ENGLISH MEMO

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Assignment 2: Properly-formatted Memo with S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Estimated time to completion: approximately 1.5 hours total to complete

Submission format: A properly-formatted memo in doc, docx, or pdf format uploaded to

Canvas.

Introduction:

In this assignment you will have an opportunity to construct a SMART Career Goal defining your

interests and educational/experience aspirations and communicated to the instructor in memo

format.

Motivation:

Based on the reading from Servan-Schreiber, “The Art of Time”, you are aware that time is a

scarce resource and it is non-renewable. How are you going to define your career goals and

spend your time (life) to build your career while at university?

Refer to the SMART Goals for this assignment as well as the elements of a properly-formatted

memo.

Directions:

Based on the learning material provided in Canvas, create a properly-formatted memo from

you, to the instructor, that clearly communicates the criteria of a SMART career (or internship)

goal that you would like to be able to achieve in 1 – 3 years.

Be sure to think about each of the following elements as a complete sentence since you will be

asked to include each element in your memo: Goal, Objective, Benchmark, and Milestone.

Refer to the Example: Career Goal in Lesson 3 (slides 8-9 Lecture video & PPT) for a complete

example including a discussion of these elements. The example is also included as an image on

the last page of this assignment.

*Note: Don’t just copy and paste from my example, but try to identify specific opportunities you

would actually like to pursue during your academic progress towards your degree (e.g., join a

club, service project, part-time job, speak a foreign language, learn to _________). The effort you

put in now will benefit YOU in the future. Later in the semester you’ll be asked to address your

progress towards your identified SMART Goal benchmarks and milestones so that you can self-

reflect on your progress.

Refer to information below for formatting instructions related to the grading rubric.

Memo format

Use the “Parts of a Memo” link to reference as you create a One-Page Memo (points deducted

for any memo longer than one page.

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1. Heading Segment: include identifying information in the heading (e.g., Your name in

“FROM”, instructor name in “TO”). Include a descriptive subject line

2. Opening Segment: write your purpose statement as the first sentence (e.g., “I’ve been

thinking about my SMART career goals and want to obtain a position as...)

3. Context: You are trying to identify what skills and abilities you need to gain/improve

upon in order to receive a job offer related to your career goal. This is the section in

which you write your SMART Goal including Objectives, Benchmarks, and Milestones

elements (see last page of this assignment for Example). Each of the elements must be

written as a complete sentence and the entire Context section should be formatted as a

paragraph.

4. Task segment: Identify a business or organization that you would like to work for as part

of the “Task Segment” to motivate you to work toward your SMART Goal. Be sure to

include:

a. A description of the business or organization (e.g., what do they sell, provide?)

b. The name and email contact information of a representative of the organization

5. Save your file as the following file type and file name:

a. doc, docx, or pdf format

b. Lastname_Firstname_02GoalMemo

Additional information:

A “Sample Memo” is provided for reference.

You can use the UF Business Library LibGuide or a simple Google search to find information

about a company, business, or organization of interest.

Grading rubric

 Heading 2 possible points

 Opening Segment 3 possible points

 Context 10 possible points

 Task Segment 5 possible points

 Spelling & grammar 5 possible points

 Overall impression 5 possible points

Notes

Ask in Canvas > Piazza if you have questions about this assignment including questions about

formatting in MS Word. Use this opportunity to become more professionally competent in

technical writing skills. No question is insignificant!

Verify that your discussion was uploaded to canvas; students are responsible for checking their

submissions. Assignments submitted after 11:59 pm on the due date will not be graded.

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Lesson 3 Example: Career Goal

Sources:

1. Cothran, H, Wysocki, A, Farnsworth, D. and Clark, J. (2015) "Developing SMART Goals for

Your Organization ", EDIS document FE577, UF|IFAS, Food and Resource Economics

Department, Gainesville, FL.

2. Markel, M. (2001) Technical Communication, 6e, Bedford/St. Martin’s, Boston, MA,

Chapter 15 “Writing Letters, Memos, and Emails”, pp. 412 – 442.

3. Purdue Online Writing Lab, Professional, Technical Writing, “Parts of a Memo”,

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/02/

4. Purdue Online Writing Lab, Professional, Technical Writing, “Sample Memo”,

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/04/

5. Purdue Online Writing Lab, Academic Writing, Paragraphs and Paragraphing, “On

paragraphs”, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/