EE Lecture 9 Taking Notes and Writing Letters and Memos King Saud University College of Engineering Electrical Engineering Department EE 399

2 Outline H Taking Notes H Writing Letters H Writing Memos H Examples

EE Taking Notes H Taking notes is needed for learning and effective communications with others H Most people forget almost half of what they hear within an hour H Taking notes forces you to listen carefully H It helps to record some information which may not be available anywhere else or may be lost sometime

EE Effective Listening H It is the success key for good note-taking H To listen effectively, create an internal conversation between you and the lecturer H This includes actively anticipating and questioning what the lecturer says and sorting the information being presented.

EE Taking Notes Process 1. During Lecture: - Follow a certain style - Do not miss the first minute - Sit close to the lecturer to avoid distractions - Write the name of the lecturer - Date and number each page - Notice the clues that tell how the lecture is organized and what points are important

EE Taking Notes Process (cont.) During Lecture (cont.): - Pay attention to transitional words - Write in short phrases or words - Do not try to write everything said - Use abbreviations - Skip lines and write on one side - Box important notes - Ask questions to understand

EE Taking Notes Process (cont.) 2. After Lecture: - Read your notes as soon as possible and fill any gaps - Highlight or underline main ideas, concepts, and information - Compare your notes with a friend’s (whenever possible)

EE Know the Clues Your lecturer will drop hints to indicate important points. Look for these phrases and signals: - Lists: “the five issues”, “the three most important dates” - Summaries: “in conclusion”, “to sum up” - Examples: “for example”, “for instance” - Different points of view: “on one hand”, “however” - Superlatives: “most”, “best” - Repetition: “again”, “in other words” - Writing: on the chalkboard

EE Styles for Taking Notes 1. Outlining: - Use roman numeral (I., II.) for main ideas - Subtopics using capital letters (A., B.) - Details using Arabic numerals (1., 2., 3., etc.) 2. Mapping: - Map is used to draw the material presented - Draw a small circle in the center of your paper to place the main idea - Draw lines from the center topic pointing to subtopics - Lines are drawn for more details or examples

EE Use Shorthand Develop your own system of shorthand like: - Use symbols: & = and $ = money w/o = without - Omit vowels: ppt = power point Gvt = Government - Use letters enough to recognize words: Info = information Max = maximum - Use first syllable of a word: Cap = Capital Lab = Laboratory - Use first syllable and 1st letter of second syllable: Subj = subject Pres = presentation

EE LETTERS and MEMOS  Throughout your career, you will write too many letters and memos  Many people (mistakenly) think that writing letters and memos is not “a big deal”.  Those people are probably writing ineffective letters without knowing it.  Writing letters and memos is a delicate/important task

EE The Reader H The more you know about your reader, the more closely you can tune your writing H How much does your reader know about the topic of the letter or memo? H How does the topic affect the reader personally? H What will make the reader want to read what you have to say? H Is your reader likely to agree or disagree with your suggestions?

EE H A letter or memo can have many purposes such as (among others):  inform  persuade  sell  request  instruct  recommend  To complain. H Knowing your purpose and your reader will help you decide what to say and how to organize and phrase it. The Purpose

EE Letters H The most widely used business letter formats are:  Full block  Modified block H The format of the letter helps to establish its tone

EE Full block format H It has eight components (in order):  Heading  Address  Salutation  Text of the message. Do not indent the paragraphs, but leave an empty line between paragraphs  The complimentary close  Your signature should be in blue or black ink  The identification line containing your typed name  Enclosures or distribution

EE An Example (Full Block) Your Address February 16, 2003 Receiver’s name and address Dear Mr. ….: Text with no indentation but skip a line between paragraphs Sincerely yours, Signature goes here with pen Your Name Encl: List of attachments Dist: List people receiving a copy

EE Modified Block Format H Differs from full block in the placement of the heading, date, complimentary close, signature, and identification lines H These components start about halfway across the page and aligned vertically H Begin the paragraphs with a one-tab or three to five space indentation H Do not leave an empty line between paragraphs

EE An Example (Modified Block) Your address February 16, 2003 Receiver’s name and address Dear Mr....: Your text here indented but no empty line between paragraphs. Sincerely yours, Your signature goes here with ink Your name Encl: List of attachments Dist: List people receiving a copy

EE Memos H The memo is short for memorandum H Used for short reminders, quick announcements or concise pieces of information H Memos should not be used for communications to people outside the company H The vital information in a memo comprises the date, the recipient, the sender and the subject matter H In memos, do not use the "Dear" salutation and the "Yours truly" complimentary closure H Initial the memo to the right of your name with a pen

EE Memo Format MEMORANDUM (or MEMO) DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: ______________________________________________

EE Memo Format (Continued) H Block Format: no indentation but leave empty space between paragraphs H Modified Block format: Indent each paragraph but do not leave empty space H Do not mix both format. Choose one and stick to it

EE Sample Memo (Modified Block) Memorandum Date: March 13, 2003 To: Dr. Abdullah Abdelrahman, Department Head From: Ayhem Salem Subject: A Low-Cost Way to Reduce Energy Use in Our Department __________________________________________________________________ , ; : , ,

EE Reviewing Letters or Memos H Check your letter or memo for tone, wording, and spelling H Check the spelling of the receiver’s name and address H Check the dates in the heading and any dates in the text. These are supposed to be records H Check for subject-verb agreement H Check for punctuation H Be sure that you signed the letter below the complimentary close H Be sure that you put your initials to the right of your name in the memo

EE This is how much letter and memo writing you will probably do. Do it right! QUESTIONS?