A memo communicates specific information to a particular audience. Before writing a memo, it is important to clarify in your mind both the purpose and audience of the memo.
Why am I writing this memo?
Memos typically have two purposes. Some memos simply communicate organizationally important information. Other memos communicate information in order to trigger (or prevent!) a behaviour or decision. Often the specifications you are given about the memo will help you understand its purpose.
Understanding the purpose of the memo you are writing will result in a clearer memo. This is because the purpose gives you a criterion upon which to judge whether or not information should be included in the memo. A clear purpose also allows you to assess whether a finished draft is complete. For example, if the purpose of the memo is to allow your boss to make a decision, you will have to consider whether you provided all of the information s/he will need to make that decision.
Who will read this memo?
Memos can be written to superiors, peers, or subordinates. The intended audience will influence the tone of the memo. For example, you may be more directive when writing to subordinates (“you shall”) than when writing to peers (“please consider”) or superiors (“you may wish to consider”). Often the specifications you are given about the memo will help you understand its audience. For instance, you may have to draft a memo to your company
The intended audience may also determine the language, content, and length of the memo. This will depend on the circumstances of the workplace and the characteristics of the workforce. For example, you may wish to be more candid when writing to peers than with subordinates. Or you may focus more on the big picture (i.e., focusing on options and consequences) when writing to superiors, and be more concrete when writing to peers (i.e., focusing on concrete information and implications).
How should I format this memo?
Most memos begin with an executive summary. This contains a high-level overview of the purpose and content of the memo in two to four sentences. If the memo makes a recommendation, this should also be included in the summary. When evaluating a summary, it is often useful to ask whether the reader would understand the purpose of the memo if they read only the executive summary.
The main body of the memo follows the executive summary. There is no one-size-fits-all format, but the following steps can be helpful in generating an appropriate format.
- Outline and Group Content: Jot down the main points you must convey in the memo. Then group the information into related “chunks,” and give each chunk a working title. For example, you may wish to provide a short background section (why you are doing this, what has happened so far) for context. This section might be titled “background.”
- Order Content: Arrange the sections you have identified into a tentative order. The order will be influenced by the purpose of the memo and the content. For example, you would typically lay out various options before you recommend which option to choose. Use descriptive headers to cue your reader about what each section contains (e.g., Recommendation).
How do I write the memo?
Once you have a clear sense of the structure, you are ready to begin writing. The following steps are set out in chronological order. That said, most writers will move back and forth—writing is an iterative process.
- Write Content: Write the content of each section. You will edit this writing later, so focus on ensuring the content is accurate and complete. This stage can take a long time. You may wish to break up the writing process by tackling one section at a time, and then taking a break to clear your mind.
- Assess Content: After you have drafted the content, set the memo aside for a bit. Then go back, and ask yourself whether the content you have provided fully addresses the purpose of the memo. This review will highlight areas where additional content is needed. It can also identify content that was useful to you in writing the memo, but which can now be removed because it is unnecessary for the intended audience.
You should also consider whether the memo (as a whole) contains a consistent level of detail. If some sections are highly detailed and others are very general or vague, this can indicate that material needs to be added or deleted. This is not always the case—some memos will have some sections that are highly detailed—but such unevenness should be intentional, not accidental.
- Edit Writing: Readers appreciate clear and focused text. Review the memo to improve the quality of the writing. Improvements typically include shortening sentences and paragraphs by removing unnecessary words and sentences. Reading the memo aloud to yourself can highlight areas for improvement—these areas will sound “rough” or “jarring” to your ear. A good rule of thumb is, “if in doubt, take it out.”
Another good rule of thumb is that no paragraph should be longer than five sentences, and no section should be longer than five paragraphs. Longer paragraphs and sections typically mean you can (and should) divide the content into more paragraphs or different sections. There will be exceptions, but not often. Ensure that you stay within the word limit specified for the memo.
- Copyedit and Proofread: Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This is an opportunity to make your work sound more professional by eliminating colloquialisms and slang. Revise passive sentence constructions into active ones. Also, consider whether your audience will be able to understand the words and concepts you have included.
- Compare Memo to Purpose: Before finishing the memo, review the purpose of the memo, then read the memo while pretending you are the recipient. Is it clear why you got the memo, and does the memo contain all of the information you need? Is there information that is irrelevant or confusing? Could you take action based on this memo? This may highlight some areas for further revision.
If you are simply trying to convey information, the first step in writing the memo is to identify the important information, and explain why it is important to the organization.
What common mistakes do students make writing memos?
There are a handful of recurring errors students typically make when writing memos. These include:
- Incorrect content: The information presented in the memo contains errors, typically of fact. This can include using incorrect information, omitting important information, or misapplying information to a situation.
- Incomplete content: The information presented in the memo does not fully address the purpose of the memo. For example, if you are asked to outline three options but you only provided two, you have not met the specifications of the memo.
- Incomplete analysis: The memo presents correct information and complete content, but the author does not apply the information properly. For example, you might outline important legal obligations, but then not explain how they bear upon the situation. Or you might be asked to make a recommendation, but do not do so. Or your recommendation is not properly justified, and the decision-maker reading your memo cannot decide whether to accept the recommendation.
- No citation: While citation is uncommon in real business memos, memos completed as part of an academic assignment typically do require you to acknowledge the source of material you paraphrase or directly quote.
- Poor writing: One purpose for asking students to write a memo is to give them experience communicating in a format they will use in the “real” world. Consequently, one criterion used to judge such memos is whether or not the marker (as a manager) would allow the submitted memo to circulate in a real business. Memos that are disorganized, poorly written, full of typos and sentence fragments, that do not address the issue at hand, and which contain incorrect or incomplete information would be returned for revision. While no marker expects perfection from a student, a memo that would embarrass the student’s supervisor in the real world is unlikely to receive a high mark.
