WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4: RESEARCH-BASED PERSUASIVE REPORT

People in business and government write formal reports for many different purposes: proposing, problem solving, recommending, informing, explaining, describing, selling, analyzing, defending, protecting, reviewing. For this class, write a 12-15 page (longer is OK), double-spaced, persuasive report for decision and implementation. That is, show that a problem exists and propose a solution to the problem, oppose someone else’s proposal, suggest a change in policy, or support a position on a debatable issue. Assume the audience to be a decision maker who is your immediate supervisor or one level higher. The workplace can be a fictional one, not your actual employer. Choose a topic that requires research: printed books and articles or articles from databases and websites, or possibly in-house documents (consult with me if you plan to use in-house documents). When counting 12-15 pages, don’t count the prefatory material (memo/letter of transmittal, table of contents, list of illustrations, executive summary) nor the bibliography, nor any appendixes.

The assignment gives you practice in gathering information, taking notes, planning and focusing a large report for an intended audience, writing and revising, and documenting sources.
This assignment also meets the objectives of several UMUC Core Learning Areas as well as all the objectives of WRTG 394.

The assignment schedule guides your progress from the beginning of the semester and sets deadlines.

Your report should contain the following parts (chapter 11, p. 288):

Memo or letter of transmittal (one page; can be single-spaced or double-spaced)
Title page
Table of contents
Executive Summary (one page; can be single-spaced or double-spaced)
Recommendations
Body (with separate introduction and discussion)
Bibliography in APA style
Addenda (appendixes if appropriate)

Minimum Requirements

1. Use at least five published or Internet sources. Or get my approval for unique reports not based primarily on published sources.

1. Quote sparingly; paraphrase and summarize frequently.

1. Do not plagiarize–Cite in-text sources precisely and do not half-copy.

1. Complete the Audience Profile (below) and include it with your finished report.

In addition, on a separate page, complete the Audience Profile (below).

 

 

AUDIENCE PROFILE

INSTRUCTIONS: For the imagined audience of your researched persuasive report, write full explanations/commentary for each item. In addition to supplying the information for each item, consider the implications of your perceptions of your readers. Include as part of your commentary how you plan to use your perceptions of your readers in planning and writing the report. Your textbook authors continually remind you of the need to tailor the content and tone of a document to the intended audience; two such discussions of audience are on pages 53-54 and page 268.

Turn in this completed form as part of Writing Assignment 4.

Your audience profile will be graded according to how thoroughly you respond to the items.