The Writer’s Memo

For background and details on the Writer’s Memo, see Jeffrey Sommers’s "Behind the Paper: Using the Student-Teacher Memo," College Composition and Communication 39.1 (Feb. 1988): 77-80.

Rationale for Writer’s Memo

Encourages a feeling of agency and responsibility on the part of writers with regard to their work
Requires writers to set the agenda for response to their work
Maximizes the efforts of writers’ respondents by helping them focus on those points most important to writers
Requires writers to assess their own work critically
Requires writers to assess their own work appreciatively
Requires writers to develop awareness of writing processes, both those they have used and those they haven’t used

How to use the Writer’s Memo

Any time you prepare a draft for response, compose a Writer’s Memo and attach it to the draft.

What to include

Standard memo headings: To, From, Date, Re
Briefly state topic, angle, purpose, audience, and any other rhetorical considerations that will help to orient and focus your reader (1 ¶)
Briefly discuss your writing process on this piece up to this point; what interesting things have happened so far? Unexpected turns? Discoveries? Frustrations? Urgent needs for resources? Satisfactions? (1 ¶)
What do you like best about this piece in its current form? (1 sentence)
Where are you headed with this piece? What do you plan to work on next? (1 sentence)
Statement on recycling: Explain whether and how you have done or will do work on this project in some other class or other setting. If, for example, you have submitted or will submit a related project for course credit in a course other than this one, you must say so. [This item is mainly relevant and necessary for the course instructor. It is not necessary for Writer’s Memos addressed to peers.] (1 sentence)
Questions and/or points for focus. Indicate two or three specific aspects of your piece on which you want your reader to focus her/his responses. Research? Style? Tone? Pace? Organization? Ideas? Lead? Conclusion? Other aspects? (1 sentence for each point)
Designate in what form you want to receive your readers’ responses: in a written memo, in a conference, or on audio tape.

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