What is the purpose of technical
writing?
 To
inform
 To instruct
 To propose
 To recommend
 To persuade
Audience
 Importance
of
understanding who
will read your
report.
Provide accurate information
Technical
reports are based on
facts; falsifying any information
is unethical.
Do not give your own opinions.
You are required to focus on
facts.
Organization of technical
writing
Introduction
Provide
background/contextual
information for the
topic/problem/issue being
presented.
Organization of technical
writing
Body
Information is
explained and
technical details are
given.
Organization of technical
writing
Conclusion
The summarization of
the report/paper.
Technical writers present
important conclusions at the
beginning, followed by
evidence supporting these
conclusions.
Do we have any mail today?
 Two
possible answers (out of the millions of
possibilities)
No 1
“I got up out of my chair and sauntered out
to the mailbox. I looked up before opening
the box and saw the mailman going down
the street past our house. When I opened
the mailbox there was nothing in it, so I
don’t think we’ll have any mail today”
Answer number 2
“No, we did not get any mail today. The
mailbox is empty and the mailman has
passed our house.”
Write using the Third person
The third person is used when
writing technical reports.
Use either the passive or
active voice
When the subject of the sentence is
performing the action, the sentence is in
active voice.
Examples of active voice
 Alec
must have eaten all ten candies.
 The man kicked the chair.
 Crazy dogs barked all night.
Passive voice
When the subject of the
sentence is acted
upon, the sentence is in
passive voice.
Examples of passive voice
All
ten candies must have
been eaten by Alec.
The
chair was kicked by the
man.
In order to change a
sentence from active to
passive voice, the
sentence must have a
direct object.
What is “third” person?
Personal pronouns
Singular
Plural
First Person: the speaker or
writer
I, me
We, us
Second person: the person(s)
spoken to
you
you
Third person: person(s)
spoken or written about
She, her, he, him, it
they, them
Tense
Past and perfect tenses are
appropriate in writing reports
that documents something
that is completed.
Past tense
Add –d or –ed to the infinitive
verb.
The boy kicked the ball.
What is meant by perfect tense?
The perfect tense is formed by
the appropriate form of the verb
to have + the past participle of
the verb. This tense is used to
express an action that has been
completed.
Examples of the perfect tense
 You
have seen that movie many
times.
 We were not able to get a hotel
room because we had not booked
in advance.
 You will have perfected report
writing before the exam.
Dear Mr. Black,
Please find enclosed my CV in application for
the post advertised in the Guardian on 30
November.
The nature of my degree course has prepared
me for this position. It involved a great deal of
independent research, requiring initiative, selfmotivation and a wide range of skills. For one
course, [insert course], an understanding of the
[insert sector] industry was essential. I found this
subject very stimulating.
I am a fast and accurate writer, with a keen
eye for detail and I should be very grateful for
the opportunity to progress to market reporting.
I have not only the ability to take on the
responsibility of this position immediately, but
also the enthusiasm and determination to
ensure that I make a success of it.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this
application and I look forward to hearing from
you in the near future.
Yours Sincerely,
 Dear
Mr. Brown,
I
am writing to enquire if you have any
vacancies in your company. I enclose my
CV for your information.
 As
you can see, I have had extensive
vacation work experience in office
environments, the retail sector and service
industries, giving me varied skills and the
ability to work with many different types of
people. I believe I could fit easily into your
team.
I
am a conscientious person who works
hard and pays attention to detail. I'm
flexible, quick to pick up new skills and
eager to learn from others. I also have lots
of ideas and enthusiasm. I'm keen to work
for a company with a great reputation
and high profile like [insert company
name].
I have excellent references and would be
delighted to discuss any possible vacancy
with you at your convenience. In case you
do not have any suitable openings at the
moment, I would be grateful if you would
keep my CV on file for any future
possibilities.
Yours Sincerely,
 What
are the differences between these
two letters of application?
 Are these effective letters of application?
What makes them effective?
Memos have a twofold
purpose
 Memos
are used to inform the recipient of
new information like policy changes, price
increases.
 Persuade the recipient to take an action,
such as attend a meeting, or change a
current production procedure.
 Regardless
of the specific goal, memos
are most effective when they connect
the purpose of the writer with the interests
and needs of the reader.
Heading Segment
 TO:
(readers' names and job titles)
 FROM:
 DATE:
(your name and job title)
(complete and current date)
Subject
 Be
specific and concise in your subject
line. For example, "Clothes" as a subject
line could mean anything from a dress
code update to a production issue.
Instead use something like, "Fall Clothes
Line Promotion."
Opening Segment
 The
purpose of a memo is usually found in
the opening paragraph and includes: the
purpose of the memo, the context and
problem, and the specific assignment or
task. Before indulging the reader with
details and the context, give the reader a
brief overview of what the memo will be
about..
 Choosing
how specific your introduction
will be depends on your memo plan style.
The more direct the memo plan, the more
explicit the introduction should be.
Including the purpose of the memo will
help clarify the reason the audience
should read this document. The
introduction should be brief, and should
be approximately the length of a short
paragraph
Context

The context is the event, circumstance, or
background of the problem you are solving.
You may use a paragraph or a few sentences
to establish the background and state the
problem. Oftentimes it is sufficient to use the
opening of a sentence to completely explain
the context, such as,

"Through market research and analysis..."
Task Segment
One essential portion of a memo is the task
statement where you should describe what
you are doing to help solve the problem. If
the action was requested, your task may be
indicated by a sentence opening like,
 "You
asked that I look at...."
 If
you want to explain your intentions, you
might say,
 "To
determine the best method of
promoting the new fall line, I will...."
 Include
only as much information as is
needed by the decision-makers in the
context, but be convincing that a real
problem exists. Do not ramble on with
insignificant details.
 If
you are having trouble putting the task
into words, consider whether you have
clarified the situation. You may need to
do more planning before you're ready to
write your memo. Make sure your
purpose-statement forecast divides your
subject into the most important topics
that the decision-maker needs.
Summary Segment
 If
your memo is longer than a page, you
may want to include a separate summary
segment. However, this section not
necessary for short memos and should not
take up a significant amount of space.
 This
segment provides a brief statement of
the key recommendations you have
reached. These will help your reader
understand the key points of the memo
immediately. This segment may also
include references to methods and
sources you have used in your research.
Discussion Segments
 The
discussion segments are the longest
portions of the memo, and are the parts in
which you include all the details that
support your ideas. Begin with the
information that is most important. This
may mean that you will start with key
findings or recommendations.
 Start
with your most general information
and move to your specific or supporting
facts. (Be sure to use the same format
when including details: strongest to
weakest.)
 The
discussion segments include the
supporting ideas, facts, and research that
back up your argument in the memo.
Include strong points and evidence to
persuade the reader to follow your
recommended actions. If this section is
inadequate, the memo will not be as
effective as it could be.
Closing Segment

After the reader has absorbed all of your
information, you want to close with a
courteous ending that states what action you
want your reader to take. Make sure you
consider how the reader will benefit from the
desired actions and how you can make those
actions easier. For example, you might say,

"I will be glad to discuss this recommendation
with you during our Tuesday trip to the spa
and follow through on any decisions you
make."
Necessary Attachments

Make sure you document your findings or
provide detailed information whenever
necessary. You can do this by attaching lists,
graphs, tables, etc. at the end of your memo.
Be sure to refer to your attachments in your
memo and add a notation about what is
attached below your closing, like this:

Attached: Focus Group Results, January- May
2007
 TO:
Kelly Anderson, Marketing Executive
 FROM:
Jonathon Fitzgerald, Market
Research Assistant
 DATE:
June 14, 2007
 SUBJECT:
Fall Clothes Line Promotion
Market research and analysis show that the
proposed advertising media for the new fall
lines need to be reprioritized and changed.
Findings from focus groups and surveys
have made it apparent that we need to
update our advertising efforts to align them
with the styles and trends of young adults
today.
No longer are young adults interested in
sitcoms as they watch reality televisions
shows. Also, it is has become increasingly
important to use the internet as a tool to
communicate with our target audience to
show our dominance in the clothing
industry.

Internet Advertising

XYZ Company needs to focus advertising on
internet sites that appeal to young people.
According to surveys, 72% of our target
market uses the internet for five hours or more
per week. The following list shows in order of
popularity the most frequented sites:
•Google
•Facebook
•Myspace
•EBay
•iTunes





 Shifting
our efforts from our other media
sources such as radio and magazine to
these popular internet sites will more
effectively promote our product sales.
Young adults are spending more and
more time on the internet downloading
music, communicating and researching
for homework and less and less time
reading paper magazines and listening to
the radio. As the trend for cultural icons to
go digital, so must our marketing plans.
Television Advertising
It used to be common to advertise for our
products on shows like Friends and Seinfeld
for our target audience, but even the face
of television is changing. Young adults are
tuning into reality television shows for their
entertainment. Results from the focus group
show that our target audience is most
interested in shows like American Idol,The
Apprentice, and America's Next Top Model.
 The
only non-reality television show to be
ranked in the top ten most commonly
watched shows by males and females 1825 is Desperate Housewives. At Blue
Incorporated, we need to focus our
advertising budget on reality television
shows and reduce the amount of
advertising spent on other programs.
By refocusing our advertising efforts of our
new line of clothing we will be able to
maximize the exposure of our product to
our target market and therefore increase
our sales. Tapping into the trends of young
adults will help us gain market share and
sales through effective advertising.
Attachments: Focus Group Results, JanuaryMay 2007; Survey Findings, January - April
2007
The difference between
formal and informal Language
(1)
Our technician repaired the fault on 12th
June. Now it’s your turn to pay us.
(2)
Although the fault was repaired on
12th June, payment for this
intervention has still not been
received.
(1)
The company laid him off because he
didn't work much.
(2)
His poor work ethics resulted in his
dismissal.
(1)
(2)
If you lose it, then please contact us as
soon as possible.
Any loss of this document should be
reported immediately to this office.
(1)
We didn’t receive the package.
(2)
We did not receive the package.
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you on behalf of the
concerned citizens of Berbice for Health
Care. Once again you are cutting the
services offered by your clinic. And you plan
on increasing the fees on the few services
you are keeping.
This is ridiculous. Where are we supposed to
go for our health care? The closest hospital
is over 70 miles away! My husband just had
surgery and we're $100,000 in debt. We
can't afford to pay your fee increases.
Don't expect to keep your job much longer,
my cousin knows the President’s brother,
and when he hears what you've been
doing to us, he'll fire you for sure.
Sincerely,
Karen Young
Secretary
People’s Union
Dear Mr. Axel Rose,
I attended your exhibition Sound Systems
2013 at the Fortune Hotel from 14 - 15
February and found it informative and
interesting. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of
the event was spoiled by a number of
organisational problems. I explain each of
the problems below.
Firstly, I had difficulty in registering to attend
the event. You set up an on-line registration
facility, but I found the facility totally
unworkable. Even after spending several
wasted hours trying to register in this way,
the computer would not accept my
application. I eventually succeeded in
registering by faxing you.
Secondly, the exhibition was held at one of
Hong Kong's most prestigious hotels, but
frankly the venue was better suited to a
medium-sized business conference than to
a large exhibition open by registration to
the public. The lack of space led to serious
overcrowding in the venue, particularly at
peak visiting times (i.e. lunch times and
early evening). On one or two occasions I
was also seriously concerned about the
physical safety of attendees.
The final point I want to make concerns
product information. It is very enjoyable to
see and test a range of excellent sound
systems, but it is also important to be able to
take away leaflets on interesting products,
so that more research can be done before
deciding which system to buy. However, by
the time I attended the exhibition all the
leaflets had been taken.
Could I please ask you to look into these
matters - not only on my behalf but also on
behalf of other attendees, and in fact on
behalf of your company, too.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Michael Leung
Summary Writing
The People of Nigeria
versus Shell Essay
Shell Oil Company is a very successful
and well recognized corporation. However,
at this moment I would like to open the floor
not to the discussion of how successful this
corporation is, but to how many problems it
has caused with its poor corporate social
responsibility in Nigeria. The Shell Oil
Company began drilling oil in Nigeria in the
late 1950s. Most of the company’s pipelines
were situated in Ogoniland that is the land
of in the Niger Delta region of southeast
Nigeria (Naanen, p.75).
From the very beginning the company had
insolently interfered with the lives of people
by building its pipelines across their
farmlands and in front of their homes.
Couple of years after the pipelines were
built it became clear that the people of the
region would be constantly suffering from
endemic oil leaks from these very pipelines.
However, this fact was not taken into
consideration and the people had been
forced to live with the constant flaring of
gas (Naanen, p.75).
The effects of this environmental
attack had been devastating. The land was
suffocated with oil, the waters were
polluted causing complete destruction of
the aquatic population, moreover,
because of the newly built pipelines the
farming areas had been destroyed.
People of the land were completely
dependent upon farming and fishing, thus
the poisoning of the land and water has
had devastating consequences (Naanen,
p. 76). In addition the destruction of natural
resources, oil spills had caused many
people of the region to develop such
illnesses as bronchial asthma, other
respiratory diseases, gastro-enteritis and
cancer.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has numerously issued
Notices of Violation to the Shell Oil
Company for its infringements of the Clean
Air Act. Upon such indictments the
Company proclaimed the beginning of
clean up campaigns, however, such
campaigns always consisted of an indeed
harmful technique.
The technique was as follows, the Company
undertook burning of the crude which had
resulted in a permanent layer of crusted oil
meters thick and scooping oil into holes in
the surrounding earth. The Company
considered that this response could remove
the blame of pollution from it, however, with
such solutions it just kept “digging the hole
of environmental torts deeper” (Watts, p.
25).
The attitude of the Nigerian government
may come to some as a surprise because one
would expect the government of the country to
take the side of its people. Nonetheless, for
decades already Nigeria has been governed
by repressive and corrupt governments. These
governments have been supported and
maintained by western governments and oil
corporations. Furthermore, around eighty
percent of Nigerian government revenues
come directly from oil, over half of which is from
the Shell Company.
Thus, it was in the interest of the Nigerian
government to crack the uprising against oil
corporations and keep on benefitting from
the fossil fuels that can be exploited (Shah).
Moreover, taking the side of the people
would have meant for the Nigerian
government to simply sign its death penalty,
so it decided to sign the death penalty for
the people in Ogoniland and then the
people of other counties of Niger Delta
(Watts, p. 26).
In addition to the above mentioned,
not only did the government take the side
of oil companies, it had also undertaken to
physically protect them from protestants by
sending militia troops to the demonstration
and killing those who did not want to stop
protesting.
For such services, the Shell Oil Company
twice paid the military for going to specific
villages and solving the problem with
Nigerian people. Although it disputes that
the purpose of these excursions was to
settle down the rebel, each of the military
missions paid for by Shell resulted in fatalities
of the natives.
Certainly, the appearance of militia
did not stop the protests but even boosted
them, though creating the feeling of fear
and violence in the region. The militia forces
also practiced bribing of the people from
different regions of the Niger Delta with the
intention to cause causalities between
people and make profits on their
arguments.
The security forces employed by the Shell
Company are today accused of murdering
of around two thousand people among
them many of those who were the activists
of the Shell resistance movement. Though,
the Company explains that such actions
had to be taken and that was the only way
to insure stability in the district (Shah).
Without a shadow of doubt, this
situation in Nigeria did not leave the world
unaffected. I would like to present the
standpoints of some of the biggest world
players. To begin with, I would like to
present the standpoint of the United
Nations. Observing the situation in Nigeria,
the United Nations accused Nigerian
government and the Shell Oil Company of
abusing human rights and failing to protect
the environment in oil producing regions,
mainly Ogoniland. Furthermore, the United
Nations had called for an investigation into
the actions of the Shell Oil Company
The results of this investigation were included in
the United Nations report and proclaimed that
the Shell Oil Company was indeed responsible
for the constant spills and did not do anything
about them. Moreover, the report emphasized
that the Shell Company had invested money
into employing armed forces against protesters.
To the surprise of many, the United Nations
report was honest and focused on the troubles
the Shell Company had caused in the region.
Upon drawing of the report the United Nations
sent supervisors to the Niger Delta region to
oversee the actions of the oil corporations.
However, the presence of the United Nations
delegations did not stop the problems in the
region.
Without a shadow of doubt, this
situation in Nigeria did not leave the world
unaffected. I would like to present the
standpoints of some of the biggest world
players. To begin with, I would like to
present the standpoint of the United
Nations. Observing the situation in Nigeria,
the United Nations accused Nigerian
government and the Shell Oil Company of
abusing human rights and failing to protect
the environment in oil producing regions,
mainly Ogoniland. Furthermore, the United
Nations had called for an investigation into
the actions of the Shell Oil Company.
The results of this investigation were
included in the United Nations report and
proclaimed that the Shell Oil Company was
indeed responsible for the constant spills
and did not do anything about them.
Moreover, the report emphasized that the
Shell Company had invested money into
employing armed forces against protesters.
To the surprise of many, the United Nations
report was honest and focused on the
troubles the Shell Company had caused in
the region. Upon drawing of the report the
United Nations sent supervisors to the Niger
Delta region to oversee the actions of the
oil corporations. However, the presence of
the United Nations delegations did not stop
the problems in the region.
The United States of America, the country
that is the best-known advocate of human
rights and environmental protection, in case of
Nigeria did all talk and no action. Without a
shadow of doubt the United States did criticize
the Nigerian government that acted in the
interest of oil companies and not its people.
America has also made comments about the
military regime present in the country and spoke
of a need for the democratic countries’
supervision of Nigerian elections. However, like it
was with other world players, the country only
threatened the tyrants and did not take any
specific actions to assist the situation.
Such behavior can be explained by the
fact that the United States is the largest
consumer of Nigerian oil. Thus, the United
States government took actions against the
Nigerian government and not the oil
corporation operating in the region. It
comes without saying that the lobbyists of
the oil companies were heavily against
aggressive policy towards Nigerian
government. For these corporations it was
possible to obtain profits only under corrupt
government (Onuoha, p. 45).
As of today, the oil corporations,
especially the Shell Oil Company, keep making
profits, the human rights and environment
activists keep organizing protests and
demonstrations about the environmental and
social impacts of the oil industry on the Niger
Delta, and the world keeps disapproving of the
behavior of the oil companies. It is very
remarkable that even though the whole world
seems to be disapproving of the activities of the
Shell Oil Company, today it manages to make
the highest profits it has ever made. In
conclusion it must be admitted that what the
Shell Company has done in Nigeria is
despicable.
This corporation has turned Nigeria into one
of the poorest countries in the world, it has
ruined the nature of the country and
abused its people. Though, what is even
more despicable is that would the same
happen in a different country, the world
powers would send in troops to punish the
offender, while in case of Nigeria these
powers spoke words but had no action.
Claim and Adjustment
Letters
4078 North Road
Georgetown
February 18, 2014
Customer Service Manager
Internet Inc.
1978 South Road
Georgetown
Dear Mr. Singh,
I am writing today to complain of the horrible
service I received from your company. I was
visited by a representative of your Company,
Mr. Axel Rose.
Mr. Rose was one hour late for his appointment
and did not have the common decency to
apologise when he arrived at noon. Your
representative did not remove his muddy shoes
upon entering my house, and consequently left
a trail of dirt in the hallway. Mr. Rose then
proceeded to present a range of products to
me that I had specifically told his assistant by
telephone I was not interested in. I repeatedly
tried to ask your representative about the
products that were of interest to me, but he
refused to deal with my questions. We ended
our meeting after 25 minutes without either of us
having accomplished anything.
I am so angry that I wasted a morning (and
half a day's vacation) waiting for your
incompetent staff to show up. My
impression of your company has been
tarnished, and I am now concerned about
how my existing business is being managed
by your firm. Furthermore, Mr. Rose’s inability
to remove his muddy shoes has meant that I
have had to engage the services, and incur
the expense, of a professional carpet
cleaner.
I trust this is not the way your company wishes to
conduct business with valued customers—I
have been with you since the company was
founded and have never encountered such
treatment before. I would welcome the
opportunity to discuss matters further and to
learn of how you propose to prevent a similar
situation from recurring. I look forward to
hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Jack Johnson
The claim letter must
 contain
all the details someone will need
to respond to it. This may include price,
where purchased, date, details of the
problem, model or account numbers, etc.
 clearly but politely state what you expect
from the company.
 create a tone that is a balance between
courtesy and assertiveness.
Adjustment letter
INC Galaxy
1234 North Road
March 17, 2001
Ms. Joan Andrews
5678 South Road
Georgetown
Dear Ms. Andrews,
Thank you for your letter about our XYZ Antivirus
Software and your conclusion that it did not live up to
the promises implied in the sales material for it. We
certainly agree that our products should be functional
and effective, and that’s why we stand behind them
with our unique 48-hour warranty.
We note that your software package was
purchased last August, and is thus out of
warranty. Moreover, a review of our
promotional material showed no
statements therein that the software would
enable users to increase their GPA while
sleeping till noon and consuming an
additional case of beer each week.
While we’re unable to replace this
package, we believe XYZ Antivirus Software
can still be of help to you. We have just
introduced a new product, ProtectINC,
which we feel fits your situation. And I am
enclosing a special $10 off certificate, good
on this or any other Software, as described
in or catalog.
Thanks again for being in touch with us. We
strive constantly for the highest quality in our
products, and we appreciate your
feedback.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Zappa
Marketing Manager
The adjustment granted (if any) in the
adjustment letter must be realistic.
If you have not granted the customer's full
request, explain why.
The adjustment letter must create a
balance between saving the company
money and keeping the customer's
business.
Investigative Report
Investigative report


Executive Summary
Introduction
Aims and objectives
 Limitations of report
 Description of research methods
 History of the problem
 Description of problem




Findings
Recommendations
Conclusions
Language of an investigative
report
 This
report must be based on facts.
 Do not include your own opinions.
 Your investigative report must be free of
bias.
 You must use formal language.
Executive summary
 You
write the executive summary after
you complete your investigations and
your report.
Aims & objectives of the
investigation
Explain what you are investigating
Example
“The investigation was designed to get to the root
causes of the flood in Festival City, Georgetown.”
 Explain what you hoped to achieve by doing the
investigation.
Example
“The intent of this investigation is to identify the root
causes of the flooding in Festival City so as to
prevent this from happening in the future.”

Limitations of report
 Design
or methodology that impacted or
influenced the application or
interpretation of the results of your study.
They are the constraints on generalizability
and utility of findings that are the result of
the ways in which you chose to design
the study and/or the method used to
establish internal and external validity.
Limitations of report
 Design
or methodology that is likely to
negatively impact on data collection or
interpretation of the results .
 This must be taken into account when you
are designing your study.
 Method to establish validity of data
collection, and analysis must be guided
by identified limitations.
Description of research
methods
Equipment used
 Detail procedures followed
 Materials used

 Secondary
 Describe
data
any problem(s) encountered
that caused you to change your
procedure
History of the problem
 Explain
the duration of the problem.
 Highlight recurring issues cause by this
problem.
Description of problem
•Flooding
•Squatters live
on the
embankment
•Drainage
Flooding in
Festival
City
When rain
falls water
does not
drain
Drains are
not
cleaned
Pipe lines
break
frequently
•Poor
maintenance
of pipelines
How
do we describe the
problem we are
investigating?
Findings
T
ime, Sequence and History
O rganisation / Control / Responsibility
P eople and their involvement
S imilar events
E nvironment and its effects
T echnology, equipment & processes
Recommendations
 In
addition to addressing the root causes,
provide solutions for all the individual
contributory causes to the problem.
Presenting Recommendations
T ime, Sequence and History
O rganisation / Control / Responsibility
P eople and their involvement
S imilar events
E nvironment and its effects
T echnology, equipment & processes
Project Proposal
What is a project proposal?
 Project
proposals are documents
designed to present a plan of action,
outline the reasons why the action is
necessary, and convince the reader to
agree with and approve the
implementation of the actions
recommended in the body of the
document.
Elements of a Project Proposal
■ Project title
■ Goals and objectives of the project
■ Description of project activities
■ Description of expected project results
■ Project implementation plan
■ Resource allocation (Human and Fiscal)
Project title
 The
project title should be short, concise,
and preferably refer to a certain key
project result or the leading project
activity. Project titles that are too long or
too general fail to give the reader an
effective snapshot of what is inside.
Examples of Project titles
 Environmental
Education (poor project
title)
 Environmental awareness initiative, North
Ruimveldt, Georgetown (good project
title)
Rules for setting project goal
1.
There should be only one goal per
project.
2. The goal should be connected to the
vision for development
Project goal
This is a general aim that should explain what
the core problem is and why the project is
important, i.e. what the long-term benefits to
the target group are. Some examples of a
project goal might be:
 raising environmental awareness
 improving the quality of life in the community
 fostering social empowerment among
women from deprived rural areas.
Objectives
 Objectives
are operational, state specific
outcomes of your project, and are
measurable. Objectives will form the basis
for the activities and evaluation of the
project.
SMART





Specific: concrete and well defined.
Measurable: criteria for measuring success;
ability to determine when the objectives have
been achieved.
Achievable: ability to attain with effort and
commitment; feasible and actionable
Realistic: attainable with available resources,
e.g., equipment, time, and people
Time‐bound: achievable in defined time
period
writing objectives – strong
verbs
 To
increase
 To determine
 To create/design
 To evaluate/analyze
 To describe
 To contrast
 To classify
 To calculate
Weak verbs
 To
promote
 To encourage
 To understand
 To become aware
 To work with
 To support
 To grasp
 To study
Types of questions to avoid
The leading question - a question that
strongly encourages a specific type of
response. It biases results, and often causes
the respondent to be defensive.
 Example: "Most people agree there is not
enough police protection on campus,
how about you?" or
 "You don't believe that people should be
arrested for marijuana use, do you?"
Types of questions to avoid
The double-barreled question: asks more
than one thing, making the results too
"fuzzy“ to be meaningful. Example:
o "How often do you drink beer or wine with
dinner?"
o "Do you approve of the President's
policies on economics and defense?"
o "Are the visual aids large enough and
easy to read?"
Types of questions to avoid
The loaded question: a question that not only
strongly encourages a specific type of 2
response, but also has strong emotional
overtones. Even more objectionable than the
leading question in that it is more personal. It
puts the respondent in a catch-22 situation.
Example:
 "When was the last time you drank alcohol
excessively before driving?"
 The most famous example: "Do you still beat
your wife?"
The closed-ended question
A type of direct question that greatly
narrows the response possibilities. Example:
 "Do you agree or disagree that Mayor
White should be impeached?" (implied
YES/NO)
 or "On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being not
at all and 10 being completely, …….
The yes/no question
A specific type of closed-ended question
that asks the respondent to reply only "yes"
or "no," or perhaps "don't know." Example:
• "Do you think there are too few campus
police?"
The open-ended question
Asks for a general response with much
freedom being given the respondent.
Example:
• "Tell me about your views on crime on
campus."
Problem Statement
 The
problem statement provides a
description of the specific problem(s) the
project is trying to solve. Explain why this
issue is a problem for the community;
discuss the negative implications.
Explanation the needs of the target group
that appear as a direct consequence of
the described problem.
Project Activities
 These
are the smallest identifiable and
measurable pieces of work planned for
completion throughout a project. They
aim to accomplish project work by
converting available inputs into desired
outputs, while consuming allocated
resources.
Standard Activity List Template
Activity List
Project:
Activity ID No
Date:
Activity Name
Description of Work
Each activity should have Each activity should have Description of work for
a reference number
a name which is placed
the activity should be
which goes here.
in this column.
placed in this column.
Work should be
described in enough
detail so those
responsible understand
what is required to
complete the activity.
Responsibility
Names of those
responsible for the work
goes in this column. There
may be one team
member or several. There
may also be a primary
and an alternate.
Project implementation
Implementation is the stage where all the
planned activities are put into action.
Before the implementation of a project, the
coordinators (spearheaded by the project
committee or executive) should identify
their strength and weaknesses (internal
forces), opportunities and threats (external
forces).
Project implementation
 The
strength and opportunities are
positive forces that should be exploited to
efficiently implement a project. The
weaknesses and threats are hindrances
that can hamper project implementation.
The implementors should ensure that they
devise means of overcoming them.
Project implementation
 Monitoring
is important at this
implementation phase to ensure that the
project is implemented as per the
schedule. This is a continuous process that
should be put in place before project
implementation starts.
Project implementation
 As
such, the monitoring activities should
appear on the work plan and should
involve all stake holders. If activities are
not going on well, arrangements should
be made to identify the problem so that
they can be corrected.
Project implementation
 Monitoring
is also important to ensure that
activities are implemented as planned.
This helps the coordinators to measure
how well they are achieving their targets.
This is based on the understanding that
the process through which a project is
implemented has a lot of effect on its use,
operation and maintenance.
The investigative report
 The
fundamental aim of an investigative
report is to provide comprehensive
information on a specified topic. In order
to write a successful investigative report,
one must conduct a substantial amount
of research and provide the reader with a
wealth of information so that he or she
can make an informed choice.
Hypothesis
A
hypothesis is an educated guess or
proposition that attempts to explain a set
of facts or natural phenomenon. It is used
mostly in the field of science, where the
scientific method is used to test it.
Basics About Hypotheses
A
hypothesis is usually written in a form
where it proposes that if something is
done, then something else will occur.
In order to be a good hypothesis that can
be tested or studied, a hypothesis:
 Needs to be logical
 Must use precise language
 Should be testable with research or
experimentation
The two types of hypotheses
are scientific and working
A
scientific hypothesis is based on
experiments and observations from the
past that cannot be explained with
current theories.
 A working hypothesis is one that is widely
accepted and becomes the basis of
further experimentation
Goal of a Hypothesis
Regardless of the type of hypothesis, the
goal of a hypothesis is to help explain the
focus and direction of the experiment or
research. As such, a hypothesis will:
 State the purpose of the research
 Identify what variables are used
Testing Hypothesis vs. Tested
Hypothesis
An hypothesis can be testing a concept or
it can be developed as a result of study:
 A testing hypothesis is one that can be
tested, meaning you can measure both
what is being done (variables) and the
outcome.
 A tested hypothesis is tested with
research, such as in a research study in
social science.
Examples of Testing
Hypotheses
 If
a prisoner learns a work skill while in jail,
then he is less likely to commit a crime
when he is released.
 If there is a relation between the wave
length of light and the photosynthesis
rate, then light of different colors will
cause the plant to make different
amounts of oxygen.
Examples of Tested
Hypotheses
 More
students get sick during the final
week of testing that at other times.
 There is a positive correlation between the
availability of hours for work and the
productivity of employees.
 Childhood obesity is tied to the amount of
sugary drinks ingested daily.
Aims vs Objectives
An aim can be defined as the general
statement that identify the target of a
program.
An objective is a more specific target set in
order to achieve the aim.
Aims vs Objectives
 An
objective is always as specific
whereas, an aim can be considered as a
general statement.
Aims vs Objectives
 Objective
is always accompanied by a
time frame.
 Aims do not contain a time frame within
which they need to be achieved
Aims vs goals
Aims tend to be more general than goals
and objectives, because the latter terms
relate to more specific tasks, while aims
refer to the end results.
A history teacher might aim to give his
students a comprehensive overview of
American history, while an immediate goal
might be to educate them about events
leading up to the American civil war.
Aims vs goals
 Goals
are clear statements of intent and
are more specific than aims. A company,
for example, might have an overall aim to
increase profits and, in order to achieve
this, set a clear goal to increase profits by
25 percent within a specific time frame.