What You Will Learn and Practice

• How to analyze your audience and purpose so that you can choose the best way to present information clearly and effectively.. [CLO 1]
• How to write documents you may encounter in the workplace, such as letters, memos, instructions, proposals, reports, and presentations. [CLO 4]
• How to use colors, layout, and formatting that make your documents understandable and easy to read. [CLO 6]
• How to take advantage of design principles, including contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity, to communicate your ideas effectively. [CLO 6]
• How to choose words, phrases, sentences, lists, and other text features to communicate effectively with readers. [CLO 7]

What I Want You to Do

Now that you have confirmed that you meet all the requirements for the Research Description by completing the Research Description Self-Check, you need to upload your finished description.

Why I Want You to Do It

In the workplace, you send your work out after you confirm that it meets all of the requirements. At that point, your client, manager, or other stakeholders examine the work and let you know if it fits their needs. We are following the same structure now. You confirmed your work met the requirements by earning full points on the checklist. Now it’s time to add a draft letter and send your work on to me so I can respond.

Where You Can Find Help

• From Markel & Selber:
  • Chapter 20, “Writing Descriptions,” pp. 561–569, and Figure 20.8, “An Effective Process Description,” p. 571.
  • Chapter 12, “Creating Graphics” (Skim through for examples of visualizations).
  • Chapter 16, “Why and How To Create a Gantt Chart,” p. 451.
• From Course Resources:
  • Research Description Criteria

When to Do It

• Suggested Due Date: By 11:59 PM on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 (extended from Friday due to Fall Break).
• Last Chance Date: The grace period for your research description ends at 11:59 PM on Friday, December 3, 2021.

How You Do It

1. Open the best draft of your Research Description. If you are turning in an image file, create a word processor file for your draft letter, and skip to step 6.
2. Scroll to the top of the document, placing your cursor at the beginning.
3. Add a few blank lines with the ENTER key.
4. Insert a page break, so that the text of your Instructions begins on the next page.
   • CTRL + ENTER usually creates a page break.
   • Insert a page break in Word (Microsoft documentation)
   • Work with links, bookmarks, section breaks, or page breaks (Google documentation)
5. Scroll back to the top of the document, the beginning of the blank page.

How I Use Your Draft Letter

Your draft letter tells me about your work on the Research Description. You will ultimately use your research description as you write the Methods section of your Recommendation Report. This letter is your chance to ask for advice to improve it before turning in the full report.

6. Write a draft letter to me (one page or less) that includes the following information:
   1. Tell me any general information that you want them to know about your draft.
   2. Point out the part of the draft that shows your best work, and explain why.
   3. Let me know one specific aspect or part of the draft that you want to improve, and explain why.
   4. Add any final thought in a last paragraph, and close your letter.
7. Check your cover letter and revise if it is longer than one page long. This is only the length of the cover letter.
8. Use a new filename to save your draft for peer review, since you do not need the cover letter in your working draft.
9. Turn in your draft(s). If you are submitting an image file, turn in both the image and the word processor file with your draft letter.

How to Assess and Track Your Work

You track and grade your own work in this course. Be sure to complete the following tasks:

• Track your work in your Weekly Work Log.
• Watch for feedback comments from me—find feedback in annotations and comments on your submissions in Canvas.
• Watch for this assignment to reappear in your to-do list if you need to revise or choose a new topic.

Work is always marked as either 1 for Complete or 0 for Incomplete:

• I will mark this activity Complete in Canvas Grades, usually within 24–48 hours after the end of the grace period.
• I will mark this activity Incomplete in Canvas Grades if your draft needs revision OR if you do not submit your work by the end of the grace period.