Recommendation report example in technical writing

Recommendation Report - 4 Part Discussion Question

Part 1:

"The Recommendation Report" Please respond to the following:

When writing a recommendation report, discuss when you know you have written enough.
Discuss the writer’s ethical obligations in general when writing recommendation reports.
Part 2:

In a separate post, follow up in a substantive post of up to 150 words to one of your fellow students. Support your positions with explanations and/or sources, as appropriate, but do not quote. (choose one: a, b, or c)

a.

When writing a recommendation report, discuss when you know you have written enough.

When writing a recommendation report you need to include the following sections:

Introduction - explains the intent and defines choices
Recommendation - summarizes the recommendation
Scope - includes more detail about criteria for recommendation
Discussion - Analysis of each element of criteria
Appendix - may or may not be included in the report. Contains supporting documents for recommendation.
Once each section has been addressed in detail then you have written enough. The intention is to convey the recommendation adequately such that all questions the reader may have are answered in the report. This allows the person or board making the decision to be fully informed.

Discuss the writer’s ethical obligations in general when writing recommendation reports.

The writer's ethical obligations include maintaining a high level of integrity such that the report contains the most accurate information possible. The writer should base his/her recommendation on the facts. Documentation to support the criteria for recommendation should be included so that the reader is given more than just an opinion about the product being considered.

References:

Smith-Worthington, Darlene. Technical Writing for Success, 3rd Edition. Cengage Learning, 2011. [Strayer University Bookshelf].
b.

Good afternoon class,

I feel that you have written enough for a recommendation report when a majority of the potential paths for solution have mentioned. I don’t feel that too much detail needs to go into each recommendation since every problem is different and will have many different possible solutions and paths to get there. The report should be detailed, but not overly detailed as to confuse the reader.

The writer of a recommendation report should consider all possible paths of solution for the topic of which they are writing, but they need to analyze each path ethically. For example, getting rich. There are a lot of options for achieving this goal like working hard, or earning a degree, but there are also wrong paths as well, like robbing a bank, or stealing from the elderly. It is up to the writer to consider what to include and whether or not it is ethically right or wrong.

Regards,

Walter Caskey

c.

When writing a recommendation report, discuss when you know you have written enough.
A recommendation report needs to have the following sections.

An introduction - You need to begin on what or whom the recommendation is about. It gives purpose or meaning to the report. Example - "I like going to the museum."

Recommendation - summarize the criteria for the recommendation. Example - "I recommend that you visit the museum"

Scope - Establish the context of the recommendation. Example - "The museum is free on Sundays. The best exhibits are ancient Egyptian and Geek art."

Discussion - Give details about the topic. Example - "The mummy's casket has paintings in remarkable detail."

Compare and contrast discussion - This is where you establish your standards. What is good one person might not be good to another. Example - "Photos of the mummy's casket do not do it justice. It is truly wonder to behold in person."

Appendix - This may or may not be part of the report. Some writers may choose to include additional documents."

Discuss the writer’s ethical obligations in general when writing recommendation reports.
The writer has the ethical obligation to be honest when writing the report. When including facts, it is important to double check those facts. If the information is wrong, it reflects poorly on both the writer and recommendation.

Part 3:

"Writing Recommendation Reports" Please respond to the following:

Discuss some situations when it would be appropriate for a writer to seek assistance writing a recommendation, and why it might be useful to have agreement on the criteria being used for the recommendation.
Assess the various parts of the recommendation report and determine the most challenging part of the report to write. Provide your reason(s).
Part 4:

In a separate post, follow up in a substantive post of up to 150 words to one of your fellow students. Support your positions with explanations and/or sources, as appropriate, but do not quote. (choose one: a or b)

a.

Discuss some situations when it would be appropriate for a writer to seek assistance writing a recommendation, and why it might be useful to have agreement on the criteria being used for the recommendation.

When faced with evaluating software/hardware recommendations that a writer is unfamiliar with, he/she may need to seek assistance writing a recommendation. There are people who are very familiar with certain technology products and to gain their insight could truly assist the writer. If the writer chooses to become more informed about the item that he/she is recommending then agreement with shareholders will be easier to attain. For example, if adding VMware to the current infrastructure is being considered then the writer could contact a VMware representative and then become educated about the ESXi OS and the application itself. The professional opinion could then be included in the recommendation section and cited in the Appendix. In order to gain the most support you have to consider your audience and provide all the information they will need to make the best decision for the company.

Assess the various parts of the recommendation report and determine the most challenging part of the report to write. Provide your reason(s).

The recommendation report includes an introduction, summary of the recommendation, the scope, discussion of the criteria, and an appendix. The most challenging part of the report to write would be the discussion because in this section the analysis for each element of criteria must be conveyed. Additionally, included is a conclusion which communicates the end result of the comparison. This section requires the most thought as it is the cumulative result drawn from the information in the previous sections.

References:

Smith-Worthington, Darlene. Technical Writing for Success, 3rd Edition. Cengage Learning, 2011. [Strayer University Bookshelf].
b.

Good afternoon class,

I feel that a writer may want to seek assistance in writing on a particular topic that they may only have knowledge of because of research and not hands on experience. For example, finding jobs as an oil rigger and if it’s a job worth the hard work. There are plenty of resources available on the topic, but to get to know the ins and out of the job, the writer may want to incorporate real life experiences from an oil rig worker. They can really get their hands dirty and understand what goes into the job outside of what is mentioned in a clean book or internet article. This will give the recommendation report more credibility and depth.

I think that the hardest part of writing a recommendation report is finding what information to include and what to omit. I think this is difficult since there are many various ways of finding a solution to a problem, but not all of them are as important as the others. I feel as if I would spend a lot of time researching ways to solve a problem, but also spend a lot of time on figuring out what to include in the final report.