were only allowed a certain amount of characters per text. Shorthand became economical! 🙂

I read the linked article, but I just love your idea. It really reads like text messages.

Thanks, Irena. I couldn’t get the idea out if my head yesterday. Haha

I’d just do this – 😎☕️- texts don’t go on longer than that, do they? 😉

LOL No, they usually don’t 🙂 It might be hard to put that into a book, though. Let’s make it a thing! 😉

Even that was twice what I say to most people.

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Sample essay on texting.

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This sample paper, written by an Ultius writer , illustrates how text messaging and has changed the world since becoming a staple of modern communication. In the modern world, people have become used to the idea of sending and receiving information almost instantaneously. There is perhaps no better example of this than the text message. This type of document might be an essay assignment for a communications or sociology course.

The power of a text

Texting, as it is commonly referred to today, allows individuals to literally express their thoughts, convey information, and maintain relationships with the tips of their fingers.  The invention and subsequent use of the text message has redefined the way in which an entire generation communicates with each other.  Though this powerful service has many benefits, it has also created several important negative issues as well.  The cost to one’s health as well as the general public has made texting a highly debated topic recently.  The choices of the individuals engaged in texting one another are not always limited to themselves, rather their choices can have direct effects, both physically and emotionally, on others.  The power of text messaging is one that has reshaped the world’s means of communication and those that use this power have a responsibility to use it correctly.

The texting phenomenon dates back to end of the 20th century.  Though accounts vary, it is generally accepted that the first text message was sent either during 1989 or 1992.  The first account attributes the first text message as a sequence of numbers sent and read upside down through a Motorola beeper by former NASA employee Edward Lantz.  The 1992 account states that Neil Papworth sent a message through a Vodafone GSM network with the use of a desktop computer.  This text message contained the simple statement “Merry Christmas.”   It wasn’t until Riku Pihkonen, an engineering student, came around that texts were sent on the more commercially recognizable Nokia mobile phones.  As this concept was first used in the early 90’s, the popularity of the text message did not initially catch on with the general public.  The number of text users began to grow at the turn of the century, and now statistics show that over 85% of people in Europe and North America are users of text messaging (Urmann, 2009).

Technological advancements in communication 

As with any advancement in the technological world, it took many different individuals working on the system for it to reach a state where the general population could benefit from its use.  The first text messages were seen as cumbersome to create and not an effective means of communication between people.  As more resources were spent on perfecting the system however, the process of sending a text message became drastically easier.  With the invention of the classic “T9word” feature on a phone, a user needed only select numbers that would correspond to certain, easily recognizable words programmed into the phone’s memory.  This replaced the need for an individual to spend a great amount of time constructing each word through multiple selections of a number on the phone.  Take the word “there” for example.  On the original system, a user had to hit the number 8 one time for the “t”, the number 4 twice for the “h”, the number 3 twice for the “e”, the number 7 three times for “r”, and finally the number 3 two more times for the final “e.”  New systems resolved from having to hit 10 keys to just the 5 needed for the actual word.  As the system continues to improve and grow for text messaging, there are both pros and cons to the advancement of the technology.

The power of the instant communication that the text message gives to society can be used for a multitude of positive functions and is a subject with high potential for study and research paper writing .  The ability to communicate quickly and efficiently allows for the transmission of important data instantaneously.  One such example of this is emergency text messages that can be provided to individuals for natural disasters.  Should a natural disaster be about to affect an area such as a tornado, sever storm, flood, etc., people that live in that area can have emergency texts sent to their phones to warn them about the impending danger.  This can literally save the lives of those who would have been otherwise caught unaware of the potential danger that they were in.  Additionally, text messaging ( like social media ) allows for people to maintain personal relationships with those that they do not have the ability to see on a regular basis.  As a study showed, the average teenager uses the text message for about 54% of their interactions with their friends.  Face-to-face talking was actually the third most used method of communication, weighing in at 33%.  The ability of instant, efficient communication that the text message provides can help people maintain a relationship with a friend when the two literally live on opposite sides of the country (Minshall, 2012).

Related reading: The decline of communication due to technology .

Texting problems: A societal disease?

Though the power of text messaging has many benefits to it, the misuse of this technology can cause serious problems for society.  With the ability to communicate instantaneously on a mobile device, society focuses more and more on their mobile phones at the expensive of focusing on other, important tasks such as driving.   Texting and driving is a hot topic nowadays, in not only the number of accidents that it causes per year but also the amount of money the state spends on combating drivers from texting and driving.  According to a recent NBC News article , “the federal government is $550,000 to Connecticut and Massachusetts for pilot projects to crack down on people who text while driving,” (Eng, 2012).  This program will hire police spotters on highway overpasses who are trained to look for motorists that are engaging in texting and driving.  This takes valuable resources away from the government that could be used to solve some of the country’s other important issues because people cannot responsibly handle the power of texting given to them.  The problems do not end only with state spending on making sure individuals responsibly wield the power of texting.

People are so addicted to the use of text messaging that they are literally causing themselves physical harm from over use on their mobile phones.  The overuse of one’s cell phone for texting can cause physical problems to the body.  The areas most effected by over texting are: the neck, head, shoulders, wrists, and hands.  By looking down at a phone screen and having a slumped posture, individuals are adding as much as 20 or 30 pounds of weight that their neck must support.  This new ailment dubbed “Text Neck” can cause major physical harm to the body if gone unchecked.  By putting excessive strain on the neck, the body must compensate and can lead to injury.  This can be easily avoided if individuals take the time to limit the number of texts they send and the time they look at the phones in a downward angle, however many people will just ignore the pain and act as though it is not a serious issue (Broaddus, 2012).

Texting can also affect one’s social life in a negative sense .  As found by Ya-Shu Liang, a licensed psychologist and Ph.D. holder, the use of extensive texting can lead to “’maintenance expectations,’ like expecting a fast response from a text, which can increase over-dependence and can lead to decreased satisfaction in a relationship,” (Hawkes, 2012).  People have come to expect to receive information at a blazing pace, and when they are denied their expected speed of response, they can become frustrated with the other person.  In addition to this, the use of text messaging can lead to a person having to maintain a number of relationships to the point where that person has no close relationships.  The person has to maintain such a large number of different relationships that he or she is unable to, by time constraints or other means, have a close, personal relationship (Hawkes, 2012).

Even with the use of technology in forming a romantic relationship, the over use of text messaging can be detrimental.  Modern times allow for a person to meet individuals from setting that are no longer face-to-face.  With the advent of internet dating, a person can meet someone new and form a relationship based almost exclusively on emailing and text messages .  The problem with forming a relationship in this matter is, as Dr. Liang states, is that an individual will likely form unrealistic expectations and standards of the person based on their electronic interactions.  People have a preconceived notion on the manner of another and will assume they will act a certain way before they ever meet face-to-face, as opposed to meeting some the first time face-to-face and forming opinions about them based on the way they act (Hawkes, 2012).

Additional reading:  Click here to read about social relationships among young adults.

Conclusions

The invention of text messaging has revolutionized the way in which people can communicate on a regular basis and the field of communications in general.  From the early 90’s simple message of “Merry Christmas” to today’s smart phones that literally allow a person to “draw” the words they wish to send, the advancement of this piece of technology is astonishing.  The power that it gives to society is nothing short of awesome in that it allows for instantaneous, efficient means of having a conversation.  However, with this great power that text messaging offers society; there comes a great deal of responsibility for correctly and safely using it.  People need to be able to efficiently manage the use of their text messaging.  We must be able to hold ourselves accountable for texting at appropriate times.  We have to be able to know when it is a right and wrong time to engage in texting.  If we do not, the government will continue to have to waste its time, effort, and resources to ensure that individuals are not abusing the power of text messaging.  So, it is on a personal level that society must correctly use this awesome power.  When driving a car, a person must have the clarity of mind to put down their phone.  When their body physically hurts from over texting, they must put down the phone and take a break.  We have to remember that our relationships are real, physical things with others and are not confined to only being used on a cellular phone.  The text message has so many potential upsides that it is crucial that society learns to be responsible with this power.  Only then, can we realize the full potential that the text message has.

Works Cited

Broaddus, Adrienne. "Frequent texting can be pain in the neck." WISHTV. (2012): n. page. Web.          <http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/health/frequent-texting-can-be-pain-in-neck>. 

Eng, James. "Texting while driving: Connecticut, Massachusetts to use police spotters to catch culprits in federal test." NBC News. (2012): n. page. Web. <http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/17/14515654-texting-while-driving-connecticut-massachusetts-to-use-police-spotters-to-catch-culprits-in-federal-test>. 

Hawkes, Ethan. "Technology takes a toll on relationships." Daily Titan. (2012): n. page. Web. <http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/10/technology-takes-a-toll-on-relationships/>. 

Minshall, Kristin. "Thumbs are Talking: Addicted to Texting." the Papyrus. (2012): n. page. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://papyrus.greenville.edu/2012/10/thumbs-are-talking-addicted-to-texting/>. 

Urmann, David. "The History of Text Messaging." Articlesbase. (2009): n. page. Web. <http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/the-history-of-text-messaging-1177228.html>.

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Chapter 6: 21st-century media and issues

6.11 Miscommunication and texting (argument from experience)

Aubrey Richardson

English 102, February 2021

Living in a world with multiple forms of technology and ways to communicate, lots of words and emotions can get interpreted in the wrong way. Nowadays texting is becoming more and more popular, so now it is possible that those who text quite often are uncomfortable or awkward with in-person communication. There are so many reasons as to why texting can affect communication such as that texts only allow for one-word, single sentence thoughts and ideas to be acceptable. Truthfully, how many times can you think of that you sent someone a message like that, and it has come out wrong? Or you get a message from someone and you feel instant irritation or attitude. I think this feeling can be the same for everyone because there is no context or information behind these messages other than the rough words, so without that nonverbal communication, you create your own opinion, feeling, or expectation.

I can say myself that this has happened to me more times than I can count on two hands. With the absence of emotion, gestures, and tone, there are very little cues to help clarify what the other person may be trying to tell us. These little mishaps that may happen more often than not, which could start issues just as arguments or the silent treatment.

In the images below, I have shown the same word but the different ways it can be interpreted over text depending on the context. I showed that whether you are a boy, girl, mom or dad the different ways this word can be interpreted as. Like when texting and using one of the “okay’s” you could be saying “k” because you are in a rush or busy. You could be saying “ok” just because you simply mean ok. The other example of the word whatever, my mom uses that in text ALL OF THE TIME, but she is never mad. When she uses it, it means yes for the most part. I never knew that until I asked her if she was mad at me or not but that is just the way she texts. But my point with all of this is, you have no idea what that other person is doing, feeling, typing, or trying to say without either them texting you a message the length of a book or seeing them in person.

My first ever semester of college was this past fall, and I went through a situation as I explained above that could have been completely avoided if it was in person. I was having trouble taking my test on Blackboard and none of my questions would save. Due to this technical difficulty, I thought it would be best to go to my professor and emailed him letting him know the issues I was having with the exam. He didn’t email me back for a little while, so I simply had assumed he was busy, like most professors are around exam time. Well, when he emailed me back, he had what seemed like an attitude or as if he was frustrated with me because he was responding with one-sentence replies. As a result, I began to get frustrated because my test was graded incorrectly, and he was responding with only a couple word answers and no emotion to me is what it seemed. So, after a long day of emailing back and forth and letting me retake the exam, he had apologized about the previous emails if they sounded negative because they were not. He has said that he was remarkably busy because he was grading two other classes exams in the middle of trying to email me back. This is the major problem we face with texting and email communication because, like I said, this was not the only time this happened to me, it was just the most recent. Without being able to “read the room” or see people’s facial expressions it is almost impossible to know what their actual intentions were with that text. People often get caught up with whatever task they have at hand, so not much attention is paid to their text messages, and therefore weakening their virtual communication with others.

The real meaning of a person’s text is often times lost or misunderstood. Also, having these text message conversations loses value and meaning to face-to-face conversations where you are able to use the tone of your voice to set the mood. Often, the structure of the sentence or punctuation conveys the emotions or feelings of that message. We as teens especially are so adapted to the basic grammar, the slang of text messages, punctuation or abbreviations it often translates into school writing. Personally, I can recall sometimes I have been writing a paper or notes and accidentally written “U” instead of “YOU” or “R” instead of “ARE.” All medias like texting are not always negative and do have some positive aspects to them. People nowadays have come out with ways that you can put more emphasis in a text message. Like the use of emojis, with the different faces they convey and colors, shapes, and people. These little things can change a boring message into a more emotional text. But even with that there are cons because you don’t want to be sending smiley faces and hearts to your professors in an email or your boss in a text. This is why the use of face-to-face interaction is so important to be able to see the body language and emphasis on people’s feelings. As weird as this may be, I feel like animals may have this same thought as us humans when it comes to misinterpretation. If you use a high nice voice when you’re saying something mean they will most likely think you’re being nice. Or if you scream and you’re saying something nice, they might think you’re being mean. It Is all about the perception and how you take things.

Another instance that comes to mind that happened to me was my senior year of high school, I was at home and I had just come back from an appointment and I had to speed get ready for my cheer game for a Friday night football game. Prior to my appointment, I sent my coaches a message saying, “I might be late to the bus because I am coming from an appointment 45 minutes away” and they all said okay that’s perfectly fine. So, I thought I was okay to get ready but obviously speed though. I am about to leave and my coach texts me “Hi Aubrey. You were supposed to be to the bus 5 minutes ago. Where are you?” and I was explaining to her how I let her know earlier that I was going to be late to which she explained she forgot. So, I had said I am on my way and she said, “If you are not here in 10 minutes, we are going to have to leave without you.” I thought she was irritated or mad at me, so I tried my best to get there. Well, when I got there, all the girls were laughing because I didn’t even have my shoes on. The whole time it was a joke, but I couldn’t read the humor through the text and I thought she was actually mad.

In conclusion, assumptions can be a very dangerous thing but a lot of times they are made frequently when texting, emailing and using different types of medias. Communication is a vital tool to be able to understand your peers and the environment around you. Everyone says communication is key to anything whether that be a friendship, a relationship or just talking to people in general. The different ways you can utilize your voice and body when having face-to-face communication will not only convey your message to the other person but give it in a direct way like a text or email. When you are verbally speaking to someone, the words you are using are given meaning, while over text the meaning is often times lost. No, texting and emails will never go away and as the years go on, they will most likely grow more dominant. But it is important to use the verbal skills you were taught no matter if you are having a conversation with mom, dad, sister, friends, or a dog.

Understanding Literacy in Our Lives by Aubrey Richardson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Effects of Text Messaging on English Language Essay (Critical Writing)

Introduction, effects of text messaging.

The written segment of literature and language forms an integral part in our language and culture. Through writing, man has been able to communicate his ideas.

In addition, writing has developed to be one of the most efficient methods of storing information. It is through writing that people have managed to put down their thoughts and beliefs, ideas and innovations. Writing has also played a critical role in the world of academia. Students in all education institutions are taught with the help of writing. Teachers write on blackboards, use printed books to teach and evaluate the performance of their students by giving them exams.

In most of these papers, students are expected to present their responses in form of writing. However, with the technological advancements that the world is currently facing, the status of writing, especially with regards to text messaging is being threatened. This paper shall therefore investigate the effects of text messaging in language.

As stated earlier, the world is facing a lot of advancements in the field of technology. Ever since the industrial revolution during the 19 th century, man has created and innovated new technologies. The main aim of these technological advancements is to make the life of man on earth to be easier, convenient, effective and efficient. To achieve this, man has incorporated science with other fields of technology to come up with means through which life can be comfortable for him.

Man has come up with several technological advancements. Among the various advancements, the most applicable form of technology that is embraced with teenagers and youths at the present time is the use of cell phones and computers. These gadgets can be used for a number of purposes.

However, the most common application of these gadgets by the individuals of the younger generation (youths) is text messaging. Teenagers text messages to their friends, family members, partners and so on. The youths embrace this form of communication due to its economies of scale. Text messages is very cheap; it is almost free. However, there are limits to the amount of characters that one text message can allow.

Due to this fact, teenagers have come up with various methods of reducing the amount of characters in a text message, but still maintain its context. They achieve this by the use eliminating certain letters in words, using abbreviations, using emoticons and incorporating slang in their text message.

Text messaging is characterised by a number of styles. First, texting involves the elimination of certain letters in words. A word like ‘you’ in text messaging will be written as ‘u’. A word like ‘working’ for example, will be written as either ‘wrkn’ or ‘workin`’. In other instances, text messaging involves the use of abbreviations in writing.

Many text messages contain abbreviations such as L.O.L, O.M.G, A.S.A.P and B.T.W. these abbreviations refer to lots of love or laugh out loud, oh my God, as soon as possible and by the way respectively.

These are just examples; there are many more that are being used. Finally, text messages entail the use of emoticons. These are pictures that are drawn by the use of keyboard characters to express the feeling or emotions of the writer. An emoticon such as represents a happy face, a sad face and <3 represents love. These different styles can either be used individually or collectively.

Due to the alteration of words, several scholars believe that text messaging will destroy our language, a heritage that has taken so many years to be created and developed. According to John Humphreys (2007), text messaging is an evil thing that should not be condoned in our society. The structure and style of writing that is used in text messaging is inconsistent with the rules and regulations that govern proper English. Humphreys feels that an intervention is necessary if we want to preserve our writing heritage (Humphreys, 2007).

Other scholars have criticized the use of text messaging on social media. To support their thoughts, some of these scholars argue that this form of communication is vague. It lacks the content that is required to ensure the stability of a language. Others argue that such form of writing only encourages laziness, especially on students.

This is because such writing is sluggish in nature. It therefore affects the psychology, attitude and perception of an individual towards formal language. As a result therefore, such individuals are likely not to take their academics seriously (The Linguist, 2008).

Many people are irritated with such writing. This is because of a number of reasons. First, it is difficult for a reader to determine the meaning of the text if he/she is not familiar with the style that is being used. Secondly, this writing style is not standardized. One has to interpret a message with regards to its context.

Finally, such writing has a negative impact on writing. It defiles proper writing and punctuation of words and sentences. This therefore affects negatively the writing styles of individuals especially students. Several cases have been reported where students have used such languages while writing their essays and reports.

Text messaging is an innovation that has made communication, especially among peers to be more effective and efficient. However, it is essential for individuals to consider the rules of normal writing in order to protect our language. This will ensure that our language maintains its heritage and is sustainable.

Humphreys, J. (2007). I h8 txt msgs: How texting is wrecking our language . Dailymail. Web.

The Linguist. (2008). Txting: frNd or foe. The Linguist, 46, 8-11.

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6 Tips for Writing an Effective Text Message

With a 98% open rate, text messages are the best way to contact customers, clients, or employees. However, for a text message to be compelling, it needs to be written and sent to get the recipient's attention. You don't want them to dismiss it as spam or ignore the message because it arrives at an inconvenient time. It should be engaging and encourage the recipient to take action, whether you want patients to book their flu shots or inform employees about a policy change.

Writing a good text message may not be as intuitive as you think, so look at our six tips for writing an effective text. 

1. Identify yourself

While texting from a local or toll-free number has the added benefit of not having to give out your personal information, you don't want to be  too  anonymous. If your contact doesn't recognize your number, there's a high probability that they'll delete the message to keep themselves safe from spam. That's why it's imperative to identify yourself in your first message and in every new broadcast. This provides a sense of security and trust and makes it more likely for the text to be read.

Text-Em-All offers a text templates feature that will allow you to add a previously created message into your text broadcast. You can use this feature as a personal introduction or a signature to help your audience identify you every time you send a message. 

2. Make your message clear

The first step to writing a clear and effective text is identifying the  why behind the message. What's  the point of your message? Once you've identified the point, write and re-write the message until you have a concise, straightforward message. Keeping the message brief and unambiguous will ensure your contacts don't just glance over the message without fully understanding its intent. 

3. Make it personal

Text messages don't have to sound like an AI chatbot wrote them. Part of what sets today's business texts apart from spammy, unwanted texts is that they provide the opportunity to give meaningful, personalized information.

The simplest way to personalize your message is to include your contact's name in the message. Not only does this make the message more personal, but it also ensures they know the message is intended for them. At Text-Em-All, our platform offers a personalization feature that inserts custom fields (First Name, Last Name, Company, etc.) into your text broadcast by automatically filling in your contacts information. 

4. Stay Professional

While being friendly and personal in texts is good, you must also keep the message professional . You should avoid emojis, abbreviations, and other text elements that could harm the impression you are trying to create. You should only capitalize proper nouns and the first word of each sentence and check each message to ensure your grammar and spelling are correct. 

5. End with a call to action

A call to action encourages recipients of your text to take the next step. There are a variety of actions that you could want your contact to take, but here are some common CTAs.

• "Please respond to this message if you are interested."
• "Go to ________.com to register."
• "Check your progress/grades/schedule at ________."
• "Call us at 888-xxx-xxx to ______."

Whichever CTA you use, make it clear what you want them to do next, whether it's making a call, sending a text message back, clicking a link, or something else.

6. Optimize your messaging schedule

It's not just about what you say in your text messages but also when you choose to send them. Scheduling your text messages at the right time can be just as important as writing them well. If people receive your messages at a time that's not convenient for them, they might choose to ignore them. Studies have shown that mid-to-late afternoon is the best time to send a text message if you want reasonable open rates and responses. About 6 pm, just after many people finish work, is one of the best times to send your text.

An effectively written text message is more likely to connect with your intended audience. It can also help you to get the response that you want. Before you send your message, test it to ensure it reads correctly and has no mistakes. Get someone else to look it over, too, so you have another set of eyes to check it.

Overall, texting is a really effective way to get in touch with your contacts, but writing a compelling text shouldn't be stressful. Just focus on the content of your message, keeping it short and sweet, and your audience will be grateful.

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How to Write Short Text Messages

Last Updated: January 17, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Tami Claytor and by wikiHow staff writer, Dan Hickey . Tami Claytor is an Etiquette Coach, Image Consultant, and the Owner of Always Appropriate Image and Etiquette Consulting in New York, New York. With over 20 years of experience, Tami specializes in teaching etiquette classes to individuals, students, companies, and community organizations. Tami has spent decades studying cultures through her extensive travels across five continents and has created cultural diversity workshops to promote social justice and cross-cultural awareness. She holds a BA in Economics with a concentration in International Relations from Clark University. Tami studied at the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm and the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she earned her Image Consultant Certification. This article has been viewed 21,481 times.

Text message marketing is a great way for small business owners to engage customers and share information. When a text about sales or PSAs is too long, it can feel diluted, put off your reader, or get broken into multiple texts that get sent out of order. Thankfully, you can craft the perfect short text by including a few key pieces of information and carefully organizing your words for maximum impact. Read on for a list of strong openers, information to include, and ways to cut words that will leave your text messages engaging and impactful in 160 characters or less.

Identify yourself.

• “JOE'S HOT DOGS Your order is ready for pickup.”
• “Ahmad's Flowers: Get 30% off rose bouquets this Valentine’s Day.”
• “Lily’s Library: Your rental is overdue.”

Personalize the message with the recipient’s name.

• “Sharon, Register for Corner Shop rewards today!”
• “Hi Emiliano, Your table at Corcoran’s Pub is ready.”
• “Bev, Will you donate to Mark For Mayor?”

Open with an attention-getting fact or announcement.

• “Did you know 80,000 acres of forest disappear every day? Sign our petition…”
• “Dara, It’s our biggest sale of the year! Use code SALE…”
• “1 in 5 children go hungry in the US each year. Will you donate…”

Put the important information at the beginning.

• “Timmy’s Toy Shop: Your gift is ready for pickup at 123 Main St. Call 555-5555 for delivery. Send HELP for more info.”
• “Oak Park Animal Shelter: Dozens of shelter dogs in Oak Park need homes. Learn more about pet adoption in your area at the link below. STOP to unsubscribe.”
• “Darrel, Sign Free Tree’s petition to save historic oaks on Main St. We’re counting on your support! Click to sign, share & learn more info.”

Include a clear call to action.

• “Subscribe to our email list by Jan. 31 for 10% off your next order.”
• “Call your Alderman to oppose the new Zoning Ordinance before City Council meets on Friday.”
• “Pick up your birthday cake today.”

Double-check your message for easy readability.

• “This ordinance is bad for trees along Main St” is easier to read than “This ordinance, if passed, will negatively impact the trees lining Main Street.”
• Just say “This is our biggest sale of the year” instead of “We have a lot of sales every year but this one is the biggest.”
• “Use code WIKI for 25% off boots” reads better than “If you want to get 25% off boots, use the code WIKI.”

Leave out jokes and strong emotions.

• Instead of “You know we love when our white chocolate is on sale,” just say “Our white chocolate is on sale!”
• Ditch “Why did the chicken cross the road? To try our new winter menu!” for “Try our new winter menu.”
• Trade in “We’re outraged by the new City Council proposal” for “Sign our petition to oppose City Council’s proposal.”

Make it skimmable with lists or bullet points.

• Note: hitting “enter” to go to the next line counts as a character.

Take out any unnecessary words.

• “Our super exciting Annual Sale” becomes “Our Annual Sale.”
• “You’ll really love our new fall collection” gets shortened to “You’ll love our fall collection.”
• “Stop by our giant superstore anytime this weekend” becomes “Visit our superstore this weekend”

Reword your message to be more concise.

• Choose the active voice over the passive voice to cut words. For example, “1 in 5 children are affected by hunger” becomes “Hunger affects 1 in 5 children.” [9] X Research source
• Cut unnecessary prepositional phrases. “Visit our downtown location on 11th & 45th” can just be “Visit our downtown location.”
• Place the subject of the sentence at the beginning. Instead of “There are 6,000 stray cats that need homes,” try “6,000 stray cats need homes.”

Use contractions.

• “Do not” turns into “don’t.”
• “Can not” turns into “can’t.”
• “They are” turns into “they’re.”

Use standard abbreviations for professional texts.

• “&” for “and”
• “info” for “information”
• “3 PM” in place of “3 p.m.” or “three o’clock”
• “msg” for “message”
• “US” for “United States”

Include a link with more information.

• “Click for tix & more info: bit.ly/3rzhlT9”
• “RSVP for our grand opening celebration: bit.ly/3rzhlT9”
• “Take our customer satisfaction survey here: bit.ly/3rzhlT9”

Only use periods when necessary.

• Leave a period off of the final sentence or instruction: “...Limited time offer. Text STOP to unsubscribe”
• Remove a period after an all-caps introduction: “WE NEED YOUR HELP Sign the petition…”

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://www.glossy.co/sponsored/how-personalized-text-messaging-builds-brand-loyalty/
• ↑ https://www.utsa.edu/marcomstudio/resources/style-guides/writing-guide/web-writing.html
• ↑ Tami Claytor. Etiquette Coach. Expert Interview. 29 September 2020.
• ↑ https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/revision-grammar/lean-and-clean/
• ↑ https://journal.emwa.org/writing-better/how-to-shorten-a-text-by-up-to-30-and-improve-clarity-without-losing-information
• ↑ https://www.npr.org/2020/09/05/909969004/before-texting-your-kid-make-sure-to-double-check-your-punctuation

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How do I cite a text message?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Cite a text message the way you would cite  a letter . Follow the MLA format template . List the sender of the text message as the author and then provide a description in place of a title. Include the recipient’s name in the description. Then give the date of the message:

Brown, Jane. Text message to Allan Smith. 1 Sept. 2016.

If you were the recipient of the message, you can indicate this in your description:

Brown, Jane. Text message to author. 1 Sept. 2016.

You might also use the description to indicate that you were one among many recipients of a group message:

Brown, Jane. Text message to Brooklyn Votes staff. 1 Sept. 2016.

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Message Writing: Format, Samples & Expert Tips

• Updated on  
• Jan 12, 2024

Message Writing : What is the format of message writing? Message Writing is one of the common formal types of writing that we learn in our school curriculum. A message can be simply described as certain information we need to give to a person when we can’t directly communicate or contact them. The format of a message mainly comprises elements like date, time, receiver’s name, the message and then the sender’s name. This blog brings you all the details about message writing format, practice questions and more!

This Blog Includes:

What is message writing, points to be remembered while writing a message, message writing from a conversation, example for message writing, exercise 1: write message from a conversation, exercise 4: write a message from notes., message writing expert tips and tricks.

A message refers to a brief piece of information that you write down for a person when you cannot contact them directly. A message can be both written or oral.

When you were not at home, your friend called and informed your sister about the cancellation of a plan for the next day. So, your sister will leave you a message before going out to inform you about your friend’s call.

Messages can be passed through different mediums, be it phones, texts or emails. But for school students, a generic form of message writing is included under the English syllabus. For this type of writing, they get to learn about retrieving and interpreting information through the conversation given. Then, they are taught about writing the basic inputs into a well-drafted format.

Here’s the Complete Guide to Notice Writing!

Message Writing Format

Since message writing is an essential part of the writing section in English exams, students are advised to follow a uniform format. Otherwise, you can lose marks for wrong formatting. Let’s take a quick view of the generic format for message writing in schools:

Format of Message Writing

Here are the key elements you must include in message writing:

• Heading You should begin by writing the heading as ‘ MESSAGE ’ in capital letters. It is supposed to be written in the centre at the top. 
• Date On the left-hand side of the page, you have to write the date in expanded form.
• Time Though it is mandatory to mention the time in a message, there is no specification for its placement as it can either be mentioned on the left under the date or on the right side adjacent to it. 
• Body It is the main passage, wherein you need to mention all the essential information. Do not use lengthy sentences, keep it short, precise and within 150 words. 
• Sender After writing the necessary information, the sender’s name comes at the end on the left side. 

Our Top Read: Short Term Courses After 10th

Students need to stick to the given word limits to get full marks for message writing questions. The standard word limit set by CBSE for such questions is 50 words. Make sure you are covering all the essential points within the word limit. 

• A box should include a message.
• It must be written using the correct format, as demonstrated below.
• The word count should be capped at fifty.
• You can write a message as a casual or formal note.

The questions on message writing from a conversation are quite common in exams when you will be provided with a conversation between two people. For this, the common format of message writing is followed in which you can provide a summary of your conversation and convey the receiver with the message that has been sent.

You are Rita. Your mother had recently gone for a health checkup. You received a call from the assistant doctor regarding the result of her reports. Since you have to go out, you leave a message for her. Draft a message regarding the same in not more than 50 words. 

Dr Kaushik: Is this A/24, Geeta Colony? You: Yes. May I know who is calling? Dr Kaushik: I am Dr Priya Kaushik calling from Central Diagnostic Centre. I would like to speak to Mrs Sneha. You: She is not at home right now. Dr Kaushik: Could you please tell her that I have seen all her test reports. They do not show any serious problems and if there would be no improvement, we might take some more tests. I advise her to continue the same set of medicines for a week and I have fixed her appointment with the cardiologist for four o’clock at the Christ Hospital. She must reach there on time with all her reports. You: Thank you, Doctor. I will convey her the same.

Here’s how to write this message from conversation:

Here are some of the distinct examples of message writing from which students can learn about how to appropriately draft the content for different kinds of situations.

Exploring Message Writing for English? Don’t forget to take a look at Letter Writing !

You are Simran. Your brother is not at home. You received a call from his friend regarding the cancellation of dance class. Since you have to go out, you will leave a message for him. Draft a message about the same in not more than 50 words.

Raj: Hello! Is this 25-A/12, Kamla Nagar? Simran: Yes. May I know who’s calling? Raj: I am Raj, Samar’s friend. Can I talk to him? Simran: He has gone to the market with mom and forgot his mobile here. Can I pass a message? Raj: Sure. I called to tell him that today’s class is suspended as our teacher had to go for a family emergency. The cancelled class will be held on Sunday. Please inform him of the same. Simran: Oh! Sure. I will. Thank you. Raj: You’re Welcome. Bye.

21st January 2020 —–

Dear Samar Your friend Raj from your dance classes called and informed me that today’s dance class is cancelled because the teacher has a family emergency. It will now be held on Sunday. 

Know All About Acing English for Competitive Exams !

Message Writing Worksheet

Here are some exercises for you to understand how to write messages. Practice them and let us know how helpful these were in the comment section below!

Harry : Hello, May I speak to Raj?

Neha : Sorry, my brother is not at home. May I know who’s this?

Harry : Hi, This is Harry, I am Raj’s classmate. Can you tell Raj that the tennis match at school tomorrow is postponed to the next Saturday.

Neha : Sure, I will pass on your message.

Harry : Thank you!

As Neha has to visit her friend, she leaves a message for Raj as per her conversation with Harry. Write the message on her behalf.

You are Ritvik/Ritika. You stay in the college hostel and share a room with Manish/Manisha. You are going to get a health check up since you haven’t been feeling well since the morning. Your roommate’s classmate came a while ago and asked you to tell Manish/Manisha that they need their Maths notebook back. Draft a message telling your roommate about the same.

You receive a phone call from your dad’s office in his absence and have the following conversation with the speaker. Mr Sharma: Hello, Mr Anand? Yourself: Hello, Dad is not at home, may I know who’s calling? Mr Sharma: I am Ramesh Sharma, your Father’s assistant at his office. Yourself: Hello, Mr Sharma. He is not at home. Do you have a message for him? Mr Sharma: Yes. Please inform him that the 10 am meeting in the morning has been rescheduled to 12pm. Yourself: Okay, Uncle. I will tell Dad once he comes back.

Take a look at the following notes from the notepad of Ms Meena Krishnan, Principal of R M Public School, Delhi. As her assistant , you have to draft a message on her behalf to Mr. Ram Sharma, the Vice Principal of the school. Notes -Meeting at 10.30 am in the Principal’s office -Topic of Discussion: Interschool Sports Meet -Review of preparations -Another meeting at 11.30 with the coordinators and in charge to check the progress of sports meet preparations.

Here are a few message-writing tips and tricks to help you ace such questions: 

• While answering message writing questions, make sure that the language you are using is readable and to the point. Avoid using bulky sentence and complex words that make the overall content difficult to comprehend. 
• Stick to the given word limit which is 50 words. 
• Avoid adding unnecessary details and keep the content concise. 
• Plan the overall content before you start writing it. Cover all the aspects of the question and try to follow a similar sequence of events as mentioned in the question. 
• Do not use long sentences in your answer. 
• Cross-checking is very important. After completing your entire write-up, reread it, and check the typing errors and grammatical mistakes to upscale the quality. 
• Avoid using indirect or reported speech throughout the message.

A message is a brief and frequently casual letter that is sent to someone who was not present to receive information over the phone, public address system, or in person. Both informal and formal message writing can be done in this manner.

Make an effort to express your point as clearly as you can. Don’t use fancy words or overwrite. Provide all pertinent details. Consider the scenario from the viewpoint of your readers.

A message’s format mostly consists of the sender’s name, the message, the recipient’s name, the date, and the time.

Thus, we hope that this blog has helped you understand what message writing is and how you can efficiently prepare for it. If you are planning to pursue a diploma after completing 10th or feel clueless about which stream to choose in 11th, sign up for a 30-minute free career counselling session with our Leverage Edu and we will provide you with all the guidance and assistance you need to sail through the foundation years of your academic journey. You can call our Leverage Edu experts on 1800 572 000 to find out how the application process can be fast-tracked and streamlined!

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14 comments

I want message from principal ie fee offer to children study

Lovely 🏵️🏵️

Hey Shreya!

If you liked this blog then do explore these similar blogs on writing- https://leverageedu.com/blog/notice-writing-for-class-8/ https://leverageedu.com/blog/letter-writing/

Hi this is very useful for me

Nice suggestion

This is very good

We are happy to help!

Thanks for the information.

Thank you for your valuable feedback!

Hello Sharif, thank you for your feedback. If you have understood how to write a message, we think you will enjoy reading our blogs on Report Writing ( https://leverageedu.com/blog/report-writing/ ) and Advertisement Writing ( https://leverageedu.com/blog/advertisement-writing/ ).

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Guest Essay

Passover’s Radical Message Is More Vital Than Ever

By Shai Held

Rabbi Held is the president and dean of the Hadar Institute, which he co-founded, and the author of “Judaism Is About Love,” from which this essay is adapted.

What do we do with our pain? What, if anything, can we learn from it?

The Bible offers a startling and potentially transformative response: Let your memory teach you empathy and your suffering teach you love.

This week, Jews around the world will mark the beginning of Passover. We’ll gather for Seders, in which we’ll re-enact the foundational story of the Jewish people, the Exodus from Egypt. For Judaism, a religion preoccupied with remembering the past, no memory is more fundamental than the experience of having been slaves to a tyrant and having been redeemed from his murderous clutches by God.

Such a memory, for some, may seem impossible to summon now, in a time of so much trauma and devastation. But it is critical to remember the Exodus precisely at moments of horror and pain because it is the ultimate reminder that the present moment need not be the final stage of history. The status quo, no matter how intransigent, can and must be overturned. Further, we are meant not just to remember our suffering but also to grow in empathy as a result.

The Bible’s emphasis on empathy is particularly poignant in this agonized moment, when Israelis and Palestinians, two utterly traumatized peoples, are so overcome with grief and indignation that they can barely see each other at all. And yet if there is to one day be a different sort of future in the blood-soaked Holy Land, both peoples will need to do precisely that: to hear each other’s stories and histories, to listen to and bear witness to each other’s suffering. The revolution in empathy I am describing is urgently necessary to remember precisely now, when it seems so utterly out of reach.

The recollection of slavery and redemption has important theological and spiritual ramifications. We are meant to live with a sense of gratitude and indebtedness to the God who set us free. We are asked to recall — year after year — that we moved from serving a cruel human master who sought only to humiliate and tear us down to worshiping a loving divine master who blesses us and seeks our well-being. We are called to empathize with those who are exposed and endangered in the present, having ourselves been defenseless in the past.

“You shall not oppress a stranger,” the Book of Exodus teaches, “for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” You know what mistreatment feels like, Exodus says, and therefore you should never inflict it upon anyone else.

Leviticus takes this further. “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens,” it tells us. “You shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Leviticus envisions something radical: a society that actively loves and seeks the welfare of its most vulnerable members.

There are longstanding debates in the Jewish tradition about precisely what loving our neighbor entails, but one thing is clear: The love we owe to our neighbor we owe to the stranger among us, too.

There is nothing obvious about this teaching, particularly in a moment when fear and anger threaten to suppress any hint of compassion.

Suffering can teach us love, but all too often we let it teach us apathy and indifference — or, worse, unbridled rage and hostility. Our afflictions harden us, turn our focus stubbornly inward, make our most aggressive impulses seem both necessary and justified. We come to feel entitled: I was oppressed, and no one championed my cause; I don’t owe anything to anyone. But the Bible encourages us to take the opposite tack: I was oppressed, and no one came to my aid; therefore I will never abandon someone vulnerable or in pain.

Many people who have suffered terribly, whether personally or politically, hear both voices in our heads and have both impulses in our hearts. One voice tells us that the pain we have endured (or are enduring) frees us from responsibility to and for others — justifies our fixating on ourselves — while another voice insists that our suffering must teach us to care more and more deeply for others. Through the mandate to love the stranger, the Bible commands us to nurture the latter impulse rather than the former, to let our suffering teach us love.

At a moment like this, the mandate to love the stranger can seem to be speaking to broad and intractable geopolitical conflicts, and in fact, it is, but it also addresses us personally, at the most intimate levels. I know both these voices only too well. Having lost my father as a child and been left alone with a mother who lacked the emotional tools to parent any child, let alone a grieving one, I struggle at times with feeling entitled to ignore other people’s pain and care for just my own. And yet — having experienced aloneness, abandonment and abuse — I also feel an intensified sense of empathy for and responsibility toward those who are alone, abandoned or abused. It is this impulse that the Bible seeks to nurture in me and in each of us.

This week, when we retell the Exodus story, we must remember its implications: Since we know vulnerability, the plight of the vulnerable — whether among our own kin or among those who do not look or pray or speak like us — makes an especially forceful claim on us.

The commandment to do this work is both individual and communal; it is, on the one hand and at various points in the Bible, very much specific to Jews. But on the other hand, it is fundamental to the heritage of human civilization, and thus it addresses every person and every people who hear it. Perhaps, having suffered, you are tempted to learn indifference or even hate. Refuse that temptation. Let your memory teach you empathy and your suffering teach you love.

To tell the story of our past is always also to internalize an ethical injunction for our present and our future: to love the stranger, for we know what it feels like to be a stranger — we know the vulnerability, the anxiety and the loneliness — having ourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.

Shai Held is the president and dean of the Hadar Institute, which he co-founded, and the author of “Judaism Is About Love,” from which this essay was adapted.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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