CIS304 Research Paper, Organization

CIS304 PAPER
ORGANIZATION

Parts of the Formal Report
(see Locker, Ch. 14)

As Locker notes, the organizational components in a report can vary. In fact, I differ slightly from Locker.
Please follow the guidelines below when writing and organizing your research report.

Title Page
Contains four items:

The title of the report
Whom the report is prepared for
Whom it is prepared by
The date

Letter or Memo of Transmittal
Keep it short. Please see the text regarding how to write and organize the transmittal

Table of Contents

List the headings exactly as they appear in the report

List all the headings if the report is less than 25 pages

In a long report, pick a level of headings and include that level and above

Executive Summary
(For this report, put the Executive Summary on a separate piece of paper)

Tells the reader what the document is about (150-250 words)
Is not a “tease”— it summarizes the basic findings of the report for a busy executive who may not have time to read the full text. (In this regard it is similar to the abstracts of professional journal articles you have read. The executive summary will also include a brief statement of your recommendations [if any] and the reasons for the recommendations)
Should be easy to read, concise, and clear
Has a more formal style than other forms of business writing

Report Body:

Introduction. Always contains purpose and scope (May include more; see text.)

Purpose

the rhetorical purposes (to describe, to explain)

the organizational problem the report addresses
the technical investigations it summarizes

Scope

Background (of the situation, not a full-blown history of topic itself)

Included even if the current audience knows the situation, since reports are often filed and read again years later by a very different audience
May cover many years or just the immediate situation
Most of your references will be incorporated here. (In an academic paper this portion of a report is called a Review of the Literature.) Strive for a well-integrated account of the background and context of the issue at hand. Include a description of relevant case studies, model implementations (or implementation failures) here. Writing should flow smoothly, synthesizing the pertinent information you found. This section could be 3-6 pages of your report.

Body of the Report, continued (your headings as needed)
As Locker states, this section focuses on the specific problem at hand. If you are doing in-depth library research, the preceding section will likely blend right in to this one (and you will decide on unique organizational headings as needed). If you are conducting some data-gathering (methodology), then this section will have an Assumptions, Methodology, and Findings.

Conclusions

Summarizes the main points made in the body of the report
Contains no new information

Recommendations [Optional but suggested for CIS paper]

Action items that would solve or ameliorate the problem
Often combined with “Conclusions” if both sections are short

Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research [Optional. This section is not needed if you have no methodology section. If you do gather some primary data, then you might want to include this short section. It is typically found as a short, concluding section in academic reports—as a footnote in business reports.] This organizational format differs slightly from Locker’s example in the “Analyzing Information and Writing Reports,” but follows APA organization closely. Recall that I have posted some links to examples from the Assignments Described link on PAWS.

References [required]
APA style in both the body text and Reference section of your paper; note Locker and my Web links for appropriate formatting.

10 - 15 references
At least four academic references (at least two of those 2001 or later)

Appendices [optional, but survey questions or interview questions, for example, would go here. If your report has more than three or four graphs, put the excess here. Extensive tables too large for this short report should also go in the appendix]

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