Memo

Memo merupakan pesan ringkas, yakni pesan yang ditulis seseorang dengan singkat, jelas, dan mudah untuk dipahami. Menurut pemakaiannya, memo ada yang bersifat resmi dan bersifat pribadi (tidak resmi). Memo bersifat resmi dipakai sebagai surat pernyataan dalam hubungan resmi dari seorang pimpinan kepada bawahannya. Memo bersifat pribadi dipakai sebagai nota atau surat pernyataan tidak resmi antar teman, saudara, atau orang lain yang memiliki hubungan akrab.

Ciri-ciri

1. Surat khusus yang dibuat khusus untuk keperluan dalam kantor atau organisasi
2. Dilihat dari peredarannya, sebuah kantor atau organisasi dapat menyampikan memo secara horizontal maupun secara vertikal
3. Penyampian secara horizotal merupakan penyampian memo kepada pihak yang memiliki jabatan satara
4. Penyampian secara vertikal merupakan penyampaian memo dari atasan kepada bawahan atau sebaliknya untuk mengingatkan atau memerintahkan sesuatu
5. Merupakan bentuk komunikasi yang berisi saran, arahan, atau penerangan mengenai sesuatu hal
6. Memiliki bagian surat yang lebih sederhana dibandingkan dengan surat resmi pada umumnya, terutama dalam isi surat.
7. Karena pedarannya yang terbatas, memo biasanya tidak mencantumkan identitas kantor, seperti nama kantor, nomor telepon, faksimili, dan kode pos, secara lengkap.

Ciri-ciri bentuk memo

Bentuk memo terdiri atas dua bagian:
• Kepala Memo
o Penerima
o Pengirim
o Perihal dan tanggal pengimin
o Paraf dan nama terang pengirim
• Isi, penulis langsung menyampikan pesan atau perintah dalam kalimat pendek dan lugas.

Memo

Audience and Purpose

Memos have a twofold purpose: they bring attention to problems and they solve problems. They accomplish their goals by informing the reader about new information like policy changes, price increases, or by persuading the reader to take an action, such as attend a meeting, or change a current production procedure. Regardless of the specific goal, memos are most effective when they connect the purpose of the writer with the interests and needs of the reader.

Choose the audience of the memo wisely. Ensure that all of the people that the memo is addressed to need to read the memo. If it is an issue involving only one person, do not send the memo to the entire office. Also, be certain that material is not too sensitive to put in a memo; sometimes the best forms of communication are face-to-face interaction or a phone call. Memos are most effectively used when sent to a small to moderate amount of people to communicate company or job objectives.

Parts of a Memo

Standard memos are divided into segments to organize the information and to help achieve the writer's purpose.

Heading Segment

The heading segment follows this general format:

TO: (readers' names and job titles)
FROM: (your name and job title)
DATE: (complete and current date)
SUBJECT: (what the memo is about, highlighted in some way)

Make sure you address the reader by his or her correct name and job title. You might call the company president "Maxi" on the golf course or in an informal note, but "Rita Maxwell, President" would be more appropriate for a formal memo. Be specific and concise in your subject line. For example, "Clothes" as a subject line could mean anything from a dress code update to a production issue. Instead use something like, "Fall Clothes Line Promotion."

Opening Segment

The purpose of a memo is usually found in the opening paragraph and includes: the purpose of the memo, the context and problem, and the specific assignment or task. Before indulging the reader with details and the context, give the reader a brief overview of what the memo will be about. Choosing how specific your introduction will be depends on your memo plan style. The more direct the memo plan, the more explicit the introduction should be. Including the purpose of the memo will help clarify the reason the audience should read this document. The introduction should be brief, and should be approximately the length of a short paragraph.

Context

The context is the event, circumstance, or background of the problem you are solving. You may use a paragraph or a few sentences to establish the background and state the problem. Oftentimes it is sufficient to use the opening of a sentence to completely explain the context, such as,

"Through market research and analysis..."

Include only what your reader needs, but be sure it is clear.

Task Segment

One essential portion of a memo is the task statement where you should describe what you are doing to help solve the problem. If the action was requested, your task may be indicated by a sentence opening like,

"You asked that I look at...."

If you want to explain your intentions, you might say,

"To determine the best method of promoting the new fall line, I will...."

Include only as much information as is needed by the decision-makers in the context, but be convincing that a real problem exists. Do no ramble on with insignificant details. If you are having trouble putting the task into words, consider whether you have clarified the situation. You may need to do more planning before you're ready to write your memo. Make sure your purpose-statement forecast divides your subject into the most important topics that the decision-maker needs.

Summary Segment

If your memo is longer than a page, you may want to include a separate summary segment. However, this section not necessary for short memos and should not take up a significant amount of space. This segment provides a brief statement of the key recommendations you have reached. These will help your reader understand the key points of the memo immediately. This segment may also include references to methods and sources you have used in your research.

Discussion Segments

The discussion segments are the longest portions of the memo, and are the parts in which you include all the details that support your ideas. Begin with the information that is most important. This may mean that you will start with key findings or recommendations. Start with your most general information and move to your specific or supporting facts. (Be sure to use the same format when including details: strongest to weakest.) The discussion segments include the supporting ideas, facts, and research that back up your argument in the memo. Include strong points and evidence to persuade the reader to follow your recommended actions. If this section is inadequate, the memo will not be as effective as it could be.

Closing Segment

After the reader has absorbed all of your information, you want to close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your reader to take. Make sure you consider how the reader will benefit from the desired actions and how you can make those actions easier. For example, you might say,

"I will be glad to discuss this recommendation with you during our Tuesday trip to the spa and follow through on any decisions you make."

Necessary Attachments

Make sure you document your findings or provide detailed information whenever necessary. You can do this by attaching lists, graphs, tables, etc. at the end of your memo. Be sure to refer to your attachments in your memo and add a notation about what is attached below your closing, like this:

Attached: Focus Group Results, January- May 2007

Format

The format of a memo follows the general guidelines of business writing. A memo is usually a page or two long, should be single spaced and left justified. Instead of using indentations to show new paragraphs, skip a line between sentences. Business materials should be concise and easy to read. Therefore it is beneficial to use headings and lists to help the reader pinpoint certain information.

You can help your reader understand your memo better by using headings for the summary and the discussion segments that follow it. Write headings that are short but that clarify the content of the segment. For example, instead of using "Summary" for your heading, try "New Advertising Recommendations," which is much more specific. The major headings you choose are the ones that should be incorporated in your purpose-statement in the opening paragraph.

For easy reading, put important points or details into lists rather than paragraphs when possible. This will draw the readers' attention to the section and help the audience remember the information better. Using lists will help you be concise when writing a memo.

The segments of the memo should be allocated in the following manner:

• Header: 1/8 of the memo
• Opening, Context and Task: 1/4 of the memo
• Summary, Discussion Segment: 1/2 of the memo
• Closing Segment, Necessary Attachments: 1/8 of the memo

This is a suggested distribution of the material to make writing memos easier. Not all memos will be the same and the structure can change as you see necessary. Different organizations may have different formatting procedures, so be flexible in adapting your writing skills.

Sample Memo

TO: Kelly Anderson, Marketing Executive

FROM: Jonathon Fitzgerald, Market Research Assistant

DATE: June 14, 2007

SUBJECT: Fall Clothes Line Promotion

Through market research and analysis, it has been discovered that the proposed advertising media for the new fall lines need to be reprioritized and changed. Findings from focus groups and surveys have made it apparent that we need to update our advertising efforts to align them with the styles and trends of young adults today. No longer are young adults interested in sitcoms as they watch reality televisions shows. Also, it is has become increasingly important to use the internet as a tool to communicate with our target audience to show our dominance in the clothing industry.


Internet Advertising

XYZ Company needs to focus advertising on internet sites that appeal to young people. According to surveys, 72% of our target market uses the internet for five hours or more per week. The following list shows in order of popularity the most frequented sites:

• Google
• Facebook
• Myspace
• EBay
• iTunes

Shifting our efforts from our other media sources such as radio and magazine to these popular internet sites will more effectively promote our product sales. Young adults are spending more and more time on the internet downloading music, communicating and researching for homework and less and less time reading paper magazines and listening to the radio. As the trend for cultural icons to go digital, so must our marketing plans.

Television Advertising

It used to be common to advertise for our products on shows like Friends and Seinfeld for our target audience, but even the face of television is changing. Young adults are tuning into reality television shows for their entertainment. Results from the focus group show that our target audience is most interested in shows like American Idol,The Apprentice, and America's Next Top Model. The only non-reality television show to be ranked in the top ten most commonly watched shows by males and females 18-25 is Desperate Housewives. At Blue Incorporated, we need to focus our advertising budget on reality television shows and reduce the amount of advertising spent on other programs.

By refocusing our advertising efforts of our new line of clothing we will be able to maximize the exposure of our product to our target market and therefore increase our sales. Tapping into the trends of young adults will help us gain market share and sales through effective advertising.

Attachments: Focus Group Results, January- May 2007; Survey Findings, January - April 2007

This is a sample memo; facts and statistics used are fictional. Read More..

Verb Phrases

Verb phrases atau frase verba adalah frase yang tersusun dari verba utama ditambah dengan auxiliaries, adverbs, adverb phrases (or clauses), prepositional phrases, atau object. Dalam kalimat, frase verba berfungsi sebagai predikat.

Contoh:
- He was smoking.
- After she had learned to drive, Alice felt more independent.
- We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m.
- Henry made my coach very proud.

Dalam frase verba, verb selalu menjadi head, yang dapat disertai pre-modifiers dan/atau post-modifier.

Jika terdapat pre-modifiers, bisa berupa kata negative (not/never) atau adverb phrase. Contoh :
- not say what he is doing.
- never needs money.
- He deliberately broke the window.

Kebanyakan head verba harus diikuti oleh post-modifiers. Contoh :
- My son [made a cake].
- We [keep pigeons].
- I [recommend the fish].

Verba yang memerlukan post-modifiers biasa disebut transitive verbs. Post-modifiers pada contoh diatas disebut juga objek langsung (direct object) atau komplemen (complement of the head).

Sebaliknya, beberapa verba (intransitive verbs) digunakan tanpa objek langsung:
- Susan smiled.
- The professor yawned.

Tetapi, banyak juga verba sebagai transitive dan intransitive, tergantung cara pemakaiannya dalam kalimat. Berikut adalah contoh penggunaan kedua bentuk verba tersebut:
- Mark smokes. (Intransitive)
- Mark smokes cigars. (Transitive)

Objek atau komplemen yang melengkapi frase verba tidak hanya objek langsung (direct object) tetapi juga dapat berupa objek tak langsung (indirect object). Contoh :
- We [gave James a present].

Perhatikan juga contoh berikut yang menggunakan verba to be sebagai head:
- David [is a musician]
- Amy [is clever]
- Our car [is in the car park]


Verb phrase

In constructed from a single verb; often, however, the verb phrase will consist of various combinations of the main verb and any auxiliary verbs, plus optional specifiers, complements, and adjuncts. For example, consider the following sentences:

a. Yankee batters hit the ball to win their first World Series since 2000.
b. Mary saw the man through the window.
c. John gave Mary a book.

Example (a) contains the verb phrase hit the ball to win their first World Series since 2000. Example (b) contains the main verb see, the noun phrase (NP) complement the man, and the prepositional phrase (PP) adjunct through the window. Additionally, example (c) contains the main verb gave, and two noun phrases Mary and a book, both selected by the verb in this case.

Note that according to this definition, the verb phrase corresponds to what is commonly called the predicate.

Up to the mid/late 1980s, it was thought that some languages lacked a verb phrase. These included languages with extremely free word order (so-called non-configurational languages, such as Japanese, Hungarian, or Australian aboriginal languages), and languages with a default VSO order (several Celtic and Oceanic languages). The current view in some varieties of generative grammar (such as Principles and Parameters) is that all languages have a verb phrase, while others (such as Lexical Functional Grammar) take the view that at least some of these languages do lack a verb phrase constituent.

Verb Phrases narrowly defined

Verb phrases are sometimes defined more narrowly in scope to allow for only those sentence elements that are strictly considered verbal elements to form verb phrases. According to such a definition, verb phrases consist only of main verbs, auxiliary verbs, and other infinitive or participle constructions. For example, in the following sentences only the bolded words would be considered to form the verb phrase for each sentence:

a. John gave Mary a book.
b. They were being eaten alive.
c. She kept screaming like a maniac.
d. Thou shalt not kill.

This more narrow definition is often applied in functionalist frameworks and traditional European reference grammars. It is incompatible with the generative theory of the verb phrase, since the bolded strings are not constituents under standard analyses. Read More..

Subject, Verb, Complement & Modifier

Verb

A verb is a kind of word (see part of speech) that usually tells about an action or a state and is the main part of a sentence. Every sentence has a verb. In English, verbs are the only kind of word that changes to show past or present tense.
Every language in the world has verbs, but they are not always used in the same ways. They also can have different properties in different languages. For example, in some other languages (e.g., Chinese & Indonesian) verbs do not change for past and present tense. This means the definition above only works well for English verbs.
There are sixteen verbs used in Basic English. They are: be, do, have, come, go, see, seem, give, take, keep, make, put, send, say, let, get.

History of the word verb

The word verb originally comes from *were-, a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "a word". It comes to English through the Latin verbum and the Old French verbe.

Verb forms

In English and many other languages, verbs change their form. This is called inflection. Most English verbs have six inflected forms (see the table), but be has eight different forms.

Forms of English verbs
Primary forms past: walked She walked home
3rd singular present: walks She walks home
plain present: walk They walk home
Secondary forms plain form: walk She should walk home
gerund-participle: walking She is walking home
past participle: walked She has walked home

You should notice that some of the verb forms look the same. You can say they have the same shape. For example, the plain present and the plain form of walk have the same shape. The same is true for the past and the past participle. But these different forms can have different shapes in other verbs. For example, the plain present of be is usually are but the plain form is be. Also, the past of eat is ate, but the past participle is eaten. When you look for a verb in the dictionary, it is usually the plain form that you look for.

An English sentence must have at least one primary-form verb. Each main clause can only have one primary-form verb.

Kinds of Verbs

English has two main kinds of verbs: normal verbs (called lexical verbs) and auxiliary verbs. The difference between them is mainly in where they can go in a sentence. Some verbs are in both groups, but there are very few auxiliary verbs in English. There are also two kinds of auxiliary verbs: modal verbs and non-modal verbs. The table below shows most of the English auxiliaries and a small number of other verbs.
Kinds of English verbs
auxiliary verbs lexical vebs
modal verbs Can you play the piano? I fell
I will not be there I didn't fall
Shall we go I had breakfast.
Yes, you may I'm playing soccer.
You must be joking Must you make that noise?
non-modal verbs Have you seen him? Have you seen him?
I did see it I did see it
He is sleeping He is sleeping

Auxiliary verbs also inflect for negation. Usually this is done by adding n't.
• You shouldn't be here.
• He isn't at home.
• We haven't started yet.

Tense, aspect, and mood

Many people think that all different ways of using verbs are all different tenses. This is not true. There are three main systems related to the verb: tense, aspect, and mood.

Tense

Tense is mainly used to say when the verb happens: in the past, present, or future. Some languages have all three tenses, some have only two, and some have no tenses at all. English and Japanese for example have only two tenses: past and present. Chinese and Indonesian verbs do not show tense. Instead they use other words in the sentence to show when the verb happens.

English tenses
Present tense Past tense
She walks home She walked home
He runs quickly He ran quickly
I can swim well I could swim well
Do you live here? Did you live here?

Aspect

Aspect usually shows us things like whether the action is finished or not, or if something happens regularly. English has two aspects: progressive and perfect. In English, aspect is usually shown by using participle verb forms. Aspect can combine with present or past tense.

Progressive aspect

English uses the gerund-participle, usually together with the auxiliary be to show the progressive aspect.
• I'm sleeping. (present progressive)
• He was studying English last night. (past progressive)

Perfect aspect

English uses the past participle, usually together with the auxiliary have to show the perfect aspect.
• I've seen him twice. (present perfect)
• I had lived there for three years. (past perfect)

The past perfect can be used to express an unrealized hope, wish, etc.
• He had intended to bake a cake but ran out of flour.
• She had wanted to buy him a gift but he refused.

After If, wish and would rather, the past perfect can be used to talk about past events that never happened.
• If only I had been born standing up!
• I wish you had told me that before.
• I would rather you had gone somewhere else.

Mood

Finally, English mood is now usually shown by using modal verbs. In the past, English had a full mood system but that has almost completely disappeared. The subjunctive mood now uses the plain form. There is also a form of be that is used in conditionals to show that something is not true (e.g., If I were a bird, I would fly to California.)

Sentence parts that go with verbs

Certain parts of a sentence naturally come before verbs or after them, but these are not always the same for all verbs. The main sentence parts are: subject, object, complement, and modifier.

Subjects

Almost all English sentences have subjects, but sentences that are orders (called imperatives) usually do not have any subjects. A subject usually comes before a verb, but it can also come after auxiliary verbs. In the following examples, the subject is underlined and the primary verb is in bold.
• We need you.
• The food was good.
• The small boy with red hair is sleeping.
• Can you see the car?
• Come here. (no subject)

Objects

Many verbs can be followed by an object. These verbs are called transitive verbs. In fact, some verbs must have an object (e.g., take), but some verbs never take an object (e.g., sleep). Verbs that do not take an object are called intransitive verbs. Some verbs can even have two objects. They are called ditransitive verbs. In the following examples, the object is underlined and the primary verb is in bold.
• I'm sleeping. (no object)
• I took the book from him.
• I gave him the book. (2 objects)
• I am happy. (no object)
• I became a teacher. (complement, no object)
• I slept in my bed (1 object)

Complements

Some verbs can or must be followed by a complement. These verbs are called linking verbs or copula. In the following examples, the complement is underlined and the verb is in bold.
• He is good.
• He is a boy.
• She became sick.
• She became a manager.
• It looks nice.

Modifiers

Verbs can be modified by various modifiers, mainly adverbs. Note that verbs generally do not need modifiers; it's usually a choice. In the following examples, the adverb is underlined and the verb is in bold.

• The boy ran quickly.
• The freely swinging rope hit him.

Verbs also commonly take a variety of other modifiers including prepositions.

Differences between verbs and other kinds of words

Sometimes a verb and another word can have the same shape. In these cases you can usually see the difference by looking at various properties of the words.

Verbs vs. adjectives

Sometimes a verb and an adjective can have the same shape. Usually this happens with participles. For example, the present participle interesting and the adjective interesting look the same. Verbs are different from adjectives, though, because they cannot be modified by very, more, or most.For example, you can say "That is very interesting," so you know interesting is an adjective here. But you cannot say "My teacher is very interesting me in math" because in this sentence interesting is a verb. On the other hand, if you cannot change the 'be' verb to 'seem' or 'become', it is probably a verb.

• He was isolated / He became isolated (isolated is an adjective)
• The door was opening / *The door became opening (opening is a verb)

Verbs vs. nouns

The gerund-particle sometimes looks like a noun. This is especially true when it is used as a subject, as in the following example:

• Running is good for you.

The main differences between these verbs and nouns are: modifiers, number, and object/complement

Modifiers

Verbs cannot generally be modified by adjectives and nouns cannot generally be modified by adverbs. So, in "Running regularly is good for you", running is a verb because it is modified by regularly, an adverb.

Number

Verbs cannot change for number, so if you can make the word plural, it is a noun, not a verb. For example, "this drawing is nice" can change to "these drawings are nice", so drawing is a noun. But "drawing trees is fun" cannot change to "drawings trees is fun", so it is a verb here.

Object/complement

Many verbs can take objects or complements, but nouns cannot. So, in "parking the car is hard", parking is a verb because it takes the object the car. But, if you say, "there's no parking", parking may be a noun because it does not have an object.

Verbs vs. prepositions

Some verbs have become prepositions. Again, usually these share a shape with participles. Here are some examples:

• Given the problems, I do not think we should go.
• We have many helpers, including John.
• According to the map, we are here.
• He went to hospital following' the fight.

The main difference between verbs and prepositions is that verbs have a subject. Even if the subject is not written, you can understand what it is. Prepositions do not have a subject. Read More..