Student guide: Brain Dump to Memo

Use invented or safely redacted notes. A memo can make thinking easier to use, but it cannot verify a claim or decide what a reader should conclude.

1. Mark the raw notes

In 150–300 words, label what you know, what you think it means, what you feel or worry about, where people disagree, and what might happen next.

2. Name the reader and purpose

Complete: “This memo helps ___ decide or understand ___.” If the decision is consequential, identify the appropriate human reviewer before using a tool.

3. Ask for structure, not invention

With only safe text, ask: “Organize these notes into a memo for [reader]. Preserve uncertainty and disagreements. Do not add facts. Label observations, interpretations, proposals, and open questions when appropriate.”

4. Inspect the first version

Look for a stronger claim, a missing disagreement, flattened urgency, or an invented transition. Mark every sentence that needs evidence, an owner, or confirmation.

5. Repair the memo

Use headings that fit the purpose: background, observations, interpretation, concerns, proposed actions, open questions, and next steps. Put back what organization hid.

Completion check

Keep the redacted brain dump, structure map, first memo, correction notes, final memo, and privacy statement. You are done when a reader can separate observation, interpretation, unresolved questions, and the next step.

Recovery tips

If a sentence sounds professional but cannot be supported, weaken it or turn it into a question. If disagreement affects the decision, name it. If raw notes contain names or private details, replace them before a public tool ever sees them.

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Source: labs/brain-dump-to-memo/companions/student-step-by-step.md