Openings and Closings

1
Openings and Closings

• Beyond Facts

2
Report Superstructure
3
Integrating Research

• Write a sentence before the quotation introducing
  it.
• Then include the direct quotation in a sentence.
• Afterwards interpret and/or evaluate the
  quotation in terms of the main point of your
  section or overall thesis.
• The first time you cite an authors works, use
  his/her full name.
• In subsequent citations, use only the last name.

4
Strive for Variety

• Strive for variety when introducing paraphrases,
  summaries, and quotations.
• Here is a list of some verbs that work well in
  attributions
• notes reveals explains questions
• suggests points out adds indicates
• claims complains concludes asks
• shows argues proposes reports

5
Integrating Visuals into Text

• Refer to every visual in your text.
• Use the table or figure number in the text but
  not the title.
• Position the visual as soon as you reference it
  OR
• Tell the reader where to find it
• As Figure 3 shows (page 3)
• (See Table 2 on page 2.)

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Integrating Visuals, cont.

• Summarize the main point of a visual before you
  present the visual itself.
• Weak Listed below are the results.
• Better As Figure 4 shows, sales doubled in
  the last decade.
• Afterwards, discussion of the visual depends on
  audience, the complexity of the visual, and the
  importance of the point it makes.

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Keep Headings Parallel

• Campus Awareness of VIP
• Current Awareness among Undergraduates
• Current Awareness among Graduate Students
• Ways to Increase Volunteer Commitment
• Improving Training
• Improving Flexibility of Volunteers Hours
• Providing Emotional Support

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Are these headings parallel?

• Are Students Aware of VIP?
• Current Awareness among Undergraduates
• Graduate Students
• Ways to Increase Volunteer Commitment
• We Must Improve Training and Supervision
• Can We Make Volunteers Hours More Flexible?
• Providing Emotional Support to Volunteers

9
Visual Design

• Include Front Matter Title Page, Table of
  Contents, List of Figures and/or List of Tables.
• Number Front Matter with i, ii, iii at bottom of
  pp.
• Begin actual report with 1,2,3,4...
• Place Abstract at the beginning of actual report.

10
Use Transitions

• Words, phrases and sentences that tell the reader
  whether the discussion is continuing or shifting
  points.
• There are economic advantages, too.
• An alternative to the plan is
• The second factor
• These advantages, however, are found only in A,
  not in B or C.

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The Introduction

• Needs a thesis statement.
• Identify a problem.
• Includes the purpose and scope of your report.
• Forecast the body of the report (its scope).
• List any relevant topics you dont discuss.
• Provide background information the reader may
  need to understand your report. (If lengthy, do
  so in a separate section.)

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Introduction The Texas Tech Universitys
(TTU) womens basketball team is a crowd pleaser,
selling out home games at the United Spirit Arena
in good years. However, the mens basketball team
suffers from low attendance figures filling less
than half the United Spirit Arena. Purpose and
Scope The purpose of this report, is to
recommend ways to increase student attendance at
TTU mens basketball games. I will focus
on the three topics the factors that affect
student attendance, ways that student awareness
of the mens team can be increased, and loyalty
programs as a way of increasing attendance. I
will briefly discuss how attendance and newspaper
publicity correlate to the win/loss record.
I will not discuss the cost of or the return
investment of my recommendations. I will not
discuss how changes in coaching or recruiting
might affect attendance.
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INTRODUCTION When banner ads on Web pages first
appeared in 1994, the initial response, or
click-through rate was about 10. However, as
ads have proliferated on Web pages, the
click-through rate has dropped sharply. Rather
than assuming that any banner ad will be
successful, we need to ask, What characteristics
do successful banner ads share? Are the ads for
certain kinds of products and services or for
certain kinds of audiences more likely to be
successful on the Web? The purpose of this report
is to summarize the available research and
anecdotal evidence and to recommend what Leo
Burnett should tell its clients about whether and
how to use banner ads. Report audience Leo
Burnett Advertising Agency
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Introduction ___________________________________ M
yers-Briggs Type Indicator The Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI) is a personally assessment based
upon Jungian personality type principles. These
principles are useful in identifying-the
cognitive approaches and methods that people use
when dealing with their environment and when
solving problems such information may be useful
to teachers of composition. As my final project
for the graduate seminar in teaching technical
writing, I have studied the theory behind MBTI
and research which has used MBTI and evaluated
the feasibility of using the instrument in
Writing Program courses. My study (1) examined
the practical use of the MBTI for teachers,
particularly of composition and technical
writing (2) examined the cost that would be
incurred in using the assessment (3) determined
the possibility of useful research information
resulting from use of the MBTI in Writing
Program courses and (4) on the basis of cost to
practical value, determine the feasibility of the
project. This report summarizes the results of
the study, draws conclusions, and recommends
actions to be taken. The central portion of the
report provides a detailed discussion of the
results of the study.
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Background Section

• Formal reports usually have a section that gives
  a background of the situation or a history of the
  problem. Depending on length, can be included in
  the
• Introduction, or
• A separate section at the beginning of the body
  of the report.

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Overview Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ___________
____________________ Background of MBTI The
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a
self-reporting instrument for the identification
of personality type. Its personality type system
is based on the personality types of Carl Jung,
founder of analytical psychology. Jung postulated
that individuals gravitate toward certain
cognitive preferences. These cognitive
preferences do not determine behavior, but
rather, explain it. Thus, personality typing is
a method by which individuals can understand
their own cognitive styles, as well as become
more aware of others styles. Understanding
styles helps individuals to recognize differences
in approach people have when dealing with the
outer world, thinking processes, judgmental
processes, and perceptual processes. Jungs, and
by extension, Myers and Briggs theory, in no way
places value on any preference. The purpose of
assessing personality and getting to know
differing types is to learn to see the value in
others ways of thinking. By understanding
others processes, an individual is capable of
using his or her own talents in combination with
others to be more effective. Additionally,
understanding different personality types, as
well as our own, allows us to realize what areas
of our own cognitive processes need development.
It also shows how we may favor our own processes
so much as to be biased toward other
processesit points out our blind spots.
17
Methods

• If you use only library and online services, you
  do not need a Methods section.
• Instead, briefly describe your services in short
  paragraph in the Introduction section
• If you collected original data, tell how you
  chose whom to study, what kind of a sample you
  used, and on what date's) you collected the
  information.

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Methods The information for this report comes
from library and online sources, interviews with
Athletic department staff, and a survey of 50
Texas Tech students, using a convenience sample.
I surveyed students during the lunch hour in the
Texas Tech Student Union dining area on July 23,
2004. I walked around the room and asked everyone
if he or she would be willing to answer the
survey, until I had 50 people. The people
filling out the survey represent all academic
ranks at TTU from undergraduate students to
graduate students. Sixty percent of the
respondents are male, and forty percent are
female. Sixty-eight percent of the people
surveyed have never attended a mens basketball
game, although 62 watch mens games. (See
Appendix A for the raw data.)
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Conclusions

• General statements based on your facts, and the
  most widely read part of your report.
• Answer the readers question, How are those
  facts significant to us?
• Repeat points made in the report.
• Combine the Conclusion section with the
  Recommendations if they are short Conclusions
  and Recommendations.
• Can present in paragraphs or a bulleted list.

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Recommendations

• Actions the readers should take.
• Numbering points make it easy for readers to
  discuss recommendations.
• The list also provides visual emphasis.
• Make sure items in a list are parallel (Is this
  list parallel?)
• Provide enough information so that the reason is
  clear all by itself.
• The ideas must be logical extensions of the
  points made in the body of the report.
• Give brief rationale after each recommendation if
  it is controversial or complex.

21

• Conclusion
• In conclusion, my investigation indicates that
  the universitys riding programs could benefit
  substantially from a fundraising effort. However,
  the appeal of such a program will be limited
  primarily to the very supportive alumni who used
  the university stables while students took
  classes.
• OR
• V. Conclusions
• A. There are some potentially serous morale
  problems
• B. But the study results show that there is time
  to address the underlying sources of these
  problems.
• VI Recommendations
• Immediately distribute a report on the results
  throughout the company
• Let it be written by the Human Resources
  Department with help from Public Relations.
• This report will demonstrate company concern for
  employees.

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• V1. Conclusions and Recommendations
• Conclusion
• 1. The riding program would benefit from more
  funds.
• 2. The major contributors would be alumni for
  the program.
• B. Recommendations
• 1. Conduct a fundraising drive for a new barn.
• 2. Do not seek funds for arena and classroom.

23

• Conclusions and Recommendations
• A majority of students like basketball and
  might be interested in going to the TTU mens
  games if it occurred to them to go or if their
  friends went, too. To increase attendance, the
  Athletic Department should
• 1. Implement short-term marketing in the fall.
  Capitalize on the Raider Mens winning streak
  last year to attract a higher attendance this
  year. Since basketball season is only a quarter
  away, it might be smart to focus on increased
  awareness for the upcoming season.
• Ask the men basketball players to host
  impromptu meet-and-greets.
• Ask Coach Bob Knight to sign autographs
  during pre-game activities.
• 2. Use TTU students to develop long-term
  marketing program and a formal publicity
  campaign. Changing perceptions takes time and
  many messages.
• 3. Consider adopting a loyalty program. A
  loyalty program allows the Athletic Department to
  reward students for behaviors it wants to
  encourage by giving them useful marketing
  information. Further research is needed to study
  the financial implications of implementing such a
  program.

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• Conclusions and Recommendations
• ______________________________
• Conclusions
• Several conclusions come out of this feasibility
  study.
• Teachers can utilize personality typing to
  better understand their own cognitive approaches
  to writing and teaching.
• Personality type is useful for coaching basic
  writing students such as those found in in
  English 104.
• Personality typing is useful for coaching
  advanced writing students.
• Many research opportunities exist for using
  personality typing for the analysis of writing,
  cognitive strategies, and teaching strategies.
• Training costs would be negligible, as volunteer
  led pre-semester workshops would cover all
  necessary information.

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• _______________________________
• Recommendations
• The TTU English department and the Writing
  Program staff should take the necessary steps for
  implementing the Keirsey-Bates personality typing
  system in Writing Program classes. The steps are
  as follow
• Approve the plan so that I can develop the
  written materials necessary to administer the
  instrument and lead the pre-semester workshop on
  Myers-Briggs personality typing.
• Propose the project to the English department so
  that it can receive consideration for the 93-94
  fiscal year.
• If approved, reproduce the materials necessary
  for the administration of the instrument to
  students, and the materials for the workshop.

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Headings

• Single words, short phrases, or completes
  sentences that cover all of the material until
  the next heading.
• Use Talking Heads within the body of the report.
• Which is more specific Background or
  Attendance of TTU Mens Basketball Home Games
• Triple space(2 blank spaces) before major
  headings double-space after (one blank space).
• Create subheadings when you have two or more sub
  points.
• For further subdivisions within headings use
  bold, capitalize all main words, and end with
  period.

27
Increasing Marketing Through Attendance
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