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MEMORANDUM

TO: [Your TA’s Name]

FROM:[Your Name]

DATE:[Date the work was delivered]

SUBJECT:[Name of experiment]

Summary

[Check your instructor’s preference. If you are writing an Abstract, see the instructions at the end of this document. If you are writing an Enumerated summary, present the main points of your work in a list like the following. Use complete sentences.

Whichever summary you use, write it last, after you have completed the report.]

1. [Begin with a statement of your purpose, or the objectives of the experiment.]

2. [Concisely restate conclusions developed in the Results discussion.]

3. [Direct recommendations to management.]

4. [Be consistent. Do not recommend a design and then recommend that further

experiments should be performed.]

Introduction

[Begin with a sentence summarizing the purpose or objective of the experiment. If you had a design problem, restate the problem and its significance. Followwith a few sentences that give an overview of what procedures you followed and what analytical methods you used. Give the reader an idea of what to expect.]

Methods

[Give a brief description of the experimental apparatus. You may cite the lab manual and specify any modifications to the standard. You may reference a fuller, illustrated description in the appendix. Give distinctive features and critical dimensions.

Next, give a brief description of the materials and procedures. What did you measure and how? Cite the lab manual but specify modifications. Again, you may reference a fuller description in the appendix.

Finally, include a brief discussion of the theoretical basis of this experiment. Give one or two equations to represent the theoretical result. (See FAQs for how to handle numbers and equations.)In the Results section, you will compare your results to the theory, so prepare your reader for that discussion here.]

Results

[Begin this section with an overview, summarizing the key results. Next, present your data in figures or tables.(See FAQs for instructions in preparing figures and tables.) Specify what data you are presenting, how you analyzed it, and what you concluded from your analysis. Compare your results to the theory, and discuss the implications. Remember to maintain consistency with the Methods section, and do not introduce new theory here.

Check with your course instructor for more specific detail about this section.]

Conclusions/Recommendations

[Conclude with a summary of the most important conclusions you developed in the Results section. The conclusion should not introduce new information. You are restating important information both for emphasis and convenience to your reader.

Check with your course instructor for guidance on the recommendations.]

Appendices

[Some simple experiments may require only one appendix for raw data and calculations. Others may need several. Multiple appendices are normally labeled in sequential letters (Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.), and each new appendix begins on a new page. Check with your course instructor for what he or she requires here. ]

References

[All sources cited in the text and appendices should be included in a list of references. Use NoodleBib to generate your list of references according to APA style.]

Abstract

[Technical memos with an Abstract (rather than the Enumerated Summary) will include the Abstract as an attachment to the memo. Your abstract should include the following:

  • the purpose or principal objectives of the experiment
  • the methods employed
  • quantitative results
  • conclusions
  • recommendations

Make sure the abstract is self-contained and that it includes no information or conclusion not stated in the memo.]