fullspate

FCE: FORMAL LETTERS

Letters of complaint:

Two beginnings:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to complain about the holiday your company organised on the island of Tahiti. We have just returned from the island and unfortunately we feel very dissatisfied.

Or:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I have just returned from one of your holidays on the island of Tahiti and I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction.

Then:

Your brochure promised us ........, but when we got there we were shocked/ disappointed to find that ............... Furthermore, although the advert said that ................., in reality ......... Moreover, the ............ was supposed to be ......................, but ............ The holiday was also ruined by .............................. As if that wasn't enough, we then found that ............

In view of all this we feel we deserve a full refund and a letter of apology.

I hope this matter will receive your immediate attention.

Yours faithfully,

Letters giving information and making suggestions

Dear Mr. .....
I am writing in reply to your letter asking for information about ........

You asked about the ................ I would like to let you know that ....
As for the ..........., I would suggest that you ..........
You also ought to ...........
It would be an excellent idea to .............
It would be a mistake to .............

I hope that you find this helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Yours sincerely,

Letters asking for further information

Dear .......

I am writing to inquire about the ................... I am interested in your ............. but I need some further information.

First of all, your advert mentions ................. Could you please let me know .............. ?
I would also like to know ....................
Another question concerns the ............. Will they be .............?
Lastly, I would be grateful if you could tell me ................

I look forward to hearing from you.

Letters of application

Dear ......

I am writing to apply for the job of/ for a place on your ..... course which I saw advertised in "The Guardian" newspaper.

I am 26 years old and at the moment I am studying astrophysics at ........
Having studied English for over seven years I am a fluent speaker of the language.
My qualifications also include Proficiency certificates in both French and German.
As far as experience is concerned, I have worked as ............. for ...........
As for my character, people tell me I am ...............
I feel I would be suitable for this job because ............

Thankyou for considering my application.

Invitations

I would like to invite you to .............

Turning down invitations

I am sorry to tell you that I will not be able to .........