Oxford Dictionary Notes on 'Writing a Formal Letter'

 WRITE A FORMAL LETTER 

-- Write a Letter of Complaint

The important things to remember about writing formal letters are the layouy, Which follows particular conventions, and the language, which must be formal or semi-formal and polite, even when you are complaining.

(PUT DOWN THE TEXT IN NOTEPAD)

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                                                                                                     6 Fore Street

                                                                                                     Kensington

                                                                                                     London W89NW

Customer Service Manager 

FlyHigh Airways

PO Box 589

London W3 5NJ

1 August 2014

Dear Sir/Madam 

               

                           Booking reference: Porter POR 1359AZ

My wife and I and our two children, aged 2 and 4, were passengers on 

flight LZ238 From London to Orlando, USA on July 23rd 2014. I am writing

to complain about a number of aspects of the service we received.

Firstly, when the flight was delayed, the staff at the airline's information 

desk were very unhelpful. We were not even given a voucher for a drink 

or meal, when it was clear the delay would be at least seven hours. This

meant that we had to spend a considerable amount of money in the 

restaurant.

Then, when we were finally able to board, families were not allowed to 

board first, although we had paid for this. As a result we were not able to sit 

together, making our children, already very tired, extremely distressed. 

It is a legal requirement for airline operators to provide suitable

refreshments in the event of a long delay. I would therfore expect some

compensation for your failure both to comply with this regulation and to

provide us with the priority boarding for which we had paid. 

I enclose our boarding passes and look forward to hearing from you 

shortly.

Yours faithfully

S R Porter (Dr)

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WRITING THE LETTER LAYOUT 

Look carefully at the layout of the model letter and note:

1. Your address, but not your name, goes at the top on right.

2. The name and address of the person you are writing to goes on the left.

3. If you do not know a name, use a position e.g. 'Customer Services Manager'.

4. The date goes under either address.

5. Give some kind of reference or use a heading (e.g. Poor Service Levels). 

TIPS 

1. Tone: Be polite and formal, but keep your language simple and clear.

2. Use short sentences rather than long ones.

3. Try not to be emotional; avoid you/you didn't if possible.

If you are writing in American English, 

Remember:

1. Use American spelling and punctuation e.g. Mrs., Dr., etc. 

2. End your letter Sincerely, Sincerely yours, or 

yours truly,.

LANGUAGE BANK 

-- Openings and Closings 

Dear Sir/Madam............Yours faithfully

Dear Ms Walker...............Yours sincerely 

-- Introducing the topic 

I am writing to complain about/to express my dissatisfaction with...

The purpose of this letter is to express my disappointment with... 

-- Describing the problem 

Strong Adjectives: appalled, disstressed, disgusted, shocked

Less Strong: Disappointed, dismayed, dissatisfied.

-- What do you want 

Definite: A full/partial refund, a replacement, an apology 

More flexible: Compensation, reimbursement, recompense

-- Endings 

I look forward to your swift reply.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

O look forward to hearing from you without delay.

I very much hope to hear from you shortly.

I await your prompt reply. 

WRITING A LETTER TO A NEWSPAPER 

This should still be a formal letter, but because it is for the public, it should show your opinion clearly or tell people something interesting or new. It can be direct and feel quite personal - you can use I, we and you. 

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Sir 

The craze for reality TV 

As a student in my early twenties I am a part of a key audience for TV channels. 

Why then, do I find so little to interest or entertain me? One trend I find

Particularly appalling is the increase in 'reality' TV programmes such as

survivor, Big Brother and Fear Factor, to name but a few.

'Reality' TV shows involve 'real' people performing ridiculous and often

dangerous acts and generally behaving horribly towards each other.

These shows appeal to that part us which takes pleasure in watching

the humiliation of others and I believe that programme-makers are being 

irresponsible by promoting this. It is demeaning to both the participants and 

the viewers.

Even worse, these programmes are having a negative effect on salary, 

particularly on young people, who no longer feel any shame at watching or 

taking part in this kind of disgraceful behaviour. A national survey recently

stated that one in seven British teenagers hopes to become famous by going 

on a show like this! The average British adult watches 26 hours of television 

per week. Reality TV is not only a waste of time, but it is dangerous. I believe 

It can and will affect our society, dragging it down into the gutter. 

It is time we made a stand against reality TV, in favor of quality TV. How can

we do it? Start by changing the channel.

Maria Fedora 

Madrid 

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~ A title attarcts the readers' attention 

~ Give information about you if relevant.

~ Use strong adjectives. (appalling)

~ Exclamation marks are acceptable to show how you feel. 

~  A challenge to readers can be effective. (It is time we made a stand against reality TV, in favor of quality TV. How can

we do it? Start by changing the channel.)

~ Ending: No finishing phrase is needed. 

~ PARAGRAPH 1: Clear introduction of the topic and the writer's opinion.

~ PARAGRAPH 2: Main point, with reasons. 

~ PARAGRAPH 3: Further point to support main one, with reasons and/or examples.

~ PARAGRAPH 4: Repeats the writer's opinion and offers a challenge.