scouting memo

Tips for Memo Writing

Purpose: The word memo is short for the term “memorandum,” which means something that should be

remembered. Memos are brief documents that summarize information. Often memos highlight key

problems or key steps to solve a problem. Memos might also report new information about a policy,

change, or requirement. Accordingly, memos are targeted to a specific audience who need to know the

summarized information.

General Guidelines: Memos are usually no more than one or two pages long, and are often shorter. They should be single-

spaced and left justified. New paragraphs are signaled by skipping a line between paragraphs rather

than indenting the first line of the paragraph. Effective memos often use headings to clarify information.

Although a memo can be divided into structural sections (e.g., summary, context, etc. as per the next

portion of this guidelines sheet), it can be helpful to use a content heading to assist the reader. For

example, rather than stating summary, you might use “New Grading Deadline” or another short term

that describes the change or problem. Also, use of lists and bullet points rather than paragraphs can

make memos clearer and simpler for readers.

Sections: Memos are organized strategically, with each section fulfilling an important role. To begin, memos have

a header section. A header section usually looks like:

To:

From:

Date:

Subject: (sometimes abbreviated as Re: for regarding).

The header section provides a “quick glimpse” of participants and purpose. Who is the memo for? Who

sent it? What it is about? The header should use exact date and exact name/title (rather than nick

names).

Next, a memo contains a summary segment. Some memos will only contain the summary segment. For

longer memos, the summary segment provides the introduction. Regardless of whether the summary

constitutes the entire memo or just the introduction, it will provide a brief statement of the purpose of

the memo, the context, and any problem, solution, change, or action step. Provide just enough

information to attract audience attention, answer their questions, and persuade them to take needed

actions. For a longer memo, the summary or opening segment should be about ¼ of the memo.

Longer memos build on the summary segment and can include specific sections addressing context,

problem or change, action steps, and supporting evidence. In a longer memo, these sections generally

constitute about ½ of memo—with header being 1/8, summary or opening being ¼, and closing section

being 1/8.

Longer memos also include a closing section that reiterates needed action steps, clarifies benefits for

completing action steps, and indicates how the author (or organization or other agent) will support

those action steps. For a shorter memo that only has the summary section, the summary section will

include some elements of the closing section too (e.g., benefits, support).

Finally, a memo will include attachments as needed. Because a memo represents summarized

information, extensive details are provided in the form of other documents or sources when required.

These might include graphs, tables, charts, lists, etc. If a memo includes attachments, there should be a

line at the end of the memo that indicates attachments and the title of those attachments. For example,

Attachments: Communication Survey Results, May 2015.