TP 7 writing
Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
-
By the end of the lesson the students will have had practice in writing a formal complaint letter using appropriate structure, register, and persuasive language.
Subsidiary Aims
-
To practice using formal lexis (e.g., dissatisfied, whereas, demand a refund).
Procedure (37-45 minutes)
T Shows an advert for a "Language Master" course (visual). Pairs discuss: "What promises does this ad make? What could go wrong?"
Layout: Ss read Phillip’s letter and: a) Underline his complaints. b) Fill the chart: Section Purpose Example Phrases Opening State reason for writing "I am writing to complain..." Body List complaints "Firstly...", "Furthermore..." Closing Demand action "I demand a complete refund..." CCQs: “How many parts do we have in the text?” (Three) Language: T ask SS to match informal phrases to formal equivalents. 1. After (paragraph 1) -> "Following" 2. buy (1) -> "purchased" 3. unhappy (2) -> "dissatisfied" 4. but actually (2) -> "whereas in fact"
T gives the following prompt: "You bought a ‘SmartFit’ fitness watch online. It arrived broken, and the app doesn’t work. Write a formal complaint letter to the company." Writing preparation: Stage 1: Brainstorm Problems in pairs Brainstorm 4 issues (e.g., faulty product, false features, poor customer service). T provides a word bank of formal phrases from earlier (e.g., "I am dissatisfied," "Furthermore," "demand a resolution"). Before writing T shares with SS a checklist for them to take into consideration while writing and to use it for peer review. Then SS write their own complaint letter individually.
Instructions: “Now, we are going to check your partner’s work with checklist.” T demos with a sample writing. T conducts OCFB following up on the writing task. T also conducts DEC: T writes on the screen samples of learners’ production and get learners to identify both correct and incorrect sentences including pronunciation, then learners correct the latter ones by themselves.
