Short Report
Assignment Objectives:
- To familiarize yourself with the format and style of a report;
- To familiarize yourself with the ways format changes depending on the rhetorical situation;
- To broaden your understanding of a current issue in business;
- To document those findings in a clear, short report using appropriate and effective organization, formatting, and tone.
The subject of our first report will be another report. For many students, their first exposure to a report is in this class. And writing a document that you may only have a limited familiarity with could be difficult. So for our first report, you’ll review another report, and then provide me with a report on what you’ve learned.
You’ll need to read and review the chapter in the eText about Reports. Then, go to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Reports Page (Links to an external site.), and select one of the nine reports here that is interesting to you. You will then analyze the report you chose in terms of how it compares to the description of reports as described in the eText, and/or any other experiences you have with the genre.
Scenario:
You have been asked for a short internal report (500-750 words) outlining and demonstrating the qualities of an effective report, using the BLS report you’ve selected as the subject of your discussion.
To Consider and/or Include:
- What was the subject of the report you read?
- How is the formatting of the report you selected different from the formatting of the reports as discussed in the eText? How is it similar?
- How is the tone and style of reports different from other genres of writing you have done or might do in a professional setting? How is it similar?
- What can you conclude about reports and/or report writing based on your analysis?
Notes and Tips:
- This is an internal document. Address it to me.
- Make effective use of headings throughout.
- If your document exceeds a page (and between 500-750 words, it may), use formatting for second page headings.
- If you are citing from the report, cite according to APA or MLA formatting guidelines. Use what is appropriate for your area of study, and be consistent.
- Use the samples in your textbook for formatting, but not for content. (Do not copy the language in the book verbatim.) I’m asking you to write on different topics than those in the sample documents. But note that the format of the reports online is different from what I’m asking you for. That’s one of the things I’m looking at here. Your report should look more like the one in the eText than the one on the BLS page.
- Questions? Ask me! That’s what I’m here for.
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Excellent (100 – 90%) |
Good (89 – 80%) |
Fair (79-70%) |
Poor (Less than 70%) |
Score |
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Resp. to Prompt & Content 40% ( 50 points) |
Responds completely and thoughtfully to assignment. Innovative approach. Includes all necessary information. No extraneous details, and nothing required omitted. |
Responds completely to assignment. Includes necessary information. Some extraneous details. |
Attempt made at responding to assignment. Some critical element missed. Includes most necessary information. Some required information omitted. |
More than one critical element of the assignment has been missed. Fails to include necessary information. Details omitted. |
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Format & Style 40% (50 points) |
Contains all elements of a short report per genre conventions. Organization contributes to success of the document. Document design is appropriate and contributes to success of the report. Style is appropriate and enhances effectiveness of document. Objective and direct. |
Contains most elements of a short report per genre conventions. Document is well-organized. Document design is adequate. Style is generally appropriate and contributes to success of document. Generally objective and direct. |
Some elements of a short report per genre conventions are missing. Some attention to organization, but falters in some areas. Document design is overdone or underdone. Style hinders the success of document. Overly subjective or overly wordy. |
Conventions of the genre are generally ignored. Document is disorganized. Document design is inappropriate and compromises readability. Style is grossly inappropriate. Both subjective and wordy. |
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Grammar & Mechanics 20 % (25 points) |
The document is correct in terms of syntax, grammar, punctuation and format. |
Sentence-level errors do not seriously detract from the document’s effectiveness |
Sentence level errors somewhat detract from the document’s effectiveness. |
Sentence-level errors are so frequent that they detract from the document’s effectiveness |
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Rubric
306 – Short Report
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||||
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeResponse to Prompt and Content |
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50.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeFormat |
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25.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOrganization |
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25.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar and Mechanics |
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25.0 pts |
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Total Points: 125.0 |
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