Much of the communication in a business or organization is in the form of memorandums, or memos. These internal documents may have a variety of readers and purposes and may cover many different situations. While memos can be formal or informal, they are always more informal than letters and are usually sent within an organization rather than to outside readers.

Audience

• Your readers will range in position from supervisors to peers to subordinates and will be familiar with your institution’s projects and the jargon related to the business, so you will not need to provide much background information.

• They will have many roles, from producers to users.

• They may be experts or novices in their field.

• Whoever they are, they are usually busy people who don’t have time to waste on confusing, disorganized information. When you write a memo, be organized and informative, yet succinct.

• You may send a memo to a single reader or to many readers, all concerned with the subject of the memo.

Purpose

• You may write to respond to a request

• You may request specific information or a specific action from the reader, often a co-worker

• You might be thanking someone for help or trying to persuade someone to provide additional support

 Style

• Ostentatious language, excessively technical jargon, or complicated syntax will make you sound pompous. Be cordial, straightforward, and lucid, and strive for a relaxed and conversational style.

• Generally, your tone should be neutral or positive, but you have to occasionally issue complaints or reprimands in memos. Use caution in negative situations. You never know who will read the memo. Be aware of the effect of your words.

Format

• Memos should be single-spaced with double spaces between paragraphs, in block form. They should be kept to a single page if possible.

• Memos have two sections: the heading and the body.

The heading consists of date, to, from, subject, and cc.

Date: Write the full name of the month, or use its standard abbreviations. Don't use numerals as in 6/1/05.

To:  Generally, address people of higher rank by title. If your company policy or your relationship with the addressee allows, you may omit courtesy (Mrs., Ms., Mr.) or professional (Dr., Dean, etc.) titles. For most formal situations, use the addressee's full name; in some informal situations, you may use first names. If the addressee's name alone is not sufficient to ensure that the memo will reach its destination, put an identifying tag directly after the name (Johnny Depp, Payroll Office). If the memo is directed to three or four people, list their names alphabetically or in descending order of their position in the institutional hieracrhy. If several names are required you may use "TO: See Below" and then place the names at the bottom of the memo. If the group is too large to list, follow "TO" with an identifying classification (TO: Faculty, Board of Directors, etc.)

From: Place your name on this line, and do not use a courtesy title. If you believe that reader(s) may not know you, identify yourself by using your job title or department name. Handwrite your initials to the right of your typed name.

Subject: Since the subject often determines where or how the memo will be filed and even if it will be read, it should be concise and accurate.

CC:  List names of other people who will receive copies of your memo. The CC line can be placed in the heading, next to the heading, or at the bottom of the document.

The body states your exact purpose for writing so that reader(s) can quickly gain an understanding of the memo's content and how it related to them.  If the memo is longer than a page, use the first paragraph to provide background information. An outline will help you organize your thoughts. Focus your reader's attention on main ideas rather than on details and digressions. Strive to be plain, direct, and brief.

 

Decide on a pattern of organization that best suits your purpose. The two most common for memos are deduction and induction.

• Deduction presents ideas in decreasing order of importance and generally assumes that the reader is well acquainted with the topic under discussion. This strategy spares readers needless loss of time wading through material they may already know. Most business memos use this pattern. Place supporting facts in subsequent sentences for readers who may be unfamiliar with the subject. Place any background information last.

• Induction presents ideas in increasing order of importance. If you have to announce bad news or your reader may not understand the main idea without significant prior preparation, use this form. Lead up to the most forceful idea; then present that idea at the end of the memo.

• Finish with a courteous and clear call for action. Tell your reader precisely what results you expect to follow from reading your memo. It may be helpful to include deadlines. Give the reader a clear and specific sense of what to do.

Attachments

• Identify your attachments at the bottom of the page in case they inadvertently get separated from the memo.

Sources

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Writing Center. http://www.wecc.rpi.edu/memos.html June 2005.

Boiarsky, Carolyn R. Technical Writing: Contexts, Audiences, and Communities. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993.