Literacy: creating texts
The parts of a friendly letter
Name the parts of a friendly letter and set them out in the right places on the page.
A letter to a cousin or a grandmother is a friendly letter, and it is allowed to sound like you. It still has a shape, though, and the shape never changes: the same six parts, in the same order down the page, whoever you are writing to.
The six parts, from top to bottom
Your own address opens the letter, and the date sits just under it. The greeting follows, the body carries your news, the closing rounds it off, and your name finishes the letter. Learn the six in that order and you can never lose your place.
The greeting names the reader
Dear Anna, Dear Grandmother, Dear Ravi. A capital D on Dear, a capital letter on the name because it is a proper noun, and a comma at the end of the line.
The body is the letter itself
This is where the news goes. Two or three short paragraphs are plenty: ask how they are, tell them what has happened, and ask them to write back.
The closing and your name go together
With love, Your loving friend, Yours affectionately — one short line ending in a comma, and your name written underneath it. Nothing comes after your name.
Have a play
Here is a friendly letter with its six parts drawn as blocks. Find out what each block is called and where on the page it sits.
Tap any part of the picture.
Worked example
What is missing from this letter? "Dear Anna I had a lovely time at your house. With love, Ravi"
Look at the greeting: "Dear Anna" has no comma after it.
The greeting is a line of its own, and it always ends in a comma.
Try it together
Let us set out a friendly letter, part by part.
You are writing to your cousin. Each answer is one word.
1.Which part names the person you are writing to? Write one word.
Have a go
Which line would you write straight after "Dear Ravi,"?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.