English Technical Writing- Recommendation Report

Topic Selection

The first responsibility is to select an appropriate topic to study. Research current issues, concerns or new advances in your technology. Determine which ones interest you and which ones would make a good topic for this type of project. Analyze which of these would be best given the requirements of the project.

Once you have your topic, email the following information to your instructor:

1. Explain thoroughly the current issue or new advance.

2. Present a purpose statement that explains what you will accomplish in your report.

Example:

My purpose is to determine if the hospital should invest in the new da Vinci robotic surgery for the surgical wing of St. Francis Hospital.

My purpose is to examine ways to address the recent upsurge of crime in the Holmwood Hills Estate and evaluate possible solutions.

Procedural Instructions

This assignment has a planning phase, a research phase, and an organizing and drafting phase. Each phase has separate assignments that will culminate in the final draft of the report.

3 A: Planning Memo

This 3-4-page memo with intro paragraph will identify the area of research, detail the scope of the project, and identify research methods by answering the following:

· DESCRIPTION OF THE TOPIC: Explain the current issue or new advance being studied. OR the problem being examined? Why do you believe this issue will have an impact on the field/company/organization? What terms, concepts or ideas will you need to understand to undertake this study? Explain clearly the purpose of your report.

· AUDIENCE: Who is the primary audience you will be addressing? Why might they have requested this report? How is the audience involved in the process? Consider what the audience would know and would need to know; how will this influence the content of your report? What attitude will this audience have about your project? How will that impact on your research and presentation?

· RESEARCH: This section asks you to develop plans for the actual study to make sure that you will be able to complete all the requirements. Use the four numbered categories as your subheadings in the memo.

1. Research Question. What is the question that you are trying to answer in your report? It might help to look at your purpose statement and rephrase that as your question. Next, what sub questions will you need to answer to fully respond to your research question?

2. Secondary Research. What will you need to discover using text sources to answer your research question and sub questions? Discuss several areas of information that you need and explain where you will find this information. Look at databases and journals as well as academic Internet sources. You must have at least three different sources although each source may have information on more than one area.

3. Interview. Whom might you interview and why? What types of information will you need to find out in an interview? You don’t need specific questions yet but rather areas of information.

· QUALIFICATIONS: Why is this a good topic for you to analyze? What strengths do you bring to this project?

3B: Secondary Research

Once you have your research question, the first research step is to complete the secondary research. Mapping or a similar technique is a good way to generate a list of topics and subquestions that you can brainstorm based on your research question. Once you have this list or map, you will use library and electronic sources to find at least three sources that provide necessary information. You will need to evaluate each source using the ALA standards of authoritativeness, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage to assure that you have the best information. You will annotate the copies of each source to highlight pertinent information on the background of the topic and its impact.

3B: Primary Research

Interview. You will conduct at least one interview to solicit information (see pp. 136-139). When you are structuring the interview, remember:

· Choose someone to interview who will add pertinent data to your report. If the person you will be interviewing is also your primary reader, ensure that you also interview a second person with a new set of questions.

· Formulate open questions that will provide in-depth response.

· Submit a copy of the interview questions to your instructor prior to doing the interview/s.

3B: Organizing and Drafting

Rough Draft . In order to have work graded and credited for the final copy, each student must submit a rough draft one week prior to the final report deadline. See our textbook and Blackboard for examples

Report. The final report will include the following sections:

· Title page (p. 479 and p. 490)

· Abstract (p. 479-80 and p. 491)

· Table of Contents (p. 480-1 and p. 492)

· Introduction (pp. 476-477 and pp. 494-5)

· Research Methods (p. 477 and p. 496-9). In the textbook, this section is long. I recommend you use headings and briefly describe what research you did and why.

· Results (pp. 477-8 and pp. 500-6)

· Conclusions (p. 478 and p. 507-8). Again, in the textbook, this section is very long. You just need a paragraph summing up your findings

· Recommendations (p. 478 and p. 509)

· References (and p. 486-7 and p. 508)

· Appendix A: interview questions (p. 487 and p. 511) Questions only

In addition, please keep in mind:

· The body of the text should be double spaced with a clear 12-pt font.

· The visual layout of the total document is important. This includes white space, visuals, headings, and formatting.

· Information should be presented in a clear, understandable manner.

· You should proofread carefully for errors in SWE.

3B: Oral Presentation . In a ten to fifteen minute oral presentation with PowerPoint slides, each student will present the results of the analytical study. Online students will provide a narration over the slides. Address the presentation to a specific audience: not the instructor. Slides should have appropriate headings. Individual assessment will follow the guidelines shown on the Evaluation Sheet for Oral Presentations.