ENGLISH 112: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Formal Report and Presentation

Task
Your formal report project is actually composed of two parts: a formal business
report and a formal oral presentation. The assignment should come as no
surprise since it was introduced in the course policy statement as objectives two
and three. The pertinent sections of the policy statement are quoted below:

2. Students will write a research report of approximately 1500 words on a

business or career-related subject for which they will do the following:
• select pertinent materials;
• develop a thesis and outline;
• organize the main idea and supporting details into clear,
coherent paragraphs;
• present the material in an orderly, logical manner with an
introduction, discussion, and conclusion;
• document outside sources appropriately; and
• follow the conventions of FORMAL WRITTEN ENGLISH.

3. Students will gather, evaluate and organize information for at least one
oral presentation in which they do the following:
• formulate the presentation with regard for the, knowledge and
values of the audience;
use complementary materials (visuals, handouts, PowerPoint, etc.) when
appropriate;
maintain at least occasional eye contact with the audience; and
speak from notes only.

In the past, some students have chosen to write about career options, including
required skills, degrees, and experience, as well as employment outlook,
locations, salaries, and potential for advancement. Other students have chosen
to develop business plans for businesses that they hope to open in the future.
Remember that you must choose a topic that is related to business and relevant
to you and your future goals. I do not want this to be just another assignment
that is a waste of your time and of no interest to you beyond this course.

Format
This is NOT another English 110 or any other college essay/report; therefore
your finished product should not look like an “school” report.

Your final report and oral presentation must adhere to the formats outlined by
Brantley and Miller in Chapters 11 and 10, respectively. All primary and
secondary sources must be documented correctly using either the MLA or APA
format. Please note that while Brantley and Miller imply that on-the-job
documentation is different than academic documentation, you must always err on
the side of caution: i.e., when in doubt DOCUMENT. Plagiarism in an academic
setting may result in failure, but plagiarism on the job may result in termination.
My plagiarism policy, included in the policy statement, is

This course will be adhering to the college's plagiarism policy—both the

definitions and the penalties—please see your student handbook for specifics. If
you are uncertain about how to give credit to the original author, please see me.

Suggestions
The fifteen hundred words is a minimum, and you should be much more
concerned with quality than with length. Aim for both a high quality document
and presentation, and length will take care of itself. If you want to develop a
business plan, follow the format suggested by the Small Business Administration,
a copy of which can be found on their website (sba.gov),, and call me for specific
guidelines and help.