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If you're writing a formal letter, and need the other party to reply as quickly as possible, how can you do it in the most polite, eloquent fashion? No matter how I try to do it, it always sounds too demanding.

ColleenV
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FlacchusMaximus
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3 Answers3

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Although I understand that you are very busy, I would appreciate it if you could provide a response as soon as possible. I very much appreciate your time.

My exact wording might change according to the circumstances – How well do I know the person? How important is it that I get timely feedback? Is this the first time I'm asking, or the third? What is the situation? Am I planning a reception, or arranging for payments on a loan that is about to go into default?

Those considerations aside, the generic wording I've included at the top of my answer is about as polite as I can muster.

J.R.
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  • I wonder if *"May we request a prompt reply?"* would be considered impolite or too importunate, or maybe it would be viewed as a neutral stock expression. – CowperKettle Oct 01 '15 at 08:38
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    @Copper - Perhaps if you answered that question with an explanation, that would work just ifne. That is, something like: _May we request a prompt reply? If we're going to do this project, we'll need to start planning accordingly, so we want to commit the resources as soon as we can._ If we can somehow convince the recipient of the email that it's in **their** best interest to respond quickly, that would seem more polite, I think. – J.R. Oct 01 '15 at 08:43
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  1. An early reply would be appreciated
  2. I look forward to your reply
  3. I look forward to hearing from you
  4. I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience
  5. Your earliest attention would be appreciated
Beqa
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0

We are looking forward to your earliest response.

We are looking forward to a timely response.

We will greatly appreciate it if you can respond at your earliest convenience.

ATA
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    While these may be valid sample sentence the OP can use, the answer is of little value *unless* you add some explanation to it. – Glorfindel Jul 11 '16 at 07:08
  • @Noufil - That one is commonly used, but I'd recommend caution. Many people consider that to be rude. (See [this ELL question](http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/666/thank-you-in-advance-how-to-replace) for more discussion on that matter.) – J.R. Oct 08 '16 at 18:15