Workshop on How to Write
Isnani Azizah Salim Suryono
Editor,
AM undergrad studies
18-Juli-2007
Workshop on How to Write:
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•
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Minutes (slides 2-10)
Letters (slides 11-15)
Memos (slides 16-29)
Business Reports* (30-41)
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How to write minutes…
• What?
Minutes are a record of what took place @ a
meeting, i.e. decisions & actions.
• Records of meetings
Accuracy & approval of minutes from previous
meeting = always one of the 1st items of
business.
In some organization, approved minutes should b
signed by Chairperson. The Secretary keeps
the signed copy for the org files.
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How ? …
1. Don’t write everything, just main points of a
discussion, decisions & actions.
2. Produce rough notes after meeting & check
with Chairperson.
3. Give each item separate heading, ensure the
minutes follow same order as the agenda.
4. Write minutes in a consistent style.
5. Retain copies of minutes in a file for future
reference.
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Minute’s content..
• Decisions made;
• Who proposed & supported items for
decision;
• The result of votes ( in favor, against,
and abstentions);
• Actions agreed;
• Those given responsibility 2 carry out
the action & when.
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Summarize?
• Good idea to include short summary of:
– Opinions raised during discussion,
– Reasons why organization arrived @ certain
decision,
– Type of meeting held, date & names of
attendants & absentees.
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Accuracy
Good minutes are:
• Accurate,
• Brief,
• Clear,
• Ordered according to agenda,
• Approved by Chairperson & circulated
ASAP after the meeting
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What 2 do if unsure…
• If the minute writer is unsure of a
decision or action, they should ask for
the Chairperson’s clarification.
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Consistency..
• Should be written in a consistent style.
This is the responsibility of the
secretary; good minutes will help your
organization make decisions.
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Styles of minutes
• Considered formal public documents →
should be written using business-like
language, which is:
– Clear
– Concise
– Simple
• Contoh format, lihat handout*
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Letter Format
Your Name
Your address
City, State Zip Code
Feel free to be creative with this: consider noting your name
on the top or left column similar to company letterhead (see
examples)
[one line of space]
Date
[three lines of space]
Name/Title
Name of Organization
Street Address
City, State Zip
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[one line of space]
Salutation:
[one line of space]
Opening
Body
Close
Don’t indent, one line between each
[one line of space]
Complimentary Closing,
[four lines of space]
Type Name
[one line of space]
Enclosures: (specify documents and page total)
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Good Letter Structure
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Good Letter Structure
Major sections*:
• Heading: your name, address, telephone, email address
(2 spaces)
• Date:
(2 spaces)
• Inside Address: Name, Title, Department/Office (if applicable),
Street/Office Address, City, State, Zip of person letter is written to.
(2 spaces)
• Dear (Mr., Mrs., Mrs. or Dr. last name), only use first name if Salutation
correct salutation not known) As a last resort, use “To whom It May
Concern,” “Hiring Manager, ” or “Corporate Recruiter” but this is not
recommended.
• Body of letter includes 3 separate, distinct paragraphs.
• Closing: Sincerely, your first and last name
• Bottom: “enclosure” (Encl.) or “attachment” (Attach.)
*center text from bottom to top
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"Memo writing is technical writing with its
sleeves rolled up."
• A memo is a no-nonsense professional
document, designed to be
– read quickly and
– passed along rapidly,
often within a company or work group.
E-mail messages are by far the most
common form of memo
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Memo…
• Most memos are characteristically brief,
but they should follow the other principles
of good technical writing as well:
– know your audience,
– be clear, and
– be accurate.
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Memo: Typical Components
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•
•
•
•
Header
Purpose
Summary
Discussion
Action
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Quick communication…
• While a memo generally requests or
delivers a quick response to a specific
question, it may also be a compact version
of a
– short report,
– progress report, or
– lab report.
Section titles may appear awkward in a very
short memo, they allow your readers to
scan efficiently &respond quickly.
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No mistakes please…
• Memos are often routed, posted, and forwarded,
which means they can reach a lot of people
quickly, so
• Effects of careless mistakes compound quickly,
since they tend to generate even more memos
asking for clarification.
• Memos also get filed, which means they can
come back to haunt you later. In fact, "memo"
comes from the Latin memorandum, "a thing
which must be remembered."
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Memo: Header
• The header is a compact block of information at
the top of a memo. Different offices may prefer
different layouts, but in general you should use
an arrangement like the following:
• Date : January 24, 1998
To
: F. Prefect
From : A. Dent
cc `: T. MacMillan
Z. Beeblebrox
bcc : D. Adams
Subject: My Suggested Revisions to the Local Demolition Schedule (should be informative!)
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Memo: 1. Subject
• Annual Report (Too vague)
• Annual Report Cover Artwork
(A little more precise, but there could be many other
memos on this same topic)
• Cost Estimate for Annual Report Cover
• Artwork Emergency Revisions to Annual Report Cover
Artwork
The first two examples are unacceptable because they only state a
topic, but the last two are more informative because they also
identify the focus -- the particular relationship of this memo to the
general topic.
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Memo: 2. Purpose
Immediately state your reason for writing.
Answer the journalist's questions: who, what, when,
where, and why, e.g:
• Mr. Howard has asked me to arrange a working lunch for
all members of the writing staff, at the main office,
sometime before the end of the month.
• The purpose of this memo is to request authorization to
purchase a sound card and a modem for the computer in
the front office.
• This memo confirms the details of your tour of the new
processing plant, as we discussed over the telephone
this morning.
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Memo: 3. Summary
• The summary should do more than
describe the contents of the memo, it
should be a miniature version of the
memo. A technical document is not a
mystery novel, so put all your important
information up front.
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Memo: 3. Summary
Wrong:
• This memo confirms the plans made during the writing staff's
working lunch with Mr. Howard. It describes the proposed changes
to the Greenfield Power proposal, and explains the procedure by
which employees may voice their own opinions.
(This passage merely describes the organization of the memo. It
does not actually summarize the contents.)
Right:
• During last week's working lunch, Mr. Howard asked the the writing
staff to consider two major changes to the Greenfield Power
proposal: 1) invite the governor to write a letter of introduction, 2)
transpose sections four and five. Mr. Howard will hold an open
meeting next Friday at 12, in conference room 2, in order to solicit
employee feedback.
(Some readers, satisfied with the summary, might stop reading
here. If so, you have done your job well.)
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Memo: 4. Discussion
• Since your memo may be pulled from a file years from now, your
discussion section should include sufficient background
information. The background may include the names and titles of
the people involved, or the dates of earlier memos related to the
one you are writing. The rest of the section should expand on and
support all the points you made in your summary.
– Employ subheadings similar to those found in larger technical
documents: situation, problem, solution, evaluation.
– Label these subsections.
– Choose to arrange the discussion chronologically, from more important to less
important, or from the general to the specific. Whatever rhetorical pattern you
choose.
• Follow these general pointers:
– Start with the old information and work carefully towards the new.
– Give your reader a sense of the big picture before you zero in on the individual
parts.
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Discussion: direct & simple!
• Use active verbs.
• Use the pronoun "I" when you are talking
about your work.
• Simplify your language. Instead of
"somewhere in the proximity of," write
"near". Instead of "at this point in time,"
write "now." Avoid puffing up your writing
to make yourself appear more important.
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Memo: 5. Action generating..
• Unless the purpose of the memo is simply to inform, you
should finish with a clear call for action. Who should
do what, and how long do they have to do it?
• You may need to include alternatives, in the event that
your readers disagree with you.
• Be polite when you ask others to do work for you,
especially when they are not under your supervision.
• You may wish to mention the actions that you plan to
take next, and what your deadlines are, so your reader
can gauge how important the project is to you. A canned
conclusion such as "If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact me at 555-1234" is too vague for a
statement of action.
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Business Report Writing
Bhayu Rizallinoor
Editor
Business Report Writing
• What?
Tujuan: memberi info mengenai subyek
tertentu pada pihak tertentu
• fakta & argumentasi subyek khusus
• Penyajian secara runtun.
(for business, psychology, health & safety)
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How are reports different from
other essay?
•
Laporan menyajikan penemuan dan
saran, bukan kritik mengenai subyek.
• Three types:
1. Laporan resmi panjang (Extended formal
report)
2. Laporan resmi ringkas (Short formal
report)
3. Laporan tak resmi (Informal report)
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Extended formal report
• Halaman judul / Title
page
• Daftar isi /Contents
• Sinopsis / Synopsis
• TOR /Terms of
reference
• Prosedur
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• Temuan rinci /
Detailed findings
• Simpulan /
Conclusions
• Saran /
Recommendations
• Lampiran /
Appendices
• Daftar Pustaka /
Bibliography
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Short formal report
Untuk penggunaan intern perusahaan, tda:
• Halaman judul
• TOR / Terms of reference
• Prosedur
• Temuan
• Simpulan
• Saran
• Lampiran
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Informal report
Untuk penggunaan intern, For internal
use, dalam lingkup departemen & untuk
mengurus masalah rutin.
Sering digunakan format Memo:
• Pendahuluan
• Bagian utama- temuan
• Bagian akhir- simpulan & saran
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Structure:
• Halaman Judul:
halaman muka laporan (termasuk nama penulis
& tanggal)
• Daftar isi:
Daftar bagian dalam laporan dan halamannya.
• Pendahuluan:
Sajikan untuk garis besar & rencana
pembahasan. Tujuan & Sasaran; apa rencana
dan bagaimana rencana melaksanakannya.
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Structure:
Kerangka berpikir: bagian pengantar yang harus
dengan jelas menyatakan:
• Untuk siapa laporan ditujukan
• Mengenai apa laporan dibuat
• Apa yang perlu disajikan
Prosedur: penjelasan bagaimana informasi
didapat, sumber info dan cara mendapatkannya.
Bila sesuai sertakan metodologi!
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Structure:
• Temuan: informasi yang ditemukan sebagai
hasil prosedur. Masukkan fakta & gambar yang
terkumpul. Dapat menggunakan tabel, grafik &
diagram, yang perlu penjelasan.
• Simpulan: tda temuan utama. Tunjukan
pendapat Anda mengenai info. Tunjukkan cara
Anda mencapai simpulan, & dan bahwa
didukung oleh temuan. Jangan mengajukan
masalah baru yg tidak berhubungan dengan
temuan yang ada!
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Structure:
• Saran: nyatakan bagaimana mengatasi
masalah. Harus didukung oleh temuan
dari laporan. Boleh dalam bentuk saran
jangka pendek dan jangka panjang; perlu
menyadari dampak saran Anda. (mis. Dlm
hal dana).
• Lampiran: merupakan info tambahan yg
disinggung dalam laporan & sebagai bukti
untuk memperkuat temuan utamanya.
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Things 2 remember…
Bahasa & Gaya
• Harus jelas & tunggal makna
• Harus faktual & obyektif
• Bahasa harus resmi. Jangan gunakan
bahasa prokem
• Jangan gunakan kata ganti diri. Gunakan
bahasa orang ke 3, mis: ‘kepala bagian
departemen pendidikan menghendaki
laporan mengenai…’
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Things to remember…
Tata Letak / Judul
• Bagian-bagian utama harus mempunyai judul.
• Hal-hal penting, daerah utama harus
mempunyai sub-judul.
• Garis-bawahi kata-kata khusus/bagian yang
membutuhkan perhatian khusus..
• Gunakanlah angka untuk membuat urutan
prioritas hal-hal penting
• Gunakan huruf untuk membedakan bagian yang
berbeda.
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Banyak Terima Kasih atas
perhatiannya
Wassalamu’alaikum warrakhmatullah
wa baraqkatuh…
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