How to Write a Memo to Your Professor
Maintaining communication with your professor ensures that details of the class subject matter, grading policies and related external school activities are easy for both of you to understand. Communicating information or submitting inquiries to your professor can easily happen in a professional, respectful manner through writing a memo.
Write the heading. In memos, you do not need to write a formal opening like "Dear" or address the message with your professor's name. The purpose of the memo is to convey simply a short piece of relevant information related to her or her job in some way. Leave some blank space, about 2 inches, at the top of the page or email. Type "Memo" or "Memorandum" in a large font. Hit "Enter" and type "To:," press "Tab" and type the recipient's name. Hit "Enter" again and type "From:" and type your name after hitting "Tab." Type "Date:" and "Subject:" on the next two lines, hit "Tab" after each one and type in the date and subject lines. For the date, use the format of Month, date, year.
Write the body of the message. Tell your professor the information you want to convey to her. Keep the message short; no more than four small paragraphs. Keep the sentences easy to read, and limit the paragraphs to two to four sentences. End the message with an actionable step if possible. For example, tell her what you would like her to do with the information you have just given her or when you will come by her office to follow up.
Write the closing. Just like you do not need to formally open a memo with a greeting or salutation, you do not need to formally close it. Leave a line of space after your last paragraph, and type your initials. If you type the memo for someone else, type your initials instead of theirs. If there is an attachment, leave another line of space and type "Attachment."
References
Writer Bio
Chelsea Baldwin began writing professionally for local newspapers in 2008. She has published articles in “High Country Press” and “Kernersville News.” She also produced newsletters for a local chapter of AIESEC, a global nonprofit organization. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Appalachian State University.
