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Creating A Guiding Purpose Statement

A reports guiding purpose statement serve two purposes: first, it unifies the facts and information of a

report by describing the overall purpose; and second, it forecasts what the report will discuss. That is,

the guiding purpose statement should answer the questions Why was this report written? and What is

this report about? Therefore the guiding purpose statement should include the topic of the report, and

Describing the Purpose:

Imagine you found the following information in a report: what would the guiding purpose statement of

such a report look like? Create guiding purpose statements for the groups of information below.

Example

Topic: Free speech

Facts/Info:

Question: Should there be limitations on freedom of speech?

Free speech is one of the fundamental rights US citizens cherish

Some people use speech to slander, insult, harass, or threaten others

GPS: Freedom of speech is an essential right, but it should not be meant to include hate speech.

I. Topic: Punk musicFacts/Info:

Question: What is the current state of

punk music?

Punk music has risen in popularity in the last

20 years.

Punk was once considered to be on the

fringe of society, embraced by angry and

disillusioned youths.

The liminal figures of early punk musicwere thought to be dangerous rabble-

rousers.

Current punk bands play to audiences ofhundreds of thousands, and compete with

pop stars for radio and video airtime.

Stores like Hot Topic have commercialized

the edgy punk look

GPS:

II. Topic: hydrogen fueled cars Facts/Info:

Question: Should carmakers dedicate

time and energy into producing

hydrogen-fueled cars?

The burning of fossil fuel is one of the

leading causes in air pollution

Hydrogen fueled cars do not run on fossil

fuels

Developmental research is needed to create

more efficient hydrogen powered cars

Developmental research is very expensive

Hydrogen fuel expels a high amount ofgreenhouse gas

Until enough research can be conducted,

production of hydrogen cells will rely on

fossil fuel for at least the next 10 years.

GPS:

Forecasting:

Forecasting simply means predictinga guiding purpose statement will predict what happens in

the report by briefly describing the reports structure.Example

In this report, we will first discuss the history of free speech in America and its

Constitutional foundations. Then, we will present some examples of the abuses of free

speech. Finally, we will argue that some limitations should be placed on free speech to

protect the basic rights of Americans.

In this example, we would expect to find the sections of the report to be structured as follows:

I. History of free speech

II. Abuses of free speech

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