For magz64
INFORMAL TEAM PROPOSAL: STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
Due Thursday, May 4th, with Oral Presentation
INTRODUCTION
Problem and Background
In this part of the Introduction, the writer should take care to very accurately describe the ONE problem that this team is proposing to solve. THE problem must be explained in terms of what it is, where it takes place, how it happens, how long it has been a problem, etc. Be as specific as you can here, so that the reader’s reaction is immediate and clear rather than curious and confused. It is important not to blame anyone here. Keep your tone objective and neutral. Rather than naming a “guilty party,” mention the location/organizational source.
Stakeholders
In this section, you should identify the parties affected by or involved in the problem. Describe their involvement.
Significance
This part of the Introduction really grabs the readers’ attentions and makes them feel something—like surprise, or concern, or, even, anger. The goal of this section is to motivate the readers to read on and seek an answer to the problem. Here, you are trying to answer the question, Why is this problem something we should worry about? You can explain the short and long-term effects of the problem, offer evidence that it exists—data or anecdotal material, and you can even point to the value of career support in higher education and how it should work, pointing to similar universities that have better products and excellent outcomes. You may use/cite references in this section.
Purpose
For the purpose, be clear and definite about what this report intends to do. You may write this as a simple statement of fact: The purpose of this report is to present alternative solutions to this problem and propose/recommend the most promising solution to stakeholders.
DISCUSSION
This section is the longest of the entire report. It basically lays out the three alternative solutions your team has chosen, in order of weakest to strongest. It should be designed for easy reading, since it is lengthy. You are concentrating on details, here, and accuracy. You don’t want the reader to wonder or be confused at any point in this section. Use an objective tone here; if you present a bias toward one of these alternatives, your readers will figure they have enough information and stop reading.
You are strongly encouraged to use/cite references in this section. The alternatives explained in this section should be distinguishable from one another. Design for easy reading.
CONCLUSION
In this final section, you reveal your team’s choice for the most effective and promising solution. Begin with a reminder of the seriousness of the problem and suggestions for what the future will look like without a solution to the problem. Summarize/highlight any disadvantages of the alternatives, named earlier, and then explain which alternative had the most impressive advantages. At this point, once the advantages have been covered, you should propose the alternative that seems best suited to solve the problem and serve the interests of all stakeholders, both in the short and long-term.
REFERENCES/RESOURCES
A list of all the sources you used in the report as well as the resources your team used to complete its work on the project. This list should be on its own page.
Additional Details:
All members of the team are responsible for specific portions of the work and will be grades on those sections individually.
As an informal report, this should be designed as a memo, with proper page ID on page 1 and subsequent page ID on all of the remaining pages.
Reports are due on Thursday, May 4th, in class. No extensions are given on the final draft.
All teams will present their project and results in 15-minute (max.) oral presentations on May 4th. All members must present some portion of the oral; however, the lead for this part of the project may take a greater role. You are welcome to present slides, produce handouts, use the white board, involve the class in some way, etc. in order to make your presentation interesting and engaging.
Please organize/practice the presentation so that your team presents its best work!
