Commas are used in several parts of a friendly letter, including the heading, greeting, body, and closing. In the heading, commas are used after the city and before the state, as well as after the day and before the year. A comma is also used after the greeting and the person's name. Commas should be inserted as normal in the body to connect items in a series or compound sentences. The closing ends with a comma after a short closing expression. As an exercise, the document prompts writing a friendly letter to a relative on the opposite side of the Civil War, using proper comma placement throughout.

1. COMMAS
In A Friendly Letter

2. WHERE DO COMMAS BELONG?
 In the heading
 In the greeting
 In the body
 In the closing

3. SAMPLE FRIENDLY LETTER

4. HEADING
 The heading includes the name and address of the person writing
the letter as well as the date the letter is written.
 Use commas as you would with dates and addresses
 The comma goes after the city and before the state
 The comma goes after the day and before the year

5. GREETING
 Use a comma after the greeting and the person’s name to whom
you are addressing the letter.

6. IN THE BODY
 Remember to use commas as you normally would in a series and
to connect compound sentences.

7. IN THE CLOSING
 Use a comma after the closing
 The closing is a short expression that is always a few words on a
single line, and it ends in a comma

8. NOW YOUR TURN!
 You will write a friendly letter to a relative.
 If you want a greater challenge, imagine that you are either a
factory worker or a slave in the Civil War.
 Write a letter to your relative who is on the other side of the war.
 If you are a factory worker, write to your Confederate relative.
 If you are a slave, write to your Union relative.
 Include commas in all the right places. That means to use
commas in the heading, greeting, body, and the closing.