A memo tells a named reader one thing they need to know or decide, with the point first. To write a memo, set out the heading block (To, From, Date, Subject), state the purpose or recommendation in the opening paragraph, give only the context and evidence the reader needs, and end with the action you want.
This guide is published by EdCitation. Every rule below was read at its source on 26 September 2026: university writing centres, a public-policy school, a law school and the US and UK governments' plain-language guidance.
EdCitation never writes any part of anyone's memo. Check your paper reads a memo assignment's instructions into a checklist, and we ran it on two real ones, faults included. For a policy memo's evidence, Find sources searches published work and Cite a source builds each reference from the publisher's record.
What is the standard memo format?
The standard memo format is a heading block, an opening that states the purpose, the body, and a closing that asks for action. The Purdue Writing Lab (n.d.-b) lists heading, opening, context, task, summary, discussion, closing and attachments, and treats the summary as needed only once a memo runs past a page.
The heading block: To, From, Date, Subject
- To: the readers' names and job titles, which Purdue asks you to get right.
- From: your name and job title. The George Mason University Writing Center (n.d.) notes that the writer's handwritten initials usually follow the name.
- Date: the full date the memo goes out.
- Subject (or Re:): specific. Purdue contrasts "Clothes" with "Fall Clothes Line Promotion".
- cc: anyone else who receives a copy, a line George Mason includes.
Law offices usually write "Re:" and name the client; the CUNY School of Law (n.d.) sets its heading as MEMORANDUM, then To, From, Date and Re.
Purpose first
The first paragraph states the purpose and any recommendation, and every source we read agrees. Harvard Kennedy School's Communications Program calls it the "Bottom Line Upfront": problem and solution in the opening paragraph (Brodsky, n.d.). The Duke Writing Studio (n.d.) describes an "inverted pyramid", most important point first in every section, the reverse of an academic essay that builds to its point.
How do you write the body and the action?
The body gives the facts, analysis and options the reader needs, strongest first, and nothing else; Purdue calls it the longest part. Use headings that say what each section concludes: the Duke Writing Studio (n.d.) asks for subheadings a reader could stop at and still have the section's main point.
Closing with the action
The closing says what you want the reader to do, and by when; Purdue asks for a courteous close that makes the action easy. Number several actions, each with an owner and a date; our guide to action items that get done covers the wording. List attachments below the closing and mention each in the body.
How long should a memo be?
A business memo is usually a page or two, single spaced, in the Purdue Writing Lab's (n.d.-a) words; policy and legal memos are set by the reader or the assignment. No source we read fixes one length for every memo, and GOV.UK's guidance sets no maximum or minimum page length for its own content (Government Digital Service, n.d.-b).
| Memo type | Sections | Typical length | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business memo | Heading; opening; context; task; summary if over a page; discussion; closing; attachments | "A page or two", single spaced | Purdue Writing Lab (n.d.-a, n.d.-b) |
| Policy memo, as HKS teaches it | Heading; bottom line up front; problem; options against criteria; recommendation; conclusion | None set; about half on the problem, half on analysis and recommendations | Brodsky (n.d.) |
| Policy memo, Duke course assignment | Executive summary; background; recommendations; conclusion | 4 to 5 pages (2,000+ words); summary 1 page, background 1 to 2, recommendations 1 to 2, conclusion 1 | The assignment: Policy memo (n.d.); run through Check your paper below |
| Long policy memo, MIT course assignment | Problem; why it matters; alternative policies; the one advocated | 3,000 to 4,000 words, double spaced, references not counted | Nielsen (2023) |
| Legal office memo | Heading (To, From, Date, Re); question presented; brief answer; facts; discussion; conclusion | No overall length; brief answer usually four or five sentences at most; conclusion one paragraph | CUNY School of Law (n.d.) |
A length set by a course or manager wins; see writing to a word count.
How do you write a policy memo?
A policy memo defines a specific public problem for a named decision maker, weighs options against stated criteria, and recommends one. Brodsky (n.d.), for Harvard Kennedy School's Communications Program, sets out three steps: think, write, revise.
Make the problem specific
The Kennedy School guide separates an "issue" from a problem. School overcrowding is an issue; classrooms over capacity by a stated number of pupils next year is a problem, because it can be measured. Then think about the reader: what they know, what constrains them, and whether the problem is theirs to solve.
Weigh options against criteria
Build a grid of options against criteria (the guide uses political, operational and financial feasibility) to reach the recommendation, but do not paste the grid in place of writing: tell the reader which criteria decided it, and answer the counterarguments. The guide suggests about half the space for the problem, half for analysis and recommendation, and a closing statement.
Separate fact from opinion
The Duke Writing Studio (n.d.) asks for opinions presented as opinions and backed, and facts cited accurately. A policy memo's evidence is cited, usually in the style the course sets, so a reader can check it.
How do you write a legal memo?
A legal memo, or law office memorandum, predicts how the law applies to a set of facts, objectively, for another lawyer. The CUNY School of Law (n.d.) calls it predictive rather than persuasive and sets out six parts:
- Heading: MEMORANDUM, then To (who assigned the research), From, Date and Re (the client and the subject).
- Question presented: usually one objective sentence, often beginning "Whether" or "Does", combining the rule with the legally relevant facts and naming the jurisdiction.
- Brief answer: the conclusion first (yes, no, probably yes), then a short explanation, generally without citations.
- Facts: the legally significant facts, favourable or not, without comment on how the law applies.
- Discussion: "the heart of the memo", in CUNY's words, organised by the pattern it calls CRRACC: conclusion, rule, rule explanation, application, counterargument, conclusion, for each issue.
- Conclusion: one paragraph, saying how certain the prediction is, with no citations.
CUNY adds that an office's own format wins. Legal memos cite cases and statutes in a legal citation system; CUNY's annotated samples follow the Bluebook. EdCitation's six styles include no legal one, so use the system your course sets.
What do memo assignments at university ask for?
University memo assignments set their own lengths, sections and sources, and those override any general guide. Two published examples:
- MIT, Introduction to International Relations (spring 2023). A long policy memo on a topic and to an audience of the student's choice, 3,000 to 4,000 words double spaced, bibliography not counted, with a first draft before the final (Nielsen, 2023).
- Duke, Thompson Writing Program course assignment. A policy memo of 4 to 5 pages (2,000+ words) to a policy maker of the student's choice, in four named sections with a page allowance each, citing at least seven peer-reviewed primary sources plus one about the target audience. We could not confirm its course or year.
The Duke Writing Studio (n.d.) tells students to ask their grader whether an executive summary is expected and whether section titles should be full sentences, and to read the prompt first, since it often answers both. See reading an assignment brief and rubric.
How do you keep a memo plain?
Write for a busy reader: short sentences, active verbs, common words, and headings that carry the point.
- US guidance. The plainlanguage.gov address now redirects to Digital.gov, which carries its guidelines forward under the Plain Writing Act of 2010. It asks for the active voice, the present tense and short sections, and warns against "hidden verbs": "we conduct an analysis of the data" where "we analyze data" will do (General Services Administration, n.d.).
- UK guidance. GOV.UK makes plain English mandatory for its content: no more than five sentences to a paragraph, sentences over 25 words split where possible, short words ("buy", not "purchase"), and specialist terms explained on first use (Government Digital Service, n.d.-b). It puts the most important information first (Government Digital Service, n.d.-a).
One disagreement: GOV.UK says headings should not be questions, because readers want answers, while this site uses question headings to match what people search. In a memo, follow GOV.UK and Duke: a heading that states the point ("Option B costs least and can start in May") beats a question. See also academic tone and passive voice.
Our business memo template
This template is EdCitation's own, not any organisation's house format.
MEMORANDUM
To: [Name, job title]
From: [Name, job title]
cc: [Anyone else who needs a copy]
Date: [Day Month Year]
Subject: [The specific decision or news]
[Purpose: what you want the reader to know or decide, and your
recommendation, in one to three sentences.]
[Heading that states the finding]
[Evidence, strongest first, with the source of every figure.]
Next steps
1. [Action], [owner], by [date]
Attached: [Title of each attachment]
A memo example (invented)
The bakery, dates and report are invented; people appear by role.
MEMORANDUM
To: Operations Manager, Harlow Street Bakery (an invented business)
From: Shift Supervisor
Date: 5 October 2026
Subject: Move the early bake to 5.00 am from 12 October
I recommend starting the early bake at 5.00 am, not 4.30 am, from
Monday 12 October. The serviced ovens heat faster, and the first
delivery still leaves on time.
Next steps
1. Approve the change, Operations Manager, by 8 October
2. Update the rota, Shift Supervisor, by 9 October
Attached: Oven service report, 1 October 2026
Our policy memo template
Also EdCitation's own, in the order Brodsky (n.d.) and the Duke Writing Studio (n.d.) describe.
To: [Decision maker, title]
From: [Name, role]
Date: [Day Month Year]
Re: [The recommendation, as a statement]
Bottom line: [The problem in one measurable sentence; the recommendation in one.]
The problem: [Scale, causes, consequences; each figure cited.]
Options: [A, B, C, and the criteria used to judge them.]
Recommendation: [The option, why it wins, the main counterargument answered.]
Conclusion: [The decision needed, and by when.]
References: [Every source, in the style your course or office sets.]
For example, "To: Chair, Eastmoor Council Housing Committee" (an invented council). Leave figures as brackets until each has a source.
How to write a memo, step by step
- Turn the assignment or request into a list of rules: length, sections, sources, format. Check your paper does this free for a written brief.
- Name the reader and the one decision or fact they need.
- Write the Subject line and opening first: purpose, then recommendation.
- Gather the evidence with Find sources, keeping each reference with Cite a source.
- Write the body under headings that state their point, strongest first.
- Close with numbered actions, each with an owner and a date.
- Cut: active verbs, short sentences, no spare words.
- Check every reference with Verify references, then the memo against your list from step 1.
Where does EdCitation help with a memo?
EdCitation helps with the brief and the evidence and never writes a sentence of the memo. For a policy memo's references it is the best tool we know, because it looks each source up in the publisher's record where a chatbot writes one from memory. Everything below is free with no account.
A policy memo assignment read by Check your paper
Given the Duke assignment's full text (about 1,200 words), Check your paper returned three rules, each with its sentence: Page count, 4 to 5 pages and Word count, at least 2,000, both from "The policy memo will be 4-5 pages (2000+ words)", and Sources, at least 7, from "a minimum of 7 scientific primary sources".
It set aside 36 sentences for you to check, among them the four section allowances, each named: "Executive Summary (1 page)", "Background (1-2 pages)", "Recommendations (1-2 pages)" and "Conclusion (1 page)". A section's pages cannot be measured in the finished file, so those stay yours to check; the four sections did not become a required-headings rule either.
On MIT's page it returned Word count, 3,000 to 4,000 and Line spacing, double, from one sentence that also says references are not counted, and set aside 13 sentences.
A policy memo's evidence: Find, Cite and Verify
For the Kennedy School's overcrowding example, Find sources searched "class size reduction student achievement" by times cited and reported 1,907,628 matches, led by Hoxby's 2000 article in The Quarterly Journal of Economics and a 2001 review by Ehrenberg and colleagues. From the review's DOI, Cite a source returned:
Ehrenberg, R. G., Brewer, D. J., Gamoran, A., & Willms, J. D. (2001). Class size and student achievement. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/1529-1006.003
Every element matches the record, and the record's title case came back in the sentence case APA 7 wants, so it pastes as it stands.
We pasted four references into Verify references, one with its year changed to 2008 on purpose. Three came back verified, the Kennedy School PDF among them: "The address opens a PDF whose first pages carry the entry's title." Jepsen and Rivkin's came back doubtful: "The work was published in 2009, not 2008; the record has no date in 2008."
Pro ($8 a month) adds Mechanics QA for formatting against the style; Max ($24 a month) adds Theoretics QA, which judges the finished memo against the assignment's own instructions, quoting it, and never rewrites it. See pricing.
Quick questions
What are the four parts of a memo heading?
To, From, Date and Subject. Many offices write "Re:" for the subject and add a cc line.
How long should a business memo be?
The Purdue Writing Lab puts a typical business memo at a page or two, single spaced. Past one page, add a short summary after the opening.
What is the difference between a policy memo and a legal memo?
A policy memo recommends action to a decision maker. A legal memo predicts, objectively, how the law applies to a client's facts, from question presented to conclusion.
Can EdCitation write my memo?
No. EdCitation never writes any part of a memo. Its free Check your paper turns the assignment into a checklist, and its citation tools check the evidence you cite.
Should a memo have a conclusion?
Most do. CUNY's legal memo ends with a one-paragraph conclusion, and the Kennedy School guide asks for a closing statement.
References
- The assignment: Policy memo [Course assignment PDF]. (n.d.). Thompson Writing Program, Duke University. https://wrp.duke.edu/sites/wrp.duke.edu/files/documents/Parsons_PolicyMemo_Assignment.pdf
- Brodsky, L. N. (n.d.). How to write a policy memo [PDF]. Harvard Kennedy School Communications Program. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Academic%20Dean's%20Office/communications_program/digital_resources/REV%202026_how_to_pol_mem.pdf
- CUNY School of Law. (n.d.). Drafting a law office memorandum. Legal Writing Center. https://www.law.cuny.edu/academics/academic-resources-support/legal-writing-center/student-resources/drafting-a-law-office-memorandum/
- Duke Writing Studio. (n.d.). Policy memo [PDF]. Thompson Writing Program, Duke University. https://wrp.duke.edu/sites/wrp.duke.edu/files/file-attachments/policy-memo.original.pdf
- General Services Administration. (n.d.). Writing for understanding. Digital.gov. https://digital.gov/guides/plain-language/writing
- George Mason University Writing Center. (n.d.). Writing business memos. https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/different-genres/writing-business-memos
- Government Digital Service. (n.d.-a). Create a clear structure for your content. GOV.UK content and publishing guidance. https://guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/writing-guidelines/clear-structure/
- Government Digital Service. (n.d.-b). Use clear language. GOV.UK content and publishing guidance. https://guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/writing-guidelines/clear-language/
- Nielsen, R. (2023). Long policy memo [Course assignment]. 17.41 Introduction to International Relations, Spring 2023. MIT OpenCourseWare. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/17-41-introduction-to-international-relations-spring-2023/pages/long-policy-memo-instructions/
- Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.-a). Format. Purdue OWL. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/memos/format.html
- Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.-b). Parts of a memo. Purdue OWL. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/memos/parts_of_a_memo.html