Overview

Black woman working on a computer tablet During this second week of working on your Recommendation Report, you will continue researching the kind of writing that you have chosen and begin planning for your document. By the end of the week, you should have most of the information that you need to write your 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.

Early Access to the Week’s Activities

To help those of you who are leaving town for spring break, all of the activities for the week are available starting Monday, March 4. This early access includes all of the Daily Discussion Posts. Since everything is ready at the beginning of the week, you should be able to complete your work for the week before you leave town.

Extra Points Available for Progress Report Activity

Before you leave for spring break, I encourage you to write a progress report (activity below). This document will help you summarize the work you have done so that you are ready to pick back up your project when you return from break.

Unavailable From Thursday, March 14 through Monday, March 18

I will be unavailable from Thursday, March 14 through Monday, March 18. I am having surgery on Friday, March 15 to repair a ruptured quadriceps tendon. While I am unavailable, I will not reply to messages or grade work in Canvas.

You will have early access to the Module Overview and related activities for the week of March 18. The material will be available beginning at 12 AM on Thursday, March 14. You do not need to begin the work early. I am simply setting everything up before the surgery to ensure it is available on time.

I will be back online Tuesday, March 19.

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 March 4

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.

Markel & Selber, Ch. 18: “Writing Recommendation Reports”
Markel & Selber, Ch. 17: “Writing Informational Reports”
Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs)—all available beginning March 4

Activities for the Week of March 4

Time Required: 7–8 hours, excluding reading time
Available Points: 750
Due Dates:

All work is due by 11:59 PM on Friday, March 8.
The grace period for these activities ends at 11:59 PM on Monday, March 18 (the Monday after spring break).

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)—all available beginning March 4
- #WeekendWatch: Making a Recommendation
- #TuesdayTutorial: Search Terms and Methods
- #WednesdayWrite: Examine the Structure of a Report
- #ThursdayThought: Know Your Sources
- #FridayFact: There Are Lies on the Internet!
Complete the DDP Self-Assessment for the Week of 03/04 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 Recommendation Report.
  - Recommendation Report: Checking for Variety in Research Sources (100 points)
  - Recommendation Report: Identify Three Examples for Your Appendix (100 points)
  - Recommendation Report: Outline Your Project (100 points)
  - Recommendation Report: Progress Report (100 points)

Complete the Writing Activities Self-Assessment for the Week of 03/04 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:
  - 18 Markel, Writing Recommendation Reports (100 points)
  - 17 Markel, Writing Informational Reports (100 points)
Participate in the extra activities, if desired:
- Recommendation Report: Evaluating Internet Sources—Global Warming(25 points)
- Recommendation Report: Evaluating Internet Sources—Corn Syrup (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: wocintech (microsoft) - 40 by WOCinTech Chat on Flickr, used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.