One of the first types of letters that people learn to write is Friendly Letters. Friendly Letters are, as the name implies, letters written to friends or loved ones to convey a happy, sincere message. They are usually conversational in tone and are rarely longer than one page in length, though this is not a definite rule. When writing a Friendly Letter, the easiest way to make sure it is formatted politely and correctly is to look at various Friendly Letters examples. Examples.net is an informative site that offers helpful samples such as this free of charge to all site users.
When looking at the Friendly Letter examples on Examples.net, one of the first things that site users will likely notice is the information that appears in the top right hand corner of all Friendly Letters. This should be approximately three lines of text and should include the receiver’s address in the first two lines and the full date in the last. This is an important part of Friendly Letters since it states who the letter was from and allows the reader to know the date it was written. The date is also helpful for those who save letters and later wish to recall when the letter was received.
The next part of a Friendly Letter is known as the “greeting.” However, this is really just a fancy name for the part of Friendly Letters that addresses the receiver. The part that says, “Dear name,” is the greeting, and every Friendly Letter must contain one. This is basically self explanatory, though the name that should be used in the greeting depends on the sender’s relationship to the receiver. Writing “Dear Mom,” is considered appropriate. Basically, anything that the sender would call the receiver in “real life,” is considered acceptable, including nicknames and the like.
The next part of a Friendly Letter is simply the body. As mentioned above, most Friendly Letters are about one page in length, but the letter can be as long or as short as the sender prefers. Anything can be talked about in the body of Friendly Letters, though usually it is considered best and most polite to keep the subject matter light and fun. The sender might discuss the latest happenings in life, recent interests or encounters, and/or may ask the receiver questions as well. Asking questions is a great way to ensure a response to a letter.
The final two parts of the letter are simple. They are simply the closing, in which the writer of the letter “signs off.” Closings are generally short but may say anything. Common closings include, “Cordially,” “Sincerely,” “Yours Truly,” and more. Senders can be as creative or as traditional as they like. All that is left after the closing is a signature, which is self explanatory. However, even those who type their letters are encouraged to sign their names with pen or pencil at the bottom of the letter to give it a personal touch and feel.