English 421K, Technical Writing

What information in the memo goes beyond what readers need to know?

The information about the scientists who were sent to the hospital for minor issues is not relevant. The different kind of oxidizing agents and what they can do is not important as well as much of that paragraph which describes practices which are likely common within this company and do not need to be restated in a memo. Also, who is attending the meeting is not something the readers need to know.

How can the memo be reorganized to highlight its purpose and main point?
State that there will be a meeting earlier on in the memo to make sure the reader is completely aware of that fact. Shift the importance of safety to the middle of the memo and end with the bit on what the employees of the company work with.

What is the “action item” in the memo, and where should it appear?

The meeting is the action item and it should appear first in the memo.

How can the style of the memo be improved to make the text easier to understand?

Altering those few paragraphs and moving the more important information to a place where it is more likely to be understood by the reader of this memo can improve the memo’s style.

How might design be used to improve the readers’ understanding?

The design could be changed around to place the more important information at the beginning of the memo and the less important information at the end. By doing this the reader will understand that the main point of this memo was to alert them of this meeting that would be happening soon and then they can read further to find out about why this meeting is taking place.