Part 2 Simulated Writing: Memo
1. Introduction
The business memorandum(memo) is essentially an“internal”business letter. The“memo”as it is usually called, is the key internal communications tool in most businesses and institutions. In fact, the business memo is arguably the most important communications instrument in an organization.
Memoranda are used to: announce, inform, advise, quantify, delegate, direct, discipline, instruct, request and transmit. In short, if something needs to be communicated and/or recorded formally in an organization, it is done with a memo. Memos are often routed, posted and forwarded, which means they can reach a lot of people quickly. Effects of careless mistakes compound quickly, since they tend to generate even more memos asking for clarification. Memos also get filed, which means they can come back to haunt you later.
In fact,“memo”comes from the Latin memorandum,“a thing which must be remembered.”While a memo generally requests or delivers a quick response to a specific question, it may also be a compact version of a short report, progress report, or lab report. Although section titles may appear awkward in a very short memo, they allow your readers to scan efficiently and respond quickly.
2. Typical Components
（1）Heading Segment
Begin the memo with a heading segment. Make sure you address the reader by her or his correct name and job title. Courtesy titles are not necessary but make sure you spell everyone’s names properly and don’t use informal nicknames.
Use a job title after your name, and write your initials by your name. This confirms that you take responsibility for the contents of the memo.
Be specific and concise in your subject line. For example,“computers”could mean anything from a new purchase of computers to a mandatory software class for employees. Instead use something like,“Turning Computers off at Night.”This also makes filing and retrieving the memo easy.
（2）Opening Segment
Begin writing your memo by stating the problem—that is, what led to the need for the memo. Perhaps a shipment has not arrived, a scheduled meeting has been canceled, or a new employee is starting tomorrow.
After stating the problem, indicate the purpose clearly: Are you announcing a meeting, welcoming a new employee, or asking for input on adopting a new policy about lunch hour length?
（3）Discussion Segment
As you write the business memo, in the discussion segment, give details about the problem. Don’t ramble on incessantly, but do give enough information for decision makers to resolve the problem. Describe the task or assignment with details that support your opening paragraph (problem).
（4）Closing Segment
After the reader has absorbed all of your information, close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your readers to take. Should they email their reports rather than hand in hard copies? Attend a meeting? Chip in for someone’s birthday cake? A simple statement like,“Thank you for rinsing the coffeepot after pouring the last cup”is polite and clear states what action to take.
Traditional memos aren’t signed. However, it is becoming more common for memos to close the way letters do, with a typed signature under a handwritten signature. Follow your company’s example for this.
Except for memos that are essentially informal reports or instructional documents, write a business memo no more than one page long. In a memo, less is more.
3. Format
To further clarify your meaning, keep these business memo formatting ideas in mind.
●Headings help the readers skim for sections of the document. In general, you should use an arrangement like the following.
MEMORANDUM
To: Direct addressee
From: Signatory (Remember, this is not necessarily the author of the document)
Date: Month, day, year(Spell out)
Subject: Key words to describe the content of the memo
●Numbered and bulleted lists make information easy to scan. Be careful to make lists parallel in grammatical form.
●Font sizes, underlining, bolding and italicizing make headings and important information stand out.
●As in all technical and business communications, long paragraphs of dense texts make reading more difficult. Therefore, keep your paragraphs short and to the point.
4. Sample
Memorandum
To: All First-year Students in Software School
From: Tom Wang, Teaching Assistant of Introduction to Computers
Date: Sept. 20, 2014
Subject: New Procedure for Handing in Homework
There is a new procedure for handing in homework. I believe that you will find it an improvement on the old one. It will be a convenient procedure. The new procedure is as follows:
●Pack your homework files as a .zip or .rar file.
●Name your .zip or .rar file with the following format: Your student ID_Your name_Homework 1.
●Login ftp:// 202.112.115.219 with your student ID.
●Open the folder named Introduction to Computers.
●Open the sub-folder named First Homework.
●Copy your named file and paste there.
Attention
1. Make sure that the format is requested.
2. Hand in within 3 days since the homework is assigned, otherwise, the folder will be closed.
5. Exercises
There are two scenarios as follows, please choose one and write a memo.
Scenario 1: In a team meeting, team members dicsussed the purchase of a coffee maker for the department, and you should report to your Department Manager, Mr. Wood, about your suggestion and the related research about this affair.
Scenario 2: In the weekly regular meeting, team members planned to hold a party for the New Year, and you should write a memo for this planning, including time, place, assignments, and so on.