7.1 Body Paragraphs
Due by the deadline posted in the Schedule and shared with your instructor in Google Docs (remember to name the submission with the title of the assignment).
Traditionally, when we write an essay for class, we might start with the introduction (or beginning), write the middle, and then finish up with a conclusion.
In technical writing, and particularly when writing recommendation reports (as we are doing for this assignment), a good rule of thumb is to begin in the middle. The reason this method is more effective is simple: the front and back matter of a formal report support the body information. Writing the body information will guarantee that the front and back matter are relevant to the report.
So, for Week Seven, we are going to write the body of our Formal Report (the final report will be due in Week Nine). Before you begin writing, please watch this video on paragraph structure. You might also want to use this Google Document to help you organize your information and research to align your problems, research, and solutions.
The assignment:
For Week Seven, you will complete a rough draft of the following sections of your Formal Report:
For a description of what each section should contain, please read page 323 in our textbook.
For an example of how the report should be formatted, please review pages 330-333 in our textbook.
In technical writing, and particularly when writing recommendation reports (as we are doing for this assignment), a good rule of thumb is to begin in the middle. The reason this method is more effective is simple: the front and back matter of a formal report support the body information. Writing the body information will guarantee that the front and back matter are relevant to the report.
So, for Week Seven, we are going to write the body of our Formal Report (the final report will be due in Week Nine). Before you begin writing, please watch this video on paragraph structure. You might also want to use this Google Document to help you organize your information and research to align your problems, research, and solutions.
The assignment:
For Week Seven, you will complete a rough draft of the following sections of your Formal Report:
- Introduction
- Body (with appropriate sub-headings--not those in the textbook example)
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
For a description of what each section should contain, please read page 323 in our textbook.
For an example of how the report should be formatted, please review pages 330-333 in our textbook.
CAUTION: You WILL NOT use the headings from the body of the formal report example in your final report (e.g., Methodologies of the Studies, Time, Setting, Examiners, Exclusion Criteria, Data Collection, etc.). Those headings should provide an example of how main headings and then sub-headings can be used, but they should not be the headings and sub-headings you will use. However, you WILL use the Introduction, Background, Conclusion and Recommendation headings in your formal report.
Think About It
Audience Awareness:
Keep in mind your primary audience for your final report. Consider the audience to be skeptical and unlikely to believe that the problem you have identified exists. Your challenge is to convince your audience that the problem 1) exists, 2) is worthy of his/her attention, and 3) has a solution that can be implemented. You should also assume that the writer knows basic terms, concepts, and background about the issue. Avoid insulting the reader by providing simplistitic definitions of key terms, including long summaries of simple information, or "educating" him or her about his or her area of expertise.
Information Literacy:
In Week Three, you located reliable sources for the proposal. In Weeks Five and Six you reviewed those sources and/or additional sources you have located to identify the parts that are most relevant to your final report. Your challenge now is to integrate these sources into your argument about your problem and into the solution that you identify to address the problem. The ideas of why this is a problem and how the solution works should be your own and be supported by the sources. In other words, you should avoid basically summarizing what others have said about the problem and/or solution and focus instead on using those sources to support your well-reasoned case for they this problem and solution are worth the audience's time, money, and attention.
Digital Literacy:
At this point, you will have completed several documents using Google Docs and submitted them to me. You will continue to use this program as a means to collaborate with your professor on this document in order to make these annotations as clear as possible for the final report.
Audience Awareness:
Keep in mind your primary audience for your final report. Consider the audience to be skeptical and unlikely to believe that the problem you have identified exists. Your challenge is to convince your audience that the problem 1) exists, 2) is worthy of his/her attention, and 3) has a solution that can be implemented. You should also assume that the writer knows basic terms, concepts, and background about the issue. Avoid insulting the reader by providing simplistitic definitions of key terms, including long summaries of simple information, or "educating" him or her about his or her area of expertise.
Information Literacy:
In Week Three, you located reliable sources for the proposal. In Weeks Five and Six you reviewed those sources and/or additional sources you have located to identify the parts that are most relevant to your final report. Your challenge now is to integrate these sources into your argument about your problem and into the solution that you identify to address the problem. The ideas of why this is a problem and how the solution works should be your own and be supported by the sources. In other words, you should avoid basically summarizing what others have said about the problem and/or solution and focus instead on using those sources to support your well-reasoned case for they this problem and solution are worth the audience's time, money, and attention.
Digital Literacy:
At this point, you will have completed several documents using Google Docs and submitted them to me. You will continue to use this program as a means to collaborate with your professor on this document in order to make these annotations as clear as possible for the final report.
Images above found at http://eblane.com/theinsidelane/every-story-and-event-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end/ and http://terapiaasistidaporperros.wordpress.com/historia-de-la-tap-parte-i/histroria-de-la-tap-parte-ii/.