Research Paper

WRTG 3

94 students,

Your last writing assignment will be a

report to a decision

-maker on a problem and solution

in an organization or community.

In the report, you will do the following:

•

define the problem persuasively and accurately

•

propose a solution or

solutions to the problem or issue

•

present that solution to a decision-

maker or group of decision-

makers who can implement

the recommendation.

The report will include the following components:

•

executive summary

•

transmittal letter or memo

to the decision

-maker

•

table of contents

•

introduction

•

body of the report to include headings and subheadings

•

conclusion stated as a recommendation for implementation of the solution

•

References page, with references listed in APA format

o

Instructions on how to list an interview in APA format can be seen at the

following url:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/

The complete report should be 2200-

3000 words, not including the list of references.

The complete report should also

cite at least seven sources. At least three

of them should

come from peer-

reviewed, scholarly journals

. As noted above, y

our sources can also include

interviews. The sources will be integrated into the paper to explain the problem, provide

evidence of the problem, and support the solution.

You might have taken WRTG 393 at UMUC. In WRTG 393, the final paper is a white paper.

This assignment is different from the white paper in WRTG 393. In this paper for WRTG 394,

you are writing to a specific decision-

maker about a specific proble

m in your workplace or

community. The audience is much more focused than that for the white paper in WRTG 393.

 

Defining the Specific Problem

In preparing to write this assignment, please be aware of t

he following cautions in fulfilling the

assignment instructions:

•

If you write a report to your manager at work suggesting that more teleworking options

be given to employees at your workplace, you cannot simply prepare a report on

teleworking. You must show that teleworking will

solve a specific problem or problems

in your organization

.

•

If you are proposing that e

mail be used less frequently for communication at your

workplace

and that another application be used to improve communication,

you cannot

simply write a report on the problem with having too much email. You must

show that

the use of email at your current

workplace presents problems and that the use of another

means of communication would solve the problem

.

•

If you write a report to your manager at work suggesting that your office become

paperless, you cannot simply prepare a report on the benefits of a paperless office. You

must

show that your specific office can go paperless and indicate the benefits of your

specific office going paperless

.

•

If you write a report to the board of directors at your townhouse community to argue that

the playground area in your community should be renovated, you cannot simply prepare a

report on the benefits of a playground for a neighborhood. You must

show that your

specific neighborhood will benefit from renovations in its playground

.

•

If you write a report to the manager of

your unit at work noting that recycling facilities in

the workplace should be improved, you cannot simply prepare a report on the benefits of

recycling or of good recycling facilities in offices. You must

show that your specific

work environment lacks adequate recycling facilities and show how it will

benefit from

improved recycling facilities.

A Reminder about the Role of Primary Research in Supporting the Argument

For your report, you will very likely find it beneficial to c

onduct some primary research. Please

refer to the material from Markel and from Bovee and Thill for strategies in conducting and

including primary research.

For writing assignment #3, you gathered some primary research. For writing assignment #4, you

wa

nt to fill in any gaps needed by conducting additional primary research if necessary.

Some

suggestions for primary research were given in the instructions for writing assignment #3. They

are as follows:

•

For a report on teleworking, you might conduct int

erviews with fellow workers on the

topic to see how and why they might benefit from teleworking.

•

If you are proposing that email be used less frequently for communication and that

another application be used to improve communication, you might interview fellow

employees on the situation, and you might take screen captures of alternative

communication tools to illustrate how they work and would improve communication in

your office.

•

For a report on transitioning to a paperless office, you might take pictur

es of your office

environment showing the clutter or unsafe environment that hard-

copy files create.

•

For a report on building a playground area in the community, you might take pictures of

the community area to show where such a playground could be built, and you might

interview residents who have children.

•

For a report on recycling facilities, you might take pictures of the office environment to

show that current recycling facilities are inadequate, and you might interview fellow

workers about whether the

y find it easy to recycle materials at your office.

Please note that, if you interview people for your research, you must cite the interview

s in your

paper. In the paper, you cannot simply write that you “spoke with employees.” A url on how to

cite an interview in APA

citation style is provided in the list of components for the report.

Length of your paper:

Your report should be 2200-

3000 words in length. Again, you are required to use at least seven

sources, with at least three

of them being acquired through UMUC Library OneSearch.

Graphics:

Your report might benefit from graphics. As mentioned above, pictures of your workplace or

community situation might help illustrate the problem you are trying to address. Graphs, tables,

or charts might help show trends that will persuade your decision-

maker

that the problem exists.

Please do not incorporate a graphic for the sake of incorporating a

graphic. Include a graphic

only if it helps communicate a message in your report.

Due Date:

Your instructor will notify you of the due date. You will write

a first draft, your instructor will

comment on the first draft, and you will submit a second draft using the comments as your guide.

Strategies to Consider for this Assignment:

•

Victoria University of Wellington

has a thorough outline and review of the components

of this type of business report.

•

Queen Margaret University

has an excellent guide

for this type of report.

•

Murdoch University

has an

excellent

guide for this type of report.

•

Colorado State University

presents excellent tip

s in organizing the report.