When it came to writing the report it was definitely a long and tedious process. The way I attacked it was that I chose a topic, which was assisting in the redesign of a community association web site. Once that was determined I made sure to give myself plenty of time to get the report done. I took it one day at a time and made sure that everything I wrote was thorough and to the point. I broke down the information I gathered in to different sections such as what were the needs, requirements, what was a plausible idea and what options were just not obtainable. I completed one section at a time, and then I went through an found supporting references for specific items in my report. I organized the information in a way that flowed and made the report easy to read, I wanted to make sure that it went in order and the audience was aware of what was happening and that they were well informed of the information I was putting forth. I did my audience analysis after I completed my proposal. There was no real reason why I did it this way it just made sense to me to put my thoughts on paper and then decide what kind of audience I was addressing.

What I have learned from developing these reports is that it actually takes a lot longer then I thought it would take. I thought I would be able to sit down one day and put everything together in that one sitting. Was I wrong and I’m glad that I realized that early on, because if I had put this off to the last minute I would be suffering. You really have to do research and take notes and get to the basics, in my case of trying to develop a web site. I had to look up the aspects of what it takes for a company for put together a site. I looked in to average prices of what it cost to pay a company to do a web site, time lines for construction, and what were the best options for picking design and layout options.

The way I organized my information was pretty simple I laid it out in a way that would make sense as read and so that you could understand what was happening. It was basically step-by-step: the needs, wants, and requirements. Then I explained what those needs and want were in detail, and how those requirements were going to be fulfilled. Then I broke it down even more to how much everything would cost and how long each aspect of the implementation, hosting and maintaining would take. I think if I presented it any other way it would be confusing for the audience. The graphic I chose obviously coordinates with my report. Whenever graphics are presented they should always represent what you have written. Non-supported graphics can throw the audience off, should they be focusing on the image or the text, since they are two different concepts that have nothing to do with each other.

I never really thought about my audience when I wrote papers, I just did the assignment that was asked of me and fulfilled all the requirements. So when part of the report was to do an audience analysis it was an eye opener to me. I need to make sure when I write about topics that may not be well known that I need to elaborate on ideas or terms that might need more definition or explanation so that my audience no matter who that may be will be able to read my report, article, recommendation and not have to question or second guess what I’m trying to present.

After taking this class it has taught me to write appropriately for my audience, to put in the extra time and get the references that make you report that much more creditable and being organized is the key to success. All of these tactics I can and will apply in my future professional, academic and personal works. The things I learned in the class are going to pivotal attributes in my future work place, since I plan to earn my degree in business management. I learned how to put together a proposal, make sure my audience is being spoken to in an appropriate context. I also learned how to present a progress report on the status of any project that comes across my path, and then final wrapping it up all with an analytical report. I can guarantee that I will have to use these tools in my future and I can feel 100% confident in my work having taken this class.