Sample Business Report Format for Literature Review Assignment

Formatting Expectations

 Report Format: Follow the guidelines for a business report given in the Style Sheet on Moodle. * Please note that this sample business report is based on a first year Communications assignment. You should not base your content on this model, only your formatting. Formatting Expectations: • Running header that includes student name, course, and section number (no templates, and no headers on intro pages). Running footer should have page number centered at bottom of page (small Roman Numerals for intro pages, and regular Arabic numbers for balance of document). Title page is first page, but number doesn’t show. • No title fly or letter of transmittal is necessary on this report. Background Information about the Research Paper: Your research report will be a literature review. A literature review is a summary and analysis of the articles written about a specific issue or topic. For this particular assignment the topic should be one that has recently been in the news as a significant and controversial issue. Preferably it will also be related to Canada, Alberta, or even to Edmonton. We want the topic to be as relevant to our own concerns as possible. For your report, Read a large number of articles on the topic of your choice. Your topic must, however, as noted above, be relatively current (within the last year) and controversial. Categorize and summarize the important themes and perspectives that appear in these articles. Discuss the techniques that the different authors use to present their arguments and convince their audience. We will break the project down into three phases: 1) Research project proposal and Annotated Bibliography 2) Peer Review Process 3) Final research report Here are some helpful resources for the annotated bibliography and the full literature review report:  (If these links don’t work, copy and paste the link into your browser, or shorten the hyperlink to then select “Specific Types of Writing,” and from there, “Annotated Bibliography” or Literature Review”) Outline: • Title Page (1 page) • Table of Contents (1 page) • Executive Summary (1 page) – Provides a 1) purpose statement (why is this a significant topic?); 2) a methodology (what steps did you follow in writing the report); 3) a quick, at-a-glance summary of the entire contents of the report; and 4) the conclusions and/or recommendations reached in the report. The Executive Summary is always written after completion of the report, so should not contain any future tense words or phrases like “This review will cover …”. The Executive Summary highlights or gives an overview of the main points that you have made in each section. • Introduction (1/2 page) – Although this paper is a literature review, you will still need to have an argument/overall idea/consistent viewpoint. This may not be quite as specific as it was for the last essay, but you should still know where you’re going with the paper. You will introduce this idea in your introduction and give an overview of your intent for the main ideas in each of your sections. As you write your sections, remember to relate your information back to the main idea. • Background (variable) – In this section, you will summarize some basic facts/background and historical information about your issue using a variety of sources. Describe what the issue is and why it is important. Use subheadings where appropriate. You will probably wish to organize this section like a mini-essay, with a short introductory paragraph to introduce your main idea and main points, and a conclusion that wraps up your ideas in a satisfying manner and relates them back to your overall idea. • Viewpoints (variable) – In this section, you will group the different viewpoints that your authors have about this issue into several different categories with a separate subheading for each category. Discuss each viewpoint and analyze/explain why the authors approach the topic in the way they do. You will also want to set the viewpoints in context by discussing how they relate, respond, or appear to be influenced by each other. You will probably wish to organize this section like a mini-essay, with a short introductory paragraph to introduce your main idea and main points, and a conclusion that wraps up your ideas in a satisfying manner. • Arguments, Evidence and Techniques (variable) – In this main section of your review, you will analyze the different types of approaches that authors take to this topic by grouping perspectives into categories with subheadings. What types of articles did you find in your research? On what types of evidence do the authors base their opinions? Remember that Kent Lewis’s introductions to Chapter 5 on “Questions,” and to Chapter 8 on “Argument,” will provide you with the rhetorical and analytical tools (unified proposition, inductive and deductive reasoning processes, measurable and testable evidence, as well as logical fallacies and appeals to emotion) that will help give your discussion the level of complexity and professionalism that it deserves. You will probably wish to organize this section like a mini-essay, with a short introductory paragraph to introduce your main idea and main points, and a conclusion that wraps up your ideas in a satisfying manner. • Conclusion (1/2 page) – Restates the material in the introduction by summarizing your main ideas from each section and making clear how they relate to your overall viewpoint. Your conclusion should bring everything together in a manner that is interesting and convincing for your reader. • References – Must include at least 15-20 high quality sources. I will be looking to see that you have picked resources that have some depth to them.