Memo Grading Notes 10/6/06

Michelle is grading the memos as follows:

Format (f): 3pts

Grammar/Spelling (g): 2 pts

Content (c): 5pts

Check out the memo help in associated documents.

The following are from last year, but Michelle is still the one grading these things!!!

Memo Notes 11/30/05 From Michelle Bunny

• If the passive voice is used inappropriately, points will be deducted
• A few people are distinguishing between where they found their data and the source of that data. If you are speaking to Sally, she knows GIS data hot spots, and doesn’t need to know this stuff. If you are talking to the committee, they don’t care if you got the data from “little green men,” as long as it’s accurate.
• Memos BRIEFLY describe what you did, how you did it, and why you did it (both reasons for projects and results achieved). Lacking any of these qualities is points off, but see the point below on details.
• GIS are raster, vector, or both. Unless there is some peculiarity of the software that makes results from it unique (or you are writing a scientific paper with methods meant to be exactly duplicated), telling your colleague that you are using the most common software on the market is akin to telling me that you wrote your memo in Word. I don’t care if you used manual overlays, as long as you correctly describe your process.
• Beware the details! Many of you don’t know enough to speak of them with the proper accuracy, so I must deduct points for including incorrect and irrelevant information. Consider your audience. If you are talking to a colleague (Sally) who both knows what you are doing and how to do it herself, she simply wants to know which particular method you used. That means that telling her that you downloaded the metadata is unnecessary and could be considered insulting to her. If you are speaking to a general audience (the committee), they won’t know what you are talking about and probably won’t care. They may need to check with another source (say, your boss) to see if what you did makes logical sense. In this case, the details simply distract and confuse.
• No acronyms without explanation. Spell it out in the first reference with the acronym in parentheses. E.g. National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29)
• First paragraph is what you did, why you did it. The rest is how, explanation of concerns.
• Please follow the formatting provided to you….1 Page, 12 pt font (Times New Roman) single spaced, ¾” margins.
• REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE!!!! Don’t reference the lab as a lab.