Writing an Inquiry Business Letter for ESL Students

Writing an Inquiry Business Letter for ESL Students When you want to ask a business for more information concerning a product or service or for other information, you write an inquiry letter. When written by consumers, these types of letters are often in response to an advertisement seen in a newspaper, magazine, or commercial on television. They can be written and mailed or emailed. In a business-to-business setting, a companys employees can write inquiries to ask the same types of questions about products and services. For example, a company representative may want information on buying products wholesale from a distributor, or a growing small business may need to outsource its bookkeeping and payroll and want to contract with a firm. For further types of business letters, you can find examples of  different types of business letters to refine your skills for specific business purposes, such as making inquiries, adjusting claims, writing cover letters, and more. Hard-Copy Letters For professional-looking hard-copy letters, place your or your companys address at the top of the letter (or use your companys letterhead stationery) followed by the address of the company you are writing to. The date can either be placed double-spaced down (hit return/enter twice) or to the right. If you use a style that has the date on the right, indent your paragraphs and do not put a line of space between them. If you keep everything flush to the left, dont indent paragraphs, and put a space between them. Leave a line of space before your closing, and four to six lines of space for you to have room to hand-sign the letter. Emailed Inquiries If you use email, its easier on the readers eyes to have paragraphs with a line of space between them, so flush everything left. The email will automatically have the date of when it was sent, so you do not need to add the date, and youll need only one line of blank space between your closing and your typed name. Place your company contact information (such as your  telephone extension so someone can get back to you easily) at the bottom after your name.   Its easy to be too casual with email. If you want to appear professional to the business youre writing to, stick with the rules and tone of formal letter writing for the best results, and proofread your letter before sending it out. Its so easy to dash out an email, hit Send right away, and then discover a mistake upon rereading. Correct errors before sending to make a better first impression. Important Language for a Business Inquiry Letter The start: Dear Sir or Madam or To Whom It May Concern (very formal, used when you do not know the person to whom you are writing). If you know your contact already, thats better than being anonymous.Giving reference: With reference to your advertisement (ad) in... or Regarding your advertisement (ad) in...  Give the company context to why youre writing, right away.Requesting a catalog, brochure, etc.: After the reference, add a comma and continue could you please send me information on...Requesting further information: If you have more that youre seeking, add, I would also like to know... or Could you tell me whether...Summary call to action: I look forward to hearing from you... or Could you please give me a call between the hours of...Closing:  Use Sincerely or Yours faithfully to close.Signature: Add your title on the line following your name. An Example Hard-Copy Letter Your NameYour Street AddressCity, ST Zip Business NameBusiness AddressCity, ST Zip September 12, 2017 To Whom It May Concern: With reference to your advertisement in yesterdays New York Times, could you please send me a copy of your latest catalog? Is it also available online? I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, (Signature) Your Name Your Job TitleYour Company Name

History of the Iran-Contra Scandal

History of the Iran-Contra Scandal The Iran-Contra affair was a political scandal that exploded in 1986, during President Ronald Reagans second term, when it came to light that senior administration officials had secretly- and in violation of existing laws- arranged for the sale of arms to Iran in return for Iran’s promise to help secure the release of a group of Americans being held hostage in Lebanon. Proceeds from the arms sales were then secretly, and again illegally, funneled to the Contras, a group of rebels fighting the Marxist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Iran-Contra Affair Key Takeaways The Iran-Contra affair was a political scandal that played out between 1985 and 1987, during the second term of President Ronald Reagan.The scandal revolved around a plan by Regan administration officials to secretly and illegally sell arms to Iran, with funds from the sales funneled to the Contra rebels fighting to overthrow Nicaragua’s Cuban-controlled, Marxist Sandinista government.In return for the arms sold to them, the Iranian government had vowed to help secure the release of a group of Americans being held hostage in Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah.While several top White House officials, including National Security Council member Colonel Oliver North were convicted due to their participation in the Iran-Contra affair, no evidence that President Reagan had planned or authorized the arms sales was ever revealed. Background The Iran-Contra scandal grew out of President Reagan’s determination to eradicate Communism worldwide. So supportive of the Contra rebels’ struggle to overthrow Nicaragua’s Cuban-backed Sandinista government, Reagan had called them, â€Å"the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers.† Operating under the so-called â€Å"Reagan Doctrine† of 1985, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was already training and assisting the Contras and similar anti-Communist insurgencies in several countries. However, between 1982 and 1984, the U.S. Congress had twice specifically prohibited providing further funding to the Contras. The convoluted path of the Iran-Contra scandal began as a covert operation to free seven American hostages who had been held in Lebanon since the state-sponsored Iranian terrorist group Hezbollah had kidnapped them in 1982. The initial plan was to have America’s ally Israel ship weapons to Iran, thus bypassing an existing U.S. arms embargo against Iran. The United States would then resupply Israel with arms and receive payment from the Israeli government. In return for the weapons, the Iranian government promised to help free the Hezbollah-held American hostages. However, in late 1985, U.S. National Security Council member Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North secretly devised and implemented a revision to the plan whereby a part of the proceeds from the weapons sales to Israel would secretly- and in violation of the congressional ban- be diverted to Nicaragua to help the insurgent Contras. What Was the Reagan Doctrine? The term â€Å"Reagan Doctrine† arose from President Reagan’s 1985 State of the Union address, in which he called on Congress and all Americans to stand up to the Communist-ruled Soviet Union, or as he called it the â€Å"Evil Empire.† He told Congress: â€Å"We must stand by all our democratic allies, and we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives- on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua- to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth.† Scandal Discovered The public first learned of the Iran-Contra arms deal shortly after a transport aircraft carrying 50,000 AK-47 assault rifles and other military weapons was shot down over Nicaragua on November 3, 1986. The aircraft had been operated by Corporate Air Services, a front for Miami, Florida-based Southern Air Transport. One of the plane’s three surviving crew members, Eugene Hasenfus, stated in a press conference held in Nicaragua that he and his two crewmates had been hired by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to deliver the arms to the Contras. After the Iranian government confirmed agreeing to the arms deal, President Reagan appeared on national television from the Oval Office on November 13, 1986, stating of the deal: â€Å"My purpose was to send a signal that the United States was prepared to replace the animosity between [the U.S. and Iran] with a new relationship †¦ At the same time we undertook this initiative, we made clear that Iran must oppose all forms of international terrorism as a condition of progress in our relationship. The most significant step which Iran could take, we indicated, would be to use its influence in Lebanon to secure the release of all hostages held there.† Oliver North   The scandal grew worse for the Reagan administration after it became clear that National Security Council member Oliver North had ordered the destruction and concealment of documents related to the Iran and Contra arms sale. In July 1987, North testified before a televised hearing of a special joint congressional committee created to investigate the Iran-Contra scandal. North admitted that he had lied when describing the deal to Congress in 1985, stating that he had viewed the Nicaraguan Contras as â€Å"freedom fighters† engaged in a war against the Communist Sandinista government. Based on his testimony, North was indicted on a series of federal felony charges and ordered to stand trial. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North Testifies to Senate on Iran-Contra Scandal.   Getty Images Archive During the 1989 trial, North’s secretary Fawn Hall testified that she had helped her boss shred, alter, and remove official United States National Security Council documents from his White House office. North testified that he had ordered the shredding of â€Å"some† documents in order to protect the lives of certain individuals involved in the arms deal. On May 4, 1989, North was convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to a three-year suspended prison term, two years on probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours of community service. However, on July 20, 1990, his conviction was vacated when a federal court of appeals ruled that North’s televised 1987 testimony to Congress may have improperly influenced the testimony of some witnesses at his trial. After taking office in 1989, President George H.W. Bush issued presidential pardons to six other individuals who had been convicted for their involvement in the scandal.   Had Reagan Ordered the Deal? Reagan made no secret of his ideological support of the Contra’s cause. However, the question of whether he ever approved Oliver North’s plan to provide weapons to the rebels remains largely unanswered. The investigation into the exact nature of Reagan’s involvement was hindered by the destruction of related White House correspondence as ordered by Oliver North. In early 1986, the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission, chaired by Republican Texas Senator John Tower, found no evidence that Reagan himself was aware of the details or extent of the operation, and that the initial sale of arms to Iran had not been a criminal act. In a televised address on March 4, 1987, Reagan, however, took responsibility for the scandal, stating that â€Å"what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages.† President Reagan's television address on the Iran-Contra Affair, 1987. National Archives While his image suffered as a result of the Iran-Contra scandal, Reagan’s popularity recovered, allowing him to complete his second term in 1989 with the highest public approval rating of any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Sources and Suggested References Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, United States. Congress. House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.Reagan, Ronald. August 12, 1987. Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy, The American Presidency ProjectNever Had an Inkling’: Reagan Testifies He Doubts Contragate Ever Happened. Videotape Transcript Released. Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 22, 1990.  The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On, The National Security Archive (George Washington University), 2006  Tower commission report excerpts, The Tower Commission Report (1986)