Memo Writing in Stylewriter Software

A memo is simply a letter sent within an organisation.  Memos are used to:

• give general information,
• act as a speedy and convenient substitute for a longer report,
• ask a question, or
• provide a record of information.

Before you write a memo, ask whether it is necessary.  Pick up the phone, or go and talk to the person if you can.  It will save you, and your organisation, time.

When writing memos, follow these guidelines:

1.    Use simple and straightforward language.
2.    Avoid passive verbs – use people’s names as much as possible.
3.    Use personal pronouns - I, you, we, my, your, our.
4.    Use short sentences.
5.    Use a conversational style rather than a formal style.
6.    Put the most important information first.
7.    Don’t waffle or include irrelevant information.
8.    Target only those people who need to know.

When you select Memo as your writing task, StyleWriter Software adjusts its statistical measures as follows:

	Style Index	Average Sentance	Passive Index	Long Sentance Limit
Excellent Range	0-15	13-18	0-25	35

Plain English Writing Task Styles in Stylewriter

This entry was posted on June 13th, 2010 and is filed under Writing Task Styles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.