What You Need to Do

Success Tip

You can use the online texts, any notes that you have, and the available course pages in Canvas for help as you work on these questions. You can also talk to one another.

Review the information required in your Recommendation Report, and write an outline for your draft, including specific headings and subheadings.

How This Activity Connects to the Course

By creating an outline, you’re sketching out the work that you need to do for your Recommendation Report and ensuring that you use consistent subheadings throughout the document.

Here’s how you’ll use details from your outline in your Recommendation Report: You’ll copy the headings and subheadings you’ve created directly into your report, filling in your content in each of the sections and subsections.

How to Do It

  1. Review Week 11 Readings on Outlines for details on how to structure a formal outline.
  2. Review these Example Recommendation Report Outlines to see the expectations for your work:
  3. Review the information you should include in your report on the Recommendation Report Criteria page.
  4. Begin your outline with your report title, using the advice on the Effective Report Titles page to compose a strong title.
  5. Underneath the title, add the names of all the group members who contributed to the outline.
  6. Start your outline by copying the list of required sections below:
    • 1. Letter of Transmittal
    • 2. Title Page
    • 3. Abstract
    • 4. Table of Contents
    • 5. Executive Summary
    • 6. Introduction
    • 7. Methods
    • 8. Results
    • 9. Conclusions
    • 10. Recommendations
    • 11. References
    • 12. Appendix
  7. Paste the list into your Outline and make any adjustments needed. For example, if the documentation style your group chose uses the word Bibliography instead of References, change it.
  8. Make all the items First-Level Headings in your word processor.
  9. Concentrate on the body and back matter. The list for the front matter is accurate as is.
  10. Create Second-Level Headings under the First-Level Headings for your Methods and Results Sections for each of the Tasks your group completed, using the “Task 1” structure in the Outline for the Sample Recommendation Report for help.

  11. What Do I Mean By Matching?

    Matching subheadings use similar words and phrasing. In the example outline compare the subheadings in the table below. I’ve marked matching portions of the subheadings in boldface. You want the subheadings in your report to match similarly.

    Examples of Matching Subheadings
    Section Subheading
    Methods Task 1: Acquire a basic understanding of tablet use by clinical staff across the nation
    Results Task 1: Acquire a basic understanding of tablet use by clinical staff across the nation
    Conclusions a. Tablet use by clinical staff
    Add matching Second-Level Headings under the First-Level Headings for your Conclusions Section for each of the Tasks listed in your Methods and Results Sections. See the subheadings in the Outline for the Sample Recommendation Report for help.
  12. Add Second-Level Headings for the Options you’ll suggest under the the First-Level Headings for your Recommendations Section if you have multiple recommendations to make.
  13. Revise the title of the Appendix section to indicate the specific contents. For example, in the sample outline, “Appendix” was updated to “Appendix: Clinical-Staff Questionnaire.”
  14. If you have more than one Appendix to include, use alphabet letters in addition to the specific names to label the Appendixes (e.g., Appendix A: Clinical-Staff Questionnaire, Appendix B: WAVE Accessibility Results).
  15. Make any additions or revisions to your working outline to include relevant information, based on your proposal and the plans your group has.
  16. Submit your Full Outline here once you are ready. See How do I submit an online assignment? if you need help with Canvas. Only one member of your group needs to submit the outline.
  17. Use the headings and subheadings you’ve created as the skeleton for your Recommendation Report, filling in your content in each of the sections and subsections.

Assessment

I will mark this activity Complete (or Incomplete) after the end of the Grace Period passes. I will assess group members individually based on their participation. Allow me several days to read and mark your work.

Play close attention to comments that I add to your outline. Setting up the structure of your report is critical to doing well on the project.