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A Professional Memorandum Writing Workshop

A Professional Memorandum Writing Workshop. Patricia Elliott, MPH Candidate for DrPH Boston University Instructional Innovation Conference March 2, 2012. Overview. Innovation purpose Workshop components Application to other courses Questions. Innovation Purpose. Context.

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A Professional Memorandum Writing Workshop

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  1. A Professional Memorandum Writing Workshop Patricia Elliott, MPHCandidate for DrPH Boston University Instructional Innovation Conference March 2, 2012

  2. Overview • Innovation purpose • Workshop components • Application to other courses • Questions

  3. Innovation Purpose

  4. Context • Course: 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.

  5. Goals of the Memo Assignment • Synthesize information • Present ideas clearly and efficiently • Build career related skills • Create a polished writing sample

  6. Challenges for Students • Professional writing ≠ academic writing • It is difficult to break successful habits • Short assignments are the enemy of procrastinators

  7. Innovation: Memo Workshop • Students 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

  8. The Workshop

  9. Components • Instructional lecture • Individual brainstorming • Group collaboration • One-on-one instructor interaction • Class-wide group discussion of prepared examples

  10. Section 1- Memo Dissection • A close look at each memo section: • The importance of being concise and direct • Introduction • Scope of the problem • Current approaches • Proposed program/policy • Major constituencies • Conclusion Instructional Lecture

  11. Section 2- Partner Time Practice being succinct and clear • Students 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 challenges Group Work

  12. Section 3- The Art of Writing • Presentation of the nuances of professional writing with a focus on: • Tone • Formatting • Content • General writing tips • Active/passive voice • Grammar • Citations Instructional Lecture

  13. 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

  14. Section 5- Analysis of Examples • Examples 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

  15. Section 5- Analysis of Examples

  16. Application to Other Courses

  17. Application of Innovation • Direct 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

  18. Summary

  19. Benefits • Improves 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

  20. Questions?

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