1.

Formal letters

1.1. Letters of complaint

a) Dear Sir/ Madam,

I am writing with reference to the article entitled 'Everything's just perfect, thanks!' which appeared in
the June issue of your magazine. Following a discussion of the article in our English class, I have been
chosen to express our disagreement with some of the views contained in the article.
First of all, we find it difficult to believe that such a large number of people are satisfied with
the education system and with their working conditions. This is certainly not the case here, where many
people have complaints about the poor standards of education. Furthermore, lack of job satisfaction is known
to be among the greatest causes of stress in this country.
Secondly, it certainly is not true that most people are happy with public transport, either in our cities or
in the country. In fact, one of the most commonly heard complaints is that there are insufficient buses and
trains to serve an increasing population, it is a well-known fact that our public transport system is seriously
underfunded and our roads are heavily congested. And, as far as city life is concerned, a significant
percentage would move if they had the opportunity.
Finally, we feel it is unrealistic of you to claim that most people have enough money to live on. Were
this so, we would have none of the financial problems faced by most people and widespread poverty
would not be an issue.
To conclude, we found your article to be extremely inaccurate in its assessment of living conditions.
Since your magazine claims to represent students from all over the world, we look forward to reading more
objective reporting in future issues.
Yours faithfully,

Mark Wiseman
Mark Wiseman
b) Dear Sir,
I am writing to complain about the car advertisement currently being displayed on the hoarding outside the main post office in the
centre of town.

The advertisement shows a car speeding away from a set of traffic lights, with the caption, '0—100 in under 10 seconds'. I feel that
this claim is misleading and irresponsible. For a start, there is so much traffic on the roads these days that it is extremely unlikely
that anyone could reach a speed of 100 kilometres per hour in a town. The advertisers also seem to have forgotten that -here are
speed limits on most roads. In my view, this type of advertising only encourages drivers to break the law.

Furthermore, the advert suggests that the best cars are the fastest cars and places undue emphasis on the power of this car in
particular, implying that its best feature is its speed. I would argue that this can only encourage those people who buy the car to
drive fast in order to maintain that image. However, we all know that speed kills, and more often than not it is the innocent
pedestrian who is the victim of the speeding driver. Don't you think car companies should be focusing on safety, and behaving
responsibly in trying to reduce fatalities on our roads by giving safety a better image?

May I request that you have this advertisement taken down as soon as possible? While I have no objection to cars being
advertised, I feel strongly that this type of advertising should not be allowed. I have already written to the company concerned,
requesting that they remove this advertisement from their campaign and giving -hem my reasons in detail. I enclose a copy of this
letter for your information.

Thank you in advance 'for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Sam Broadbent A company has put up a large advertising hoarding

Sam Broadbent in your town. The advertisement seems to you to provoke
unacceptable behaviour. Write a letter to your local council.