Brian G's Writing an Effective Memo

Writing a memo is very important within businesses. I work at Walgreens Pharmacy and we use memos to communicate between the different departments. Understanding how to write a memo is crucial for my success. If I do not follow the proper procedure and keep the reader’s attention for a given time, my memo will not be read and the information will not be given to the proper people.

There are many different types of memos and they each depend on your audience to be effective. Some of the memos that you may write include status memos, field reports, response memos, and minutes of a meeting. The majority of memos that I have written are status or progress memos. Within the Pharmacy I need to write memos to different stores to make sure that the reports or projects are being completed in a timely manner.

There are some basic elements of memos that you need to include if you are going to write an effective memo. The first part of the memo that needs to be included is the identification of information. This can vary from one memo to the next, but it should include the information and subject of the memo. This includes the date of the memo, who the memo is addressed to, who is sending the memo, and the subject. This identification information is very important in making sure that your memo gets to the proper area. When I first began writing memos for Walgreens I was not stating who the memo was to go to. I found out quickly that my memos were not getting read so I found out why and fixed my mistakes.

The bulk of a memo is the content that you are conveying. The best way to have a flowing memo is to begin with your main point and then back it up with your information. If you do not begin with your main point your information may not get read. Most businesses only read the first part of a memo to see if they need to continue reading. If your main points are not leading it will not be read by everyone. You should make sure that you allow a space in between all of the paragraphs. This will allow the memo to look very organized and clean. All of the body paragraphs, which contain the “central idea, usually found in the topic sentence.” (Dobrin 351) After you are done with all the body paragraphs you should have a concluding paragraph that does not have a closing statement, but gives a plan for action that the reader should follow. I have found that guiding the reader to their action plan helps make the memo more effective. If you do not back up your central idea the reader does not follow as well. I have written many memos that have gone unknown because the reader did not believe in my credibility, or I did not have a strong enough central idea. These are vital to an effective memo.

Hopefully, the information that I have presented will help you better understand how to write a memo effectively. My experience has taught me some tricks of the trade. Every business is different when it comes to how to format a memo. Make sure that you check before you go writing a business memo. The biggest thing that I can say about memos is that you have a clear central idea that you can provide strong persuasive information about. This will build ethos with the readers and make your memo more effective.

Dobrin, Sidney I, Christopher J. Keller, and Christian R. Weisser. "Organizing and Drafting Documents" Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century (2nd Edition) (MyTechCommLab Series). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2009. 170-191. Print.