ENGL 235 Final Report Assignment

ENGL 235 Final Report Assignment

Peterson ENGL 235

Final Report Assignment

Purpose: This report will be your final assignment for the class. The weekly class assignments are designed to prepare you to successfully create this document. In that way, this assignment asks you to synthesize all of your learning and demonstrate your mastery of the following course learning outcomes:

•   Locate, evaluate, and integrate credible research into a written document for a specific purpose and work-world audience;
•   Apply appropriate formatting and visual aids for a specific purpose and work-world audience; and
•   Edit for accuracy, brevity, clarity, to write an ethical document with a specific purpose and work-world audience.

  It will also prepare you to meet the following general education program learning outcomes:

•   Obtain, evaluate, and ethically use information; and
•   Communicate with various audiences using a variety of methods.

  Scenario: As a new employee at Initech, you’ve been given a task:
  feasibility study for the company’s venture capital department
  technical process or product of your choosing. You need only choose one topic (either a product or a process). Here are just a few examples you might consider:

ENGL 235 Final Report Assignment

Process
3-D printing
Wave or wind energy Natural gas fracking Private space travel Virtual reality gaming

Product
Driverless vehicles

Hoverboards

Hydrogen fuel cells

Smart homes

The latest social media, gadget, application, or technology craze

The choice is up to you, but you the information you present should be technical in nature. In other words, if you were to pick your favorite smart phone game, you should be prepared to focus on how it’s programmed, how the makers earn money, how many users subscribe, what their spending habits are, etc., rather than “It’s so cool because you get to kill zombies with plants!”

Once you have a process or product in mind, the question this study should address is:

“Is [your process or product] a viable investment for Initech?”

ENGL 235 Final Report Assignment

1

conduct a

on an

emerging

Peterson ENGL 235

Final Report Assignment

In other words, “If we invest in [your process or product], will we see financial gain as a result?”

Do not worry about any of the logistics of the actual investment itself. You aren’t expected to research stock offerings or investment contracts. Instead, make sure that your report addresses the following topics and related questions:

History: How, when, where, and why did this develop? Explanation: How—precisely and specifically—does this work?

Impact: What effects does this process or product have on 1) the environment, 2) the economy, and/or 3) society as a whole?

Future: What is the development trend of this process or product? Is it popular? Does it (or things like it) make money? Based on its past development and its current use/popularity, is this likely to become more widespread in the future?

Recommendation: Given all your answers to these questions, would this be a good choice for Initech to invest in?

Essentially, you are conducting a research project that asks the following questions:

“What does the future of [my process or product] look like? Will it be more widely used? Will it be replaced soon? If so, by what?”

A related question to address here might be “Should [my process or product] be more widely used? Is it environmentally hazardous or otherwise flawed? If so, are those flaws serious enough that a company should not invest in it?”

For this reason, you should pick something that is relatively new, or even untested in its development. Don’t worry about accurately predicting the future. You should instead make a clear recommendation based on what your credible research is telling you at this moment in time.

Instructions: Once you have chosen a process or product, you will conduct research and write a formal feasibility analysis report.

The goal of your report is to 1) investigate the above questions (and others, as appropriate), 2) gather credible and scholarly research, and then 3) present a convincing recommendation to a specific audience.

ENGL 235 Final Report Assignment

Requirements: Your final report must meet all of the following criteria:

Length: The text of your report from Introduction to Recommendation must be at least 5 single-spaced pages in length NOT including your front matter, Works Cited/References pages, visuals, or any appendices (see below). This should be at least 3,000 words.

Research: You should include at least 5 credible sources. 2

Peterson ENGL 235

Need Help with this Assignment?

Visuals: The report should

Final Report Assignment

include at least four visuals. At least two of these must be

. The rest must be charts, tables, or graphs that you generate originally. These should include an

MLA/APA/IEEE formatted captions and should work with your content to help explain your findings.

Format: Use 12 pt. font in single-spaced, left-justified paragraphs. Do not TAB to start your new paragraphs. Your entire report should have a running header, with lower-case Roman numeral page numbers (i, ii, iii) for the front matter (except the title page) and starting with Arabic numeral 1 when you being your Introduction. See the provided course models for guidance.

Also, be sure to skip lines between sections and headings. Use bold face for headings and italics for subheadings. Make use of bold headings, white space, and varied font sizes/colors to make your document as readable as possible.

Report Outline: Your report should follow the outline below, but take out the outline formatting (I. II. A. B., etc.) for the report. Your report must have each of these 8 parts from the outline. Each one should constitute a new page in your report (start a new page for each section).

I. Title page

II. Letter of Transmittal Please direct this to me, your instructor. Your letter of transmittal should be 1-2 pages in length and should include the following elements (do not number them, though):

1. A reflection on your process in writing the report—how did the project go for your overall?
2. A reflection on what you learned regarding each of the four course learning outcomes. You should note what specifically you have learned that has prepared you to master these outcomes. (Ex: “I have learned to create my own graphs and charts in Excel to support my written text. As well, I now know how to set these off with appropriate amount of white space and to include a properly-formatted caption. I feel that these skills show that I’m able to ‘Apply appropriate formatting and visual aids for a specific purpose and work-world audience.’”) The course learning outcomes you should discuss are:
   1. Locate, evaluate, and integrate credible research into a written document for a specific purpose and work-world audience;
   2. Apply appropriate formatting and visual aids for a specific purpose and work-world audience;
   3. Edit for accuracy, brevity, clarity, to write an ethical document with a specific purpose and work-world audience;

original visuals of your own making, generated by you yourself

3

Peterson ENGL 235

3. A reflection on how you see these skills (or the class in general) translating to your future work or study. What will you take with you to use in the future?
4. A brief conclusion.

III. Table of Contents
IV. Informative Abstract/Executive Summary

V. Introduction This will include your answers to the “History” questions on page 2. A thorough introduction should include (not necessarily in this order):

A. Description, History, and Background of your process or product

B. Purpose of the Report (clear statement of your research question) and Intended Audience(s)

C. Method of Inquiry
D. Limitations of this Study (such as time or money)
E. Working Definitions (if needed, here or in an appendix glossary)

VI. Collected Data This will include your answers to the “Explanation” and “Impact” questions on page 2. Divide and subdivide the report into appropriate, manageable sections. The Data section should include (in the order you best see fit):

A. First Topic for Investigation 1. Definition

2. Findings

3. Interpretation of findings B. Second Topic for Investigation

1. First subtopic
a. Definition

b. Findings

c. Interpretation of findings 2. Second subtopic (and so on)

VII. Conclusion A thorough conclusion should include (again, not necessarily in this order):

1. Summary of Findings
2. Overall Interpretation of Findings
3. Recommendations: Is this process or product likely to grow in future?

   Should Initech invest in it?
   4

Final Report Assignment

d. Contribute successfully to a group in the creation of work-world documents.

Peterson ENGL 235

Final Report Assignment

VIII. MLA Works Cited page or APA/IEEE References page The style of citation you use (MLA, APA, or IEEE) is up to you. MLA is used primarily for humanities writing, while APA is used with scientific writing. IEEE is used for engineering. Whichever you choose, be sure to consistently follow the formatting guidelines with respect to:

1. The general format of the paper (including the running header)
2. The use of in-text reference notes
3. The final Works Cited/References page

Please scroll down for a summative checklist and a rubric that describes how your report will be graded.

5

Peterson ENGL 235

Requirements:

Final Report Assignment

Final Report Checklist

At least 4 single-spaced pages in length from Introduction to Recommendation At least 5 credible sources
At least 4 visuals, only two of these can be copied and pasted

Format:

12 pt. font
single-spacing within paragraphs
double-spacing between sections and headings
left-justified paragraphs – NO TABS
a running header
lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for the front matter (except the title page) Arabic numerals when you being your Introduction
bold headings, white space, and varied font sizes/colors

Report Content:

Each of these 8 parts from the outline (start a new page for each section): I. Title page

II. Letter of Transmittal III. Table of Contents IV. Informative Abstract V. Introduction

VI. Collected Data
VII. Conclusion
VIII. MLA Works Cited page or APA/IEEE References page

6

Peterson ENGL 235

ENGL 235 Final Report Assignment