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 Howdy or Hello? Technical and Professional Communication

• Recommendations Section of a Recommendation Report
• Specific Guidelines on Headings
• Bulleted and Numbered Lists
• Use of Color

From LinkedIn Learning

• Video: “Conclusions and recommendations” (4m 9s), from the Technical Writing: Reports course.

From Technical Communication

• Sample Report, Figure 18.8

How You Do It

1. Obtain and review copies of the drafts of your group’s Methods, Results, and Conclusions sections before beginning this section. The interpretation in the Recommendations section should directly connect to the information in the three previous sections of the report.
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.
   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 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 Subheadings

   • Use the subheadings in the Sample Recommendation Report as a model.
   • Consult the advice in the Specific Guidelines on Headings section of Howdy or Hello?.

   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 headings in the Recommendations section in the Sample Recommendation Report for an example.

   Option Details

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

   • Explain the option, referring to your research to support your recommendations.
   • Add in-text citations for outside sources that you mention (for instance, books, websites, or videos) as you explain your findings, following these guidelines:
     • Make sure that any information you quote from your primary or secondary research is enclosed in quotation marks.
     • Follow the documentation style your group has agreed upon.
     • See the Documentation and Citations for Your Projects page for help.
   • Review the information in your subsection, and chunk the information into short paragraphs. The exact number of paragraphs in each of subsections will depend upon the specific details of your research process. See the section on “Chunking” on the Document Design: More Design Principles page.
   • You can also use bulleted lists if appropriate. See Bulleted and Numbered Lists for additional help.
   • See the Recommendations section in the Sample Recommendation Report for help.

5. Review your Recommendations section to make sure that you have included everything that answers the question, “What should we do?”
6. Share your draft with your group and make additional revisions as necessary to connect with the other sections of your report.