Post 2: Report: Main Question/Thesis/Outline

Hi everyone, I hope your weekend went well. This will be my third post and it is about how I am going to approach the Report Writing Assignment for ES2002 – Report Writing Issue D.

As always, I will be more than happy to receive feedback. So please feel free to comment (suggestions, improvements…etc). I really appreciate it! =)

I will start off with the PPQ as it is the foundation of the report.

Problem: NUS Graduates do not write well when they start work.

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to determine which aspects of written communication (WC) that need to be addressed to improve the written communication skills of current NUS students.

Questions (key):   Which aspects of WC are NUS graduates weak at?

                              Which aspects of WC are NUS students weak at?

From the data provided, WC can be broken down into two categories 1) Email & Letter writing skills, 2) Report & Proposal writing skills.

The two categories of WC can be further broken down into the different types (response to complaint, sales, recommendation report, Proposal and etc).

In addition, data is provided on the various aspects that contribute to the effectiveness of a letter/email/report/proposal.

Next, I will touch on the format of my report:

   1)   Title Page (might not be necessary)

   2)   Executive Summary

·      This section will be done last as it is a “a one-page statement of the problem, the purpose of the communication, and a summary of the results, conclusions, and recommendations.” (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/07/)

  

   3)   Table of Contents

  

   4)   Introduction

·      Background + PPQ + Scope + Limitations

   5)   Findings

·      Interpret the given data. If I find the given data to be inadequate, I might do additional research for a more accurate interpretation.

   6)   Conclusions (Body)

·      Evaluate and Present my findings

   7)   Recommendations

·      Have yet to come up with any at the time of posting

   8)   Conclusion (final)

·      Reintroduce the PPQ & this section must end in a highly persuasive & urgent note

   9)   Appendix

·      Attach the given and additional, if any. This is for the readers’ reference.