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Today, we discuss the policy memorandum, or policy memo for short.
You’ll write two policy memos in this course. One is due in Week 6 and the other in Week 8.
However, remember that you will write many memos in your work as a professional.
The essence of a policy memo is clear and effective recommendations on how to address an issue.
The memos you craft should present one or two clear recommendations.
The memos for this class must not exceed two single-spaced pages, with separate reference pages.
That is, reference citations should appear on a page by themselves at the end of the memo and formatted in APA style.
Now, let’s review this sample memo to see how the student organized the assignment requirements into clearly labeled sections.
Your memo must have a heading. Note that it has four lines: To, from, date, and re: are in all caps.
The heading elements are also vertically aligned. Be sure to address your memo to a specific audience—in this case, a governor.
Your recommendations should be tailored to that audience. You should also identify your affiliation on the memo.
You can make up an organization for yourself or write as a UMGC Environmental Management student.
Be sure to use a comma after a name and before their title.
Finally, the subject or RE line should provide a succinct description of the issue to be addressed.
Directly beneath the memo header comes the summary of the memo.
Note that this section like all of the others is set off with a heading that is centered and boldfaced.
The summary is a miniature version of the full memo, but without extensive details.
The reader should know your stance on the issue, or the desired outcome you want to achieve,
or the call to action that is required after reading your summary.
A summary should be one-tenth or less than the length of the original.
In this case, the memo is 1119 words. The summary of it is 119 words--exactly one tenth.
Sometimes the summary is written last, although it appears at the top of the memo,
and that is because it is the “elevator pitch” you developed after much reflective thinking and research.
Next, the background section contains information the reader needs to understand the context and scope of the issue.
In this section, discuss the factors contributing to the issue or problem.
Note how the student incorporates transitions throughout the section to help the paper flow from point-to-point.
The length of the background section should be succinct –
allowing for the bulk of the time, energy, and word count to focus on the recommendations section.
In this section and others, information or data from a source must be cited with in-text citations in APA style.
Whenever possible, cite relevant laws or policies in addition to relevant and vetted sources.
Each of these in-text citations refer to a full citation on the references page at the end of the memo.
Next, in the policy recommendations section, present each recommendation one at a time
using sub-headings formatted and numbered. You should have 1 to 2 recommendations.
For the recommendations to have weight, you must provide detailed evidence in support of each of them.
This should be the longest and most supported section, with cited evidence.
Note how the paragraphs begin with clear topic sentences, which are followed by sentences containing evidence for support.
Finally, in the conclusion you urge adoption of your recommendations in a call-to-action.
You can also focus on the future if your proposals are implemented,
and you may wish to urge a continued dialogue of this important topic.
On a separate page, list the references in APA style.
Remember to center and bold the word References across the top of the page.
The sources should be listed in alphabetical order, and they should be formatted using a hanging indentation.
Thanks for watching. If you’d like help with any aspect of your memo, please contact the Effective Writing Center. Good luck!