TCSS 360
Guidelines and feedback on weekly reports

Fall 2001

• Format: Keep It Simple (KIS)
• Arrange each topic chronologically
• Only include what happened in the meeting, not what happened between the meeting and when the minutes are written.
• Immediately do minutes after the meeting and distribute them to groupmates for comment and correction. Note that the minutes are still the scribe's responsibility, but you all share the responsibility for accuracy. If you or your group members feel that the scribe requires some work with grammar and/or organization, they can have the minutes reviewed by someone in the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), either in person or electronically. The TLC also offers services for your group to help your group function more effectively.
• Hand in minutes that are at the highest standards of professionalism. This is the standard for all work brought to the group.
• Don't leave the group meeting without making a clear division of tasks. Each task should be achievable by the next group meeting. There should also be clear criteria for determining whether a task has been completed successfully. The tasks should then be apportioned in an equitable fashion to the group members. These tasks should be documented in the task matrix and equity estimator.
• Don't leave the group meeting without determining your next agenda.
• The minute taker should not editorialize. For example, avoid statements like:
  • John enthusiastically described his project part.
  • Binh sullenly presented her ideas.
  • A good time was had by all!".
  Instead, simply write "John described", "Binh presented", and don't even include the "good time" statement.
• Your task matrix is for succinctly documenting the commitments that each group member has undertaken to do outside the group meeting. It is not to be used for decisions made during the group meeting. Fill in the "task completed" column only once per week at the group meeting, providing earlier dates as appropriate. Never post-date a "task completed" entry.
• The equity estimator is a summary, organized by person, of the tasks (and only the tasks) described in the task matrix.