E-mails & Memos
Emails
What is an e-mail? What is it designed to do?
 E-mail is the primary channel of communication for most businesses,
nonprofits, and government agencies.
o These messages are formal in tone and seek to make
requests or share information.
 They should be short and concise—but they are not like a
text message or chatroom on social media, especially in
professional settings.
o Generally speaking, every e-mail should present one idea or
an overarching purpose with closely related points that follow.
o People receive a lot of e-mail every day that demands their
attention (sometimes 200-300 messages!), so the shorter,
the better. Get to the point quickly.
 Above all, like so many business genres, e-mail is a formulaic message
that nevertheless speaks to the sender’s character and
professionalism.
Why do we use e-mail? And when should we use it?
 E-mail just makes things simpler. Companies can create their
own system of e-mail to regulate, and it standardizes everyone’s mode
of communication.
o It also helps develop a certain tone or culture in a work
environment. We learn certain cultural expectations based on
how people express themselves over e-mail.
 Moreover, unlike chatrooms or texts, e-mail is easily retrievable
and archivable, at least for a while. We can save messages digitally
for period of time and refer back to them.
 Use e-mail when you’re trying to:
o Pass along quick updates
o Request information
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o
o
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Introduce yourself in advance of a meeting
Set a meeting date
Propose an idea for further discussion in person
Share an attachment, such as a memo
How can we construct an effective e-mail?
 To write a strong e-mail, follow these steps:
1. Start with your purpose and audience—and design your
opening based on those factors.
 What are you trying to say? Do you know the person
you’re contacting? How should you engage in writing with
the person as a result?
 Answers to these questions can determine how
formal or informal you should be.
2. Always use the subject line. This line should clearly but
succinctly express the topic of your message.
3. Never forget the greeting or salutation—e-mails usually
begin with “hi” or “dear” followed by the person’s name and
a comma or colon.
 Ex. “Dear Ms. Smith,” or “Hi Brett:”
4. Draft the lead sentence and the body of the e-mail. The
lead should state the reason for the e-mail, and additional
sentences ought to provide supporting or technical
information to elaborate on your purpose.
5. Close by reiterating your main idea or request in a
couple sentences.
6. Include a closing line that features at least your first name,
which should come after a professional closing. See:
Sincerely,
Brett
7. Revise, revise, revise. Make sure you use a professional
but personable tone with correct grammar.
 As you write, employ direct, conversational language and
offer only the amount of information necessary to
respond to your e-mail. Don’t overload the reader with too
much content.
Memos
What is a memo? What is it designed to do?
 Back in the olden days, companies would send out what was referred
to as the “interoffice memorandum,” or simply “memo.” People
would type, print out, and sign these documents before sending them
to others in the office. Sounds crazy, right?
 Well, they’re still in use, and while they maintain their original form,
memos now take on a different but somewhat similar role.
o They’re designed mostly for internal communication,
meaning they are only distributed to people within a given
organization.
o Memos have strict formatting guidelines and aim to
provide a significant amount of information.
 They should be highly scannable and, like an e-mail,
lead with the purpose of the document.
Why do we use memos? And when should we use them?
 Memos help communicate a lot of information, and that content
is usually complex and requires detailed explanation. As such, you
should only use them when you expect to cover multiple
detailed points in a document, which would rule out e-mail as a
choice of communication.
 There are several instances when a memo is appropriate:
o Company/organizational policy changes
o Announcements
o Action requests
o Important reminders
 Memos are meant to convey essential information regarding your
role in a particular position or organization.
How can we construct an effective memo?
 Memos follow rigid formatting guidelines containing two parts:
the header and body.
o The header should lead with three elements, supposing no one
is copied on the document: the recipient, sender, date and
subject. It should look like this example after abbreviations:
TO: ENGL312 Students
FROM: Brett Seekford
DATE: July 13, 2021
RE: Peer workshop schedule available
**Note the spaces in between each item.
o Follow a block format for the body, meaning no indentations
when beginning new paragraphs. Paragraphs should be
single-spaced, but there should be two spaces between
paragraphs.
o Note that there is no greeting or farewell/signature. Those
are covered by the header.
 Employ the elements of scannable documents when writing
memos:
o Titles, headings, subheadings
o Plenty of white space
o Short paragraphs
o Bulleted or numbered lists
o Bolded items
o Traditional structure of intro (with clear purpose), body,
conclusion
o Action items in conclusion
 There are two strategies for organizing a memo:
o Direct organization strategy
 Begin with a clear statement of purpose in the first
paragraph before supplying supporting points.
 This is a deductive approach.
o Indirect organization strategy
 Open with relevant information that builds toward the
purpose of the memo, which is often couched in the body
of the document.
 This is a more inductive approach.
 The language and tone of a memo should be formal and
direct above all else. That means you still need to be concise and
purposeful, even if you can provide more detail than an e-mail would
allow.
Consider this memo example: