How to write a memo

What is a memo?
A memo is:
a hard-copy (sent on paper) document
used for communicating inside an organisation
usually short
contains To, From, Date, Subject eading and !essage sections
does not need to be signed, but sometimes has the sender"s name at the bottom to
be more friendly, or the sender"s full name to be more formal# $f in doubt, follo% your
company style#
&'ample:
MEMO
To: Katherine Chu, Regional Manager
From: Stephen Yu, Sales
Date: 21 September 2010
Subject: Notification of My Resignation
$ am %riting to inform you of my intention to resign from ( ) S oldings#
$ ha*e appreciated *ery much my four years %or+ing for the company# The training has been
e'cellent and $ ha*e gained *aluable e'perience %or+ing %ithin an efficient and professional
team en*ironment# $n particular, $ ha*e appreciated your personal guidance during these first
years of my career#
$ feel no% that it is time to further de*elop my +no%ledge and s+ills base in a different
en*ironment#
$ %ould li+e to lea*e, if possible, in a month"s time on Saturday, ,- .ctober# This %ill allo% me
to complete my current %or+load# $ hope that this suggested arrangement is acceptable to the
company#
.nce again, than+ you for your support#
Why write memos?
!emos are useful in situations %here e-mails or te't messages are not suitable# For
e'ample, if you are sending an object, such as a boo+ or a paper that needs to be
signed, through internal office mail, you can use a memo as a co*ering note to e'plain
%hat the recei*er should do#

How to write a memo
!emos should ha*e the follo%ing sections and content:
/# A "To" section containing the name of the recei*er#
For informal memos, the recei*er"s gi*en name0 e#g# "To: Andy" is enough# For more formal
memos, use the recei*er"s full name# $f the recei*er is in another department, use the full
name and the department name# $t is usually not necessary to use !r#, !rs#, !iss or !s
unless the memo is *ery formal#

,# A "From" section containing the name of the sender#
For informal memos, the sender"s other name0 e#g# "From: 1ill" is enough# For more formal
memos, use the sender"s full name# $f the recei*er is in another department, use the full
name and the department name# $t is usually not necessary to use !r#, !rs#, !iss or !s
unless the memo is *ery formal#

-# A "Date" section#
To a*oid confusion bet%een the 1ritish and American date systems (1r#: //-2-,3/3, Am#: 2-
//-,3/3), %rite the month as a %ord or an abbre*iation0 e#g# "4anuary" or "4an"#

5# A Subject heading#
!a+e clear %hat this memo is about# 1e as specific as possible, but +eep it brief#

The message
6nless the memo is a brief note, a %ell-organised memo message should contain the
follo%ing sections:
Situation
An introduction or the purpose of the memo
7roblem (optional)
For e'ample: 8Since the mo*e to the ne% office in 9o%loon 1ay, staff ha*e difficulty in
finding a nearby place to buy lunch#8
Solution (optional)
For e'ample: 87ro*iding a micro%a*e o*en in the pantry %ould enable staff to bring in
their o%n lunchbo'es and reheat their food#8
Action
This may be the same as the solution, or be the part of the solution that the recei*er needs
to carry out0 e#g# 8%e %ould appreciate it if you could authorise up to :-,3338
7oliteness
To a*oid the recei*er refusing to ta+e the action you %ant, it is important to end %ith a
polite e'pression0 e#g# 8.nce again, than+ you for your support#8, or more informally
8Than+s8#

Signature
This is optional# See abo*e