When the holiday falls short: a formal letter of complaint
Holly complains to a tour operator about a failed eco-lodge holiday. Students study formal register and inversion, then write a complaint.
C1Adults55 minFormal letter
About this lesson
A C1 writing lesson (formal letter). Prompts, model texts and simple checklists — from a first email to an opinion essay.
- Level
- C1
- Skill
- Writing
- Type
- Formal letter
- Students
- Adults
- Time
- About 55 minutes
- Topic
- Travel & holidays
- Activities
- Key words, Speaking / writing task, Reading text, Multiple choice, Matching, Gap-fill
- Key words
- express my dissatisfaction with, unforeseen, fall well short of, let alone, on the grounds that, in view of the above, compensation, enclosed
- Access
- Premium
By the end, students can
- Understand the organization and tone of an effective letter of complaint
- Use formal set phrases and emphatic inversion (At no point were we...)
- Write a 220–260 word letter of complaint about a travel problem