Intro To Tech Communication

Memo Header

· Name of person or group who will receive the report (To line)

· Who is sending the report (From line))

· Date of submission

· Title of report (subject line)

Overview

This should provide a summary of what is to follow the report.  It not only indicates the organizational structure but also clearly states the purpose of the report and the results.  A person should be able to read this section and know exactly what the report is about. 

Need or Problem Discussion

This section once again outlines the need or the problem that you are attempting to solve.  You want to start with the “big picture” (modern use of technology and ewaste) and transition to the specific issues (repairing your specific device by helping people understand what may cause a problem, how they can verify that it is the cause, and how they can fix it.)

· You should treat this report as both objective and persuasive writing. You need to convince your audience that you have a good understanding of the device and its related problems and that you have gained an accurate understanding of the causes and solutions.

· Use concrete details to describe the device,  problems, causes, and solutions.

Methodology

In this section, you will explain how you obtained the information that you use in the report.  What key terms, indexes (Proquest, etc), and Web sites did you use? Why did you select these over others?  This should not just be a list of resources.  Remember, you want the reader to see you as knowledgeable and professional. So you will want to establish that you thought about it, selected a variety of keywords carefully, applied them systematically to find resources, and that your sources were knowledgeable, trustworthy, and credible. You will need at least 10 credible sources.

Findings

In this section you will summarize the information collected as your key findings from the research.  To make this section effective you will need to do the following:

Focus the findings so they contribute to and reinforce the main purpose of the report (describing the device, problems users can encounter, what causes the problems, and how the problems can be addressed or solved).

1. Start with a description of the device. What is it? What does it do? What are its main features? When was it made? Who manufactured it? Is it still being manufactured? How much did it cost? If not, how long was it in production? How many were made and sold? Were there other versions? If so, how does this version vary from others?

2. Once you have described the device, you will need to research and document the problems, their various causes, and possible solutions.

· State each problem and provide examples from various sources to support your claim. For example, you discover that a common problem is that the device powers on for a few minutes and then turns off. You will want to provide examples from sources that indicate this is a common problem. For example, you might give a quote from an Amazon.com customer review and support the quote by noting that 50 other users also listed the same complaint. Then you reference a User Forum where you noted that several people asked questions about this and received feedback indicating that other users also had this problem. Then you would reference reviews from magazines or reputable web sites that discuss this issue with the device. Now you have a key point (a claim about a common problem) and three examples that function as evidence to support your claim.

· Once you have documented common problems, you will want to follow each problem with a description of the potential causes. You should have multiple causes for each problem. You will use the same logical structure when discussing the causes. For example, you note that several of your sources indicate that it could be a failing motherboard. So you will write that one cause could be a failing motherboard, and you would give several examples where this is stated. You would also do research on motherboards to determine what they do and what happens when they fail. You will then summarize this information and give references.

· Finally, you will do the same for the solutions by referencing information from User Forums, How-to sites, and other references such as magazines on technologies and how they work.

Conclusion

In this section you need to provide a summary of your findings and discuss the implications for creating effective troubleshooting guides. 

Appendix

Label a separate appendix by letter (A) and give it a clear descriptive and directive title. Always number the pages of the appendices as part of the report.

1. Include your reference list (using the APA format) in the appendix.