Final Project

No late work will be accepted. Please see course policies for major assignments. 

A written and electronic submission is required of the final project. Failure to submit either version will result in five points being deducted from the final project grade. Please go through the rubric provided in class and make sure that you have covered all areas. Make sure the final project that you submit both online and in hard copy form are formatted correctly and that graphs and other information is easily read. Staple or bind the work as well. 

The final project will be in the form of a report of at least 2,500 - 3000 words, as addressed to your primary audience. This is where you discuss the research and recommendations. With all sections it should come up to 6,000 words and some run a little longer than that. The other components that are not to the primary audience, but to your instructor include the learning memo, group evaluations, and audience analysis. 

Please make sure to look at the information provided to you regarding the final project and discussed in class. Late work will not be accepted. 

Requirements

The final project will be in the form of a report addressed to your primary audience, describing your understanding of the problem, the research you’ve undertaken, and, most importantly and significantly, suggesting a course of action your audience should follow to amend or improve the problem you have identified.  If you are writing a manual, you will need to include persuasive text to your primary (gatekeeper) audience.

Specifically, the Final Project will be comprised of the following:

• Memo addressed to me
• Cover Letter addressed to your primary audience
• Cover Page
• Table of Contents, including all sections, in-text graphics, and back matter
• Executive Summary
• The Report itself (Minimum 2500 words of text with headings where appropriate):

Those creating manual, websites or other products will meet with me to customize this section.

• Introduction of the problem/topic, with your secondary research
• Methodology, Results & Findings describing the research you conducted, the reasoning behind it, and interpretations of your research results
• Recommendations based on your research, described in detail; the focus of your report
• Conclusion summarizing your main points and stating what comes next for your audience
• Works Consulted List (a bibliography of your ten+ sources; should begin on a separate page)
• Back Matter: transcripts of interviews conducted, surveys or questionnaires used in your research with fully tabulated results, data tables, charts, graphs, maps, blueprints, glossary of terms, graphics from your presentation, and anything else necessary to support your recommendations

Memo: The memo will be addressed to me, detailing your goals for this assignment, highlighting your experiences, and providing analysis of your collaborative work. You should update me on changes made to or information learned about your audiences since the proposal.

Cover Letter: Your cover letter will be addressed to your primary audience. It will introduce your credentials, and serve as a pitch – a brief, attention-grabbing description — of your final project.

Executive Summary: This will serve as a one-page overview of the problem and your specific recommendations; it should reflect the highlights of your entire project. (See Markel pp. 515-517, 523 for assistance.)

Glossary of Terms: You may find it useful to include a glossary for terms that may be unfamiliar to any members of your primary, secondary, or tertiary audiences, as well as incidental audiences (mainly, me).

Citations: When using specific evidence and information from other people’s work, you must provide in-text citations in the style appropriate for your target audience.

Graphics: You’ll want to include charts, graphs, images, or other supporting visual data appropriate for your audiences’ needs.

Please note:

• You must fulfill all components of the assignment to receive a passing grade. If your assignment doesn’t pass as a “real life” document for any reason, you will receive a 0% on the assignment.
• “Any reason” means one or any combination of the following: no primary research, no secondary research, primary research invalid, secondary research invalid, addressing wrong primary audience, no attention to your audience’s needs, invalid argument, very low level of feasibility of your solution, wrong overall organization, clarity, and cohesiveness (including correct grammar and proofreading).

Submit this assignment both in printed version, as well as electronically. Failure to do so will result in five points being subtracted from your final grade. 

Also, refer to the handouts provided which state the final project requirements.

Do not forget to write your learning experience memo and do peer reviews for each student in the group, including yourself. These documents were provided in class. All work should be bound or in a folder so work does not get lost.