Overview

The Recommendations section tells your readers what they should do. In this section, you discuss the options that your research and conclusions suggest and explain how the readers should proceed as a result.

Where You Can Find Help

• From Markel & Selber, Chapter 18:
  
  • The details on the Recommendations section, from p. 494:
    “Recommendations answer the question ‘What should we do?’ . . . [R]ecommendations do not always flow directly from conclusions. Always consider recommending that the organization take no action or no action at this time.”
  • “Guidelines: Writing Recommendations,” on p. 494.
  • Example Recommendations section, on p. 525 (part of the sample recommendation report in Figure 18.8).
• LinkedIn Learning video, “Conclusions and recommendations” (4m 9s), from the Technical Writing: Reports course.

How You Do It

1. Complete a draft of your Methods, Results, and Conclusions sections before beginning this section. Your recommendations will draw the information from these preceding sections together.
2. Add the heading for your Recommendations section:
   1. Add the word Recommendations as the heading at the top of the page and center the line.
   2. Format the word so that it is clearly the heading for the page. You can use the built-in headings in your word processor. See the Tech Tip on p. 55 for help.
   3. Skip a blank line.
3. Begin your Recommendations section with a short paragraph that provides an advance organizer for the rest of the section. See the example opening in the first paragraph of the Recommendations section in the Sample Recommendation Report on p. 525 of the textbook for help.
4. For each option you have identified, add a matching subsection in your Recommendations section with details on the actions the reader should consider. Follow these guidelines for each subsection:
   

   Tips for Writing Sub-Headings

   • Use the subheadings in the Recommendations Section of the sample recommendation report in Figure 18.8 of the textbook as a model.
   • Consult the advice in the “Writing Clear, Informative Headings,” section on pp. 199–202 (in Chapter 9 of the textbook).

   Option Heading

   • Identify the option by number and provide a brief statement of the action. Ideally your subheading should be approximately 1 line or less in length.
   • Format your subheading so that it is different from the paragraphs in the body and matches other subheadings in the report. You can use the built-in headings in your word processor. See the Tech Tip on p. 55 for help.

   Option Details

   Provide relevant details under each heading, including the following information:

   • Explain the option, referring to your research to support your recommendations.
   • Check the option for (1) Content, (2) Tone, (3) Form, and (4) Location, the four factors in the “Guidelines: Writing Recommendations” (on p. 494 of the textbook). Consult the textbook for more details.
   • Add in-text citations for outside sources that you mention (for instance, books, websites, or videos), if there are any. Make sure that any information you quote from your primary or secondary research is enclosed in quotation marks. Follow the documentation style that is used in your field. See the Documentation and Citations for Your Projects page for help.

   • Review the information in your subsection, and chunk the information for the option into short paragraphs. The exact number of paragraphs in each of subsections will depend upon the specific details of your research process. See p. 265 for information on chunking.
   • You can also use bulleted lists if appropriate. See Guidelines: Creating Effective Lists on pp. 205–206 for additional help.
   • See the Recommendations section of the Sample Recommendation Report on p. 525 of the textbook for help.

5. Review your Recommendations section to make sure that you have included everything that answers the question, “What should we do?”
6. Move on to the next part of the report that you want to work on.