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Due: Thursday, June 3
Explain a project you are working / have worked on (either from a class or a work experience) in terms understandable by someone who does not possess your knowledge of this process or other information relevant to your chosen project. This will be a two- to three-page paper in memo format.
Choosing a Project
Find a project you worked on that you found interesting that can easily be explained within this assignment's length requirements. Don't try to tackle something too big (like building a combustion engine from scratch); however, don't choose anything too simple, either (like your pencil-sharpening experience at your summer internship).
Necessary Components
The three main components of this memo will be:
- Assignment Explanation—provide a brief overview of what the assignment was, as well as your instructor's intended learning goals for you or your employer's desired use of the project—be sure to include the necessary background information of the course & course title / job & job responsibilities, when you created this project, who worked with you, etc.
Example: Class Project
Don't just tell me what the assignment sheet from your instructor says. Summarize the requirements of the assignment and speculate as to what your instructor had intended for you to learn from creating this project.
Example: Work Project
Usually employers do not assign tasks with the intent of merely offering employees a learning opportunity, so you will have to think about what you had to learn on-the-job to complete your project. Maybe there was a certain software or machine you had to teach yourself to use in order to create this project... Describe this experience. You will still want to also have a description as to the requirement that were given to you for the development of this project. |
- Project Description—fully explain your project so readers understand what you created, including what this project was / would be used for—don't provide instructions on how to re-create your project; talk about your project and what you created, how you developed it, what it was / would be used for, etc.
Example: As with the Technical Concept / Process Explanation, consider the aspects of your project your audience may potentially not understand:
- Terminology—define terms that may not be commonplace so your readers can follow your descriptions
- Concepts—fully explain the different concepts associated with your project so readers understand what you created
- Reasoning—include descriptions as to why certain reactions occur to show how your project works
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- Educational Development—discuss what you learned from this project (even though you are not being "taught," work projects can teach you something about your future career)
| Example: Don't just mimic the intended goals established by your instructor / employer. Discuss what you felt was important knowledge you gained from your project. You may have learned something completely different than what your instructor had intended for this assignment; this is good. Explain why you feel this knowledge is important.
Think of the relationship between what you learned from this project and what you have learned in other classes... How do these relate? |
When writing this memo, think about how the three main sections relate to one another: Your instructor / employer had guidelines that helped shape your project and goals that developed your understanding of this type of work. If you see strong relationships between the assignment purpose, requirements, construction, and goals, include this information. Don't feel as though the three main sections have to be completely separate; feel free to integrate the sections.
Concise Language
As we've discussed in class, a memo should be concise but complete. You have only three pages in which to describe your project. Think about ways to make your writing more concise:
Example: When you get a flat tire on your car or truck, using duct tape is not a very effective method of repairing the hole in the tire.
...could be written more succinctly as...
Duct tape does not effectively repair holes in automobile tires. |
Understanding Your Audience
For this assignment, you will essentially become teachers of your own knowledge. When explaining your technical process, think about the effective techniques used by your teachers when you learned the material / information. How did you learn this concept? How can you duplicate that learning experience for your readers of this paper? What knowledge do you have that your readers may not have? How will you address difference in understanding?
Again, be sure to check out the Class Notes section on Understanding Audience for more examination of audiences.
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