Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the MADE Format, a ready-made outlining structure presented by Dianna Booher. With advances in technology, the growth of the Internet and email has revolutionized our business practice, bringing possible information overload and increased communication. Organizing a business message in an easily-skimmed format is essential to save the recipient's time. Booher suggests using the descending arrangement placing the main idea at the beginning of a message. The MADE Format is an outline template for the descending arrangement, and its acronym stands for Message, Action, Details and Evidence, which means beginning with the point and the required action, followed by relevant details and reference materials. This format is derived from the structure of the technical report designed for different recipients with two basic components of a summary and the supporting information. The MADE Format emphasizes the major point clearly for recipients by separating the particulars and enables each recipient to skim and scan a message for key information. The MADE Format reinforces the importance of recipient-oriented messages and is suitable for the Internet age as an efficient communication strategy.