20.109(F09):DNA engineering "Memo"

Persuasive copy is a specialized form of written communication that is a part of our everyday lives. Advertisements, letters to the editor, and brochures are all forms of persuasive writing. There are many others. All the forms are united in their aim, namely to convince the reader to a particular point of view. For this assignment you will try your hand at persuasive writing by crafting a short "memo" to your hypothetical "vice president for research" at a fictional startup biotech company, "FYDR Formats, Inc." For this assignment, you are the head of the company's "RECOMBO" division, which includes the research and development into the delta5 and delta3 GFP system for detection of homologous recombination. You must write an "end of fiscal year" memo in which you argue either FOR or AGAINST taking the delta5/delta3 research in your division forward.

Submission: October 15th or 16th, 2009

This assignment is due by 11:00 a.m. on the day you have lab. Please turn in your memos electronically by uploading them to the Stellar website that is associated with our class. It is important that you name your files according to this convention: Firstinitial_Lastname_LabSection_Mod1Memo.doc, for example: S_Hockfield_TR_Mod1Memo.doc

There will be a 1/2 letter grade penalty for each day (24 hour period) late. If you are submitting your assignment after the due date, it must be emailed to bevin, nlerner, nkuldell and astachow AT mit DOT edu. There will be no re-write option on this assignment, though you will receive feedback on your work

Format requirements

Memo Template

Please model your memo on the following template

Body of Memo

After the header section (i.e. "to" "from" etc) the memo will have 4 major sections.

• Section 1: Purpose
• Section 2: Summary
• Section 3: Discussion
• Section 4: Recommended Action

This is your GO/NO GO decision. You should state your decision clearly in one sentence.

Supplementary Documents