Document Types

2. Document Types • Memorandum • Electronic mail • Letters • Business letter • Transmittal letter • Reports • Progress report • Proposal

3. Memorandum • Memorandum - a brief, informal report • Communicate technical and administrative information • Request information • Make announcements • Outline policies • Transmit meeting minutes • Establish a record of decisions, requests, and concerns

4. Memorandum Headings • To: • From: • Subject: • Date:

5. Memorandum Body • Arrange topics in the order of their importance • Key statements first • Details later

6. Advantages of E-Mail vs. Hard Copy • Instant transmission of information • Easy distribution to a large number of recipients • Easy linking of one text to many others

7. Characteristics of E-Mail • Popular • Immediate • Informal - not incorrect • Precise • Public (not private)

8. Guidelines for Writing E-Mail Messages • Acknowledge recipient • Keep messages short • Make headings clear and exact • Use “urgent” only for urgent message • Use correct grammar, punctuation, and style • Proofread the message carefully

9. Guidelines for Writing E-Mail Messages (2) • Tone: Informal and correct • Use headings and lists • Use caution with humor and sarcasm • Use caution with automatic replies • Length: Brief • Message: 60 characters wide (maximum) • Paragraphs: 7 lines long (maximum) • Subject: Specific – 25 characters wide (maximum) • Order: Most important information first

10. E-Mail Etiquette • Do not forward an e-mail without permission • Keep e-mail addresses confidential • Avoid using all capital letters • Remember that electronic privacy does not exist • Include a short statement indicating to what you are responding

11. Business Letter • Business letter – frequently used form of technical communication • More formal and reliable than electronic mail • More precise and permanent than telephone or face-to-face conversations • Format of a business letter • Block • Modified block • Modified block with indented paragraphs

12. Elements of a Business Letter • Heading • Recipient’s/Inside Address • Salutation/Greeting • Body • Closing • Signature • Additional information

13. Transmittal Letter • Accompanies a larger document • Provides the recipient with a context in which to place the larger document • Provides the sender with a permanent record of having sent the material

14. Guidelines for Writing a Transmittal Letter • Describe what is being sent and explain the purpose for sending it • Summarize the key elements of the proposal (one or two sentences) • Provide other useful information • Conclude with a sentence that thanks or compliments the recipient

15. Report • Report - a stand-alone document that conveys information of professional interest and importance to various individuals in an organization • Types of reports • Internal report • External report • Informal report • Formal report

16. Progress Report • Progress report - objectives are project monitoring and accountability • Summary of project goal • Statement of progress toward goal • Discussion of costs and scheduling issues • List of future objectives

17. Front Matter (Title Page) of a Progress Report • Name, position, and location of the designer • Name, position, and location of the person or agency to whom the report is being submitted • Period of investigation • Current date

18. Body of a Progress Report • Abstract • Introduction • Technical progress • Technical issues • Future work

19. End Matter of a Progress Report • References/Bibliography • Appendices • Résumés

20. Proposal • Proposal – a document in which the writer identifies a specific problem and proposes a solution to this problem

21. Front Matter of a Proposal • Title page • Executive summary • Table of contents • List of figures • List of tables • List of terms (optional)

22. Body of a Proposal • Introduction • Technical approach • Management requirements • Work plan

23. End Matter of a Proposal • References/Bibliography • Appendices • Résumés