Formal letter
Make a reasoned request or complaint through audience-aware writing.
Write for the situation
Audience
a principal, manager or organisation
Purpose
Make a reasoned request or complaint
Register and tone
Respectful, precise and formal
Avoid
Uncontrolled outrage replacing a reasonable case
Conventions that help the reader
An appropriate salutation; clear purpose; organised reasons; a fitting sign-off; addresses and date where the context calls for them. These are adaptable guidance: task, audience and purpose decide the choices.
A flexible route through the text
- 1Purpose
- 2Relevant facts
- 3Reasoned request or remedy
- 4Formal close
Language to develop
Choose precise verbs and examples. Connect reasons and consequences, qualify claims when necessary and vary sentence forms without forcing unfamiliar language.
Planning question
Which facts support the remedy you want?
Model extract · Social organization
This original teaching extract shows selected choices. It is shorter than a complete Paper 1 response and is not an IB-marked exemplar.
Dear Principal,
I am writing to recommend a peer-mentoring pilot for new students. A volunteer mentor could help a newcomer navigate school routines and discover activities that match their interests. However, goodwill alone would not make the scheme reliable. Mentors would need training, clear boundaries and a named adult to contact when a concern falls outside their role. I therefore request that the school trial the programme with a small group and review participant feedback before extending it.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Morgan
Read as a writer
Find evidence of the intended reader, purpose and register. Identify a convention that makes the text usable.
Explore the content
Underline an example, reason or practical detail. Explain what it contributes, then develop the next paragraph yourself.
Connect it to each core theme
Identities
Your school is considering a multilingual welcome project.
Write a formal letter for a principal, manager or organisation. Explain a specific concern, support it with relevant reasons and request a workable action.
Theme connection: how language choices shape belonging.
Planning focus: Which facts support the remedy you want?
Plan this taskExperiences
Your school is considering a student exchange programme.
Write a formal letter for a principal, manager or organisation. Explain a specific concern, support it with relevant reasons and request a workable action.
Theme connection: what students gain from an unfamiliar experience.
Planning focus: Which facts support the remedy you want?
Plan this taskHuman ingenuity
Your school is considering an AI-supported language-learning app.
Write a formal letter for a principal, manager or organisation. Explain a specific concern, support it with relevant reasons and request a workable action.
Theme connection: how technology helps learners and where its limits lie.
Planning focus: Which facts support the remedy you want?
Plan this taskSocial organization
Your school is considering a school peer-mentoring programme.
Write a formal letter for a principal, manager or organisation. Explain a specific concern, support it with relevant reasons and request a workable action.
Theme connection: how a community can support newcomers.
Planning focus: Which facts support the remedy you want?
Plan this taskSharing the planet
Your school is considering a student-led food-waste project.
Write a formal letter for a principal, manager or organisation. Explain a specific concern, support it with relevant reasons and request a workable action.
Theme connection: how individuals and institutions can reduce waste.
Planning focus: Which facts support the remedy you want?
Plan this taskTeach, practise and refine
- Read a real example of this text type and identify its readership and purpose.
- Annotate the model extract, then discuss how a different audience would change its wording.
- Select a theme task. Plan all required actions before writing; develop examples rather than listing them.
- Draft independently, review audience and task coverage, then revise one paragraph.
Teacher language
Which facts support the remedy you want?
Support without fixing every sentence
Offer an audience–purpose planning grid, a few useful connectors and oral rehearsal. Then remove the paragraph openings and ask for independent wording. Extend by developing an alternative viewpoint or a justified qualification.
Self-check
- Have I addressed every instruction?
- Do the reader, purpose, tone and conventions match?
- Does each main idea have a developed example or explanation?
- Have I checked verb forms, reference, spelling and punctuation?