Date: 02/25/2016

To: Traci Grant

From: Kegan Swensen
Re: Technical Description
The purpose of this memo is to give information about what I did for my technical description.
This memo also gives information about the different design elements that I used throughout my
description.
The topic that I chose to do my description on is how warfarin was discovered, the uses that it
has, and a description on how it works as rat poison. The sources that I chose were my
knowledge as a pharmacy technician, my pharmacist, and the references at the bottom of the
Wikipedia page on warfarin.
The Reasoning
The reason why I chose to write my description on warfarin was because it was one of the only
things I felt that I could effectively describe. So as I started writing I felt that I should give a
description of how warfarin was discovered back in the 1920s. The reason why I started with a
history of warfarin was to explain what warfarin was and how it was discovered. The next step I
took was to give a description of its uses in humans to give a general idea of its typical uses.
However, the main reason of the description was to focus on its use as rat poison. So I started to
describe how it is used as rat poison and the effectiveness that it had. Along with the description,
I included how it actually works within the rat or mouse itself to fully explain why it is used as a
pesticide. My conclusion for the description was to describe the future that it has as a pesticide.
Audience
The audience that I wrote to was a professional community that could consist of doctors,
pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses, etc. The audience could also include students taking
a chemistry class or another class that is learning about chemicals and the effects that they have
on living organisms.
Context of Use
Where you would find this description could be in a meeting about warfarin as a handout given
to the participants. It could also be found in a classroom that a teacher has handed out for the
students to study. Also I feel that you could find this on the back of a box of warfarin rat poison
so that the consumer is aware of the background of the drug. The way that this information could
be taken is by learning about the effects that it has on rats so that the reader could know of the
effects that it could have on their bodies. Also this could be used to give an introduction to a
presentation given to the group of professionals.

C.R.A.P.
As for the formatting that I used, I decided to make the title larger than the rest of the text and
keep the left aligned format to keep it uniform with the text to connect the title with the rest of
the description. I used repetition in the headers by bolding them and put them close to the
paragraph it pertains to and to make the piece easier to navigate or easier to read. Also by
bolding the headers I tried to create contrast from the rest of the text, while keeping it
professional. The photo at the bottom of the first page is in color rather than black and white to
make it stand out from the rest of the piece, creating more contrast. Finally, I put the caption for
the photo to make it easier to reference within the piece.
Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated, you can contact me via email at
keganswensen@gmail.com.