TECHNICAL MEMO FORMAT*
1. The body of the technical memo should be roughly four to six pages with at
least 2 pages of text. Try to achieve a balance: do not rely too heavily on charts,
tables, and graphs, but do not be overly wordy either. Convey your information
clearly, but succinctly. Points will be deducted if your report is too long or too
brief- this is a judgment call. Use the MS Word Template provided on the
“Formats” section of the CHEN4860 web page. Figures and tables should be cut
and pasted into the text, with captions. Use the Insert-Reference>Caption option
from the MS Word dropdown menu bar to insert captions (do not use Excel
captions). Figures and tables should be legible, with no labels or entries
reproduced having a size smaller than 10-point font. Use the formats given
on the web page for equations, tables, figures and graphs. Refer to the
style guide in your lab packet for guidance in writing.
2. Your technical memo should start off with a brief introduction that includes both
the objectives of your experiment and the basic procedures you employed. Even
though your supervisor knows your general working assignment, supervisors
generally read many of these reports and they need 1-2 short paragraphs to put the
work in context. You do not need to provide general background (i.e. why
chemical engineering is good for the world). Your introduction should focus on
the specific objectives of your work.
3. The experimental methods do not need to be detailed, but a brief overview of
what equipment was used and the quantities measured should be summarized in a
few sentences. The experimental results should be succinctly summarized. Do not
try to report all the raw data. Report a sample data set and summarize the methods
of analysis, reporting only the key equations used for analysis (do not provide
derivations unless you are reporting a novel method of analysis. In that case, the
derivation may be provided in an appendix). In a technical memo, it is effective to
discuss the implications of the results immediately after presenting them.
Comparisons of the results to the literature or models may also be included here.
4. The technical memo should end with conclusions drawn from the experiments
and recommendations for future work. You want to make sure your manager
knows precisely what the implications of your work are, and you need to make it
explicit whether additional work is warranted and what the scope of the proposed
work is. In the case of CHEN4860 technical memos, your recommendations
should focus on potential improvements to the experimental measurements you
made.
*
Adapted from Wilson, University of Texas
The general rule of thumb for technical memos is: the introduction should tell the
reader what to expect, the main body of text should report the results, and the
conclusions should reiterate the key results you want the reader to remember!
Sometimes you wish to provide additional information to support your report. Such
material can be attached as appendices. Sample calculations or summaries of the raw data
may be included as appendices. An appendix is not a way to sneak more information into
your report. Someone who wants to reevaluate your data or check your analysis because
the conclusions are controversial will read the appendices. You should never expect the
reader to refer to information in the appendix to understand your report. For your
CHEN4860 memos, you may choose attach information you specifically want to call
attention to as an appendix. Additionally, you should include in your email containing the
Technical Memo, an Excel spreadsheet with your sample calculations and working graphs.
The first tab of the spreadsheet should serve as an index to the rest of the tabs- it should
explain what is contained within. Use descriptive names for tabs and descriptive titles for
graphs. Insert text amidst the calculations so that I can follow your thought process through
the calculations and analysis.
The Technical Memo and Excel calculation sheet should be submitted by email on the due
date listed in the syllabus or lab schedule. Late technical memos will be penalized 10%
per day.