Cristina Marban

TECM 5550

Short Progress Report Memo (Internal Messages)

Levels
5 Exceptional (A)

4 Very Good (B)

3 Satisfactory (C)

2 Weak (D)

1 Unacceptable (F)

Descriptions
The format of the short progress report memo
is perfect (header, to, from, the date, subject
line, enclosure, copy, etc.). Also, the purpose is
clear to the reader. All the information is
exceptionally organized with appropriate
transitions throughout the paper. Includes the
correct content of the short progress report
memo (The main idea is clear to the reader;
utilizes adequate supporting details and present
them in a coherent sequence; all the
information, figures, or analysis are accurate;
At the end of the memo, a list of the
attachments you will send with the memo is
included). Attachments are included at the end
of memo if necessary. No style or grammar
errors.
The format of the short progress report memo
is correct. All the requirements of the
assignment are included. There are few style
and grammar errors (5-9 errors).
Some of the format of the short progress report
memo is correct. The purpose is somewhat
clear to the reader, organization, and content is
precise, but lacks details. There are some style
and grammar errors (10-15 errors).
The format of the memo report is incorrect
which demonstrates lack of knowledge of the
task. No purpose is included, or is not clear to
the reader. There is no organization, the
content is incorrect. There are many style and
grammar errors present in the report (20-30
errors).
The format of the short progress report memo
is incorrect. The purpose is not stated in the
beginning of the memo. All of the information
is not properly organized. No understanding of
the assignment is demonstrated and there are
too many style and grammar errors (More than
30 errors).

Cristina Marban
TECM 5550
Scenario:
Malcolm Capaldi is the manager of an engineering company. He has e-mailed each
engineer to send him a short progress report written as a memo on what they have been working
on their latest project. As one of the engineers, you have to communicate your short progress
report via a 1to 2 page memo to Malcolm Capaldi, explaining the progress youve made like
what you have accomplished, and what problems youve encountered in the project. Make sure
you write the short progress report in memo format. Include the purpose to the reader, a
summary, introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion, and list the attachments at the end of the
memo if necessary. Also, use language, passive voice, and active voice appropriately. Finally,
check your grammar.

Justification:
I created my holistic instrument for assessing the short progress report memo on
Microsoft Word. It includes two columns, one is the levels and the other one is the description of
the levels. Also, the assignment is to write a short progress report memo. The reason I picked this
task is because I am teaching a Technical Writing Training Course. My students are 14 entrylevel engineers. They have to learn how to write a proper memo that communicates a short
progress report to me about a project they are working on at their workplace. In the real world,
engineers have to write short progress reports in memo format because their boss needs to know
what their progress is in a project they are working on. The assignment will teach the students
the proper format of a memo and how to write a clear and concise memo progress report.
The highest score on the holistic assessment is level 5 which is like a grade of A. For a
student to get that grade they have to include the format of the short progress report memo is
perfect (header, to, from, the date, subject line, enclosure, copy, etc.). Also, the purpose has to be
clear to the reader. All the information has to be exceptionally organized and the content has to
be correct. For example, the engineers have to include a clear main idea to the reader, use
adequate supporting details and present them in a coherent sequence; all the information, figures,
or analysis should be accurate and at the end of the memo, include a list of the attachments you
will send with the memo for the content of the assignment. Also, attachments should be included
at the end of memo if necessary and there should be no style or grammar errors. Furthermore, the
level 4 score is like a B because the format of the short progress report memo is correct and all
the requirements of the assignment are included. Moreover, there are five to nine style and
grammar errors. The level 3 score is like a C since the student got some of the format of the short
progress report memo right. Again, the purpose is somewhat clear to the reader, organization,
and content is precise, but lacks details; there are 10 to 15 style and grammar errors.
Subsequently, the level 2 score is a D because the student did not understand the assignment, the
memo format was incorrect, no purpose was included, the student did not include the appropriate

Cristina Marban
TECM 5550
content, or it was not clear to the reader. Furthermore, the student demonstrates that he/she does
not know how to organize their ideas and there are 20 to 30 style and grammar errors in the
report. Lastly, the lowest level is a 1 which is a grade of F because the format of the short
progress report memo is incorrect, all the information they include in the memo is
unprofessional, there was more than 30 style and grammar errors, and the student showed no
understanding of the assignment. Nevertheless, I included a small rectangular figure on the left
side of each level column, so I can checkmark the score I will give to the student quickly and the
student will understand why I gave him/her that score. Finally, the holistic assessment was easier
to create because I based it on the analytic rubric I created, but instead of grading in parts, I
graded the assignment as a whole.