H OW TO W RITE A F RIENDLY L ETTER

K EEPING IN T OUCH Do you ever run to the mailbox to see if anything is addressed to you? Everyone enjoys receiving mail, especially letters. Even in this day of , letters from friends make friendships stronger. Letters from relatives make you feel closer. The best way to make sure you receive a letter is to send one.

P ARTS OF A F RIENDLY L ETTER Friendly letters have five parts: the heading, the salutation, the body, the closing, and the signature. The heading includes your address and the date. Write it in the upper right-hand corner. The salutation or greeting usually begins with the words Dear and is followed by the name of the person who will receive the latter. Place a comma after the name. Write a salutation at the left-hand margin, two lines below the heading. The body of the letter contains your thoughts and ideas. Begin writing on the second line after the salutation. Keep the paragraphs short for easy reading. Write the closing two lines below the body of your letter. A closing can include such words as Sincerely, Best Regards, From, and Love. Capitalize only the first word and follow it with a comma. Put your signature under the closing.

H EADING 37 Blorkstein Avenue. Toronto, ON M9W 1W1 Upper right-hand corner of page.

G REETING OR SALUTATION Dear Students, Greeting or Salutation usually begins with the words Dear and is followed by the name of the person who will receive the latter. Place a comma after the name. Write a salutation at the left-hand margin, two lines below the heading.

T HE BODY I had a wonderful summer. Every day was filled with adventure and joy. I experienced many different things in many different places, with many beautiful people. I climbed and travelled through mountains, all by train, car and foot. I swam in crystal clear glacier lakes with trout dancing the tango beneath my feet, all at the foothills of the European Alps. Etc....

C LOSING Your teacher, Mr. G Write the closing two lines below the body of your letter. A closing can include such words as Sincerely, Best Regards, From, and Love. Capitalize only the first word and follow it with a comma. Put your signature under the closing.

37 Blorkstein Avenue. Toronto, ON M9W 1W1 Dear Students, I had a wonderful summer. Every day was filled with adventure and joy. I experienced many different things in many different places, with many beautiful people. I climbed and drove through mountains, all by train, car and foot. I swam in crystal clear glacier lakes with trout dancing the tango beneath my feet, all at the foothills of the European Alps. Etc.... Your teacher, Mr. G

ASSIGNMENT – S UMMER M EMORIES How did you spend your summer vacation? Write a friendly letter to your teacher telling me about your summer.

PREWRITING List all the ideas you want to include in your letter. Gather all the details you will need to make each idea clear. In your letter describe: The activities in which you participated. The places you visited. The people that you met. Exciting events that took place. The feelings that you felt.

WRITING Begin by telling all about one of the ideas on your list. Any one will do. Writing a friendly letter gives you a chance to think about your own life. In this way, you benefit from writing a letter as much as the person who receives it.

REVISING – I MPROVING YOUR L ETTER Try to make your letter easy to read and entertaining. Read the sentences over to be sure they make sense. Remember to start a new paragraph each time you switch to a new story or idea.