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In the complaint letter you should have three paragraphs that do…
In the complaint letter you should have three paragraphs that do the following:
(Paragraph 1) explicitly state your complaint/request,
(Paragraph 2) describe a brief history/context of the situation and support your position with carefully chosen evidence,and
(Paragraph 3) offer a call for specific acion.
What you should NOT do in this letter:
Do NOT begin your letter with “My name is . . . ”
Do NOT begin your letter “I am writing this letter to inform you . . . ” (or any form of this type of “hedging” opening; see writing criteria for an explanation of hedging phrases).
Process for Composing a Complaint Letter
Step 1: Identify a problem at John Jay.
Step 2. Articulate that problem in the first paragraph, explicitly stating the overall problem. Open your letter by specifically stating the issue you want to address (think: who/what/where/when/how/why?).
Step 3: In your second paragraph, cite a specific example of this problem and the implications it has for students.
Step 4: In the third paragraph, explicitly state how you would like the John Jay administrator to resolve the problem. Offer a solution if appropriate.
Your complaint letter should appear on a personal letterhead to make it look official and professional. (Google “sample letterhead” and pick an appropriate example.)
Using the instructions in this Module, write a letter that addresses a problem that you have encountered at John Jay (i.e., registration glitches, problems with financial aide, internet issues). This letter should lodge a complaint about a John Jay incident but, also, request some resolution to the problem. Address your letter to a college representative who could reasonably resolve your issue. (With some thoughtful research, the John Jay website should help you identify that person.)
You want the person to whom you address this issue to solve the problem for you, so it should rely primarily on facts and sound persuasive claims (logos), demonstrate your credibility through your explanation of the experienced problem (ethos), and present a balanced sense of urgency about the problem (pathos). Don’t whine or belly-ache; just articulate the facts and the contexts of the issue and make apparent how it affects not only you but the overall student body.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE –
Image transcription text
Page 1 of 1 John Suarez 4340 Dykman Avenue New York, NY 10035 E.jsuarez@gmail.com You should present
your correspondence on your personal letterhead (or a business letterhead if writing from an institution or
firm. September 25, 2017 You should begin with a header, including John Jay Department of Inform…
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WRITING CRITERIA /10 THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND!
Avoid the Passive Voice! (Replacing Passive Voice with Active Verb Phrases)
Avoid Hedging Phrases!
Be Specific!
Fewer Nouns!
Important Ideas at the End!
No laundry lists! (Combining Sentences & Avoiding Laundry Lists)
Avoiding Non-Referential This or That
Use Connective Words for Better Sentences!
