[Grammar] await/wait/look forward to - Present Simple or Continuous

[marker]

Which tense is correct when we want to finish our letter to someone and say we would like them to send a reply?

I await / am awaiting for your answer.
I wait/ am waiting for your answer.
I look forward / am looking forward to your answer.

Can we use in the same context 'message' instead of 'answer' or 'news'?

Thank you for your replies .

 

[charliedeut]

IMO, the most polite (and also less pressing towards the recipient of the letter) way to say it is #3. The tense does not really matter a lot, as I see it.

Also IMO, in this context I would use "answer" or "reply", but not "message" or "news".

 

[marker]

IMO, the most polite (and also less pressing towards the recipient of the letter) way to say it is #3. The tense does not really matter a lot, as I see it.

Also IMO, in this context I would use "answer" or "reply", but not "message" or "news".

I usually see both forms: 'I look forward....' and 'I'm looking forward....' so I guess in case of this phrase the tense does not matter but in case of 'wait' it would be more natural to say 'I'm waiting for your answer' than 'I wait for your answer'. Correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Raymott]

I usually see both forms: 'I look forward....' and 'I'm looking forward....' so I guess in case of this phrase the tense does not matter but in case of 'wait' it would be more natural to say 'I'm waiting for your answer' than 'I wait for your answer'. Correct me if I'm wrong

I prefer, "I await your reply" for a business letter. The continuous is the wrong form, for me. "I'm waiting ..." means you're going to sit there until the reply comes. The present tense is "less pressing", as charlie says; sometimes the tense does matter.
If someone, a friend for example, sent me an email and ended, "I'm waiting for your answer", it would tend to mean that they were at their computer and expected me to reply immiediately. If someone posted here and addressed me specifically, and wrote, "I'm waiting for your answer," it would sound a bit rude - as if, if I didn't reply immediately, they'd be annoyed.