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Writing lesson · Letter writing
Write a Friendly Letter: Greeting, Body, Closing and Signature
Write a letter to a grandparent or pen pal: put the date and greeting in the right place, give the body a clear purpose, then end with a closing and signature.
The idea
A friendly letter is writing for one real reader: a grandparent, a cousin in another city, a pen pal or a friend who moved away. Unlike a story, a letter talks straight to that person. Everything you write should make sense to them when they open the envelope or the email.
A friendly letter has five parts, always in the same order. The date goes at the top, so the reader knows when you wrote. The greeting comes next, such as Dear Grandma, and it ends with a comma. The body is the main part of the letter. The closing, such as Love, or Your friend, ends with a comma too. Your signature, your name, goes on the line under the closing.
Before you write the body, decide your purpose. Are you sharing news, saying thank you, asking a question or inviting someone? Say it near the start. A reader who opens a letter that begins Thank you for the hockey stick knows right away why you wrote.
Give each body paragraph one job, just like the paragraphs in the topic-sentence lesson. One paragraph might share news from school, and the next might describe something you did on the weekend. Choose specific details your reader will enjoy, such as the score of the game or the name of the book, instead of everything was good.
A letter is half of a conversation. Ask your reader one or two real questions, such as Is it snowing in Winnipeg yet? Questions show you care about their life and give them something to write back about.
Match your tone to your reader. A letter to your best friend can include a joke. A letter to a great-aunt you have met only twice should still be warm, but a little more careful. In both, write in full sentences and check your spelling, because a letter is something people keep and reread.
See the difference
A first attempt
hi grandma how are you I am good. school is good. we had a test. the weekend was fun. ok bye. Ella
November 3, 2026
Dear Grandma,
Thank you for the blue mittens you knitted for me. I wore them to recess on the first snowy day, and they kept my fingers warm through a whole snowball fight. My friend Ava asked where I bought them, and I told her my grandma made them.
This week our class started learning about pulleys. We built a little one with a spool and a string, and it lifted a cup of marbles all the way up to the top of the bookshelf. On Saturday, Dad and I raked leaves into a pile taller than me.
Is it snowing in Sudbury yet? Are you still feeding the birds every morning? Please write back and tell me.
Love, Ella
Why this works: Both versions are invented examples. The first has no date, no comma after the greeting, no closing and no capital letters, and every sentence is vague (school is good, the weekend was fun), so Grandma learns almost nothing. The stronger version puts the five parts in order: date, Dear Grandma with a comma, a body, Love with a comma, and the signature. The first paragraph states the purpose (thank you for the mittens) and gives a detail she will enjoy. The second shares specific news. The last asks two real questions, so Grandma has something to answer.
Worked examples
Example 1 · Put the parts in order
These parts of a letter are mixed up: Your pen pal, / Dear Malik, / Sam / October 20, 2026 / (the body). Put them in order.
- The date always comes first, at the top: October 20, 2026.
- Next is the greeting, which names the reader: Dear Malik,
- The body comes after the greeting. The closing (Your pen pal,) follows the body, and the signature (Sam) goes last, under the closing.
October 20, 2026 → Dear Malik, → (body) → Your pen pal, → Sam
Example 2 · Fix the greeting and closing
Fix the punctuation and capitals: dear uncle Ray / your nephew / Leo
- Capitalize the first word of the greeting and every part of a name or title used as a name: Dear Uncle Ray.
- Add a comma after the greeting: Dear Uncle Ray,
- Capitalize only the first word of the closing and add a comma: Your nephew, then sign Leo on the next line.
Dear Uncle Ray, … Your nephew, / Leo
Example 3 · State the purpose early
This letter's first sentence is: I have lots of stuff to tell you. The writer really wants to invite a cousin to a birthday party. Write a better opening sentence.
- Ask: why am I writing this letter? To invite my cousin to my party.
- Say that purpose in the first sentence of the body.
- Add the key detail the reader needs: when the party is.
I am writing to invite you to my birthday party on Saturday, November 21.
Example 4 · Make news specific
Make this sentence specific for a grandparent: We did a fun thing at school.
- Ask: what exactly did we do? We went on a trip to the science centre.
- Add one detail the reader can picture: what you saw or did there.
- Keep it to one or two sentences so the paragraph stays focused.
Our class took a bus to the science centre, and I got to hold a magnet strong enough to lift a toy car.
Example 5 · Match the tone
Which closing fits a letter to a great-aunt you rarely see, and which fits a best friend? Choices: See ya!, With love,
- A great-aunt is family but less familiar, so choose a warm, careful closing.
- A best friend knows you well, so a casual closing is fine.
- Either way, the closing goes on its own line and the signature goes underneath.
Great-aunt: With love, · Best friend: See ya!
Common mistakes
Why this fails: In a friendly letter both the greeting and the closing end with a comma: Dear Grandpa, … Love, then the signature on the next line.
Why this fails: Only the first word of a closing takes a capital: Your best friend, (a name, such as Grandma, would still be capitalized).
Why this fails: State your purpose near the start (thank you, news, an invitation) so the reader knows why the letter came.
Why this fails: Vague news gives the reader nothing to picture or answer. Name a specific event, person, score or book.
Why this fails: A letter must make sense on its own. Name the thing and explain what happened, because the reader cannot ask you right away.
Foundation
Foundation practice
Know the five parts and where they go.
1. Which part of a friendly letter tells the reader who the letter is for?
- The signature
- The closing
- The greeting
- The date
2. Which greeting is written correctly?
- Dear Aunt Mira,
- dear Aunt Mira,
- Dear aunt Mira
- Dear Aunt Mira.
3. Which closing is written correctly?
- Your Friend,
- your friend,
- Your friend.
- Your friend,
4. What comes directly after the body of a friendly letter?
- The greeting
- The closing
- The date
- The signature
5. Which first sentence of a body tells the reader the purpose of the letter right away?
- Hi, how are you doing today?
- I have a lot of things to say.
- Thank you for coming to my concert last Friday.
- It is Tuesday and I am at the kitchen table.
Practice
Practice practice
Fix and improve parts of real letters.
6. Fix the capitals and punctuation in this greeting and closing: dear grandpa joe / with love / Mia
7. Rewrite this vague sentence for a pen pal: My weekend was fun.
8. Your cousin just started playing basketball. Write one question you could ask in your letter.
9. You are writing to thank your grandmother for a book. Which detail fits best in your letter?
- My favourite part was when the girl finally found the lost map in the attic.
- Books are made of paper.
- I also like video games a lot.
- My teacher's name is Mr. Chen.
10. Fix this sentence so a friend who moved away can understand it: It happened again at that place!
11. A letter body has three sentences in this order: (1) Our soccer team won the final 3–2. (2) I scored the second goal. (3) Also, we are getting a new kitchen table. Where should the new paragraph start, and why?
Think
Think practice
Make choices like a letter writer.
12. You are writing to a great-aunt you have met only once. Which sentence has the best tone?
- Yo! What's up? LOL.
- Send me money for my birthday.
- Hey. Nothing's new. Whatever.
- Mom showed me the photo of you at the lake, and I would love to hear about that trip.
13. Which ending is stronger for a letter to a friend who moved to Halifax?
- Bye.
- Do you get to see the ocean from your new school? Write back soon! Your friend, Omar
- Your friend, Omar
- That is all. The end. Omar
14. Why is it a good idea to ask your reader a question in a friendly letter?
15. Name two different purposes a friendly letter can have, and write one opening sentence for each.
Your turn to write
Write a friendly letter of two or three body paragraphs to a real or imagined reader: a grandparent, a cousin, a pen pal or a friend who moved away. Choose one purpose (thank you, news or an invitation) and state it near the start. Include the date, a greeting with a comma, specific news or details, at least one question for your reader, a closing with a comma and your signature.
Helpful sentence starters
- Dear ...,
- Thank you so much for ...
- I am writing to tell you about ...
- This week at school, ...
- Guess what happened on ...?
- How is ...? Do you still ...?
- Please write back and tell me ...
- Love, / Your friend, / Your grandson, / Your granddaughter,
Write in a notebook or a document. The model and checklist are available without signing in.
Check and improve
- My letter has a date at the top.
- My greeting names my reader, starts with a capital letter and ends with a comma.
- I state the purpose of my letter near the start of the body.
- Each body paragraph has one job, and my news uses specific details.
- I ask my reader at least one real question.
- My tone fits my reader: warm, polite and in full sentences.
- My closing capitalizes only the first word and ends with a comma, and my signature is on the line below it.
This checklist is for parent-and-child self-review. No automatic writing score is assigned.
Answer key
- 1. The greeting
The greeting (Dear Nana,) names the reader. The signature names the writer, not the reader; the closing (Love,) says goodbye; and the date tells when the letter was written. - 2. Dear Aunt Mira,
Dear and every part of the name (Aunt Mira) are capitalized, and the greeting ends with a comma. The second has a lowercase dear, the third has a lowercase aunt and no comma, and the fourth ends with a period instead of a comma. - 3. Your friend,
Only the first word of a closing is capitalized, and it ends with a comma. Your Friend capitalizes too much, your friend has no capital, and a period is the wrong mark for a closing. - 4. The closing
The order is date, greeting, body, closing, signature. The signature comes after the closing, not right after the body, and the date and greeting come before the body. - 5. Thank you for coming to my concert last Friday.
This sentence says exactly why the letter was written: to say thank you for a specific event. The others are small talk or setting details that do not tell the reader the purpose. - 6. Dear Grandpa Joe, … With love, / Mia
Capitalize Dear and both parts of the name, put a comma after the greeting, capitalize only With in the closing and add a comma, then sign on the next line. - 7. Example: On Saturday, my brother and I built a snow fort with two rooms and a tunnel.
Any answer that names a specific event and adds a detail the reader can picture works. Who, what and one interesting detail turn vague news into real news. - 8. Example: What position do you play, and have you scored a basket in a game yet?
A good question is about the reader's life and cannot be answered with just yes or no, so it gives them something to write back about. - 9. My favourite part was when the girl finally found the lost map in the attic.
This detail is about the gift and shows you really read it, which is what a thank-you letter is for. The others are true but off-topic: they do not connect to the book she gave you. - 10. Example: The fire alarm went off during lunch again at Maple Street School!
Name the event and the place. Your friend cannot ask you what it or that place means, so the letter must say it. - 11. Before sentence 3, because sentences 1 and 2 are about soccer and sentence 3 starts a new topic (the kitchen table).
Each body paragraph has one job. When the topic changes, start a new paragraph. - 12. Mom showed me the photo of you at the lake, and I would love to hear about that trip.
It is warm, polite and shows interest in her life. The first is too casual for someone you barely know, the second is a rude demand, and the third sounds bored and gives her nothing to answer. - 13. Do you get to see the ocean from your new school? Write back soon! Your friend, Omar
It asks a real question about the friend's new life, invites a reply, and has a closing and signature. Bye. has no closing or signature, the third is correct but gives the friend nothing to answer, and The end belongs to a story, not a letter. - 14. Because a letter is half of a conversation: a question shows you care about the reader's life and gives them something to write back about.
Strong answers mention the reader and the reply. A question keeps the exchange going. - 15. Example: Thank you: Thank you for the art kit you sent for my birthday. Invitation: I am writing to invite you to our school concert on December 10.
Purposes include saying thank you, sharing news, inviting, asking for advice or saying sorry. Each opening sentence should make the purpose clear right away.