Mechanical Engineering 333T
TO:
ME 333T Students
FROM:
Ms. Moore
SUBJECT:
Memo Requesting Approval of Research Topic
Your first graded assignment in this class is a memo to your TA and me requesting
approval of the topic you intend to research this semester. Your topic should involve an
investigation of an issue in science or engineering that has ethical or social significance.
In choosing your topic, you should start with a question, not an answer. In other
words, your research should be a process of exploration rather than an exercise in
finding data to support your current position.
Since you will be working with this topic all semester, your first objective should be to
choose an area of research that will interest you. Your memo should demonstrate that
your topic is
· ethically or socially significant,
· technically or scientifically relevant,
· interesting to readers of the UER, and
· manageable in terms of scope.
An appropriate topic for this class will fulfill each of these criteria. Your memo is your
first opportunity to argue that your topic is an appropriate one. If your TA and I are not
convinced, I'll ask you to come up with a new topic and, possibly, to write a new memo.
Because the goal of this research project is a literature review, you must also
demonstrate, in an annotated bibliography attached to the memo, that the UT library
system contains sufficient literature relevant to the topic you have chosen. The annotated
bibliography should list at least five sources that you have found in your preliminary
research. At least three of these sources should be articles from periodicals that are
published in hardcopy. Each listing should be followed by a brief (one paragraph)
description of the source.
Your memo will be evaluated on the basis of how clearly you present your topic and how
well you state and support your claims. Remember it's not enough to make claims, such
as "my topic has ethical significance." You have to support those claims with reasons and
evidence that will convince your reader. In addition, we will consider the memo's
structure, tone, clarity, and professionalism.
Please see the attached summary of requirements for a brief overview of the assignment
and the attached grade sheet for a breakdown of our grading criteria.
Attachments.
Copy to:
TA NAME
Memo Requesting Approval of a Research Topic Summary of Requirements

Length: 1-2 pages typed

Attachment: Annotated Bibliography listing five or more sources

Format: Use formats in the on-line Writing Guidelines for
the memo (http://filebox.vt.edu/eng/mech/writing/workbooks/memo.html) and
the bibliography (http://filebox.vt.edu/eng/mech/writing/workbooks/format.html)