Skills practice. Formal letter writing

https://engxam.com/handbook/how-to-write-a-formal-letter-email-c1-advanced-cae/

https://test-english.com/writing/b2/a-formal-letter-of-complaint-tips-examples-exercises/4/

Writing a formal letter of Complaint

Example

123 Filmore Road

Chadthorpe

Lancs.

5th September 2026

Feel Free Travel

253B Delaware Buildings

Portree
 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I’m writing to express my dissatisfaction at the service I received on my holiday with Feel Free Travel. My friend and I went on the 8-day tour of Greece, reference GR36A, from the 5^th to the 13^th of August and we were extremely disappointed with the accommodation and the food.

First of all, your brochure said that we would stay in ‘clean, mid-range hotels’. However, my bedroom was dirty in the Olympia Hotel, and the Opera Hotel was in a noisy and unsafe part of town, which made me feel very anxious.

Secondly, although the brochure stated that all meals were included, I was shocked by the food that we were served at the hotel restaurant. For lunch, we were given a small, squashed sandwich and a carton of juice. To make matters worse, when we complained to the tour guide, we were told to buy more food at the supermarket.

I feel that I am entitled to a refund to compensate for this terrible service.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,
Julie Watkins

 
➪ Explain that you are making a complaint and state what you want to happen next.

➪ Use adjectives to show your feelings

➪ Use connectors to move from one problem to the next

➪ Use passive voice to explain what happened to you

➪ Use reported speech to describe information from a website, brochure, etc.

Asking for information

Read the following formal email and check the different parts and the language used.

New Message

📩 To: enquiries@volunteeringnow.org

📌 Subject: Enquiry About Medical Volunteering Programme in Cambodia

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to enquire about the medical volunteering in Cambodia that has been advertised on your website. As a medical student, I would be very interested in participating in this program, and I would be grateful if you could give me some further details.

Firstly, according to your website, there is a minimum duration of four weeks; however, the maximum duration of the programme is not mentioned. I would appreciate it if you could tell me whether it is possible to have extended stays since I would like to work in one of your hospitals for a period of over six months.

Secondly, you also inform that only students in their 4th year of medical school can be accepted as volunteers. In my case, I have just finished my 3rd year and I would like to know if I can already be considered a 4th-year student.

Finally, I would appreciate some information about accommodation. Could you please tell me if volunteers are offered a room in a shared house? And if that is so, would you mind telling me if electricity, running water and WIFI are provided?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Derek Peters

 
➪ Greeting and signature or closing line. These are the first and last lines of an email or letter.

➪ Opening line in the first paragraph, where you state your reason for writing, and closing line in the last paragraph.

➪ Asking for information.

➪ In formal letters, use indirect questions instead of direct questions.

➪ Discourse markers used to order our points.

Elements of a Formal Letter

When you write a formal letter, you should include these elements:

• Write your own address in the top right-hand corner
• Write the date under your address
• Write the address of the recipient, i.e., the person you are writing to, on the left-hand side, below your address
• Start the letter with Dear… if you know the name of the recipient or  Dear Sir / Madam if you don’t know the name of the recipient.
• Sign off your letter with Yours sincerely if you know the recipient, or with Yours faithfully if you don’t know the recipient.

The structure of a letter of complaint

Your letter should be divided into paragraphs. In the first paragraph you should:

➟ Explain that you are making a complaint.

• I wish to complain about the service I received on my holiday.
• I am writing to complain about…
• I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction at…

➟ Give essential details such as the location, time and any reference numbers of the incident.

• My friend and I went on the 8-day tour of Greece, reference GR36A, from the 5^th to the 13^th of August. 

➟ Introduce what you are complaining about.

• …and we were extremely disappointed with the accommodation and the food.

In the next paragraph(s) give further details of the problem. If there were several problems, use connectors like Firstly, Secondly, Additionally, Furthermore, To make matters worse, Finally, to move from one problem to the next.

End your letter by stating what you want to happen next. Here are some useful phrases:

• I insist that you give me a refund to compensate for this terrible service.
• I expect a full refund. 
• I must insist on a refund of (the cost of)…
• I demand compensation for…
• I hope you will take the necessary steps to…
• I feel that you should…
• I feel that I am entitled to a refund.

Describing what happened to you (Passive Voice)

Usually, you have a bad experience because something happened to you – you didn’t do something yourself. For example, in the sentence:

• For lunch, we were given a small, squashed sandwich and a carton of juice.

The writer did not do anything. Someone else gave the writer a small, squashed sandwich and a carton of juice. And in the sentence:

• We were told to buy more food at the supermarket.

Someone else told the writer to buy more food.

In this situation, it’s common to use the passive voice in formal writing.

When complaining about a past situation, use the past simple passive: was/were + the past participle of the main verb.

• We were given…
• We were told…
• I was assured…
• I was ignored…
• I was charged…

You may also need to use the past perfect passive: had been + the past participle of the main verb.

• I realised that we had been given…
• I noticed that I had been charged…

If you want to include who did the action, use the preposition by.

• We were told by the tour leader to buy more food at the supermarket.

Describing printed information (Reported speech)

In your letter, you can refer to information printed in a brochure or advertisement. To do this, you should use reported speech. You can do this using phrases like:

• The brochure stated that…
• The advert said that…

Imagine what is written in the printed information. For example:

‣ “All meals are provided.”
‣ “You will stay in clean, mid-range hotels”.

When you report this information in your letter, use reported speech and change the present tense to the past tense, and change will to would.

• “All meals are included”. ➪ The brochure stated that all meals were included.
• “You will stay in clean, mid-range hotels”. ➪ The brochure stated that we would stay in clean, mid-range hotels.

Contrasting printed information with your experience

In your letter, you can contrast the information in a brochure or advert with your own experience by using link words like although and however.

• Your brochure stated that we would stay in ‘clean hotels’. However, my bedroom was dirty in the Olympia Hotel.
• Although the brochure stated that all meals were included, we only received lunch twice during the holiday.

🔍 Note that we use however and although in different ways. However is normally used at the beginning of a sentence, before a comma (,) and after a full stop (.) or a semicolon (;). Although can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. We do NOT use a comma after although; we use although + subject + verb.

• We had a good time. However, we didn’t like the hotel.
• Although we had a good time, we didn’t like the hotel.

Describing feelings and situations

You can use adjectives to show how you felt during a situation such as:

• surprised (at)
• shocked (by)
• disappointed (with)
• anxious (about)
• worried (about)
• confused (by)

You can add adverbs like very or extremely to make the feelings stronger.

• We were extremely disappointed with the accommodation and the food.
• I was shocked by the poor quality of the food.
• I felt very anxious about my safety.

You should also use adjectives to describe the problems you experience. Choose adjectives that describe the situation clearly.

• The hotel was cheap and poorly maintained.
• It was in a noisy and unsafe part of town.
• The bedroom was dirty. The sheets were stained.
• The sandwich was small and squashed. It was not fresh.  
• The tour leader was rude and unhelpful.
• The bus was uncomfortable.
• The brochure was inaccurate.

You should describe your dissatisfaction and frustration about the events, but you should always keep a calm and polite tone if you want your letter to be effective.

Useful phrases

Useful phrases for a formal letter: (use as set phrases in the exam, don´t experiment with new vocabulary or grammar)

Greetings

Dear Sir or Madam
Dear Mr Jenkins
To whom it may concern,

Beginning:

With regards to the letter/email on…
With reference to your letter/email…
After having received your letter/email…
I received your address from … and would like …
Thank you very much for your letter/email on…
I have been given your contact details by… and I would like to…
In reply to your letter/email of…

Reason for writing

I am writing with regard/reference to … 
I am writing to express (my concern about/ disappointment with/disapproval of/apologies for)
I would like to draw your attention to/point out …

Referring to their letter 

As you stated in your letter, …
Regarding… Concerning … With regard to…

Complaining 

I am willing to compiain about …
You said …but in fact what happened …

Introducing points

(I feel) I must also (dis)agree with …
I should also like to point out that …
Your (article) states that … However,…

Request for action

I would appreciate it/be grateful if you would …
I look forward to receiving/seeing …
I trust/very much hope you will …
I would be grateful if you could…
Could you please provide details on…
I would appreciate information regarding…
In the light of this, I would advise…
Given the situation, I would suggest…
The best solution would be to…
In order to improve …… it is necessary to..
This will have an impact on …….

Ending:

I hope to hear from you soon…
If you require any further information, feel free to contact me
Should you require anything else, do not hesitate in contacting me
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
I trust that this information will be helpful.

Example: 

Dear Sir / Madam,

I wish to complain about my experience at your restaurant. I visited there with my family on Friday 9 March at 7 pm, and I was very disappointed with the service we received.

Firstly, we had to wait twenty minutes for someone to take our order. When the waitress finally took our order, we were told that the food would take fifteen minutes to arrive. However, it took forty-five minutes. When we complained to the waitress, she did not offer any kind of compensation.

Secondly, although we had a voucher which stated that we would get £10 off the price of our meal if we spent over £50, the waitress said that we could not use it because the offer had expired. I was extremely surprised and annoyed about this because there was not a date on the voucher.

I demand some compensation for this disappointing experience.

Yours faithfully,

(Whosoever)

Writing task. (javier.martinez@educantabria.es Deadline Mon16th march). ________________________________________________

Volunteers needed

We are looking for volunteers to help out at a famous, international sporting event.
We’re looking for friendly, respectful people with good language skills, good team skills and a ‘can-do’ attitude. We need people to welcome delegates, provide customer service and solve problems. If you think you have what it takes, apply now.

Write an application to become a volunteer. Mention:– your language skills

– your personal qualities
– examples of times when you have demonstrated team skills
– any relevant work experience

Asking for information

On a recent holiday, you lost a valuable item. Fortunately, you have travel insurance to cover the cost of anything lost. Write a letter/email  with a formal style to the manager of your insurance company. In your letter:

– describe the item you lost
– explain how lost it
– tell the insurance company what you would like them to do.

Unexpected online order

Recently, you ordered several books from an online bookstore, which provides good value service (delivery time and porice). Unfortunately, when you got the books, you realised they were not the price you had ordered on the wbsite, the pakage was broken and the books were damaged .

Write a complaint letter to customer service. In your letter:

– describe the items you ordered and what you got. Ask to return/new copies 
– explain the items are in bad condition
– mention you also paid for an insurance covering damages or delays

Write your email in an appropriate style asking for a refund/discount/compensation .

C1 Advanced (CAE) Formal Letter/Email: Structure

1. Salutation  Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Mr Jenkins

2. The first paragraph (opening) The reason why you’re writing this letter / the topic

3. The next paragraphs (main content) Organise all the essential information in a clear and logical way.

4. Closing Restate purpose and make a polite request or closing remark.

5. Sign-off Yours faithfully, / Yours sincerely, [Your Name]