A Professional Memorandum Writing Workshop

Patricia Elliott, MPHCandidate for DrPH

Boston University Instructional Innovation ConferenceMarch 2, 2012

OverviewInnovation purpose

Workshop components

Application to other courses

Questions

INNOVATION PURPOSE

ContextCourse: Women, Children and

Adolescents: Public Health Approaches

Assignment: Craft a professional memorandum informing a decision maker of a health issue along with a programmatic or policy response.

Need for innovation: Students lack professional writing experience.

Goals of the Memo AssignmentSynthesize information

Present ideas clearly and efficiently

Build career related skills

Create a polished writing sample

Challenges for StudentsProfessional writing ≠ academic

writing

It is difficult to break successful habits

Short assignments are the enemy of procrastinators

Innovation: Memo WorkshopStudents need practice and

support to build new skills

Multifaceted skills-building workshop◦An interactive in-class session◦Students work with their own material ◦Uses lecture, individual, and group

work

THE WORKSHOP

ComponentsInstructional lecture

Individual brainstorming

Group collaboration

One-on-one instructor interaction

Class-wide group discussion of prepared examples

Section 1- Memo DissectionA close look at each memo

section:

The importance of being concise and direct

o Introduction

o Scope of the problem

o Current approaches

o Proposed

program/policy

o Major constituencies

o Conclusion

Instructional Lecture

Section 2- Partner Time

Practice being succinct and clearStudents turn to their neighbor

and must summarize in 60 seconds:◦The importance of

their health issue◦A brief description

of their policy or programmatic recommendation

Class discussion of challengesGroup Work

Section 3- The Art of WritingPresentation of the nuances of

professional writing with a focus on:◦Tone◦Formatting◦Content

General writing tips◦Active/passive voice◦Grammar◦Citations

Instructional Lecture

Section 4- Practice with Topic

Individual work ◦guided by a

handout Partner work

◦present ideas and ask questions to neighbors

Faculty work◦one-on-one

questions addressed by roving faculty and TAs Individual and Group Work

Section 5- Analysis of ExamplesExamples of each memo section

are displayed on-screen and in a handout

Class-wide discussion of strengths and weaknesses, followed by faculty analysis

Slides, with faculty analysis included, are posted to course website after class

Class-Wide Group Work

Section 5- Analysis of Examples

APPLICATION TO OTHER COURSES

Application of InnovationDirect use in other courses

◦Any course that requires students to write a memorandum

◦Applications in public health, public policy, business sector, etc.

Expanded use for the format◦This multi-faceted format for skills

building can be applied across the curriculum to help student acquire a variety of new skills

SUMMARY

BenefitsImproves students’ understanding of

the nuances of professional writing

Engages and challenges students to work through their own topic in a way that identifies hurdles and provides immediate support from peers and faculty

Offers flexibility for a range of audiences and educational goals

QUESTIONS?