A "friendly" letter is pretty informal. In contrast to a business letter, it
doesn't require an inside address or a letterhead/return address (though the
latter may be printed on the personal stationery). The usual essential
components are the date, a salutation (which ends in a comma, not a colon as
in a business letter), the body of the letter, the complimentary close
(which can be something much more personal and informal than "Very truly
yours" or "Sincerely"), and the signature.

Strictly speaking, friendly letters are not typed, but of course nowadays
many are. Some personal notes, however, must *always* be written by hand.
These include letters or notes of condolence (sympathy) on the death of a
relative or friend of the recipient.

Any etiquette manual will probably give examples of typical layout for a
friendly letter. Generally speaking, the date is right-aligned, the
salutation left aligned, and the complimentary close and signature
left-aligned on the center line (as in a Modified Block business letter).
Body text is single-spaced with a "blank line" between paragraphs. The first
lines of paragraphs are usually indented.

For more, see http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000144.htm,
http://esd.iu5.org/LessonPlans/Lette...lettermain.htm, and other links
at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=friendly+letter or
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...er&btnG=Search

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
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"keyboardingteacher" wrote in
message ...
I am looking for a basic format for a friendly letter to teach in a
keyboarding class to elementary students.