Spring 2006: ENC 5236: Advanced Business Writing for Accounting
This project could be a traditional project or a creative project. The format will be basically the same either way (a proposal, a report, a presentation), but the content could vary widely. Some ideas for possible creative topic (from the discussion board) include:
Collaborative Final Project -- Feasibility Report
You will work in assigned groups to complete this project, which consists of four components, as outlined below. The quality, persuasiveness, and coherency of the various elements contribute to the grade on this final project. Each group will earn a group grade on its proposal, report, and presentation. In addition, each individual will also earn an individual grade, primarily based on individual performance and the information provided in his/her own and other group members' summary memos.
Your overall grade on the project will combine the group and individual scores. That is, the group grade will account for 50% (up to 100 points) of your overall grade on this project, and your individual grade will account for the other 50% (up to 100 points).
Suggestions Regarding Group Work
- Rhetorical Context: Consider your role within the hypothetical company involved, whether management solicited the proposal, whether the proposal is for employees of your own company (internal) or for a client (external), the nature of the problem you are addressing, and the type of solution you are recommending.
- Message: Remember that the purpose of this document/presentation is to persuade your audience to take action. Communicate all of the facts at hand, and organize those facts in the way that best supports your conclusions.
- Collaboration: Your group should collaborate closely to produce a report that persuades in a coordinated and engaging way. That is, your group must agree on how best to persuade your audience and on what tone and syntax will best convey your concerns and proposed solutions.
- Final Goal: Conclude by addressing what will or should happen next. Find ways to persuade your audience to accept your recommendation. Stand firm in your belief that the problem is a problem and that the solution requires action of some kind.
Suggestions Regarding Individual Work
- Accuracy: I recommend that you maintain notes as your group works to complete its selected report. Then, following your group.s presentation, you can refer to your notes as you independently write and submit a confidential memo to me.
- Summary: Summarize the process by which your group worked. What tasks did your report require? How did you divide the responsibilities to accomplish these tasks? By what methods did you coordinate your efforts? How did you collaboratively write and produce the final report and plan for the final presentation?
- Analysis: Analyze the group's collaborative methods. Which methods allowed your group to work most productively? What obstacles did you encounter? How might you have improved your collaboration?
- Evaluation: Describe the overall effectiveness of your group.s collaboration, and evaluate the group as a whole. Did your group develop ways of collaborating effectively? Why or why not? What would you change to improve the collaborative process?
- Appraisal: Carefully evaluate the contributions of yourself and the other members. How would you evaluate each individual.s performance as a member of this group? Details of the Four Components of the Feasibility Report
I. Group Proposal (Due Mar 8)
Instructions: Working in groups, students will submit a proposal for a case study on writing done by accountants in the professional workplace. The proposal will be 3-5 pages in length and should present plans for carrying out the task (the case study) and explain the research methods that will be utilized. The assignment will also require that students work with visual aids, such as organizational charts and timelines. This assignment will, of course, expose students more thoroughly to the genre of the proposal. In addition to learning proposal superstructures and conventions, this assignment will require students to practice collaborative writing and to practice creating a more cohesive, coherent arrangement and style.
Your proposal should present a complete, fully developed plan. For instance, it should explain the topic (problem) of your report, where and how you will carry out your research, and how you will schedule the various tasks involved. Consider your role within the hypothetical company, the prompt for the proposal (i.e. Did management solicit it?), the audience you are addressing (internal or external to your company), the nature of the problem you are addressing, and the type of solution you are recommending. Remember that when you write a proposal, you should try to anticipate problems and develop contingency plans to deal with them!
Keep in mind that as you develop your report for the final feasibility project, you should investigate the complexities of your imagined scenario, research its associated issues, provide support for your recommendations regarding it, and include consideration of accounting issues that pertain to it. (However, your scenario need not focus on an accounting problem per se.)
Suggested Elements:
- Background: What circumstances prompted this investigation? (Or, if you are hypothesizing that your supervisor has solicited the report from you, what are the current conditions as you see them?)
- Methods: What methods of research and data collection would you use? Where would you get your information?
- Procedures: What specific steps will you take after your proposal gains approval? What will happen first, second, third? What is your timetable?
- Resources: Will you require special facilities or additional personnel to carry out your investigation? If so, how will you justify any effort or expense that will grow out of your work?
Assessment: Your grade on this assignment derives, not from application of advanced accounting principles, but from demonstration of advanced writing skills (including research, document design, presentation, and argumentation skills).
Thus, your grade on the proposal portion of the final project will derive from how well you present your plans for the study, adhere to the proposal format, and incorporate a coherent consideration of the tasks involved. Remember that this proposal will serve as the guide for the entire group, so all group members should agree on the approach and methods.
II. Group Report (Due Mar 29)
See the report slides for more.
Instructions: Still working in groups, students will construct and carry out a case study in which they observe the writing of professional accountants. The final product of this project will be a formal report of the case study findings. This report should be 4-6 pages in length.
After you gain approval for your proposal, research the problem and produce a collaboratively written report that incorporates both graphic and textual elements. In a professional, polished format, your report should present coherently your problem, research, and conclusions, and should argue persuasively for your recommendations.
Included Elements:
- Transmittal Document (memo)
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations (optional, only if you have illustrations)
- Summary
- Introduction
- Body of Report
- Conclusion
- Appendices
- Notes
- Bibliography
Assessment: Your grade on this assignment derives, not from application of advanced accounting principles, but from demonstration of advanced writing skills (including research, document design, presentation, and argumentation skills).
III. Group Presentation (see schedule)
Instructions: As a group--and using media such as PowerPoint, overhead projection, or other visual aids--persuasively present your project to the class (within strict time limits). Also, immediately following your presentation, conduct a question and answer session with your colleagues. Optional: As part of your visual presentation, your group may develop a website and either refer to it in your presentation, or navigate your site as part of your presentation.
Assessment: You will receive assessment details later.
IV. Individual Evaluation (Due April 17)
Instructions: As the final step in your project, submit a confidential memo to the instructor that summarizes your own contributions to the work, the collaborative methods of the group, and a thorough appraisal of the work of the group and of each of the group members (including yourself). You must be honest, but the language of such a sensitive document is crucial. Since you will be evaluating your colleagues as well as yourself, strive to convey accurate and thorough information while maintaining sensitivity of expression. (Note: The instructor will maintain the complete confidentiality of these memos.)
Assessment: Your individual grade on this assignment will derive from the quality of your performance as part of a collaborative group--as evident in the group presentation, as evaluated in your own memo, and as tempered by the combined evaluative remarks of your teammates.