postscript

A postscript (from post scriptum, a Latin expression meaning "after writing" and abbreviated P.S.) is a sentence, paragraph, or occasionally many paragraphs added, often hastily and incidentally, after the signature of a letter or (sometimes) the main body of an essay or book. In a book or essay, a more carefully-composed addition (e.g., for a second edition) is called an afterword. An afterword, not usually called a postscript, is written in response to critical remarks on the first edition. The word has, poetically, been used to refer to any sort of addendum to some main work, even if not attached to a main work, as in Søren Kierkegaard's book titled Concluding Unscientific Postscript.

E-mail era

In the age of e-mail, postscripts have become unnecessary: any modifications or additions to the body of a letter may simply be inserted within the e-mail before sending, though the convenience of a post-scripted addition is always available. Postscripts in e-mails are most often used when the author wishes to add something unrelated to the main body of text, something that may otherwise break the flow of the message.

Notes

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• P.P.S. is a "Post-postscript" and allows the letter writer to add even more thoughts after the first postscript. To continue, a third postscript would be a P.P.P.S. and so on, although these additions are rarely used in practice.
• The Oxford English Dictionary lists PS without the full stops (periods).
• "P.S. I Love You" is the title of at least three popular songs, one by Rosemary Clooney, one by The Beatles, and one by The All-American Rejects. "P.S. I Love You: An Intimate Portrait of Peter Sellers" is the title of a book by Michael Sellers, the performer's son.

See also

• Publishing
• Afterword
• Appendix
• Addendum
• Nota Bene
• HIPAA compliant email postscript

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