Making a complaint with a workable remedy

B1.2 · Describe a failure and justify a request in relation to a deadline.

Early B1: past events, conditions, contrast and simple formal requests.

Model

Guten Tag Frau Schuster,

ich schreibe wegen unseres Sprachkurses am Abend. Seit zwei Wochen finden die Gespräche nicht im Unterrichtsraum, sondern im offenen Flur statt. Dort sprechen auch andere Gruppen. Für mich ist es schwierig, die Beiträge meiner Partnerin zu verstehen.

Ich habe zuerst versucht, mich näher zu ihr zu setzen. Das hat etwas geholfen, aber die anderen Gespräche hören wir trotzdem. Ich möchte den Kurs gern weiter besuchen und suche deshalb eine Lösung. Könnten wir für die Partnerarbeit einen ruhigen Raum benutzen? Falls das nicht möglich ist, wäre eine andere Unterrichtszeit für mich ebenfalls interessant.

Bitte teilen Sie mir mit, welche Möglichkeiten es gibt. Ich kann montags und donnerstags abends teilnehmen, möchte aber keinen neuen Kurs buchen, bevor wir darüber gesprochen haben.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Robin Keller

1. Das hat etwas geholfen, aber die anderen Gespräche hören wir trotzdem. · Acknowledges an attempt and explains its limit.
2. Ich möchte den Kurs gern weiter besuchen · Clarifies the complaint’s purpose.
3. möchte aber keinen neuen Kurs buchen, bevor wir darüber gesprochen haben. · Distinguishes a possibility from a commitment.

Task

Fictional case. Write in German to Papierpunkt about order P-38.

You ordered 20 blue folders for a workshop this Friday. On Tuesday, 20 red folders arrived. Blue folders are needed to distinguish the materials from another group’s; the centre has no spare stock.

The shop offers a replacement delivered on the Monday after the workshop or a return with refund. It has not confirmed whether blue folders can be collected before Friday. A colleague suggests accepting Monday’s delivery because “it arrives before the workshop”.

Explain the problem and review the colleague’s proposal. Request a remedy that meets the deadline and state what you would request if it were impossible. Do not invent stock, prices or legal rights. Sign with an invented name.

120–170 words

Planning

1. Distinguish the ordered product, received product and actual need.
2. Check the timing of each proposal.
3. Separate your first request, fallback and unknown information.

Criteria

1. Identify the order and the relevant mismatch with the need.

   Mark “achieved” when the evidence is present and consistent; “partial” when incomplete; “revise” when absent or contrary to the case. Justify the judgement with a quotation from your draft.

2. Evaluate the colleague’s proposal and justify your request against the deadline.

   Mark “achieved” when the evidence is present and consistent; “partial” when incomplete; “revise” when absent or contrary to the case. Justify the judgement with a quotation from your draft.

3. Present a request and fallback without promising an unconfirmed remedy.

   Mark “achieved” when the evidence is present and consistent; “partial” when incomplete; “revise” when absent or contrary to the case. Justify the judgement with a quotation from your draft.

4. Maintain a polite tone and clear temporal links; German makes the problem and action understandable.

   Mark “achieved” when the evidence is present and consistent; “partial” when incomplete; “revise” when absent or contrary to the case. Justify the judgement with a quotation from your draft.

Review

Keep your first draft. Quote a passage for each criterion and use the three rubric categories. Rewrite a passage to improve meaning or language and explain the effect. If it already meets the criteria, document a specific check. The guide provides examples; it neither matches words nor calculates a grade.

Guide and answers