THE SALUTATION

The Salutation is a greeting  to the addressee.   If you are writing an informal, friendly letter this salutation will probably begin with Dear Name.  If the person is a relative, capitalize both the first word and the name and follow with a comma - Dear Aunt Miriam,

A more formal greeting will include the addressee's title and the last name, followed by either a comma or colon. 
Dear Mr. Jones,  Dear Mrs. Smith:  Ladies and Gentlemen:  Dear Sirs,

A blank line proceeds the salutation (following after the inside address)

Your Return Address (if not on letterhead)

Date

Inside Address

The next element of is THE BODY OF THE LETTER