Topic 2: Letter of Inquiry

Learning Objective
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
1.Discuss the content of a letter of inquiry.
2. Write an effective letter of inquiry.

Presentation of Content
As a customer, we do not just immediately buy products or avall services that are offered to
us. Wecheck if the product or services suit our needs. We still want to make sure that the
product has all the attributes or the features that we are looking for. This is where you need
an inquiry letter.

What is a Letter of Inquiry?

A letter of inquiry is a request for information that the writer believes the reader can provide.
Regardless of the subject, your objective is to make the reader respond with an action that
satisfies your inquiry. Hence, the scope of your letter must include enough information to
help the reader determine how to respond the best way .Keeping the tone of your letter
friendly may also help you to convince the reader to respond to your inquiry.

Format of a Letter of Inquiry

To help you write your letter of inquiry easily,you may follow this format.
1. Introduction. Identify yourself and. If appropriate, let your reader know your position,and
your institution or firm.
2.Body.Briefly explain why you are writing and how you will use the information you are
requesting.You may also offer to keep the response confidential if such an offer seems
reasonable.
3.List of 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.Conclusion. You may conclude your letter by offering your reader some incentives for
responding.

Tips on Writing Letters of Inquiry

● Identify Your Reader. Your letter should be addressed to the person who is most
likely to respond to your inquiry in a positive and helpful manner.The name of that
person should be written in the inside heading and in the salutation of your letter.
Remember that people do business with peoplefirst,businesses second; hence,when
you address your reader by name,you make them feel that you recognize their
importance and value as an individual human being,If you are not sure of the
person's name,you can make a few phone calls to identify a contact person.
● Establish Your Objective. Your objective in your inquiry letter is to make a
request.You will either ask the reader to provide something beneficial, or take
advantage of something that you have to offer.Make your inquiry specific and brief.If
you are asking for more than one question,highlight them in a bulleted list.
● Determine Your Scope.Your inquiry letter should provide enough information for the
reader to understand your objective,make an informed decision and respond in a
timely manner.
 ● Consider your reader and get to the point.Do they have what you want? Can they
do or give what you are asking?Think about what your reader will need to know
before making a decision and sending you a response.It may also help if you offer
incentive if they respond.
● Organize Your Letter.Establish a logical order in which you are going to present
your information.Make an outline to help you organize your letter.You may do this by
having a list of important points and placing them in an order that will best help your
reader fully understand your inquiry.
● Draft Your Letter.You may consider the outline that you made as the draft of your
inquiryWhat you need to do next is to write each fragment into complete sentences
expressing a complete thought or idea.
● Convey your ideas in a cohesive way by writing in as natural a sounding voice as
possible. Focus on clearly communicating your objectives to your reader, not on
checking problems on spelling, grammar,punctuation and sentence structure.
● Close Your Letter.Close your inquiry letter in a professional manner.Once you have
written the last paragraph, sign off between a complimentary close such as
"Sincerely," or "Thank you,"and your printed name.If you are writing under your
official duty,write your title below your printed name.
● Write additional information like notification of attachments,enclosures and copies
sent to other individuals beneath the title line.
● Review and Revise Your Inquiry Letter.This is the final step in the writing process,
This time.check your first draft and make sure that your objective is clear and that
your scope is concise.Imagine that you are the reader then ask yourself:Am I able to
comprehend the request quickly? Is Enough information included in the letter for me
to respond quickly?

After checking the clarity of your objectives and the conciseness of your scope, it is time for
youto do the following:
● Check for obvious errors in spelling, sentence structure and grammar.
● Check the overall cohesiveness of your letter.Look for accuracy, clarity and sense of
completeness.Are the transitions between paragraphs working?Are the transitions
and your point of view,tone and style consistent throughout the text?
● Examine your word choice. Remove ambiguous words,jargons,and abstract terms
that affect how your reader will comprehend your letter

Sample Letter of Inquiry

Verlyz H. Gonzales
Nattanzan,lguig,Cagayan
[email protected]

July 29,2020

Mr.Robert Charles B.Mendoza

Campus Registrar
Cagayan State University
Flourishing,Gonzaga,Cagayan

Dear Mr.Mendoza:
of the Bachelor's Degree program.I have passed the CSU College Admission Test with 98
percentile rating and I intend to take Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

May I request you to send me any information you have about the program.I am particularly
interested to know more about:
● Admission requirements
● Faculty credentials
● Program areas of specialization
● Grants and scholarships available
● Name and contact information of the College Dean

Kindly send me the information at the address indicated above. Should you have questions
about my request,please contact me at mobile number 09771236548.

Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Verlyz H.Gonzales

Topic 3: Memos

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson,you will be able to:
1. Explain the content of each part of the memo
2.Write effective memo

Presentation of Content
Suppose you are the president of your school's student organization and you are organizing
a school fair.What is the first thing that you need to do? You will first note down all the tasks
that need tobe done.You will list the details of the task and the persons responsible for its
completion. Also,you will formally communicate to the principal,teachers,and other people in
your position in your school. Similarly,inbusiness,we also need to note down details and
communicate to other individuals in the organization.This way of communication in business
s called memorandum.In this section, we will study memorandum.

What is a memo?
Short for "memorandum," a memo is a type of document used by organization heads to
transmit information in the same organization.Memos are characterized by being
brief,direct,and easy to navigate.Although memos are less formal than letters, they should
maintain a professional, concise style.

We use memos in the workplace as a form of formal communication in different

situations.Managers organizational leaders issue memos if they would like to implement new
policies or to give important announcements.
Some common types of memos are:
● Policies (changes and new)
● Instructions
● Procedures
● Announcements
● Trip reports

Parts of a memo
1. The header.To help give identity to your document,at the top of the page, indicate that it is
a memo in capital letters.
2. The recipient addresses.The recipient's address should be written immediately after the
header.Clearly indicate to whom the memo is being addressed to. Be official in writing the
name of the recipient whether it is one person or a group of people. If your memo is
addressed to a different group,include other recipients.

You can use the format below if you have more than one recipient:
Memorandum
To:
Cc:
From:
Date:
Subject:

In this format,the cc will serve to address another recipient that you wish to address apart
from your main recipient.

3. The sender.Below the recipient's address,indicate where the memo is coming

from.Indicate your name and your position.
4. The date. Write the date below the sender's name. It is important that you indicate the
date sothe readers will know when the memo was sent and for them to distinguish the old
and new memos.
5.The title/subject.The title should clearly tell what the memo is all about. Indicate what the
memoirs about in the shortest words possible. Most of the time,the title or subject line is
written in all capital letters.

Tips on formatting the heading and the addresses:

● type the content in double space to help improve the clarity of your document.
● Align all the content to the left margin of your page.
● write the start of the address with capital letters.

Example:
To: All staff
From:The IT Director
Date:07/30/2020
Subject:Promotions in Different Departments.
6. The body. Remember to keep your memo as short as possible. Avoid more stories in the
bodyparagraphs.Here are some tips on how you can come up with the best body for your
memo:
● Consider your readers - your readers are the recipients of your memo. Use the right
tone depending on what you are writing about.If you are requesting something from
your staff as the manager,use polite language.Try to ask yourself any question that
your readers are likely to come up with after reading your memo and address them
accordingly. Your language use should also suit the people you are addressing.
● Go to the point directly- avoid the salutations that you usually see in other letter
writing formats.The thesis for your memo should be your major issue.
● Give a small background of the problem-after starting the change that you need,give
some reasons for the implementation of that policy or rule.Explain why you came up
with that decision.Use of lists-a list would be helpful if there are several points that
need to be done.
● Use of short subheadings- you can use a short subheading to clarify to your reader
the points you are addressing.
● Give the actions that you need the readers to do- state the role of the readers in the
implementation of your policies.You can also give the conditions that should apply to
your reader.You can,for example,give a deadline to whatever needs to be done.
● The last thing is signing-sign at the end of the memo to make it official.

Style and Tone in Writing Memos

Memo reports and policy memos usually have a formal tone: however, most memos will
have a conversational style-slightly informal but still professional.Since the recipients of
memos are those with whom the sender works,the writing style usually assumes a
relationship with them and writes with some degree of informality but still reflects a
professional relationship.The audience may contain a variety of readers,and the style and
tone should be appropriate for all of their technical and authority levels.

Too Informal

Too Formal,Stuffy-Sounding,Wordy

Appropriate Balance