Guidelines for Technical Writing
Memos
Many students have difficulty writing an acceptable memo. Often,
students are unfamiliar with the conventions for a business or engineering
memo in North America. The structure and style expected in an
engineering setting in North America might seem abrupt, even rude elsewhere.
An engineering memo concisely presents your co-workers and superiors
with information for decision-making and a record of your work, but
it is not a diary, a log, or a story.
Below are links to memos written by students in this class
as a homework assignment that received high grades. These students
have given permission for their memos to be displayed as a reference
for other students. Each memo is different, though they have similar,
correct structure and style.
(1) Memos briefly describe the problem to be solved, the
approach, and the conclusions drawn by the writer in the FIRST paragraph.
The remainder of the memo gives additional explanation / justification.
(2) Memos are concise. Key information about the
analytical approach is provided, NOT a step-by-step procedure.
(3) Sentence construction is straightforward, but not first-person.
A standard technical vocabulary is used, with no casual language.
(4) Quantitative information is presented (e.g., values
of Cpk), but "empty" words such as "very" and "really" are not used.
(5) Information best conveyed graphically is displayed
graphically, with discussion in the text. For example, displaying
control charts with a concise discussion conveys process behavior more
effectively than a large table of numbers or a long discussion.
| Memo Rubric |
Memo
Example 1 |
Memo Example 2 (Figure 1 was attached
to the original memo) |
Memo Example 3 |
Example First Paragraphs |
Course Notes
Notes for each topic stay on the web
all the time as a courtesy to past students, as they often refer back
to them. However, I may revise the notes as we reach that lecture
in the current offering of the course. I advise current students
to print notes no earlier than 6 pm the day before lecture, because they
may be revised.
·Send mail to Dr. Young: valy@bobcat.ent.ohiou.edu.
·Return to Dr. Young's home page.
(Last modified on 03/23/07)