Beginning in Week 2, you will work through the weekly research stages and writing process toward the creation of an 8- to 10-page Formal

Beginning in Week 2, you will work through the weekly research stages and writing process toward the creation of an 8- to 10-page Formal Recommendation Report or Proposal completed in Word and accompanying PowerPoint show, either narrated or for use during an onsite presentation of your final report.

Topic: Topic suggestions are provided in Files, but if there is a topic you'd like to use that is not on the list, please contact your instructor for approval. Please note that the topic must be appropriate for either a recommendation or proposal report. Review Chapters 11 and 12 in the text for a description of these reports.

Audience: The audience for this report is an industry decision maker, such as your supervisor or CEO, or a public policymaker, such as a politician or bureaucrat, who could act upon your recommendations or proposal. You will identify this decision maker in the Course Project topic proposal that you will submit in Week 2.

Research: Six academic and/or professional research sources are required. Your research must consist of a variety of electronic sources (websites, databases, media) and traditional sources (books, journals, magazines). All sources must be cited using the American Psychological Association (APA) documentation system.

Final Report/Proposal Details

As noted above, the final product will consist of an 8- to 10-page report or proposal on a technical or business topic from the approved list in Files or your own topic with approval from your instructor. The final document includes the following.

Title page (one page)
Cover letter (one page, one or two paragraphs, single spaced)
Table of contents including list of illustrations (one page)
Executive summary (one page, two or three paragraphs, single spaced)
Body of report or proposal using the following required sections.
Introduction
Discussion sections
Conclusions and Recommendations
Six research sources provided on APA formatted References page (one page). All references included on the Reference page must be cited in-text.
Technical Illustration or visual such as a chart, graph, or image that you have created or have located via academic research. This should be incorporate within the main body of the report and be mentioned in-text.
Formatting Elements (discussed in Chapter 5 in the textbook).
Single spacing (or 1.15), double spacing between sections and/or paragraphs
12-point font size for main body of writing
Arial, Calibri, Cambria, or Times New Roman font type
Use of headings and subheadings when appropriate
Paragraph length of approximately five to seven sentences
Standard 1" margins
Ragged right justification

Note: Sample formal reports are found in the textbook on pages 334, 388, and 431. There are some formatting and heading variations depending on the type of report but all include the required sections.

Multimedia PowerPoint Presentation Details

You will present your report in a multimedia technical briefing in Week 7 using a narrated PowerPoint slide show. The instructions for creating this project can be found in Files. The file is labeled Creating Audio Recording in Powerpoint.docx. Details include

eight to 10 slides, including
introduction slide with the report title and your name;
two to three slides per each main point of report;
a memorable conclusion slide;
use of full sentence, meaningful headings, and short words or phrases within the body of the slides;
a minimum of two meaningful visuals;
use of a business-appropriate design template; and
5-7 minutes of narration.