1.
lesson link TEACHER’S NOTES
PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2010
Writing a formal letter of complaint
Level Upper-Intermediate to Advanced
Time 45 minutes
Aim To help students write a formal letter of complaint.
Skills Writing, speaking and reading
Materials Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8th Edition, especially
the writing tutor (WT24, ‘Writing a Formal Letter’).
1 copy of the worksheet per student.
Before you start
You will need a copy of the worksheet for every student, or one between two.
ACTIVITY 1 Matching complaints and situations  (15-20 minutes)
Exercise a: Put students in pairs and ask them to look at the matching exercise. Tell
them that they should match each complaint with one of the businesses in the list.
Students can check the meaning of any unfamiliar words in the dictionary. When they
have finished, go through the answers with the class.
Answers:
• Then they started charging me for sending texts. They’re supposed to be free! (Mobile
phone company)
• When we finally arrived we found that our suitcase had been badly crushed. (Airline)
• The engine overheats after only a few miles. (Car dealership)
• The beds were terrible… and the shower didn’t work! (Hotel)
• My broadband seems to be getting slower and slower. (Internet service provider)
• They charged me £50, just for being overdrawn for one day. (Bank)
• The shirt they sent is the wrong colour, and two sizes too small. (Mail order
company)
• We waited over an hour for the main course, and when it arrived it was stone cold.
(Restaurant)
Exercise b: Ask each pair to combine with another pair to make small groups. Invite
each group to choose (or assign them) one of the types of business. Students should
brainstorm some typical complaints for the type of business. After a few minutes, ask
each group to feedback their list of complaints to the class.
Exercise c: Still in small groups, ask students to describe a time when they had to
complain about something. Monitor students while you allow them a few minutes to
do this. Hold a short plenary session to allow groups to report back on their complaints
stories. Did anybody make a formal written complaint? Were their complaints
successful?
NEW
8th
Edition

2.
lesson link TEACHER’S NOTES
PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2010
ACTIVITY 2 Language bank gapfill (10 minutes)
Exercise a: Put students into pairs again. Ask them to look at the questions on the worksheet,
and the pages from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Writing Tutor (WT24).
Answers:
1. d 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. c
Note: You may want to point out that, for question 5, answer a (gobsmacked) is not wrong
in terms of grammar and collocation, as an alternative to c (appalled). However, it would be
too informal for inclusion in a letter of this kind.
ACTIVITY 3 Planning the letter  (15 minutes)
Keep students in the same pairs as for the previous activity. Ask the students to choose one
of the areas and create a background story for writing a letter of complaint. Student should
fill in the table with information. If necessary you can model some possible answers with
details from the previous activities. Refer students to the information in the Writing Tutor
(WT24) for further help with structuring their letter.
Monitor pairs while they are doing this, and note any difficulties they may be having. These
can be dealt with as you go round, or in a brief session with the whole class at the end.
ACTIVITY 4 Writing a letter
As a homework assignment, or in a subsequent classroom session, the students can then
write their letters, using the notes they have made and the Oxford iWriter on CD-ROM if they
have access to it.
Extension activities
For further writing practice, ask students to exchange their finished letters with another
student. The other student should then write a brief reply to the letter, on behalf of the
company, stating what action the company intends to take.
For further speaking practice, students can role-play a meeting between a company
representative and the dissatisfied customer, based around the information in the original
letter.

3.
lesson link WORKSHEET
PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2010
Writing a letter of complaint
ACTIVITY 1 Matching complaints
a Look at the complaints below. What are people complaining about? Work
with a partner and match each complaint with a type of business.
Then they started
charging me for sending
texts. They’re supposed
to be free!
When we finally
arrived we found that our
suitcase had been badly
crushed.
The engine overheats
after only a few miles.
The beds were
terrible… and the shower
didn’t work!
My broadband
seems to be getting slower
and slower.
They charged me £50,
just for being overdrawn
for one day.
The shirt they sent
is the wrong colour, and
two sizes too small.
We waited
over an hour for the main
course, and when it arrived
it was stone cold.
a hotel
a restaurant
an Internet
service provider
a mobile phone
company
an airline
a bank
a car dealership
a mail order company
b Using one of the businesses from activity 1, make a list of a few of the the types of
complaints that customers make about the products or services that this business supplies.
Report your answers to the class.
Type of company
Typical complaints
1.
2.
3.
c Tell your group about a time when you had to complain about something. What did you
complain about? Who did you complain to? Did you do it face-to-face, by telephone, or in
writing? What happened in the end?

4.
lesson link WORKSHEET
PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press 2010
ACTIVITY 2 Language bank gapfill
a Work with a partner. Look at the sentences from a letter of complaint below. Choose the
correct word (a–d) for each sentence.
1 I very much hope to hear from you at your earliest ____________________ .
a) opportunity b) possibility c) contrivance d) convenience
2 I expect the company to pay some sort of ____________________ for the distress this has caused.
a) contribution b) compensation c) commission d) contrition
3 I look forward to your ____________________ reply.
a) fleeting b) hurried c) swift d) instant
4 The flight was cancelled. As a/an ____________________ , we had to spend the night in the airport.
a) event b) result c) effect d) conclusion
5 We were absolutely ____________________ by the low standard of hygiene in the restaurant.
a) gobsmacked b) disappointed c) appalled d) disgruntled
ACTIVITY 3 Planning a letter
b Work with a partner. Choose one of the businesses from activity 1, or suggest another
type of business. Discuss your complaint and fill in the information in the table below.
What type of business are you complaining to? Invent a name for the company.
What is your main complaint?
How did it affect you?
List a second complaint.
How did it affect you?
What action do you want the company to take?
ACTIVITY 4 Writing a letter
Using the notes you have made in Activity 3 you can now write the letter of complaint. You
will also find lots of help and suggestions for writing a letter of complaint on your Oxford
iWriter on CD-ROM.