Recommendation Report: Alternative Assignment

Corner crosswalks with no curb ramps or anythingFor this project, identify a dangerous or inconvenient area or situation on campus, in a workplace, or in your community (endless cafeteria lines, an unsafe walkway, slippery stairs, a bad campus intersection). You may also identify a problematic online resource (an inaccessible corporate website, for instance). You can write about an issue related to  COVID-19, but you do not HAVE to do so. It’s simply an option.

For physical areas or situations, observe the problem for several hours during a peak use period (or as you can).  For online issues, test and explore the related resources thoroughly.

Consider taking photographs  or videos that you can use to illustrate your report. Additionally search for supporting research that discusses similar situations and needs.

Write a recommendation report to a specifically identified decision maker (the head of campus security, or town council, for example) describing the problem, listing your observations, and making a recommendation.

Your report should include details on ethical issues that may impact the situation. You should also include a bibliography that provides documentation for all of the resources you have consulted. You may use the bibliographical format that is appropriate for your field. Here are some tools if you are unsure what to use:

You will work on this project during the next three weeks of the course, giving you time to research and write a  formal report.

Project Requirements

Your Final, Finished Draft must meet these requirements:

Check the Textbook

Use this information from Technical Communication to shape your document:

  • Focus on Process: Recommendation Reports, on page 473.
  • A Problem-Solving Model for Recommendation Reports, Figure 18.1, on page 474.
  • Ethics Note: Presenting Honest Recommendations, on page 477.
  • Elements of a Typical Report, Table 18.1, on page 478.
  • Guidelines: Writing Recommendations, on page 480.
  • Tech Tip: Why to Make a Long Report Navigable and How to Make a Long Report Navigable, on page 483.
  • Guidelines: Writing an Executive Summary, on page 486.
  • Writer’s Checklist, on page 490.
  • Sample Report, Figure 18.8, on pages 490–513.
  • Is a document in report format created in a word processor.
  • Covers all of the information listed in the description above.
  • Includes the following sections, in this order, in your report:
    • Front matter
      • letter of transmittal (p. 481)
      • title page with a specific title (p. 481)
      • abstract (p. 481)
      • table of contents (p. 482)
      • list of illustrations (p. 483)—Optional, include if relevant
      • executive summary (p. 485)
    • Body
      • introduction (p. 479)
      • methods (p. 479)
      • results (p. 479)
      • conclusions (p. 480)
      • recommendations (p. 480)
    • Back matter
      • glossary (p. 486)—Optional, include if relevant
      • list of symbols (p. 486)—Optional, include if relevant
      • references (p. 488)
  • Use professional design and formatting that does the following:
    • Makes information easy for readers to find and read.
    • Emphasizes important information.
    • Makes a good first impression as a polished, professional document.
    • Uses well-integrated and well-designed visuals to clarify the information.
  • Use accurate/appropriate grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics, linking, and formatting.
  • Is an original project, written by you, not copied or rephrased from another source. If you copy or rephrase from another source, you will earn zero points for the project.

Length: With examples and appropriate formatting, your report will likely be close to 15 single-spaced pages long, though there is not a minimum or maximum page length. Write as much as you need to, but be sure to include all of the required information.

Activities Making Up This Major Writing Project

The following activities will all contribute to your Recommendation Report. You may have had previous teachers refer to such work as scaffolding activities. They support the work you need to do to complete your project. Each one either asks you to complete a task that will contribute directly to your project, or asks you to practice a skill needed to complete your project.

You can complete all of these activities, or you can pick and choose, depending upon the goal you have set for the course. Remember that the Final, Finished Draft is required in order to earn a B or better in this course.*

Week of March 23

Week of  March 30

Week of April 6

 

Photo Credit: Corner crosswalks with no curb ramps or anything by Eric Fischer on Flickr Links to an external site., used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.