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Chapter 58. RECOMMENDATION REPORT
Basics of
Recommendation Report Writing ---
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Introduction
This section explains the basics of writing and
revising a recommendation report--why this type of paper exists and how to start, organize, and edit it.
You may want to first see the "Introduction"
before reading this page. Be sure, before or after reading this "Basics Page," to
see "Sample Papers"
by students. For more advanced information, go to "Advanced Methods."
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Why
This Type of Paper? |
The heart
of a professional recommendation report is a series of problem-solving steps
with multiple choices. All of the steps are fully visible to others so
they can see all the possibilities and how a choice was made. It is
similar to a
professional proposal (see), but it shows, officially, much more of the
thinking behind the choosing of the final solution.
In short, a professional recommendation report
allows others to see the thinking behind the decision making. As in a
proposal, a recommendation report is a critical-thinking process meant to
examine and solve a problem or need. However, the process in a
recommendation report is fully shown to readers so that they can consider and
even possibly participate in the process. Whether a recommendation report
is made by an individual or a group, it is meant to show supervisors and other
groups a range of potential solutions and the evaluative criteria used in
choosing one of them (or combining two or more of the solutions). In this
way, others can not only check the work of the report but also offer, as part of
a continuing process, additional potential solutions and evaluative criteria.
A professional recommendation report is an excellent
writing tool--or perhaps it is better called, because of its complexity and
richness, a "writing toolbox"--for expressing a need and proposing a solution.
In this regard--and to some extent in its steps--it is similar to advanced
disciplinary and professional papers such as the
case
study and the
IMRaD
scientific report.
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Return to top.
The major section of WritingforCollege.org called "Starting"
offers a number of useful ways to start thinking, speaking, and writing about a
subject. The advice here, which follows, is for this chapter's type of paper in particular.
Because recommendation reports (hereafter called
recommendations) require more thinking about the pros and cons of several
different choices, they require a process of examining these choices. This
process must occur before the paper is written, and in fact the final paper may
even have a different order to its parts than the actual process which happens
before the final writing.
Here is the process of making choices:
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A. Describe the Problem.
B. Develop Solutions.
C. List Criteria.
D. Apply Criteria.
E. Adjust A-D; then Choose Best Solution.
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For example, if I had a problem with snow
removal, I might have three possible solutions: (1) buy a snow blower, (2) hire
someone to remove the snow, or (3) let it get packed down until it can melt in
spring. The criteria or assumptions by which I will make my choice might be (a)
cost, (b) convenience, (c) avoidance of lawsuits, and (d) ethical
responsibilities. If I applied each of these criteria or assumptions to each
solution, step by step, I would discover which solution is best.
Remember, these five steps are the process you
use before you write the paper. They are not the paper itself. Let us look at
each of the five steps in detail, and then we will examine another example using
this process.
A. Describe the Problem:
Write as much as you need to in order to
describe fully the problem. If you do not have much of a problem, then you
probably need only to write a proposal paper. However, if the problem is
complex, then you probably need a recommendation report. Describe the problem
in all its complexity.
Rough draft: A technical writer for a large
company, or a team of writers, might use twenty or thirty pages to describe
their company's problem; however, let's assume for the purposes of this
chapter that you are just one person in a small or medium business, and you
are not a full-time technical writer. To describe your company's problem for
this recommendation report, one full paragraph is a bare minimum, and you
might write as much as several pages.
Goal: to have about 100-300 words fully
describing the problem. Less is probably too little for your readers, and more
is too hard for your readers to absorb and remember.
B. Develop Solutions:
Use both listing and writing. List as many
possible solutions as you can think of, even (and sometimes especially) some
unusual, strange, or creative ones--sometimes these more unusual possibilities
can help you better defines real needs and possibilities. You should write
about each solution, defining and describing it in detail.
Rough draft: usually one short paragraph to
two long ones for each solution is sufficient.
Goal: After listing a wide number of
solutions, narrow your solutions to perhaps three to five best ones, each one
well described by a paragraph or two as needed.
C. List Criteria:
What are the guidelines or assumptions that
you will use to choose the best solution? The majority of business assumptions
for making choices usually include such assumptions as money, time, legality
and/or ethics, and consequences. Other judgment guidelines can be important,
too. All of these guidelines by which you make your judgments are called
"criteria" (the singular is "criterion"). It is wise to
list as many as you can think of at first in order to cover all your bases.
After your list is made, you can combine some criteria with each other, narrow
others, and delete those that may have little value.
Rough draft: though a list sometimes is enough
in itself, often one to several sentences explaining each criterion is
helpful.
Goal: After listing a wide number of criteria,
narrow them to perhaps the three to six most important, each one well defined
by a sentence or more as needed.
D. Apply Criteria:
Apply the criteria to the solutions. Use a
system: take the first solution and, in writing, apply each of the criteria in
turn, stating how well or poorly (in at least one sentence each) that
criterion is satisfied by the solution. Apply each criterion in turn. Then
move on to the second solution and apply each criterion to it.
An alternative method is to take the first
criterion and apply it to all the solutions, using one or more sentences for
each solution. Then move to the second criterion and apply all the solutions
to it, step by step. Do this with each criterion until you are done.
Rough draft: at least one paragraph per
solution (or per criterion); in each paragraph, at least one sentence applying
each criterion to that solution (or apply each solution to that criterion).
Goal: A paragraph for your readers for each
solution (or for each criterion). An alternative in some cases is a chart
showing solutions on one side and criterion on the other of the vertical and
horizontal listings.
E. Adjust A-D and Choose Best Solution:
Revise A-D first: often as we develop
solutions and criteria, we discover new parts of the problem we had neglected
to mention in our first draft, and likewise our solutions and criteria may
develop more perfectly as we compare them to each other. We may be able to
develop new ones we had not foreseen, combine others, and delete still others.
When these adjustments are made, then we can choose the best solution.
Occasionally, two solutions may be best. If this is so, it should be stated
clearly. Once the solution is chosen, we also may wish to rough draft our
recommendations for action. Rough draft: one or two paragraphs that (a) state
the choice and (b) explain why it is the best.
Goal: a strong, simple paragraph starting with
a statement of choice followed by a description of the compelling reasons for
this choice. Another paragraph also may be written making or listing
recommendations.
This process of problem solving may be
visualized, too. Imagine, for example, that the drawing below represents a
mountain. You, the problem solver, must start at the beginning and reach the
other side of the mountain--the goal. Let's go through the five steps briefly.
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BEGINNING
GOAL
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A. First, describe the problem: write a detailed
paragraph or two describing in detail the mountain as a problem because of your
company's need to get to the other side. Be sure to describer all sides of the
problem. Some problem solvers call the problem "the mess."
B. Second, develop solutions: when brainstorming
a list, you might suggest flying over the mountain, climbing it, digging through
it, going around it, or giving up the goal. After brainstorming this list, on
further reflection you might decide that flying over it is to prohibitively
expensive that it is not a practical solution to consider, and giving up also is
out of the question. Then you are left with three solutions. Some problem
solvers call these "solution paths." Indeed, if we look at our
mountain with solutions added, below, we can see that in this picture we
literally have three paths. Each of these should be described in one or two
short or long paragraphs:
(1) climb over the mountain
(2) dig through it
(3) go around it
C. Third, list criteria: make a list of
guidelines or "judgment calls" that the company would use to consider
which solution path to choose. Your list might include money, time, legal
problems, ethics, labor, consequences, ecology, and many other considerations.
Cull from this list the three to six most valid criteria and describe each one
with at least one sentence. Here, for example, we might decide that there are
only three important criteria:
1. money
2. time
3. ecology
D. Fourth, apply the criteria: take each
solution one at a time and apply all three criteria to it:
Solution 1--climb mountain:
(A) Outfitting a mountain climbing
expedition and hiring a guide would be moderately expensive.
(B) It would, however, be the fastest solution in terms of time.
(C) Ecologically the harm would be minimal if precautions are taken.
Solution 2--dig through mountain:
(A) Digging would be the most expensive,
but it would create a cheaper and easier route than a mountain climb for future
trips to the other side of the mountain.
(B) Digging also would take the most time, but once the tunnel were dug, future
trips would be faster than using the other two paths.
(C) Ecologically, this would do the most damage, but nothing that couldn't be
remedied at a future date.
Solution 3--go around mountain:
(A) This is the cheapest method.
(B) It is more time consuming than climbing, but less time consuming than
digging.
(C) Ecologically this solution path would create the least damage because a
trail already exists.
You also could create a chart:
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money |
time |
ecology |
| CLIMB: |
$$ |
low |
good |
| DIG: |
$$$ |
hi/low |
okay |
| GO AROUND: |
$ |
high |
good |
Yet another alternative would be to take each
criterion one at a time, applying it to all three solutions. Here is, for
example, how the first paragraph of this method would look:
Criterion 1--money:
(A) Climbing entails a moderate
cost to outfit an expedition and hire a guide.
(B) Digging would be the most expensive in the short run, but in case multiple
visits are planned, digging would be a moderately inexpensive option in the
long run.
(C) Going around would be the cheapest short-term option.
E. Fifth, adjust A-D and choose best solution:
review the information already developed, revise it, and choose the best
solution. In developing the information above, we may discover that we have left
out one criterion: number of trips. Our choices above seem to offer variable
information because we have not yet included the number of trips we will need to
take, and yet this obviously has become a consideration. For this reason, in
revising A-D, we now have four criteria instead of three:
1. money
2. time
3. ecology
4. number of trips
We would need also to revise Step A, our
description of the problem, to include mention that we need to develop the best
path for a number of future trips. We need to add this new criterion and a
description of it to our list of criteria in Step C. And we need to add this new
criterion to Step D, our paragraphs or charts showing the application of
criteria to each solution.
Now, with this new criterion added, we probably
can say that even if the best short-term option is to climb the mountain if we
want speed or to go around if we want to save money, the truth is that in the long run,
digging will present the cheapest and fastest per-trip pathway. This is because
once our tunnel is dug, the cost is relatively low and the trip time the fastest
per trip over months and years of use. This, then, is the best solution path.
Also be
sure--as you build your paper--that you have plenty of details. In
professional writing, details may include quotations, paraphrases,
personal-interview information, illustrations or images, and charts, lists,
diagrams, or other statistics. Be sure to cite and document each, even
illustrations and experiential anecdotes, using in-text citation a bibliography.
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Return to top.
When
organizing a professional recommendation report, you may want to consider three
practical matters. Be aware of
(1) the typical visual/textual design, (2)
the
central key to organizing this type of paper, and (3) dangers to
avoid. General principles of organization are described in detail in
the "Organizing"
chapter. Specific details for this type of paper are below.
The
"Introduction" has
already shown you the following organization for a recommendation report:
The Visual Plan or Map
Organization of a Recommendation Report
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TYPE
OF PAPER, PROBLEM, POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, & FINAL CHOICE |
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(A Parag.
Summary/Abstract
--and/or a Parag. on Final Recommendation--as Needed or Required)
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Section 1: Problem
or Need
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Section 2: Possible Solutions &
Evaluative Criteria
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Section 3: Evaluation (Application
of Criteria to Solutions)
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Section 4: Final Choice
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(If needed: Your Credentials
AND/OR
Expected Outcomes of Implementation)
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BRIEF RESTATEMENT
OF PROBLEM, POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, & FINAL CHOICE |
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Bibliography
[if Needed]
Bitson, A.J. Book. et al.
Jones, D. L. "Chart," et al.
Smith, M. S. "Diagram," et al.
Zamura, R.F. "Personal Interview," et al. |
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Here is a more detailed view of this structure. This
view is a visual and textual plan of how a dialogic paper generally looks when
it is finished.
More Detailed Visual Plan or Map
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Descriptive Title*
by Your Name |
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Introduction**
Type
of paper: a "recommendation report" or "analysis of solutions."
Problem or need: Summarize
it (1 sent.). Potential solutions and evaluative criteria (1-2 sent.).
Final choice: Summarize the final choice (1 sent.) [1 par.] |
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Abstract/Executive Summary
and/or
Summary of Final Recommendation***
A brief
summary/abstract of the paper, and/or a description of the final
choice or recommendation, as needed or required [1-2 par.]
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Problem or
Need
(a)
a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a discussion
developed using
a list of
problems/needs, (d) if helpful, the details
supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases,
graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
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Solutions and Criteria
(a)
a Subtitle and, as needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
discussion developed explaining the possible solutions and the
reasonable evaluative criteria, answering questions readers might have,
(d) if helpful, the details
supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases,
graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
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Evaluations or
Application of Criteria
(a)
a Subtitle and, as needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
discussion developed using step by step application of the criteria to
each possible solution, (d)
if helpful, the details
supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases,
graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
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Final Choice or
Final Recommendation
(a)
a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
discussion developed using positives, negatives, and short- and
long-term results, (d)
if helpful, the details
supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases,
graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
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Credentials and/or Expected
Outcomes
If required or needed, a brief summary of your qualifications and/or a
brief description of the expected outcomes or results of implementation. [1-2 par.]
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Conclusion
Restate the problem or need (1 sent.), evaluative criteria (1 sent.),
and final choice (1-3 sents). Add a final positive statement about
outcomes.
[1 par.]
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Bibliography
[if Needed]
Bitson, A.J. Book. et al.
Jones, D. L. "Chart," et al.
Smith, M. S. "Diagram," et al.
Zamura, R.F. "Personal Interview," et al.
Create an alphabetized bibliography on a
separate page, according to the requirements of your
discipline/instructor. Formats vary among differing disciplines.
(See the chapter the "Researching" section on "Quoting/Paraphrasing"
for more detail.) |
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Keys to Organizing Your Paper
The first key is to have completed your
brainstorming thoroughly. Once your brainstorming process is finished, you
are ready to write the final report. The final report will be simple to write if
you have brainstormed well.
The second key is to understand that the order of
the parts in your paper may be different from the order you used for
brainstorming. Here are two common patterns for presenting your recommendation
report:
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Executive
Summary Style
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Thorough Reading Style
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Introduction & Summary
Recommendations
Problem
Solutions & Criteria
Evaluation/Application of Criteria
Summary
Conclusion |
Introduction
Problem
Solutioins & Criteria
Evaluation/Application of Criteria
Conclusion & Recommendation |
As you can see, the only difference in the
orders of the two styles are that the style on the left, the executive summary
style, offers the summary of findings and recommendations first, while the
thorough-reading style offers the summary of findings and recommendations last.
To offer them first as in the executive summary style gives executives a chance
to read over the results without having to deal with the details at present. To
offer the summary and recommendations last assumes that most people who will
read the report will want to read it from end to end.
The third key lies in the clarity and organization of each body section. Whichever method you adopt
of the two organizaitonal schemes immediately above, you should use a
subtitle for each section and a clear, strong topic sentence after each
subtitle. In some sections, you may need sub-subtitles. Here is a further
breakdown of some of the parts:
Introduction: The following parts
should be included very briefly if you are only introducing the paper, but at
more length if you are both introducing and providing an executive summary:
- statement of the paper's purpose and
method
- statement of the problem
- summary of the solutions and criteria
- statement of outcome or recommendations
Conclusion:
The
following parts should be included very briefly if you are only concluding the
paper, but at more length if you are both concluding and providing an
executive summary:
- statement of the paper's purpose and
method
- statement of the problem
- summary of the solutions and criteria
- statement of outcome or recommendations
Problem:
Describe
the problem, but do not go into endless detail. A good paragraph or two should
suffice.
Solutions & Criteria:
Be
brief, but be sure each solution and criterion is clear. A list for each is
sufficient in many cases with a brief sentence introducing each.
Summary:
Whether
you place this in/with the introduction or in/with the conclusion, this is the
time to choose one solution and state the reasons why it is the best solution.
Recommendations:
These
may be brief and sometimes even are in list form.
Evaluation:
There
are two basic methods of handling the evaluation on paper, just as there were
in the rough drafting. These two methods are shown here using two criteria and
two solutions; you may have more of each. Use whichever method best shows the
differences and result to your readers:
Criterion 1:
Solution A:
Solution A Criterion 1
Solution B Criterion 2
Criterion 2:
Solution B:
Solution A Criterion 1
Solution B Criterion 2
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Dangers to Avoid
The dangers to avoid in writing professional recommendation reports are very
similar to those you should avoid in writing professional proposals. The
following dangers are also listed and described in the "Professional Proposals"
chapter.
One of the dangers in writing a recommendation report
is to assume that you can
say whatever you want in the recommendation report because the details can be changed once
it is accepted. This often can be entirely untrue. Oftentimes,
workplaces are not that flexible. In other words, whatever you propose
may come to pass exactly as you have proposed it. For this reason, be
sure that you know exactly what you are suggesting, especially in the details
of the "Plan/Implementation" section. Whatever it is, you may
have to live with it for better or worse.
Another danger, as stated above, is to underestimate how widely your
paper may be read and how high up the chain of command it may go.
Good recommendations tend to have a life of their own, reaching a lot more readers
than you might expect--even, sometimes, to subsidiaries, supervisors,
and committees entirely unrelated to the recommendation report's project.
Sometimes this happens because proud supervisors want to show others what
their employees are doing, and sometimes because it is an easy way for
supervisors to share current and future activities in their areas without
having to write their own summaries. In any case, it often is wise to
write a recommendation report with a much larger audience in mind, vertically and
horizontally, than your immediate supervisor.
A third danger lies in using a boring style that leaves your readers
feeling that you do not strongly support your own recommendation report. While
recommendation reports should be efficient and logical, the best
recommendation reports have a tone of
underlying strength and excitement. They do not sound emotional; rather,
there is a confidence and a hope in the tone that convinces the reader not
only that the author knows what he or she is talking about, but also that the
author really does think the recommendation report is a great idea and very much hopes it
will be accepted. Generally you should not state in your recommendation
report that
you are excited and that your hopes or high, for that would sound
unprofessional. However, your tone in the paper clearly should convey
your strong, positive attitude.
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As you complete your later drafts, look carefully at the visual map above and
the sample papers in this chapter. Rearrange the order of your body
sections and of your paragraphs as needed. Consider your use of major
organizing devices: for example, have you placed the correct key sentences in
your introduction and conclusion, and have you developed a subtitle and topic
sentence at the beginning of each major body section?
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Asterisks *, **, and *** for the
organizational plan or map above (similar advice given in most chapters):
*In most professions and businesses, the title is
typed simply: no quotation marks, underlining, or bold marking. It
is centered, and the font size and style are those used in the rest of the
paper--normally a 12-point font in a style such as Times New Roman,
Garamond, or CG Times. In a professional situation, you may use
academic style or whatever is commonly acceptable in your workplace.
** In some disciplines, the "Introduction" subtitle
may be optional or even forbidden. (Most social sciences and psychology
papers, for example, should not have an "Introduction" subtitle.)
***Some
professions and disciplines sometimes require a short
summary,
abstract, or précis
(see) of a text before you begin responding to it. Ask your
instructor. Such a summary generally should have no quotations within it
and, in professional and business writing, it usually must be a summary of the
contents of your paper.
***Some instructors may allow--or even, occasionally, prefer--your paper
to be completely free of subtitles. In most professional and
business situations, however, subtitles are required or encouraged.
That is because they are efficient. Because of the expectation of
efficiency, your topic sentences should be very brief, sometimes just a
transition word, along with a key word from your title or your
introduction's main statement of the paper's subject: for example, in a
paper about a zoo, your three major topic sentences (at the beginning of
each major topic section) might start with "First, the zoo...," "Second,
the zoo...," and "Third, the zoo..."). (See "Topic
Sentences.")
In addition, it is more efficient to add
simple, short transition words than to avoid them. Your word count
may end up slightly higher, but your improved clarity will make your paper
much easier to read.
For more
about organizing body sections, topic sentences, and subtitles in general,
please go to "Organizing
College Papers." For more about organizing paragraphs, go to the
"Paragraphing"
chapter.
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Return to top.
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Are There Special Revising and Editing Needs? |
In
revising
a recommendation report, the focus techniques
with which you started in the
Introduction to this
chapter also can help you finish your paper:
FOUR FOCUSES FOR REVISING:
Subject,
Drafts, Style, & Authenticity
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SUBJECT: For a recommendation report, be
sure you started with a substantial set of background details; if you
didn't, add what others might consider important or anything small that
might possibly be relevant; then revise according to the new data.
Also be sure that you have developed a long, creative list of potential
solutions, so that you have covered every reasonable (or sometimes even
slight) possibility. In addition, reconsider your cirteria: have you
missed any that people automatically think of, or that your business or
company must always consider?
Be sure, in addition, to introduce, explain,
or connect each resource to the content of your
discussion. This means that whether you have a quotation,
paraphrase, graph, image, or copy of something from the Internet, be sure
you have at least a sentence before and after it showing readers its purpose
or fit in the flow of your paragraph. |
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FIRST & SECOND DRAFTS: Have
you used all of the needed steps to write and revise your drafts?
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Free-write: If, after
reading your paper aloud, you feel there are places where the paper
sounds choppy or the flow is otherwise poor, try rewriting one or more
paragraphs spontaneously without looking at your original words.
(To help cure
choppy sentences, see "Using
Mixed-Length Sentences" in the "Editing" section.")
Imagine you are saying it aloud to a friend, instructor, or work
coordinator. Then revise and edit the new portions. For general freewriting, see "How
to Start First Drafts.")
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Gather details: Have you
spent too much time on general explanation and too little on
details? Details--names, dates, data, charts, lists, diagrams,
illustrations, and/or quotations and paraphrase--are the proofs of
a good professional paper. They also are the first elements your readers tend
to notice and the ones they will most remember, whether in the same
kind of detail or with a strong sense of you having supported your
points well.
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If you have too many details for one
section, consider dividing the section into two sections or subsections.
Instead, you might try moving some of the details to another section
where they might fit as well or better.
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Write for your audience: Imagine your
audience as being more than your immediate supervisor or
instructor. To whom might your supervisor show this paper?
What committee(s) might see it? A good professional paper can travel far,
and it may even be the basis of legal action, good or bad, or the
basis of a proposal, profits, or losses. Have you visualized
your audience?
Have you read your paper aloud as if reading to this audience?
Have you tried reading your paper aloud to a colleague, peer, friend, or
family member, pretending he or she is your audience? If you are
working with others in a pair or committee, have you asked them to read,
comment on, and help rewrite it?
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Organize: Have you used either the
organization above or a modified version of it suggested by your
supervisor or instructor? Have you carefully added and then reread
each major and minor part of this organizational system? Have you kept your
introduction, conclusion, and/or a beginning summary reasonably short, moving excess discussion
in them to body sections? Do you need to reorganize the body
sections for the greatest degree of logic, clarity, and audience
interest? Does each body section fulfill its purpose as expected
with this type of paper as applied to your particular discipline or
profession?
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Research: iF you need
to support your points and/or others' points with research, do you have
a sufficient number of high-quality sources? Have you fully
integrated them with your paper by citing and documenting them?
(In most disciplines or professions, "citing" means adding authors'
names and page numbers beside quotations, paraphrases, graphic
elements--e.g., pictures or charts--and anecdotes of experiences.
"Documenting" means providing a bibliography--or, if you have just a
very few sources, you sometimes are allowed to provide bibliographic
details in parentheses immediately after source material or in a
footnote.)
If you are using non-print sources such
as interviews, videos, or television, will they be considered
appropriate and representative (well representing a viewpoint needed and
accepted by your audience? If you are
using online sources, have you checked them carefully to verify their
quality and accuracy (see "Evaluating
Web Sites" in OnlineGrammar.org)?
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STYLE, TONE, AUDIENCE, & CRITICAL THINKING: Have you converted all parts of
your writing to the appropriate style and tone? This type
of paper
should use a formal professional writing style. If your
audience and purpose are of a more general nature (rather than of an
academic or scholarly nature), then you may want to use a more efficient
business style of writing with a mixture of medium and short sentences, and
varied medium and short paragraphs.
Generally, in professional and business writing, the tone or voice in your
words should show professional competence, honesty, and confidence.
Warmth may or may not be helpful, depending on your audience, but coldness,
sarcasm, or emotionalism should be avoided. To check tone or voice,
try reading your paper aloud--or have a colleague, peer, or friend read it
aloud to you--so you can hear whether your sentences sound as you want them
to.. |
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AUTHENTICITY: Have you made your paper as
reasonable, practicable, and logical as possible to your audience? If
you're not sure, ask questions of your audience ahead of time, and imagine
how your audience member(s) might want elements of
your paper explained to them. Have you tried to go to the heart
of the matter you are discussing? Have you brought interesting, vivid, and even
unusual details into the paper's contents? Have you been true to
yourself and your own interests in the subject by trying to find the most
interesting information to write about in each paragraph, something
meaningful to you? |
Final Advice Given in Most Chapters
In most professional writing, papers, you should use the third-person
pronoun: "he," "she," "it," and "they." You should not use "you"
unless you
are giving directions, or writing a diary or personal reflection, or a less
formal magazine or newsletter article or other specific advice (as in this
chapter). In professional writing, "I" is never used (unless occasionally
in the form of an anecdote, starting with a phrase such as "For example, I
was...").
Paragraphing in most academic papers follows some relatively standard guidelines.
You usually are working with a large amount of information when you write a
professional paper. For this
reason, clear, consistent paragraphing becomes even more important. Your
paragraphs should help you logically divide your body sections into smaller
sub-parts, ideas, or sub-ideas--just for the sake of clarity and ease of
reading, if for no other reason. Also, generally, for a short- to
medium-length paper, you should have one paragraph each for your introduction,
conclusion, and--if you have it--your summary.
You should, as a matter of habit, have at least two or three paragraphs per page in your final draft.
On the other hand, be careful not to have too many paragraphs per page. If you have a lot of
short, choppy paragraphs, combine them. The goal, graphically speaking,
is to provide your audience with a variety of paragraph lengths--an
occasional short one for emphasis or change of pace added to a mix of varying
medium and long paragraphs. The goal in terms of content is to make your
ideas flow so well that your audience can easily keep them clear and separate
without ever even noticing your paragraphing (or, for that matter, any other
mechanical aspect of your paper).
For more advice, go to the "Paragraphing"
chapter.
Several other common, useful strategies
of efficient, thorough editing are in the several chapters of the "Revising
and Editing" section. Some of these strategies also are summarized
in the following very-brief web page, which is aimed especially at people
writing professionally and/or in their majors:
Very Brief
Review of How
to Edit Your Final Draft
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Good luck with writing this type of paper.
For more advanced and/or interesting information on this type of paper, please
see the "Advanced"
section of the chapter.
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