222 Happy Land Lane
                                     Washington, D.C. 0000
                                     October 15, 1997

Mr. Fred Smith
FOIA Officer
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servic
Division of Policy and Directives
  Managemen
Room 224, Arlington Square
4401 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

    SAMPLE FOIA REQUEST

Dear Mr. Smith:

Under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), I am requesting a copy
of the “Status of Listed Species Report,” which was prepared by the

Endangered Species Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arlington, Virginia,
in March 1997.  On October 10, 1997, I spoke to Mary Melody in that
Division and she confirmed that she had a copy of the report.

I am a graduate student at George Washington University, Washington, DC and am

doing my thesis on the status of endangered species and related 
Government expenditures.  Therefore, I would like to have a copy of the
report as soon as possible to complete my research.  Since time is of the essence, 
please contact me so that I might pick up the report as soon as it is available.

If the report is available through the Internet, please provide the Internet
address for the site.  If it is not, I am willing to pay up to $25 for a copy of
the report.  However, please notify me in advance should the cost to process my request 
exceed $25.  For the purposes of assessing fees, I believe that I fall under the 
"other” category inasmuch as I am a student and am not seeking this

information for any commercial use. 

I can be reached at (202) 202-1234 (work) or (202) 202-5678 (home) should you have
any questions concerning my request.  Thank you.

Sincerely,



John Doe