Writing for Your Readers



Developing Analytical Reports—Recommendation Reports and Feasibility Studies

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this chapter are to

1. Explain the nature and role of analytical reports.

2. Explain the differences between recommendation and feasibility reports.

3. Briefly discuss the nature of environmental impact statements.

4. Explain the key contents and organizational structures used in these types of reports.

5. Discuss strategies for developing and organizing analytical reports based upon the audience’s needs, the report’s purpose, and the context in which the report is used.

TEACHING STRATEGIES

This chapter presents analytical reports in a pragmatic way that reinforces the necessity of applying the concepts discussed in Chapter 13: a report must respond to the writer’s purpose, the content that must be presented, and the needs of the audience. When discussing analytical reports, it may be useful to use model reports as the basis for discussion. By analyzing these, as this chapter does, you can discuss the characteristics of the report types (recommendation, feasibility, environmental impact statement, or others), how these characteristics are incorporated, how reports may blend various report purposes (for instance, to inform and to analyze), and how reports with a similar analytical purpose may vary in their methods of development and/or organization.

You will want to emphasize that students should not try to identify some rigid report format into which they may fit all analytical reports; this leads to stultified, dull, and ineffective report writing. Emphasize that report guidelines have evolved over the years as report writers have discovered methods of developing and organizing analytical arguments that effectively convey their messages. Report classifications are useful for novices because they provide a solid framework from which to begin drafting reports, but students should be encouraged to apply the foundational technical writing skills and techniques they have learned in the first part of the course to design reports that are responsive to the needs of their contexts.

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES

Here are some ideas for the classroom activities to help students learn about recommendation and feasibility reports.

Traditional Classroom

1. Apply the checklists. A good classroom exercise is to use the checklists at the end of the chapter to analyze the example reports shown within the chapter or contained on the Companion Web Site (us/houp). Students tend not to read the examples carefully. Also, they tend not to use the checklists when they are completing their own drafts and thus fail to include certain key components. Applying the checklists to the examples in the book or on the Web site may help in both these areas.

2. Show-and-tell analytical reports. Have students find and bring in recommendation, evaluation, feasibility, and empirical research reports to present to the class. This can be difficult because these types of reports are usually unpublished and proprietary. However, a number of publicly available reports are available via the World Wide Web. If you are just starting out as a technical writing teacher, this is a good way to build files of examples. Have students compare the structure of the reports they bring in to the structure shown in the textbook.

3. Unscramble scrambled analytical report text. Take the text of a good analytical report, scramble the sections moderately, and then retype that text as one huge paragraph without any formatting. Get the class to discuss how to rearrange and format the text. (Get students to bring scissors and tape to class.) Or you can bring a computer and projector into your classroom, and have students tell you how to edit the scrambled text.

4. Group-brainstorm a hypothetical analytical report project. Another classroom possibility is to plan a hypothetical recommendation or feasibility report together as a class. Start with the terms college, community, or workplace, and have them think of problems or opportunities. (Analytical reports don’t always focus on problems—they can also focus on opportunities for improvement.) Get students to define the audience, purpose, and scope of the project that they select. Have them define the criteria and the information gathering that the project will necessitate and consider the types of conclusions and recommendations they might reach.

5. Oral presentations on analytical report projects. Consider having students do brief three- to five-minute oral reports on their analytical report projects. This works as a group-brainstorming exercise, helps students who are stumped for a project idea, and just generally raises the energy level of the class.

Computer Classroom

1. Find example analytical reports online; critique their content, design, organization, and style. Much like the checklist exercise above, this can give students the experience of critically evaluating actual documents. Seeing the reports online, as documentation representing actual businesses, will help demystify professional writing requirements for your students. Encourage student pairs or small groups to look for reports originating in their fields of interest and to evaluate these critically. Don’t let them assume that the writing is flawless just because it is “published.” Of course, if you wish to simplify the project, you can simply use the reports contained on the Companion Web Site.

2. Conduct a brainstorming, planning, and research session online. During class time, have students search online to locate topics for a recommendation report or to brainstorm options for a feasibility study. Have them check online trade publications in their field to see what hot topics are current and to start gathering sources. You can take this experience as far as time will allow in the computer classroom—all the way through preliminary outlining, graphics planning, etc. The brainstorming and topic planning process can be done individually or in small groups, as can the actual report writing as well. See the chapter on collaborative writing for more on teaming.

3. Find a government Web site that provides guidelines for performing and preparing environmental impact statements (EIS); then discuss an EIS in light of the guidelines. Environment impact statements are complex not only because of the sheer amount of information that they must investigate and discuss, but because of the political and ethical sensitivities that are part of their production context. Everyone, from the government agency or private corporation, to the general public that lives in the affected area, to the wildlife and conservation groups whose purpose is to monitor the treatment of wildlife and the ecology, has a stake in the thoroughness, correctness, and accuracy of the EIS findings. Therefore, many government agencies post detailed information online for those who will be doing an EIS to follow, and many agencies post each EIS online as well so that all interested parties may read it.

Break your class into small groups and have them locate 1) online guidelines for an EIS and 2) an EIS. Ask the class to consider the requirements of the guidelines: What do they say about performing the EIS? What do they require in the content of the EIS? How do they ask it be organized? Do they say anything about considering particular audiences? What about guidelines for style? Tone? Graphics? Etc.? What ethical issues do they address?

Then have the students analyze the EIS. Using the same questions as above, does the EIS seem to fit guidelines similar to those the students have found? How so? Does it differ in any significant way? If, so, can the students speculate why?

Have one or more of the groups show the class the guidelines and EIS they accessed and briefly discuss the two documents and the students’ findings about them. Try to have the class reach some conclusions about the nature of environmental impact statements and the business and ethical context in which they are produced.

This exercise can be a good way to discuss the ethics involved in a specific kind of analytical report. It can also drive home the necessity of sound research and presentation. Finally, it can give students a chance to think about the intricacies of the report process, the variety of audiences (with their inherent interests) for many reports, the necessity of writing a report that meets the requirements of audience, purpose, and context, and the legal implications that can be a part of report writing.

WRITING PROJECTS

As teachers, we want our students to get experience writing reports that focus on problems, compare solutions, analyze data, draw conclusions, and make recommendations. But how do we implement real or realistic scenarios in which they can gain this experience? Here is a range of project ideas.

Traditional Assignments

1. Write a report recommending a product. Have your students find or envision a specific audience with a specific problem or a specific need for a certain product. Have the students gather comparative data on three or four leading products in that category and then recommend one. This is the classic Consumer Reports-style report; your students will find plenty of data for a project like this. Products need not be the only focus of this project: for example, a student could compare and make recommendations about graduate schools.

2. Write a report evaluating required courses. Maybe students don’t like some of the course requirements in their major—speech, foreign language, British literature, even technical writing? To do this report project well, they must research the requirements, define criteria, get data on the actual performance of these courses, and somehow evaluate these courses against the criteria. Students would have to interview instructors, deans, current students, graduates, and practicing professionals. This project has great potential but could turn into mere whining and unsubstantiated complaining. (With so much research, this project might be better for the team approach.)

3. Write a report on a campus problem. Writing about a campus problem (Exercise 3 in the textbook) does not require students to think about pedagogy—but get set for multiple, obligatory reports on the campus parking problem. Again, lots of research, surveys, and interviewing will be necessary.

4. Write a report on academic programs, majors, graduate schools, or professions. This offers a range of possibilities. How about a study on the feasibility of a distance version of an academic course or a program featuring some hot new technology? How about an evaluation report on a major, such as engineering design graphics or instructional technology? How about a study and recommendation on three electrical engineering graduate programs? What about some sort of analytical report on a technical profession, such as one involving forestry science or petroleum engineering?

5. Write a report on a problem or opportunity in the community or workplace. Students can research the feasibility of a science museum, an Earth day activity, a city market, or some civic service project. Working students might want to focus on a problem at work, such as lack of a day care facility or recycling program, or the possibility of telecommuting.

Distance Learning Assignments

1. Distance Learning Assignment—Post drafts and exchange peer reviews. Much like an online workshop, this effort must be carefully orchestrated. Drafts must be posted by a pre-set deadline, peer critiques posted must follow by a specific date, and time between these critiques and a final date must be allowed so that students can make revisions. See the section in this manual on workshops for more.

2. Post a recommendations report as a Web page (or small site). Web editors, which function much like word processors but prepare words for the Web rather than for paper, are very common. Most browsers actually come with an HTML editor. Some word processors can also “Save as HTML” or “Save as Web page.” This makes publishing information via the Web very easy and relatively quick. As a change of pace and as preparation for company intranets quickly becoming commonplace in medium and large organizations, students may enjoy posting their work for others to see. This can also be the beginning of an online writing portfolio, which may be a useful tool for the job hunt. Encourage students to make their reports simple and sophisticated, using headings, lists, and highlighting as they would on paper. Beyond that, they can experiment with using the power of the Web—by hyperlinking to support documents or research, by hyperlinking across sections within their reports, or by incorporating graphics, audio, even video, as time and technology allow. As the instructor, be honest with yourself and with your students regarding what level of support you can provide with the technical side of this project. You may need to refer your students to other resources for advanced Web writing questions. Also remember that your students will have a wide range of Web experience and capabilities, so don’t expect them all to perform at the same level. The emphasis here should be on quality content and basically usable design anyway.

3. Post a slide presentation online that summarizes an analytical report produced in hard copy. Assign an analytical report (one of those listed above or another one) that the students will submit to you in hard copy. Then ask the students to create a slide presentation that summarizes their reports. They should post this presentation online (as an attachment to a discussion thread or as an assignment post in WebCT, Blackboard, or some other class tool that you have available). Require each student to view another student’s presentation and to post a “review” of that presentation.

RELEVANT LINKS

Online Technical Writing: Recommendation and Feasibility Reports ()

Rauch Center: Analytical Reports ()

Virginia Commonwealth University: English 327: Planning Guide for Feasibility Report ()

Jennifer Mooney, Virginia Tech: Technical Reports ()

WORKSHEETS

You may wish to reproduce the following worksheets for use in class or as homework.

Feasibility Report—Sample Assignment 1

Choose any scientific or technical subject that lends itself to a feasibility report. In selecting your topic, ask yourself these questions:

1. In what general technical area do my interests lie?

2. How much do I already know about my subject?

3. How much will I have to learn about this subject to do this report?

4. What well-defined problems related to this subject lend themselves to a feasibility report?

5. Is there enough readily available information on this subject?

6. Do I have enough time to do this project?

Your report must be neatly typed and bound (use a binding that lies flat when opened). Plan to use appropriate illustrative material such as charts, graphs, drawings, photos, and tables. This report must be a substantial effort on a worthwhile project. The appendixes, the actual body of the report, should run ten double-spaced typed pages; the other sections should be as long as necessary to fulfill their respective purposes. Include the following elements in the feasibility report:

Letter of transmittal

Title page

Descriptive abstract (placed on the title page)

Table of contents

List of illustrations

Introduction

Factual summary

Conclusions

Recommendations

Appendixes (discussion that supports the conclusions and recommendations)

References

Recommendation Report—Sample Assignment 2

With this project, you learn to use the structure and format of a recommendation report, interviewing and reading as research techniques, and you learn to develop conclusions and recommendations from data.

Topics. The topic for the recommendation research is your choice, but consider the following ideas:

Your campus—student retention, funding athletics, placement services, college publications, minority recruitment, utilities management, civic service, student government, student activities, campus conservation.

Your major—employment prospects, feasibility of graduate school, need for a new course or program, effectiveness of a course, internship opportunities, facility needs.

Your community—science museum, Earth Day, city market, continuing education, civic club, service project.

Your workplace—employee grievances, public relations, computers and management, quality control, conservation efforts, telecommuting options, day care facilities.

Guidelines. For this project, ensure the following:

Your topic must concern some problem, project, or goal at your college or workplace or in your major or community.

You need at least three information sources, including one interviewee (who must hold a managerial, technical, or instructional position and be an expert on your topic).

Your background materials—journals, newspapers, reports, books—must be current, relevant, and reliable.

Interviewing. Contact your interviewee, describe your project, and request an appointment for an interview. Prepare for the interview by forming precise questions but not simplistic yes-no questions. Ask probing questions that get you the information you need and allow the interviewee to open up and volunteer information. Ask questions and listen; use a tape recorder if the interviewee does not object. Thank the interviewee for taking time for you, and offer to send a copy of your completed report.

Writing. Once you have gathered the necessary information, develop it into a recommendation report using the format shown in Chapter 16. Develop conclusions and recommendations that logically flow from the information you have gathered. This report must be typed or word processed and include at least one graphic (graph, drawing, diagram, map, or table).

Recommendation Report—Sample Assignment 3

After you’ve studied the textbook section on recommendation reports, write a recommendation report in which you compare two or more products, services, or programs intended to solve a problem, and then recommend one (or none).

Use these guidelines for the recommendation report:

Find two or more products, technologies, or programs to compare and make recommendations on. Identify a real or realistic audience that has specific requirements.

Include an introduction that follows the guidelines set forth in the textbook. Discuss the situation or problem, criteria for selection, and other such background as necessary. Describe the options, if necessary.

Include a discussion section in which you compare the choices using the point-by-point approach. In each comparative section, state the conclusion for that section (for example, which product is best in terms of reliability).

Use a memo or business letter format, depending on the situation you have defined. (Optionally, you can use the cover letter or memo with a separate, attached “formal” report.)

Be sure to define any terms that might be unfamiliar to readers of this report. (See the chapter on description and definition.)

Include a conclusions section in which you summarize all of the key conclusions from the comparison sections and a recommendation section in which you make your recommendation.

Gather information from printed or published sources for this report as well as unpublished sources such as interviews with experts. Use the documentation system presented in the textbook to indicate the sources of your borrowed information.

Use headings, lists, and graphics as necessary in this report.

Attach a brief note describing the audience of your recommendation report. Indicate the skill or knowledge level of your audience, and other details that affect how you develop this report.

As with all writing assignments in this course, use the standards of good writing style, grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling.

This assignment should be a minimum of three pages, double-spaced.

Note: As with all writing assignments in this course, keep a safe copy of this one in case something happens to the one you hand in.

OVERHEADS

The figures on the following pages may be reproduced as overhead transparencies or simply shown on a computer. The following set of discussion questions associated with each of the figures may be used to elicit student reflections on the concepts.

Discussion Questions for Figure 14-1

1. How might these types of reports be used in your future profession?

2. What sorts of ethical issues are attendant upon researching and presenting these types of reports?

Discussion Questions for Figure 14-2

3. Look at some sample reports: How are they structured? Do they resemble the structures presented here? In what situations have the reports used these structures? Can you determine why the reports use the structures they do?

• Can you think of situations in your future profession when each of these structures might be more appropriately used?

Types of Analytical Reports

4. Recommendation report: focuses on a recommendation. Analyzes a problem or situation, presents possible solutions, analyzes each solution, and then recommends one

5. Evaluation report: emphasizes evaluation of personnel, data, financial options, or possible solutions to problems or avenues for exploration

6. Feasibility report: analyzes a problem, presents possible solutions to the problem, determines criteria for assessing the solutions, assesses the solutions against the criteria, and then shows the best solution(s) based on the reported analysis of the solutions Recommendation is critical, but the analysis is as critical as the conclusion and recommendation

Two Possible Structures of Analytical Reports

Structure 1: Placing the conclusion of the analysis first. Use if your reader is most interested in the conclusions and if you have to justify your conclusions to get your reader to accept them.

7. Introduction: orients the reader to the problem and the approach used to determine the solution and recommendations; may include any of the following:

8. Purpose of the report

9. Reason the report was written

10. History of the issue analyzed and the rationale for the analysis

11. Scope of the report: what issues will and will not be covered

12. Procedure for investigating (analyzing) the topic of the report

13. Conclusion—results of the analysis

14. Recommendation(s)—if required by the investigation or if one or more have evolved from the analysis and conclusions

15. Criteria for evaluation

16. Presentation of information

17. Discussion/Evaluation of information

Structure 2: Presenting the data or information, evaluating it, then presenting the conclusion and any recommendation you have. Use if the report focus is analysis rather than conclusion or if the conclusion needs careful justification. May also use this plan if you believe your readers will resist your conclusion and will need the careful analysis to justify the report’s findings.

18. Introduction (may include any of the elements noted above)

19. Criteria for evaluation

20. Discussion/Evaluation of the information

21. Conclusion—results of the analysis

Recommendation(s)—if required by the report purpose

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