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Lecture 5: Formal Letter
Lecture 5: Formal Letter
Learning outcomes
◦ 1. Understand the criteria when writing a formal letter
◦ 2 Understand the structure and format of a formal letter
◦ 3. Able to use appropriate vocabulary and grammatically correct sentences
1. Has the candidate achieved the purpose stated in the
instructions?
2. Does the text have a positive general effect on the target reader
(e.g. arouse the reader)?
1. Preparing for the 4. Is the text well organized and are ideas linked appropriately?
formal letter ◦ Final para. = state how you expect the problem to be
resolved
◦ 3. Closing
◦ Use an appropriate ending
◦ You should always write a formal letter in a formal tone
◦ Although the person writing the complaint letter may be
unhappy, angry however it’s important to maintain a
polite tone throughout.
Useful phrases
◦ Opening
◦ Dear Mr (or Mrs, Ms, Dr) Surname,
◦ Dear Sir or Madam (if you don’t know their name or gender).
◦ I am writing to complain about…
◦ I would like to express my dissatisfaction with…
◦ I wish to complain in the strongest term about,,,
◦ On (date) I purchased (product or service).
◦ I was appalled to discover…
Main body ◦ To add insult to injury
◦ The experience was very distressing…
◦ I expect full compensation for….
◦ I trust there will be a prompt resolution of…
◦ Please let me know how you propose to rectify
the situation
Question
◦ You recently took a domestic flight which was badly delayed, and service
from the crew was poor. Write a letter to the customer service manager
and include the following information:
◦ Plane sat on the runway over two hours with no information from the crew
◦ One member of staff was particularly rude when two passengers asked if they
could switch seats
◦ After take-off, it was announced that no food or drinks would be served, not
even mineral water.
James Kong
Checkpoint 5
◦ In your local newspaper, you have just read
an article heavily criticizing students’
behaviour in town, outside of school hours.
Write a letter to the editor and include the
following information:
◦ Your overall reaction to the article
◦ Specific points that you agree or disagree
with, and why
◦ A suggestion for a follow-up article