Analytical Reports

1. Analytical Reports Prof. Z. Lewis

2. Types of Analytical Reports • Research report: Presents the findings of a study • Empirical research report: Written when a scientific project is finished. These often start out as lab reports • Completion reports: Used to report back to management or the client, assessing the outcomes of a project or initiative. • Reports for Decision Making: Used to study a problem, present possible solutions, and recommend a course of action. • Feasibility report: Written to determine whether developing a product or taking a course of action is possible or sensible.

3. Feasibility and Recommendation Report • For your final assignment this semester, you will prepare a feasibility and recommendation report (hybrid). • Working alone, you will analyze a proposal to determine if the action proposed is feasible, i.e., doable, within the parameters given (<$25,000.00 and must be for the local community or the TAMIU community) • You will decide whether to recommend the proposal, not recommend, or recommend with revisions.

4. Features of the Form • Analytical reports can be arranged and combined in many ways, but they all include the following basic features: • Introduction • Methodology or research plan • Results • Discussion of the results • Conclusions or recommendations • The format of the analytical report can be memorized as IMRaD, as in, “I’m Radical.” • Please note: This is the format typically used for Scientific Reports

5. How Do We Begin the Begin? • We begin by determining the rhetorical situation as follows: • Q: Who might read the feasibility and recommendation report (F&RR)? • A: The primary reader for the feasibility and recommendation report is the student who wrote the proposal.

6. Assessing the Rhetorical Situation • The secondary reader for the report is Prof. Lewis, the instructor. • Q: Who might the tertiary and gatekeepers be? Answer this question in your 5W-1H memo.

7. Introduction-Section 1 • Introduction. Read TCT p. 282-283. • You will define the subject of your report, which is analysis and feasibility of the proposal. • State the purpose of the report. Your purpose, of course, is to determine feasibility of the proposal and make recommendations. You will cater this move so that it includes the content of the proposal. • State your report’s main point, which is your recommendation for the proposal (recommend, do not recommend, recommend with revisions). • Forecast the organization of your report.

8. Background-Section 2 • Background of the problem or improvement by summary • Does the proposal state that there is a problem, or is the proposal simply suggesting an improvement? • If the proposal successfully presents a problem, is there evidence supporting it as a real problem? What did the proposers do to validate that it’s a real problem? Survey? Interviews? Personal Opinion? • If the proposal suggests an improvement, is there evidence supporting that the improvement will be beneficial to the community or campus? • If there is evidence of a real problem, how convincing is the evidence?

9. Causes of the Problem-Section 3 • State the Causes of the Problem • If the proposal addresses a problem, does it state the major and minor causes of the problem? • Does the proposal state the extent to which the causes impact the problem? • Does the proposal discuss to what extent the causes actually contribute to the problem? OR, • If the proposal addresses an improvement, does it state the major and minor benefits of the improvement? Note: These are the questions you will address in your analysis. These questions can be answered in one paragraph, with the full explanation to follow in the Analysis Section

10. Solution-Section 4 • Solution to the problem • Does the proposal state the step-by-step method used to resolve the problem? • Or, does the proposal state the step-by-step method used to implement an improvement? • Analyze the proposed solution to determine: • Is the proposed solution the BEST solution to the problem? • Are there other solutions that make more sense? • Support your answer to the above questions. Research may be required.

11. Summation of Examination-Section 5 • Summation of Examination(the WHAT)--In this section, you are going to summarize what your overall analysis is of the proposal, noting the strengths and weaknesses in the proposal. • Strengths • Weaknesses

12. Discussion of Results-Section 6 • Discussion of Results (the WHY)—Here is where you will explain why the proposal is either in good shape, is in need of a major revision, or is in need of only some revision to make it stronger.

13. Recommendation-Section 7 • Recommendation • In this final section, you will make your recommendation. If you recommend the proposal as is, then you “recommend” it. If your analysis has shown serious flaws or missing components in the proposal, then you “do not recommend.” The other option is that the proposal needs some revision to make it stronger, in which case you will “recommend with revisions,” and provide a list of the revisions that need to be made.

14. Are We Done, Yet? • No! Here are the parameters for this assignment: • You can work alone or as a team for this assignment

15. Deliverables • 5W-1H Memo • Feasibility and Recommendation Report • Title Page formatted in APA style with running head • Table of Contents formatted using Styles with each major section included in the TOC • Use of at least two pull quotes and one drop cap • Properly formatted reference page if needed

16. What Else Do I Need? • The title page must include a specific title for your report, your name, your TAMIU university affiliation, the date the report is being submitted, and a logo, graphic, or whatever you feel will enhance the design. • You will not need an abstract or executive summary. • Single-space the report

17. What Goes Where? • For the purposes of this assignment, you can place your 5W-1H memo at the end so that it won’t throw your page numbers off. The subject, purpose, and main point will be stated in paragraph format, and will include primary, secondary, tertiary, and gatekeeper audiences. • The body of your memo must not only address the 5W-1H questions, but must also tell me what to expect to see in the rest of the packet. • The conclusion of your memo must thank the reader, restate the purpose, and anticipate a future action.

18. Additional Criteria • Visual Appeal: I am not looking for all text. If you learned how to apply visual techniques to your text, you will use them in this assignment. These techniques include drop caps, applying styles to headings, pull quotes, use of color, columns; whatever will make your audience want to read your report. • You must use Styles in MS Word for all headings so that your Table of Contents is automatically formatted.

19. Writing Center Opportunity • If you have not visited the Writing Center, you are required to do so for this assignment. Frequent spelling errors, grammatical errors, or structural errors in this assignment will negatively affect your grade, as will failure to make your paper visually appealing.

20. Questions???