C) Structured minutes

As opposed to an informal style, there are occasions when minutes need to have a formal structure. These are possibly what we think of when we picture in our minds a set of traditional minutes.

Structured minutes generally follow the agenda and therefore each item is numbered so that the two documents link to each other. They also often (although not always) have an action column on the right-hand side to enter the action that is required, the person responsible and the date by which it should be taken.

The traditional structure lends them a gravitas that is not present in informal minutes, and immediately makes them appear important.

Note that the attendees (and also those who didn’t attend) are listed, whether they know each other or not. This is so that everyone is aware of who was present when each decision was made or action was recorded.

Paragraph c): the topic __________________________________________________

the main idea _____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

supporting details __________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Answer the following questions.

1) What is peculiar to structured minutes? ………………………………………...

………………………………………………………………………………….

2) What is the second name for a structured minute? ……………………………..

3) What traditional elements can you observe in structured minutes? …………

How are they traditional? ………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Improve your writing skills

Write a summary of each paragraph. Begin with a sentence about the topic or tittle.

Remember this:

Ø A summary is a short statement of the main points and important details of reading material.

Ø A summary has some words from the reading and some not from the reading.

Ø A summary of a paragraph or short article has only a few sentences, it is much shorter than the original.

Ø A good summary tells the main idea and the important details in your own words.

Paragraph a)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph b)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph c)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Study the examples of informal minutes (1.1) and structured minutes (1.2)

1.1 Minutes of Promotions Team Meeting – (date)

Landsdown Room, The Tower, London

Item 1 – The Public Suggestion Scheme

There was support for the newly Public Suggestion Scheme which will commence in August. It is hoped that the scheme will generate more ideas for future promotions as well providing valuable feedback.

To encourage suggestions, it was decided to offer a daily draw for a set of four free tickets which could be used in any attraction. This should not incur any direct cost in the attraction.

It was discussed that some of the winners could be photographed and used for future marketing. Costs and practicalities need to be estimated

Action: Peter Charles to take this forward and report back at next meeting.