Key Phrases for Writing a Letter of Inquiry:
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Greetings: Signature endings:
* Dear Sir/Madam, * Yours faithfully,
* Dear Sirs, * Best wishes,
* Dear Mr/MS/Miss/Mrs/Dr Brown, * Yours sincerely,
* Dear Mary-Lynn, * Sincerely yours,
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The reference
With reference to your advertisement in the Reporter, …
With reference to your letter of 25th April, …
With reference to your phone call today, …
Set phrases for opening paragraph: * I am writing to enquire about/ apologize for/ confirm… * I am writing to you in connection with… * I am writing with regard to/in regard to/with reference to... * I am writing to ask if you could inform me about… * I was interested in your advertisement in… * I would appreciate some further information about… * Referring to your advertisement published in… |
Set phrases for closing paragraph: * Please contact us again if there are any problems/ you have any questions. * I would be very grateful if you would/could reply as soon as possible. * Thanking you for your time and assistance. * I would like to thank you in advance. * I look forward to your reply at your earliest convenience. * I look forward to hearing from you. |
Task 4. Read the following sentences and decide if you can find them in the opening paragraph, the main part or the closing paragraph of the letter.
Thank you for your co-operation.
These are the things I’d like to ask you about the job.
I look forward to your reply.
First of all, I’d appreciate if you tell me how far the place is.
I would be grateful if you could give me further information.
In fact, that is all I would love to know about.
Please inform me at your earliest convenience.
Plan for letter writing
There are many reasons for writing a formal letter. One of them is to ask for information. Below is a plan of a formal letter asking for information regarding an advertisement. There are questions to help you when planning a letter of this type. Read the plan and compare it to the sample.
Greeting |
• use a formal greeting, not first names
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Opening paragraph |
use set phrases to: • refer to the advertisement you have seen •state why you are writing |
Where did you see the advertisement? Why are you writing this letter? |
Main part |
• ask for the information in a formal, polite and systematic manner |
What do you want to find out? What is most/least important? (prioritise your requests) |
Closing paragraph |
• state anything you want to emphasise (e.g. repeat your request) • use set phrases to end your letter |
Is there anything you want to emphasise? |
Signing off |
• use a formal signature ending. Sign your letter and print your full name below your signature. |
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While writing a letter in English one should also use linking phrases to show time, contrast, consequence, cause, reason etc. in order to make the letter logical and well-structured.
Linking Phrases: Time: before, before long, when, as soon as, just as, the moment that, while, as, during, in the meantime, immediately, after, afterwards, after that, later, sometime later, soon, then, next, in the beginning, at first, in the end, finally, eventually, at last, until, by the time. Concession - Contrast: although, even though, in spite of, despite, however, no matter how/what, whatever, but, while, whereas, nevertheless, regardless of. Result - Consequence: so…that, such…that, therefore, so, otherwise, for this reason, under the circumstances, consequently, as a consequence, as a result. Cause-Reason: because (of), as, since, due to, owing to. Emphasis: in fact, as a matter of fact, actually, to tell you the truth, strangely enough.
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Task 5. Below is the main part of the letter. Complete the blanks using linking phrases. Note that more than one answer may be correct in some cases.
__________________(1), I would like to know how far from the city the workplace is and how long it takes to get there. __________________(2), I would also like to ask about transportation. Will we have to go there on our own or will the company drive us to the site? _______________(3), I would appreciate it if you could tell me what time the work finishes when we are on the site.
_______________(4), I would like to know if I need to bring my own lunch or whether there is a café nearby. ________________(5),please inform me if I have to bring my own tools. |
Home task: Look at the job advert given below and write a letter of inquiry asking about the following details:
● what the average salary for that area is
● if there is a career promotion after 2 years of working
● how long the leave of absence is and if it is paid or not
● whether there is a cafeteria and if the food subsidized by the employer
● if there is free of charge medical care in case of illness
