Writing focus: Memos

1 First decide who you are.

(In this case, Ss are the marketing director of Clearly Chic.)

2 Every time you start to write, you need to ask yourself two questions:

a What is the purpose of this piece of writing?

b Who am I writing to?

(Here Ss are writing to staff, informing them of the decision that has been made regarding how to position the brand.)

3 Look at the section on Memos on page 203 of the Writing guide. Notice the suggested structure of a memo:

Date / To / From / Subject

Introduction

Main points

Conclusion and recommendation

Initials of the writer

Is this structure appropriate for this memo? What are you going to put in the subject line?

Plan the sections you are going to divide your memo into. Then brainstorm the points you might cover in each section.

4 What style should the memo be written in?

(As it says in the Writing guide, memos tend to be less formal than business letters. They are usually short and clear, but not bossy. The language is simple and the tone is normally neutral.)

5 What phrases might be appropriate in your memo?

(See the Writing guide, particularly the phrases for giving information on page 203.

Examples of useful phrases are underlined in the suggested answer opposite.)

6 Now go ahead and write the memo.

7 When you have finished, check your writing for: logical structure, clarity of ideas, accuracy of language, appropriateness of style.