Writing Business Letters

by Jenny Helms

Since some people write business letters every day, I often discuss formats for writing business letters with my grade level 5 – 12.9 students. Then the class decides when various formats should be used. Next, I offer a fun and exciting class activity for students to practice writing business letters. I give them a choice of writing a letter of complaint, a letter of request, or a letter of satisfaction to a business. To help students decide what kind of letter they want to write, I ask them to think about different products they use around the house. For example: Does a particular product please or displease them extremely? Do they want to learn more about a particular product?

Students select a product and find the manufacturer’s address to bring to class. Then they write letters of satisfaction, inquiry, or complaint to the company they have chosen. (As the teacher, I discuss appropriate ways in which to show dissatisfaction about a product.) After the students and I mutually edit letters for mistakes, they word-process their letters and mail them to the appropriate company’s address.

As time goes by, students eventually receive responses and share the information they received with the rest of the class. Often students receive coupons or free products as a result of their letters. This activity is a great motivation for students who want to learn how to write business letters!