About assignment #4
- 1. About Assignment #4 WRIT 250 for ACCY Interns
- 2. Overview The last two assignments for the course are the culmination of the research work you have done this semester Assignment #4 is can take the form of a proposal or an investigative report. Assignment #5 is a presentation based on your project, which you will submit as a recorded PowerPoint (or equivalent). This module will walk you through unit requirements for Assignment #4.
- 3. Purpose Investigative Report • Highlights a specific issue at your firm and analyzes that issue. • Primary research is related to exposition • Rhetorical goal: informative • Make recommendations, but focus on analysis Formal Proposal • Highlights a specific issue at your firm and establishes a specific plan to solve that issue. • Primary research is related to implementation • Rhetorical goal: persuasion • Sell your solution
- 4. Considerations for Both Approaches This assignment is the combined product of the work you’ve done so far. The “new” material is your original/primary research and your firm-specific analysis or solutions. You will have the opportunity to conduct original/primary research on your classmates, but you may choose to go outside the class. You will put this new material together with a condensed version of the secondary research you conducted for the white paper.
- 5. Investigative Report • Primarily expository • Based on an exploratory research question • Investigative reports should: • Clearly state the research question and goal • Objectively report on secondary research • Conduct primary research transparently • Analyze findings and make recommendations • Investigative reports should not: • Outline specific implementation of recommendations • Propose timelines, budgets, and policy changes in support of recommendations • Persuade or sell an idea, concept, approach, or change • In many ways, an investigative report is like an audit report that you might prepare for a client.
- 6. Parts of an Investigative Report Memo of Transmittal The “cover page” for the report. Use standard memo format. Content should mirror what’s in the executive summary. In practice, the memo of transmittal serves mostly an administrative purpose. Title Page (optional) The title page should reflect the style of your firm and should include the firm’s name, your name, and the title. Include any confidentiality statements on this page.
- 7. Parts of an Investigative Report Executive Summary Just like you wrote for the white paper. Give the abstract/Reader’s Digest version of the entire report. Should be less than 10% of the report’s total length Table of Contents (optional) If your report is complex or is divided up into several distinct sections, a TOC can aid in readability and navigation. This really depends on the length of your report.
- 8. Parts of an Investigative Report Introduction Introduce the report just like you would introduce an essay. This is not the same as an executive summary. Treat the introduction as the actual beginning of the report (it should make sense if all the other front matter is removed).
- 9. Parts of an Investigative Report: Methods/Primary Research Your investigative report should include a primary research component. Primary research is original fact-finding that you conduct. Examples for ACCY include: Surveys Interviews Examination of primary documents (financial data– think spreadsheets or ledgers) The Reality: you might have a hard time finding conducting authentic primary research because you’re done with your internship. The Solution: use your classmates as subjects. Many of them worked at similar firms (even the same firms). You can email them surveys, interview them, or examine the non-confidential work they did.
- 10. Parts of an Investigative Report Methods The methods section should explain your research process. Basically, explain what you did. Include supporting documentation in an appendix. Discussion Discuss and evaluate your primary findings and connect to your secondary research. This will be the longest section of the report. You should divide into headings/subheadings where appropriate. Your primary study may play a major or minor role depending on what your project is about.
- 11. Parts of an Investigative Report Recommendations Based on the information you collected and your primary study, outline general recommendations for the firm. Do not structure this section as a proposal. You are objectively presenting options. Conclusion Tie it all together, mirror the introduction References Cite all sources used. Style guide is up to you as long as you are consistent Appendix Include copies of surveys, interview transcripts, or other things you collected.
- 12. Summary You should choose an investigative report if you are more interested in exploring an issue, concept, topic, or problem. You may not already have a specific solution. Choose this option if you white paper research was more theoretical and broad, and you want to apply that research to the specific situation at your firm.
- 13. Formal Proposals • Primarily persuasive • Based on an a specific change or implementation of change • Formal proposals should • Clearly state the overall purpose and goal of the change • Use secondary research to justify the proposed change • Conduct primary research transparently • Use findings to add credibility • Propose specific timelines, budgets, and policy changes in support of changes. • Formal Proposals should not: • Rely too heavily on theory or exposition. • A formal proposal is ultimately trying to sell an idea.
- 14. Parts of a Formal Proposal Cover Page/Letter Review the proposed project in summary. Since you are not writing an executive summary for the proposal, it should meet similar goals. Project Description The first part of the proposal proper. Introduce the project and review the components of the proposal.
- 15. Parts of a Formal Proposal Objectives/Goals Formally outline the “why” of the proposal. It is a good idea to have specific goals or outcomes (you can even list them with bullet points). This section should ensure that your audience is open-minded to what you have to say Evaluation/Literature Review Review secondary research findings (repurposed from your white paper) and present your preliminary original research findings (see next slide).
- 16. Parts of a Formal Report: Primary Research Your formal proposal should include a primary research component. Primary research is original fact-finding that you conduct. Examples for ACCY include: Surveys Interviews Examination of primary documents (financial data– think spreadsheets or ledgers) The Reality: you might have a hard time finding conducting authentic primary research because you’re done with your internship. The Solution: use your classmates as subjects. Many of them worked at similar firms (even the same firms). You can email them surveys, interview them, or examine the non-confidential work they did.
- 17. Parts of a Formal Proposal Methodology The methodology section should explain how you will implement the proposed changes. Evaluation Explain why you want to implement the proposed changes the way you outlined in your methodology.
- 18. Parts of a Formal Proposal Budget, Personnel, Resources Justification Outline the specifics of your implementation Conclusion Make your final push to sell the project, summarize it into most essential points. Appendix Include any necessary supporting documents (surveys, interview questions, etc).
- 19. Summary You should choose this option if you already have a specific solution in mind or a way to address a problem you outlined in your white paper. Many of you have articulated what this might be. Choose this option if you want to engage in persuasive writing and you want to sell an idea, concept, or change in policy.
- 20. Connections to Assignment #1 This project is similar in principle to the work you did for assignment #1. In assignment 1, you explored and issue and proposed solutions. In this assignment, you will be doing one of those in greater detail: either exploring an issue or proposing a specific change. This class is designed to come full circle, so if you are revisiting thoughts and questions you had at the very beginning, you are on the right track.