Technical Reports: Recommendations
In this section, you will tell the reader what you think their next step should be. Imagine your reader asking the question “Okay, what do we do now?” This section answers that question.
It might be one or more specific recommendations (solutions) OR it might consist of the simple recommendation that your reader acknowledge the problem and work to solve it.
Setting Up This Section
- You should not introduce new material here, like an aspect of the problem or a solution you have not previously discussed.
- Set up this section according to the number of recommendations you will be making:
- If you have one solution that you will be recommending, set up this section as a single sentence that can be followed by a short paragraph reiterating the value of solving the problem.
- Given the importance of making the entire campus accessible to all faculty, staff, and students, we recommend that you [X].
- If you have more than one solution, set up as a list after introductory paragraph or sentence, such as shown below. (Of course, you will not indent your intro sentence or recommendation list as shown here. Start at the left margin and indent your list by simply using the list function in Word.)
- If you have one solution that you will be recommending, set up this section as a single sentence that can be followed by a short paragraph reiterating the value of solving the problem.
Given the importance of making the entire campus accessible to all faculty, staff, and students, we recommend that you
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- Recommendation 1 [start with active verb]
- Recommendation 2 [start with active verb]
- Recommendation 3 [start with active verb]
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Recommendations Samples
The following two samples round up the reports featured in this module.
Sample 1: Improving Accessibility in Selected Residence Halls: A Recommendation Report
It is our recommendation that the school increase accessibility in the residential halls by installing additional features to target problem areas such as the ones highlighted in this report. We urge university officials to conduct accessibility evaluations throughout all residential halls, particularly those built before the establishment of the ADA, and focus on existing obstacles. We believe this would increase overall opportunity and equality for all students, staff, and visitors for decades to come. If Virginia Tech took these steps, it would become a pillar of accessibility in the community.
Sample 2: Safe Construction on Campus: The Need for Better Signage & a Notification System
It is our recommendation that the Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure, and Facilities implement more descriptive and accurate signage around construction sites to direct students toward alternate routes.
We also recommend that the Division create and advertise a text notification system to alert students of pop-up repairs and the routes they disrupt. We believe these projects will benefit student life and increase accessibility for all students, outweighing any initial costs of implementation.