To celebrate World Letter Writing Day on 1st September, we will learn how to write the opening and closing of an informal letter.
We will discover useful expressions to start and end a letter in a friendly and natural way, just like a native English speaker.
By the end of the article, you’ll be ready to write a letter to a friend or family member with confidence.
Example:
Dear Emma,
How are you? I hope you’re doing well. It’s been a long time since we last talked, so I wanted to write to you and tell you what’s been happening.
Last weekend, I went to the mountains with my family. We went hiking, took lots of photos, and had a picnic. The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time. What have you been doing recently?
I hope we can meet during the holidays. It would be lovely to spend some time together.
Take care,
Love,
Sophie
Parts of the letter – B1 Level
👋 Openings (Greeting): Dear Emma, Hi Emma, Hello Emma
📝 Opening sentence: How are you? I hope you’re doing well.
- It’s been a long time since we last talked.
- Thanks for your last letter/email.
- It was great to hear from you.
- Sorry I haven’t written for a while.
- I’m writing to tell you about…
- I’m writing because…
- Guess what?
- You’ll never believe what happened!
- I hope you and your family are well.
- I just wanted to write and say hello.
📄 Main body: News, questions, or reasons for writing.
🤝 Closing sentence: I hope we can meet during the holidays.
- I hope to hear from you soon.
- Write back soon!
- Let me know how you’re doing.
- Tell me all your news.
- I can’t wait to hear from you.
- I hope we can meet soon.
- See you soon!
- Take care of yourself.
- Have a great week!
- Enjoy your holiday!
- Good luck with your exams!
- Say hello to your family for me.
- Give my best wishes to your parents.
- Thanks for reading my letter.
- I miss you and hope to see you soon.
🙏 Common endings:
- Best wishes,
- Take care,
- See you soon,
- All the best,
- Love,
- Lots of love,
- Yours,