Compose informal letters on varied topics using appropriate format

A friendly Letter is a type of letter written to people who are very familiar to us such as our parents, relatives, friends, peers, or anyone with whom we have a relationship. It is not a condition that the recipient has to be your friend; it can be anyone with whom you are friendly. That person can be anyone whom you know well enough to correspond with. Friendly letters come under Informal Writing because there are no hard and fast rules for writing them. There is ‘Nothing Official’ about them. And you don’t actually need a solid reason to write a letter to a friend. You can write just to say ‘Hello’, ‘Gossip’ or ‘Share some memories. Most of the times a friendly letter is written to express best wishes, congratulations, apologies etc. It is a means to communicate and remain in touch with each other. For some people, it is socializing agent where you can confess, share a secret or misconduct, get views about specific topics, continue a chain letter, and do anything that pleases you. Informal letters are private or personal letters.

How to write a friendly letter.

1. Writers Address

This should be written at the top right-hand corner of your page like this:

                                                                                      K.P Basic School,

                                                                                      P.O. Box, 23,

                                                                                      Prampram-Accra.

                                                                                      26th November, 2021.

2. Salutation

Informal letters neither have the receiver’s address nor a title. ‘The correct way of greeting is ‘Dear + First name “as in Dear Sarah, Dear Ben, Dear Father, Dear Mother, or you can include ‘My’

NOTE that the ‘d’ must be capitalized. When ‘My’ is included, the ‘d’ becomes small letter. Note that the “M” of ‘Mother’ is capitalized because it stands for the name of the writer’s mother. It is used as a proper noun. My dear Mother, Dear Uncle David, Dear Sister Sarah,

In writing to your friends, you start with ‘Dear’ followed by his name or nick-name as in:

My dear Snapchat,

3. Introduction

It is best to start by acknowledging the receipt of a letter written to you by the person. You may also start by asking about the person’s health or any other way you like. One good thing about the informal letter is that you are allowed to write any way you want. In a letter to your brother, you may write:

My dear Joseph,

Thank you for the letter which I got a week ago. That letter made me very happy. This shows that you love me.

4. Body of the letter.

You will score a high mark if you do exactly what the question says you should do. If it says you should tell your friend how you are coping with your new school, you should go ahead and do so.

5. Subscription

Informal letters close with ‘your sincerely’. However, few other forms are accepted such as: ‘Yours affectionately’, ‘Your loving daughter’, ‘With love from’; etc. These are usually written at the bottom right-hand of the page. No signature is required. Write your first name and put a full stop like this:          

                                                                                                                Yours sincerely,   

                                                                                                                 Sarah.