Business Writing and Rhetoric, Feigner

Report Project

Total Points: 350

Purpose

For our final project, your group will write an 8-10-page recommendation report on an issue associated with your major. You’ll identify a specific audience, but you can count on writing to a group of people who are interested in your topic, but doesn’t know much about it. You’ll supplement the report with an 8-10-minute presentation, with PowerPoint or Prezi, in front of our class.

Report Types and Topics

As our text points out, reports come in many varieties. For our project, we’ll use the book’s “middle-ground” definition: “A business report is an orderly and objective communication of factual information that serves a business purpose” (200). The business purpose of your report is to recommend a change.

Your group has tremendous flexibility regarding topics. First, you should write about something your group is interested in. If possible, you should be passionate about the topic, and each member must buy into the topic. Perhaps more importantly, you need to choose a topic that will yield enough content for a strong, well-developed document.

The report’s primary goal is to recommend a change, but you will also offer analysis and present conclusions drawn from research you conduct. You may, for example, write a report that:

· compares the business major requirements at SDSU with those at other universities and suggest changes to those requirements;

· presents different models of human resource management, then recommend one that your group believes works best for a certain business sector;

· recommends an investment strategy for a specific consumer group, like students.

I’ll be working closely with your group to define a topic and choose a type. We’ll also rely heavily on chapters 8 and 9 in our book, especially when we define problem and purpose statements and determine the factors you need to investigate (201-202).

Importance of Research

Your report must rely on research to inform and persuade your reader. She is expecting you to provide a range of in-depth, high-quality facts and/or observations. Remember, your reader may be making a decision based on the information you provide. You’ll begin by conducting some general research about the topic, issue or trend using Google or another search engine. Then you will find more targeted research using the databases accessed through our RWS 290 Course Guide via SDSU’s library. Again, this is a professional document; your report must rely on at least three formal sources (note by “formal,” I mean either a peer-reviewed article or official guidance released by the company, industry, or legal authority). This requirement may be waived depending on the nature of your project (i.e. surveys, interviews, etc.). Please see me for further guidance.

Visuals/Executive Summary/Cover Letter/Tone

Your report must also include graphic elements (visuals); we will discuss citation format, integrating figures, tables, charts and graphs into the report in class. You will also submit a cover letter. The report must be written in a professional tone/style defined by our text in Chapter 4.

Supplemental Assignments

Your group will complete these supplemental assignments for the Report Project

· A Team Charter that establishes group expectations and protocol. (10 points)

· A Gantt chart, which is a great tool for focusing on the most critical tasks required to complete a project. (10 points)

· A brief Kickoff Memo presenting the report’s problem and purpose statements describing the background of the report’s topic, and listing the “factors” the report will investigate. (10 points)

· A Report Progress Report Memo that reports on your work to date. (10 points)

· An 8-10-minute presentation on the report, during which each member must speak. (30 points)

· A confidential Collaboration Report quiz, where you evaluate each member of your group. (50 points)

You’ll find descriptions for each of these supplemental assignments in our Report Project folder.

Coursework, Point Totals and Due Dates

Team Charter

10

Friday, 10/30, by 11:59 pm

Kickoff Memo

10

Wednesday, 11/4, by 11:59 pm

Gantt Chart

10

Wednesday, 11/11, by 11:59 pm

Report Progress Memo

10

Monday, 11/23, by 11:59

Report First Draft

10

Monday, 11/30, by 11:59 pm

Report Peer-/Self-Review

20

Monday 12/7, by 11:59 pm

Report Presentation

30

Wednesday 12/9, in class

Report Draft: Revision 1 (Final Draft)

200

Monday, 12/14, by 11:59 pm

Collaboration Assessment

50

Monday, 12/14, by 11:59 pm

Total Points

350

Report Page Specifications

Length: At least 8 pages of body text

Margins: 1 inch all around

Line Space: Single

Justification: Ragged right

Paragraph Length: “Chunked,” varied

Paragraph Breaks: Line space; no indent

Font Size: 11pt for serif, 12 for sans serif

Headings: No more than 3pts larger than text type size

Heading Line space: One line space above, one below

Bulleted/Numbered Lists: Yes, for appropriate content

Page Numbers: Bottom, flush right margin, text size

Hyperlinks: Not active

Text Citations: Footnote format; font size 9pt

Visuals: Yes, framed with adequate white space

Visual Captions: Placed per convention in 9pt font size

Visuals Citations: Yes, for all non-original visuals

Executive Summary: Yes, not counted in page count

Title Page: Yes, with course name, instructor name, report title, group name, individual names

Cover Letter: Yes; standard transmittal letter format

Evaluation

To evaluate your group’s report, I’ll use the Recommendation Report Rubric posted on our Blackboard site.