• For letters of apology

opening remarks:

(formal)

• I am writing to apologize for…

• I must apologize for…

• Please accept my sincerest/ profuse apologies for…

• How can I apologize enough for…

• I must apologize profusely for…

• I offer my apologies for…

• I must/ would like to apologize for…

• We are genuinely sorry for the problems we have caused you.

• We apologize for whatever inconvenience this may cause you, but…

• Thank you for bringing our attention regarding … (the mistake in your statement account.)

• Thank you for your letter of …(April 22, 2009) calling our attention to … (an erroneous service charge of …)

• I was most concerned to receive your letter … regarding …

(informal)

• I hope you will understand when I say that…

• What can I say, except I’m sorry that…

• I’m sorry for…

• I owe you an apology…

• I’m sorry if I upset you in any way…

• I can’t describe how sorry I am and how guilty I feel…

• Sincere apologies to you!

closing remarks:

(formal)

• Once again, sincerest apologies for…

• I hope you will accept my apologies for…

• I hope my apologies will be/ are accepted.

• I hope that you can overlook this regrettable error.

• Words cannot express how sorry I am.

• I hope my apologies were received.

• Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and I sincerely hope that you will have no further cause for any complaint in relation to our service.

• I apologize for the annoyance/ inconvenience that this may have caused to you. The company is actively working to improve service levels.

(informal)

• I hope you believe me when I say how sorry I am.

• I can’t tell you how sorry I am.

• I beg you to forgive me for…

• There is no excuse for … and I hope you will forgive me.

Making amends:

• Please allow me to offer/ suggest … as compensation (for…)

• I insist on (+ing) to make up for your loss/ inconvenience.

• To compensate for the inconvenience, we have enclosed coupons to enjoy on future purchases at any of our retail stores

• We are happy to offer you a full refund

APPENDIX III

LINKING DEVICES

• To introduce arguments for and against

• To make contrasting points

• To list advantages

• To list disadvantages

• To list points

• To introduce examples

• To emphasize a point

• To express reality

• To make general statements

• To make partly correct statements

• To explain/ clarify/ rephrase a point

• To refer to other sources

• To express cause

• To express effect

• To express intention

• To express difference between appearance and reality

• To state other people’s opinion

• For conclusion expressing balanced considerations/ opinion indirectly

• For conclusion expressing opinion directly

• To introduce points/ arguments for or against

• One (very convincing) point/ argument in favour of … / against …,

• A further common criticism of … / It could be argued that …,

• On the positive/ negative side, …

• On the plus/ minus side, …

• The positive/ negative factor…

• Considering the positive/ negative aspects …

• The benefits/ drawbacks of …

It is

often widely generally

claimed/ suggested/ argued/ maintained/ felt/ believed/ held/ said/ contended/ asserted

that …

some/ many/ most people/ experts/ scientists/ sceptics/ critics	claim/ suggest/ argue/ feel/ contend/ assert / maintain/ believe/ point out/ agree/ hold that …
	advocate (+ing/ noun/ support the view that … oppose the view that …
	are	in favour of/ against … of the opinion that/ convinced that … opposed to …

One A common A frequently heard

objection to Y is that …

One of the

assertions contentions arguments

in support of in favour of supporting for opposing against

Y is that …

Supporters Proponents Those in favour of … Defenders of … Advocates of … Pro- …

Opponents Opponents Those opposed to … Critics of … Objectors Anti- …