O memo it is a text short size professional used to send quick messages for all employees, for certain sectors of the company or for branches and partnerships. Its main characteristic is the speed and objectivity in communication. Its structure is simple and marked mainly by date and place, name of interlocutors, short message and cordial farewell.
Read too: Minutes - documentary record of discussions and deliberations carried out collectively
What is a memo?
The memo is a corporate or institutional text which serves to establish communications and notices between internal sectors or between branches. That textual genre stands out for its agility in transmitting the message, due to the lesser bureaucracy involved in the creation and dispatch of this document.
A memo can serve so much to establish ainternal communication, that is, transmit messages between the internal sectors of a certain company or institution; how much to establish external communication, when it can transmit an official message or commercial message, which involves interlocutors not belonging to the institution where the document is issued.
Characteristics and structure of a memo
The main feature of the memo is its communicative agility, since, within the textual genres of the professional/business context, it stands out in its bureaucratic “ease”. Also due to its formal character, the document uses the written language in standard mode. In addition, by establishing communication between different professionals, it is marked by the use of pronouns treatment, indicating respect and recognition of position.
The memos, in general, are organized in a common basic structure., which differs only in the subject of the message or “context”, which is the central body of the genre and which actually conveys the notice, request or complaint. Thus, we can indicate that the basic structure of the memo is composed of:
memo name
Name of recipient or recipient
Name of memo issuer
Date of issue of the memo
Presentation and summary of the message
memo message
final signature
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LETTER no._/_ Date _/_/__ For ______________ Subject matter ___________ text___________text________text_____________ __________________ name and position |
See too: Function and structure of the request letter genre
Types of memo
The memo can also be subdivided into types, which refer to some differences common to the gender, depending on the purpose, context and content of the message disseminated. one can speak of three types of memo: internal memo; external memo (official structure); and business memo.
internal memo
The internal memo is for communicate notices, new rules, updates in some sector of the work etc., that is, it establishes an internal communication between departments and employees of the same company or institution.
The characteristics of this memo are: having the name of the memo at the top of the page, below the recipient(s) of the document, then the sender's name. The interlocutors can be identified by their respective departments. Then, the date, subject and message of the document are presented, completed by the signature in the right corner.
external memo
The external memo, also called the official memo, serves to issue order, notice or request to different departments. This type is organized as follows: it starts with the document number and the acronym that identifies its origin, located in the upper left corner of the page. In sequence, the information of the date and the vocative follows. Then the context, the closure and, finally, the signature.
business memo
The commercial memo is structured as follows: the date of issue of the document is inserted in the upper right corner of the sheet, followed by the recipient and vocative. Then the context or message, the closure and the signature.
How do you make a memo?
To make a memo, first of all, identify which type will be used so that the text can be properly structured. Thus, having chosen the type, the author must fill in contextual information, such as date, place, recipient, document number or name, etc.
In the body of the document, the central message that needs to be conveyed must be presented. she must be written in a formal, cordial and succinct way. Thus, all kinds of unnecessary and colloquial information or dialogue should be avoided. It is important to remember that the central feature of the memo is its agility, thus: short and direct message.
memo examples
Here are two memo examples:
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MEMO To Juliana Silva - MARKETING DEPARTMENT By Carlos Silva - PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT Date 25-03-2021 Ref: Internship As of April 1, 2021, Ms. Maria da Silva, assistant at the Public Relations Department, will be an intern at the Marketing Department for one month. We cordially request personal assistance, so that Ms. Maria has the maximum benefit. Juliana Silva |
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LETTER Memorandum No. 21/DA on March 15, 2021 To the Head of the Selection Department In compliance with the Board's determination, we communicated that it was decided today to dismiss employee Marcia Garcia Lopes. Graciously, Maria Silva Director |
As you can see, in both examples, there are some common memo structure elements (date, recipient, sender, signature). In addition, the short and objective message is a striking aspect in both texts, together with the formality of the Portuguese language and the marking of treatment pronouns as a necessary factor in the context. From the models, it is evident that the memorandum serves to convey short and important messages between different sectors that have some relationship in the work environment.
Difference between letter and memo
O memo is a document that serves to establish quick communications between different departments of a same institution or between branches who have some professional relationship, therefore, is a genre that circulates within an “internal” environment.
O craft, in turn, is an external communication document, that is, it is directed outside the work environment, besides, there is usually a longer text that the memo. It is mainly used by government agencies and municipalities.
By Talliandre Matos
Writing Teacher