> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dirtview.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Writing an RFI that gets answered

> What goes in Question vs. References, why Location matters, and what Hot priority actually changes.

export const Video = ({id, title, runtime, url}) => {
  const meta = VIDEOS[id] || ({});
  const label = title || meta.title || "Tutorial video";
  const length = runtime || meta.runtime || "";
  const track = meta.track || "";
  const src = toEmbedUrl(url || meta.url);
  const frame = {
    position: "relative",
    width: "100%",
    paddingTop: "56.25%",
    borderRadius: "10px",
    overflow: "hidden",
    background: "rgba(127,127,127,0.09)",
    border: src ? "1px solid rgba(127,127,127,0.24)" : "1px dashed rgba(127,127,127,0.42)"
  };
  const fill = {
    position: "absolute",
    inset: 0,
    width: "100%",
    height: "100%",
    border: 0
  };
  const center = {
    position: "absolute",
    inset: 0,
    display: "flex",
    flexDirection: "column",
    alignItems: "center",
    justifyContent: "center",
    gap: "10px",
    padding: "24px",
    textAlign: "center"
  };
  const idBadge = {
    fontFamily: "ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, Menlo, monospace",
    fontSize: "12px",
    letterSpacing: "0.06em",
    padding: "2px 8px",
    borderRadius: "4px",
    background: "rgba(184,82,40,0.14)",
    color: "#B85228",
    fontWeight: 600
  };
  const caption = {
    display: "flex",
    flexWrap: "wrap",
    alignItems: "center",
    gap: "8px",
    marginTop: "8px",
    fontSize: "13px",
    opacity: 0.66,
    fontFamily: "ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, Menlo, monospace"
  };
  return <div style={{
    margin: "0 0 28px"
  }}>
      <div style={frame}>
        {src ? <iframe style={fill} src={src} title={label} frameBorder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen /> : <div style={center}>
            <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 44 44" fill="none" aria-hidden="true">
              <circle cx="22" cy="22" r="20" stroke="currentColor" strokeOpacity="0.28" strokeWidth="2" />
              <path d="M18 15.5L29 22L18 28.5V15.5Z" fill="currentColor" fillOpacity="0.32" />
            </svg>
            <div style={{
    fontWeight: 600,
    fontSize: "15px",
    maxWidth: "36ch",
    lineHeight: 1.35
  }}>{label}</div>
            <div style={{
    fontSize: "13px",
    opacity: 0.6
  }}>
              Video coming soon{length ? " · " + length : ""}
            </div>
          </div>}
      </div>
      <div style={caption}>
        {id ? <span style={idBadge}>{id}</span> : null}
        {length ? <span>{length}</span> : null}
        {track ? <span>{track} track</span> : null}
      </div>
    </div>;
};

<Video id="50.1" />

<Note>
  **The short version.** One question per RFI. Put the question in **Question**, the evidence in **References**, and say where on the job it is.
</Note>

## Write it

<Steps>
  <Step title="Ask one question">
    One question per RFI. Three questions in one RFI comes back with one answer and you've lost two weeks.

    Ask it so a yes/no or a dimension answers it. "Which detail governs at the column line — A-501/3 or S-201/5?" beats "Please clarify the column detail."
  </Step>

  <Step title="Put the evidence in References">
    **Question** is what you're asking. **References** is what you're pointing at — the sheet, the spec section, the photo, the marked-up detail.

    A marked-up sheet in References is the single biggest thing you can do to get a fast answer. → [Marking up a sheet](/drawings/markup-a-sheet)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the Location">
    Where on the job. It's how somebody finds it six months later, and it's what makes the RFI log readable when there are 200 of them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the priority honestly">
    **Hot** flags the RFI as urgent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the review routing">
    Who needs to see it, in what order. → [Review Routing](/approvals/review-routing)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit it">
    A draft RFI is not asked. Nobody is notified until you submit.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **Don't mark everything Hot.** Once everything is hot, nothing is, and the one that actually stops work gets the same attention as the rest.
</Warning>

## What a good RFI looks like

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Gets answered fast" icon="circle-check">
    One question · names the conflicting documents · marked-up sheet attached · location set · realistic priority
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sits for three weeks" icon="circle-xmark">
    "Please advise" · no references · three questions in one · no location · marked Hot like the last nine
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Tip>
  You can talk an RFI in instead of typing it, and the assistant will ask you follow-up questions until it's specific enough to send. → [Talking an RFI into existence](/ai/talk-an-rfi-into-existence)
</Tip>

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Statuses and Ball in Court" icon="hand" href="/approvals/statuses-and-ball-in-court">
    Where is it, and whose desk is it on?
  </Card>

  <Card title="Answering an RFI" icon="reply" href="/approvals/answer-an-rfi">
    And how to pull the record later.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>