1St Issue, 1987 . . . :
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ursuantto E .0. 13526 MOR Case # 54 77 SECRET ID£UUV~lll'11k ~l!OO~VU~ £UWW~~ lTUl~ti' lBl!l!i~lBl! l!l11 llll!&'.ilfiJl! f lll&'.il~~ll,(iillll!) 1st Issue, 1987 1. 4. (c) P.L. 86-36 P16 : . 1 HOW TO WRITE A MEMO (U) : • • : : : : : : : : 1.-1-------·-1. :! CHECKLIST FOR NON-PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS (Q) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Obst arid van Reigersberg . 14 GOLDEN OLDIE (U) •••••••• . : -· . • • 16 HOW DID A NICE CRYPPIE LIKE YOU ( u) • -1============~ 17 BULLETIN BOARD (U) ••••••• . :.. • • .• 19 FROM THE PAST ( U) • • • • • • • • • • '• • • • • • • • • • 20 CONFERENCE REPORT ( U) • • • • • • • • • • • • 'r-1-----1. • • 21 I NSA I PUZZLE ( U). • • • • • • • • • • ..... _____..i.;_....;._...;,I 29 CLASSIFIED ev NSA/CSSM 123-2 1IANDLE '•1 IA COMINT CHANN~LS ONLY DECLASSIFY ON: OrigiRatiRg NOT RELEASABLE TO CONTRACTORS AgeRcy's DeterffliAatieA ReEf tiife~ Sl!CRl!T DOCID: 4010012 ~\:.:i. 86- 36 lBCE~IYUl!Jl1l!JCB ·\·~:'\ Publi•h'(d by P1. Te<hn;qu" and Standa<d• A VALENTINE ";:..~·. ·•·. ~· ·· .. vQ'( .'xi\l, No. 1. >: .. .......... .... 1st Issue 1987 to THE FRIENDS OF CRYPTOLOG PUBLf~B~R , . >: \ ."> .. ._. ... .... .. .... :. ~.. _______... >. BOARD.OF EDITORS ,. ' " Editor .- .........,.. :.... >1....____ _.(963-1103) Many people behind the scenes make it possible to "" " Collection . :\ \:\ . • ... , , . ..... J 963-S877) publish CRYPI'OLOG. They are in the Press and Syst~ i:tl { =.~(963-1103) Computer . \ .. .,.1...... ,,... ___ in Distribution; they are on the Printing Control ~f1~~:::::: ~:~;,,>~ . Staff; they do data conversion; they review for ·\·· Enmi classification. These people carry out their Information Security\\:, \ : .> , . George F. Jelen (859-1211 b) assigned duties with extra-special TLC. To each of Intelligence Research '\:\ .\1-.. 963-3845) them we send a valentine. Language . \.I · I (963-3057) Mathematics I 963-5566) Puzzles. ... .... :o ·.. I 963-6430) We are also most indebted to our good neighbors in Science and Technology .1 \ 968-8075) N, the editorial staff of the Cryptologic Quarterly, Special Research .. .. ... .. \ .\ ... Vera R. Filby (968-8014) Traffic Analysis . ... \. R_obert J. Hanyok (963-5734) and the system administrators in P044 and in T09 for their bountiful professional courtesy. They very kindly allow us to use their printers while ours is in storage, and rescue us during our frequent crashes. To each of them we send a valentine. To submit articles or letters by mail, send to: Editor, CRYPTOLOG , P1, HQ 8A187 And we are grateful to our colleagues in Pl. They are the invisible home team who do odd jobs as If you used a word processor, please include the mag card, floppy or diskette along with your needed. To each of them we send a valentine. hard copy, with a notation as to what equip ment, operating system, and software you used . And last but not least, we cherish the many friends via PLATFORM mail, send to: among the readers who steer us to the hot items of NOTE CHANGE : Crypt I g at bar1c05 the day. To each of them we send a valentine. (bar-one-c-zero-five) (note: no 'o') Always include your full name, organization.and building, room, and secure phone number. For Change of Address mail name and old and new organi.zations to: Editor, CRYPTOLOG, Pl, HQ 8A187 Please do not phone. for Contents of CRYPTOLOG should not be reproduced or CRYPI'OLOG disseminated outside the National Security Agency without the permission of the Publisher. Inquiries regarding repro- duction and dissemination should be directed to the Editor. l''OR OFl'IClld. lJSI: ONLY ...-................................................ 1 DOCID: 4010012 EO 1. 4. ( c) P.L. 86-36 ········ ... P.L. 86-36 /. 1st Issue 1987 * CRYPTOLOG * page 1 EO 1. 4. ( c) SECRECf E. ...L. 86-36 IIAnBLB '/IA COl\HP'ofCf OIIAPff'fSLS Of'• .....-¥ EO 1. 4. ( c) DOCID: 4010012 P\.L. 86-36 lstlssue1987 * CRYPTOLOG *page 2 SIWRE'f IIAtiDL:S VIA GOfwHtt~ OIIAW'f:SLS OULY EO 1. 4. ( c) DOCID: 4010012 P .. L. 86-36 \\\ 1st lssue 1987 * CRYPTOLOG * page 3 Sl!lC Rl!l'f' ttANf)LE ¢t1t C6MIM'f CHAUHELS OHLY E; O 1. 4. ( c) DOCID: 4010012 P\ L. 86- 36 SB€RB1-' lst Issue 1987 * CRYPTOLOG * page 4 SlWUE'f HANDLE VIA COMIU'F CIIANUELS OP4'LY EO 1. 4. ( c) P~L. DOCID: 4010012 SISCRIST 86-36 '.,_ 1st Issue 1987 * CRYPTOLOG * page 5 s~eRSqJ IIA~lDLB vu. eor.HU'f' CIIA!HffiLS ONLY - .L. 86-36 DOCID: 4010012 1st Issue 1987 * CRYPTOLOG • page 6 SECRE'T flAN nu: Q IA COMIU'f CIL'UHH~JJ,,S O~LLY .L. 86-36 DOCID: 4010012 SF:!CRF:l'f lst Issue 1987 • CRY PTO LOG • page 7 Sl'36Rl'3'f IIA~TBbE YIA COMHJ'P CIIAPHUlLS OMLY DOCID: 4010012 1st Issue 1987 • CRY PTO LOG • page 8 EO 1. 4. ( c) StWRl:'P P.L. 86-36 IIAUDLE ¥IA COMHi'T GHA?H'lKbS O~tbY DOCID: 4010012 I UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT P.L. 86-36 memorandum DATE.: March 1987 SERIAL: REPLY TO ··t ~ ATTN OF: .... ___________.t'sc SUBJECT: HOW TO WRITE A MEMO ro: All Memo Writers 1. The purpose of this memo is to provide a set of simple guidelines for writing a memo. My goal is to improve office conununications by making memos easier to write and easier to read. 2. The reason for doing this is that I find memo writing in this Agency to be in a deplorable state. Memo structure has long been a particular problem. Trying to find out why the writer sent me a memo and what I am expected to do about it is like solving a whodunit! Granunar is another, but poor granunar is so widespread that I try to overlook it. Lately memos have become rude. "Request." They seem to conunand me, where a clearer "I request" or a polite "please" would have warmed me to the task of reading the memo and trying to do what the reader wanted. Somehow I have managed to get along with all these problems. But the situation has reached a crisis. Now I find that many memos do not even communicate. I no longer understand what they are trying to say. The time has come to do something about it. Hence this article! 3. My guidelines are: Present your information in the prescribed order. Write for the person who is going to read it. Be brief. Use attachments for details. Use words correctly and write simply and clearly. Be polite and courteous. Be grammatical. 4. A more detailed discussion of these Guidelines is attached. 5. The action to take is this: please follow these guidelines from now on whenever you write a memo. 1st Issue 1987 * CRYPTOLOG * page 9 fi'OR OPPICIAL USS ONLY - DOCID: 4010012 I ATTACHMENT A memo is, among other things, usually a brief communication that contains directive, advisory or informative matter. So says Mr. Webster! And he is certainly correct so far as NSA is concerned: we use memos in this Agency mainly to advise, inform and direct. Guideline 1: Present your information in the prescribed order. Memo structure is designed to assist this process of telling the reader something in the most succinct way possible. Hence, every paragraph in a memo serves a purpose. Look back at the memo in the beginning of this article and notice that I have underlined certain beginning words in three of the numbered sections. These words provide a formula for structuring the contents of a memo. You can't go far wrong if you stick pretty closely to this simple format. The opening paragraph of every memo should clearly tell the reader why you have sent the memo and what action, if any, you want taken. The advice that Ben Franklin gave to newspaper reporters applies here: this is the who, what, when paragraph. Always, without exception, put this information in the first paragraph. This quickly places the rest of the memo into context for the reader; one reads on with an understanding of what it is one is reading, why one is reading it and what action one must take. Do not bury what you want done in the text where the reader has to hunt for it, or depend on the summary in the last paragraph to do the job. The next one or two paragraphs convey pertinent information to the reader. Depending on the kind of memo, they may be brief background or history; concise explanatory detail to define or describe the subject (as a reminder. or because it's complex); the reasons why you have done something (like "The reason for doing this is" paragraph in my opening memo); the authorities under which you are asking that something be done; or the specific information for which the memo is being sent (such as the "Guidelines" in paragraph three of my memo above). The final paragraph summarizes the action you expect the reader to take and gives instructions for complying, including the expected due date, a point of contact for questions and a telephone number. If you ever wonder why people don't respond to your memos as requested, perhaps it's because you have hidden this information rather than highlighted it. Guideline 2: Write for the person who is going to read it. I'm tired of getting memos that read as if they were written by a computer- stilted, wooden, convoluted and often comprehensible only to another machine! It is easy to write a memo if you write as if you are talking directly to lst Issue 1981 • CRYPTOLOG • pag<' 10 l''Oll OfTIClAL LJSE ONLY DOCID: 4010012 I someone. The technique works even when you are writing a memo destined for numerous readers. Here are some examples to show what I mean.