Rough Draft

Label your drafts as “Rough Draft” and use double spacing to facilitate corrections and edits. Distribute the rough draft to a limited number of people; otherwise, the process of finalizing the minutes can become prolonged, as each individual may have their own interpretation of the events.

When circulating the minutes, clearly communicate to the readers that they should only correct any errors you may have made in recording the information. They should not rewrite sections based on how they feel things should have been stated, nor should they add personal opinions about the outcomes.

Style Considerations

In both formal and semiformal minutes, always use complete sentences in the past tense and third person. Avoid abbreviations, and ensure that individuals’ names are spelled out in full. In action minutes, point form is acceptable.

In formal minutes, capitalize group words and titles, such as:

• Committee
• Board
• Department
• Division
• Secretary

In informal minutes, these terms should be written in lowercase unless accompanied by a specific name. For example, use “the committee wishes…” with a lowercase “c,” but “the Education Committee wishes…” with capitals.

Adopt a straightforward narrative style with simple language. If the audience is solely the group members, you can be brief in your comments. However, if the minutes are intended for external communication, a more detailed essay style may be necessary.

Ensure that headings or subheadings are not left hanging at the bottom of a page; they should be followed by at least two lines of text or moved to the next page. Use subheadings for individual topics within the minutes, with each agenda item serving as a separate heading.

Double-check all figures, dates, and spellings of names. Additionally, retain your meeting notes until the minutes have been formally approved by the group.

Margins and Spacing

As minutes are normally filed in binders, use bound manuscript margins – 1.5 inches on the left margin and 1 inch for the right, top, and bottom.

The heading lines should begin 1 inch from the top of the paper. Each heading line should be centered. The words can be typed in uppercase and lowercase letters or in capitals, depending on the organization’s style.

If the minutes are brief, double space the body and triple space between items. If they are long, single space them with a double space between paragraphs. Indent paragraphs unless you are using subheadings. (If you are, it is not necessary to indent.) Place the subheading directly above each paragraph.

Use bold for subheadings and to highlight dates and names.