I am in the process of responding to all of your email memos re: progress reports and providing Unit Two evaluations. I have decided to pause in order to give you some general feedback based on the progress reports I have read so far. I hope these notes and comments are helpful:
- The most common error among the reports I received is the form of the document. The instructions ask for an email memo; yet many people sent me email messages. Following instructions, and indeed designing your documents accordingly, is important. If my instructions are unclear, I very much appreciate when you alert me on Face book.
- The most serious error which is also common is missing introductions to Surveys and Interviews questions: I was surprised with how few people presented surveys and interview questions that were correctly composed and can only assume you are not reading the textbook carefully. Most surveys are missing titles and proper introductions. As well, as missing some discussion on how you will conduct your surveys and interviews: Email, in person, or online surveys? At the top of your questionaries you need to introduce the survey’s purpose and assure your respondents that their answers are confidential. Please do review the check-list for questionnaires and interview introductions. p 146 – 147. Interviews need to be requested with proper letters, please see the textbook.
- And finally, many people appeared to rush through this very important part of the process; there were many errors in expression, and indeed I found myself repeating the same notes as I had already given in Unit One evaluations. Please do read my comments over again when self-editing your work to ensure you do not make the same mistake twice – thanks!
- Always put your name and date on an attachment
- Correctly naming attachments
- Initials belong beside your name on memos
- Avoid the word ‘it’ – use nouns in place of verbs. Nouns name things – verbs talk about actions.
- Avoid unnecessary words: take out the verbs and the people and replace with noun phrases
“when a senior member left and will now have to be replaced by a new graduate”
- Take out verbs and people and use nouns:
- This report investigates solutions to the problem of replacing senior management with inexperienced graduates
- Even better:
- This report provides recommendations for management replacement training of new graduates.
- Note how there is a single verb in the above sentence: “provides.”
- One more time: this is the trick; take out the verbs, take out the ‘people’ and replace with noun phrases. I expect all future work to be carefully proofread with a focus on creating noun phrases and removing verbs. Thank you.
Example: Introduction to Survey
Here is a good example for you to study.
Public Transportation on the UBC Vancouver Campus
I am an undergraduate student at UBC engaged in a technical writing project. The purpose of this survey is to obtain primary data for an analysis and investigation that aims to provide recommendations for improving your experience with public transportation on the UBC Vancouver campus. The final formal report will be addressed to TransLink staff and UBC Campus + Community Planning staff. Together with the reports available from TransLink website, the data I gather from this survey will serve the ultimate purpose of providing recommendations for increasing efficiency and accessibility. The survey contains 14 multiple-choice questions, and it should take about than 5 minutes of your time. Your responses are voluntary and anonymous. Thank you, I appreciate your generous participation in my survey.
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