• Time Required
• 8–10 hours, including reading time

Welcome to Week Eleven of the course. By the end of this week, aim to have the organization of your report sketched out that everyone in your group can use while composing the sections of the Recommendation Report. Your group’s outline can change as you work, but this week you are trying to create solid plans for your work.

You’ll also compose a Progress Report with your group to let me know what your group has accomplished so far.

Holidays & Events This Week

• Mischief Night takes place Monday, October 30. It’s a day of jokes and pranks.
• Halloween and Samhain are marked on Tuesday, October 31.
• Native American Heritage Month lasts for the entire month of November
• Karwa Chauth is celebrated by Hindu women on Wednesday, November 1.
• Día de los Muertos—in English, Day of the Dead—is marked on Wednesday and Thursday, November 1–2.
• All Saints’ Day, a Christian holiday, takes place on Wednesday, November 1.
• All Souls’ Day, also a Christian holiday, occurs on Thursday, November 2.
• Guy Fawkes Night takes place primarily in the United Kingdom on Sunday, November 5.
• Daylight Savings Time Ends on Sunday, November 5 in the United States. Be sure to change your clocks!
• Election day in the United States is Tuesday, Nobember 7. Vote if you are eligible!

If you observe these holidays or events and need me to adjust your due dates, send me a message in Canvas.

 

Objectives for this Module

After completing this week’s activities, you address the following course objectives:

• Identify and define a problem or subject related to your particular field (or another specific problem according to your assignment’s directions) and assemble and analyze research related to this problem. [CLO 1]
• Analyze the context of this problem or subject and determine appropriate audiences for the unit’s deliverables. [CLO 2]
• Practice workplace genres associated with a team-based research project: a research proposal, meeting minutes, a progress report, a recommendation report or an informational report for non-expert readers, a slide deck presentation of the report, and a video presentation. [CLO 3]
• Practice team and collaborative work in all phases of project management. [CLO 4]
• Design strategies for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the suggested approaches to the researched problem. [CLO 5]
• Illustrate the ethical and human implications of the solutions proposed for solving the problem. [CLO 6]

Activities to Complete

📚 To Read This Week

• FAQ: What is a Gantt Chart?
• Resource Modules:
  • Research Progress Reports
  • Visual Aids
  • Correspondence
• From Technical Writing by Hamlin, Rubio, and DeSilva
  • 6. Progress Reports
    • 6.1 Functions and Contents of Progress Reports
    • 6.2 Timing and Format of Progress Reports
    • 6.3 Organizational Patterns or Sections for Progress Reports
    • 6.4 Other Parts of Progress Reports
    • 6.5 Revision Checklist for Progress Reports
• Example Progress Reports for Similar Projects:
  • Progress Report Sample Document
    (Be sure to review all seven “sticky notes” on this pdf!)
  • Progress Report on Apricot Ocelot Website Analysis
• Optional: Videos from LinkedIn Learning (free with your VT.edu login)
  • “Organizing an Outline” (46m)
  • “The importance of planning” (4m 46s)
  • “Develop a final outline” (6m 13s)

📝 To Do This Week

• Prepare a formal Progress Report for me, using these resources:
  • Progress Report Criteria
  • Progress Report Assignment
  • Progress Report Self-Check
• Continue work with your group on the Recommendation Report, using these resources:
  • Recommendation Report Research Guide
  • Recommendation Report Topic Overview
  • Recommendation Report Criteria
  • Recommendation Report Assignment
• Try out strategies from the course by submitting these activities:
  • Try-It #21: Outlining Your Recommendation Report
  • Try-It #22: Group Progress Discussion II

 

💬 To Ask Questions (Optional)

• Optional ways to discuss class issues:
  • Post public questions in the General Q&A Discussion in Canvas if it can be shared with the class.
    
  • If you have a private question, send me a message with the Canvas Inbox.
  • Ask a question or make a suggestion anonymously with the Anonymous Questions & Suggestions form.

 

📓 To Check-In This Week

• Fill out the Week 11 Check-In Survey to let me know how you are doing in the course.

 

 

Photo credit: 2013-10-09 Thinking about visual outlining #learning #sharing #writing by Sacha Chua on Flickr, used under CC-BY 2.0 license.