The Long Report: Identifying an Issue at Brockport
Refer to Chapter 15: “Writing Careful Long Reports”
PROMPT
In your group, select an issue that you have noticed at The College at Brockport and create a long report in which you research the issue and propose the changes that need to be made to address the issue. The issue you select is up to your group. Some options might include: diversity, public safety, dining options, safety concerns in addressing COVID-19, parking, wi-fi, and more. This Long Report will be written for Brockport’s president, Heidi Macpherson, unless your group determines that another audience would be more appropriate.
Using what you learned from Chapter 3 on working collaboratively, decide how you will divide the work, when you will meet, and how and when to conduct the research you will need. Use “The Process of Writing a Long Report” from Chapter 15 (page 598) as a guide. You will be peer editors for each other as well, providing feedback on organization of the document as well as content, clarity, and succinctness of the writing.
Please use APA format. These reports should be 8-10 pages, including the Title Page, Table of Contents, Table of Figures, and References Page. This assignment is worth 15% of your grade. One member of the group needs to submit the assignment to me via email. Please make sure that all group member names are on the title page.
SECTION
THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS MUST BE INCLUDED IN YOUR REPORT
(Reference Chapter 15: Writing Careful Long Reports, pages 599-605)
Title Page: Includes title of report, date, your name, and who the report is written for (make up a name for your CEO: feel free to be creative)
Table of Contents: Includes all sections and sub-sections included in your report, as well as page numbers. In Microsoft Word, label each section by selecting “Heading 1” or any of the other Heading options from the Home tab. This will help the program to recognize these as headings. You can then go to the “References” and insert a “Table of Contents,” which you can update as you add more sections.
List of Illustrations: This should list all visuals that you have used in the report, including the ones you have made to represent your research, as well as any other visuals. All visuals in the report itself need to be correctly labeled (ex: Figure 1). In Microsoft Word, you can go to the “References” tab and “Insert Table of Figures.” When you label a visual in your document, go to “Insert Caption” to do so. This will then automatically be added to the “Table of Figures.” You may need to right click on the List of Illustrations and update it so it adds any new Figures.
(Executive) Summary: Summarizes all elements of the report.
Reference the “Executive Summaries” section from Chapter 9: “Summarizing Information at Work” to see what you need to include. Note that you can’t write this until you have completed your long report, because it includes what research was done, what conclusions were reached, and what recommendations were made. This should be 5-10% of the length of your long report- so around the one-page mark. (Reference pages 383-387.)
Introduction: Provides an overview of The College at Brockport as well as relevant background information to establish the issue.
Findings: Provides statistics, data, facts, interview comments, and any other information that your reader would need to be convinced of the issue. Includes primary and secondary research. This section serves to help prove that the issue exists and establishes the need for the recommendations you will provide. This section should be convincing, persuasive, and well-researched.
Use the Revision Checklist at the end of Chapter 8: “Doing Research…” to help you get ideas for what to research and how to conduct the research. Use Chapter 10: “Designing Clear Visuals” if you decide to represent your findings through visuals like graphs or charts.
Conclusion: Succinctly sums up your findings. The Findings section gives all the details, examples, and information, while this section is the summary of that data- what did your research tell you? Note that you are not yet making suggestions. Summarize the main points from your research without merely repeating the Finding section to set up the Recommendations section.
Recommendations: Propose steps that need to be taken in order to address the issue. Be clear and specific, with concrete recommendations. You will need to have measurable steps with clear actions and a timeline for when these actions need to take place, and you will need to identify who will be taking the steps. This should clearly relate to the Findings that you have presented, and the Conclusion that you reached based on the Findings. Consider departments and individuals who would be a part of implementing your proposal.
References: List all sources that you cite in your report (might include published data on Brockport, information on what other institutions have done, reports from the library databases, etc.).