Writing a Friendly Letter

Why write a letter?

Ama's cousin Akosua lives in Kumasi. Ama lives in Accra. They see each other only at Christmas. In between, Ama wants to tell Akosua about school, about her new puppy, and about the football match her brother won.

She could phone. But a letter is different. A letter can be read again and again. It can be kept in a box for years. It shows that someone sat down and spent time thinking about you.

A friendly letter is a letter to someone you know well: a cousin, a grandparent, a friend who has moved away, an aunt in another town. It is warm and chatty, like talking.

In this book you will learn the five parts of a friendly letter, how to set them out, and how to write one that your cousin will want to read twice.

Try this: Think of one person you would like to write to. Write their name at the top of a clean page.

The five parts

Every friendly letter has the same five parts, in the same order.

1. The heading — your address and the date, at the top right
2. The greeting — "Dear Akosua,"
3. The body — the news, the questions, the main message
4. The closing — "Your loving cousin,"
5. The signature — your name

Think of it as a house. The heading is the roof. The greeting is the front door. The body is the rooms inside, where everything happens. The closing and signature are the back door, where you say goodbye.

If you leave a part out, the reader is confused. A letter without a date cannot be placed in time. A letter without a signature is a mystery.

Try this: Say the five parts aloud, in order, without looking.

The heading: your address

The heading goes at the top right of the page. It starts with your own address, so the reader knows where to send a reply.

Write each line of the address on its own line:

          P.O. Box 214
          Dansoman
          Accra

Or, if your house has a street address:

          House No. 12, Palm Street
          Dansoman
          Accra

Do not write your name in the heading. Your name goes at the end, in the signature.

Notice there are no full stops at the end of the lines. Each line is short, so the reader's eye moves down easily.

Try this: Write your own address as a heading, at the top right of a page. Ask an adult to check it is correct and complete.

The heading: the date

Under the address, leave one empty line, then write the date in full.

          P.O. Box 214
          Dansoman
          Accra

          14th March 2026

Write the day, the month in words, and the year. Do not write 14/3/26. In a letter, numbers only look cold, and in some countries 14/3 means something different.

The date matters more than you think. In ten years, Akosua might find this letter in a drawer. The date will tell her exactly when it was written and how old she was.

Common mistakes:

• Forgetting the year
• Writing the month as a number
• Putting the date before the address

Try this: Write today's date in full, the letter way. Then write your birthday the same way.

The greeting

The greeting is the first line of the letter itself. It starts at the left of the page, below the heading, after one empty line.

Dear Akosua,

The word Dear always starts with a capital letter. The name starts with a capital letter. A comma comes after the name.

For a friendly letter, the greeting can show how close you are:

• Dear Akosua,
• Dear Cousin,
• Dear Grandma,
• My dear Kofi,
• Hello Abena,

Do not write "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam" in a friendly letter. Those are for people you do not know, in formal letters.

Worked example: Kwame writes "dear akosua". What is wrong? Two missing capitals and a missing comma. It should be "Dear Akosua,".

Try this: Write three different greetings for three different people you know.

Friendly or formal?

There are two main kinds of letter, and you must know which one you are writing.

A friendly letter goes to someone you know: family, friends, classmates. It is warm and chatty. It has one address (yours) and uses "Dear Akosua," and "Your loving cousin,".

A formal letter goes to someone you do not know well, or to an office: a headteacher, a bank, a newspaper, a company. It is polite and short. It has two addresses (yours and theirs), a title line saying what the letter is about, "Dear Sir," or "Dear Madam," and "Yours faithfully,".

	Friendly	Formal
To	cousin, friend	headteacher, company
Addresses	one	two
Greeting	Dear Akosua,	Dear Sir,
Tone	chatty	polite, serious
Closing	Your friend,	Yours faithfully,

This book is about friendly letters. You will learn formal letters later.

Try this: Decide: friendly or formal? A letter asking the headteacher for permission to visit the zoo. A letter to Grandma about your birthday. A letter to a newspaper about rubbish in your street.

The body: where the news lives

The body is the longest part. It is where you say what you want to say. A good body has at least three paragraphs:

1. Opening paragraph: Ask how they are. Say why you are writing.
2. Middle paragraph or paragraphs: Your news. One idea per paragraph.
3. Last paragraph: Ask them to write back. Send greetings to the family.

Start each paragraph on a new line. Leave an empty line between paragraphs so the reader can see where one idea ends and the next begins.

Write the way you talk, but a little more carefully. Use full sentences. Use capital letters and full stops. Do not use text-message spellings like "u" or "gr8".

Try this: List three pieces of news you could put in a letter. Which one would go first?

The opening paragraph

The first paragraph is short and warm. It greets the reader properly and says why you are writing.

Here are some ways to begin:

• "How are you? I hope you and everyone at home are well."
• "It was lovely to see you at Christmas. I have been thinking about our trip to the zoo ever since."
• "Thank you for your letter. It arrived on Tuesday and I read it three times."
• "I am writing to tell you some exciting news."

Worked example: Ama begins:

How are you, Akosua? I hope Auntie Efua and Uncle Kwabena are well, and that the rain has stopped in Kumasi. I am writing to tell you about my new puppy and about school.

She asks about the family, mentions something about Kumasi, and says what the letter is about. Now Akosua wants to read on.

Try this: Write an opening paragraph of two or three sentences to the person you chose on the first page.

The middle paragraphs: your news

This is where you tell your stories. Give each piece of news its own paragraph. Add details that make the reader see what you saw.

Not enough detail:

I have a puppy. It is nice.

Better:

Two weeks ago Daddy brought home a puppy. He is brown with one white ear, and we have named him Biscuit. He chews everything, even my school sandals, but when he falls asleep on my feet I forgive him.

See the difference? The second one has a colour, a name, a funny problem and a feeling. The reader can picture Biscuit.

Ask yourself: who, what, when, where, why, how. Answering even three of these makes a paragraph come alive.

Try this: Take one piece of news from your list. Write it as a paragraph of four or five sentences with at least one colour, one name and one feeling.

Asking questions

A letter is half of a conversation. The other half is the reply. To get a good reply, ask questions.

Good questions are about the reader's life:

• "How is your new school?"
• "Did your team win the match you told me about?"
• "Has Grandma's cough got better?"
• "What are you doing in the long vacation?"

Spread the questions through the letter rather than piling them all at the end. Two or three questions are enough. Ten questions feel like a test.

Worked example: Ama writes:

Did you pass your Twi test in the end? You said it was the hard one. I want to hear everything.

The question is about Akosua, it remembers something from the last letter, and it shows that Ama was listening.

Try this: Write three questions you would like your reader to answer. Make one of them about something they told you before.

The last paragraph

The last paragraph of the body winds the letter down. It should do three things:

1. Say you must stop now (and give a small reason)
2. Ask them to write back
3. Send greetings to other people in the house

Worked example:

I must stop now because Mummy is calling me to help with supper. Please write back soon and tell me all your news. Greet Auntie Efua, Uncle Kwabena and little Kojo for me.

Other ways to end:

• "I am looking forward to your reply."
• "Write soon and tell me about the festival."
• "Give my love to everyone at home."
• "I cannot wait to see you in December."

Do not end suddenly after your last story. A letter that just stops feels as if the writer ran out of ink.

Try this: Write a last paragraph of three sentences. Include a reason for stopping and one greeting to pass on.

The closing

The closing is one short line after the body. It goes on its own line, with a capital letter at the start and a comma at the end.

For a friendly letter, choose a closing that matches how close you are:

• Your loving cousin,
• Your friend,
• With love,
• Lots of love,
• Your loving granddaughter,
• Best wishes,
• Yours sincerely, (a little more formal)

Only the first word has a capital letter. Write "Your loving cousin," not "Your Loving Cousin,".

In many Ghanaian schools the closing is written on the left, under the body. Some teachers place it on the right, under the heading. Both are correct. Ask your teacher which one your school uses, and keep to it.

Try this: Pick the closing you would use for a cousin, a best friend and a grandparent. Write all three correctly.

The signature

Under the closing, write your name. This is the signature. In a friendly letter you use just your first name, because the reader knows who you are.

Your loving cousin,
Ama

Some people also sign with a pet name or a nickname, if the reader uses it: "Ama" might sign as "Maame". That is fine in a friendly letter, but never in a formal one.

If you are typing the letter, you can type your name. If you are writing by hand, write it clearly. A signature nobody can read is not a signature.

Do not add "Miss" or "Master" before your name, and do not write your surname unless your cousin has lots of cousins called Ama.

Try this: Write a closing and signature. Then write a second one using a nickname your family calls you.

Putting it all together

Here is the whole shape on one page. Look at where each part sits.

                              P.O. Box 214
                              Dansoman
                              Accra

                              14th March 2026

Dear Akosua,

    How are you? I hope everyone at home is well.
I am writing to tell you about my new puppy.

    [middle paragraphs: the news]

    I must stop now. Please write back soon.
Greet everyone for me.

Your loving cousin,
Ama

The heading sits on the right. Everything else starts on the left. There is an empty line between each part, and between paragraphs.

Try this: Draw this layout on a blank page with boxes instead of words. Label each box with the name of the part.

Ama's letter to Akosua

Here is Ama's complete letter. Read it twice: once for the story, and once looking for the five parts.

P.O. Box 214, Dansoman, Accra 14th March 2026

Dear Akosua,

How are you? I hope Auntie Efua, Uncle Kwabena and little Kojo are well. I am writing to tell you about my new puppy and my first term in Basic 5.

Two weeks ago Daddy brought home a puppy. He is brown with one white ear and we named him Biscuit. He chews everything, even my school sandals, but when he sleeps on my feet I forgive him.

School is harder this year. We are doing decimals in maths, and I think I like them. Our teacher, Mr Mensah, says I am good at reading aloud. Did you pass your Twi test?

I must stop now because Mummy is calling me. Please write back soon.

Your loving cousin, Ama

Try this: Find the heading, greeting, body, closing and signature. Count the paragraphs in the body.

Kumasi, where the letter is going

Ama's letter will travel about 250 kilometres north-west, from Accra to Kumasi. Kumasi is the second-largest city in Ghana and the capital of the Ashanti Region. It is known as the Garden City because of its trees and flowers.

Akosua lives near Kejetia, one of the biggest markets in West Africa. When Ama visited last Christmas, she got lost twice among the stalls.

When you write to someone in another town, mention a place you both know. It makes the letter feel close. Ama might write, "Is the big Kejetia building finished yet?" or "I still remember the groundnut soup at Auntie's house."

Try this: Think of a place the person you are writing to knows well. Write one sentence about it that you could put in your letter.

The envelope

A letter needs an envelope to travel. The envelope has its own rules.

In the middle of the front, write the name and address of the person you are writing to. This time, start with the name:

        Miss Akosua Owusu
        P.O. Box 1056
        Kejetia
        Kumasi

In the top left corner, write your own address, smaller. If the letter cannot be delivered, the post office sends it back to you.

In the top right corner, stick the stamp.

Try this: Draw an envelope. Address it to your cousin, with your address in the corner and a square for the stamp.

Stamps and the post

A stamp is a small piece of paper that shows you have paid for the letter to travel. You buy it at the post office and stick it on the top right of the envelope.

In Ghana, letters are carried by Ghana Post. You drop your letter in a post box or hand it over at a post office. It is sorted, carried by road to the right town, and placed in the reader's post box.

A letter from Accra to Kumasi usually takes a few days. That waiting is part of the fun. Akosua does not know a letter is coming. One afternoon she opens the post box, and there it is, with her name on it in Ama's handwriting.

Try this: Find out where the nearest post office or post box is to your home or school.

Writing neatly

A friendly letter is written by hand more often than typed, so your handwriting matters. The reader should not have to guess at words.

Tips for a neat letter:

• Use lined paper, or put a lined sheet under plain paper
• Leave a margin on the left
• Write in blue or black pen, not pencil, so it does not smudge or fade
• Write a rough copy first, then copy it out neatly
• If you make a mistake, cross it out once with a single line. Do not scribble

Ama's teacher, Mr Mensah, says: "Your letter is your face when you are not there. Make it a clean face."

If you have a computer, you can type your letter and print it. But sign your name by hand at the bottom. A handwritten name makes it personal.

Try this: Copy the greeting and first paragraph of Ama's letter in your neatest handwriting.

Capital letters and full stops

Letters are full of names and places, so capital letters are everywhere. Check these:

• The first word of every sentence
• Names of people: Akosua, Mr Mensah, Biscuit
• Names of places: Accra, Kumasi, Dansoman, Kejetia
• Days and months: Tuesday, March
• The word "I"
• The first word of the greeting and the closing: Dear, Your loving cousin

Every sentence ends with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark.

Worked example: Fix this sentence: "on tuesday i went to kejetia with auntie efua"

Correct: "On Tuesday I went to Kejetia with Auntie Efua."

Five capitals were missing and the full stop was missing too.

Try this: Write three sentences about your weekend. Underline every capital letter and circle every full stop.

Commas in a letter

Commas appear in special places in a letter.

After the greeting: Dear Akosua**,**

After the closing: Your loving cousin**,**

Between parts of an address written on one line: P.O. Box 214**,** Dansoman**,** Accra

In lists inside the body: We bought oranges**,** bananas**,** pineapple and a watermelon.

Before a name when you speak to someone: I miss you**,** Akosua.

Do not put a comma at the end of every line of the address when it is written on separate lines. The new line does the job.

Worked example: Which is correct? "Dear Akosua." or "Dear Akosua,"? The second. A greeting always ends with a comma, never a full stop.

Try this: Copy these and add the commas: "Dear Grandma" / "Lots of love" / "Greet Kojo Efua and Uncle for me".

Paragraphs: one idea each

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one idea. When you change to a new idea, start a new paragraph.

Ama's letter has four paragraphs in the body:

1. Hello and why I am writing
2. The puppy
3. School
4. Goodbye

If she had mixed the puppy and school into one paragraph, the reader would get muddled. Biscuit, then decimals, then Biscuit again, then Mr Mensah.

To show a new paragraph, either leave an empty line, or start the first word a little way in from the margin. This is called indenting. Ghanaian schools usually indent.

Worked example: "I love my puppy. He is brown. In maths we did fractions. He chews sandals." The third sentence does not belong. Move it to a new paragraph about school.

Try this: Plan a letter with four body paragraphs. Write one line saying what each paragraph is about.

Words that sound friendly

The same news can be told in a cold way or a warm way. A friendly letter is warm.

Cold: "I am writing to inform you that I have obtained a dog."

Warm: "Guess what! We have a puppy, and I cannot stop looking at him."

Use words you would use when talking:

• "Guess what!"
• "You will never believe this."
• "I wish you had been there."
• "Remember when we…?"
• "I laughed so much."

Use the reader's name now and then in the body: "Akosua, you would love him."

Keep formal words for formal letters: "inform", "obtain", "request", "hereby". Those belong in a letter to a headteacher or a company, not a cousin.

Try this: Rewrite this coldly written sentence to sound friendly: "I am pleased to report that my examination results were satisfactory."

Sharing feelings

A friendly letter is not only facts. It is also how you feel about the facts. Feelings are what make the reader feel close to you.

Only facts: "My brother's team won the match 2–1. He scored a goal."

Facts and feelings: "My brother's team won 2–1 and Kofi scored the second goal. I shouted so loudly that Mummy said the neighbours would complain. I was so proud of him."

Feeling words you can use: happy, proud, excited, nervous, sad, lonely, surprised, grateful, worried.

It is also fine to share something that is not good news. "Grandpa has been unwell, and I miss his stories." A cousin will want to know, and will write back with kind words.

Try this: Take a fact from your own week and add one sentence about how it made you feel.

Remembering the reader

The best letters show that you remember things about the reader. It tells them you care.

Things to remember:

• What they told you last time
• Their birthday or a big event coming up
• Their favourite things
• A promise you made

Worked example: Ama remembers that Akosua was worried about a Twi test, that she loves groundnut soup, and that she wanted a bicycle. So Ama writes: "Did you pass the Twi test?" and "Has Uncle agreed about the bicycle yet?"

Akosua reads those lines and thinks, "She remembered." That is worth more than any news about puppies.

Before you write, think for a minute about the reader's life. What are they hoping for? What are they worried about? Put one question about it in your letter.

Try this: Write down three things you know about the person you are writing to. Turn one into a question for your letter.

Letters for special times

Some friendly letters have a special job. The five parts stay the same, but the body changes to fit.

A thank-you letter. Say what you received, say why you like it, and say how you will use it. "Thank you for the storybook you sent for my birthday. I have already read it twice, and I am going to read it to Kojo on Saturday."

A letter of congratulations. Say what they did and how proud you are. "I heard you came first in the whole of Basic 5. I jumped up and down when Mummy told me."

A get-well letter. Say you are sorry they are unwell, share a little cheerful news, and wish them better. Keep it light.

An invitation. Say what, when, where, and ask them to reply. "Our school's speech day is on Friday 20th June at 10 o'clock. Please come, and tell me if you can."

Try this: Write the body of a short thank-you letter for a gift you really received.

Replying to a letter

When you get a letter, reply. A letter without a reply is like a question with no answer.

A reply has the same five parts, but the body does two extra things:

1. Thank them for their letter and say when it came
2. Answer their questions before you give your own news

Worked example: Akosua's reply begins:

Dear Ama,

Thank you for your letter. It came on Friday and I read it at the dinner table, so now everybody wants to meet Biscuit.

Yes, I passed the Twi test! I got 16 out of 20. Mummy was so pleased she made groundnut soup.

She thanks, she answers, and only then will she move on to her own news.

Keep the letter you are replying to next to you while you write, so you do not forget a question.

Try this: Pretend you are Akosua. Write the first two paragraphs of a reply to Ama's letter.

Letters at school

Letters are not only for cousins. At school in Ghana, you will write friendly letters in class and in examinations. The examiner looks for the five parts in the right places, correct punctuation, clear paragraphs and a friendly tone.

A typical task: "Write a letter to your cousin in another town telling him or her about an interesting event in your school."

Plan before you write:

1. Heading and date
2. Greeting
3. Opening: hello, why I am writing
4. Two paragraphs about the event
5. Closing paragraph, closing, signature

Spend two minutes planning and you will not forget a part under pressure.

Try this: Make a five-line plan for a letter to a cousin about your school's sports day.

A letter from the village

Letters are also written from villages to towns, from grandparents to grandchildren, and from one country to another. The shape is always the same.

Kwame lives in a village near Bolgatanga. His friend Yaw moved to Tamale. Kwame writes:

Dear Yaw,

How are you in the big town? Here the harmattan has started and the dust is everywhere. Yesterday we harvested the millet and I carried three baskets by myself.

Different news, same five parts. The greeting, the question, the news, and later the closing and the name.

Try this: Write the opening paragraph of a letter from someone in a village to a friend in a city.

Checking your letter

Before you post or hand in your letter, read it through with this checklist.

The parts

• Address at the top right, each line on its own
• Date in full, under the address
• Greeting on the left, with a capital and a comma
• Body in paragraphs
• Closing with a capital and a comma
• Signature

The writing

• Every sentence starts with a capital and ends with a full stop
• Names of people and places have capitals
• No text-message spellings
• At least one question for the reader
• Greetings sent to the family

The feel

• Does it sound like you talking?
• Would you like to receive it?

Fix anything that fails. Then copy it out neatly.

Try this: Swap letters with a friend and check each other's against the list.

Common mistakes

These are the mistakes Mr Mensah sees most often. Check your letter for them.

1. Name in the heading. The heading is address and date only. Your name is the signature.

2. Date as numbers. Write 14th March 2026, not 14/3/26.

3. Missing comma after the greeting. "Dear Akosua" needs a comma.

4. Capital letters in the wrong place. "Your Loving Cousin" should be "Your loving cousin".

5. One giant paragraph. Break the body into ideas.

6. Too formal. "I hereby inform you" belongs in an office letter.

7. No questions. The reader has nothing to reply to.

8. Stopping suddenly. Always wind down with a last paragraph.

9. No signature. The reader must know who wrote it.

Try this: Here is a bad greeting and closing: "dear cousin." and "your Friend," Fix both.

Practice: fix the letter

Kofi wrote this letter in a hurry. Find and fix at least six mistakes.

kofi mensah box 45 tema 3/4/26

dear Abena

how are you. i am fine. we went to the beach on saturday it was fun. my sister fell in the water and everybody laughed. school is ok. we have a new teacher called mrs asante. she is strict. bye

Your Friend Kofi

Things to look for: the name in the heading, the date, the missing commas, the capitals, the full stops, the single big paragraph, the sudden ending.

Rewrite the whole letter correctly in your exercise book. Add one question for Abena and a proper last paragraph.

Practice: write your own

Now write a complete friendly letter to a cousin or friend in another town. Use this plan.

Heading: Your address and today's date, top right.

Greeting: Dear ________,

Paragraph 1: Ask how they are. Say why you are writing.

Paragraph 2: One piece of news with details: who, what, when, where, how you felt.

Paragraph 3: A second piece of news, or something you remember about the reader, with a question.

Paragraph 4: Say you must stop, ask them to write back, send greetings.

Closing: Your loving cousin, / Your friend,

Signature: Your name.

Aim for 120 to 150 words in the body. Write a rough copy first. Check it with the checklist. Then copy it out neatly in pen.

Try this: If you can, post it. A real reply is the best reward for a good letter.

Letters from the market

Ama's mother sells cloth at Makola. She writes letters too, to her sister who trades at Kejetia in Kumasi. Her letters are full of prices, news about customers, and family.

Dear Sister,

The new wax prints arrived on Monday and the blue one is selling fast. I have kept two yards for you. Tell me if the price of kente has gone up in Kumasi, because a customer asked me yesterday.

Grown-ups write friendly letters too, and the parts are exactly the same. The only difference is the news.

Try this: Write three sentences a trader in Accra might put in a letter to a trader in Kumasi.

Letters and other messages

Today we also send text messages, voice notes and emails. How is a letter different?

Message	Length	Style	Kept?
Text message	Very short	Quick, with short forms	Usually deleted
Voice note	Short	Talking	Rarely kept
Email	Any length	Like a letter, typed	Can be saved
Letter	Usually a page or more	Careful, warm	Kept for years

An email to a cousin uses the same parts as a letter: greeting, paragraphs, closing, name. You leave out the address, because the email address does that job, and the computer adds the date.

A text message is not a letter. "hi hw r u" is fine for a phone, but not for a letter and not for an exam.

Try this: Turn this text message into two proper sentences for a letter: "got ur msg. cant come sat, sorry. nxt wk?"

What you have learned

You now know how to write a friendly letter from the roof to the back door.

• The five parts: heading, greeting, body, closing, signature
• The heading has your address and the full date, top right
• The greeting has a capital and a comma: Dear Akosua,
• The body has an opening paragraph, news paragraphs with details and feelings, questions for the reader, and a last paragraph that winds down
• The closing has one capital and a comma: Your loving cousin,
• The signature is your first name
• The envelope carries the reader's address in the middle, yours in the corner, and a stamp top right
• Replies thank and answer first

Somewhere in Kumasi, Akosua is checking the post box. Write the letter she is hoping for.

Learn more

• Letter Generator at ReadWriteThink — an interactive tool that walks you through each part of a friendly letter
• Ghana Post — how letters are posted and delivered across Ghana
• Letter (message) on Wikipedia — the history of letters and how people have written them around the world
• Microsoft Word help — if you type your letter, this is where to learn about the program

Watch more

Think about it

1. Why does the heading have your address but not your name?
2. What would a reader lose if a letter had no date?
3. Why do you think friendly letters are kept for years, when text messages are deleted?
4. How does asking a question in your letter change the reply you get?
5. Which part of a letter is hardest for you to write, and why?