X INTRODUCTION

A genre is a piece of writing that is marked by a distinctive style, form or content.

All professional activities require strong and persuasive writing as well as
adherence to the formal conventions of a particular audience. This topic
introduces you to some common genres in the scientific and technical domains.
Electronic correspondence such as e-mails and reports such as memos are
examples of the major technical genres which will be discussed in this topic.

SENDING MESSAGES: MEMORANDUM
This sub-topic will discuss the meaning and parts of memorandum.
4.1.1 Simple Memos
Memos are usually used for communication between persons in the same
company. Although the term memorandum used to be associated with
temporary communication, usage of the term has changed. Today, a memo is
4.1
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Technical
Genre
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe the format of technical genres: simple memos, memo reports
and e-mails;
2. Write simple yet effective memos and e-mails; and
3. Construct sentence structures of the causal relationship type.
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 45
regarded as communication that makes needed information immediately
available. Memos are usually used to:
(a) Make requests;
(b) Make announcements; and
(c) Communicate reports.
4.1.2 Parts of a Simple Memo
A memorandum has two regular parts: heading and body. An additional section
in the memo is attachment(s).

(a) Heading
The letterhead is usually part of the heading.

Example of a letterhead: Faculty of Education and Languages
Open University Malaysia
Jalan Tun Ismail, 50480 Kuala Lumpur

The text then follows this general format:
Date: (complete and current date)
To: (readers names and job titles)
From: (your name and job title)
Subject: (what the memo is about)

Be specific and concise in your subject line. For example, Cockroaches as
a subject line could mean anything from a pest problem to an account of
cockroaches. Instead, use something like, Overcoming cockroaches in our
kitchen. In addition, for matters which need attention immediately,
starting with URGENT: in the subject line is a good idea.


X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 46
(b) Body
The body of a memorandum is the message. It is composed in the same
manner as any other business communication. The writer usually initials
the memo just beside the name typed in the From section. However,
some writers prefer to give their signatures at the end of the memo.



(c) Attachments
Besides making announcements and requests, memos are sometimes used
to communicate reports. Such reports can be lengthy and may need to be
appended separately. We call such documents an attachment. This is a
supplementary document that is attached to a primary document (in this
case, the memo). Make sure you document your findings or provide
detailed information in the form of attachment(s) when necessary. You can
attach lists, graphs, tables, etc. Be sure to refer to your attachments in your
memo and add a notation about what has been attached, just below your
closing line, as in the example below:

Attached: Several complaints about cleanliness,
March-September 2009

Look at the following example of a memo for making an announcement.

TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 47


Note that the language is almost telegraphic as the aim is to communicate
quickly. Telegraphic language is characterised by the omission of grammatical
items such as the and is and word endings such as ing. It is usually brief
and concise.

Before continuing the lesson, do the following exercise.


Using the example below, write a memo of your own.

ACTIVITY 4.1
Letterhead Name of Company and Address

Date:
To:
From:
Subject:

State your purpose for writing the memo.


Signature
X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 48
4.1.3 Memo Report
Simple memos are usually informative, persuasive, and to the point. However,
complex memos are sometimes needed, especially in the office setting. Although
these business memos may be more formal and complicated, the purpose is the
same there is an objective in mind, which the sender hopes to achieve by
sending the memo to the reader.

The heading and attachment segments of a memo report are the same as in
simple memos but the body of the message is more structured. Generally, the
body has three segments opening, summary and closing.

(a) Opening segment
The purpose of a memo is usually found in the opening paragraphs and is
presented in three parts, as shown in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Parts Describing Purpose of a Memo
Parts Description
Context and problem
statement
The context is the event, circumstance or background of
the problem you are trying to solve. You may use a
paragraph to establish the background and clearly state
the problem, or mention this in the opening sentence as
in the example below:
In our effort to overcome cockroaches in our kitchen....
(Include only what your reader needs to know but be
sure it is clear).
Specific assignment or task In the task statement, you should describe what you are
doing to solve the problem. If the action was requested,
your task may be indicated by the opening sentence, for
example:
You asked that I look at ...
If you want to explain your intentions, you might say,
To determine the best method of controlling the
number of cockroaches, I will ...
Overall purpose of the memo
or purpose statement
Finally, the purpose statement of a memo gives your
reason for writing it and forecasts what is in the rest of
the memo. You would want to indicate to your readers
the way information is organised in the body of your
memo.
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 49
For example, you might say:
This memo presents a description of the current
situation, some proposed alternatives and my
recommendations.
If you plan to use headings for your memo segments, you
can refer to these major headings to provide a guide for
your reader: background, proposed alternatives and
recommendations.

(b) Summary segment
For longer memos (beyond a page), you may want to include a separate
summary segment. This segment provides a brief statement of the key
recommendations you are making.
For example, you can say, In summation

(c) Closing segment
Close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your reader
to take. State how the reader will benefit from the desired actions and how
you can make those actions easier.

For example, you could write, I will be glad to discuss this recommendation
with you during our trip to Gunung Ledang and follow through on any decisions
you make.

Try the following exercise to test your understanding.




Study the following memo report and answer these questions:
1. To whom was the memo sent?
2. Who sent it?
3. What is the problem?
4. What is the specific assignment of the committee?
5. List three recommendations put forward by the committee.
6. What information do you think is presented in the attachment?
ACTIVITY 4.2
X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 50

Amiruddin College
University of Malaya

Date: 4 November 2009
To: Assoc Prof Dr Tan Xian Sheng (College Head)
From: Ms Elise Lee (Ad Hoc Committee Head)
Subject: Hazing new students

The attached proposal for a new anti-hazing policy for Amiruddin College
reflects the work of a committee you asked me to convene. The hazing of
new students and other abusive or demeaning initiation rites are discussed.

No one knows for sure how much hazing exists at Amiruddin or what forms
it takes. If Amiruddin at all resembles other colleges in this regard, hazing is
poorly understood and significantly under-reported. We were pleased to
take on this important task because we believe hazing has a dangerous
potential to harm individuals, corrupt organisations and teams, and
undermine the educational mission of the College and its fundamental
values of respect and community.

We met four times over the semester holidays. A draft of the anti-hazing
policy was shared with a variety of colleagues and student groups for
discussion and feedback before the committee reached a consensus about the
final version we are submitting to you.

Our committee feels strongly that the adoption and articulation of a more
stringent anti-hazing policy at Amiruddin, although much needed and
overdue, is in itself not a sufficient response to hazing. We very much
endorse the education/prevention recommendations in the report from the
anti-hazing working group, which we understand you have accepted and
directed various College departments to implement. Student organisational
leaders and members need information, clear definitions and guidance
related to hazing and to inappropriate versus appropriate new-member
activities. In particular, we support the recommendation that College
departments responsible for working with student organisations continue
and intensify their educational efforts against hazing, especially efforts to
help organisations distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable
behaviour and develop positive rites of passage for their new members.

We also support the recommendation of the group adjudication committee
for a more consistent and centralised system of responding to reported
violations of College standards, including the hazing policy. Similarly, we
recognise and support the need for a more centralised coordination and
support for departmental education and prevention work against hazing.
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 51


SENDING INFORMATION: E-MAIL
Your mind has to work in a different way when you write for delivery online.
This is because of the non-linear way people use online documents. For most
people, reading text onscreen is harder optical work than reading words printed
on paper. Therefore, online documentation needs to be:
(a) Shorter;
(b) Displayed in smaller parts at one time;
(c) Legible; and
(d) Written according to the conventions of online documentation.





















4.2
Amiruddin College
University of Malaya

It is important for the Amiruddin community to receive one clear message
about hazing, rather than different or potentially conflicting messages. We
think it would be very useful for all parties concerned to meet periodically with
you, administrators who work with student groups and organisational leaders
to discuss some hazing case studies, so that the College can develop and foster
a common understanding and clear precedents regarding what kinds of
behaviours constitute hazing, what kinds of behaviours may be questionable
but are not clear violations and what kinds of behaviours are acceptable.

We hope that the definition and discussion of hazing that we have developed
will be a useful tool in preventing hazing in this community and responding to
it vigorously if and when it occurs. We would be happy to meet with you to
discuss our proposal and respond to any questions you might have.

Attached: Proposal for New Anti-Hazing Policy

Adapted from: Anti-Hazing Policy Committee Memo.

(Note: Hazing someone means to initiate, as into a college fraternity, by
exacting humiliating performances from or playing rough practical
jokes upon the person.)
X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 52
4.2.1 Benefits of E-mail
The value of electronic mail (e-mail) in both corporate and personal domains
goes without saying. Basically, an e-mail is:
(a) Cheaper and faster than a letter;
(b) Less intrusive than a phone call; and
(c) Less hassle than a fax.

In this topic, we will not talk about the mechanics of sending e-mail such as
which buttons to push or how to attach a file. Instead, we will focus on the
content of e-mail, that is, how to write messages more efficiently, clearly and
effectively.
4.2.2 Structure of an E-mail Message
Like memos, e-mails have two regular parts header and body. In most cases,
you will be interested only in the body, which comprises the message proper.

(a) Header
The header contains items such as Date, From, Subject and cc.
Sometimes, there are lines such as X-Mailer and X-Originating-Ip
which do not concern you but are necessary for programming and
debugging purposes. Figure 4.1 shows a sample header.

Figure 4.1: Sample header information



X-Mailer: MIME-tools 5.41 (Entity 5.404)
X-Originating-lp: 165.127.8.254
X-Originating-Server: ws2-7.us4.outblaze.com
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 06:58:08 +0800
Reply-To: InstructionalTechnology ForumG
<ITFORUM@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sender: InstructionalTechnology ForumG
<ITFORUM@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From: Louise Miller <lmiller50@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Evaluation of Learning Objects in e-learning
To: ITFORUM@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 53
(b) Subject lines
As in memos, a subject line that pertains clearly to the body of the e-mail
will help people to mentally shift their attention to the issue at hand before
they even begin to read your message in full. The subject line:
(i) Should be brief (as many mailers truncate long subject lines);
(ii) Does not need to be a complete sentence; and
(iii) Should give a clue as to the contents of the message.
The following is an example:
Subject: Re: Evaluation of learning objects in e-learning
The subject line should summarise important details of the message. If your
message is in response to another e-mail, your e-mail software will
probably preface the subject line with Re: (for Regarding). If your e-mail
composition software does not do this, it would be helpful to type in Re:
Subject: Re: Evaluation of learning objects in e-learning
It may be a good idea to start the subject line with the word URGENT: if
the matter is pressing and you know that the recipient gets a lot of e-mail),
for example:
Subject: URGENT: Need three computers by Friday
If you are offering non-urgent information that requires no response from
the recipient, prefacing the subject line with FYI: (For Your Information) is
not a bad idea, as shown here:
Subject: FYI: Coffee and scones in my room

(c) Body
Every new communication medium develops its own protocols for opening
and closing.
(i) Telephone conversations start with Hello and end with Goodbye.
(ii) Letters open with Dear and end with Sincerely.
As e-mail is fairly new, there are no firm rules on how to open and close
them but you should take the culture and customs of all parties into
consideration. Many people do not use a salutation or signature in e-mail.
While a letter can get separated from its envelope easily, it is difficult to
separate an e-mail message from its header information. The message itself
often states who the e-mail is to and from.


X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 54
(d) Greetings
Salutations are tricky, especially if you are not able to tell whether you are
addressing a man or a woman. The family name is used first in some cultures
and last in others. Honorifics vary, depending on status or age.
It is probably not a good idea to use Sir or Mr unless you are certain that
your correspondent is a male. Similarly, it is safer to use Ms instead of
Miss or Mrs unless you know the preference of the woman in question.
If you are addressing a group of people, you can say Dear plus the
unifying attribute. For example:
Dear All
Dear Project Managers
Dear Einsteins Fans
As e-mail is relatively informal, it is possible to dispense with names and
titles altogether, especially if you are in a higher position than your
correspondent, as shown below:
Hello! I went through your educational courseware and
You could also write a simple Hi to people you already know, like this:
Hi! Are you interested in getting together for Satay Kajang next week?
Wishing Good Morning and Good Afternoon in e-mails does not make
sense as the sun may have moved significantly by the time the recipient of
your e-mail reads it. Good Day might make more sense. Underlying all of
these is awareness of cultural differences in greetings.

(e) Signatures
Many e-mail programmes allow you to set up a default signature to be
included at the end of every message. Many people use this as a way to
give their name and alternate ways of reaching them. Figure 4.2 shows an
example.

Figure 4.2: Example of a signature
Hi! How about a haircut?

Li Chin Peng
Synergy Hair Saloon
888 Jalan Mayang
43600 Bangi
(603) 8123-4567(off)
licin@hotmail.com
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 55
Some people add artwork, philosophical sayings, jokes or quotations after
their signatures. This is all right but do not overdo it. A good practice is to
keep your signature segment at, or under, six lines long.
After arranging for a signature that is included automatically, it is easy to
forget about it. Your e-mail software might not show it to you or it might
become so routine that you never look at it again. Note that it is important
to revise your signature if any of the accompanying information changes.
And if you have sayings that go with your signature, change them every
once in a while. It would be tiresome for your e-mail recipients to be
reading the same joke for the 60th time.
Placing a signature at the end of your e-mail is a good way of letting your
correspondent knows that the message has been transmitted properly. In e-
mail, there is no body language to signal that you are done talking and
sometimes, e-mail transmissions do get interrupted midway, resulting in
only half the message getting through.

(f) Other features
Emoticons and shorthand notations (acronyms)
There are hundreds of textual stand-ins for gestures in e-mails. A facial
gesture can be represented by a smiley or emoticon a textual drawing of a
facial expression. The most common three are as shown in Figure 4.3.
Figure 4.3: Examples of smileys

To understand these symbols, turn your head slighty and look at them
sideways, as shown in Figure 4.4. You should see little faces. The following
are universally understood:
Figure 4.4: Meanings of certain smileys

E-mail communities such as Usenet newsgroups or Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
often use their own shorthand notation. The need for this arises because of
space limitation. Furthermore, most groups of people who spend time
communicating with each other tend to develop their own informal shorthand.

:-)
;-)
:-(
:-) : Happy or do not take me too seriously
;-) : Being cheeky or showing disbelief
:-( : Sad or disappointed
X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 56
Figure 4.5 shows some common acronyms and expressions.

Figure 4.5: Examples of shorthand notation

Figure 4.6 show examples of common jargon used in online communication.


Figure 4.6: Examples of jargon used

TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 57
Look at the example below to see how emoticons can help to promote the
intended meaning of the writer. Suppose you are typing a statement such as:

I think Ill let you settle the bill the next time we go for lunch.

The reader cannot be absolutely sure what emotion you were feeling when you
typed this. Were you being sarcastic, making a proposition or simply joking?
Compare it with this statement:

I think Ill let you settle the bill the next time we go for lunch. :-)

See the difference? The emoticon :-) suggests to the reader not to take the matter
seriously. In other words, you were just joking.

A word of caution: Use capitalisation sparingly in e-mail as capitalised words
may imply that you are shouting. See the message below:

I THINK ILL LET YOU SETTLE THE BILL THE NEXT TIME WE GO
FOR LUNCH.

It is better to avoid using capital letters in e-mail in order to prevent
misunderstanding.

By now, you should have a good grasp of how to write e-mails. Test your
understanding by trying the following exercise.


X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 58


EXPLANATIONS OF "CAUSE"
Causality structures are commonly found in scientific and technical English texts,
especially in reports which express causal relationships between pieces of
information. Cause-and-effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events,
conditions or behaviour that relate to actual or hypothetical causes and effects.

(a) Structure 1
Since the tanker is larger, it can supply more petrol.
The tanker can supply more petrol since it is larger.
4.3
1. Search the Internet for three other emoticons, acronyms or e-mail
jargon.
2. You received the following e-mail from your good friend Alex.
Reply to his message, taking into account the e-mail conventions
you have learnt, including the use of emoticons, acronyms and
jargon. Send a copy of the mail to your tutor for comments.
Hi Lyn,
Hows work coming along? Thanks for the birthday message <hug>
<hug>. I finally received it after it bounced twice. Its worth the wait.
You know, the most bizarre thing happened to me last week. Remember
the interview I told you about? Well, I attended it yesterday. The interview
was with a woman who is IMHO a splitting image of Einstein on a bad
hair day! If that isnt bad enough, her windowless room was filled with
workstations and servers. ;-) With the electrostatic waves emitting from the
machine, shes practically a walking human electrostatic wave current. :-)
I couldnt answer most of her computer-science questions. Even with her
hints, I was lost. Her final question was: What are your computer-related
hobbies? She didnt want to know what kind of plain old hobbies I had,
just my computer hobbies. I told her I played the drums and learnt foreign
languages but she wasnt interested in that answer.
So you guessed it. I didnt get the job :-(
BTW, Fatimah sends you her regards.
TTFN
Regards,
Alex
ACTIVITY 4.3
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 59
In these statements, the part which begins with since is a clause
explaining why the main event took place.
The common cause-words which are used in this structure are shown in
Table 4.2.

Table 4.2: Examples of Cause-Words
Since
As
In view of the fact that
On account of the fact that
Owing to the fact that
Seeing that
metal expands when it is heated, expansion
joints are fitted to steam pipes.
Other useful structures are shown below:
x The reason why expansion joints are fitted to steam pipes is that metal
expands when it is heated.
x Metal expands when it is heated. This explains why expansion joints are
fitted to steam pipes.
x Metal expands when it is heated. This accounts for the fact that
expansion pipes are fitted to steam pipes.

(b) Structure 2
In Structure 1, we saw some examples of cause-words which are used when
a verb follows, that is, they introduce a clause.

Structure 2 looks at cause-words which are used when a noun follows. In
other words, they introduce a phrase as shown in Tables 4.3 and 4.4.

Table 4.3: Examples of Cause-Words followed by nouns
Steam pressure fails
because of
on account of
owing to
due to
condensation in the
cylinder.

X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 60
Table 4.4: Examples of Cause-Words followed by nouns
Because of
On account of
Owing to
Due to
the high temperature, special alloys are used.

You have reached the end of this topic. Before you proceed to the next topic, try
the following exercise to test your understanding of what has been discussed
throughout this topic.



ACTIVITY 4.4
1. Use the appropriate cause-words to link the following statements:
(a) Neutron is an uncharged particle. No repulsive forces are
exerted on it by the nucleus.
(b) Atomic power is not available in sufficient quantity. Coal is
still a very valuable source of power.
(c) The apprentices had very little training. The quality of their
work was very poor.
(d) The increase in temperature, there is an increase in pressure.
(e) Their greater viscosity, liquids are less likely to leak than
gases.

2. Collect at least five memo. Using what you have learnt about the
structure of memos as a guideline, select the most effective memo.
Explain why each memo is effective or ineffective.

3. Analyse the following text for cause-and-effect relationships.

When exposed to radiation, the cells that make up the human
body can be damaged. The cell membrane can be broken or its
structure permanently changed. Chromosomes can be altered. The
cells ability to divide can be hampered. The extent of cell damage
depends on how much exposure to radiation is received, how
quickly the radiation is absorbed by the cells and which cells are
TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE W 61


x Memos are usually used to make requests and announcements as well as to
communicate reports.
x A simple memo comprises a heading and a body but sometimes also has
attachments.
x A memo report is like a simple memo but it has a more structured body,
which comprises three segments opening, summary and closing.
x Online documentation needs to be shorter in length, displayed in small parts,
legible and written according to the conventions of online documentation.
affected. Cell damage can result in leukemia, which may appear
years after exposure to radiation, and birth defects in future
generations. If the cells absorb a large amount of radiation
immediate death can occur.

(a) Fill in the table below to indicate your understanding of
the causal relationships in the text.

Cause Effect



(b) Rewrite three of the causal relationships in the text above
using the cause-words you have learned.
Example:

Original sentence:
When exposed to radiation, the cells that make up the
human body can be damaged.

Rewritten:
Due to radiation exposure, cells in the human body can be
damaged.
X TOPIC 4 TECHNICAL GENRE 62
x An e-mail is cheaper and faster than a letter, less intrusive than a phone call
and less hassle than a fax.
x An e-mail has a header and a body but usually, you will be interested only in
the body, which is the message.
x The subject line of an e-mail should be brief and give a clue to the message
content but does not need to be a complete sentence.
x Many e-mail programmes allow you to set up a default signature to be
included at the end of every message.
x A facial gesture can be represented by a smiley or emoticon a textual
drawing of a facial expression.
x Causality structures are common in scientific and technical English texts
especially in reports.
x Cause-and-effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events,
conditions or behaviour.


Attachment
Body
E-mail
Genre
Memo