Letters of Enquiry/Request

1) General information

1. Letters of enquiry or request are written in order to obtain information about a business related topic. They often need to bring about a certain action. For example, a writer may want to test out the demand for a product from a supplier with their customers, before they include them in their inventory. They are usually used in external correspondence – between business people at two different companies – but they can also sometimes be used between two corporate units, for example a subsidiary company in the Netherlands and their Head Office in the UK.

2. Enquiry letters often only deal with one enquiry at a time. These are sent separately to facilitate administration and to make it easier to both archive the letter and then process the order or carry out the action required.

3. The tone of business letters in English is can be quite informal or casual, because the people involved often have an established relationship and have been in business for a while. Enquiry letters are often examples of business-to-business communication.

2) Conventions

1. Structure

1. Enquiry letters usually have a very straightforward structure. The writer first provides a context for the reader, i.e. he or she states at the beginning why they are writing the letter or they identify themselves by referring to a previous contact, and then they go on to state the action they would like to see completed or their request for further information. Sometimes writers also include extra information before their request or action point, to explain or justify to the reader they need the information or action. The structure of the letter looks like this:

• Context

• Extra information – if necessary

• Request for information or action

2. Layout

1. Letters often begin with Dear Ms Sears and end with Yours sincerely. This is British English and is used when the writer knows the name of the person they are writing to. The American equivalent would be Sincerely. When a writer does not know the name of the person they are writing to, then they can use Dear Sir or Madam for an individual or Dear Sirs for a company, in British English, and Gentlemen (without Dear!) in American English. The letter would then end with Yours faithfully in British English and Yours truly in American English. British writers also often use Best wishes, Your sincerely, if they know the person they are writing to well in business, and American writers often use Regards.

2. Writers usually only includes detail of their position within the company, and not the name of company. Writers only include details of their company name in the signature if they are making a first contact via a letter.

3. Ms is the title used for professional women both in the UK & the US, unless the writer knows that the woman is married and that she wishes to be addressed as Mrs.

1. Months and days of the week always begin with a capital letter in English. In the UK the day comes before the month, e.g. 12 September 2007. In the States, this is often reversed, e.g. September 12, 2007.