Five Ways to Fit Your Letter or Memo on One Page
What if you have a few words or a short paragraph over one page after you format your letter or memorandum?
Well, there is wiggle room available to make everything t on one page and cut down on using an additional
page to get your message across. e following tips may be applied to MCPS documents:
1. Adjust your side and bottom margins to 0.75 inches, thereby extending your line length to
accommodate more text.
2. Change your font size from Times New Roman 12 point to 11 point (10.5 point can work, if absolutely
necessary).
3. Reduce the number of line spaces between the date and the inside address from three to two lines.
4. Reduce the space for signature from three to two lines (for letters only).
5. Use plain language that is simple and gets straight to the point, without distractions or preamble. is is
most useful when you want your audience to understand instructions and do what you tell them to do.
For example, instead of writing, “Your information needs to be submitted by October 1,” write, “Submit
your information by October 1.”
For more information on making your letter or memo t on one page, check out the Gregg Manual, 1307; if
you would like to dig deeper, you can review these [http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/FitCopy.htm] tips
from e Word MVP website.
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