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For your major course project, you will research and write a recommendation report that compares and/or contrasts two real alternatives of a technical nature, and recommends a preference between the two for a theoretical client, management, or other professional entity similar to the ones you expect to encounter in your professional future.
In order to do so, envision yourself early in your professional career. Fabricate a realistic and entirely plausible professional situation, in which you must compare and/or contrast two alternatives (products, actions, techniques, theoretical approaches, applications, etc.) for a professional entity you are either employed by, a member of, or obligated to in some manner.
You will research and draft the document within the conventions of the formal report genre. You will submit the Recommendation Report by the due date, complete with a cover memo to me, graphics and visuals, and appropriate front and end matter.
For the Recommendation Report assignment, you will write a document that compares and/or contrasts two alternatives (products, actions, techniques, theoretical approaches, applications, etc.) that will act to solve a problem for a theoretical client by providing a recommendation based on a comparative, causal, or feasibility analysis.
Although you are compiling your analysis and making a recommendation for a theoretical report and client, the alternatives you will be choosing between must be real, or have a substantial basis in reality. Spend some time investigating your options and creating a client, a rhetorical situation, and realistic choices to fit the requirements of this assignment. It is also imperative to replicate a plausible situation, imitating what you can expect in your professional future as closely as you can.
To familiarize yourself better with the requirements for this major assignment, carefully review the following sections:
Guidelines for Selecting Report Topics
General Report Requirements
Content Requirements: The Elements of the Formal Report
Remember, your Recommendation Report is worth 300 points (30 % of your overall grade for this class).
Guidelines for Selecting Report Topics
Your recommendation report will help the reader(s) make an informed decision about a realistic choice he/she/they must make, a problem that needs solving, or a situation that needs resolving with one of two options.
The type of report you produce for this assignment will be determined by the rhetorical situation, or case, you fabricate, and by the focus of the investigation that situation will require. Consider using one of the following types of investigations for your report project.
An investigative focus deciding between competing products to perform a needed task, service, or to solve a problem:
The report might compare and contrast two competing products, investigate how the features or components of each will perform within the context of the case, and recommend one product over the other.
An investigative focus determining which of two competing solutions is more feasible:
The report might investigate whether Y or Z is a more feasible solution to a clients problem and, based on the results of the investigation, make a recommendation to implement Y, Z, or neither.
An investigative focus convincing a client to implement a particular action, technique, theoretical approach, application, etc., to solve a problem, or fulfill a need or task:
The report might propose that the client authorize (provide the funding or permission for) the writer to implement X, and not Y.
The report might propose that the client consider an alternate method, procedure, or product for meeting an existing need (compare existing versus alternative).
General Report Requirements
The general report requirements are as follows:
Length: The discussion/body of the report should be approximately 6-8 pages, single-spaced, not including the front and back matter (title page, executive summary, table of contents, list of illustrations, appendices, bibliography/works cited pages, etc.).
Visuals: Use a minimum of three visuals.
Format: Format your report as a professional document. Use single-spaced paragraphs with double spaces between paragraphs. Use at least two levels of headings in addition to the title (main sections and subsections), with appropriate formats for each level. Use headers and/or footers as needed.
Outside Sources: You will need to incorporate at least three (3) outside sources into your report.
Citations: Provide complete citations for all sources of information, including interviews and onsite visits. Use the citation style appropriate for your profession.
Elements Expected for Formal Reports Include front matter, discussion/body, and back matter, as explained below and in your textbook.
Content Requirements: The Elements of the Formal Report
Virtually all professional entities produce formal reports of one type or another. A formal report is a public presentation of the best efforts of the company, lab, or agency. Companies, therefore, try to demonstrate their excellence through the superior quality of their reports.
A formal report generally includes the following components:
a transmittal/cover letter or memo (not usually bound with the report)
the front matter
the discussion/body of the report
the end matter (supplemental material placed at the end of the report)
You will develop your report for the audiences identified in your project proposal; however, for this assignment, you will write the transmittal/cover memo to me rather than to the client.
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