Consider this document one part progress report, one part background information, and one part proposal/projection. My assumption is that you've given your long report topic some thought other than sending your topic email and posting a list of sources. The objective here is to get me up to date on what's been happening in your long report process.

My Topic is: Should college athletes be Paid?

Thesis

You provided a "working" thesis in your email. Use the memo to discuss any alterations you've made, or may need to make, as the process moves forward. For example, have you found a way to narrow your thesis' scope, or will it be revised in a more persuasive direction?

Audience

You indicated a potential audience for your report in the topic email. In this memo, indicate whether your audience has changed since your email. If so, explain how, and if your research has played a role in that process. Also, how is the audience you’ve chosen impacting your approach to researching and constructing the report?

Research

Describe any previous research you've done that might be utilized in your report, research you've done since you received topic approval, and research you're planning to do. What are the "gaps" you need to fill through research to write a quality report? Do you anticipate doing an interview as part of the research process?

Your memo will reflect consideration of the guidelines provided on pages 133-41 of the textbook. Pay special attention to the following:

• Tone– your audience for this memo is me; your tone/word choice should reflect that.
• Clarity– use clear, concrete language; identify and resolve typos and other errors.
• Concision– be thorough, be specific, but do so with an economy of language. Don’t "skimp" on details or thoughtful discussion; just be concise. NOTE– Because the memo will discuss multiple issues in some detail, it may exceed one page. If so, use a header on additional pages which includes the memo’s subject line and page number.
• Format– provide identifying information (138); utilize the text's strategies (140-41) to structure the memo's content (introduction, body, conclusion); use organizational markers (141) to add clarity to the memo’s content.