Final Reports

Organizing Information

Use headings to organize information Clarity Accessibility

Necessary for Screen Readers For a Template of Heading Styles, go here.

Writing as Conversation

Who is your audience?

Each person in the group should pick a different persona and write to that person

Use direct, clear language Use “you”

Link Content and Design

Adjust your design and organization to serve your content and audience Content, purpose, organization, and design are

linked The outline in this PowerPoint is just a

suggestion—not a rule

“Bite, Snack, Meal” (Redish 134-137)

Bite: Catchy headline

Snack: “Executive Summary”

All of your most important points

Meal: Audience? (Think about this as a conversation) Organization?

Creating the Outline

Overview Summary or Executive Summary (sometimes called the

Abstract) Findings (Research), Conclusions, and Recommendations

Introduction: What is the problem or purpose?

Research, Background, or Findings Headings and Titles:

Focus on the goal and content of the research Guide your readers

Our Proposal or Plan (or “Conclusion”)

Next Steps (or “Recommendations”)

Resources

Overview or Summary

The “Snack” Lure in casual visitors Provide an overview for executives

A few models Findings, Conclusion, Recommendation Problem and Proposed Solution

Implied problem: E.g. “Students need _________”

Use the Inverted Pyramid Style (Redish 136-138)

Organizing Research: Using PIE

Begin with your point sentences (or topic sentences) What does your reader need to know? Point sentences = an overview of the

argument (Redish 219)

Organize your research Which sources are the strongest for each

point? What is the most vital information from

those sources? Recommendation: 1-2 sources per

paragraph

Sample Outline (Research)

Problem: What is the problem that needs to be solved? Why is this such a significant problem?

How have other people solved that problem? Provide multiple examples NOTE: This section is most relevant for external

research and social media

Our Proposal

Use a heading to catch your reader’s attention

Present your plan Use a visual representation Break down “walls of words” NOTE: The “Plan” section might be more

substantial for the Internal Research and Social Media groups; “Research” or “Findings” might be more substantial for External Research

Next Steps or Recommendations

Who are the potential stakeholders?

Do you have the same set of advice for all readers? Or does your advice vary based on different readers? Consider using sub-headings to break up advice

References

Use MLA Citation Style