The Memo

The Art of Succinct Communication

Cory Robinson
8/29/2013

The memos twofold purpose

1.They bring attention to problems
2.They solve problems
They do this by:

3.Informing the Reader

4.Connecting the purpose of the writer with
the interest and need of the reader

Think before you write

Audience all the people the memo is

meant to address
Limit the number of people
Limit content according to audience
Always adopt a tone and structure
appropriate to the audience and
purpose
A memo is not for the whole office
A memo is not a novel

Formatting
1 inch margins
Single spaced
No paragraph indentions
Bold headings
Headings should summarize contents
Bordered header

Parts - Header

Place MEMO at the top

Include: TO, FROM, CC, DATE, and SUBJECT
Border it

Parts Opening, Context, and

Task

Approximately 1/4 of the memo

Purpose
Summarize
Keep it to 5-6 sentences
th

Parts Summary, Discussion, and

Segment

Approximately of memo
Summarize what happened in class
Break it up by speakers, topics, timeline, etc.
Keep paragraphs short
Dont indent paragraphs, skip lines instead

Parts Closing Statement

Approximately 1/8 of memo

Briefly sum up
Include mention of class assignments
th

Additional Resources

http://owl.english.purdue.edu
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides
U of U Writing Center