Friendly Letters
Google Docs presentation of key points
A friendly letter is an informal piece of writing. It is used to convey information and ideas from the writer to the recipient, who are assumed to know each other well enough to communicate informally.
Other than the specifics of its format, the friendly letter does not have too many particular rules about content. It uses regular writing rules (indent new paragraphs; one idea per paragraph; don't skip lines between paragraphs), although, since it is an informal piece between friends, some slang and "stretching" of the rules for stylistic purposes is permissible.
The few content rules are as follows:
A friendly letter should not start with "Hi" or another salutory word after the actual salutation.
A friendly letter should not begin with the writer's name, since the name appears both on the envelope and at the end of the letter; also, since it is a friendly letter, the recipient should recognize the writer's handwriting and not need to have the writer identify himself/herself.
You should fold your finished friendly letter into three even sections, then place it in a proper envelope.