Topic: Using cause and effect text structures to write letters of complaint.

Objectives:
Students will learn the proper format when writing letters
Students will write a letter a letter os complaint for a given scenario.

Content
Reasons to Write a Complaint Letter
Students may need to write a complaint letter if a product doesn't work correctly or
if it doesn't work at all. Or, they may need to complain about problems in their
community to business owners or to leaders in the community.

Introduction
Students will be introduced to the various parts of a letter.
All parts of the letter need to line up on the left margin. The order of the letter parts
are as follows:
Your address (sender's address)
Date
Address where the letter is going (inside address)
Salutation (Dear Mr. Johnson:)
Body of letter
Closing
Signature

Development
Stage 1
Teacher will read to students a letter of complaint. Students will listen attentively
to the readings. Together with the class, teacher will dissect the letter to help
students identify the various parts.
Stage 2
Students will then be instructed to figure out the cause and effects in the letter of
complaint read together. The cause and effect relationship will be represented in a
graphic organizer drawn on the board.
Stage 3
Once students have understood the cause and effect relationship in letters of
complaints, they will be given the following scenario to brainstorm cause and
effect relationships on. This activity will be done as a class
Imaginary Scenarios
Imaginary Scenario #1: In your community, the local park has a swing set with
broken chains, basketball hoops without nets and trash bins that are overflowing.
Draw up a cause and effect graphic organizer to plan your letter of complaint.

Complaint Letter Lesson Steps

Step 1: Once students have selected a scenario, they need to begin writing a draft
of their letter. Include the senders address, date, inside address and salutation.
Step 2: For the body of the letter, students need to include the following:
Paragraph 1: Describe what is wrong with the product or describe the
issues/problems. Give the date of purchase and place of purchase, if applicable.
Paragraph 2: Explain how you would like to resolve the problem.
Paragraph 3: Explain that you look forward to receiving a reply with a resolution.
Set a date or time limit in which to receive the reply. Give a phone number where
you can be reached.
Step 3: Include a closing, such as Sincerely" and your full name.
Step 4: Ask students to peer edit their each others letter before turning them into
the teacher.
As an extension of this lesson, teachers can have students write real complaint
letters to real companies, business leaders or community leaders after the practice
is complete.
This lesson is a great way to teach students how to properly solve problems. In
addition, they can learn how to write a business letter using the block letter format.
References