SPECIAL COURSE
WRITING TASK 1 – LESSON 3
Focus: Letter of Apology/ Letter of Complaint
1. Letter of complaint
When writing a complaint letter, your language needs to be more forceful. Typically, your letter
will be addressed to some organisational body, and thus your language should remain
completely formal.
Let’s take a look at the example below:
You recently came to a shop in the local area and had a bad experience during your visit.
Write a letter to the shop manager. In your letter:
Say when you visited the shop
Describe the experience you had
Tell the manager what he/she can do
When starting your letter, state the purpose of your letter clearly and directly :
I am writing to complain about my treatment at your store, Stylish Ladies Fashion.
When you describe the circumstance, try give as many specific details as possible :
I have been a loyal customer for many years and have always been pleased with the quality of
the clothing and the service. However, last Tuesday, I was shocked by the behaviour of one of
your sales assistants. Firstly, she was clearly making a personal phone call when I entered the
store and did not ask me if I needed any assistance. After browsing for a while, I found a skirt that I
was interested in, but I had to wait more than ten minutes for her to finally finish her phone call and
help me. When I finally had her attention, I asked her if she had the skirt I wanted in a larger size
and she answered very rudely that they did not and suggested that I was too large for all their
clothes. As you can imagine, I left feeling extremely upset.
I feel that I deserve both an apology for your assistant's behaviour and a promise that in the future
you will implement better customer service training for your employees.
I await your prompt response soon.
Practice topic:
You recently bought a piece of equipment for your kitchen but it did not work. You phoned the
shop but no action was taken.
Write a letter to the shop manager.
In your letter:
Describe the problem with the equipment
Explain what happened when you phoned the shop
Say what you would like the manager to do
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,
2. Letter of apology
A letter of apology can be either formal or informal. It can be written when someone has made a
mistake, has failed to perform a duty or is not able to fulfil a promise.
The main body contains reasons for the inconvenience caused.
In the final paragraph you can express your hope to improve the situation or promise to make
up for any problems that have been caused.
Useful language for apology:
Formal Informal
Opening remark - I am writing to apologise for... - I'm sorry for...
- Please accept my sincerest - I owe you an apology...
apologies for...
- I would like to formally apologise
for ….
Closing remarks - I hope you will accept my - I hope you believe me when I say
apologies how sorry I am
- I hope my apologies will be/are - I can't tell you how sorry I am
accepted
You were absent from an important event held by the company you work for.
Write a letter to your manager to apologise for this absence. In your letter:
Tell your manager what event it was
Say how important the event was
State the reasons for your absence
Begin your letter as follow:
Dear Mr/ Ms …
Practice:
You recently organised an all-day meeting for your company, which took place in a local hotel.
In their feedback, participants at the meeting said that they liked the hotel, but they were
unhappy about the food that was served for lunch.
Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter,
Say what the participants liked about the hotel
Explain why they were unhappy about the food
Suggest what the manager should do to improve the food in the future
You recently organised an all-day meeting for your company, which took place in a local hotel.
In their feedback, participants at the meeting said that they liked the hotel, but they were
unhappy about the food that was served for lunch.
Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter,
Say what the participants liked about the hotel
Explain why they were unhappy about the food
Suggest what the manager should do to improve the food in the future
You are staying in rented accommodation. You recently held a party to celebrate your birthday.
Several neighbours have complained about the noise to your landlord.
Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:
apologise for the disturbance
explain the situation
say how you will correct the situation