Rough Draft of Final Project – Proposal

WRitiNG the BODy OF the RePORt

The elements that make up the body of a report are discussed here in the order in which they usually appear in a report. However, you should draft the elements in whatever order you prefer. The sample recommendation report on pages 488–511 includes these elements.

Introduction

The introduction helps readers understand the technical dis- cussion that follows. Start by analyzing who your readers are. Then consider these questions:

• what is the subject of the report? If the report follows a proposal and a progress report, you can probably copy this information from one of those documents, modifying it as necessary. Reusing this information is efficient and ethical.

• what is the purpose of the report? The purpose of the report is not For more about purpose statements,

the purpose of the project. The purpose of the report is to explain a project from beginning (identifying a problem or an opportunity) to end (presenting recommendations).

• what is the background of the report? Include this information, even if you have presented it before; some of your readers might not have read your previous documents or might have forgotten them.

• what are your sources of information? Briefly describe your primary and secondary research, to prepare your readers for a more detailed discussion of your sources in subsequent sections of the report.

• what is the scope of the report? Indicate the topics you are including, as well as those you are not.

• what are the most significant findings? Summarize the most significant findings of the project.

• what are your recommendations? In a short report containing a few simple recommendations, include those recommendations in the introduction. In a lengthy report containing many complex recommendations, briefly summarize them in the introduction, then refer readers to the more detailed discussion in the recommendations section.

• what is the organization of the report? Indicate your organizational pattern so that readers can understand where you are going and why.

• what key terms are you using in the report? The introduction is an appropriate place to define new terms. If you need to define many terms, place the definitions in a glossary and refer readers to it in the introduction.

Methods

The methods section answers the question “What did you do?” In drafting the methods section, consider your readers’ knowledge of the field, their perception of you, and the uniqueness of the project, as well as their reasons for reading the report and their attitudes toward the project. Provide enough information to enable readers to understand what you did and why you did it that way. If others will be using the report to duplicate your meth- ods, include sufficient detail.

Results

Whereas the methods section answers the question “What did you do?” the results section answers the question “What did you see or determine?”

Results are the data you discovered or compiled. Present the results objectively, without comment. Save the interpretation of the results—your conclusions—for later. If you combine results and conclusions, your read- ers might be unable to follow your reasoning and might not be able to tell whether the evidence justifies your conclusions.

Your audience’s needs will help you decide how to structure the results. How much they know about the subject, what they plan to do with the report, what they expect your recommendation(s) to be—these and many other factors will affect how you present the results. For instance, sup- pose that your company is considering installing a VoIP phone system that will enable employees to make telephone calls over the Internet, and you conducted the research on the available systems. In the introduction, you explain the disadvantages of the company’s current phone system. In the methods section, you describe how you established the criteria you applied to the available phone systems, as well as your research procedures. In the results section, you provide the details of each phone system you are consid- ering, as well as the results of your evaluation of each system.

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Glossary and list of Symbols

A glossary, an alphabetical list of defini- tions, is particularly useful if some of your readers are unfamiliar with the technical vocabulary in your report. Instead of slowing down your discussion by defining technical terms as they appear, you can use boldface, or some similar method of highlighting words, to indicate that the term is defined in the glossary. The first time a boldfaced term appears, explain this system in a footnote. For example, the body of the report might say, “Thus the positron* acts as the . . . ,” while a note at the bottom of the page explains:

*This and all subsequent terms in boldface are defined in the Glossary, page 26.

Although a glossary is usually placed near the end of the report, before the appendixes, it can also be placed immediately after the table of contents if the glossary is brief (less than a page) and if it defines essential terms. Figure 18.6 shows an excerpt from a glossary.

A list of symbols is formatted like a glossary, but it defines symbols and abbreviations rather than terms. It, too, may be placed before the appendixes or after the table of contents. Figure 18.7 shows a list of symbols.

Glossary

Applicant: A state agency, local government, or eligible private nonprofit organization that submits a request to the Grantee for disaster assistance under the state’s grant.

Case Management: A systems approach to providing equitable and fast service to applicants for disaster assistance. Organized around the needs of the applicant, the system consists of a single point of coordination, a team of on-site specialists, and a centralized, automated filing system.

Cost Estimating Format (CEF): A method for estimating the total cost of repair for large, permanent projects by use of construction industry standards. The format uses a base cost estimate and design and construction contingency factors, applied as a percentage of the base cost.

Declaration: The President’s decision that a major disaster qualifies for federal assistance under the Stafford Act.

Hazard Mitigation: Any cost-effective measure that will reduce the potential for damage to a facility from a disaster event.

PAGES 486-487

References

Many reports contain a list of references (sometimes called a bibliography or list of works cited) as part of the back matter. References and the accompanying textual citations throughout the report are called documentation. Documentation acknowledges your debt to your sources, establishes your credibility as a writer, and helps readers locate and review your sources. See Appendix, Part B, for a detailed discussion of documenta tion. See page 510 in the sample recommendation report for an example of a reference list.

appendixes An appendix is any section that follows the body of the report (and the glossary, list of symbols, or reference list). Appendixes (or appendices) convey information that is too bulky for the body of the report or that will interest only a few readers. Appendixes might include maps, large technical diagrams or charts, computations, computer printouts, test data, and texts of supporting documents.

Appendixes, usually labeled with letters rather than numbers (Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on), are listed in the table of contents and are referred to at appropriate points in the body of the report. Therefore, they are acces- sible to any reader who wants to consult them. See page 511 in the sample recommendation report for an example of an appendix.