Reading and Writing
Writing an informal letter
Lay out a friendly letter in its usual parts, and keep the language warm rather than official.
A letter to a friend or a cousin is an informal letter, and it should sound like you talking. It still has a shape, though, and the shape is worth knowing: it is what tells the reader at a glance who wrote, when, and to whom.
The parts, in order down the page
Your own address, then the date, then the greeting, then the letter itself, then the closing, then your name. Address and date go on the right; the greeting starts against the left-hand edge.
The greeting names the person
Dear Ravi, Dear Grandmother, Dear Aunt — a first name or a family word, and a comma after it. Dear Sir and Respected Sir belong to a letter to a stranger or an official, never to a cousin.
Three paragraphs is a good letter
The first asks how they are and says why you are writing. The second carries the actual news. The third sends good wishes and asks them to write back. Anything shorter feels abrupt; anything longer usually wanders.
The closing has to match the greeting
With love, Your loving friend and Yours affectionately go with a friendly greeting. Yours faithfully and Yours obediently go with a formal one. Mixing them — Dear Ravi followed by Yours faithfully — is the commonest mistake in this topic.
Write the way you would speak
Kindly acknowledge receipt of this letter has no place in a letter to a cousin. Short sentences, questions, and a little enthusiasm are exactly right here — the stiffness that suits an official letter would make a friendly one sound cold.
Worked example
What is wrong with this letter? "Dear Meera, I wish to inform you that I have arrived. Yours faithfully, Ravi"
Look at the greeting: "Dear Meera" — a first name, so this is a friendly letter.
The greeting sets the tone, and everything after it has to match.
Try it together
Let us set out a friendly letter.
You are writing to your cousin. Work down the page from the top.
1.The very first thing you write, at the top of the page, is your own ____. Write the word.
Have a go
Which closing suits a letter to your best friend?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.