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TO: Debbie Oesch-Minor 

FROM: Dana Reed, W231 12:00 Tuesday/Thursday #39612

DATE: 5, December 2021 

SUBJECT: Reflecting on the Growth of Document Design, Research, Writing, and Collaboration Skills Through the Creation of a Recommendation Report for Down Syndrome Indiana. 

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Throughout Project 2, I have effectively implemented the writing skills learned in class W231. This memo will show how my sections of the recommendation report, created for Down Syndrome Indiana, are evidence of my ability to create well-designed documents, gather and apply information, adapt my writing to different purposes, and work effectively with a team. It will also explain my use of excel during the project which is a skill that is continuously used outside of the classroom. 

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Main Points of the Following Memo

• Producing well-designed documents tailored to my client’s needs

• Gathering, evaluating, and applying the information in the review of literature

• Adapting my writing for different purposes from the review of literature to analysis

• Collaborating with a team to produce the analysis section

• Applying W231 skills outside of the classroom

 

Goal 1: Produce Accessible and Well-Designed Documents

One course goal that was demonstrated in the executive summary portion of the report was producing an accessible and well-designed document. However, I did not meet this course goal in my first draft of the executive summary and revised it after the peer review session. 

 

I learned that putting the condensed list of recommendations in the order it was in the recommendation section of our report would help the client easily find a section they want to read. I also added a paragraph that summarized the basic idea and different sections of our report to serve as a kind of map for our client. 

 

This idea was explained in the executive summary portion of Oesch-Minor’s Wix website “This list should match the Recommendation section of your report in content, tone, and order with one difference: the summary list is much more concise”. My revisions added synchronicity to the report and made it easier for my client to transition between sections written by different people. 

 

Before Revision: Executive Summary

Condensed Recommendations:

• Increase usage of visuals relating directly to 

• Utilize Instagram Carousels to better mix content

• Include hashtags in captions to reach a wider audience

• Frequently post Instagram Stories 

• Improve uniformity between social media platforms

• Incorporate a posting schedule into monthly planning

• Partner with local Universities and High Schools 

 

After Revision: Executive Summary

Our recommendations are focused around increasing emotional response through visuals and best utilizing multiple Instagram tools. The reasoning for these recommendations can be found through the multiple sections of this recommendation report which include: methodology, analysis, recommendations, review of literature, and appendices. 

 

Condensed Recommendations:

• Increase the use of visuals to enhance emotional connection with an audience

• Utilize Instagram stories to create dynamic content which increases interest

• Create authentic Instagram stories to improve credibility and audience attitude

• Use photo carousels to provide a mix of content and increase engagement

• Incorporate specific hashtags to reach a wider audience 

 

Goal 2:  Gather, Evaluate, Interpret, and Apply Information 

Another course goal that can be seen in my review of literature is effectively applying information from research. While writing this portion of the report, I had to focus on interpreting information from two different sources and applying them to support a similar claim. 

 

The review of literature paragraphs were organized using the ICE method, which was explained in the W231 Literature Review Synthesis PowerPoint. During this explanation, Oesch-Minor says “after quoting two sources, be sure to explain how the quotes not only relate to your topic sentence but also how the quotes relate to each other”. Being able to show that multiple experts have come to a similar conclusion, better legitimizes a point you make. 

 

In the review of literature, I talked about how to build credibility on social media. To show how the quotes relate to each other, the paragraph ends by saying “both written works support the idea that credibility and transparency online can support an organization’s values which increases loyalty from both the people who are using the service and those who help make the service possible”. 

 

The first quote in the paragraph was about how authenticity builds an organization’s credibility by showing an organization’s core purpose. The second quote was connected to the first by explaining that volunteers who have a clear idea of an organization’s purpose are more committed to their work. 

 

Goal 3: Adapt Writing to Different Situations, Audiences, and Purposes

I demonstrated the course goal of adapting writing based on different purposes by transferring information from the review of literature to the analysis portion of the recommendation report. 

 

A review of literature has an academic tone and simply shares information while an “analysis does more than share information; the analysis critically examines what this information means to your client”(Oesch-minor). The purpose of my writing had changed and therefore I had to change to a you-attitude-based writing style to create a persuasive argument. Unlike the review of literature, the analysis places emphasis on reader benefits as they were needed to explain how my research aligned with the client's goals. 

 

When I had first written my analysis portion, I had not yet learned how to best tailor my writing to benefit my client and the importance of third-wave research. After being reviewed by Oesch-Minor, I added specific pictures and explanations for my clients so they could see how other non-profit organizations were using social media. 

 

After Revision: The Paragraphs added to Analysis Section

IUPUI Dance Marathon does a great job of utilizing stories to provide information and show their events. Jagathon is their big event and they post updates to their story all throughout the night. They incorporate videos, pictures, and polls into their stories to increase interaction and make the viewers really feel like they are there experiencing Jagathon.

 

Another feature of Instagram stories is the ability to make them into a highlight which will be featured on your Instagram page right underneath your bio. This makes it so the story stays longer than 24 hours and anybody can watch the story as many times as they would like. This is also a great way to share information about your organization and make it easily accessible for anybody who comes to your Instagram page. IUPUI Dance Marathon uses highlights to show how to register for their events,  share FAQs, and show each of their events from past years. 

 

Goal 4: Collaborate Effectively in a Working Team

Additionally, while writing the analysis portion of the report I worked on the course goal of collaborating effectively in a team. I worked on the increasing Instagram outreach portion of the analysis with my team member Laureen. 

The reason why we were able to smoothly transition from topics is that we had a recommendation-driven organization that “looks at the topics that inform a recommendation and allow those sections to shape the organization. The research is shared as it relates to each point” (Oesch-Minor). We each decided on which feature of Instagram we wanted to recommend to our client and from that did our own research. This stopped us from overlapping research and allowed us to give very in-depth recommendations for the specific app, Instagram, that our client was interested in. 

 

One of my portions includes “The tools available to Instagram users allow them to create more dynamic content which is more appealing to users. Instagram stories can be used to not only reach a large number of people but improve customer attitudes and engage the audience”. This has the same goal as Laureen’s portion which included “Encouraging your followers to also utilize the hashtags in their posts is a great way for DSI to get their name associated with events and actions while spreading awareness. Utilizing hashtags effectively is an excellent technique to increase outreach and help raise awareness”. 

I had written about Instagram stories while Laureen researched the effectiveness of carousels and hashtags. However, we both made sure to connect our research to the same goal of increasing outreach and improving audience engagement. 

 

Application of W231 Skills Outside the Classroom

One skill that was practiced during this experience was the ability to create graphs and charts easily. I created all the charts in our report to ensure coherence in appearance. I got familiar with excel charts and was able to change the style and colors to my liking. This is a skill I will be able to use a lot in my future research reports. Getting more comfortable with excel is also a skill that a lot of employers look for and is something that I will continue to work on. 

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Work Cited

Oesch-Minor, Debbie, and Ian Carson. “IUPUI W231: Building Your Team Recommendation Report Website .” W231reporttemplate, 2018, https://oeschminor.wixsite.com/w231reporttemplate.