The friendly letter

The Heading

The heading of a friendly letter should contain the return address followed by the date.

In a friendly letter the heading is always indented to the middle of the page.

If the correspondents are familiar enough and the recipient knows the writer's address, or if the stationery is imprinted with the return address, then the return address may be omitted. (Although another reason for the return address is a backup in case the envelope gets damaged...)

Always include the date.

Example:

123 Main St. 
West Newfield

Greater Portmore

St. Catherine

December 14, 2002

The Greeting

The greeting in a friendly letter capitalizes the first word and any noun. It normally ends with a comma.

Example:

Dear Aunt Miriam,

The Body

The body of the letter contains the main text. Each paragraph should be indented.

The Complimentary Close and Signature Line

The left edge of the close and signature line in a friendly letter begins in the center, at the same column as the heading – semi-block.

The complimentary close begins with a capital letter and ends with a comma.

Skip from one to three spaces (two on a typewriter), and type in the signature line, the printed name of the person signing the letter. If the writer and reader are very friendly, or if the letter is handwritten in the same script as the signature, the signature line or the last name in the signature line may be omitted.

Sign the name in the space between the close and the signature line, starting at the left edge of the signature line.

Unless there is great familiarity between the correspondents, the signature should be in blue or black ink.

                                                                   Example:

Truly yours,

(Signature goes here)

Margaret Fong

Full-Block: Everything is “lefted” – kept to the left.

Example:

Truly yours,

(Signature goes here)

Margaret Fong

RUBRIC

CRITERIA	4	3	2	1
SALUTATION AND CLOSING	Salutation and closing have no errors in placement, punctuation or capitalization.	Salutation and closing have few errors and are placed appropriately	Salutation and closing have 3 or more errors. One or both not correctly placed	Salutation and/or closing missing
BODY	Sentences and paragraphs are complete, well-written, varied sentence structure and vocabulary.	All sentences are complete and well written with no fragments or run-ons. Paragraphing is generally well done.	Most sentences are complete and well written. Paragraphs are unorganized.	Many sentence fragments or run on sentences.  No evidence of paragraphing
GRAMMAR AND EXPRESSION	No errors in grammar or spelling in body of letter	2-3  errors in capitalization or punctuation in body of letter that do not interfere in meaning.	Several errors in grammar or spelling in body of letter that interfere in meaning.	Many errors in spelling and/or grammar in body of letter that make the letter illegible.