Notebook

Start Early

• Don't wait until the week of the competition to start your engineering notebook. You'll be surprised at how long it takes to write one entry. In addition, you won't remember everything.

Take and Compile Pictures as You Go

• Take pictures showing your team's designing and building process. These pictures are good visuals to put in your notebook.

Use Variety

• Include photographs, 2D drawings, 3D drawings, isometrics, different views, CAD drawings, and text. Judges want to see that you can describe your robot and get your point across using different methods.

Use a Graph Notebook

• It looks more professional, and will make your isometric drawings neater and easier to do.

Write in Pen and Don’t Take Pages Out

• The engineering notebook is supposed to include EVERYTHING, not just the satisfactory accomplishments. Plus, writing down what you did wrong will help you to not make the same mistake again in the future. The judges want to see your team's entire design process, and how you came up with multiple solutions.

Make Sure Your Team Number Is on the Front

• The judges need to know which team the notebook belongs to! Don't just put your team name, that isn't enough information for the judges. We made this mistake in 6th grade, but lucky for us, the judge came looking for us to tell us. Not all judges will be as thoughtful though, so be careful!

Keep It Organized

• Use notebook tabs, color-coding, or another method of organizing your notes (don't just use the table of contents). It will not only make it easier for you and your teammates to find information, but also for the judges. The judges only have 10 minutes to read your notebook; help them out by marking the important sections!

Use One Format throughout the Entire Notebook

• Format each entry in the same way. It will be easier to document things, and for the judges to read. In addition, it will allow you to include a "how to read this notebook" page in the beginning of the notebook, where you can explain to how to find and locate information in an entry.

Write In the Notebook Every Time Your Team Meets

• The notebook has to document everything. That is important enough to be stated twice. You won't be there to explain your notebook to the judges, so make sure that it can explain itself.

Explain Why the Chosen Option or Solution Was Chosen

• Use a design matrix or show test results for all options to show why the chosen option was chosen. You shouldn't just choose a solution before testing or comparing it to the other options.

Make It Look Nice

• Though it may seem trivial, you really need to spend some time to make the notebook look as polished as possible. Make your drawings as perfect as you can, and use excellent handwriting. You want to give the judges a good first impression!

Everyone Should Contribute to the Notebook, but Some Are Going to Be Better at It than Others

• Everything in VEX should be a team effort; from building to coding, every member should be involved in all the steps along the way. The notebook though, may be an exception. A lot of times, you may see only one handwriting in a teams engineering notebook. This is usually for a reason; that person probably has the best handwriting, or is the best at drawing. Every team member should of course contribute ideas and content to the notebook, but if it is only one or two team members putting the pen to paper, that is completely fine.