SECRETARIAL WORK
93. In nearly all schools there are several organizations—a debating club, a current events club, an athletic association, a branch society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, etc.,—and in all these organizations there is need of a special form of composition, called secretarial writing, because the secretary does most (although not all) of it. While it may seem complicated and unnatural at first sight because of the number of forms fixed by tradition for every occasion, it is really easier than any other writing you have been studying, since the very fact that the forms are fixed makes invention, charm, or force of style on your part unnecessary. Perfect and unmistakable clearness, accuracy, completeness, and an observance of certain quite rigidly fixed formulæ are the essentials of good secretarial work.
In the formation of an organization, the first writing to be done is the composition of notices (see page 130), sent or posted, announcing a meeting to be held for the purpose of forming a club. This first notice and all others announcing later meetings are to be written according to the general plan described on pages 130-132.
At the first meeting, a chairman or president and a secretary are usually elected, and a committee chosen to draw up a constitution which shall be presented to the club at the next meeting. All constitutions are written along the same general lines. A good general model for a simple constitution will be found in the Appendix. The committee precedes the proposed constitution with a paragraph something like the following:—
To the Members of the —— Club:
Your committee, appointed at a meeting for the organization of the —— Club, respectfully submit the following articles and by-laws, with the recommendation that they be adopted by this Club.
During a meeting the secretary should take accurate and careful notes on what occurs, and as soon as possible afterward should write his report of the proceedings of the meeting. This report or record is called the "minutes of the meeting," and the reading aloud of the minutes is always the first business of each meeting.
There should be no attempt made in writing the minutes to make them original or interesting. They should be perfectly accurate and complete. The content of speeches made is not reported (in ordinary minutes), nor are any comments made on the spirit or events of the meeting. A plain statement of what took place officially is all that is desirable.
The place, date, and time of the meeting are set down first, and the name of the presiding officer. Then it is stated that the minutes were read and approved. After this the official events of the meeting are set down in the order of their occurrence. At the end the hour of adjournment is noted and the date fixed for the next meeting.
West Newton, ILL.,
Public School No. 3.