Final Recommendation Report

Final Recommendation Report Assignment Guidelines

• Getting Started • What idea do you have to improve something at your job or in your

community? • Is it a new process or policy? • Is it a new position that should be created? • Is it a new program that could be created?

• Who would care about this idea? In other words, who should be your intended audience?

• Is it your boss? Your boss’s boss? A board? An elected official? • What do you need to do in this report to convince your

audience that your idea is worth implementing? • Your report must include recommendations! Remember that you are

writing a recommendation report. • Example Ideas (from previous students)

• Recommendations for a training program to better acclimate new employees

• Recommendations to change operations to enhance efficiency at a bank

• Recommendations for an after-school program from a non-profit agency

• Recommendations to provide raises to staff employees • Recommendations to implement a new technology package • Recommendations to streamline student organization offerings

• General Guidelines • 12-20 pages in length (including all components) • Must follow an appropriate format for a business report at the highest

level (may or may not use a template for all or a few of the components)

• Must be free from errors • Must be submitted as one, complete document in the dropbox;

multiple files will not be accepted • Research Required

• Must include information from 7-10 secondary sources • Sources judged on validity and appropriateness • Sources must be incorporated using MLA or APA standards • GALILEO is the recommended search tool (not Google)

• Must include primary research • Survey questions created by the student

• Must have no fewer than 15 responses • Goal is to have 3-5 survey questions

• 1-3 Interviews (should be cited on works cited page) • Must include at least 3 charts, graphs, or other visuals

appropriately labeled, inserted, and titled • Required Elements

• Remember that adding what is required at the base level is regarded as meets expectations not exceeds expectations.

• To receive a higher grade, you should go above and beyond what is listed as required.

• The rubric helps guide you – be sure to review it! • Letter of Transmittal

• Letter of transmittal should be written to your intended audience • Should be the first page of the report and written following business

letter standards • Should be written in full block format • What should be included:

• An explanation of why the report was completed • Key recommendations and reasons for those recommendations • A request for feedback

• Title Page • Your name and title/rank • your company name (if applicable) • date of submission • name of the company or organization for which you have prepared

your document • a full and accurate title • Do not use a template in Word – format your own

• Table of Contents • Pagination should begin after the TOC • See “Starting Page Numbering at a Specific Page” videos under

Optional Assignments in Module 8 • Can be very detailed or show the larger categories – the choice is

yours. • Should include the preliminary material paginated correctly with

lower-case Roman numerals • Abstract

• The word abstract should be centered as the title • The abstract should be approximately 150 words and should

summarize the document as a whole. • Introduction

• Background and any historical information • Statement of the problem (your reason for writing the report) • Purpose statement (what you hope to accomplish by writing this

report) • Scope of your report (what you will cover in the report)

• Discussion section • Longest portion of your report (at least 900 words) • Provide information about your topic in this section • Use your research, interviews, and data develop your ideas • Show different options for recommendations • Use headings, formatting, and transitions to help guide your reader

• Written mostly like a research paper • Provide a budget (if money is needed) • Provide a timeline (if needed)

• Either a budget or a timeline must be included as a chart • Conclusion and Recommendations

• Can be separate sections if desired, or can be combined • Wrap up information found in the report • Don’t start something new in this section; you should have referenced

the information at least initially in the previous sections • Recommendations are traditionally numbered

• Works cited page • List all sources cited and consulted in the report • Remember that citations show that you used someone’s idea, not their

words. Quotation marks are also needed if you have used someone’s words.

• In-text citations must be used throughout and correctly, in addition to providing a works cited page.

• Citations may follow APA or MLA format, but the style must be consistent throughout.

• Appendix • You must have at least one piece of information listed in the appendix. • Ideas for the appendix:

• Additional charts or graphs that do not fit within the report but may add more context

• Glossary of unfamiliar terms (useful if you are writing for a business that uses a lot of jargon or acronyms)

• An annotated bibliography of useful sources for your intended audience.

• A press release • Review the “How to Write an Appendix” Video under Optional

Assignments in Module 8