What You Will Learn and Practice

• How to write documents you may encounter in the workplace (specifically front matter for a report). [CLO 4]
• How to use colors, layout, and formatting that make your documents understandable and easy to read. [CLO6]
• How to take advantage of design principles, including contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity, to communicate your ideas effectively. [CLO 7]

What I Want You to Do

Create a Table of Contents so that readers can move directly to the information they want to read in your Recommendation Report. Include all headings and sub-headings in your Table of Contents .

Why I Want You to Do It

The front matter for your report may feel repetitive, but the items in the front matter have different audiences. I’m asking you to work on each of the sections separately so that you pay attention to the needs of each audience and help make sure you include everything that is required for a complete report.

Where You Can Find Help

• From Markel & Selber, Chapter 18:
  
  • The details on the Table of Contents, from p. 496–497:
    • “The table of contents, the most important guide to navigating the report, has two main functions: to help readers find the information they want and to help them understand the scope and organization of the report.”
    • “A table of contents uses the same headings as the report itself. Therefore, to create an effective table of contents, you must first make sure that the headings are clear and that you have provided enough of them. If the  table of contents shows no entry for five or six pages, you probably need to partition that section of the report into additional subsections. In fact, some tables of contents have one entry, or even several, for every report page.”
  • Example Table of Contents, on pp. 508 (part of the sample recommendation report in Figure 18.8).
• LinkedIn Learning videos:
  • “Create a table of contents in Word” (43s), from the Word Quick Tips course.
  • “Add page numbers” (4m 17s), from the Word 2016: Creating Long Documents course.
  • “Create a table of contents” (3m 58s), from the Google Docs: Formatting in Depth course.
  • “Add page numbers” (1m 41s), from the Google Docs Essential Training course.

When to Do It

• Suggested Due Date: By 11:59 PM on Friday, April 22, 2022, to participate in the Last-Chance Recommendation Report Feedback Discussion.
• Grace Period: The grace period for this activity ends at 11:59 PM on Friday, April 29, 2022.

How You Do It

1. Complete and revise all the content of your report (the front matter, the body, and the back matter) before adding your Table of Contents. Otherwise you will have to update the Table of Contents every time the content changes to ensure that the headings, sub-headings, and page numbers are accurate.
2. Open the word processor document where you are working on your recommendation report.
3. Scroll through the report and make sure that your headings and sub-headings are specific and accurate. They should be as detailed as the headings and sub-headings in the Example Table of Contents, on pp. 508 of the textbook. Make revisions as necessary.
4. Add page numbers to the report, using the LinkedIn Learning videos if you need documentation.
5. Scroll through the document to the location for your Table of Contents (after the Abstract, and before the Executive Summary).
6. Use the tools built into your word processor to generate a Table of Contents. The LinkedIn Learning videos in the “Where You Can Find Help” section above demonstrate the process for Word and for Google Docs.
7. Review your Table of Contents, checking that it includes all of your headings and sub-headings. If anything is missing, make the necessary changes and regenerate your Table of Contents.

How to Assess & 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.

This is a working draft for your Best Submission. It is marked Complete in Canvas when you submit it for one of the two Feedback Discussions.