Memo Reports -and- Designing Documents, Slides, and Screens

Memo Reports: Overview What is a Memo Report? What is it about? What is it like? Contents: Introduction, Body, Conclusion, End Sample Introduction

What is the difference? Letter Report An informal report mailed to a colleague or client outside your office Printed on letterhead and physically signed Memo Report An informal report printed, duplicated or ed for a colleague or supervisor within your company Often duplicated or sent electronically

What is a memo report about? Progress on a project, especially as regards a specific portion Results of one portion of a project Results that may affect the remainder of a project Results that require a response before a project can move forward Results of a small project

Characteristics Contains 3-5 pages Contains 0-3 tables or figures Contains no separate sections Does not provide a written background or theoretical basis Contains no nomenclature section Defines symbols as they are introduced Provides only the most pertinent equations Does not contain a “ Literature Cited” list at the end

Characteristics, continued Concise Writing choose words carefully avoid repetition

Contents: Address Memorandum Title To: CC: Make sure you include everyone! From: Date: RE: Title CHEN4903(1)F07 Memo Rpt 1 Tm 1 Cc: No Salutation (Dear: )

Contents: Introduction Introductory paragraph/s Contains a brief explanation of the experiment and its objective, but does not delve into details already known by the recipient (like where the lab is, who gave the assignment, etc.) Provides a summary of the results

Contents: Body Body paragraph/s Describes pertinent equipment Narrates important points of procedure Explains problems encountered Provides an analysis and discussion of results

Contents: Conclusion Closing paragraph/s Makes recommendations based on the discussion Clear reasoning must explain why you are making the recommendations and conclusions you make Contains references as footnotes (provide publication information in footnote)

Sample Introduction During the period from January 6 to January 27, 1992, the members of Group F calibrated and evaluated the performance of an Omega Model HX93V relative-humidity and temperature transmitter (Omega Engineer, Stamford Connecticut). The transmitter was calibrated with an Omega HX92-CAL relative-humidity calibration kit, and its accuracy was tested with various solutions of ethylene glycol and water ranging from 10% to 100% relative humidity (RH). The transmitter was accurate to within 5% RH at higher relative humidities (>50%) but was not accurate to within 5% RH at humidities lower than 50%. The transmitter's performance in a moving airstream at temperatures greater than room temperature was also investigated. A cardboard tube and an air blower containing a heating element supplied a suitable stream of heated air. A brief summary of the calibration and the results of our performance evaluation follow.

Contents: End Matter After the endnotes (appendix) Background tables or figures Raw data Calculations Error analysis

Designing Documents, Slides, and Screens

Design: Part of Writing Think about design at each step As you plan, think about readers Skilled or poor? Straight through or skip around? As you write, use lists, headings Get feedback from your audience 8 As you revise, check following 8 design guides

Why Design Matters Creating inviting, easy to read pages makes it more likely that your document will be read and understood Grouping ideas visually shows structure Good design also: Saves time and money Reduces legal problems Builds goodwill

8 8 Page Design Guides 1.Use white space 2.Use headings 3.Limit words in ALL CAPITALS 2 4.Use no more than 2 fonts per document

8 8 Page Design Guides, continued 5.Justify margins selectively 6.Put key items at top left or bottom right 7.Use a grid for visual unity 8.Limit attention-getters: bold, bullets, colors

Use White Space Makes message easier to read To create white space, use— Headings Mix of paragraph lengths Lists of parallel items Use bullets Use numbers instead of bullets when order matters

Use Headings Headings - words, phrases, or sentences Group points; divide document Show organization Help readers; save readers’ time Make page look more interesting

Limit Words in ALL CAPITALS We recognize words by shape Words in ALL CAPITALS Have same rectangular shape Often lack ascenders and descenders Causes reader to slow down Causes more reading errors

12 Use 1 or 2 Typefaces—No More Typeface – unified styles of type Serif typeface – letters have feet Easy to read; used for paragraphs Ex: Courier New, Times New Roman Sans serif typeface – letters lack feet Harder to read; used for headings, tables Ex: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana

12 Use 1 or 2 Fonts, continued Fixed Fonts – every letter takes up the same amount of space typewriter fonts are fixed Ex: Courier, Monaco Proportional Fonts – wider letters take up more space than narrower letters most computer typefaces are proportional Ex: Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial

12 Use 1 or 2 Fonts, continued Some documents use just one font  Bold  Italics  Varied sizes Font size point: good for readers over 40 (and many under 40, too) point: ideal for memos, letters, reports headings may, and often should, be larger point: often too small

Justify Margins Selectively Full justification – text even at left and right margin Want formal look Writing to skilled readers Using proportional font Want to use fewest pages Use in these cases

Justify Margins Selectively, continued Left justification – text even on left, uneven on right Want informal look Use very short lines Writing to less-skilled readers Not using proportional font Want to revise selected pages Use in these cases

Put Key Items at Top Left or Bottom Right Z Readers’ eyes move in Z pattern Starts at upper left corner of page Reads to the right and down Quadrants in order of importance 1.Top left 2.Bottom right 3.Bottom left 4.Top right 1 2

Use a Grid for Visual Unity 2 3 Grid – 2 or 3 imaginary columns on page; may be subdivided All elements lined up in columns Creates pleasing symmetry Unifies long documents

Designing Presentation Slides Use a big font to 50 point for titles point for subheads point for examples Use bullet-point phrases, not sentences Use clear, concise language

Designing Presentation Slides, continued 35 Make only 3 to 5 points per slide Customize your slides  logo  photo  chart Use animation to control flow, build interest Too much distracts the audience

Final Design Tips Limit attention getters Test designs on actual audiences

Limit Attention-Getters Add interest with dingbats, clip art Dingbats – small pieces of line art       Clip art – larger images inserted in text Use “highlighters” sparingl y

Limit Attention-Getters, continued Create unified look— Repeat text color in bullets, lines Use same colors throughout Make text, background contrast Use glossy paper for vivid colors Note, colors look brighter on screen than on paper

Color Limit Attention-Getters: Color 4 Limit colors to 4 per page—2 main colors, 2 accents Use color for main headings, not details Blue Green Violet Text colors for readers under 50 In North America, red means danger

3 3 Design Tests Watch someone use document to do a task Ask reader to think aloud during task Interrupt at key points to find out what reader thinks Ask reader to describe thought process afterwards +- Ask reader to put + and - signs in margins to show likes and dislikes