To clarify, we ask for a CV to give us some insight into the person contacting us. Helping get a writer published is not, alas, simply about the writing! In the corporatised world of publishing, writers are viewed as assets and commodities and as products which must be branded when sold to the market. It's not pretty but we, as agents need to consider these things as well as the quality of the writing.
I also like to see a CV to find out how clued in the enquirer is into the marketplace - someone who submits a fantasy novel can make me more inclined to look at their submission over someone else's if they can tell me they're a LOCUS subscriber, or even a regular contributor to forums like this one, or that they attended the last World Fantasy Convention. It's not a test or an examination for you to pass - it's merely a method of allowing us further insight into the submission and the author and it should be viewed as a further and favourable way to grab our attention.
One thing I'd add is that I'm not at all sure how comfortable I feel having my correspondence quoted in full on a public forum like this. (We read them too, folks!) I wonder how folks might feel were I to quote their submission enquiries in full in quite the same way? The arguments for doing so would be the same - transparency, public good, helping other writers &etc - but I would consider it a basic professional courtesy to ask the person who wrote in confidence if they would mind.
JB
