Writing Personal Letters

The term personal letter includes all letters not written to businesses. Writing personal letters is a way of keeping in touch with absent friends or of expressing your feelings in certain social situations. Personal letters, which are usually handwritten, have five main parts:

The heading contains three lines: one line for the writer´s street address, one for the city, state, and ZIP code, and one for the date. None of this information should be abbreviated. The heading appears at the top right corner of your letter.
The salutation is the greeting. Usually beginning with Dear, it is written on the next line below the heading. It starts at the left margin of the page and is followed by a comma.
The body of the letter is the main part. There you write what you want to say in a detailed and conversational way. The body begins on the line following the salutation. Each paragraph of the body should be indented.
The closing is your way of saying "goodbye." You may say Love or Your friend, for instance. The closing is written on the line below the last line of the body and is followed by a comma. The first word of the closing should align with the first words of the heading.
Your signature is the last part of a letter. Skip a line after the closing and sign your name in line with the first word of the closing. Usually, only your first name is needed.
There are some forms of personal letters written only for special occasions. These social notes include invitations and thank-you notes. The notes also have five main parts, but the heading may be shortened to the date only.

If you send an invitation, include all information about the event. If you receive an invitation, reply at once.
Sometimes you will send thank-you notes. One kind of thank-you note is written to thank someone for a gift your have receive. Another kind of thank-you, called a bread-and-butter note, thanks someone for his or her hospitality. You would write this kind of note if you stayed overnight as a guest in someone´s home.
Sample personal letter format: (If you type a personal letter, always handwrite your signature.)