The structure of a business complaint discourse

A business complaint letter, like other types of letters, consists of a number of optional and compulsory parts. Analyzing the format of business complaint letters in two different kinds of English and Vietnamese reveals some similarities and differences as noted below:

Formality Business complaint in English Business complaint in Vietnamese Letterhead The name and address of the writer are

normally written on the top either left- hand or right-hand side of the page.

The official name and motto of the country are typed in the top middle, which is considered compulsory in any Vietnamese legal document

Title It is considered optional. All the letters in our investigation has no title.

Most Vietnamese business complaints in our investigation have the title of „Đơn khiếu nại‟, „đơn xin khiếu nại‟ in capital letters below the motto, which is considered the standard form.

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Dateline The date of writing letter is typed either on the left-hand or right-hand side of the page and either right below the writer‟s address or addressee‟s address.

The date is noted at the bottom on the right corner above the writer‟s signature.

Addressee‟s address

All letters in our investigation have the name and address of the addressee (and also the position if the addressee is an individual) noted on the left below writer‟s address and maybe above or below dateline.

The name of the addressee as an organization or a part of an organization is normally shown in the salutation:

“Kính gửi”; If the addressee and the respondent refer to different people, the name and address of the respondent is then usually mentioned in the first part of the letter.

Subject line It is an optional part and often started with an abbreviation “Ref:…” (usually below the dateline)

It is optional and often cited below the title.

Salutation It is often started with “Dear sir”, “Dear Madam”, “Dear sir or Madam” or Dear followed by the readers‟ name or title.

It is started with “Kính gửi:…” followed by the targeted reader‟s name.

Body The body often consists of three or four paragraphs where the writer gives the reason for writing, necessary information about the complaint and what the writer expect as a result of the complaint.

The body often consists of three or four paragraphs where the writer gives the reason for writing, necessary information about the complaint and what the writer expect as a result of the complaint.

Compliment ary close

The common ones are “Yours sincerely”

when the targeted addressee‟s name is cited in the salutation, and “Yours faithfully” if the targeted addressee‟s name is unknown.

It is usually closed with the place and the date for writing the letter.

Writer‟s name and signature

The writer‟s full name is typed below the handwriting signature.

CHAPTER TWO

ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS COMPLAINT LETTERS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

The structure of a business complaint discourse – comparison between English and