Responding and initiating
In general terms, correspondence can be sorted into two types of purpose: responsive, and initiative. One of your first planning tasks is to determine whether your purpose is to respond to a piece of correspndence you have received, or to initiate something new. This is true of all correspondence, no matter whether you are writing an e-mail, a memo or a letter.
Practice: Initiative or responsive
Read through these brief scenarios and decide whether the correspondence described is responsive or initiative.