Useful phrases/Informal letters

Writing an informal letter:

Greetings:

Dear Friend,

Dear Jack,

Dear Kate,

Starting your letter

Thanks for your letter. It is lovely to hear from you. 
How are you? 
How are things? 
Hope you're well.
Commenting on something

I'm sorry to hear
I'm so pleased to hear ... 
Moving the topic on

As for me, …

Anyway, the reason I'm writing ... 
I thought I'd write to tell/ask you 
Anyway, I was wondering ...

To add points on the same topic:

•          In adition...
•          Furthermore...
•          Moreover...
•          What´s more...
•          Besides...
•          Also...

To express a contrast: 

•          But...
•          Howerver...
•          Nevertheless...

To describe a cause or reason:

•          I...because...
•          Due to this I...    

To describe a result:

•          Therefore I...
•          As a result...
•          That is why...
•          To show purpose:
•          In order to...
•          To...

To describe similarity:

•          Similary...
•          In the same way...

To express personal opinions: In my opinion...

•          I believe that...
•          I think (feel) that...
•          It seems to me that...

To describe reality:

•          In fact...
•          As a matter of fact...
•          Actually...
•          The truth is that...

To make general statements:

•          In general
•          As a rule
•          On the whole

To list points:

•          To begin with...
•          To start with...
•          In the first place...
•          Firstly...
•          Secondly...
•          Thirdly...
•          Finally...
•          Lastly...

To give examples:

•          For example...
•          For instance...
•          Such as...

To introduce opposing points:

•          On the one hand...
•          In contrast to...
•          On the contrary...

To show sequence:

•          At first...
•          In the beginning...
•          Before that...
•          Next...
•          Then...
•          Soon...
•          Meanwhile...
•          Later...
•          After that...
•          Afterwards...
•          At last...
•          Eventually...
•          Finally...
•          In the end...

To show time:

•          When
•          While
•          Before
•          After
•          Until
•          As soon as
•          By the time

To conclude:

•          In conclusion
•          To sum up
•          In short

Ending your letter

Well, that's all for now. Write back soon. I am looking forward to hearing from you again. 
Closing:

All the best, Ann
Best wishes, John
Lots of love, Peter