Writing an Informal Letter

Informal letters are usually written in a friendly and personal way. They are usually meant for our friends, relatives or anyone with whom you have a non-professional relationship. Depending on where you are from, you can write informal letters in many different styles. An informal letter includes an address, the date, an opening, a body text, a closing, a signature and sometimes a PS (post script).

Address
While writing an informal letter, your personal address should be at the top right hand corner of the page, since you do not always know if the person you are writing to has your address and they may want to reply. It is also advisable to write your country of residence. For example: 36 Downing Street, 5677 AS Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The addressee or receiver's address is generally written on the front of the envelope.

Date
You should write the date just below your own address, too. The month, day and year are usually written down. Sometimes, the month and day are sufficient. You should not forget that in English, the months are spelled with capital letters and placed right after the date. For example, 22 November, 2011. Americans, however, prefer to write the month before the date; such as November 22, 2011.

Opening
How do you address someone in English? This actually depends on how well you know the person you are writing to. You should consider your relationship with him or her. You could start with a greeting and say: "Hi / Hello Jane," but it is always safer to just say "Dear Jane," and add a comma right after it. Then, you can have casual opening sentences such as “How are you? How is life treating you?, I hope you are doing well, etc.”

Body
The body of your letter is usually in a personal and friendly tone. However, it's important to adjust your use of language depending on who you are writing to. So, think about how you usually talk to that person in real life. Cultural aspects of your language matter in this section. For instance, the English and the Americans are fond of exchanging social niceties. They often start their letters with a few polite questions "How are you?" or "How was your holiday?". Moreover, they are generally not as direct as most Europeans. The body of the letter usually consists of 3 paragraphs. The first one is usually for stating your reason for writing, the second one is for giving more details and the third one is for making some concluding remarks.

Closing
Closing sentences should be similarly casual too. One of the following sentences can be used to just before you sign off: I am looking forward to seeing you, See you soon, Send my love to...

Signature
In terms of signing off, the choice is yours and you have a lot of freedom here. Here are some examples: Best wishes, Kindly, Kind regards, Lots of love...