Reading and Writing Portfolio 7

Reading a letter of complaint

Writing useful words/phrases in
Writing to complain formal letters
Review Past Simple; travel; prefixes;
1 Read advertisements A and B and fill in gaps opposites
1–5 in the table.
3 Read the letter quickly and answer the questions.
A B
advert is for? 1 cultural holidays 1 Who wrote it?

where? 2 4

the staff? 3 qualified teachers 2 Which advertisement is the writer complaining about?
price includes? breakfast 5

A
12 Ford St.
hotel
a in the centre of London
Seaview is a 3-star
the town. We ha ve clean, spacious roo
ms W2 5GE
ve a
with air conditionin
g. All rooms ha 11 Lewis Rd.
balcony an d b a se a vie w.
Brighton
c Friendly and helpful staff. BR12 7NH
d Breakfa st included.
for a reservation or Dear Sir/Madam,
Phone 0173 32453
hotel-bookings.net
book online at ww w. 1Irecently spent three days at your hotel and I was extremely
unhappy with the hotel, my room and the service.
B ● 2The advertisement says that the hotel is in the centre
Enjoy some cultu ral enter tainment of Brighton. It is at least 20 minutes from the centre
in Stratford-upon-Avon with of Brighton.
Shakespeare Tours. ● The hotel is called Seaview and the advertisement says
eQuali
fied university teachers give talks all the rooms have a sea view. However, the only thing I
on Shakespeare.
fOrga could see from my balcony was a car park!
nised trips to the theat re to see gplays.
h Price
● The breakfast at the hotel was the worst I have ever had –
s include all talks and theat re tickets.
www.shakespea retou rs.com
a piece of toast and a terrible cup of coffee.
3Icomplained about the situation to your staff. They were
rude and extremely unhelpful. I tried to speak to the manager,
2 Match complaints 1–8 to
but he was not available.
phrases a–h in bold in the advertisements.
4I would like a refund* for at least one of the nights I spent
Seaview at Seaview. For a three-star hotel, the room, service and
1 It was 20 minutes from Brighton. facilities were very poor.
2 Toast and a terrible cup of coffee! I look forward to your explanation of the complaints in
this letter.
3 The only thing I could see was a car park!
Yours faithfully,
4 They were rude and extremely unhelpful.

Shakespeare Tours
M. Griffin
5 We missed the start of our play because they Martin Griffin
got the time wrong!
6 One of our ‘teachers’ asked us to pay him!
*refund = money returned to you because you are not happy
7 There was only one play and it was a disaster! with something you paid for
8 They were university students.

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 HELP WITH WRITING b Match phrases 1–5 in Corinne Blake’s letter to
Organising a letter of complaint; useful phrases phrases a–e in 5a.

4 a The letter in 3 is organised into four main paragraphs. 1 3 5

Match descriptions a–d to paragraphs 1–4. 2 4
a The details of his complaint.
7 a Look at the advertisement and questions 1–4.
b What he tried to do. Then complete the table with your complaints.
c Why he is writing.
1 Was it 40 minutes 2 Were they experienced and
d What he would like the company to do. from London? qualified?
b Notice how the letter has separate bullet points ( ● )
for each complaint. UNIVERSITY STUDY TOURS
Study English in Oxford
5 a Fill in the gaps in useful phrases a–e.
only 40 minutes from London.
advertisement about explanation
● Experienced and qualified teachers
extremely would
● A maximum class size of 12 students
● Excellent accommodation with local families
a The says …
3 How many students were 4 What was the
b I was unhappy with …
there in the class? accommodation like?
c I complained the situation …
Oxford is at least 55 minutes from London by
d I look forward to your of … 1
train and over an hour by coach.
e I like a refund …
2
b Look at the letter in 3 again. Check your answers.

6 a Look at Corinne Blake’s letter of complaint below to

Shakespeare Tours. Write (X) where she should start a 3
paragraph and ( ● ) where she should put a bullet point.
4
Dear Sir/Madam,
I recently had a week’s holiday with b Write a letter of complaint to University Study Tours.
Shakespeare Tours in Stratford. I’m writing ● Use your notes from 7a.
because I was 1very, very unhappy with my ● Organise your letter into paragraphs.
holiday. 2It says the talks are by qualified ● Use phrases from 5a in your letter.
university teachers. They were university ● Read and check for mistakes.
students. You also mention organised trips to see ● Give your letter to your teacher in your next class.
plays. We went to the theatre once and we even
missed the start because you got the time wrong.
Finally, you also say that prices include all talks
but one of our ‘teachers’ asked us to pay him. 3I
said some things about the situation to the staff
on the course, but they were as disorganised as
the trips to the theatre! I would like 4the money
back for part of the holiday. My week with
Shakespeare Tours was the worst experience I’ve
ever had. 5Please write to me soon.
Yours faithfully, Tick the things you can do in English in the
Corinne Blake Reading and Writing Progress Portfolio, p88.

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