Basic Format
Total 10-15 pages, including appendices. No penalty for longer reports as long as appropriate writing style maintained. Single spaced, no indent, left justify only Page numbers in upper right corner 1 blank line between new paragraphs Final report must be bound, with loose letter of transmittal clipped to cover.
Headings
Major section headings start a new page, 1 blank line after. 1 blank line before and after sub-headings. 3rd level subheadings must be easily distinguished from others There should be at least one sub-heading on each page (a whole page of text with no sub-heading will be penalized) No orphan headings.
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HEADINGS
Sub-Heading Note how easy it is to distinguish between the major, section heading and the sub-heading. Sub-Heading Note that consistent spacing is used, skipping one line both before and after a sub-heading. Third-level headings. If used should be easy to distinguish from major, section headings and sub-headings.
Letter of Transmittal
Announce the topic and explain who authorized it. Briefly describe the project and preview the conclusions if the reader is supportive. Close expressing appreciation for assignment, suggesting follow-up actions, acknowledging the help of others, and offering to answer questions.
Title Page
Balance the following lines:
*
* * *
Name of the report in all caps (e.g. Final Report) Receivers name, title, and organization Team name and team members Date submitted (month/year)
Longhorn Consulting
Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, Huey Lewis, Melissa Etheridge
April 2006
Table of Contents
Show the beginning page number where each report heading appears in the report (do not put page number range, just the first page number). Connect headings to page numbers with dots. Headings should be grammatically parallel Include major section headings and sub-headings No page number on TOC page
Executive Summary
Include
challenge statement (client focused) a little background (type of organization, what they do, size, when established) SMART goal (team focused) a little research summary (techniques/sources used, research questions if have room) conclusions and recommendations (all, but summarized)
Introduction
Background: Provide a full description of the client and the challenge. Purpose: Clients perspective on the challenge/motivation for report (e.g. XYZs goal for this project is to....). Include significance of challenge (what difference will it make?). Scope: Clarify the scope and limitations of report. (include your SMART goal)
Introduction (cont)
Research questions: from proposal your broad, upper level questions/areas of investigation (NOT detailed survey questions). Must include benchmark question. Preview reports organization. The next section presents our research and analysis followed by our conclusions and recommendations.
Conclusions/Recommendations
Conclusions: explain what the research findings mean in relation to the challenge. Recommendations: Start with a verb and suggest actions to address challenge. Enumerate conclusions and bullet related recommendations. Conclusion answers the question, why will your recommendation work? Conclusions are clearly drawn from the presented research (based on....) (new) Introduce section with challenge statement and significance Provide a final focus paragraph that relates recommendations back to SMART goal.
Initiate a volunteer reward program to recognize hours of service and leadership (see appendix for an example from abc organization).
2. Based on the experience similar organizations, volunteer retention is increased when volunteers report their skills are utilized and they feel part of the organization. Introduce an initial interview system to identify the skills of volunteers. Match new volunteers with a mentor to speed the volunteer assimilation.
Appendix
Begin section with a cover sheet that includes a list of all items in appendix Items should be numbered and titled (e.g. Appendix 1: Volunteer Survey). If difficult to put a number/title on the appendix item, use a cover sheet with the items number/title. Include items of interest to some, but not all, readers (questionnaires, detailed budgets, etc). Include a reference list showing all the works cited and consulted arranged alphabetically by author/source. For help with reference formatting, you can consult the website EasyBib at http://www.easybib.com/. Include signed copy of your client proposal. Include your PowerPoint slides. (new) Include your team agreement.
Format/Content Considerations
Use present or past tense except for conclusions/ recommendations, which may be future tense. Stay positive (no problems)! Any negative information should be buried in the findings section and reported briefly, factually. No we feel or we think outside of the recommendations just the facts.