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The personal touch

We are really lucky to live in a time when it has become so easy to connect with and contact people instantly, all around the world.

Whether it's through a phone call, text message, social media, email or video chat, we are never more than a click of a button away from the people we know.

Despite this, there is still something magical and personal about receiving a letter. The excitement of getting a postcard from a friend while they are holidaying on a sunny beach somewhere, or a letter from a relative you have not seen in ages, is hard for modern technology to match.

Structuring your letter

Writing letters to friends and people we know well is slightly different to writing more formal letters.

However, they both follow similar rules, as Cinders helpfully points out to Joe.

First, write your full address in the top right hand corner of the page. This lets people know where to send a reply to.

Below this, note the date you are writing the letter on.

Moving over to the left hand side, greet your friend using words like Dear, Hello or Hi, followed by their name and then a comma.

Paragraphs

After taking a new line, you can start your letter with a short introduction. This might just be small-talk, asking how the other person is and what they have been up to recently.

Make sure to start a new paragraph to introduce a new topic or theme. You can have as many paragraphs as you like, just treat it as if you are having a chat with the person you're writing to.

Using paragraphs will help structure your writing in a clear and easy to follow way. It is still very important to make sure your grammar, spelling and punctuation is checked throughout to ensure the reader can understand everything.

When you have finished, it's time to say goodbye.

A formal letter is signed off Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully.

An informal letter can be signed less formally, using phrases like Love from, See you soon or Best wishes.