Description

Write a formal analytical report of your class project in which you do the following:

• Describe a topic that you think is an issue or a problem needing attention
• Describe, analyze, and evaluate your research findings
• Draw conclusions and provide recommendations for improvement.

Here are the required components for the project:

• Title Page
• Letter of Transmittal
• Table of Contents
• Informative Abstract
• Body of Report
• Bibliography or List of Works Cited

Your report must include at least one graphic in the text. Your bibliography or list of works cited must include a minimum of five secondary sources including Internet resources. You should also include any primary sources including interviews in the bibliography. You must identify sources within the text of your document and in a reference list at the end. For all citations and the list of works cited, use either the Modern Language Association (MLA) or APA (American Psychological Association) style guidelines. Minimum length is 10 double-spaced pages of text for the report (does not include the supplementary components of a report). (NOTE: The analytical report may be single-spaced and double-spaced between paragraphs. In that case, the minimum length is 6 pages (not including supplementary components). The grade on this assignment will count 20% of your final course grade. The assignment is due on January 15 .

Discussion:

The textbook (Markel, Technical Communication, 7th ed.) classifies formal reports as three kinds: informational, analytical, and recommendation. The term analytical report is used in the course to refer to Assignment 4, but even when this term is used, you are expected to include a set of recommendations in your report. To meet course requirements, you should plan to write a report with recommendations.

Tasks

• Complete the research tasks outlined in the proposal for your class research project.
• Analyze the data you have collected and determine what conclusions you can draw from the data.
• Write a rough draft of the body of your report, being sure to organize around five major sections: introduction, methods, results, conclusions, and recommendations. (See the requirements for format in the next section.)
• Prepare all of the additional required components of the report, including the title page, letter of transmittal, table of contents, informative abstract, and bibliography.
• Post the rough draft in your group area for feedback from members of your writing group.
• If you want additional feedback on the rough draft, send a copy to the instructor as an e-mail attachment before the due date for the assignment

Length and Format

• The minimum length is 10 double-spaced pages of text for the analytical report (does not include the supplementary components of a report).
  • NOTE: The analytical report may be single-spaced and double-spaced between paragraphs. In that case, the minimum length is 6 pages (not including supplementary components).
• The body of the analytical report should include the following sections:

  Introduction

  • Provide the basic information necessary for the intended audience to understand your analytical report, including the following:
    • Background and Purpose - giving the intended audiences the information needed to understand the reason for your interest in the project and your purpose in undertaking the project
    • Statement of the Problem- gives a specific statement of the problem or situation that you plan to address in the report
    • Overview of Methods - giving a brief description of the research methods you used to gather data for the project
    • Scope of the Report
    • Basic Findings of the Report (not a requirement but often included)
    • Recommendations (not a requirement but often included)
    • Organization of the Report

  
  Methods

  • Identify and describe the primary and secondary research sources for the report

  
  Results

  • Report on the results of your research. This section is often organized according to the research sources identified in the previous section.

  
  Conclusions

  • Explain your reasoning based on the research results

  
  Recommendations

  • Make concrete suggestions for solving the problem identified in the report

  
  

  NOTE: This plan of organization is based on Markel, Technical Communication, 7th ed. The example of the Analytical Report found in the Course Modules uses a different pattern: Introduction, Collected Data, and Conclusions (with recommendations.) You may use this organization for your analytical report.

• The analytical report should include the following components in addition to the body:
  • Letter of Transmittal
  • Title Page
  • Informative Abstract
  • Table of Contents
  • Executive Summary (optional)
  • Bibliography

• The analytical report should include appropriate subheadings and at least one graphic to organize the information for the reader.
  • NOTE: The example of an analytical report in the Course Modules contains a border around the text on each page. DO NOT use a border around your text.
• The graphics should be clear and easy to understand.
• The graphics should have titles and labels and should be introduced and explained in the text of the document.
• The ideas, graphics, and writing of others should be documented following MLA or APA style guidelines for in-text citations and Works Cited

Example

NOTE: The sample report in Module 2 includes a border around the text of the report. I don't want you to include a border on the pages of your report. Also, the organization of the report uses the following pattern: Introduction, Collected Data, and Conclusions (with recommendations.) You may use this organization for your analytical report, but I think that the pattern found in your textbook and described above is a better pattern..

The BEST EXAMPLE of a formal report can be found in Markel, Technical Communication, 7th ed. on pages 504-517.

Submission

• Submit the analytical report as an attached file by December 15 to the WebTycho Assignments folder. If you are using Microsoft Word, you can submit your assignment as a .doc file. If you are not using Word, you can submit your assignment as a.txt (text) file or .rtf file, although some formating will be lost when I open the file. If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can submit your work as a .pdf file. Please note that you can no longer attach .html files in WebTycho.
• In special cases, you may request permission to submit a hard copy by US Mail to Nancy Hoagland, 4001 West Braddock Road, Alexandria, VA 22304. Hard copies must be mailed and postmarked no later than April 20.