Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Level: B1 and B2
Structural features
Read these two complaint emails. What structural features do they have in common? Discuss in pairs/groups.
Complaint late delivery
Subject: My wedding
Dear Ms Mansor
I am writing regarding the catering service you provided at my wedding on Saturday 25th of March.
I asked for 20, 3-course dishes to cater to my vegetarian friends.
I have only just learned that these were not available on the day and they were given a lettuce and
mayonnaise sandwich instead which arrived long after the others had already finished their first two
courses. I have been told that most chose not to eat them.
I spent a good deal of time with you going through the details of the types of gourmet dishes I wanted
to be served and I paid you a lot of money to provide these dishes. Not only is this upsetting to know
that my wedding day did not go according to plan after months of arranging important details, but I
have received no apology or feedback from you about this. In addition, a lot of these guests were
VIPs and very special friends and most of them had travelled very far to share this day with us.
I would like you to provide me with a full refund for your catering services, as it did not deliver the
standard and quality that were promised.
I look forward to your reply
Level: B1 and B2
I am writing.
regarding my order which arrived this morning.
to draw attention to the negative attitude of..
to complain about the decision recently made by the head of department regarding our contracts.
I am writing to make a complaint about/ concerning/ regarding..
Yesterday, we received an email stating that/ I saw your advertisement stating that
I really must complain about the (quality of goods/ standard of service) that we recently received from your
company
I am writing regarding the recent price increase of your products.
Level: B1 and B2
The whole matter was treated by your staff members as if it was completely unimportant.
Level: B1 and B2
Public nuisances
I would like to draw your attention to an incident that took place at (place) this afternoon.
I wish to complain about the level of noise from the Rockfest music festival last night.
A group of teenagers were shouting and yelling on the bus and intimidating fellow passengers.
3. Emphasise inconvenience
This brief section stresses any inconvenience the complaining party has had to suffer. It might also refer to
costs incurred. It could be part of the previous section, or it could be a separate section.
Please replace the items you delivered with the correct ones.
I would like you to provide us with a full refund/ a breakdown of the proposed changes.
I trust that you will arrange for a new. to be issued as soon as possible.
I must insist (that) you address the concerns of your staff/customers as this.
I would like you to reconsider your decision/ I strongly request that you reconsider.
I would appreciate it if we could hold a meeting to discuss the issues that concern us/me.
Unless I receive the goods by the end of the week, I will have no choice but to cancel my order.
If you do not reconsider the decision to increase the price of our subscription, I will have no option but
to cancel mine.
I regret that after 6 years of being a loyal/ regular customer/employee of (organisation/company), I will
be forced/ obliged to switch to your competitor/ close my account with you/ hand in my resignation due
to this decision/ if this decision goes ahead.
Level: B1 and B2
inconvenience
b) I am writing in connection with the negative attitude of a member of your staff.
c)
d) I am writing to complain about the quality of a product I purchased online from your website.
e) The equipment I ordered has still not been delivered despite my phone call to you last week to say
g) I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about the treatment/ service I received from a
standard I expected.
i)
Level: B1 and B2
.
b You only sent 7 books, despite
.
c Even though I paid for 8 books,
.
d I paid for 8 books.
..
.
.
g You have still not resolved the problem with the books,
h You have still not resolved the problem with the books.
Level: B1 and B2
What is tone?
The tone of your writing is the general mood that it creates in the mind of your reader. Its about with
how you make your reader feel about you and the organisation you represent.
Tone depends on:
the level of formality or informality you use.
the attitude you take towards your topic.
In general, you want your reader to feel as good as possible about you and/or the company you
represent, no matter what the situation is. This is so you can get the result you seek but still maintain
relationships and not create a negative, defensive reaction in your reader.
The skill of building and maintaining good relationships in writing depends on your ability to control
certain features.
It seems/appears to be
As far as Im aware, it is
very
Is it ?
Might it be?
Do you think it might be?
It will
It might be
It may be.
We should
Perhaps we should
Do you think we should
It might be a good idea to.
Lets.
unhappy
bad
expensive
Its a bad idea.
Level: B1 and B2
Focusing on tone
Background
Teachers receive an email from their head, Zara Hussein, informing them that a decision has been
made by the department that all teachers are required to attend compulsory professional development
courses every week. She has decided that 4 hours a week, twice a week for the next ten months after
classes is a reasonable amount of time to do these courses and will benefit the institution as a whole.
The teachers are very upset about this, and decide to write to her explaining this and requesting a
meeting to discuss it.
Responding to Zaras email
1. Dear Zara
A little too
confrontational and
aggressive.
This decision is really unacceptable. How are we supposed to do our jobs and take care of our families if we
have to attend 8 hours of professional development classes per week? I would like to meet to discuss this
immediately. Is now OK?
Sarcastic. Formal in an
inappropriate way.
2. Dear Ms Hussein
Thank you so much for agreeing to an 8-hour course per week for us. Its really very good of you to do this with
so little consultation. What we appreciate most, of course, is no longer being able to do our jobs effectively and
spending time with our children. Could we possibly meet at your earliest convenience for me to thank you in
person?
Too emotional.
Inappropriate use of
capital letters.
3. Zara
This is COMPLETELY UNFAIR!!! It doesnt benefit us!!! It stops us doing our jobs properly and spending time
with our family. A meeting is urgently sought. I am really upset!
Measured/ makes the
point clearly and offers a
positive direction.
4. Dear Zara
I am concerned about the 4 hour, twice a week classes you have agreed to and the impact that it might have on
our effectiveness as teachers and our work/life balance. Could I come and see you to explore possible ways to
seek a solution or better outcome for us?
Emotional and makes a
personal attack.
5. Dear Zara
I am shocked at the suggestion of an 8 hour a week compulsory course. Are you mad??! Could I come and see
you to explain the problems that your lack of sensitivity to us is going to cause?
Contributed by: Glenda Thomas
The British Council, 2013
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities.
British Council Malaysia is a branch (995232-A) of the British Council, registered as a charity in England and Wales (209131) and Scotland (SC037733)
Level: B1 and B2
Level: B1 and B2
When communicating a negative message in a formal context, impersonal structures and often
passive voice might achieve a better result.Look at this example:
Accusing / threatening tone
Neutral tone
You might have noticed that the rewritten examples with a more appropriate tone are often longer.
This is because more words are often necessary in order to not sound accusatory or threatening.
Summary:
Try to make any complaint as constructive as possible.
Support your complaint with any evidence you have.
Avoid using an abusive, negative tone; use a polite, optimistic tone.
Avoid emotion and personal attacks
Threaten no more than you are prepared to carry out.
10
Level: B1 and B2
FORMAL/PROFESSIONAL STYLE
This is the style you will need to use in part 4 of the Aptis test. Ideas are generally presented politely
and carefully (tone!). The language is generally impersonal, with much use of fixed expressions and
often passive verb forms. Careful attention should be made to your grammar. Your sentences should
be written with full words and no contractions.
NEUTRAL/ INFORMAL STYLE
Informal style is closest to speech, so there are everyday words, contractions and conversational
expressions and some words are left out entirely, particularly in the case of sms messaging. ( [Ill]
speak to you later, [Are you] sure [it was] from our website?, Next week [would be] better than this
week etc.) and some abbreviations may even be appropriate (asap, pls etc). The reader may also be
more tolerant of poor grammar in this informal style. You have to know the rules first in order to break
the rules here.
Neutral is still quite informal as it still uses everyday expressions and contractions but sentences will
still mostly be written using correct grammar. This style might be appropriate in frequent email
exchanges between people you work with and in personal emails depending on your relationship with
the reader.
The style that you select will depend on:
who your reader is. (a colleague? a client? text message reader? A manager?a friend?)
how well you know your reader. (a close friend? a complete stranger?)
why you are writing. (wishing your staff a nice holiday? Writing a complaint?)
11
Level: B1 and B2
In the example below, the same message is written in two contrasting styles.
1. formal style
I am afraid I will not be able to attend the meeting on Friday. I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of
the minutes. I will also write to Sabina to inform her that I will not be there. Once again, I apologize for this. I can
assure you that I will be at the next meeting.
2. informal style
Sorry, cant make it Friday. Can you send me a copy of the minutes? Will also write to Sabina and tell her I
wont b there. Sorry about this and I promise Ill b at the next meeting.
12
Level: B1 and B2
The same word is missing directly before each of the words highlighted in bold.
What is the missing word? Why is it missing?
Missing out words is common in more informal communication, both in speaking and in writing. This
often happens when people know each other very well and the situation is relaxed and friendly. The
meaning is clear from the context so the full grammatical form is not necessary.
However, its important that you realise that you are dropping words. This is because when you
need to write in a professional, FORMAL style, you need to be able to use the full grammatical form.
Look at the examples in the box. Match them to the descriptions underneath.
a. (Thats a) good idea!
cartons.
h. Your suggestion (is) good, but needs
clarification.
Descriptions:
The subject I or We can be left out, especially with mental verbs like
hope, think etc.
..... / ..
In a question, the subject you and the auxiliary verb (be, have, will etc.)
.. / ..
can be left out.
.. / ..
The subject I and a form of be can be left out when be is the only verb.
The words that or it can be left out, often with a form of be as well.
.. / ..
..
..
13