In past offerings of CAEE-201 the graders have commented repeatedly on how students have lost points in their lab reports because of poor understanding of what is expected in a Technical Report – we call it a “Memo” in most of our labs. What follows is the description from “Lab Assignments” on appropriate Memo Writing.
You will write many letters, proposals and reports throughout your career. In these labs we require a "memo" that in one page summarizes the key aspects of the lab. It's very important that you learn to write this kind of document well because you will be judged by your employer by HOW you say what you did as well as what you did - that's a reality. Here are two links that should help on writing good memos. There are many others available online or through your English instructors.
- The Content of A Technical Memo - PDF Document from Texas A&M giving good guidelines. Adapt it as appropriate.
- Language for a Technical Memo - WikiHow has good advice on appropriate language.
Keep in mind the following. The reader will want to know:
- Who did it
- What you did
- Why you did it
- When you did it
- Where you did it
- What tools/equipment/programs you used
- What you found
- What you conclude
- What uncertainties, reservations you have after completing the work
- What further work you would recommend (if any).
For language you can avoid most problems by:
- Write in "simple" language. Be direct and brief.
- Check grammar and spelling
- make use of language labs and other resources if English is not your native language
- Make use of MSWord's grammar and spelling checker - write there and paste the text into the memo
- Avoid colloquial or slang language
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