WRITING SKILL

(ALL IN HEALTH
TERM)
By
Sarah K. Wulandari
MEMORANDUM
MEMO
 What is a memo?
A memo is:
1. a hard-copy (sent on paper) document
2. used for communicating inside an organization
3. usually short contains
4. To, From, Date, Subject Headings and Message
sections does not need to be signed, but
sometimes has the sender's name at the
bottom to be more friendly, or the sender's full
name to be more formal. If in doubt, follow
your company style.
 Memo Elements
All memos are structured similarly. They
have the following elements:
1. An addressee: flush left, in capital letters,
near the top of the page
2. The sender: Flush left, in caps,
immediately below the addressee
3. Date: Flush left, in caps, immediately
below the senders name
4. Subject: Flush left, in caps, immediately
below the date
 Why write memos?
Memos are useful in situations where
e-mails or text messages are not
suitable.
For example, if you are sending an

object, such as a book or a paper

that needs to be signed, through
internal office mail, you can use a
memo as a covering note to explain
what the receiver should do.
 How to write a memo
1. A 'To' section containing the name of the
receiver. For informal memos, the receiver's
given name; e.g. 'To: Andy' is enough. For
more formal memos, use the receiver's full
name. If the receiver is in another
department, use the full name and the
department name. It is usually not necessary
to use Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms unless the memo
is very formal.

 How to write a memo

A 'From' section containing the name of the
sender.
For informal memos, the sender's other

name; e.g. 'From: Bill' is enough.

For more formal memos, use the sender's

full name.
If the receiver is in another department, use

the full name and the department name. It

is usually not necessary to use Mr., Mrs.,
Miss or Ms unless the memo is very formal.

 How to write a memo
A 'Date' section. To avoid confusion
between the British and American date
systems, write the month as a word or an
abbreviation; e.g. 'January' or 'Jan'.
The message.
Unless the memo is a brief note, a well-organized memo message
should contain the following sections:
1. Situation - an introduction or the purpose of the memo
2. Problem (optional) - for example: "Since the move to the
new office in Kowloon Bay, staff have difficulty in finding a
nearby place to buy lunch.
3. Solution (optional) - for example: "Providing a microwave
oven in the pantry would enable staff to bring in their own
lunchboxes and reheat their food.
4. Action - this may be the same as the solution, or be the
part of the solution that the receiver needs to carry out;
e.g. "we would appreciate it if you could authorize up to
$3,000
5. Politeness - to avoid the receiver refusing to take the action
you want, it is important to end with a polite expression;
e.g. "Once again, thank you for your support.", or more
informally "Thanks".
 Examples:

MEMO
To: Health & Safety Committee
From: JoeChan,Chairperson,H&SCtte
Date: 10 Nov '12
Subject:Room change for next meeting
The meeting on Saturday, 8 December
has been changed to Room 101.
Example:
Thank you,