Definition of Application letter, Inquiry letter, Complaint letter, and Purchase order letter

1. Application Letter

Application letter is merely another name for a cover letter, the official business letter often included with a job application and/or resume and sent to a prospective employer. Although application letters are generally considered optional components of applying for a job, more and more frequently, employers are singling out those who actually take the time to write an application letter as their top picks.

Seven elements of a highly effective job search cover letter:

1.     ADDRESS your cover letter to a REAL PERSON! Do your best to find out TO WHOM you should address your cover letter. “Dear Manager” is lifeless.

2.    OPEN with an attention-grabbing first sentence to really grip the reader. This approach will almost guarantee your cover letter and resume get a much closer look.

3.      REMEMBER — Less is MORE! The best cover letters have plenty of white space. Clear, focused, short and sweet gets the interview every time.

4.     FOCUS on what you can do for the employer. How can you benefit the company specifically? Do a little research and relate this value-added simply and clearly in your letter.

5.     CHOOSE WORDS that show enthusiasm and passion for the position you seek … (big, big secret!) Then, carry this passion into the interview with you.

6.     REQUEST ONE ACTION you want the employer to take: “I would really like the opportunity for a personal interview this week.” (You never know until you ASK)!

7.      END your cover letter with enthusiastic and telling verbiage, such as, “I look forward to being interviewed at your earliest convenience. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Sincerely, Jane Jobseeker.” (Notice how Jane assumes she’ll land the interview? This approach is clever, smart, and it works like a charm).

Think of your cover letter as a sales letter. The only purpose of your job-search cover letter is to land you job interviews. That’s the bottom line. By using the proven marketing strategies I’ve outlined above, you will land a great number of quality job interviews than your competition.

You must get your foot in the company door first to have any chance at all. With the right cover letter, you can blow several doors wide open immediately. More job interviews translate to a wider range of opportunity and (drum roll, please) … more job offers.

Finally, the most important advice I can offer you is this: Follow up every job lead, contact, and communication. Following up is the “golden key” to getting hired for the job of your dreams. Use follow-up cover letters, thank-you letters, and follow-up phone calls. Following up actually doubles your chance for success. It is also the one missing ingredient in 99 percent of all job seekers recipe book. Good news for you.

Example :

Mr. George Gilhooley 

XYZ Company 

87 Delaware Road 

Hatfield, CA 08065 

(909) 555-5555 

george.gillhooley@email.com

Dear Mr. Gilhooley,

I am writing to apply for the programmer position advertised in the Times Union. As requested, I am enclosing a completed job application, my certification, my resume and three references.

The opportunity presented in this listing is very interesting, and I believe that my strong technical experience and education will make me a very competitive candidate for this position. The key strengths that I possess for success in this position include:

I have successfully designed, developed, and supported live use applications

I strive for continued excellence

I provide exceptional contributions to customer service for all customers

With a BS degree in Computer Programming, I have a full understanding of the full life cycle of a software development project. I also have experience in learning and excelling at new technologies as needed.

Please see my resume for additional information on my experience.

I can be reached anytime via email at george.gillhooley@email.com or my cell phone, 909-555-5555.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about this employment opportunity.

Sincerely,

ALI BABA

2. Inquiry Letter

 Inquiry letter is a tool of collecting information about people, products and prices. It plays vital role in making decisions relating to employment, purchase and sale of goods. Prospective employers extensively use inquire letter to collect information about job candidates. In modern time, it is very customary that job applicants mention one or more references in their job application. Prospective employers write inquiry letters to those referees mentioned by applicants. In addition to employment purpose, inquiry letter is written to collect information about business enterprises that want to make credit purchase. Sometimes, inquiry letter is also written to obtain price quotation, cataloger, terms and conditions of sales etc. with the growth and expansion of a business, utility of inquiry letter increases.

Contents or elements of personal status inquiry letter or, factors to be considered in writing inquiry letter about a person.

When a prospective employer writes letter to a referee for obtaining information about a job applicant, it is called personal status inquiry letter. The following contents should be included in the personal status inquiry letter:

Name and address of the applicant: The enquirer must mention full name and address of the applicant in the letter. This helps the receiver to identify the right person.

Cause of inquiry: In a personal status inquiry letter, the sender must clarify the cause of writing it. This enables the receiver to supply necessary and relevant information.

Information needed: The employer must clarify the type of information he requires. The employer may ask for information relating to educational attainments, character, habits, honesty, sincerity and family background of the applicant.

Promising to maintain secrecy of information supplied: An important aspect of inquiry letter is to assure the receiver that information provided by him will be kept secret.

Assuring further cooperation: The writer of the letter should also assure the receiver that similar help would be provided to him in future if he needs.

Expressing gratefulness: The sender should express gratitude or thanks to the receiver for cooperation. The writer can express gratefulness by some friendly comments like “Any cooperation will be highly appreciated” or “Thank you in advance for your response.”

Enclosure: The sender should enclose a return envelope with the letter. If facilitates quick response from the receiver.

Signature: At the end of the letter, sender should put his signature along with his full name and position.

Five tips for writing an inquiry letter:

• Begin your letter by stating who you are and giving your status or position.
• Clearly state what it is that you are inquiring about and what you would like the recipient of your letter to do. Make your inquiry as specific as possible.
• You might want to briefly explain the purpose of your letter or what you hope to accomplish.
• Include the date by which you need the information, services, etc. that you are requesting, and indicate that you await the reader’s response.
•  Thank the person for his/her time.

Example :

        

3. Complaint Letter

Complaint letter definition can be described in many ways. A complaint letter is the part of written communication. In general word complaint letter means a letter which is written to submit a complaint to the authority. And it is generally done when other way of complaint are failure like phone, email etc. However here we provide complaint letter definition in formal way.

Complaint Letter Definition

A Complaint letter is a request for an adjustment. In other words, it is a letter that describes about the damage; errors or mistakes happened to the delivered goods and therefore claims for compensation is known to be a complaint letter.

In modern age, the chain of business is not limited within the boundary of country. As business is expanding, its complexities are also increasing. So, mistake or fault is not a strange matter in the arena of business. There may be wrong delivery of goods shipment of obsolete, poor quality or underweight goods, faulty packing, delivery after the specified date and other damages to the goods shipped. In the above cases, buyer is supposed to suffer financial loss and therefore he has every reason to complaint to the seller demanding compensation. Hence a letter is used to serve such purpose is called complaint letter.

To draft such a letter, buyer must have valid grounds to explain that he has suffered financial loss or otherwise there will be misunderstanding which may damage business relation buyer requires special care with the art of convincing the seller. Clarity and courtesy are the important factors to write a letter of complaint. The complaint should be made politely without showing any sign of anger.

Causes of Drafting Complaint Letter or, Sources of Mistakes giving rise to Complaints

The following are usual causes for which a complaint letter is drafted:

1.      Problem with the delivered goods: If the goods that are delivered are :

Under weight,

Obsolete,

Defective,

Incomplete,

Not according to buyer’s specification such as color, brand, size etc.

Wrong or poor quality; then buyer can make a claim to the seller for the mistake.

2.    Pricing: If there is any mistake in preparing the invoice of the shipped goods, then such letter is written.

3.      Packing: Faulty or poor packing of the goods causes damage to the goods which can be claimed to the seller.

4.      Transport: Goods are supposed to be shipped according to convenience of the buyer. But if wrong carrier is used it may call for writing such letter.

5.      Terms & Condition: If the terms and condition of business are violated by the seller then such a letter is placed.

6.      Faulty Insurance: If insurance coverage is not made properly according to instruction of the buyer, then there may be claim through complaint letter.

 On the above grounds, buyer can complaint but it must be in a decent and polite way.

Example :

56 Disgruntled Street
Somewhere Unhappy
1AM MAD

Customer Service Manager
That Awful Company
Somewhere Awful
UR BAD

June 15, 2008

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing today to complain of the poor service I received from your company on June 12, 2008. I was visited by a representative of That Awful Company, Mr. Madman, at my home on that day.

Mr. Madman was one hour late for his appointment and offered nothing by way of apology when he arrived at noon. Your representative did not remove his muddy shoes upon entering my house, and consequently left a trail of dirt in the hallway. Mr. Madman then proceeded to present a range of products to me that I had specifically told his assistant by telephone I was not interested in. I repeatedly tried to ask your representative about the products that were of interest to me, but he refused to deal with my questions. We ended our meeting after 25 minutes without either of us having accomplished anything.

I am most annoyed that I wasted a morning (and half a day's vacation) waiting for Mr. Madman to show up. My impression of That Awful Company has been tarnished, and I am now concerned about how my existing business is being managed by your firm. Furthermore, Mr. Madman's inability to remove his muddy shoes has meant that I have had to engage the services, and incur the expense, of a professional carpet cleaner.

I trust this is not the way That Awful Company wishes to conduct business with valued customers—I have been with you since the company was founded and have never encountered such treatment before. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss matters further and to learn of how you propose to prevent a similar situation from recurring. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

4. Purchase Order Letter

As per the life cycle of a product an enquiry about it does not always end in a sale. Once a customer likes a product it results in a sale but only through a verbal order or a written one. A Purchase Order is the document that initiates the purchase and helps close the sale. In today’s times of multiple companiesavailable for all products, there is some amount of trust in the customer and even a verbal confirmation of an order is acceptable. But most of the times it is only against some advance.

A Purchase Order Letter is a document that confirms to the seller that the customer in a specified time frame requires a particular quantity of the product. Nowadays one company to the other confirming the order, which is generally a bulk order, writes Purchase Order Letters or it is written by an individual to a company again in the case of placing a bulk order.

DOS AND DON’T’S OF PURCHASE ORDER LETTER

·         A Purchase Order Letter should be written as soon as the decision for the purchase has been made.

·         The company with whom the order is being placed should be given enough time to execute the order.

·         The letter should clearly indicate the product code or item number, the size and the quantities being ordered.

·         The date when the Purchase Order Letter is being generated is very important because that identifies when the order was placed.

·         If the order is being placed by a company then it usually should be in a Purchase Order format.

·         The Purchase Order Letter should also indicate the date by when the order is expected to be executed or delivered.

·         The mode of delivery of the material should also be identified in the letter.

·         The letter should also carry the mode of payment by which the payment will be made.

·         If any advance has already been paid against the order, it must be mentioned in the Purchase Order Letter.

·         The address where the order has to be delivered should be very clearly mentioned in the letter along with any landmarks, if any, to locate the address.

·         The Purchase Order Letter should give the details of the costing of the price including taxes, etc so that there is no confusion while making the payment.

·         The name of the company or dealer with which the order is being placed should be clearly written on the letter to avoid any miscommunication of details.

·         There is no scope for any grammatical or punctuation errors in the Purchase Order Letter,

·         The contents of the letter must be carefully read through to ensure that the order details have been correctly mentioned.

·         The Purchase Order Letter should ideally be typed but the signatory should personally sign it.

SAMPLE PURCHASE ORDER LETTER

_____________ (Name and address of company with whom order is being placed)

_____________ (Date)

Subject: Purchase Order for 1000 pairs of socks

Dear Sir or Madam

This is with reference to our meeting on ___________ (date) when we visited your factory in connection with purchase of socks for our school children.

We are pleased to place an order for 1000 pairs of white summer socks against item number ___________ and size _________. We would appreciate if the order is delivered at the address given below latest by ____________ (deadline date) so that we can start selling it to the children before the onset of summers.

___________________ (Name and address where delivery will be made)

The terms and conditions of the purchase order are as follows:

1. Order for 1000 pairs of white summer socks with item number _________ and size __________.

2. Delivery will be made at the address mentioned above.

3. The order should be delivered latest by __________.

4. 100% payment will be made on delivery.

5. If the order is not delivered by the due date, please consider it as cancelled.

6. The price per pair, as mutually agreed, is Rs. ___________ inclusive of all taxes.

We hope to have a long business relationship with you.

Please feel free to contact the undersigned for any clarifications or discrepancy in the order details.

Best regards,

(Name of signing authority)

Source :

http://www.quintcareers.com/effective-cover-letter/

http://www.neodv8.co/2013/12/contoh-application-letter-cv-inggris.html

http://thebusinesscommunication.com/overview-of-inquiry-letter-elements-of-personal-status-inquiry-letter/

http://cyberu-finch.blogspot.co.id/2012/11/inquiry-letter.html

http://www.businesscommunicationarticles.com/complaint-letter-definition/

http://www.letters.org/order-letter/purchase-order-letter.html

Facts About Junk Food

We all know we shouldn’t eat junk food because it’s bad for us, but part of the reason is because of all the trans fats and other additives they use to make the food taste good. The problem is not just that there is trans fat in the foods, but that the portion sizes quickly multiply those contents and before long you have a week’s worth of trans fat in one meal. A large french fry from McDonald’s supplies 4 day’s worth of trans fat by itself.

Junk food (from Wikipedia)

Junk food is a pejorative term for food containing high levels of calories from sugar orfat with little protein, vitamins or minerals. Use of the term implies that a particular food has little "nutritional value" and contains excessive fat, sugar, salt, and calories. Junk food can also refer to high protein food like meat prepared with saturated fat which some believe may be unhealthy many hamburger outlets, fried chicken outlets and the like supply food is considered as junk food.

Despite being labeled as "junk," such foods usually do not pose any immediate health concerns and are generally safe when integrated into a well balanced diet.[5] However, concerns about the negative health effects resulting from the consumption of a "junk food" heavy diet, especially obesity, have resulted in public health awareness campaigns, and restrictions on advertising and sale in several countries.

What’s in Some of that Junk Food?

• One teaspoon of sugar is extracted from a stalk of sugarcane one metre in length!

• A can of cola contains 10 teaspoons of sugar.

• The metal in the can costs more than the ingredients (mainly water with additives, refined sugar and caffeine).

• A super-sized order of McDonald’s fries contains 610 calories and 29 grams of fat.

• A king-sized order of Burger King’s fries packs 590 calories and 30 grams of fat.

• Artificial ingredients can contain an alarming variety of chemicals. For instance, ‘artificial strawberry flavour’ can contain about 50 chemicals… and no strawberries at all!

• A king-sized Burger King meal, (Double Whopper with cheese, large fries and large drink) contains 1,800 calories (mostly derived from fat and refined sugar). To ‘burn’ these calories would take nearly 6 hours of cycling (at 20 miles per hour).

Junk Food Advertising

• The food industry spends over $33 billion per year in the US alone to advertise food products that could be classified as junk food.

• The majority of food advertising during children’s television programming is for sweetened cereals, soft drinks, candy, processed snacks and fast foods.

• The average American child sees around 20,000 ads a year for junk food.

• Over 90% of American children eat at McDonald’s at least once per month

• American teenagers drink an average of 760 can of soda pop per year (with boys drinking about 25% more than girls).

• The average American of any age drinks over 500 cans of soft drinks per year.

• Nearly 20% of children under 2 years of age are given soft drinks every day in America!

• The average person today consumes more sugar in two weeks than a person a century ago would have eaten in a whole year. That’s a junk food fact!

Harmful Effects of Junk Food

• The regular consumption of junk food is the leading factor in obesity and excess weight.

• Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of death in America.

• 46% of Canadian adults are either overweight or obese, with obesity in children increasing three-fold over the past 2 decades.

• Consumption of soft drinks containing sugar has been linked to weight gain and an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes.

• Studies have revealed that obese people have twice the rate of chronic health problems as people of normal weight. This includes a 100% greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes, 50% increased likelihood of developing heart disease. Obese men are nearly 90% more likely to get colon cancer.

• Junk food diet is a major cause of heart diseases.

• High cholesterol resulting from junk food puts undue strain on the liver, causing long-term damage to this essential organ.

• Research has suggested that diets high in fat may also impair essential brain functions, like concentration and memory.

The junk food facts about soft drinks alone are alarming. There is compelling evidence that regular consumption of soft drinks leads to:

• · Increased rates of bone fracture

• Increased risk for osteoporosis

• Increased risk of weight gain and obesity

• Increased risk for Type II Diabetes

• Increased risk for kidney stones

• Increased rate of tooth decay and other dental problems

Junk food facts are numerous, and the negative effect of junk food on health and wellbeing is undeniable. Eating well balanced and healthy food can help you keep healthy, reduce or maintain your weight, and it can also reduce the risk of diseases. Food amount and variety has a big influence on your health. Food is divided in different groups. It is very important to be careful and consume food from different groups. Being healthy means eating healthy food. Food gives the body the energy needed for daily activities like walking, gym, playing football or riding a bike. It is also necessary for the normal body functions. However, no matter what age you are, it is very important to eat healthy food. It is never late to start eating healthy food and improve you eating habits.

Source :

http://www.discover-yoga-online.com/junk-food-facts.html

http://bembu.com/most-unhealthy-foods

Reachingutopia.com (image)

Active and Passive Voice

There are two ways to express an action of a subject in relation to its object : 

• Active voice

• Passive voice

In “active voice” subject acts upon object, while in “passive voice” object is acted upon by subject. It can also be said, in “active voice” subject does a work on object, while in “passive voice” object is worked on by subject. The normal structure of an active voice sentence is subject+verb+object but in passive the normal structure of sentence is reversed according to certain rules and becomes like object+verb+subject. The real meaning of a sentence does not change if the sentence is expressed either by active voice or by passive voice. The active voice is mostly used in writing because it gives a direct and more concise meaning. Passive voice is used sometimes due to the following reasons.

1. When intentionally hiding the subject of sentence. For example, a student who failed in exam might say, some chapters were not studied. Another example. Women were not treated as equals
2. When passive voice better explain thought of sentence. For example, to say, cloth is sold in yards, is more meaningful than to say, Shop keepers sell cloth in yards.
3. When passive voice better emphasizes the main though of the sentence. For example, a man who is being teased by another person might say in anger, “you will be beaten by me”
4. When subject is not exactly known. For example, His watch was stolen. It is not known that who stole his watch, the subject (thief) is not exactly known so it is better to use passive voice for such sentence.There are certain rules for expressing a thought in passive voice or for changing a sentence from active voice to passive voice.

ACTIVE / PASSIVE VOICE

Active voice
In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb.
    These examples show that the subject is  doing the verb's action.

            

Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.

Passive voice
One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive.
    Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has changed.

            

Because the subject is being "acted upon" (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice.
NOTE:   Colorful parrots live in the rainforests cannot be changed to passive voice because the sentence does not have a direct object.
To change a sentence from active to passive voice, do the following:
    1.  Move  the active sentence's direct object into the sentence's subject  slot

             

    2. Place the active sentence's subject into a  phrase beginning with the preposition by

              

    3.  Add a form of the auxiliary verb be to the main verb and change the  main verb's form

              

Because passive voice sentences necessarily add words and change the normal doer-action-receiver of action direction, they may make the reader work harder to understand the intended meaning.
As the examples below illustrate, a sentence in  active voice  flows more smoothly and is easier to understand than the same sentence in  passive voice.

             

            

It is generally preferable to use the ACTIVE voice.

To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reverse the steps shown above.
    1.  Move  the passive sentence's subject into the active  sentence's  direct object slot

             

    2.  Remove  the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb's form if needed

            

    3. Place the passive sentence's object of the preposition by into the subject slot.

           

Because it is more direct, most writers prefer to use the active voice whenever possible.
The passive voice may be a better choice, however, when

• the doer of the action is unknown, unwanted, or unneeded in the sentence

             Examples

             

• the writer wishes to emphasize the action of the sentence rather than the doer of the action

            Examples

               

• the writer wishes to use passive voice for sentence variety.

Source :

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm

http://www.studyandexam.com/active-passive-voice.html