Project 3: The Problem-Solution Report 40 points

Transcription

1 Project 3: The Problem-Solution Report 40 points Purpose: Audience: In groups, compose a user-centered problem-solution report that recommends realistic solutions for a problem facing Loyola or greater Baltimore. Your instructor, your peers, decision makers, stakeholders, the world (if you include this in your Web portfolio). The problem-solution report works as the capstone project of the course, building on the research you will begin for the third unit of the class. As you begin work on this report, approach it as an important part of your work portfolio you can take with you when you graduate. The Assignment Use primary and secondary research methods to compose a rhetorically effective, usercentered problem-solution report. In a letter of transmittal addressed to your decision makers, you will overview your report, conclusions, and recommendations. Lastly, develop PowerPoint slides so that you may present your work at the end of the semester. You may develop deliverables connected to your project for extra credit. Goals of the Assignment The goals of the assignment are to work collaboratively to conduct research and compose a persuasive, user-centered problem-solution report on a local problem. The goals of this assignment are as follows: Writing Process Develop and understand various group strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing a problem-solution report that responds effectively and ethically to professional situations and audiences Research Understand and use empirical research methods to produce a user-centered report, including analyzing professional contexts, assessing and using information resources, and determining how various media and technologies affect and are affected by users and readers Technology Develop group strategies for using and adapting various communication technologies to manage your report and produce usable documents Document Design Learn to argue with visual data, understanding and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design of a problem-solution report that meet multiple user and reader needs. Specifically, you need to do the following: 1. Convince your readers that a problem exists and that it s serious enough and affects enough people that it must be solved 2. Convince your readers you understand the problem and are qualified to offer realistic solutions 3. Convince your readers your solutions will work.

2 Project 3: The Problem-Solution Report 2 Possible Topics Consider these Topics (some might overlap) Redesigning/improving the Writing Department Website (or another aspect of Loyola s online presence) Help address the needs of the disadvantaged in Baltimore by improving the documents they use to get assistance Reducing illiteracy (childhood and adult) Reducing environmental risks for children (lead poisoning, etc.) Reducing crime (must be very specific, for example: reducing illegal guns) Reducing domestic abuse Improving healthcare (for the homeless, for children, for the elderly) Reducing unemployment Reducing gender, race, sexualorientation, or socioeconomic discrimination on campus Improving nutrition (urban farming) Reducing pollution in the city and in the Chesapeake Improving public transportation to essential services (schools, healthcare, food, etc.) Reducing tuition in charter or faith-based schools These Topics are Retired (not options) Reducing tuition at Loyola Bike paths or pedestrian issues Parking Campus food Improving fan behavior Issues that are too broad (solving world hunger) or too narrow (how to get my roommate to stop being so messy) Topics that do not have exigence (Exigence = urgent need: something that a situation demands or makes urgently necessary and that puts pressure on the people involved; something needing immediate action: a difficult situation requiring urgent action from Encarta.) Your topic must pass the shrug test : Eh, so what? Format for the Problem-Solution Report Use the report/proposal formats in Technical Communication and the outline below to guide your work. Remember to include a letter of transmittal addressed to your decision maker that outlines the problem and summarizes your solutions. For the Problem-Solution Report, you will have at least eight or nine sections: 1. Cover 2. Title page 3. Abstract or executive summary (abstracts are used in academic contexts; executive summaries are used in professional settings) 4. Table of contents 5. List of appendices 6. List of illustrations 7. Body of report including a. Introduction (context, purpose, goals, scope, intended audience, recommendations with overview of cost and timeline) b. Background (problem, issue, history, etc.) c. Research methods (textual, interviews, observations, surveys)

3 Project 3: The Problem-Solution Report 3 d. Findings (information your research produced, one or two solutions overviewed) e. Recommendations (details of solution(s) you suggest) f. Budget (and practicality of solutions, where the money will come from, etc.) g. Timeline (how solution will run after you submit your report) h. Staffing (your team s qualifications and experience) i. Conclusion (restate main ideas, problem, solution, provide closing, contact info.) 8. Endnotes/Works Cited (depending on which method of citation you use) 9. Appendices (dual entry log, interviews, exchanges with experts, glossary of terms (if necessary). You should divide the body into headings or chapters with appropriate subheadings. At the beginning of each section, please type that section s author(s) in brackets next to the section heading: New Research Findings [Jane Doe, Allen Brizee]. This outline will help with content: Introduction. Your introduction should be short. Introductions outline, briefly, what is to come. The introduction should contain the purpose, scope, goals, and audience of the report as well as an overview of your recommendations with their cost and timeline. Focus on reader benefits, explain reasons for the report, touch on possible results, and describe the problem and your solution. You may also need to define technical terms used in your report. Answer questions readers will ask: What is this? Why am I getting it? What do you want me to do? Background, Problem. Here is your chance to detail the background of the situation and discuss the problem you want to solve. Use this section to convince the reader that a problem exists. Your job is to show them that you understand the situation completely so you can offer realistic solutions. You may split up this section based on the needs of your project. Research Methods. In this section, explain how you built the data for your project. Begin by discussing your textual (secondary) research and then move on to primary sources where you explain the empirical research you completed. Discuss your methods and research participants. Talk about how your methods helped you build supporting information for your report. Findings. Here, you will discuss your findings based on the research you conducted this semester. Don t confuse findings and conclusions with recommendations. In the findings and conclusions section, you present the data you developed from your research. Recommendations. In this section, detail your suggestions/solutions to help address the problem. Successful recommendations sections provide a lot of detail explaining, specifically, how the solutions address the problem and how decision makers will carry out your recommendations. Explain products (brochures, procedures, web pages, new equipment, etc.) and explain process: what the decision makers will have to do to carry out your solution. Budget. In competitive proposals, this section is critical. You must be accurate and honest. You would provide a line-by-line breakdown. However, in this case, you are outlining a problem and then offering a solution. So, complete a brief cost analysis (if necessary) that provides a general idea of what your solution might cost and that provides information on how you came up with your estimate. Your tentative budget is $5,000. You must also explain the practicality of your cost and how the project will obtain the needed funds.

4 Project 3: The Problem-Solution Report 4 Timeline. In this section, you will further explain the process of carrying out your solution by discussing the schedule decision makers will follow. Your timeline should begin with the submission of your report and follow through a tentative process until your solution is incorporated/launched/accepted, etc. Gantt charts provide an effective visual illustration of the tasks and times people must follow to realize your solutions. Staffing. In this section, you will outline the skills and experience you bring to the project to help convince the decision makers you are offering good data along with a good, workable solution. Keep in mind that regardless of your background or major, you possess skills that will help you succeed. For example, even if you choose to help solve the problem of rising tuition, you do not necessarily need to be an economics major to offer solid suggestions. Your background in education, English, or computers can help you research and present a convincing and workable problem-solution report. Conclusion. Restate the problem and your solution(s), summarize your key points, and the total time/cost involved with your solutions. Wrap up your proposal using a friendly but professional tone and provide contact information. Tell the readers how to get assistance or more information and what they need to do next. Endnotes/Works Cited (depending on which method of citation you use). You may use the method of citation your field of study/discipline uses, or you may use MLA or APA. Appendices (dual entry observation logs, interview notes, surveys, etc.). This section should contain additional information you used to build your case in the body of your report. Graphs, charts, tables, etc., that show data taken from surveys should reference the survey itself contained in the appendix. You don t need to include all of the surveys you handed out, just include the blank original. Online Help The Technical Communication companion Website contains valuable information on reports presentations. In addition, the Purdue OWL contains good information on professional writing. You may also use examples on the course Website. Remember that examples on the course Website are merely models; your report may look/read differently from those models. Use models as a guide rather than an exercise in cut and paste skills. Revision You will be able to revise this document during the composition process, but since this is the capstone project for the semester, you will not have a chance revise the report for a grade change after you turn it in with your semester portfolio. Payment Sheet for Group Work Group work presents diverse challenges: communication between busy students, effective division of labor, the ability to set and meet deadlines with one another and for the assignments. To better reflect your effort this semester, you will have the chance to evaluate one another on the work the instructor often does not see the work behind the scenes. This payment sheet asks you to suggest a hypothetical monetary reimbursement for your group mates work. This monetary reimbursement will translate into extra credit points toward your semester grade:

5 Project 3: The Problem-Solution Report 5 $2,000 = 2 points, $1,750 = 1.75 points. You will recommend payment based on your group members contributions to the Semester Project. However, you must present a persuasive justification for your recommendations. When you submit your portfolio, write a short message explaining your monetary recommendation. Recommend your group mates amount based on the following increments: $2,000 $1,000 $0 $1,750 $750 $1,500 $500 $1,250 $250 (Some of this material is adapted from Dr. Jim Dubinsky s Professional Writing Program at Virginia Tech Website.)