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[Click here to enter your executive summary – but be sure to read this entire instruction before you do! The executive summary should be one paragraph of between 150 and 250 words. It is a summary, NOT an introduction! As such, it should be written last. This placeholder will wait until you finish everything else. It is not indented. Section titles, such as the word Executive Summary above, are not considered headings so they do not use bold heading format. Instead, use the Section Title style. This style automatically starts your section on a new page, so you don’t have to add page breaks. Note that all of the styles for this template are available on the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Styles gallery.]

Keywords: [Click here to add keywords.]

Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 [Title here, up to 12 words, on one to two lines. The title you enter on the title page will automatically be reproduced here.] 4 Background 4 Problem Statement 4 Subheading [Heading 2 Style. If you do not need this level of heading, delete this entire line.] 5 Sub-subheading. [Heading 3 Style. If you do not need this level of heading, delete this entire paragraph and the one below it. If you do use it, start your text right after the period. Include a period at the end of a run-in heading. Note that you can include consecutive paragraphs with their own headings, where appropriate.] 5 Course of Action 1 5 Course of Action 2 5 Course of Action 3 5 Recommendation 6 References 7

[Title here, up to 12 words, on one to two lines. The title you enter on the title page will automatically be reproduced here.]

[Click here to write a brief introduction to your industry or workplace to help your reader put your problem statement in context.]

[Click here to state the communication problem for which your proposal will provide a solution. This needs to be a specific problem. “We could probably communicate better around here” is emphatically NOT a problem for purposes of this paper. Now, a word about headings and heading styles: APA uses up to five heading levels. The first two heading levels (Heading 1 and Heading 2 in the Styles section of the Home tab) appear on a line above their respective paragraphs, as shown here. Headings 3, 4, and 5 are called “run-in” headings and are used at the beginning of the paragraph they label. You cannot skip from one to another further down the list because you like the way it looks. Headings represent a progression. You do not have to use them all and you probably will not. Delete any that you do not use. Headings are automatically included in your Table of Contents (in this document, down to the third level). Be sure to apply the appropriate style from the Styles menu to any headings you create. You can reproduce the heading style perfectly, but it will not be included in the TOC unless the proper style is applied. (Highlight the heading and click the style button in the Style menu.)]

Sub-sub-subheading. [Heading 4 Style. If you do not need this level of heading, delete this entire paragraph.]

Sub-sub-sub-subheading. [Heading 5 Style. If you do not need this level of heading, delete this entire paragraph.]

[Click here to outline the first of your courses of action. You do not necessarily need to have three possible COAs, but you do need to show that you have considered all possibilities. You do not have to call them COAs, either – you can change the section headings to reflect your content; just be sure that when you are finished, the Heading 1 style is applied. Remember that maintaining the status quo is always a possibility, and may even be the best one. Each COA should be described briefly, then its advantages should be listed, then its disadvantages. Be objective. Develop each COA to the same level of detail. If you devote seven paragraphs to the COA you eventually chose and seven lines to all the rest, your reader will be skeptical of your information.]

Content content content

Content content content

[Click here to state which COA you think should be adopted, and why you believe it is better than any of the others. WHEN YOU FINISH THIS PARAGRAPH, GO BACK AND WRITE THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY! Also click the top left corner of your Table of Contents and choose Update All.]

[Like all sections of your paper, references start on their own page. The references page that follows is created using the Citations & Bibliography feature, available on the References tab. This feature includes a style option that formats your references for APA 6th Edition. You can also use this feature to add in-text citations that are linked to your sources, such as those shown at the end of this paragraph and the preceding paragraph. To customize a citation, right-click it and then click Edit Citation.] (Last Name, Year) (Schwartz, Landrum, & Gurdung, 2017)

Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the book, with only the first word capitalized (Edition number, e.g., 2nd ed.). Publisher.

Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article, with only the first word capitalized. Name of Journal with all First Letters Capitalized, volume number in digital format(issue number in digital format), page numbers, URL or DOI