Letters of Inquiry

Section 2.5.4

Letters of Inquiry

A letter of inquiry asks someone for specific information. In
some cases, such as a request for promotional material, the recipient will have a clear interest in
responding to your letter. In other cases, such as a request for specific information on a product,
the recipient may or may not be as motivated to respond quickly. Consequently, always make the
tone of the letter friendly and make it easy for the recipient to identify and provide the
information you need.

Format of a Letter of Inquiry

Follow this format in writing a letter of inquiry:

1. In the first paragraph, identify yourself and, if appropriate, your position, and your
   institution or firm.
2. In the second paragraph, briefly explain why you are writing and how you will use
   the requested information. Offer to keep the response confidential if such an
   offer seems reasonable.
3. List the specific information you need. You can phrase your requests as questions
   or as a list of specific items of information. In either case, make each item clear
   and discrete.
4. Conclude your letter by offering your reader some incentive for responding.

The following letter of inquiry is written by a computer programmer requesting specific
information about an upcoming release of a software product.