Sample letter of request. Letter of request for assistance in resolving the issue: drafting rules, business letter style and sample

Most people at some point are faced with the need to write a letter of demand or request. This may be a request for a donation, a request to write a missed exam, a request to meet with an expert in a particular field, or a request for the issuance of a document necessary for reporting. Whatever your goal, the writing style will be the same. Follow the instructions in the article to make your letter look more professional and persuasive.

Steps

Preparation in writing

Sketch out the main ideas. To write a clear and effective letter, it is very important to have a clear understanding of your goals and objectives of the request/request.

A good way to make sure you have a clear idea about the topic is to take three blank sheets of paper and head them "why I'm writing the letter", "the purpose of the letter" and "other thoughts".
Without going into too much detail, write down your thoughts for a few minutes on each piece of paper. Make lists and sketch out the main ideas about the situation that will be mentioned in the letter. Also mention what you want to achieve with this letter and what other information you think needs to be added.

Think about who the letter is for. Awareness of the target audience is necessary in order to set the right tone for the letter. After you have written down the main ideas, write down on a separate sheet of paper everything you know about the recipient of the letter.
- For example, what position does this person hold and how can he/she help you? Will this person make the final decision on your request, or will he/she decide whether to send the letter to a higher authority?
- It's also a good idea to consider the recipient's awareness of the subject line of the email. If he/she is not well versed in your subject, the writing style should be different (eg use simple vocabulary and add more clarifying information) than if you are writing to an expert in the matter.
Write a plan. Finally, before writing your letter, come up with a plan to organize your thoughts in a logical and coherent order.
- Determine the main points and auxiliary ones. Make sure your thoughts are organized in a way that is understandable to the reader.
Writing a draft
1. Use the appropriate format. By sticking to a professional business email format, you will make a positive first impression.
  - In the upper left corner, enter your full address, then the date, and then the recipient's address. Remember to indent a line between each paragraph.
  - You can also specify the subject of the letter through the line after the recipient's address. But this is optional.
2. Start with a hello. The body of the letter should begin with a respectful and proper greeting.
  - If you know the person you are writing to, you can use their first name ("Dear Alex!"). Otherwise, you must use the person's last name and title (“Dear Mr. Ivanov!”)
  - If you do not know the name of the person who will read the letter, you can simply write: "Hello!".
3. Write an introductory paragraph. In the first paragraph of any request or demand letter, you need to introduce yourself and clearly but briefly state the main purpose of your request. For example, “I am writing to you in the hope that you will consider donating to our Animal Welfare Foundation.”
  - If you have previously communicated with the recipient of the letter, in the first paragraph you can mention when and under what circumstances you have already had contacts in the past.
  - For example: "I am a student of your drama club" or "I am the president of the Animal Welfare Foundation, to which you have generously donated for 10 years", or "I contacted you last month about the possibility of organizing a school trip to an amusement park ".
  - Establishing a connection is not only beneficial for the recipient, but it can also create a feeling of closeness to you, which will increase the chances of a positive response.
4. Write a main paragraph. In the body text, you should provide additional and more detailed information regarding your request. This is your opportunity to explain what you would like to receive and why your request should be granted.
  - Write in detail, but briefly. You must clearly state the nature of your request and the reasons why it needs to be considered. However, the reader does not need to read your entire life story.
  - Be honest and direct about your request. The recipient should not have any doubts about what you want. For example: "I hope you continue to make your generous donations this year" or "I would like to be able to retake this exam."
  - Be polite and use an appropriate tone when addressing the recipient.
  - Stick to the facts and keep your emotions in check. If you feel compelled to mention your feelings regarding this matter, don't get too emotional. For example: "I was very disappointed with my grades", but not "I literally went crazy when I saw my grades!"
5. Write a conclusion. At the end, you should mention any deadlines and time limits, and express your appreciation for the consideration of your application.
  - For example, if you are writing a request for information or a meeting with someone and the request must be completed by a certain date, you should state it politely but clearly in your conclusion.
  - Even if the recipient doesn't ultimately grant your request, the fact that they took the time to research your issue and make a decision on it is worth acknowledging.
6. Say goodbye. Your letter should end with an appropriate and polite farewell. Good options are "Regards," "Sincerely," or "Best wishes," followed by your name.
  - If you are sending a handwritten letter, indent 4 lines from the farewell and your name and leave your signature in pen.
  - If you attach any materials to the letter, this information should follow after parting. For example: "Apps: 2."
Letter design
1. Take it easy. After writing the first draft, set it aside for a couple of days if time permits. This will help you look at it with a new eye when you return.

Probably, everyone at least once had to deal with the need to write a business letter. When compiling it, you involuntarily come to the conclusion that it is not at all easy. There are many rules and regulations for writing business letters that you need to know. The article describes in detail the process of drafting a document, provides samples of a business letter, discusses their types and design.

Form

Ready-made forms will give solidity and indicate the reliability of the company. They contain essential information about the organization, such as:

Name.
Address.
Contact phone numbers.
Website.
Email.
Logo.
Other contact details.

There are no strict rules on the forms. Therefore, each organization independently decides what information to put in them.

How to write business letters correctly? Preparation

Business letters are written and executed in a certain way, obeying their inherent rules and requirements. Depending on the goal, the author thinks through the content in detail in order to get the result he calculates. He must clearly understand what information the addressee already knows on the subject of the letter, what to proceed from and what will be new in it. Arguments depend on what purpose the author pursues. The process of preparing a business letter can be divided into the following stages:

The study of the issue.
Writing a draft letter.
His agreement.
Signing.
Registration.
Sending to the addressee.

Structure of business letters

When compiling a letter, it is necessary to saturate it with information, that is, put all the necessary information there. It can be simple or complex. In a simple letter, the content clearly and concisely displays information that generally does not require a response from the addressee. Complex may consist of several sections, paragraphs and paragraphs. Each paragraph presents one aspect of the information. Samples of this type of business letter usually consist of an introductory, main and final parts.

Below is an example of writing a business letter - its introductory part.

The main part describes situations, events, their analysis and evidence. It is in this part that they convince that it is necessary to act in one way or another, they prove how things were and inform about the need to participate in any event, citing various arguments.

The conclusion contains conclusions that are made in the form of proposals, requests, reminders, refusals, and so on.

An example of writing a business letter - its final part - is presented below. This summarizes the requirement stated in the main.

All information provided should be optimally consistent and understandable for perception.

Each email starts with a center-aligned message. This little part is extremely important. When choosing it, the author should consider:

The position of the addressee.
The nature of the relationship.
Officiality.
Etiquette.

The letter must end with a polite form. For example: "... I express hope for further cooperation (thanks for the invitation) ...". These phrases are followed by the signature of the author.

Style

All letters must be in a formal business style, which means using the means of speech for a formal business relationship. The features of such a language are formed under the following circumstances:

The main participants in business relations are legal entities, on behalf of whose managers and officials letters are written.
Relationships in organizations are strictly regulated.
The subject of communication is the activity of the company.
Documents of a managerial nature generally have a specific addressee.
Often in the course of an organization's activities, the same situations occur.

In this regard, the information contained in the business letter should be:

Official, impersonal, emphasizing the distance between the participants in communication.
Address, intended for a specific addressee.
Current at the time of writing.
Reliable and impartial.
Reasoned to induce the recipient to take any action.
Complete for decision making.

Requirements

A business letter must meet the following requirements:

Speech is standardized at all levels - lexical, morphological and syntactic. It contains many turns, terms and formulas.
The tone of writing is neutral, restrained and strict, without the use of emotional and expressive language expressions.
The accuracy and clarity of the text, without logical errors, the clarity and thoughtfulness of the wording.
Conciseness and brevity - without the use of expressions that carry additional meaning.
The use of language formulas formed as a result of repetitive situations.
The use of terms, that is, words or phrases that have special concepts.
The use of abbreviations that can be lexical (that is, compound words formed by removing letters from parts of words: LLC, GOST, and so on) and graphic (that is, abbreviated word designations: gr-n, zh-d and more).
The use of constructions in the genitive and instrumental cases.
Phrases with verbal nouns ("support" instead of "support").
Using simple common sentences.

The above examples of a business letter below are shown in the full version (with the main part). The information meets all the requirements of the official business style.

Types of business letters

It is best to write a business letter on any one specific issue. If you need to solve several issues at once, it is recommended to draw up several different options.

Business letters can be in their content:

Accompanying. Such letters are usually needed to inform about where to send the documents.
(How to write a business letter? A sample cover letter will help those who need to write this kind of document.)

Warranty. They are written to confirm any promises or conditions. It can be guaranteed, for example, payment for work, rent, delivery times, and more.
Thank you. They have been used more and more frequently in recent years. Such letters demonstrate the good tone of partnerships. They can be issued on a regular letterhead or on colored paper with a beautiful print.
(How to write a business letter? A sample of a thank-you variety is drawn up in free form, depending on the tasks that it solves. In this case, the letter expresses its essence in the shortest form. Such a sample, made on colored paper with an ornament, can hang on the wall in the room companies in a place of honor.)

Informational.
Instructive.
Congratulatory.
Advertising.

There are also letters:

Proposals about cooperation. Quite common in recent times, sent to organizations, are often promotional in nature, for example, like this sample. It is quite difficult to write commercial letters, you need to take into account many nuances so that they pay attention to it, and even more so get interested. But if you make it according to the model below, it has every chance of success.

Invitations. They are sent, offering to participate in various events. Usually they are addressed to the leader or official, but they can also be addressed to the whole team.
Requests.
Notifications.
requests and many more.

How to write a response to a letter. Example

The answer should begin with a repetition of the request set out in the first letter. Then the results of its consideration are given and approval or reason for refusal is expressed. A business response letter may contain an alternative solution to the expected information. It usually follows the following principles:

The presence of a link to the first letter and its content.
The same language means.
Comparable volumes and aspects of content.
Compliance with a certain sequence.

Decor

In addition to using letterhead business letters, you need to take into account other subtleties in their design. These are details, rules for abbreviations, spelling of the address, heading, text length, field width and more.

Samples of a business letter help to compose it, taking into account all the subtleties and nuances. They are used by both novice clerks and experienced workers. Thanks to the samples, they learn how to write letters correctly and save a lot of time.

A request letter is a request to obtain the necessary information, goods, services, documents, to provide recommendations, to organize a meeting, etc. When compiling it, you need to justify the need to fulfill the request. It can be addressed to a specific individual or a legal entity - an organization. This type of letter may contain more than one request.

Business

“Dear Ivan Ivanovich!

Your company has been participating in the Career Guidance Program for Applicants for several years now, helping them to choose a profession.

You, as a personnel manager, are interested in training professionals, and we are ready to help schoolchildren to start preparing masters of their craft. To date, the profession of a manager is one of the most common, but many applicants do not have a clear idea of its meaning.

In this regard, we ask you to organize a meeting of the general manager with applicants on March 23 at 15.00 at the base of your company.

Having told the guys about the secrets of the profession today, you are laying the foundation for training real professionals tomorrow. Perhaps in a few years one of them will take your company to a new level of development.

With respect and gratitude,

Employment center director

P.P. Petrov"

About charitable assistance

The right column of the table contains the full text of the letter, the left column lists the techniques used.

We start with a compliment to the addressee
Dear Pavel Ivanovich!

Your enterprise is one of the largest in the region, and you, as its leader, are part of the business elite of our region.

We offer the addressee an attractive opportunity At all times, business, enterprising people sought not only to achieve material success, but also to leave their mark on the history of the city, region, country, to be remembered for good deeds.
We show how we can help realize this opportunity
And today, when our country relies on young people, it is difficult to find a more necessary, sacred cause than helping young men and women from dysfunctional families.

There are those in our city who already provide such assistance - under the auspices of the mayor's office, our charitable center "Heritage" operates on donations from citizens, which teaches difficult teenagers folk crafts.

We show the importance of our request. "We take the soul" Children from difficult families often do not have enough warmth, and one of the warmest, sunniest crafts is the craft of a potter. Therefore, we want to open a pottery workshop in our center. By making traditional pottery and souvenirs for visitors to the center and tourists, the children will be able to master a new profession and earn the gratitude of others, which is very important for their social adaptation.
We voice the request To equip a pottery workshop, you need a kiln for firing ceramics - we ask you to help us in acquiring it. The cost of the furnace with installation is 2 million rubles.
Let's take a step in our direction All design estimates for its purchase and installation have already been prepared, and we will gladly provide it to you so that you can know exactly how your funds will be used.
To summarize: if you help, there will be happiness

Letter of request refers to special documents. With its help, a person can contact another person (addressee) with a request to provide information, perform an action, provide assistance (material or financial), make a payment, etc. In this material, we will consider samples and examples of the design of letters of request, which you can download at the bottom of the article.

If there is no connection with the addressee or another opportunity to contact him, a request letter. In terms of its content, such a letter has common features with a written request. It is issued on the official letterhead of the enterprise, registered in the journal of outgoing documentation. The form must indicate the number and date of registration of the letter of request. If there are controversial issues, then you can always prove that the request letter was sent, specifying the date and even the exact time of sending.

Request letter. How to write correctly?

Letters of request are an integral, important and necessary part of business correspondence. On the one hand, these are tactful and diplomatic requests on current issues, on the other hand, they are a tool to achieve certain goals of the addressee. The purpose of any letter of request is to encourage the addressee to take certain actions necessary for the author of the letter. How to write a letter of request in order to get as close as possible to a positive answer?

Any request letter should include a well thought out rationale and a clear statement of the request. In addition, you can use techniques that increase the effectiveness of writing.

Step 1. Who are you asking?

Address the addressee personally, it is better - by name and patronymic:

“Dear Ivan Ivanovich!”, “Dear Mr. Ivanov!”

Firstly, you express your respect to the addressee, and secondly, a request addressed to a specific person imposes on him responsibility for its implementation. There are situations when a request is addressed to a team or a group of people. In this case, it is also desirable to personalize the appeal as much as possible:

“Dear colleagues!”, “Dear managers!”, “Dear junior employees!”, “Dear personnel officers!”

Step 2. Why are you contacting me?

Compliment the recipient. Making a compliment to the addressee, you answer his question: “Why are you addressing this question to me?” Note his past accomplishments or personal qualities.

“You are always ready to listen and find the best way to solve the problem of almost everyone who turned to you. And, I must give you credit, you helped a lot.”

"You are the leading expert in the field...".

“You have helped many to resolve the most difficult issues in the field of…”.

This technique will allow the addressee to take a closer look at the request and try to find an opportunity to satisfy it. fuck her.

A compliment is appropriate when it comes to non-standard requests, when you need to win over the addressee, when you need to pay attention to certain merits and qualities that are necessary and important to fulfill your request.

It is very important not to cross the line between a compliment and rude flattery. Be sincere.

Step 3. Justification of the request

Any request must be justified why you are making this particular request. Enter the addressee in the context of your problem.

At this stage, you need to select the three most significant arguments for the addressee. It is best to build arguments according to the scheme: strong - medium - strongest.

Requests come in different levels of complexity, so the addressee is not always interested in fulfilling someone's requests. He needs to be convinced that fulfilling the request carries a potential benefit:

Interest the addressee

Offer to implement some attractive opportunity for him related to the fulfillment of your request:

“At all times, businesslike, enterprising people sought not only to achieve material success, but also to leave their mark on the history of the Motherland, to be remembered for good deeds, to win respect.”

« The successful activity of any professional community is, first of all, understanding and support from friendly Unions, participation in joint events and projects».

« Of course, your big goal is a clean and comfortable city for people».

Or voice a problem that is very relevant for your addressee:

“You, as a wise owner of the city, are probably worried about the erratic walks of children of different ages in places unsuitable for this, which leads to more frequent accidents and an increase in juvenile delinquency.”

“There has been an increase in calls to your department on non-core issues, which takes up a lot of invaluable working time.”

Show how your request can help realize the opportunity:

« And today, when our country relies on young people, it is difficult to find a more necessary, sacred cause than helping young men and women from dysfunctional families. There are those in our city who already provide such assistance - under the auspices of the mayor's office, our charitable center "Heritage" operates on donations from the townspeople, which teaches difficult teenagers folk crafts ».

Or solve the problem:

“Equipment of specialized places for pastime of children of different ages will help reduce the level of juvenile delinquency and minimize road accidents involving children.”

Describe the significance of the request

When there is nothing to offer the addressee or it is inappropriate in the context of this request, it is better to bring the addressee up to date. Here you need to describe the situation as fully as necessary to understand the relevance of the request and the importance of its implementation. The significance of the request must be described in such a way that it "takes the soul." If the request does not belong to the category of "soulful", then you need to show the addressee the cause-and-effect relationships, which will ensure that the addressee fulfills the request.

“From (date), according to the lease agreement No. X, the rent for 1 m 2 is 20 c.u. in a day. Over the past three months, there has been a decline in trading activity due to economic instability and social unrest. The average profit from trading is $10. per day, which is not enough even to pay rent. If no action is taken, then private entrepreneurs will be forced to close their outlets, which may negatively affect your income.”

Thus, you must make it clear to the addressee that the fulfillment of the request carries the prospect of receiving tangible or intangible benefits.

Step 4 Statement of Request

When the addressee is prepared, you can state the actual request. The text of the request should be sufficiently concise and extremely clear. In no case should it contain ambiguity or understatement. For example, if we are talking about rent reduction, it is important to indicate to what level:

“We ask you to reduce the level of rent until the situation stabilizes to 5 USD. per m2 per day.

If we are talking about the provision of services, then specify the request as much as possible, indicating the desired dates, price issue, etc.:

« To equip a pottery workshop, you need a kiln for firing ceramics - we ask you to help us in acquiring it. The cost of the furnace with the installation is 998 thousand rubles».

In this example, it is not entirely clear what kind of assistance is required from the addressee. Better to be more specific: "We ask you to help in purchasing a furnace for firing ceramics by transferring 333 thousand USD to the settlement account of the company for the production and installation of furnaces."

Whatever you ask for, the recipient must know exactly when, what, how much and at what price you want to receive. A generalized request is more at risk of rejection because the addressee does not always have the time and desire to deal with the details. In addition, you run the risk of not getting what you want by transferring the initiative to the addressee.

For example, private entrepreneurs wrote a letter asking for a rent reduction, but did not indicate to what level they want to reduce the rent:

“We ask you to reduce the level of rent until the situation stabilizes.”

As a result, they received a reduction in rent, but insignificant (by 1% of the existing one). Thus, their request was granted, but little changed in the position of the initiators of the letter.

In some cases, the text of the request can be made bold so that it stands out in the text, but do not abuse this technique.

Step 5. Summarize your request.

Repeat your request and emphasize what benefit the addressee will receive if the request is fulfilled. The request should be slightly modified. It is best to build a sentence according to the scheme: "If you fulfill the request, then you will be happy."

“If you go along with us and lower the rent for a while until the situation in the region stabilizes, you will not only be able to save more than 150 jobs, but also will not incur global losses due to the complete lack of rent.”

But there may be other options:

“You can be sure that every ruble of your charitable donations will go to a good cause and help children who find themselves in a difficult situation grow up to be worthy citizens.”

"You can be sure that every child's smile will give you moral satisfaction from your difficult work, and your efforts and efforts are an investment in worthy and happy citizens of the near future."

The main thing is to repeat the meaning of the request and the benefits of its implementation. The benefit does not have to be material. Remember that the addressee is a person, and feelings are not alien to him.

EXAMPLE:

Was

It became

“We kindly ask you, I.I. Ivanov, arrange a meeting of applicants with the chief manager of your company. We will be grateful for your assistance.

With respect and gratitude,

Employment center director

P.P. Petrov"

“Dear Ivan Ivanovich!

Your company has been participating in the Career Guidance Program for Applicants for several years now, helping them to choose a profession.

You, as a personnel manager, are interested in training professionals, and we are ready to help schoolchildren to start preparing masters of their craft. To date, the profession of a manager is one of the most common, but many applicants do not have a clear idea of its meaning.

In this regard, we ask you to organize a meeting of the general manager with applicants on March 23 at 15.00 at the base of your company.

Having told the guys about the secrets of the profession today, you are laying the foundation for training real professionals tomorrow. Perhaps in a few years one of them will take your company to a new level of development.