Dr. Mark Jordan ~ ENGL 2311: Technical Writing Analytical Report Assignment General Description This is the third major document assignment for this course. It will count 20% of your course grade. For this document, you will select some particular aspect from the general topic, which is Global Warming. Using the Chapter 25 outline as a general model, you will develop an analytical report on some aspect of this topic. Though some people (including government officials) still deny there are any problems with global warming, very slowly much of the world is awakening to a realization that a gradual warming of the earth's climate is taking place. This is well documented. What is less sure is how fast this is occurring and what effects it will have. For a good overview of this topic, go to the September issue of National Geographic magazine, where you can find a series of several related articles. You can access these same articles at this web address: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/features.html . NOTE: This assignment is not one you can read or skim once and understand. I strongly suggest you read the following description at least twice, and furthermore that you print this out and consult it repeatedly as you work on this assignment! Otherwise you will forget all about various directions and key requirements. Breadth of Topic You should not try to write about the entire topic of global warming. Instead, you must limit your topic. The easiest way to do that is to choose some particular aspect of the topic. Broad aspects would be causes, effects, solutions, and perhaps others. Even more focused aspects would be some particular cause, some particular effect, etc. Yet another way to narrow your topic might be geographically; although the condition is worldwide, it threatens to affect different regions in different ways. Realize that the broader your focus, the more difficult it will be to do the assignment well within the minimum length. If your focus is too broad, that also creates the temptation to do only a superficial treatment of that too-broad topic. This is, in fact, the most frequent flaw. Definition of an Analytical Report You should read Chapter Twenty-Five on Analytical Reports right away, but in brief, such reports focus on problem-solving skills. Normally an analytical report will analyze and research some specific issue, problem, or question, and offer recommendations to help resolve it. More specifically, the main body of such a report will explore the problem in various ways, including possible directions for solutions, and specific recommendations are then listed, usually fairly briefly, in the conclusion. Lannon also points out that there are three typical types of problems: Causal analysis (why does this happen?) Comparative analysis (which interpretation or solution is better?) Feasibility analysis (is this a good direction to go in?) I can easily imagine that your report could combine all three to some extent, or else it might be a relatively pure example of only one of those types. Visuals are Optional No visual is required for this assignment. Although the use of one (or several) could possibly improve one's grade, it is also possible to reach the "A" level without the use of visuals, depending on one's topic and approach to it. Primary and Secondary Research One new element is required for this assignment: research, primary and/or secondary. Primary research gathers data through your direct contact with others, using personal interviews, telephone conversations, letters, email correspondence, participation in electronic conferences, surveys, questionaires, or other such methods. Secondary research gathers data in ways you should be familiar with from English 1302: published books, articles, essays in collections, websites, and so forth. The key difference between the two is the presence or absence of direct interaction with your source of data. Collaboration in Research and Discussion I intend for this assignment to be a collaborative one. I want you to collaborate by posting your research findings. I will create a conference on Nicenet for Global Warming. You do not need to wait until you decide on a topic to join; you can use the conference to brainstorm with each other, if you wish, and that too is a form of collaboration. However, this is not a requirement. Then once you decide on a topic, you will post a topic selection memo, and you will continue to post there as you unearth sources. So as you see, the conference is intended for discussion also, but beyond that, I want everyone to share resources by posting needed bibliographic information on each source. Note that you must do this correctly or else your classmates (and you!) will not be able to access sources discovered by others. In the case of primary sources, remembering that in such cases someone has actually taken from the time of some individual, I do not want a stream of students contacting the same busy expert or official. To avoid that, I want the student making the contact with some particular person to post a useful summary of the data acquired from that person. So then any other student wishing to use that primary source can simply work from the summary. With secondary sources, however, standard bibliographic information (e.g., in a magazine: article title, author, name of magazine, and which issue) is enough, unless the source is not generally available for some reason. To provide incentive for you to actually do primary research (which is more difficult but tends to offer more timely and useful information), I am making each primary source worth the same as two secondary sources, as you will see below under Requirements. When each of you writes your paper, I want you all to be able to draw on the pool of research. On the other hand, I do not want anyone refusing to share their research. To prevent such a refusal, I will not count any source not posted to the conference. The source must also be posted soon enough for other students to reasonably be able to incorporate it--not at the last minute, in other words. And in the case of the Odessa-based students--the only area where I have a number of students--I request that you please do not check out pertinent resource materials and hold them for weeks. Either photocopy from the book while in the LRC, or return it after no more than two days. Lastly, there needs to be incentive to actually do research, rather than waiting on classmates to do it and then just using theirs. So please be aware that I will be keeping track of who posts what research sources. To get complete credit for the research portion of the assignment, each student must participate actively and post his or her fair share of sources. As a general rule, do not expect to get credit for more research sources than you yourself post, if you post less than the required number! In other words, if the assignment calls for five sources, and you only posted three yourself but used those plus two others posted by a classmate, then you would only get credit for three sources. By contrast, the way I want this to work is for you to post five, then you can decide if those five are the ones you want to use, or if you want to use, say, two of someone else's instead of two of your own. Or you might use the five you post and add several to them. NOTE: Everyone can use the National Geographic source as one of your five. However, be aware that this source is actually four separate articles, with separate authors: an introductory article, "The Heat Is On," by Tim Appenzeller and Dennis R. Dimick, "GeoSigns" by daniel Glick, "Ecosigns" by Fen Montaigne, and "TimeSigns" by virginia Morell. You can use them all, if you wish, but only one can count toward your five. Supplementary Documents Required This assignment will also require a total of five supplementary documents, all of them except for letters being discussed in Chapter Sixteen. See Chapter Nineteen for the standard elements of letters. In the order they should appear, the supplements are these: A letter or memo of transmittal (cover letter) which directly addresses some chosen audience for your report (imagine such audiences as magazine publishers, civic or government organizations, or others who you might conceivably present such a report to). Note that if your report is going to someone outside your immediate organization--almost certainly the case--then a letter is appropriate, not a memo. However, if it is going to someone within your organization, even if that person is located distantly, then a memo is appropriate. See Chapter 19. This will be the first thing your reader sees. A title page, coming after the cover letter. Note that this is the reverse of the order as given in your textbook! An abstract which in general is a combination of the main points mentioned in your introduction, coupled with any specific recommendations made (note that analytical reports normally include recommendations). See Chapter 16. The abstract will follow the title page and is normally about half a page long. A table of contents, including page numbers for your supplementary documents, major sections, and subsections of your report (anything down through level three headings). Again, see Chapter 16. The Table of Contents will be the last supplementary document prior to your main text sections of introduction, body, and conclusion. A works cited page at the end, after your text, using standard MLA format. This is covered in your book in Appendix A, pages 668-682, but please note that generally, this should already be known to you from English 1302. It will contain a separate entry for each of your five sources. These entries must be supported by parenthetical citations following each use of any material from any source! You may NOT simply write "off the top of your head" and fail to tell what information comes from which source. Summary of Purpose Your purpose in this report is to genuinely examine something having to do with the Global Warming issue, which promises to affect us, our children, and successive generations very deeply. General Pattern of Your Treatment of the Topic It may well be that the basic divisions of your report will follow this pattern: If you narrow your topic, as you should, your introduction might include a broad discussion of the overall issue, along the lines begun above under "General Description," with your main body devoted to a thorough, in-depth analysis of the specific details of the particular aspect of the global warming issue which you have chosen to examine: some particular aspect or some particular region, or some particular aspect in some particular region. This main body analysis should show the true extent of the problem you have decided to study, as nearly as can be determined. In this main body, you should break your analysis into sections which are organized according to some pattern sensible for your topic: different causes, different interpretations of the extent of a problem, different stages in the history of a particular aspect of global warming, etc. These will each receive a level two heading. Your concluding section should include some specific recommendations towards some set of solutions to the problem. Requirements Choose some focused aspect of the Global Warming topic. That is, decide as to how you will narrow the very broad topic to a manageable level. Do not try to write about the issue of Global Warming in its entirety! Write for a primary audience consisting of concerned citizens like yourself. You should also consider a secondary audience consisting ofsome entity which might publish or otherwise make public or use your document. Your letter or memo of transmittal will be addressed to this audience. Minimal research will include either five secondary sources, or three secondary and one primary source, or one secondary and two primary sources. Note that primary sources are worth twice as much. Also note that I favor the use of a balance of the two types but that no primary sources are absolutely required. All students can draw from the pool of research, including using sources placed there by others, but must contribute to that pool fairly in order to receive full credit. In other words, you must contribute the equivalent of five sources (less if some are primary research). Students cannot get credit for sources if they have not posted them for use by others! Local students should either use pertinent book sources within the OC LRC, without checking them out, or else return them within two days. Produce an overall minimum length of approximately nine to ten pages in hardcopy, counting the five pages of supplementary documents. This means your that together, your introductory, main body, and concluding sections--the main text of your report--must be four to five pages long. The supplementary documents make up the rest. You must include the five supplementary documents listed above. You must use standard MLA format in regards to documenting research, particularly the proper use of parenthetical citations which connect with specific entries on a Works Cited page. As I already noted above, CAUTION!!! FAILURE TO SPECIFICALLY CITE EVERY USE OF EVERY SOURCE WITH PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS WILL RESULT IN A MAXIMUM GRADE OF D- !!!. You cannot simply list your research sources at the end but fail to indicate each specific use of each source by providing a parenthetical citation. This would indicate a complete misunderstanding of how formal research works. You must continue to show increased mastery of the various formatting principles studied in Chapter Fifteen. As with the second assignment, include either a header with title and page number on each page of the final draft except for the letter of transmittal and the title page. The best way to do this is to create each of these supplementary documents as a separate file. Then you can skip the header altogether on the letter and title page, and provide one with page numbers beginning with your abstract as page three. General Tips Organization, as usual, should include three main sections corresponding to an Introduction, a Main Body, and a Conclusion, although you will probably use more specific names, at least for the Main Body. These will become Level One headings. This matches the outline in your book. Modify the wording as needed. You will need to consider what your Main Body sections should be. To do this, study the outline in your book; study the different modes or patterns of approaching a topic; study the suggestions I have made above in my discussion of the topic alternatives; and lastly, modify all this according to the needs of your topic itself. For instance, you may end up with body sections covering various causes of the problem of global warming; you may end up with sections giving a chronological history of global warming overall and in some area; you may end up comparing two competing theories as to the status or future effects of global warming; and so on. These are just several of the possible approaches. You will need to choose a very specific audience for your cover letter or memo. I strongly prefer that this audience be an actual entity, not imaginary. Possibilities include the editor of a particular magazine or newspaper, or some civic, state, or federal official. If possible you should conceive of a writing situation in which you might actually send your document to that individual. You do not have to actually contact this entity--though conceivably you might choose to do so. After topic choice, your next step should be research. You may even find that a certain amount of research is necessary in order to settle on a topic, but don't get carried away here. You will have to settle on a topic fairly soon. In doing any primary research, do keep in mind that you are representing Odessa College as well as yourself, and be sure to conduct yourself with courtesy, dignity, and honesty. Specific Tips on Supplementary Documents Here are tips on the five required supplementary documents for this assignment. Five supplements are required, in this order: Cover letter (letter of transmittal), title page, abstract, table of contents; then the text of your paper; then lastly, works cited. Letter or Memo of Transmittal This should be the first document your reader sees, even before the title page. Pages 368-371 in your text discuss this type of letter. However, also study general letter format in Chapter 19 if need be. Your letter should be addressed to a particular individual (not "to whom it may concern") at a particular place. Choose that audience based on some realistic expectation of publicizing your report: Examples would be to write to the editor of some appropriate periodical; or write to the local newspaper editor; or write to the head of some local civic or government group which could somehow publicize or otherwise act on your report. Your goal is to somehow gain a broader audience for your report, and the recipient of this cover letter should be someone who can help you do that. Other considerations: Introduce yourself; tell your purpose and why this person should bother to help you publicize this report; in closing, say what you would like to see happen next (an interview or whatever). Title Page Nothing new here; follow the model on page 369. Table of Contents The table of contents should list most but not all supplementary documents, along with each level one and level two and level three section of your report itself. Specifically, the T of C does not mention itself or the title page; everything else is listed by page number. FOLLOW THIS SEQUENCE, NOT THE ONE YOUR TEXT GIVES: The letter of transmittal is page one and should be listed first. Note, however, that this page number appears only in the Table of Contents, not on the letter itself! Nor should the letter have a header of any sort! The title page is neither numbered visibly nor listed in the T of C, but for counting purposes, it is page two. The Abstract is page three; this numeral should appear in a header on the Abstract itself and in the Table of Contents. The T of C itself is page four; this number should appear in a header, but the T of C is not actually listed among the items on its page. The T of C does not list itself. That is, your items listed will skip from Abstract (p. 3) to the Introduction to your report, which will begin with page five. Next comes your Introduction, on page number five. Follow the model on page 372 to see how to list your various level headings by Arabic number. Then at the end should come the Works Cited (which I prefer over the title "References"), listed by whatever page number it ends up taking. In the Table of Contents, it all goes like this: LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL (1), then ABSTRACT (3), then INTRODUCTION (5), and so forth. Abstract The abstract should fit on one page, maximum. It should include three things: The purpose of the report, Summaries of the key points from each main body section, and A bulleted or numbered list of specific recommendations from the conclusion. Read more about abstracts on pages 371-373. Works Cited This means a list of every work you have quoted from OR even taken any information from, even if you did not quote directly. Every entry on this page should follow the appropriate model for that type of source, as found in the MLA section of Appendix A in your text. Equally important, every entry should be represented in the body of your report by one or more parenthetical citatations which link the specific quote or data to the correct Works Cited page entry. Remember my caution above: your maximum grade is a D- if you provide no parenthetical citations! Due Dates The assignment is comprised of three stages, but unlike with the previous assignments, you will not turn them in to me. Here are the three stages: By Wednesday, Nov. 3rd: Preliminary Work & Topic Selection Read the chapter, understand the assignment, read the National Geographic overview, and choose your specific topic. First, study this assignment. Read it several times! Next, read Chapter Twenty-Five . Either before or after choosing your topic and beginning your early research, you will need to become familiar with the parts and purposes of an analytical report. Some students may want to do this first, but do not spend so much time that you delay too long in making topic choices and beginning your research. By November 3rd, you should post your topic selection to the appropriate Nicenet conference on Global Warming. Tell not only your topic, but both your primary and secondary audiences and, if possible, the type of report you are writing: an analysis of causes, of history, of competing interpretations, or whatever. By Monday, Nov. 15th: Completion of Research & First Draft Here is where you will begin your project in earnest. You must remember that research must be made available to all. You will make your sources available within the same conference where you posted your topic selection memo. As I noted above, secondary source postings need only show complete bibliographic information, enough to provide access to them by others; primary sources will require a summary to be posted. This also means, if there areany local (Odessa) interviews, to share planning of who will visit where. Probably there will not be, given this topic. But in other words, tell your classmates ahead of time if you have a local interview scheduled, so no one else doubles up your work. I will leave that up to all of you, unless I see that a serious mistake is about to be made. During this period, you should also at least begin your first draft, if possible producing a complete first draft. However, unlike with the two previous documents, I do not need to see the rough draft or outline of headings unless you want feedback. By Monday, November 29th: Submission of Final Draft You have two weeks from posting of research to final draft due date. Notice as I noted above that I am not requiring any rough drafts to be submitted. By now, you should be able to work independently to a great degree. Of course I will still answer any questions. The final draft is due on Monday, November 29th. It should be submitted by either surface mail or hand delivery, as before. If you surface mail your final draft, be sure and email me immediately to let me know it has been sent.

markwjordan@earthlink.net work: 432.335.6549 home: 432.332.5847 fax: 432.335.6559 surface mail c/o Odessa College, 201 W. University, Odessa TX 79764