People who often deal with authorities, official establishments, or companies have faced a rejection at least once. If getting an authority’s permission is crucial for you, you will not be satisfied to simply accept the rejection and give up. In an effort to convince the organization to decide favorably, you should consider renewed efforts in order to get what you need. It is a common practice in cases such as these to write a letter of reconsideration. A reconsideration letter is a formal request to an authority figure or an official that contains a request for their unfavorable decision to be reviewed or reconsidered.
Steps for Writing a Reconsideration Letter
- Address the recipient in a formal manner. Explain the purpose of your letter, and be sure to mention your previous request. Explain the reasons why you were rejected or the unfavorable decision that you would like to be reconsidered. Ask for reconsideration of the company’s position.
- Explain the dispute in detail. List the company’s reasons and arguments for issuing the rejection. Stay concise, clear, and focused, while keeping your emotions out of the matter.
- List your arguments as to why the establishment’s decision should be reconsidered. Include the facts that you think are needed to legitimize your appeal. Mention specific times and dates when particular events happened.
- Add additional evidence or facts that would speak in your favor in this particular case. These might be testimonials from reliable people you know from work, medical certificates, transcripts of records or receipts, and so on.
- In your conclusion, restate your position and briefly summarize your arguments. Add your contact information, and end by thanking the recipient for their time.
- Proofread your letter; check all the information for validity, possible mistakes, and inaccuracies.
Topic Selection
Reconsideration letters are usually written in cases where your first request has been denied, forcing you to push for a more favorable decision. For example, you can ask for reconsideration if you were denied financial assistance, a prescription for a specific medicine, an application for a scholarship or academic program, rental of expensive equipment, or to request a review of a criminal case.
Key Points to Consider
- The letter’s tone should stay polite, no matter how disappointed you were with the rejection of your request. The letter should gently ask for a reconsideration, restate the company’s reasons for denial, and provide arguments as to why the decision should be reconsidered.
- The usage of the personal pronoun “I” is acceptable in a letter of reconsideration; however, it is better to minimize its use.
- Without a sufficient argument in your favor, your appeal will most likely remain unsatisfied. Therefore, if you cannot offer evidence that supports your claim, sending the letter of reconsideration is pointless.
- To avoid creating an impression of total dissatisfaction, comment on possible solutions to your disagreement with the company.
Do and Don’t
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Common Mistakes When Writing a Reconsideration Letter
- Poorly formatting your letters will not help your case. If the letter is sent via email, avoid using weird fonts, lots of capital letters, multicolored text, gigantic headings, and or other informal, eye-catching gimmicks. If you send a printed reconsideration letter, make sure it is on quality paper. Simply sending a photocopy or a poorly formatted paper letter may reduce your chances of a satisfying appeal.
- Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms without fully explaining their meaning. Spell out difficult names and complicated terms out the first time, and then put the abbreviations in parenthesis so when the abbreviation is used later, your recipient will understand what it means.
- Being too emotional about the claim. The letter should be businesslike and formal; this is no place for blaming, complaining, or resenting.
- Composing excessively long letters, supersaturated with detailed descriptions of the case, almost guarantees that it will not be read. Keep your letter concise, short, and straight to the point; have the focus only on what is important.
Now that you have acquainted yourself with the basic reconsideration letter writing tips and rules, you can check out our reconsideration letter samples to link theory with practice.