5.

/ Savingram

Memorandum

A memorandum or in short a ‘memo’ is a brief note that we write to

remind people of a particular issue and make them pay attention
or do something about it, within an organisation. The savingram is
from outside the organisation most cases from the mother body to
subordinate departments or organisations

For example; In a school there had been an outbreak of diarrhoea. Many

students are being infected and require medical attention. As the school
head you called an emergency meeting. Thereafter you write the memo to
alert everybody else about the situation. Write the memo indicating the
following.

1. The time you discovered there is a problem

2. Reaction of the students on the matter.
3. What has been put in place to alleviate the situation by the
Administration
/school
4. The response by the Health Department.
5. Who is to blame?

In the question above the students and staff had been alerted of the
situation, and what is happening on the ground. They will know what
to do thereafter and where to go.

The Savingram

The Savingram is just the extension of the memorandum, to the outside

world. That means it is usually from the umbrella body to mini
organisations or departments in the same sector. For example, from the
Ministry of Basic Education head office to Education Centre (regions) and
to schools. The savingram also covers a number of emerging issues within
the education system or even in other departments.

Formats

i) memorandum

DATE: 11 February 2019

TO: students & staff /teachers

(lobsec) FROM: school head

(Lobatse snr)

CC (carbon copy to): Ancillary Staff

SUBJECT: THE OUTBREAK OF DIARRHEA IN SCHOOL

 ii) Savingram

DATE: 11February

2019 FROM: PS

(MOBE)

TO: Director: South Regions

School Head (Lobatse Senior

School) CC:The District Officer,

Lobatse

The District Health Team, Lobatse

Subject: The Outbreak Of Diarrhea In Lobatse Senior Secondary School

From the two formats above we can see that one is from within the school
(from School Head) and to students and teachers, the other one is from
the Ministry of Basic Education to the School. But the formats are similar.
There has to be the writer (from) and the recipient (To). There has to be
the date of writing and the subject under discussion.

Contents

The contents are based on the points raised. There are as usual five points
that the learners has to expand and write in continuous writing. This has
already been discussed in the previous situational compositions. Please
apply the same principles.

Exercises

1. There is a project to be carried out in your village i.e. the

construction of a road that will temper with some houses or homes in
that village. As the representative of the village Development
committee, write the memo to the Chief Planning Officer showing
the concerns of the residents regarding the road and the problems
it will cause to the residents.
2. There is shortage of resources in your school and you have been
asked to buy some books for yourselves. As the SRC rep, write to the
school head regarding the matter. Most student cannot afford to
buy the books because one from humble beginnings. Write this memo
to raise the concern and suggest what should be done.
6. Speech And

Dialogue

Speech

Speech writing is one of the aspects of language one has to do, in

order to acquire the skills involved when addressing people, or for the
purposes of answering the exam question, if it is asked. This is a long
speech whereby an individual speaks to a particular place and
time. Like any other situational topics, there is a format to follow in
writing the speech.

(a) Format

The format is embedded in the topic. It is a long topic which

supposed to include 5 things;

(i) The name of the speaker

(ii) The date and time of the speech
(iii) The place where the speech is done
(iv) The subject of the speech
(v) The (designation/Position) of the speaker

Study the topic below:

Onkarabile Pheto, a former student and the president of SRC,

addressing the students at Lobatse Senior, On the topic
“Effective ways of Studying”, at the Multi-purpose Hall on the 13
January 2019 at 0800 hrs. in the morning.

The 5 points of the format can be found in the topic above. Let
us identify them.

(I) Name of speaker - Onkarabile Pheto

(II) Date and Time - 13 January 2019 0800 Hrs.
(III) Place - Lobatse Senior School Multi-purpose Hall
(IV) Topic - Effective Ways of Studying
(V) Position - Former student and president of SRC

So the student will get his 5 marks for the format if all these
things are included in the topic.

(b) Content:
Introduction

The student/learner answers the five questions asked in the

question however he must consider whom he is talking to and
what the subject is all about. The Introduction is very important
to the listeners. The speaker
 starts with the greetings and by observing the protocol starting
with higher- ranking person in the group and then introduces the
topic. For example: look at the introduction below.’

“The School Head Mr Modise, The Deputy School Head Ms

Masala, Head of Departments, Teachers and Students Ladies and
Gentleman, I am the former student of this school, now studying
in UK. I am Specialising in Natural Sciences and I am here to
address the students on effective ways of studying.”

In this introduction, the speaker has formally and respectively

greeted his audience. Therefore, he is free to continue and
elaborate on the topic. There will be different points he will talk
about as stated in the question. He has to elaborate each point
successfully and make his audience pay attention. Addressing
people is a skill, therefore it should be done with much
carefulness and caution, lest one causes riots or mumbling
amongst the people.

Conclusion- The end of the speech must be short and more emphatic.
In this case one can assure the students that the methods of
study he has talked about are effective indeed and can work for
them, if used appropriately.

Exercises: Write about one of the topics below:

1. At School, there is the SRC campaign for the different positions in

the student’s leadership. You’re interested in the position of the
president of Academic Affairs. In a meeting with the students
you’re addressing them to sell yourself and tell them about your
mandate. Write the speech and convince the students why they
should vote for you.
2. The services provided by the Council are poor and they are
not serving the interests of the Community as a whole, but of
certain individuals. You’re the leader of the Opposition Party and
you have called a rally to address the people on the matter,
make them aware of what is going on and what you will do to
correct the situation if you’re voted in to power.
3. The Community you’re living in suffers due to lack of water. The
taps are dry and they do not have enough reservoirs in the
village. You’re the Official from Water Utilities Corporation
having to talk to the villagers about the situation and what
you will do to help them. Write the speech.

Dialogue

Unlike the speech, the dialogue is a conversation between 2 or

more people. When you’re asked to write a dialogue, you have to
be able to put the words in the mouth of those people and let
them address the topic on the table. The dialogue shows who is
speaking and who is responding to his words. It should Be
Logical and Giving Details About The Topic.
Exercise 1

The teacher discusses the topic with one student in class because
he seemed to be struggling and has not been doing well lately.
Write down their conversation in 250 words.