Hurricane Progress Report
Over the course of this project our group turned in five progress report memos. This is the 3rd of those reports, the one written by me.
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DATE: October 20, 2006
TO: Ms. Ardi Alspach, Manager
FROM: Abigayle Bessman, Group Representative
SUBJECT: Project Update
Project Overview
On behalf of FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), our team will assess the preparedness of various cities in the United States in the event of a hurricane. After analyzing the current building requirements and procedures for each city, we will present city planners and other officials with recommendations to minimize damage and ensure public safety during future storms.
Work Completed
On Sunday, October 15, 2006, our group met and completed the remaining sections of our Proposal. We compiled a list of questions to ask during class the following day about the format and content of the Proposal. We also established due dates for each individual assignment based on when the information included in each assignment would be needed for the writing of the actual document.
On October 16th our group edited our Proposal during the in-class workshop. We found that our statistics needed to be cited in the Problem Section of the paper. The grammar throughout was corrected and we decided to rewrite the second paragraph of the Proposed Solution because it was unclear. The Qualifications also needed work; this was the only section written independently so the format was inconsistent. Abigayle was assigned to make the needed corrections for Wednesday, October 18th. The group decided not to meet Tuesday as planned. Instead each member planned to find two examples of a research document by class on Wednesday.
In class Wednesday, October 18th, our group participated in a peer critique of our Proposal. Changes that were suggested for our document included: describing the document type we intend to write, correcting grammatical errors in the Qualifications section, and citing the facts used in the problem section. The group critiquing our draft thought the paper flowed well, claims were well explained, the problem section included enough information, and the problem section was brief and concise. Ms. Alspach’s critique included grammatical changes and syntax suggestions. She indicated that we should use the active voice throughout the paper, clarify our solution by describing how we’ll determine the best features for hurricane preparedness in each city, add subheadings to the Work Plan Section, and change our Qualifications Section into the third person.
The group reviewed the example documents each member contributed and chose two as the most representative of the type of paper we plan to write. Scott was assigned to consider the suggested changes to our document. He revised the Proposal and emailed it to the group Thursday. Each group member reviewed the completed Proposal and emailed any additional changes to Scott, who completed the document and brought the final copies to class Friday.
During the Friday, October 20th class our group participated in the Genre Conventions Workshop. Using the example documents chosen we evaluated the conventions typical of research documents. We discussed work to be done over the weekend and agreed that Scott, Candace and Brendan’s individual assignments should be completed by Tuesday, October 23rd, when the group will meet. The following are the research paper conventions we found.
Format and Appearance
Visuals are limited to tables and graphs necessary to understand data. Headings are used at the beginning of each section as well as within sections of the document and are generally bold and numbered. The tone of research documents is informative, objective and scientific. Most of these documents are quite long, at least 5 pages.
Style
Research Papers are written in 1st or 3rd person. Most sections are in 3rd person, but 1st person is sometimes used when describing research done by the writer(s). Active and passive voices are both used, but active voice is more prevalent. The sentence length is generally long. Research documents are formal with the key features being dependent on the data related to the topic. Some emphasize graphs, while others use bulleted lists or research descriptions. Technical jargon is used a great deal, but terms specific to the topic are defined.
Organization and Lines of Argument
The sections of research papers include an Abstract and an Introduction followed by sections specific to the paper itself and ending with a Conclusion, Acknowledgements and References Cited. The organizing principle varies with the topic of the paper. All argument types can be used, but the emphasis in research documents is always evidence and data. The most common types of support used are experts and personal research.
Next Steps
During our next meeting, we will begin writing our commissioned document. Each group member will bring the research they have completed. We will assign additional writing to each member so that at least two sections of the document are completed by Monday, October 30. We will also review the individual assignments and discuss how the information in each of these impacts our research and our final document. We will also update the team calendar as necessary.
Conclusion
Our team has completed our proposal and chosen a format for our commissioned document. We have decided to meet to work together on the initial writing for the paper. Thus far, the group has remained on schedule and no significant changes to our schedule have been made, or seemed necessary. The ongoing research our group is doing, both together and independently, is allowing us to clarify solution strategies to problems with hurricane preparedness. The solutions put forth can increase the safety of the citizens of coastal cities.
Click here to view or download this document using Word.
Click here to view or download this document using Word.
MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 20, 2006
TO: Ms. Ardi Alspach, Manager
FROM: Abigayle Bessman, Group Representative
SUBJECT: Project Update
Project Overview
On behalf of FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), our team will assess the preparedness of various cities in the United States in the event of a hurricane. After analyzing the current building requirements and procedures for each city, we will present city planners and other officials with recommendations to minimize damage and ensure public safety during future storms.
Work Completed
On Sunday, October 15, 2006, our group met and completed the remaining sections of our Proposal. We compiled a list of questions to ask during class the following day about the format and content of the Proposal. We also established due dates for each individual assignment based on when the information included in each assignment would be needed for the writing of the actual document.
On October 16th our group edited our Proposal during the in-class workshop. We found that our statistics needed to be cited in the Problem Section of the paper. The grammar throughout was corrected and we decided to rewrite the second paragraph of the Proposed Solution because it was unclear. The Qualifications also needed work; this was the only section written independently so the format was inconsistent. Abigayle was assigned to make the needed corrections for Wednesday, October 18th. The group decided not to meet Tuesday as planned. Instead each member planned to find two examples of a research document by class on Wednesday.
In class Wednesday, October 18th, our group participated in a peer critique of our Proposal. Changes that were suggested for our document included: describing the document type we intend to write, correcting grammatical errors in the Qualifications section, and citing the facts used in the problem section. The group critiquing our draft thought the paper flowed well, claims were well explained, the problem section included enough information, and the problem section was brief and concise. Ms. Alspach’s critique included grammatical changes and syntax suggestions. She indicated that we should use the active voice throughout the paper, clarify our solution by describing how we’ll determine the best features for hurricane preparedness in each city, add subheadings to the Work Plan Section, and change our Qualifications Section into the third person.
The group reviewed the example documents each member contributed and chose two as the most representative of the type of paper we plan to write. Scott was assigned to consider the suggested changes to our document. He revised the Proposal and emailed it to the group Thursday. Each group member reviewed the completed Proposal and emailed any additional changes to Scott, who completed the document and brought the final copies to class Friday.
During the Friday, October 20th class our group participated in the Genre Conventions Workshop. Using the example documents chosen we evaluated the conventions typical of research documents. We discussed work to be done over the weekend and agreed that Scott, Candace and Brendan’s individual assignments should be completed by Tuesday, October 23rd, when the group will meet. The following are the research paper conventions we found.
Format and Appearance
Visuals are limited to tables and graphs necessary to understand data. Headings are used at the beginning of each section as well as within sections of the document and are generally bold and numbered. The tone of research documents is informative, objective and scientific. Most of these documents are quite long, at least 5 pages.
Style
Research Papers are written in 1st or 3rd person. Most sections are in 3rd person, but 1st person is sometimes used when describing research done by the writer(s). Active and passive voices are both used, but active voice is more prevalent. The sentence length is generally long. Research documents are formal with the key features being dependent on the data related to the topic. Some emphasize graphs, while others use bulleted lists or research descriptions. Technical jargon is used a great deal, but terms specific to the topic are defined.
Organization and Lines of Argument
The sections of research papers include an Abstract and an Introduction followed by sections specific to the paper itself and ending with a Conclusion, Acknowledgements and References Cited. The organizing principle varies with the topic of the paper. All argument types can be used, but the emphasis in research documents is always evidence and data. The most common types of support used are experts and personal research.
Next Steps
During our next meeting, we will begin writing our commissioned document. Each group member will bring the research they have completed. We will assign additional writing to each member so that at least two sections of the document are completed by Monday, October 30. We will also review the individual assignments and discuss how the information in each of these impacts our research and our final document. We will also update the team calendar as necessary.
Conclusion
Our team has completed our proposal and chosen a format for our commissioned document. We have decided to meet to work together on the initial writing for the paper. Thus far, the group has remained on schedule and no significant changes to our schedule have been made, or seemed necessary. The ongoing research our group is doing, both together and independently, is allowing us to clarify solution strategies to problems with hurricane preparedness. The solutions put forth can increase the safety of the citizens of coastal cities.
Click here to view or download this document using Word.
# posted by Abby-Wan Kenobi @ 10:03 AM 
