Reporting Memo Guidelines

Reporting Memo Requirements

English 622

Questions

·      What is the central question propelling the story?

·      List smaller questions you wanted answered

·      How does this story answer so what? Why now?

Sources

·      List the people you talked to, their titles and contact info

·      Explain what you wanted to learn from each person

·      Explain what you learned from each person. What surprised you?

Background

·      Explain the background information you collected and the sources from whom/which you collected it

Statistics

·      Explain the statistics you gathered and the sources from whom/which you collected them

Scene/Observation

·      Explain the scene(s) you observed

·      What was the pulse of the scene? The problem that was resolved? Or not resolved?

Conflict

·      Identify the heart of the story’s conflict

Point/Focus

·      Answer the questions you listed above

·      Say in one sentence the ONE thing you learned from the reporting. What do you want others to know?