Process Memos

A process memo is a place for you to reflect on your experience in writing a draft, a place to reveal to your instructor and group members your concerns:

• Indicate the strengths of your draft, what you feel works well.
• Point out places where you had problems when you were writing.
• Be specific; include a short quote or provide examples so that your instructor and group members know exactly what you are talking about. For example, if you feel that your draft doesn't flow well, point out exactly where and say why you think it's not flowing well.
• Talk about where you might take your draft in further revision, where you could improve, what you might omit, what elements you might expand upon.
• Explain things which you feel might not be clear to a reader.
• Instead of hoping your instructor and group members will come up with something useful for you, use this as an opportunity to facilitate good responses. Ask any specific questions that will help you to get feedback.

Spend some time on this. The more detailed your process memo is, the more easily that your instructor and group members can target your concerns in their response. You might even consider jotting down concerns during the drafting process. That way, you'll remember to include them in the process memo.

The minimum for all process memos is 200 words, but it is certainly to your benefit to write much more.