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Writing The Report

Here are things I would include in any professional report. You should as well….

• Have a title page.

• Include a table of contents.

• Include an executive summary (one page).

• Include a title for each section (business context and ROPE model).

• Offer a summary (one page)

• Number any appendix you decide to use.

• Number your pages.

• Each section should start on a new page.

Let’s talk language• No “I” or “We”

• Yes to your team’s name or agency name. That brand repitition matters.

• Full mention of the name first, then you can use an acronym.

• Dan Farkas Interactive (DFI) provides great solutions for any business.

• For the sake of this project, ditch contractions.

• Hammer SVO.

• Shorter and more powerful sentences are better.

Let’s talk source citation

• Include the date.

• Have a reference page.

• If there’s a link, I would include it.

• I’m not going to grade you on reference formatting, I just want to know you have references.

Let’s make an argument

• Claims must have support. Otherwise, they have no value.

• Don’t do this: Beef prices have a great effect on the fast-food industry.

• Do do this: Beef prices have a great effect on the fast-food industry as they account for 21% of costs (Franchise Help, 2014).

General writing ideas

• Be very specific with your statements

• Show that your statements are credible, not just guesses

• Give examples

• Define key terms

Ideas for writing

• There is no magic formula.

• Start with an executive summary that shouldn’t exceed one page and probably be less.

• Outline the research steps I gave you. The research should be most of the report.

• Create objectives. These shouldn’t exceed a page and probably be less than that.

Ideas for writing• Document programming strategies, connecting the

research to your ideas.

• Include a list of activities, explaining how the activities connect to the evidence-based research you’ve collected. You can cite back to your own report in this circumstance.

• Design samples (not the full product)• Budget, in terms of time and hours.• Activity calendar.

• The evaluation should link back to the objectives.

• Draft a brief conclusion, never to exceed one page.

General writing rulesthe farkas five.

• When in doubt, be professional

• When filling out an request for proposal (RFP) follow the rules to the letter.

• You don’t want to give away all your complete details in the pitch.

• You don’t want to be too vague.

• When you figure out the Golden Mean, let me know.

So what will you turn in and how will I grade you?

So what will you hand in?

• A complete communications plan.

•Research (See deck on creating research)

•Objectives (Probably one page)

•Programming (Ideas and the content. This length varies)

•Evaluation (Should be one page)

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• 100 points research.

• 50 points for objectives and evaluation.

• 50 points programming.

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• Research• Did you follow the steps?• Did you ask the right questions?• Did you talk with the right people?• Did you follow this PP presentation?• Is it thorough?• Are you in the ballpark for being logical? I may not

agree with you, but you have to sell me on the idea• This is inherently a bit subjective.

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• Programming

• Is everything aligned?

•Is the timeline viable?

•Is the budget within reason

•Does it meet the client’s needs?

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• Objectives and Evaluation

•See the slides on objectives. Did you fit that criteria?

• Is it attainable?