This document provides guidelines for students to complete a final project report for an English course. It includes potential topics for the report, formatting requirements, and a timeline for completion. The report must be 6-10 pages and include an introduction, discussion with a technical illustration, conclusion, works cited page, and appendix. It will be graded based on these components and on writing style, correctness, and formatting. A PowerPoint presentation must also be completed and presented in the following week based on the written report.

1. Possible Formal Report Topics for ENGL225 Final Project
Course Project
Beginning in Week 2, you will work through the weekly
research stages and writing process towards the creation of a 6
pages (double spaced—introduction to conclusion) Semi-Formal
Business Report. Topic suggestions are provided; however, if
there is a topic you’d like to use that is not on the list, please
contact your instructor for approval. Other final project criteria
are as follows:
· The audience for this report is an industry decision-maker,
such as your supervisor or CEO, or a public policymaker, such
as a politician or bureaucrat, who could act upon your
Recommendations.
· Your report must feature at least one technical illustration,
such as a chart, graph, or image that you have created.
· Your research must consist of a variety of electronic (Web
sites, databases, media) and traditional sources (books, journals,
magazines). All sources must be cited in the report using The
Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting. However, if
you are familiar with the American Psychological Association
(APA) documentation system, you may use it, but email me to
discussion. APA is often used in the business setting, but MLA
is what we use here at APUS/AMU and used in other university
settings. The MLA or APA choice is for documentation of
sources.
· You will submit your written report in MS Word in Week 7.
You must have at least four sources. (Rubric and more details
below as well as in Week 7 lesson tab.)
· You will present a presentation of your report using PPT (MS
PowerPoint) in Week 8 (rubric and more details below and in
Week 8 lesson tab).
Directions: You many choose any of the topics below for your

2. Final Project Report. If you have another topic in mind, you
must first get instructor approval before using it. The goal here
is for you to choose a topic that genuinely interests you. This
topic can be related to your current job or community, or that of
your career goals. It is realistic, even if the report scenario is
simulate for the purposes of our course. The proposed list of
topics is not exhaustive!
1. It is important to understand what organizations are looking
for in cover letters and resumes. It is also important to
understand the differences between a hard-copy resume and a
resume from the Internet. What strategies have proven most
successful in getting the writer an interview? Research these
questions and present your findings and conclusions.
2. Today’s employee turn-over rate is high for many
organizations. Research has shown that the key to hiring
qualified individuals is to first promote the company to current
employees. By implementing strategies within the organization
that promote respect and cooperation between co-workers and
managers, awarding fair compensation, and providing various
awards, organizations are better able to retain good employees.
Research what other organizations are doing to hire and retain
good employees in order to combat the high employee turnover
rate. Use this research to make recommendations to the
management of your organization.
3. Your company needs to update its Code of Ethics. Because
of the immense diversity in today’s ever-changing workforce,
you need to research other organizations’ codes of ethics.
Decide what the new policy should and should not include.
Based on your research and conclusions, offer recommendations
to your management.
4. You have been asked to review your employee handbook.
During this review, you notice many discrepancies between
what is stated in the handbook and what actually takes place in

3. your organization. You are asked to research other
organizations’ handbooks to determine any changes that need to
be made. Based on your research and conclusions, offer
recommendations to your management.
5. Outsourcing has become common in the business world,
particularly when an organization experiences large growth.
Your organization is pondering whether or not it should
establish an in-house advertising department or if it should
outsource the advertising to another agency. Research what
other organizations in similar circumstances have done to find
the advantages and disadvantages of each. Based on your
research and conclusions, offer recommendations to your
management.
6. Your organization needs to upgrade its computer equipment.
A suggestion has been made that leasing this equipment could
be more advantageous than purchasing the equipment. You
have been asked by management to investigate these options.
Research both purchasing and leasing computer equipment,
noting the advantages and disadvantages of each.Based on your
research and conclusions, offer recommendations to your
management.
General Timeline for project completion:
Week 2 -- Sort out your topic—decide which direction you will
go on. Construct a working thesis statement: that is, the purpose
and scope of your presentation.
Week 3 -- Research. Gather information that will support and
prove your thesis. If you have to revise your thesis, that is fine
Week 4 -- Research continued—begin outlining—begin to sort
out the structure and organization of your report.
Week 5-6 -- Drafting and Revising…
Week 7 – Written Report due
Week 8 – PPT Presentation based on the info if your port due.

4. Format Guidelines:
Required Components (All pages are double spaced except
cover letter page):
Cover page/Letter format* (in place of “cover page” in graphic
below)
(page break)
Title page (pagination should start here)
(page break)
Summary (see rubric, one paragraph for each bullet)
(page break)
Table of Contents (one page)
(page break)
[Your 6-10 pages of content should begin here in the body of
your report:]
Introduction (see rubric for included components—include
thesis statement)
*Discussion (The main body of your report) [Technical
illustration component belongs IN the discussion section]
Conclusions/Recommendation (See rubric for what this should
include)
*Technical Illustration (at least one, original, belongs within in
the discussion area)
[Page breaks within the body are not necessary, but
headings/subheadings are helpful]
(page break)
[End of 6-10 page content calculation]
Works Cited (separate page) [or reference list if using APA]
(page break)
Appendix (at least one item and be sure to refer to it in the body
of your report.)Goes after Works Cited—on a new page.
View the grading rubric to see the particular elements in each
component.
ENGL225
Tot. Pts. Possible
Tot. Pts. Earned

5. Week 7: Final Formal Report
100 (15%)
Gradable Items
Pts. Possible
Pts. Earned
Comments
Cover Page (letter format)
Summary, Background, Details, Action—Four paragraphs in MS
Word Business letter format.
3
Summary: • Identifies the purpose and
most important features of the report
• States the main conclusions
• Sometimes makes a recommendation
5
Table of Contents (TOC): TOC lists the correct section
names and page numbers. (If you have Word 2007, and you have
properly applied Word's paragraph "Styles," you can have Word
create a TOC automatically. Go to the "References" tab and
select "Table of Contents" on the left side of the screen.)
3
Introduction (includes the following): •
Purpose—Explains why the project was carried out and the
report written. This is the thesis.
• Scope—Defines the parameters of the report, describes the
ground covered by the report, and outlines the methods of
investigations. If needed, discusses limiting factors.

6. • Background—Includes facts readers must know if they are to
fully understand the discussion that follows.
10
Discussion (should include the following):
• Facts
• Arguments
• Details
• Data
• Results
Organization of the evidence must be
built in one of three ways
* Chronological Development
* Subject Development
* Concept Development
15
Conclusion and Recommendations (Note that a
conclusion is required, but a recommendations section may or
may not be part of the report, depending on whether the
discussion and conclusions indicate more work needs to be
done.) Conclusion:
• States the major conclusions that can be drawn from the
discussion. • Base them entirely on
previously stated information.
• Does not introduce new material or evidence to support your
argument.
• If you have more than one conclusion, state the main
conclusion first and follow with the remaining conclusions. Put
them in decreasing order of importance.
Recommendations:
• Recommendation is written in strong, definite terms to
convince readers that the course of action is valid. Use first
person and active verbs.

7. • No new evidence or new ideas are introduced. Relies only on
previously presented evidence in the discussion and
conclusions.
15
Technical Illustration (At least one ORIGINAL):
•simple & uncluttered • depicts one main point
• positioned close to narrative • labeled with at figure or
table number and title, caption, or comments located beneath
• referred to at least once in report
15
Appendix: Contains related data not necessary to an immediate
understanding of the discussion. • Placement is determined by
which is mentioned first, second, third, etc.
• Each document is separate and is paginated separately.
• Appendices are paginated separately from the report with the
first page labeled “1.” (The first appendix is labeled “Appendix
A.” The next set becomes “Appendix B,” and so on.)
**Called out in the body of the report to alert reader it is
present
7
In-Text Citations & Works Cited page: Works Cited page
contains each source that is used in the in-text citations
(parenthetical documentation); there are in-text citations for
each piece of information in the report that is not common
knowledge. Both the References page and the in-text citations
must be correct in MLA (or APA upon approval) content &
format.
10

8. Writing Style and Correctness of Expression: Report uses
effective technical writing techniques, such as parallelism,
unity, coherence, primarily active voice, etc. (The Six Cs);
There are no grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. errors
10
Format: Pages of the report are formatted and organized
according to the posted criteria.
7
TOTAL POINTS
100
The Week 8 PowerPoint Grading criteria include
Week 8 PPT PowerPoint Presentation Grading Rubric
100 points/15% of grade
Score/comments
The slides support the main points /15
…enhances the writer’s written report /12
…contains parallelism in writing and formatting, /13
…uses an easy-to-read font, /13
…does not use slides full of sentences, /12
…uses visuals. /15
The presentation reflects a correctness of expression/20

9. Total out of 100 points 15% of total grade
Scroll down to next page to see overall layout schematic:
This graphic, from the book, Technically Write offers a good
visual overview of the layout of your format report. Do put a
page break between each item in the rubric. Replace the “front
cover” with the “Cover Letter”. Have a page break between
your conclusions/recommendations and Works Cited page as
well.
**The Cover Letter (SINGLE SPACE and use any MS Word or
professional style business letter template that you can find)
serves to explain to your readers why they are receiving the
main document, such as a résumé or Formal Report, that you are
sending them. It will be placed on top of your Course Project
document to introduce it to your reader.
For a Cover Letter to be effective, the following four distinct
sections should be featured:
Summary Section: Introduce yourself and your report using its
Thesis Statement.
Background: In this section, briefly explain why you decided to
research and write the enclosed report. Explain the report's
relevance to your job, company, industry, city, country, or the
world. Most importantly, explain why your reader should be
interested in this report.
Details: Here, re-state some of your report's major findings,
conclusions and recommendations.
Action: In this section, invite your reader to first read your
report and then take appropriate action, such as contacting you
for a follow-up discussion or implementing your
recommendations.
You can have four small/short paragraphs in your cover letter to
accomplish covering these items. It is possible to have three

10. paragraphs, but simply be sure that your letter addresses these
components.