Research Project

ENG 304:
Business Communication

Fall 2008
North Carolina Wesleyan College
Dr. Stubblefield

RESEARCH PROJECT ASSIGNMENT

List of Companies Already Claimed (updated 3/29)

Objectives:
This assignment is designed to improve students’ abilities to:
. •conduct meaningful, practical research regarding a specific issue. 
. •produce clear, persuasive written reports based on well-documented evidence. 
. •prepare and conduct professional-quality presentations. 

Method:
Base your report on Prompt #7 (“Face-off: Informational report comparing and contrasting two companies in the same industry”) on p. 457 of the textbook. Although your report must follow the guidelines explained there, you are not limited to choosing from the companies listed there. You may choose any two companies that compete in the same industry. If you’re unsure about which companies you’d like to work on, a good place to start is Morningstar.com Library Edition. The opening screen will look like this:

For a list of companies by industry, click on the “Industries” link near the bottom of the screen in the center. This will take you to a large alphabetized list of industries (such as “Apparel Makers” and “Computer Equipment”), and when you click on one you’ll see many companies that compete in that industry. This will make it easy to choose two companies in the same industry for your project.

No more than one student may work on the same companies. Topics are due March 24, 2007, and the first student to claim a set of companies will be the only one allowed to report on those organizations.

Present the results of your research in a formal informational report of at least 2,500 words and in a fifteen-minute formal presentation. The report and presentation must include visual aids.

Your report must include information from at least two primary sources and seven secondary sources. Mergent Online, Morningstar.com, and ABI-Inform will be especially useful databases in compiling your research. These databases are available through the NC Wesleyan Library at http://annex.ncwc.edu/library/databases/dbbusiness.htm. Remote access to these databases is available via EZ Proxy. Contact the library at 985-5350 if you have trouble with off-campus access to these databases.

Requirements for Written Report:
Chapters 10, 11 and 12 of Excellence in Business Communication will be especially helpful in preparing this assignment. At a minimum, each report should include the following items:

. •Title Page 
. •Letter of Transmittal 
. •Table of Contents 
. •Executive Summary 
. •Introduction 
. •Analysis  
. •Conclusions 
. •Works Cited       

Throughout the report, use APA documentation to cite all sources (including interviews and other personal communications). Appendix B, “Documentation of Report Sources,” in the textbook will be helpful in formatting citations within the report and on the Works Cited page.

Due Dates:

Mar 24, 2007 Report Topic due – email to me by 5:00 p.m. No topic in my inbox by
        5:00 = F on project!

Mar 31, 2007 Report Work Plan due
Apr 4, 2007        Report Outline due
Apr 7, 2007        Preliminary Report Materials due
Apr 9, 2007        Complete Draft of Report due
Apr 21, 2007 Report Presentations
Apr 23, 2007 Report Presentations

Apr 25, 2007 Final Reports Due at beginning of Final Exam period; Report
                            Presentations will conclude on this day

You must attend ALL PRESENTATIONS to receive credit for yours.

Grading Criteria:
I will use the following criteria to evaluate each written report:

Content (50%)
. •Does the report contain all required elements? 
. •Is the report at least 2,500 words in length? 
. •Does the report fully address the assigned topic? 
. •Does the report provide sufficient evidence to support its claims? 

Organization (30%)
. •Are all parts of the report in the proper order? 
. •Are there smooth, logical transitions among all parts? 
. •Are all paragraphs and sections within the report coherent and logically organized? 

Style and Mechanics (20%)
. •Is the report written in formal language (that is, free of slang, contractions, clichés, etc.)? 
. •Is the report completely free of misspelled words and typos? 
. •Is the report completely free of errors in grammar and punctuation? 
. •Does the report contain correctly formatted citations in APA style? 
. •Is the letter of transmittal signed? 
. •Is the entire document typed in black ink and properly formatted according to the example provided in the textbook?