Inquiry Letter is a letter written to request
information and/or ascertain its authenticity. A letter of inquiry deals with
various matters like job vacancies, funding, grants, scholarships, projects,
sales, pre-proposals and others. The term is common in various business setups
as it implies fund request or pre-proposal information. Owing to this usage,
the term may be considered exclusive to these setups alone. But that is not the
case, to this effect the below definition offers a justified meaning.
Inquiry
Letter Definition
A document requesting information
sent on behalf of an individual or an organisation for their own respective
purposes, which can be mutually beneficial to the recipient and the sender.
The term ‘Inquiry’ is same as ‘Enquiry’. The former is
more commonly used in U.S. and the latter one is more common in U.K. There are
some other terms which represent the letters; these are Letter of Intent,
Letter of Interest, Query letter, Prospecting Letter, Pre-proposal Letter and
Concept Paper. The term ‘Cover Letter’, ‘Business Letter’, ‘Request Letter’ and
‘Sales Letter’ is also applied to an inquiry letter especially when the
objective is same as that of letter for inquiry.
A letter of inquiry serves to facilitate business
operations and satisfaction of the sender. Inquiry letters remove any
misunderstanding and are time savers, especially when two parties want to reach
an understanding. The communication towards this effect resolves the issue
without any delay. With relation to it being a ‘Pre-proposal letter’, the
inquiry letter is also termed as a ‘Condensed Version of a Proposal’. It is the
outcome of the purpose of the letter which highlights the points of a proposal
instead of a full-fledged proposal.
On an individual’s basis, these
letters are sent to companies that are willing to hire but haven't advertised
job openings. It can also be a letter addressed to editor in-charge of a
publication proposing certain literary work. It can be a letter from a student
who is vying for a seat in a college or a business that provides an internship.
So, the objective of an enquiry letter is same but its projections and
audiences are different. Same goes for its method of delivery, it can be sent
via paper mail or electronic mail.
The inclusion or exclusion of certain components
depends on the scope of your letter. Business letters will tend to have all
mentioned while those on a smaller platform will include few. Not to forget
that these letter are formal letters and will follow the rules pertaining to
these. These rules refer to the common styles of writing a business letter,
i.e. Full Block Style, Modified Block Style and others.
An example of letter of inquiry or a
letter of inquiry format is sufficient. To add to it the writing tips provide
efficiency. Thus, it is advisable to go through the format, tips, examples and
the templates.
Inquiry
Letter Writing Tips
Outline and
Organise your Inquiry – By
outlining it is meant that you have to know what sort of information you are
going to present?, word limit, documents required, the tone of the language,
your anticipation, common ground of consensus and other required matter. It is
just like an architecture preparing a building plan. Here you have to decide
‘What to include?’ and ‘Why to include?’ Knowing this eases the writing process
and also eases the reading on part of the recipient. When all the pieces are
clear in your mind, it is time to figure out the best possible logical
order. Arrange a sequential order for the relevant information. In this
way outlining and organising eases the further writing process.
Gather
Information – Certain
inquiries may not require any search or research, certain will. For the latter
one’s you have to collect information to make your case strong. If you are
looking for a job, you need to know the expectations of the employer. If it is
a fund that you are writing for, know your client. Research your recipient;
know the principles on which they work. Analyse their intellect and weaknesses.
Any information which will support your inquiry is good. It might appear
daunting but you don’t need to go into all areas. Pick one or two and research
on that. There are other indirect methods like visiting the websites, going
through profiles, news items and other assistive methods. Knowing and
delivering the anticipated speeds up the writing and the success of the
inquiry. On your part you might be required to provide information to the
recipient and that too needs to be sorted out before it is presented.
Drafting – A formal letter like query letter
begins from a draft. The draft maybe required for your own acceptance or for
the organisation you are working for. The initial step of outlining and
organising comes to aid in the draft. The logical order and the information
collected are put to full use in drafting. Ideas or lines may come hard, so
start with what comes first in the mind. Then weave the inquiry around it and
prepare your letter. Though the layout has been planned but the content may not
always live up to the layout. Drafting is a good option because you may not
always come up with a good letter and you require certain revisions or
consultations with your seniors. Here, you can experiment and chalk out a
format for future use.
Appropriate
Recipient – Your
inquiry may not yield the desired results if you are in doubt about the exact
recipient. You may know about multiple recipients but who is the one, that is
most likely to respond in a positive and helpful manner. To solve this query
you can contact the recipient’s office and find out who is the most
appropriate. For indirect methods you can use previous correspondence
containing letterhead or recipient’s name. The company’s website can also be
helpful in this matter. Never address your inquiry letter to a ‘Department’,
‘Head of Department’ or ‘To whom it may concern’. An individual will read your
letter and this individual represents the department. So always direct your
letter to 'A Person having Authority' and 'Not to Authority having a Person'.
Impressive
Opening – Inquiry
letter being a representative to many types of other letters requires an
impressive opening. It may not be the agenda of all inquiry letters but
wherever it is applicable, you have to impress the reader. To arouse the
interest you can state the profit involved in the query. You should write in an
active voice and offer relevant facts. The letter should live up to the
anticipation and expectations of the reader, making it effortless to read. You
can also use certain apt phrases and quotes towards this effect. You can
flatter the recipient with certain praises but don’t exaggerate. Self
introduction in the starting itself wouldn’t be a good idea so refrain until it
is anticipated.
Be Specific
and Brief – It makes
sense to be specific and brief. Specificity of your letter will lead to easy
perception of the information. Brief letter will be read quickly and wouldn’t
appear as burdening. Moreover, there is no scope for anything apart from the
request and its relative aspects. You can be specific by offering the most important
information; one which will fulfil most of the needs of the reader. You can be
brief by using short paragraphs and using one word whose meaning is equivalent
to a number of words. Mostly an inquiry letter is of 2 to 3 pages.
Be Straightforward – Straightforward doesn’t mean a
simple go. You have to be direct but by remaining within the boundaries of
etiquettes. You shouldn’t sound cold and boring. You have to be professional
and follow all the observances expected from an inquiry letter. For, example
you shouldn’t condemn, be sarcastic or arrogant. One may not realise it but
when others read it, they can point out the anomalies. So build a momentum
instead of directly coming to the objective of the letter.
Generate and
Maintain Interest – There are
many ways of presenting information. It is up to you how you present it. You
can utilise a question to arouse the curiosity of the recipient. You can
maintain this interest by providing some hints as to what you have written
next. Don’t lose the momentum of the tone as it can reduce the interest.
Present your idea which forces the person to imagine a scenario.
Supportive
Documents –Don't
forget to attach the required documents. These documents are supportive towards
your cause. For a prospective employee these add value to the credibility of
the individual. In a business scenario it is complimentary and well thought
idea. They also augment the effect of the letter.
Facilitate
the Response – When you
seek information which is more essential to you than it is to the reader, you
are required to ease the reply process. So enclose a self-addressed stamped
envelope with your query. Even, otherwise it shows your presence of mind,
willingness to ensure smooth and quick response. If the inquiry is more
beneficial to the recipient, your contact number and other details are already
there on the letterhead.
Offer
Incentives – When you
make it obvious that the inquiry is beneficial to the recipient, it acts as an
incentive. If you make it clear – ‘The How’ and ‘What’ of the desired outcome
of the letter, it also serves to offer an incentive. You can emphasise the role
of the reader in the inquiry and how it will add up to his credentials. You can
use examples towards this effect; a profit to the recipient does go long down the
line.
Review and
Revise – Coming to
the final section, double check the address. Your letter should have all the
qualities of being a professional one. Ensure the use of simple font such as
Times New Roman or Arial. Check for any spelling and grammatical errors. If in
doubt get a reliable proofreader to review it.
Example of Inquiry Letter:
Example for reply of Inquiry Letter:
From the example letter above, it
can be seen that parts of the inquiry letter are:
1. Letter head (header)
Listed address. For agency / company,
at the head of the letter could also use the letterhead of the company /
institution where you work and simply write the destination address of the
company.
2. Date. Example: January 21th, 2012
3. The appetizer (opening)
Opener always begins with a greeting.
In the opening depends on a formal letter / non-formal.
Examples of non-formal: Dear Rara
Example for formal: To Whom It May
Concern
4. Reference
The first paragraph is always
preceded by a reference that you meet about the company in question. The reference
could be an ad in print and electronic media or any other business information
you get from a business colleague who worked at the company. The common
expression used is as follows:
With reference to your advertisement
(ad) in ... Or
Regarding your advertisement (ad) in
…
5. Request information
After writing the reference, you can
continue to write the request for information that you want to get. The common
expression used is as follows:
Would you please send me ... Or
Could you please send me ...
If there is any other information
you want to know, you can write the following expression:
I would also like to know ... Or
Could you tell me Whether …
6. Closer and signature (signature)
The common expression used on the
closer are:
Sincerely Or formal expressions
which are also commonly used are: Yours faithfully
After writing the closer, provide
the name and the office (if you are a staff in a company).
Reference :
http://inamona92.blogspot.co.id/2012/12/inquiry-letter.html
