LESSON
WRITING
Write a letter of complaint
7
GET READY
A student in the university writes a letter of complaint about the parking problem
on campus and sends it to the editor of the school newspaper. Have you ever
read a letter of complaint in the school newspaper?
STUDY THE MODEL
A
Read the letter of complaint. How is it organized?
Dear Editor:
My name is Peter Lane, and I am a student at Sundale State University.
Like most students, I don’t live on campus. I am a commuter, and I
drive every day from Crestview, which is 20 miles away. When I get to
campus in the morning, I can’t find a place to park. There are just not
enough parking spaces for students. That’s a problem.
The parking situation on campus needs to change. First, there are not
enough student parking lots. There are only four student lots, but there
are five faculty parking lots. There are 15,000 students on campus, but
there are fewer than 600 faculty members. Second, there are not
enough spaces in the student parking lots. There are more students
than spaces, and it takes me at least 30 minutes to find a parking spot.
To make things worse, the place I find is usually far away. Sometimes
I’m late to class, which is affecting my grades. Third, there is no
flexibility with the rules. If I park in a faculty lot, which is closer and
has a lot of open spaces, I get a parking ticket from a Campus Security
officer. It costs me money that I really need to have to pay my tuition.
I believe there are two possible solutions, and both are easy to
implement. I think one of the faculty lots can be converted into a
student parking lot. Or, allow faculty and students to share the lots
everywhere on campus. Everyone wins!
Sincerely,
Peter Lane
A
letter of complaint
often has three parts. First, the writer
presents a problem. Then the writer gives details about the
problem. Finally, the writer suggests a solution.
Writing Tip
B
Read the Writing Tip. Read the letter of complaint again. Underline the
three supporting details the writer gives about the problem.
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UNIT 4
