Create a persuasive memo that will be read by both Jeannie McDuff (Advisor to Primary Decision Maker) and Teddy Trotter (Primary Decision Maker). You have one full page to compose your memorandum. You should use ABC format for your document. Your Headings for the ABC sections and the subsections of the Body must be labeled accordingly, like short titles or words or phrases that give insight into what those sections and subsections will be about. The goal of headings and subheadings is to make entire documents pre-readable and able to be skimmed. You may divide the Body section into as many subsections as you need to provide all the details you’d like for the event you are hosting for your department.
Remember that your document should appeal to both Jeannie McDuff and Teddy Trotter since Advisers usually have a lot of input to give Primary Decision Makers when it comes to determining if something should or should not be done.
Your Abstract should tell your reader what your event will be and why The Springfield Entertainment Hall is a good place to host your event.
Your Body is the section of your memo where all of the details about your event will be divided into subsections and written. Remember, the body should contain content related to the business subsection of your event – like what is going to be taking place at the event that will make the investors want to give money, the social subsection of your event – maybe there is a live band performing, maybe there will be fire-dancers, maybe an open bar, etc, and anything else you might like to add. There should also be a cost subsection, for example, considering Jeannie and Teddy are both accountants . Either way, a successful event should be a combination of both business and social activities that take place.
You should handle the tone of your email in a tactful way since you don’t want to be heavy-handed and bring up the embarrassing events of the past in regards to the Christmas party that took place at the Yacht Club. While you can, if you need to, make it known that the YC is not necessarily the best place to host your event, remember that the focus of the persuasive memo is to capitalize on selling the Springfield Entertainment Hall as being the best place to host your event. You can accomplish “selling” the Springfield Entertainment hall in any way you determine would be an opportunity that M-Global would not want to pass up.
MEMORANDUMFORMAT
• A memorandum might seem like an outdated mode of communication, but it is
still frequently used in many workplaces.
• Memos are formatted differently from workplace to workplace. When you get a
job, you should examine the memos and mimic a similar style.
• In this class, we’re going to created traditional memorandums. When in doubt
about formatting anything in life, use the traditional style to play things safe.
STYLE GUIDE FOR ENGLISH 253 MEMOS
• Times New Roman, 12 point font
• Type the word “MEMORANDUM” on the top line, all-caps and centered
• Press “enter” four times
• The following elements, in this order, formatted this way:
TO: Jane Doe, President
FROM: John Smith, Accountant
DATE: August 1, 2012
SUBJECT: Discrepancies in June Payroll
** Please not that those are in all-caps and each is followed by a colon
** Align them against the left margin
** When possible, add a title after both your name and the recipient’s
name
** Spell out the month
** Notice that I’ve pressed the “tab” key several times before typing in the
names, etc. Do this. This will align those items along a new margin line.
• Press “enter” twice, so you have one line worth of spacing between your Subject
line and your
Abstract
• Begin typing your content
** Do not indent
** Leave one empty space between paragraphs
• This whole document should be single-spaced
Scroll down to see a sample memo.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Tiffany Dvorske, Professor; John Doe, Professor
FROM: Hillary Joubert, Professor
DATE: August 1, 2012
SUBJECT: Item Description
Abstract
This first section is your Abstract. It should be no longer than 250 words. You should
title this section. Your title should not be “Abstract,” but, instead, something that gives
insight into your document. Your title should be flush with the left margin and should
not be too distracting. One line space before beginning your first body paragraph is
needed.
Body
You’ll notice that the Body section of your document should also be titled. Your title
should not be “Body,” but, again, something that gives insight into what your Body
section will be about. Your first body paragraph worth of content goes here. Notice
how there is no salutation. There is no need for one because the recipients are already
mentioned in the “TO” line.
Subheading (title appropriately)
Your second body paragraph worth of content goes here. Notice how I’ve left one line
space between the first and the second body paragraphs. Also notice how there is a
space that will be left between the end of the second body paragraph and the
beginning of the third body paragraph.
Subheading (title appropriately)
Your third body paragraph worth of content goes here. Rinse Repeat this format for
however many body paragraphs you need to fully cover whatever topic you are writing
about. Nothing appears at the end of a memo. Memos end the way they end – with
your Conclusion section. You don’t need a Valediction (“thank you” line), nor do you
need to end by typing your name. Your name is already included in the “FROM” line.
One line space is needed between your Body section and your Conclusion section.
Conclusion
Your Conclusion goes here. You can think of your Conclusion as the section of your
document where you remind readers of the main points you want them to walk away
knowing about your subject.
***Take note of how the sample Memo looks on the page. You’ll see how the major
sections of the Memo (The Abstract, The Body, and The Conclusion) are all in Bold and
aligned with the Left margin. Subsections of The Body should not be aligned with the
Left margin. These subsections must be visually different. The goal of a Memo is to
create a document that is visually easy to follow and can also be skimmed, so that
readers can immediately zoom in on the parts of the document that are most relevant
to their needs.
M-Global Persuasive Memorandum Assignment 5%
Jeannie McDuff, Senior Accountant, wife of Cecil McDuff, and advisor to M-Global’s
Executive Accountant, Teddy Trotter, is the secondary decision maker when it comes to
balancing the Human Resource’s spending budget. Because M-Global has established such a
broad network of clients and investors, the company receives many perks that other business do
not. One example is: when it comes to hosting events that can accommodate large numbers of
people, M-Global rarely has to pay to have an event hosted at any place within its network,
provided ample notice is given for scheduling reservations.
Your assignment is to write a memo to Jeannie McDuff to convince her that the Springfield
Entertainment Hall is the best possible place to host an upcoming event that you have
scheduled for your department. Your event will host many of M-Global’s very important
national and foreign investors. Jeannie McDuff will have a problem with this because the
company does not normally have to pay out of pocket to use any event space, but you’ve waited
too long to make necessary reservations for a space that would accommodate 200 people. The
good news is that there is always the Yacht Club, an ideal space for accommodating 200 people.
The even better good news is the Yacht Club has an inside reputation for being an
embarrassment to the company, especially for Jeannie McDuff, who may or may not have
slammed too many scotch and waters and behaved a bit out of character at last year’s office
Christmas party that was held at the Yacht Club.
Teddy Trotter, who has an unethical reputation for being a serial workplace dater and a quid-
pro-quo kind of employee, will be the final decision maker after the spending is approved by
Jeannie. Teddy Trotter will also need to be made aware of the request you are sending to
Jeannie. This means he will also need to receive this Memo. It might be hard, however, to
convince Teddy to approve paying for any place other than the Yacht Club, since the Yacht club
provides an intimate atmosphere, can cozily accommodate 200 people, is ripe for scandal and,
more importantly, is free. Your persuasive memorandum will need to convince both Jeannie
McDuff and Teddy Trotter that the Springfield Entertainment Hall is the best place to host
your department’s upcoming event, so your content will need to appeal to both readers.
Tips: The event you chose to host for investors could be the event where your department
unveils the project that you’ve been working on since communication with Kerri Camp began.
You will want details about how the conference will unfold. This might include making use of
sectional titles within the body of your document that allow you to have areas that deal with cost,
accommodations, space, social areas, setting, food, entertainment, and/or etc.
Note: While a successful event should be a well-balanced combination of both, business
related activities should be priority, and entertainment related activities should be mentioned
but are of slightly lesser importance. Also keep in mind that your memorandum should convince
both Jeannie McDuff and Teddy Trotter that the Springfield Entertainment Hall is the better
venue for hosting your departmental event.
