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Lesson#14

Letters Writing 2

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.

Letters of Inquiry:

•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.

Technical-Information Letters and Memoranda:

•Technical-information letters and memoranda are short documents that announce new

technical information, such as a software bug and its solution, or a new feature.

•Use the memorandum format if the information is being sent inside an organization. Use

the letter format if the document will be sent to outside individuals.

References and Letters of Recommendation:

•References are an essential component of almost all admissions, grant, and employment

processes.

•Managers and other individuals in any selection process need evaluations from individuals

who have had long and close contact with applicants in order to assess accurately their

abilities and accomplishments.

•The number of recommendations required by employers and universities usually ranges

from one to five, with three being the most common number.

Obtaining Letters of Recommendation:

••Make your candidacy as strong as possible by carefully soliciting references and letters of

recommendation.

•Letters of recommendation are extremely important in decisions to hire or admit an

individual or to award a scholarship or grant.

General Guidelines for Requesting References or Letters of Recommendation:

•If possible, always ask one or two more persons than the minimum number you need.

•Ask a range of persons who can testify to different abilities and accomplishments relevant

to the position or award.

Continued…

General Guidelines for Requesting References or Letters of Recommendation:

•If possible, ask someone in person to write a recommendation or to be a reference.

•If the individual is far away, ask him or her by phone or through a written letter.

•Generally, unless you know the person extremely well, do not ask someone to be a

reference or write a letter of recommendation through e-mail.

Guidelines for Written Letters of Recommendation:

•Generally, people give more weight to recommendations that contain a waiver of your right

to see the recommendation.

•Sometimes, however, it may be prudent not to waive your right to review the

recommendation, especially if you are unsure of the recommender's attitude toward you or

of his or her writing ability.

Guidelines for Written Letters of Recommendation:

•Recommenders are busy people.

•Ask a person to write the recommendation and give him or her all the necessary material at

least three weeks before the recommendation is due.

Writing Letters of Recommendation:

•Write letters of recommendation to provide relevant information and to present an individual

truthfully and positively.

Guidelines for Writing Letters of Recommendation:

•In most cases, agree to write a letter of recommendation only if you can honestly write a

supportive letter.

•If you cannot portray an individual positively, decline to write the recommendation.

Guidelines for Writing Letters of Recommendation:

•Ask for a current Resume and as complete a description as possible of the position or

program to which the person is applying.

•Assemble and review all other relevant information you may have about the person you are

recommending.

•It is often easy to overlook some important accomplishment.

Guidelines for Writing Letters of Recommendation:

•In most cases, a letter of recommendation should consist of three or four paragraphs and

not be over one page in length.

•A sample letter of recommendation is given is now showing on your screen.

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