TRANSMITTAL MESSAGES Transmittal messages make take many forms in the business world.

They could be
the cover page on a FAX, an email message with an attachment of a primary document, or a few words
scribbled on an envelope giving the receiver a reason to open the envelope. The point of a transmittal message
is to convey the details of what it is you are giving (transmitting) to your recipient. When you are a student
writing a transmittal message to your teacher, the What? is usually a homework assignment of some type. A
transmittal, thus, assures the teacher that the attached file is what the teacher is expecting. A short transmittal
may be a typed message of this type: "Here is my proposal. Please let me know if you have any questions about
it." In the business world, a transmittal letter (the writer and receiver are not in the same organization) often goes
out with a package of some sort. We call the transmittal that goes with a resume for a job opening a cover letter.
A packing receipt often serves as a transmittal for the delivery of an online purchase of merchandise. When
teachers want a formal transmittal message, they might require a transmittal memorandum (because you and
the teacher are in the same organization--the class), and they might specify certain types of information to be
covered. In my classes, I require a transmittal memorandum to be pasted into the text box of assignment folders
(aka drop boxes) of the online classroom. Here are some examples of good student transmittal memos.
FORMAT NOTES. Use Plain Memo Format. This means the following: that the word Memorandum is centered on
the top line that the heading information is vertically aligned that a line separates the heading from the body
that the body does not contain a salutation (Dear Mr. Smith) and does not contain a signature block or even just
your name at the bottom. You may, if you wish, put your initials on the line with your name. See my handout
about how to format a plain memo.
Illustrations of Plain Memo Format (This is easy! Do not make it complicated.): LEFT: Plain Memo
First Page, RIGHT, Memo Second Page Picture

TRANSMITTAL MEMO EXAMPLES (AND GRADES) Picture EXAMPLE COMM 495 PROJECT PROPOSAL
TRANSMITTAL MEMO (Minimal effort with errors; rates a C or 75%) MEMORANDUM To: Ida L. Rogers, Ph.D.
[Spelling Error] From: Harold Student Date: June 22, 2013 Subject: Proposal for Senior Project Please see
attached Task 1 proposal for my senior project. I request permission to begin working on a Training Proposal
Package (option 6) that will recommend a cross-cultural training program to Community Bank, an overseas
military banking facility. Although this assignment was time consuming, I didnt come across many issues while
constructing this proposal. I will expand on my research plan as I begin working on the annotated bibliography
next week.