Format - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University (2024)

Format - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University (1)

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.


Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

The format of a memo follows the general guidelines of business writing. A memo is usually a page or two long, 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.

Add Headings: 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 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.

Use Lists: 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.

Sections: The sections 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.

Format - 
			 Purdue OWL® -  Purdue University (2024)

FAQs

How do you format the title Owl Purdue? ›

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface. APA recommends that your title be focused and succinct and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines.

What is the basic book format owl Purdue? ›

Basic Book Format

The basic form for a book citation is: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

How do you format dialogue in Purdue owl? ›

Writing Dialogue

Write each person's spoken words, however brief, as a separate paragraph. Use commas to set off dialogue tags such as "she said" or "he explained." If one person's speech goes on for more than one paragraph, use quotation marks to open the dialogue at the beginning of each paragraph.

Can you use bullet points in APA Purdue Owl? ›

If your bulleted list is part of the sentence and is not preceded by a colon, treat the bullets like a part of the sentence, adhering to standard capitalization and punctuation.

How do you format titles correctly? ›

When copying a title or subtitle, capitalize the first word, last word, and all principal words. This includes nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions. Subordinating conjunctions are words like after, if, until. Most titles should be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks.

How do you format a name and title? ›

Use lower case for titles unless they are directly before a name and function as part of the name. As a general rule, titles containing more than four words should be placed after the name. Do not capitalize titles in generic usage: The deans met with the president. The vice president attended the meeting.

What is an F at Purdue? ›

A: A grade of F (Failing) is awarded to students who complete the course and participate in activities through the end of the term but fail to achieve the course objectives.

What is the Purdue model format? ›

This model was first introduced in 1992 by Theodore J. Williams of the Purdue University Consortium. The model advocates for classification into 5 layers/zones, with modern implementations adapting the model by adding a layer as a security buffer between OT and IT, commonly referred to as DMZ and/or layer 3.5.

What font is APA format Purdue owl? ›

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

What size font is Purdue Owl MLA format? ›

The font size should be 12 pt. Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise prompted by your instructor). Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin.

How to format a title in MLA? ›

In general, a title is placed in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. A title is italicized if the source is self- contained and independent.

What is the correct format for dialogue? ›

Dialogue tags stay outside the quotation marks, while the punctuation stays inside the quotation marks. Example: “There was blood everywhere,” Karen explained. If the dialogue tag comes before the dialogue, the comma appears before the first quotation mark. Example: Karen explained, “There was blood everywhere.”

What is an example of APA format? ›

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers, use a paragraph number.

What is an absolute phrase Purdue owl? ›

An absolute phrase could be removed from a sentence and the sentence would still make sense. Here are some examples: Marsha looked worried, her fears creeping up on her. In this sentence above, "her fears creeping up on her" is the absolute phrase.

How do I format a list? ›

Rules for stand-alone lists:
  1. Use a heading, not a lead-in.
  2. Start each list item with a capital letter.
  3. Don't add full stops to the end of any of the list items (even the last item).
  4. Indent each list item if it helps people scan the content.

How do you write the title in APA format? ›

Basics of formatting an APA title page in Word
  1. Title of the paper​: All major words capitalized. Bolded. Positioned in the upper-middle of the page (hit Enter 3-4 times) ...
  2. Author name​ (your name)
  3. Affiliation, or name of the college ​
  4. Course number: Course Name​
  5. Name of the instructor​
  6. Date the paper is due​

Are book titles italicized in APA Purdue owl? ›

Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.” For example, a parenthetical citation for an edition of a dictionary would be: (Merriam-Webster's 1993)." The bibliographical citation is as follows: Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).

How do you format a citation title? ›

Basic book citation format

The book title is written in sentence case (only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns). Include any other contributors (e.g. editors and translators) and the edition if specified (e.g. “2nd ed.”). Last name, Initials. (Year).

How do you format figure titles in APA? ›

Keep the following in mind when including a figure in your paper: The figure number, in bold text, belongs above the figure. The figure title belongs one double-spaced line below the figure number. The title should be in title case and italics.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Reed Wilderman

Last Updated:

Views: 6177

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (72 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Reed Wilderman

Birthday: 1992-06-14

Address: 998 Estell Village, Lake Oscarberg, SD 48713-6877

Phone: +21813267449721

Job: Technology Engineer

Hobby: Swimming, Do it yourself, Beekeeping, Lapidary, Cosplaying, Hiking, Graffiti

Introduction: My name is Reed Wilderman, I am a faithful, bright, lucky, adventurous, lively, rich, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.