How to Write a Memorandum?

Before you begin writing a memorandum, it will be better to perceive the meaning of this piece of writing. The memo is a concise and clear document that is usually composed of management in order to provide a definite announcement. It may be either written to give changes in some organizations. A memo is usually composed of organization heads, but it may be required to be written by students too.

Hence, no matter whether you have been a working-class or a student, composing a memorandum is such a necessary skill which is a must to have. You can also write a memo in a business situation where you have to inform your suppliers about the fact you received their products. Such a type of memorandum is called a business memorandum.

How to Compose a Proper Memo

It is necessary to be aware of how to write a proper memo so whatever you want to inform your audience is concise and clear. In the vast majority of cases, you would need to compose a memo to address very critical matters. So a memo has to be extremely clear so that data that must be passed is not distorted. Here are several tips to follow that are needed to write a good memo:

Use simple English – Don’t use a complicated language when writing a memo since the readers might miss the necessary points. So you will not reach your aim by such a memo. Don’t utilize too many unknown and unusual words in this piece of writing.
Keep it short – a proper memorandum must be rather short or else it would be difficult to read. The vast majority of people would like to glance it over with the shortest time, but with all the necessary data provided. So make a summary. Since the overall majority of people ignore too lengthy pieces of writing, keeping the memo short will attract more readers.
Utilize a catchy heading – the aim of the heading is to draw the reader’s attention. Therefore, you are to select the right words properly since you create the first impression with headings. Try to make the readers curious about your paper because some of them might leave the memo after reading the heading. Utilize these ways to grab the reader’s attention:
Utilize various color for the heading – select the right color for the heading to attract the audience from a long distance.
Emphasize and use bold – utilize bold letters to draw the reader’s attention for them to get the message of your memorandum.
Avoid simple spelling and grammar mistakes – you will have to be very careful when writing a memorandum since such errors might confuse the data you wanted to pass. Hence, it might lead to the chaos which might affect the organization’s reputation. Proofread your memo and edit it at the final step of writing and correct the errors.

Proper Formatting of a Memo

The formatting of your memorandum must be following the required rubric since the reader would be able to define the paper from its format. So ensure the memo agrees with the rules of formatting and is containing the next elements:

The header

You must indicate that it will be a memorandum at the page’s top with capitalized letters. It will help your reader to identify your piece of writing.

The recipient addresses

Write the recipient address right after the header. No matter whether it is a group of people or one person, you should write the recipient’s name officially. With the address, the reader will be aware of who the memorandum is being addressed. When you want your memorandum to address a certain group of people, you would better include other recipients. Utilize the following format, when you have more than 1 recipient:

Memorandum

To:

Cc:

From:

Date

Subject

In such formatting, Cc is the name of another recipient whom you want additionally to address.

The sender

Indicate where the memorandum comes from after the address of the recipient. Include your name and position to make sure the readers will know you.

The date

Utilize the right format to write the date to help readers get to know when the memorandum was sent. It is necessary to include the date since it will be distinguishing the new and old memorandums on the notice board.

The title

Write the title of the memorandum after the date. It is important to indicate what the memorandum is about clearly in the title. It is such an important part of the memo because it tells the main information to the reader of what the document is about in the shortest way.

You would better take into account these things when formatting of heading:

Make sure to double space the content. With it, the memo will be clear.
Place the content right to the left. Align the addresses and date to the left section of your page.
Capitalize the beginning of the address. For instance, composing to your employees and IT manager. Proceed with the following things:

To: All staff

From: IT manager

Subject: Promotions in Various Departments

The main body

The main body is a second part of the memorandum. Avoid more stories in this part, making your memorandum be as short as you can. Here are the tips to follow in order to generate the best body of the memorandum:

Take into account your readers. This is your audience you write to. Depending on what you are writing, you are to choose the proper tone. Consider your audience’s needs since when, for example, you ask something from your staff being a director, utilize the polite language for your staff to perceive your request. Ask yourself a question which your reader might potentially ask you when they read your memorandum, and address them correctly and correspondingly. Select the language which is appropriate for a class of people you are writing to.
Go to the main point directly. Avoid the salutations, after you make a decision of what you are planning to write about. The main problem of your memorandum must be included in your thesis.
Provide the reader with a little base of an issue. Address the change you need, providing the reasons for the policy rule implementation. Explain to your reader why certain decisions and solutions were made and motivate them to do the next step. Additionally, you may mention the demerits and merits of the change.
Backup your problem. Mention what you want from your audience. Provide them with illustrations to clarify things to do to improve and solve the problem. To back up your points, you may use several methods.
Utilize lists. When there are few points, you may utilize a list for an identification of what you require to be done.
Utilize short subheadings. Utilize them in order to clarify your audience on the points you address to.
Provide the readers with the actions you require them to do. State the reader’s role in the implementation of certain policies. You are able to provide the conditions which must apply to your reader. For instance, you may provide a deadline for things to be done.
Finish your memorandum with a summary. Summarize all the claims, stating the cause of the action which is required by your audience. Closing the memorandum, remain positive.
Sign. To make the memorandum official, sign it at the end. If you do it, it will look more official.

Types of Memorandums

There are various types of memorandums that you might be expected to write. Therefore, it will be perfect to be aware of the peculiarities of writing each type of them to succeed. Here are the main types of memorandums you might face:

Confirmation memorandum. You should compose this document after the agreement between the 2 parties. You will need to write that you are confirming a certain demand. Here, the rules of the agreement should be stated. Also, you would have to motivate the reader to ask questions, if any.
Request memorandum. Here you will have to favor from a group of people or a certain person. Utilize persuasive language to convince your reader.
Suggestive memorandum. This memo type is used when you need the employee’s views to tackle a certain issue. Therefore, you will require your audience to provide their opinion about a certain problem, specifying how they would forward the offers.
Report memorandum. This piece of writing is used when you need to give the progress account after a definite period of time. It is written in the report format. You should include the charts and values to indicate the progress of the main body.
Informal results memorandum. Here you will have to provide the reader with the results of some action. It might be in the form of research that was done. So that the audience would want to get the outcomes. Also, it may be an application results for different seats in some department.

Memorandum Examples

Proper writers should take their time to go over the examples to improve quality. With a sample, you would get acknowledged how to look appealing in the audience’s eyes. Here is a memorandum example below to help you keep the right format and plan your work.

MEMORANDUM

To: All staff of the IT company

From: Director

Date: December 10, 2019

Subject: Promotion

As soon as we have been noticed that some of the employees have performed very well for the last year, we would like to inform you about certain things we decided to implement.

As long as Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Jameson were the managers of the department, we would like to tell you we are going to rise a salary to them. Besides, it was our common decision to promote Mr. Jameson to the position of vice president of the daughter company. Our congratulations.

Yours sincerely,

Sign… ….

Director of the company

Thanks to such examples, you will be aware of how to compose the memo in the best way. Besides, you will get to know what tone to utilize, writing a memo. The tone is necessary to be proper for a better understanding of the audience. With this professional writing guide, your memo will be one of the best or even the best in your class. Good luck!