La lettre formelle chronométrée n° 2 : 45 minutes

Unité PE-25 · campagne 16 · votre première lettre est restée sans réponse — tant mieux, c'est le sujet.

Second timed letter, same discipline: 45 minutes, 250 words minimum, no dictionary. The machine from the first timed letter does not change — skeleton first (objet, formule d'appel, formule finale), then the 10/30/5 budget: ten minutes to plan facts and demand, thirty to write, five for the three-pass relecture.

What changes is the scenario: this time you write a lettre de relance — a follow-up to a complaint that went unanswered. The relance has its own logic, and it maps cleanly onto the letter body:

1. Rappel — cite the previous letter with its date and state the silence: « Par ma lettre du 12 mars, restée à ce jour sans réponse, je vous signalais la livraison d'un appareil défectueux. » One sentence buys you the whole context.
2. Constat — the problem persists; consequences have accumulated. Facts, dates, amounts — the evidence discipline from earlier units.
3. Demande réitérée, sous pression graduée — repeat the demand, but this time attach a precise deadline and announce the recours: « Sans réponse de votre part sous quinze jours, je me verrai contraint de saisir une association de consommateurs. »

The register challenge is the interesting part: a relance must be firmer than the first letter without ever tipping into rudeness. « Je me verrai contraint de » threatens within perfect courtesy; « répondez immédiatement ! » costs you the correction sociolinguistique points. Escalate the stakes, never the tone.

Set the timer, write the relance under exam conditions, then run your three-pass relecture — and check that your letter actually carries the deadline and the recours, not just a repeat of the original demand.

Loading the exercise...

Checking your progress...