Christopher Stone Memo on Memo Writing - Writing Policy Memos

Sep 11, 2026

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Guidance for students enrolled in CCJ-100 on writing professional policy memoranda. The memo explains how to craft an effective policy memo by conveying information, analysis, and conclusions that support better decision-making. It focuses on adopting the writer’s own voice, using appropriate “I” versus “you” language, and ensuring the memo can be circulated without assuming prior conversations. It also outlines how to present evidence with sufficient weight, balance, and clear meaning while avoiding unnecessary jargon.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Your Voice and Your Audiences

Tone and audience considerations

Authority and role differences

The Weight, Balance, and Meaning of the Evidence

Describing evidence effectively

Choosing level of detail

Program on Criminal Justice Policy & Management 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 [www.ksg.harvard.edu/criminaljustice](www.ksg.harvard.edu/criminaljustice) MEMORANDUM To: Students Enrolled in CCJ-100 From: Christopher Stone Date: September 12, 2005 Subject: Writing Policy Memos You will soon be writing your first of three policy memos for this course. Like any writing project, this is an opportunity for you to express yourself creatively, but a policy memo is also meant to be a specific kind of professional product. In a good policy memo, you should succinctly convey information, analysis, and conclusions that will help your readers make a better decision than they would have otherwise. In this memo, I describe some strategies that you might consider when organizing and drafting your memo. The advice here is based on my experience over two decades both writing and receiving policy memos written for government officials and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. Every institution has its own culture and style of written presentation. A memo judged great in one context may not even be considered acceptable in another. The advice here is therefore only a starting point. Nevertheless, even if you choose to take a very different approach to drafting a policy memo, your attention to the issues raised here should help you make more conscious and strategic decisions as you write. Your Voice and Your Audiences Memos are signed documents. You are writing under your own name. This is not the case when you are drafting an institutional report that will be published without naming its authors or when you are drafting a speech or statement for someone else. Here, you are writing in your own voice, and you should generally use the first person singular. Example 1: “I base my recommendations on my own review of the published scientific literature and my conversations with several experts in the field.” In addition to naming you as the author, the heading of your memo names the person to whom you are writing. In the text of your memo, it is appropriate to address that person (or group) as “you,” using the second person singular (or plural) . Be aware, however, that one reason you are writing a memo, rather than just giving an oral report, is to permit the recipient to share your memo with others. Indeed, your recipient may have requested the memo specifically intending to circulate it more widely. One implication of this public nature of the memo is that it should not assume that the reader is privy to the conversations that have preceded its production. A second implication is that you should avoid personal comments, certain forms of humor, or private observations that your recipient would not want circulated. If you need to make observations of this kind, placing them in a cover letter allows your recipient to circulate the memo without them. Most policy memos are addressed to someone authorized to make a decision, from someone without such authority. You have the knowledge and analysis; your recipient has the power. Your writing should respect this difference in role, authority, and perspective. Do not, therefore, use the first person plural,“we,” as the subject of your sentences. The first person plural tends to erase rather than respect the difference in authority between you and your reader and can be misinterpreted as a subtle usurpation of decision-making power. Example 2: (A) “We have a chance to unite our supporters with this proposal because of its multiple levels of appeal,” should be: (B)“You have a chance to unite your supporters….” The use of “we” is appropriate if the memo has multiple authors or if you are writing to fellow decision-makers of equal status, such as your colleagues on a decision-making committee. But if you are writing a memo to decision makers from the perspective of a staff member, consultant, or advocate, respect the difference between your authority and theirs. One way to s

FAQs

What makes a policy memo a “professional product” rather than just an oral report?

A policy memo should succinctly convey information, analysis, and conclusions that help readers make a better decision than they would otherwise. Its structure and content are designed for the recipient to share it more widely.

Should you use “we” or “I” when writing a policy memo?

The memo advises writing in your own voice and generally using first person singular “I.” It cautions against using “we” because it can erase the authority difference between writer and reader, unless multiple authors or equal-status decision-makers are involved.

How should evidence be presented in the body of the memo?

Evidence should be described in enough detail for readers to understand how much weight it deserves, how strong it is on each side, and what it actually means. The memo recommends being as succinct as possible while still conveying essential facts without heavy jargon.

Sep 11, 2026

Upload by Mia