Inquiry Letter

As the name suggests this type of letter is the source

of collecting information. People usually use a letter of
inquiry as one of the most used business letter or
formal letter. A letter of inquiry helps a person to
have information like some course or job inquiry,
prices of services and products, terms and orders or
working agreements etc. One must always keep in
mind
• Give a brief introduction about yourself
• Include the name of the organization (if possible)
• Provide clear details about the area of inquiry
• Present your queries and doubt in a clear and
understandable form
• Mention the deadlines by which you need the
information

Sample of Inquiry Letter:

16 Ring Road
Nagpur – 01

November 30, 20xx

The Director
ABC Classes
35 Patel Street
Delhi − 18

 Dear Sir,
Sub.: Enquiry about CAT Coaching Classes.

This is with reference to your advertisement in the

‘The Times of India’ for CAT Coaching classes. I have
passes the B.Sc. degree examination with statistics as
the main subject. I am keen on joining your institute
for the coaching classes.

Kindly let me know about the procedure of applying

for the qualifying test and its date. I would also like to
know the duration of the coaching programme, the
duration and the number of classes per week along
with the available mode of classes. Information about
the fees payable and the study materials is highly
appreciated. Could you please send me a copy of your
prospectus?

I would like to enroll as soon as possible. Your early

response will enable me to decide fast.

Thanking you.
With kind regards
XYZ

.............................................................................

Order Letter:

When a buyer needs to order some goods, he writes an

order letter to the seller. The three main parts of this
letter are
• The details of the items or the goods being
ordered must be clearly stated. It must have
complete information like the quantity of the
goods, model number (if possible), etc.
• The information related to the shipping must also
be clearly given. The mode of shipping, shipping
location and the desired date for the goods to be
shipped must be clearly stated.
• The inquiry related payment whether it is the
mode of payment, date of payment or terms and
conditions regarding payment should be clearly
mentioned.

Sample letter:

New Era Business

16 Ring Road
Delhi – 01

November 30, 20xx

The Manager
Woods and Worlds
35 Patel Street

Delhi − 18
Dear Sir,

Sub.: Placing order for furniture.

As we have discussed telephonically, on behalf of our

company I like to place an immediate order for the
supply of the following set of furniture.

Model No. Name of the Item Quantity

1254 Chair 25

1478 Chair 12

2148 Conference Table 3

4615 Table 50

2418 Sofa 2

As we have discussed, we are sending a demand draft

of Rs. 20,000 as advance payment. The rest will be
paid at the time of delivery. Kindly ship the above
order at the above-mentioned address.

Kindly adhere to the terms of the agreement. We hope

to receive the order in four working days.

 Thanking You.
Yours truly
XYZ
HR

.................................................................

Letter of Complaint:

Suppose you placed an order of some items. The

quality promised and the quality of the items received
is not the same. What will you do? You either want to
replace them or want your payment back. How can
you do so? This is where the letter of complaint comes
into play. While writing this type of letter,
• One must clearly provide the details of the
problem faced
• Tell what action you want to be taken
• Provide information like the date of arrival of
orders, order number, or the details of the
previous complaint (if any)
• Give a deadline to respond within
• Attach a copy or a specimen of the invoice or any
other receipt
• Use polite yet assertive words regarding
complaint issue
• Never excuse or make any allegation by self.

Sample of Complaint Letter:

New Business World

16 Ring Road
Delhi – 01

November 30, 20xx

The Manager
ABC Stationary King
35 Patel Street
Delhi − 18

Dear Sir,

Sub.: Complaint against Order No. S/24-201S-1147.

This is with reference to the Order No. S/

24-201S-1147 place on Nov 17, 20xx. The order
consists of letterhead and business cards. As per the
agreement, we were promised of receiving the order
latest by Nov 22, 20xx. First of all the order did not
reach in time. Also, the quality of the papers and
design selected for business cards is not matching
with the selected one.
We have faced a lot of embarrassment and
inconvenience and our reputation is at stake in the
eyes of our clients.

 Kindly ensure that the order will be replaced latest by

Dec 4, 20xx, failing which payment will be stopped or
the will be cancelled. I sincerely request you to look
into the matter and do the needful as soon as possible.
Thanking you.
Yours truly
XYZ
General Manager

.......................................................................

Sales Letters:

These letters are written to tell about a product to the

customers with an intention of selling it. A sales letter
helps in the sale promotion and presenting
introductory offers. It makes it easy to understand
the facts and gures and also strengthen the
partnership and the joint ventures. While writing a
sales letter one must keep in mind the following
points:
• The language must be formal
• Only use easy and clear language
• Avoid slang and use of abbreviations
• The content must be clear, concise and
understandable
• Avoid adding extra details or information
• Pay attention towards the targeted audience

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 •Provide details, features, uses of a newly launched

product
The format of this letter is the same as the formal
letter format.

Sample of Sales Letter:

ABC Bank
16 Ring Road
Delhi – 01

November 30, 20xx

The Manager
XYZ Agency
35 Patel Street
Delhi − 18

Dear Sir,

Sub.: Availability of new scheme of an automobile

loan.

It provides us with immense pleasure to inform you

that we have launched a new scheme for an
automobile loan. As a respectable and trusted client,
we are providing you with the details of this scheme.

 It will take only a couple of minutes to complete all the

formalities. The rate of interest of the loan is also very
low compared to the schemes of other banks. The
bank also provides an opportunity to buy or sell any
of the automobiles.
All other information is kept strictly con dential. This
service is fast and free and we will provide you with
the service within 24 hours.

We will highly oblige to help you to clear any of your

doubts. Free feel to contact us. Looking forward to
hear from your side.

Thanking you.
With regards,
KLM
Bank Manager

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 Request Letter

4715 Stuart Street

Brave, PA 15316

February 20, 2020

748 Hillview Drive

San Francisco, CA 94103

Dear Sir,

Subject- Request for Documents.

Dear Ms Pedley,
I want to make a formal written request for a duplicate copy of
my university diploma. I graduated with a degree in BS
Psychology in the year 1992.

The original copy of my diploma was among the belongings that

were swept away by the ood that hit my hometown earlier this
year. Our house was one of the hardest-hit properties in the area
as it was situated very near to the river. I have attached an
af davit of loss veri ed by the high court’s attorney to support
this.
I hope that you can assist me with this request. I appreciate your
time and effort to get this done for me.

Yours Sincerely,
Jack L. Breslin.
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 Notice

What is Notice Writing - A notice is a written or printed

announcement (Example - a notice for sale). It is written
in order to inform a large number of people about
something that has happened or is about to happen.
It could be an upcoming event, competition, Lost, and
found notice or just a piece of information to be delivered
to the targeted audience. It is generally written in a
formal tone.
Notices are factual and to-the-point. The language used is
simple and formal, not owery. They are put up on
display boards in schools or in public places.

XYZ INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

NOTICE
March 01,2019
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
This is to inform all the students that our school is going to publish
its annual magazine next month. All those who wish to contribute
can mail their entries to xyzmagazine@gmail.com. Write-ups will be
accepted latest by March 30,2019 till 11:59 pm. You can take any
topic of your choice. For further information, contact your respective
class teachers.
Thank you
Asma/Ashish
Head Girl/Head Boy

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 Janata Group Housing Society, Palam Vihar, Kurnool.

NOTICE
March 01, 201X
ATTENTION!
This notice is to inform all the residents regarding the
suspension of water supply for 8 hours. It is being done
to clean the water tank. The details are as follows:
DATE- March 6
TIME- 10am – 6 pm
Thus, we request you to store the required amount of
water beforehand to minimise the dif culty. Thank you
Karan Kumar/ Karuna Bajaj
(signature)
Secretary

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 A memo (also known as a memorandum, or

"reminder") is used for internal communications
regarding procedures or of cial business within an
organization.
Unlike an email, a memo is a message you send to a
large group of employees, like your entire department
or everyone at the company. You might need to write
a memo to inform staff of upcoming events, or
broadcast internal changes.

Usually, we write a memo is for one of the following

ve reasons
• as a reminder
• highlight an event or circumstance
• to recount an event
• keep an of cial record of anything
• to pass information or instructions
Memos have been a popular way for commuting for
over a century now. This is because they have many
advantages as seen below:
• They are a very cost effective way of mass
communication. And their transmission is also
very cheap.
• Another advantage is its simplicity. They are very
simple to write and understand.
• Memos tend to be brief and to the point. They also
reach a lot of people. So they are very time-saving
as well.
• They also serve as evidence in case of a dispute
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 Types of memos
There are a few main types of memos you can write
depending on your needs and the content of your message.
Below are some of the most common types of memos.
• Report memo: Typically sent to give an update or
progress report.
• Request memo: Submitted as a request to a certain
person or team. Persuasive language works well in
request memos.
• Con rmation memo: Written to con rm an agreement
made between two parties.
• Suggestive memo: Usually sent by management
requesting input from employees on how to solve a
certain problem.
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 Circula

A circular is essentially a letter containing some

important information that is distributed to a large
number of people. Say for example you have to invite
an entire department for a meeting, or update the
dress policy for the whole of ce – a circular will be the
best mode of communication for these purposes.

some of the advantages of a circular

• It is a very simple and effective way of
communication. Since it is precise and written,
very little chance of miscommunication
• It is also quite inexpensive. It is a cost-effective
way of communication.
• Circulars are also a time-saving method. It
reaches a large number of people in very limited
time and effort.
• They are great advertising and marketing tools as
well. They can help create a new market, educate
people about the product or services and also
increase consumer con dence in the company
and the product.

A Sample of a Circular
Let us see how circulars effectively communicate
information in an inter-of ce situation. The following
is a sample circular to inform employees about the
revised working hours of the company.
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Circular No. ____

25th October 2018

Revised Working Hours

All Employees of XYZ Company,

This is to inform all employees there will be a change

in the working hours of the organization effective
immediately. As you know we now do not function on
any Saturdays since last month. So we only have 5
working days in a week, a revision in the working
hours was necessary to ensure the quality of work
does not suffer. Hence one hour will be added to the
previous 9 hour work days. The revised working hour
will be as follows:
• Working Days: Monday to Friday (except
holidays)
• Working Hours: 8:30 am to 6:30 pm (These hours
will include the one-hour lunch break)
All employees are requested to note these new and
revised timings. The timings are effective
immediately from 26 October 2018. Punctuality and
adherence to the new timings are requested. Repeated
defaulters will face action. Please contact the HR
department or your managers for any queries you
may have.

 ABC,
CEO of XYZ Company.

Agenda

An effective agenda increases the productivity of the overall

meeting because it establishes expectations on what needs to
occur before, during, and after a meeting. It helps get
everyone on the same page on the most important topics and
enables the team to quickly address key issues.

What should be included in the agenda?

As Stephen Covey writes in his book Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind." Agendas are
lists of items that participants hope to accomplish at a
meeting.
Agendas most often include:
• Informational items - sharing out updates regarding a
topic for the group. For example, a manager may
provide an update on the year-end planning process.
• Action items - items that you expect the group will
want to review during the meeting. For example,
performance against a speci c time period or trajectory
on a product launch.
• Discussion topics - items that you want the group to
provide feedback on. For example, collecting input on an
upcoming commute policy change and questions that
the team has about it.
In addition to this, they'll often include speci c details on
how the meeting will be run. For example, agenda topics will
often specify who will be presenting and for how long in
order to establish expectations on who will be responsible for
preparing the content and how much time they will have to

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 present
it.

Depending on the meeting, agendas can be distributed well in

advance of a meeting or shared at the start of the meeting. It
establishes the goal of the meeting and ensures everyone is
on the same page on what you’d like to accomplish in that
timeframe.

 What are meeting minutes for?

Meeting minutes are the notes that capture what happened
at a meeting! Different than a meeting agenda, it records the
decisions made and actions requested by the group. Despite
the team, they are not a minute-by-minute record but
include the key details that the team will want to know. It's
important in meeting minutes to capture information such
as:
• decisions made
• next steps
• action items and who is responsible
Minutes are the record of who was there and what happened.
They are an important source of information for people who
were unable to attend or looking back to re ect on what
happened. They're also an incredibly effective tool to notify
or remind people of tasks assigned to them or timelines to
keep everyone on track.
What should go into meeting minutes?
Here are some of the details that you should into the meeting
minutes.
• Date and time of meeting
• Names of the participants
• Agenda items and topics discussed
• Action items

What are meeting minutes?

Meeting minutes, also called meeting notes, are the
written record of everything that happened during a
meeting. They are not the same as the meeting
agenda, which is prepared in advance and refers to
the list of activities that participants are hoping to
accomplish during their meeting.

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They are not a minute-by-minute record and instead

focus on the outcomes of the meeting. Minutes usually
capture information such as:
• Names of participants
• Date and time of the meeting
• Agenda items covered
• Decisions made by participants
• Follow-up actions and next steps

Why are they called “minutes”, anyway? Contrary to

the popular belief, notes taken at a meeting aren't
called “minutes” because the note-taker records the
notes along with the time. In fact, “meeting minutes”
have nothing to do with time at all.
The word has actually originated from the Latin
“minuta scriptura“, meaning “small notes“. Thus,
taking meeting minutes essentially means condensing
the meeting down to the most important points.
According to some sources, it was rst used in that
sense in the early 18th century.

What is the purpose of meeting

minutes?
In some unique instances, taking meeting minutes
may be required by law, for example during
disciplinary meetings with employees or legal
disputes. However, in most cases, whether to take
notes is entirely up to you.

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 Here's why taking meeting minutes is worth the

effort.
• Minutes provide a written record of what was
agreed at a meeting and create a shared
understanding of the outcomes. They are an
important source of information allowing
participants to re ect on what happened. A
written record is the best way to avoid
misunderstandings stemming from people having
different recollections of the meeting.
• They notify people of tasks assigned to them and
create clear timelines to keep everyone on track.
create clarity about what the next steps are and
who is responsible for what, making sure no
action items are forgotten.
• They act as a source of information for members
who were unable to attend. They also help other
stakeholders stay informed, for example when the
meeting’s outcomes impact collaborative, cross-
team activities or projects within the company.
• They allow participants to go back and revisit the
key ideas and discussion points that led to a
decision. Without a clear record, it is easy to
forget why a certain decision was made. In the
worst case, you may end up having to repeat the
meeting and have the same discussions all over
again.

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 Report Writing

Report is a short, sharp, concise document which is

written for a particular purpose and audience. It generally
sets outs and analyses a situation or problem, often making
recommendations for future action. It is a factual paper, and
needs to be clear and well-structured.
Requirements for the precise form and content of a report
will vary between organisation and departments and in
study between courses, from tutor to tutor, as well as
between subjects, so it’s worth nding out if there are any
speci c guidelines before you start.

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 Reports may contain some or all of the

following elements:
• A description of a sequence of events or a situation;
• Some interpretation of the signi cance of these events
or situation, whether solely your own analysis or
informed by the views of others, always carefully
referenced of course

• An evaluation of the facts or the results of your

research;
• Discussion of the likely outcomes of future courses of
action;
• Your recommendations as to a course of action; and
• Conclusions.

Preparation and Planning

First, you should take some time to prepare and plan for
your report. Before you start writing, identify the audience.
Your report should be written and tailored to the readers'
needs and expectations. When planning, ask yourself several
questions to better understand the goal of the report. Some
questions to consider include:
• Who are the readers?
• What is the purpose of the report?
• Why is this report needed?
• What information should be included in the report?
Once you identify the basics of your report, you can begin to
collect supporting information, then sort and evaluate that
information. The next step is to organize your information
and begin putting it together in an outline. With proper

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 planning, it will be easier to write your report and stay

organized.

Formatting the Report

Elements
To keep your report organized and easy to understand, there
is a certain format to follow. This report writing format will
make it easier for the reader to nd what he is looking for.
Remember to write all the sections in plain English, except
the body, which can be as technical as you need it to be.
The main sections of a standard report are as follows.

Title
If the report is short, the front cover can include any
information that you feel is necessary, such as the author(s)
and the date prepared. In a longer report, you may want to
include a table of contents and a de nition of terms.

Summary
The summary consists of the major points, conclusions, and
recommendations. It needs to be short, as it is a general
overview of the report. Some people will read the summary
and only skim the report, so make sure you include all of the
relevant information. It would be best to write this when the
report is nished so you will include everything, even points
that might be added at the last minute.

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 Introduction
The rst page of the report needs to have an introduction.
Here you will explain the problem and inform the reader
why the report is being made. You need to give a de nition of
terms if you did not include these in the title section, and
explain how the details of the report are arranged.

Body
This is the main section of the report. The previous sections
needed to be written in plain English, but this section can
include technical terms or jargon from your industry. There
should be several sections, each clearly labeled, making it
easy for readers to nd the information they seek.
Information in a report is usually arranged in order of
importance with the most important information coming
rst. Alternatively, you might choose to order your points by
complexity or time.

Discussion
If you wish, this optional section can be included at the end
of the main body to go over your ndings and their
signi cance.

Conclusion
This is where everything comes together. Keep this section
free of jargon as many people will just read the summary and
conclusion.

Recommendations
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This is where you discuss any actions that need to be taken.
In plain English, explain your recommendations, putting
them in order of priority.

Appendices
This includes information that the experts in the eld will
read. It has all the technical details that support your
conclusions.

Report Writing Style

There are also some writing styles to consider:
• Keep It Simple. Don't try to impress; rather try to
communicate. Keep sentences short and to the point. Do
not go into a lot of details unless it is needed. Make sure
every word needs to be there, that it contributes to the
purpose of the report.
• Use the Active Voice. Active voice makes the writing
move smoothly and easily. It also uses fewer words than
the passive voice and gives impact to the writing by
emphasizing the person or thing responsible for an
action. For example: "Bad customer service decreases
repeat business" is more concise and direct than "Repeat
business is decreased by bad customer service."
• Mind Your Grammar. Read the report aloud and have
someone proofread it for you. Remember that the
computer cannot catch all the mistakes, especially with
words like "red/read" or "there/their." You may even
want to wait a day after you write it to come back and
look at it with fresh eyes.

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 Different Types of Reports
While the basics of any report are the same, there are
notable differences between academic, business, and
technical reports.
• Academic Writing: The rst thing to note is that
academic writing is extremely formal. Typically, it
should be free of contractions and any sort of slang. It's
also important, generally, to write in the third person,
eliminating pronouns like "I" and "we."
• Business Writing: Business writing will also take on a
formal tone. However, it's allowed to be slightly less
buttoned up. The goal in a business report is to present
new initiatives and "get things done." Here, things like
contractions would be permissible, along with ample
imagery and data.
• Technical Writing: Technical reports focus on how to do
something. While an academic or even a business report
will attempt to prove something, a technical report is
more descriptive in nature. Also, the report writing
format for students and professionals may cite facts and
statistics to make their case, but technical reports are
more likely to follow a logical, step-by-step approach.

Difference between Abstract and summary

An abstract is a condensed overview of a paper that

usually includes the purpose of the paper/research
study, the basic design of the study, the major
ndings, and a brief summary of your interpretations
of the conclusions. Abstracts are usually used in social
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 science or scienti c papers, and are generally 300

words or less.

Like an abstract, a summary is just a condensed

write-up on the topic discussed in your paper.
However, summaries are more open ended than
abstracts, and can contain much more varied
information. They can be included in virtually any
type of paper, and do not have a speci c word count
limit. Always check with your instructor for those
types of guidelines before handing in your summary
and paper.

IEEE Formatting and Style

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) style is a

widely accepted format for writing research papers, commonly used
in technical elds, particularly in computer science

Citations

When writing a piece of academic work, you must acknowledge any

sources which you have used. You do this by including a brief in-text
‘citation’ within the main body of your writing, next to the material
you have used.
The IEEE style is a numeric style, where citations are numbered [1]
in the order of appearance. This citation leads your reader to a full
reference to the source in the list of references at the end of your

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 work. Each citation number should be enclosed in square brackets on

the same line as the text, before any punctuation, with a space before
the bracket [2]. Once a source has been cited, the same number is re-
used for all subsequent citations to the same source.
Here are some examples of IEEE style citation: “... as shown by Brown
[4], as previously stated.” "The theory was rst put forward in 1987
[1]." “For example, see [7].”
"Several recent studies [3, 4, 15, 16] have suggested that..." The
example above may also be formatted as:
“Several recent studies [3], [4], [15], [16] have suggested that...”
Page numbers are required within citations where material is directly
quoted or you refer to a speci c part of the source, such as a detail
dif cult to nd. Give page numbers within the square brackets, for
example [1, p. 3].

Electronic Documents
E-books nd
[1] L. Bass, P. Clements, and R. Kazman, Software Architecture in
Practice, 2 ed.
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 2003. [E-book] Available: Safari e-
book.
Article in Online Encyclopedia
[2] D. Ince, “Acoustic coupler,” in A Dictionary of the Internet. Oxford
University Press, [online document ], 2001. Available: Oxford
Reference Online, http://www.oxfordreference.com [Accessed: May
24, 2007].
Journal Article Abstract (accessed from online database)
[1] M. T. Kimour and D. Meslati, “Deriving objects from use cases in
real-time embedded systems,” Information and Software Technology,
vol. 47, no. 8, p. 533, June 2005. [Abstract]. Available: ProQuest,
http://www.umi.com/proquest/. [Accessed November 12, 2007].
Journal Article in Scholarly Journal (published free of charge on the
Internet)
[2] A. Altun, “Understanding hypertext in the context of reading on
the web: Language learners’ experience,” Current Issues in
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 Education, vol. 6, no. 12, July, 2005. [Online serial]. Available: http://
cie.ed.asu.edu/volume6/number12/. [Accessed Dec. 2, 2007].

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on

variables of interest, in an established systematic fashion that enables one
to answer stated research questions, test hypotheses, and evaluate
outcomes. The data collection component of research is common to all
elds of study including physical and social sciences, humanities,
business, etc. While methods vary by discipline, the emphasis on ensuring
accurate and honest collection remains the same.
The importance of ensuring accurate and appropriate data
collection

Regardless of the eld of study or preference for de ning data

(quantitative, qualitative), accurate data collection is essential to
maintaining the integrity of research. Both the selection of appropriate
data collection instruments (existing, modi ed, or newly developed) and
clearly delineated instructions for their correct use reduce the likelihood
of errors occurring.
Consequences from improperly collected data include
• inability to answer research questions accurately
• inability to repeat and validate the study
• distorted ndings resulting in wasted resources
• misleading other researchers to pursue fruitless avenues of
investigation
• compromising decisions for public policy
• causing harm to human participants and animal subjects

What is an Argument?

An argument takes a stand on an issue. It seeks to

persuade an audience of a point of view in much the
same way that a lawyer argues a case in a court of law.
It is NOT a description or a summary.
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 • This is an argument: "This paper argues that the

movie JFK is inaccurate in its portrayal of
President Kennedy."
• This is not an argument: "In this paper, I will
describe the portrayal of President Kennedy that is
shown in the movie JFK."
What is a Thesis?

A thesis statement is a sentence in which you state an

argument about a topic and then describe, brie y, how
you will prove your argument.
• This is an argument, but not yet a thesis: "The
movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays President
Kennedy."
• This is a thesis: "The movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately
portrays President Kennedy because of the way it
ignores Kennedy’s youth, his relationship with his
father, and the ndings of the Warren
Commission."

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