It's not challenging to learn write a business memo in APA format.
The American Psychological Association developed the APA style to create standard formatting and language rules for social and behavioral science community. Along with the Chicago style, it's often taught in schools as a simple way to standardize all papers. Since writing is an essential task in the business world, learning APA style is an excellent way to maintain consistency; it can be used to prepare everything from memos and letters to reports and presentations.
Instructions
1. Format your text. The entire document will be double-spaced. Set one-inch margins on the sides, top and bottom. Your document will be aligned to the left, with a one-inch indent at the beginning of each paragraph.
2. Choose a font for the document. APA style demands a serif font, meaning there are extra flourishes in the letters that make them easier to read. Times New Roman is a popular serif font.
3. Put the company name at the top of the document (unless you're using company letterhead), followed by either the title of the memo or the words "Internal Memorandum."
4. Create a typical memo opening, such as:
TO: John Smith, Mary Grant
FROM: Laura Doe
DATE: June 11
SUBJECT: Current office capacity
Note that the field headers are in uppercase.
5. Provide the data or information in the body of the memo. Only include information that's relevant and keep the sentences concise. If you're providing a table of data, choose a format that's easy to read. If you anticipate there will be questions about the data and how it was gathered, clarify the information with factual details in paragraphs below your table.
6. If you're referencing a research paper, use the author-date citation system. Include the author's surname and the date the research paper was published within the sentence or in parentheses. At the bottom of the memo, create a reference list that includes the author's name, publication date, title of the study, and publication data cited.
7. Close the memo with friendly and positive note, but don't sign your name.
