WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4:  RESEARCH-BASED PERSUASIVE REPORT People in business and government write formal reports for many different purposes: proposing, problem solving, recommending, informing, explaining, describing, selling, analyzing, defending, protecting, reviewing. For this class, write a persuasive report for decision and implementation. That is, show that a problem exists and propose a solution to the problem; you might suggest a change in policy. Assume the audience to be a decision maker who is your immediate supervisor or one level higher. The workplace can be a fictional one, not your actual employer. Choose a topic that requires research: printed books and articles or articles from databases and websites, or possibly in-house documents (consult with me if you plan to use in-house documents). The assignment gives you practice in gathering information, taking notes, planning and focusing a large formal report for an intended audience, writing and revising, and documenting sources. This assignment also meets the objectives of several UMUC Core Learning Areas as well as all the objectives of WRTG 394. UMUC CORE LEARNING AREAS WRTG 394 OBJECTIVES Effective Communication Demonstrate competence in effective writing: Meet the needs of readers Accomplish the writer's purpose Adequately cover the subject Use expected conventions of format and organization Demonstrate credible reasoning and evidence Satisfy standards of style and grammatical correctness After completing this course, you should be able to: plan, organize, and write a variety of workplace documents, including business letters, memos, résumés, and reports revise documents to produce a clear, concise style appropriate to audience, context, purpose, and writer's role demonstrate correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics, and apply the conventions of business writing produce professional-looking business letters, memos, reports, and other documents, following standard formats collect, select, analyze, interpret, and organize data, and use it appropriately in business communications, including a long formal report integrate visuals, headings, and other graphics into business communications Information Literacy/Research Competence Demonstrate competence in information literacy standards: Identify an information need Articulate questions Gain access to a variety of relevant resources evaluate and organize the information found integrate the information into an existing body of knowledge use information effectively Critical Thinking Demonstrate the use of analytical skills and reflective processing of information Determine the nature and extent of the information needed Evaluate information and its sources critically Incorporate information into one's knowledge base Support positions with credible reasoning and evidence Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose Use information ethically and legally The assignment schedule guides your progress.

1. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4: RESEARCH-BASED
PERSUASIVE REPORT
People in business and government write formal reports for
many different purposes: proposing, problem solving,
recommending, informing, explaining, describing, selling,
analyzing, defending, protecting, reviewing. For this class,
write a persuasive report for decision and implementation. That
is, show that a problem exists and propose a solution to the
problem; you might suggest a change in policy. Assume the
audience to be a decision maker who is your immediate
supervisor or one level higher. The workplace can be a fictional
one, not your actual employer. Choose a topic that requires
research: printed books and articles or articles from databases
and websites, or possibly in-house documents (consult with me
if you plan to use in-house documents).
The assignment gives you practice in gathering information,
taking notes, planning and focusing a large formal report for an
intended audience, writing and revising, and documenting
sources.
This assignment also meets the objectives of several UMUC
Core Learning Areas as well as all the objectives of WRTG 394.
UMUC CORE
LEARNING AREAS
WRTG 394 OBJECTIVES
Effective Communication
Demonstrate competence in effective writing:
Meet the needs of readers
Accomplish the writer's purpose
Adequately cover the subject
Use expected conventions of format and organization
Demonstrate credible reasoning and evidence
Satisfy standards of style and grammatical correctness
After completing this course, you should be able to:
plan, organize, and write a variety of workplace documents,

2. including business letters, memos, résumés, and reports
revise documents to produce a clear, concise style appropriate
to audience, context, purpose, and writer's role
demonstrate correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
mechanics, and apply the conventions of business writing
produce professional-looking business letters, memos, reports,
and other documents, following standard formats
collect, select, analyze, interpret, and organize data, and use it
appropriately in business communications, including a long
formal report
integrate visuals, headings, and other graphics into business
communications
Information Literacy/Research Competence
Demonstrate competence in information literacy standards:
Identify an information need
Articulate questions
Gain access to a variety of relevant resources
evaluate and organize the information found
integrate the information into an existing body of knowledge
use information effectively
Critical Thinking
Demonstrate the use of analytical skills and reflective
processing of information
Determine the nature and extent of the information needed
Evaluate information and its sources critically
Incorporate information into one's knowledge base
Support positions with credible reasoning and evidence
Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
Use information ethically and legally
The assignment schedule guides your progress from the
beginning of the semester and sets deadlines.
Your report should contain the following parts:
Memo or letter of transmittal (one page; can be single-spaced or
double-spaced)
Title page
Table of contents

3. Abstract (also called executive summary): one page; can be
single-spaced or double-spaced. The length of an abstract varies
in different workplaces; in this class I'm asking for a one-page
mini-version of the entire report.
Body, with separate introduction and discussion; double-spaced.
In most workplaces, the report is single-spaced; I'm asking that
it be double-spaced because I have to read a lot of them in a
short time.
List of references in APA style
Appendixes (if appropriate)
Minimum Requirements
2200-3000 words, inclusive of all sections of the report except
appebdices; do not include the audience profile and rough draft
review report in the word count.
Use at least five published or Internet sources; at least one must
be from a peer-reviewed journal (more is better); at least one
found by the UMUC library database (one peer-reviewed source
from the UMUC database can meet both of these minimum
requirements).
Quote sparingly; paraphrase and summarize frequently.
Do not plagiarize--Cite in-text sources precisely and do not
half-copy.
In addition, on a separate page of your report, complete the
Audience Profile (below). (I’m sure no workplace requires an
audience profile; this is a learning tool specific to this class.
But if you ever write a workplace report, this is a good tool to
keep in mind as you write.)
Please name the file LastnameWA4, using your own last name;
for example, name the file ObamaWA4 if your name is Barak
Obama.
AUDIENCE PROFILE
INSTRUCTIONS:
For the imagined audience of your researched persuasive report,
write full explanations/commentary for each item. In addition to
supplying the information for each item, consider the
implications of your perceptions of your readers. Include as part

4. of your commentary how you plan to use your perceptions of
your readers in planning and writing the report. Your textbook
author and the Purdue OWL sections on professional writing
continually remind you of the need to tailor the content and tone
of a document to the intended audience.
Turn in this completed profile form as part of Writing
Assignment 4—not a separate file.
Your audience profile will be graded according to how
thoroughly you respond to the following items.
I. AUDIENCE IDENTITY AND NEEDS
Primary Reader(s) (name, title)
Secondary Reader(s) (name, title)
Relationship (client, employee, other)
Intended use/result of document
Barriers to understanding or acceptance?
Readers' prior knowledge of topic (know/do not know
background; experts, novices, other)
Additional information needed
Possible questions/objections reader(s) will have
Audience's attitude toward topic (indifferent, skeptical, other)
Audience's probable objections (cost, time, other)
Audience's probable attitude toward this writer (intimidated,
hostile, receptive, other)
Organizational climate (receptive, repressive, creative, other)
Persons most affected by this document
Audience temperament (cautious, impatient, other)
Probable reaction to the document (resistance, approval, anger,
other)
Risk of alienating anyone
II. AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE DOCUMENT
Reason document originated (audience request, legal
requirement, other)
Acceptable length, amount of detail (comprehensive, concise,
other)
Why this material is important to this audience (interpretations,
costs, conclusions, other)

5. Most useful organization pattern (problem-solution, proposal,
other)
Appropriate tone (businesslike, apologetic, enthusiastic, other)
Intended effect on this audience (win support, change behavior,
other)
Source: Modified from John Lannon (1996),
Technical Writing
, 7th ed. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
GRADING CRITERIA: RESEARCH-BASED PERSUASIVE
REPORT
CONTENT
1. Meets minimum requirements (see assignment instructions)
2. Shows skillful application of persuasive strategies
Audience is appealed to appropriately
Argument is developed well; relevant evidence supports
your claims
Image of credibility is established
Objections are anticipated and responded to
ORGANIZATION AND COHERENCE
3. Each component contains required (see instructions) and
appropriate material; executive summary (one page) is a mini-
version of the entire report
4. Purpose of each section is clear and supported well
5. Organization is clear
Follows problem-solution, proposal, or recommendation-
support pattern, etc.
Separate ideas in separate paragraphs
Not organized serially by source
Contains useful headings
6. There are helpful transitions between and within paragraphs
PARAGRAPHS
7. Each paragraph has a clear topic sentence stating the main
point and focusing the material
8. Each paragraph fully supports its topic sentence with very
specific material appropriate for your purpose and audience:
details, examples, reasons and explanations, evidence

6. SENTENCE STRUCTURE
9. Sentences are well-written: emphatic, condensed, varied in
structure, fluent
STYLE
10. Words are specific, precise, concrete, accurate; voice is
consistent and appropriate for audience
GRAPHICS IF APPROPRIATE
11. Graphics (if used) are designed well; data are relevant to
recommendations
SOURCES
12. Sources are handled well:
good selection of reliable material to support recommendation
few direct quotes, accurate paraphrasing and summarizing, no
plagiarizing
sources are correctly cited in APA style in the text of the report
correct bibliography format in APA style
GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, SPELLING, AND FORMAT
13. There are no errors
AUDIENCE PROFILE
14. Your audience profile will be graded according to how
thoroughly you respond to the topics and how well your report
reflects the audience analysis.
Research Prospectus
Topic: Orientations for New Employees
Reason: To educate and prepare new employees on safety,
protocols, benefits, work, rules and procedures in the work
place.
Why: New employees without an orientation come into the
workplace unprepared for the work. Orientations can be used to
show what the employee can expect from the company. To show

7. the culture of the company. To show new employees what the
goals of the company are. Helps the employees hit the ground
running.
Thesis statement: New employee orientations should be
mandatory to prepare and educate new employees on procedures
and safety along with the expectations and goals of the
company.
Bibliography:
1.
Jauch, L. R., R. N. Osborn, and W. D. Terpening. "Research
Notes. GOAL CONGRUENCE AND EMPLOYEE
ORIENTATIONS: THE SUBSTITUTION EFFECT."
Academy of Management Journal
23.3 (1980): 544-50. Web. .
2.
Johnson, Dave. "You're Hired - Now This Is Our Culture."
BNP Media
. Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, n.d. Web. . A small article
in a training strategies section of a magazine explaining that
you must go in depth with new employee orientation.
3.
Parker, S. K., T. D. Wall, and P. R. Jackson. "That's Not My
Job: Developing Flexible Employee Work Orientation."
Academy of Management Journal
40.4 (1997): 899-929. Web. . This journal shows the benefits
for manufacturing companies to have orientations. Closely
relates to office buildings too with the concepts.
4.

8. Smith, Brandon. "Go Get Em."
Treponomics
. N.p., n.d. Web. . A Q&A from an expert on insight on how to
help new hires hit the ground running and what to include in an
orientation.
Memo – Request to do research
TO: Phillip Bawl, Division Chief, Center for Survey
Measurement, U.S. Census Bureau
FROM: Serena Jane, Secretary, Center for Survey Measurement,
U.S. Census Bureau
DATE: November 15
th
, 2015
SUBJECT: Request time away from regular duties to research a
solution to our new employee orientation problem.
Center for Survey Measurement is a large part of the U.S.
Census Bureau. We receive an average of fifteen new employees
every first of the month. As the secretary of this division, I
receive questions and concerns raised by these new employees
about how the Bureau is run, what benefits they are eligible for,
etc. I am requesting time off from my regular duties in order to
research how successful orientations are, and to show how
beneficial they would be to the new employees of our division.
The research I would like to conduct, is whether incorporating a
new employee orientation would be beneficial for not only our
organization, but for the new employees as well. I have found
that with the amount of people who come into our organization
monthly, we have not exactly guided them in the right direction
when starting. We really just have new employees show up on
their start date and show them their desk. Once they start they
spend more time figuring out benefits, their way around, the

9. work that is done here, etc. The time they spend researching this
information, cuts away time from the work they should be
doing. If we take three hours on their first day to teach and
show them these things, it would save hours of time they spend
on the clock versus doing their work.
My time away from duties will be limited and I will want to
start preparation and research immediately in order to gain
approval and incorporate the new orientation as soon as
possible. The reason I need to spend time away from my regular
work to research this idea to see what is the best way to
approach and prepare for this. What are the benefits for having
an orientation for new employees versus no orientation and
continuing what we have been doing? We want to make sure
this orientation is time efficient and informative. The more
research and preparation I do, the better I can present this
information to you and be ready to incorporate this
immediately, pending approval.
So far in my research I have found many scholarly articles
supporting orientations for new employees. In one of the
articles from the Academy of Management Journal called “Goal
Congruence and Employee Orientations: The Substitution
Effect” I have found that explaining the goals of our
organization will set standards and allow the employee to
understand job satisfaction. Industrial Safety and Hygiene News
has a small article called “You’re Hired – Now this is our
Culture” and it explains that orientation training must be more
than ‘lip service’. This is more of a do’s and don’ts when it
comes to orientation training and what is more effective.
Another scholarly article that has surfaced is one on the effects
of orientations in manufacturing companies. Although we are
not a manufacturing company, the structure of their orientation
is explained and seems quite effective in the article “That’s Not
My Job: Developing Flexible Employee Work Orientation”.
Lastly, there is a small question and answer in the journal,

10. Treponomics, from an expert in business. He gives insight on
how to help new hires hit the ground running and what you want
to include in an orientation to get that.
I have done quite a bit of research but there are still things that
need to be done and questions that need to be answered. My
next steps are to get sample power point slides rom other
businesses and their orientations to see what they include in the
orientation. What are their steps and what methods do they use
to really make their new hires understand their organization? Do
they show leadership and goals? Talk about health benefits? I
also want to see if I can find any statistics on the success on
company with orientations versus a company who just throws
their employees in to start work right away. I also want to
question some of our recently new additions to our organization
to see what their input is on being a new employee and their
hardships along the way. Having the insight from someone first
hand would be quite helpful to my research.
I would like your input and approval for me to start my research
officially as soon as possible. I am asking to meet with you
within the next week to answer any further questions you might
have in order for me to gain your approval. An orientation
would be beneficial to our division in the Census Bureau and to
our new staff. I look forward to hearing your response to my
research proposal.
Discussion Summary on Topic
We receive an average of 15 new employees the first of every
month. These new hires show up to their desk and have no idea
where to get supplies, how to go about applying for benefits, or
what specifically should be done with their time. I am
suggesting to my supervisor that new employees have a 2-3 hour
seminar on their first day to go over how the organization is
ran. As for the scholarly articles I am looking at, I am seeing
which ones suggest what to include and what not to include in
an orientation. I am getting sample slides from other company's

11. orientations to see what they go over. My point I am making is
that it would take less time to inform the new employees
through an orientations verses the hours they would spend
trying to figure it out themselves or who they should be talking
to. I am trying to find the most effective and efficient way to do
this orientation so that it does not waste time and it covers all
the "need-to-know" items for the new employees.