Module Overview for Week of February 25: Recommendation Report, Part 1

Overview

As burgeoning professionals, you will more than likely have to make recommendations intended to solve problems and/or help make decisions at some point during your careers. Recommendation reports are, therefore, an invaluable part of the problem-solving and decision-making process.

The readings from the textbook and the examples provided will provide you with the material needed to (a) identify, define, and research a problem or opportunity and (b) learn how to compose a recommendation report.

At the end of this series of four modules, you will understand more about the kinds of problems and decisions that recommendation reports are intended to address.  This week you will begin the research for your report.

Objectives for this Module

After completing this module, you will be able to

• Identify and define a problem related to the field of technical writing (or another specific problem according to your assignment’s directions) and review research articles related to this problem. (CLO 2)
• Generalize approaches to the problem from the literature and draw conclusions about the effectiveness and usefulness of those approaches. (CLO 3)
• Choose the most appropriate approach(es) for addressing the problem researched. (CLO 1)
• Produce a recommendation report that details the problem, evidence for solving the problem, and a specific recommendation for solving the problem. This includes describing how to implement the proposed solution. (CLO 4, 6)

Note that you can find the full text of the Course Learning Objectives on the Syllabus.

Readings for the Week of February 25

Please complete all readings before beginning the quizzes for this module. This material introduces concepts you will need to successfully apply the objectives stated above.

1. Markel & Selber, Ch. 6: “Researching Your Subject”
2. Markel & Selber, Ch. 7: “Organizing Your Information”
3. Markel & Selber, Appendix Part A: Skimming Your Sources and Taking Notes
4. Markel & Selber, Appendix Part B: Documenting Your Sources
   1. Why Use Documentation? (extra summary of information from the appendix)
   2. What Do I Need to Document? (extra summary of information from the appendix)
5. Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs)
   • #WeekendWatch: Tell a Story to Grab Attention and Interest (02/23)
   • #TuesdayTutorial: Conducting Research for Your Report (available 02/26)
   • #WednesdayWrite: Citing Your Sources (available 02/27)
   • #ThursdayThought: Four Ways to Use Research in Your Writing (available 02/28)
   • #FridayFact: You Need to Be a Fact-Checker (available 03/01)

Activities for the Week of February 25

Daily Discussion Posts Activities
(85 minutes—5 posts @ ~15 minutes each plus self-assessment @ ~10 minutes)

• Contribute to any or all of the following Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs) in Canvas:
  • • #WeekendWatch: Tell a Story to Grab Attention and Interest (02/23)
    • #TuesdayTutorial: Conducting Research for Your Report (available 02/26)
    • #WednesdayWrite: Citing Your Sources (available 02/27)
    • #ThursdayThought: Four Ways to Use Research in Your Writing (available 02/28)
    • #FridayFact: You Need to Be a Fact-Checker (available 03/01)
• Complete the DDP Self-Assessment for the Week of 02/25 to report the work you did and record your score (100 points). Be sure to read the self-assessment at the beginning of the week so that you understand the expectations.

Writing Activities
(~4 hours, including time to research and write)

• Complete the any or all of the following Major Writing Project activities (400 points total).
  • These activities contribute to the first Major Writing Project in the course, XXX.
    • Complete an Audience Profile Sheet (100 points)
    • Making a Preliminary Research Plan (100 points)
    • Identifying Useful Research Tools (100 points)
    • Creating a GANTT Chart (100 points)

• Complete the Writing Activities Self-Assessment for the Week of 02/25  to report the work you did (other than the final, finished draft) and record your score. I will grade your Rough Draft submission, according to the expectations listed in the assignment.

Extra Activities
(2 hours—2 quizzes @ ~20 minutes each, excluding reading time, plus time for the extra activities)

• Complete the Readings Quizzes.
  
  • These quizzes cover the readings shown above and are designed to assess your familiarity with concepts you will need to know to produce deliverables for this module. These quizzes are the following:
    • 6 Markel, Researching Your Subject (100 points)
    • 7 Markel, Organizing Your Information (100 points)
• Participate in the extra activities, if desired:
  • Finding Resources in Your Field (25 points)
  • Using Multiple Organizational Patterns in an Infographic (25 points)
• Ask any questions about the course in the General Q and A Discussion (0 points) in Canvas.
  • Check the General Q and A Discussion for answers before posting.
  • Asking a question is not required. Use the Inbox tool in Canvas for questions about grades or personal information that should not be shared with the class.

Photo credit: Photo credit: All She’s Armed With Is Research. by Markus Binzegger on Flickr Links to an external site., used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.