Please refer to the Library Resources Section: Hoovers Online Mintel Global Market Mintel Trends Plunkett Research 2.

© 2010 FIDM/ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

Company Report “Rough Draft” Rubric Writing Assignment

(10 points)

INCLUDES ALL REQUIRED SECTIONS (2.5 POINTS)

Rough draft follows guidelines for organization and includes all required sections, including: • Company Background & Current Stage in Growth Lifecycle • Detailed Financial Information — Microeconomics • Industry Landscape, Trends and Competitors — Macroeconomics • Recent Developments, Analyst Opinions and Wall Street Consensus • Recommendations • Works Cited

ORGANIZATION & CONTENT (2.5 POINTS)

Paragraphs in all sections include: • A focused topic sentence with an overview of the main idea for the entire paragraph and

its connection to thesis • Approximately 15 sentences of supporting details which include quotes, facts, graphics or

expert opinions • Writers’ insights and opinions are provided, which synthesize and analyze researched

quantitative, qualitative and responsive information, and connect to the thesis • Points and material within each paragraph are logically organized. Consider time order,

cause and effect, reasons, a range of opinions, strengths vs. weaknesses, or distinct categories of frameworks or sources.

SOURCE INTEGRATION, MLA FORMATS & WORKS CITED (2.5 POINTS)

• Sources are integrated effectively establishing authority, introducing and qualifying each source quoted in paragraphs

• In-text documentation follows MLA formats • Works Cited page follows MLA formats

GRAMMAR & MECHANICS (2.5 POINTS) • Writing follows standards for effective business writing, avoiding first person and errors

in sentence skills, mechanics, grammar and spelling

TOTAL POINTS: __________________

© 2010 FIDM/ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

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MODULE #7 SCREENCAST TRANSCRIPT Writing a Rough Draft, Integrating Quotes Effectively

& Formulating Your Group’s Recommendation

Reflect for a moment on your previous Outline & Sources Integration Assignment. It was highly structured and specific in its organization and focus of supporting points and sub-points. Depending on how successful you were in completing this stage of our assignment, the creation of your rough draft should be logical and rewarding. Many students and writers attempt to write full paragraphs and reports before they have outlined and formulated specific topics and points. Not so for you as you’ve already crafted a detailed and focused outline with proposed quotes and sources that are relevant and specific.

Writing a Rough Draft By creating a detailed outline with proposed quotes and sources for each point, you can begin to craft paragraphs for each section of your report.

• Each paragraph should begin with a focused topic sentence which gives an overview of the main idea for the entire paragraph and its connection to your thesis.

• Following this topic sentence, each paragraph should supply approximately 15 sentences of supporting details which include quotes, facts, graphics or expert opinions that use in-text documentation in MLA formats.

• Equally important, in each paragraph you must supply your own insights and opinion which synthesize and analyze this factual information and connect them to the thesis. In this way, you will avoid a copy-and-paste report – a common mistake in report writing in which the writer merely assembles a variety of quotes, with or without focus, fails to analyze or synthesize them and offers no insights or opinion.

Also, you must strive to organize your points and material within each paragraph. Consider time order, cause and effect, reasons, a range of opinions, strengths vs. weaknesses, or distinct categories of frameworks or sources. In addition, you must establish authority, introduce and qualify each source from which you quote in your paragraphs.

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Establish Authority & Qualify Sources In addition, you must establish authority. Introduce and qualify each source from which you quote in your paragraphs. Consider this quote:

“Apple has unlimited growth potential, not only in sales of its innovative products, but also its business model of offering a lucrative platform and charging suppliers and providers of content and applications – a brilliant source of ongoing revenue and profits.” (Buffett 213)

Who is Warren Buffett? Why does his opinion matter? Now look at this example of qualifying and introducing an expert’s opinion or qualitative quote:

World-renowned equity expert and billionaire Warren Buffet believes, “Apple has unlimited growth potential, not only in sales of its innovative products, but also its business model of offering a lucrative platform and charging suppliers and providers of content and applications – a brilliant source of ongoing revenue and profits.”

Notice that I have qualified and introduced who Warren Buffett is and why his opinion is of value. Also, I documented the quote in the introductory material of the sentence rather than at the end in parenthesis. As with every quote I use, I would then ensure that I have a Works Cited page entry that begins with Buffett, Warren and supplies the full information for the source of this quote. An example of qualifying, introducing and integrating statistics, facts or quantitative quotes:

According to Apple’s Annual Report, “revenues have increased by 30% for the quarter ending December, 2009” (23).

Again, I have documented the statistics in the introductory material of the sentence rather than at the end in parenthesis. However, I have included the page number in parenthesis at the end of the sentence. I also need to confirm that I have a Works Cited page entry that begins with “Annual Report – Apple” and supplies the full information for the source of this quote. If I have already introduced and qualified the source earlier in the report, I would document the quote in parenthesis at the end of the sentence:

“Revenues have increased by 30% for the quarter ending December, 2009” (“Annual Report – Apple” 23).

Notice where and how quotation marks, periods and parentheses are specifically used and placed.

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Use Correct Documentation Again refer to your book and the online sources previously identified to compare your writing and formats to the MLA models for integration of quotes and sources, in-text documentation and Work Cited formats. In addition, be sure to follow models in your book and online for correctly citing and using in-text documentation for any images, charts or graphs you use. As with quotes, facts or statistics which use words or numbers, the in-text documentation you use for images, charts and graphs should track back directly to a specific Works Cited entry.

Avoid First-person Writing Finally, avoid the use of “I” or “we” when writing sentences in each paragraph which supply your analysis, synthesis, opinion and insights. An example using first-person writing:

I think Apple’s a great company and even though they don’t give any dividends, I still would buy the stock!

By avoiding first person, the revised sentence below must synthesize and provide valid reasons for opinions:

Even though Apple does not pay dividends to its shareholders, its stock price has increased significantly during the last decade, offering massive profits to those who have held shares for the long-term.

Refer to your completed Outline & Sources Integration assignment from our previous module.

• The 4 sections of your report should have 3 subpoints each • In other words, you should supply 12 paragraphs for the body of your report. (4

sections with 3 paragraphs each.) Each paragraph should include:

• A focused topic sentence, which gives an overview of the main of the entire paragraph and its connection to your thesis

• Approximately 15 sentences of supporting details, which include quotes, facts, graphics or expert opinions that use in-text documentation in MLA formats.

• Your own insights and opinion, which synthesize and analyze this factual information and connect them to the thesis.

Group Recommendation Once all your group members have completed these body paragraphs, you are ready to write your own recommendation section which synthesizes all the frameworks, insights, facts, details, quotes and opinions from the previous 4 sections and formulates your group’s collective opinion about the company’s stock – buy, sell or hold.

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You may find that this section is one long paragraph or a series of shorter paragraphs, but your group should discuss the logic and organization of this section. Remember the purpose of the Group Recommendation section: Synthesize the research and comment on whether your group would recommend investing in this company. Give specific reasons for your opinions. BUY / SELL / HOLD You may discover there are advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, 3-5 reasons, or 3-5 frameworks that seem logical as separate paragraphs which highlight each distinct point you are making. Regardless of how you organize this crucial section of your report, you must provide 1 or more substantial paragraphs with focused topic sentences, compelling evidence and support, valuable synthesis, insights and analysis and an articulate recommendation. Once you have completed all the required sections for your rough draft, refer to the Rough Draft Rubric for your Company Report and be sure you have proofread and revised all sections before submitting it for my evaluation. Required Sections for Rough Draft:

• Company Background & Current Stage in Growth Lifecycle • Detailed Financial Information — Microeconomics • Industry Landscape, Trends and Competitors — Macroeconomics • Recent Developments, Analyst Opinions and Wall Street Consensus • Group’s Recommendation • Updated Works Cited

Questions to Ask Does your rough draft:

• Include all required sections? • Supply sufficient organization & content? • Effectively integrate sources, MLA formats and include your updated works

cited? • Follow standards for grammar & mechanics?

Make sure you communicate regularly with your group members, especially for the group recommendation section. Hopefully, you have created a masterpiece with your rough draft. All that remains is selecting an appropriate frame which we will construct and add during our next module in preparation for submitting your final draft in the future.