Project #3: Problem-Solving Report (200 points)
Spring 2024
ENGL 7 Workshop #3: Week 9 (May 27-31)
Proposal Due: Friday, May 31, 11:59 PM Pacific Time (250-500 words, 35 pts)
Report Due: Tuesday, June 11, 11:59 PM Pacific Time (2000-3000 words, 165 pts)
In this project, you will identify a specific operational problem at your current or former company (student organizations or other non-profits
are fine too), research relevant business tools and/or policies that could address the problem, then write a persuasive report (2000-3000
words, single-spaced, in full-block memo format) to propose a solution. If you don’t have any professional experience to draw on, premade
scenarios will be available on Canvas. Your report should describe the problem, use your research findings to analyze the problem’s first-
order and second-order effects, give your recommendations to solve the problem, and engage one potential objection to your recommended
solution. Your analysis must integrate and cite at least four relevant secondary sources, including at least two scholarly articles.
To prepare for Project #3, you will write a brief project proposal (250-500 words, single-spaced, in full-block format) to explain what you
want to write about and why. Your proposal must 1) identify your organization and explain the operational problem you plan to write about,
2) demonstrate the problem’s significance for the organization, 3) identify your professional role for the report scenario, and 4) determine
your primary audience for the report and why they could address the problem. You can earn up to 5 points for completing each task; the other
15 points will evaluate your proposal’s overall viability and presentation. Use your TA’s feedback on the proposal to adjust your focus, which
may involve choosing a new topic. You may reuse content from your proposal in your main report, but keep in mind that they have two
different audiences: your proposal is addressed to your TA, while your report is addressed to a senior leader in your organization.
Report Structure
1. Memo Header: establish your name and job title (for the scenario), your audience’s name(s) and job title(s), and the date and subject of your
report. Your job role does not have to match your actual role in the organization, but please use your real name.
2. Report Introduction (1-2 paragraphs, 100-175 words each): introduce your organization’s primary goals, briefly defines the problem, then gets
your reader’s attention by clarifying what you hope to accomplish with the report and why it will benefit your organization.
3. Problem Description (1-2 paragraphs): explain the specific problem you wish to solve, who is affected by it, and why your organization should
care enough to address it.
4. Problem Analysis (3-6 paragraphs): analyze the problem in detail, including the likely first-order and second-order effects. Use your secondary
research here to back up your claims about why this problem needs attention and how it could affect the organization’s strategic outcomes.
5. Recommendations (4-8 paragraphs): propose a targeted solution to the problem, based on your problem analysis. Include specific actions the
organization needs to take, the approximate cost, a timeline (if applicable), and specific benefits of adopting your solution.
6. Counterargument (1-2 paragraphs): acknowledge and deal with one potential objection to implementing your recommendations, such as cost, time,
expertise, or inconvenience.
Choosing a Problem
Operational problems negatively affect day-to-day professional tasks or projects, especially in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. For
example, let’s say a grocery store wants every customer to have easy access to a sanitized shopping cart upon entering the store. The
store would have to ensure that there are enough carts to go around, that employees can regularly retrieve carts from the parking lot and
sanitize them for the next customer, that damaged carts are quickly identified and repaired/replaced, and that customers don’t steal carts from
the parking lot. Operational problems could arise with the initial supply of carts, with the availability of employees, with the efficiency of
the retrieval and sanitizing process, and with the security of the parking lot. Your report could focus on the efficiency problem, proposing
(for instance) a better schedule to retrieve carts and/or a better process for sanitizing them.
Focusing on Experience
The size of the problem you address is not as important as its significance for your audience and organization. In other words, think about
which community the problem currently affects (e.g., employees, customers, members, or vendors), what the problem’s potential
consequences are, and why those consequences are important to the organization. Keep this information in a chart or spreadsheet and use it
to organize your notes, guide your research, and plan your report.
Remember that even if a problem only affects a relatively small community, those individuals’ experiences could lead to bigger problems or
higher costs for the organization. For instance, let’s say you work at a restaurant that does not have wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. Not
only would this inconvenience customers or employees who use wheelchairs, prompting them to write negative reviews, but it could lead to
heavy fines or even a lawsuit if local/state laws require wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.
A good way to identify potential problems is to walk through common tasks or processes in your organization. What elements might annoy or
inconvenience someone in your target community? Why might that cause a problem or a negative experience? How would that experience
affect the organization’s business outcomes, such as sales, morale, or reputation? Beyond business outcomes, what moral or ethical issues
may be in play? You don’t necessarily need a solution at this point, but you should understand the problem and its potential
consequences in detail.
Researching the Problem
Your report must draw on and cite at least four secondary sources, including two scholarly articles. Please use APA style (7th edition) for
your citations. You will need in-text citations after every quote, paraphrase, or summary, as well as a reference list at the end of the
document. All your sources should be relevant to your topic and reflect current business conditions, so use material published in the past 10-
15 years if possible, especially if your analysis involves a legal issue. To find relevant sources, think about both the details of your problem
and its potential consequences, as well as the potential benefits for solving it. These elements should help inform your solution, but that
doesn’t mean your sources have to solve the problem for you. Feel free to schedule an office hours meeting if you’re having trouble
finding sources.
For example, let’s say your problem is that employees don’t have a good place to store meals or cold drinks while they are at work. Your
solution might consider options like adding a refrigerator to the break room, allowing employees to keep mini-fridges in their workspaces, or
offering a meal delivery service. But your research is more likely to cover variables like employee morale, nutrition, and health. Use those
variables in your Google/database searches, then use the results to make a more persuasive argument. Remember, well-researched sources
will point you toward other potentially useful material.
Analyzing the Problem and Recommending a Solution
As you learn more about the problem, its context, and its potential significance for your organization, you will be able to develop a more
detailed problem analysis. This section should demonstrate not only that you’ve done your research, but also that you fully understand why
this problem is significant, how it affects your target community’s experience with your organization, what consequences could emerge (or
already have emerged), why the organization should care about those consequences, and how the problem affects key business outcomes.
Based on your problem analysis, your final task is to recommend a specific, detailed, and targeted solution to the problem. It must clarify
specific actions the organization needs to take, provide an approximate budget, give a timeline (if applicable), and identify specific benefits of
adopting your solution. Your solution should be practical for the context in which you observed the problem, so think about things like
physical space, personnel, procedures, and even potential penalties. Keep the focus on how this solution would make life better for the target
community, but also consider budgetary and policy limitations. Your goal is to make a realistic and persuasive case.
Going back to the sample problem of workplace food storage, let’s say you recommend purchasing a refrigerator for the break room. In
addition to determining a budget for the purchase and making sure there’s enough floor space with access to a grounded outlet, you would
want to think about how the fridge would be used. How many employees would need to access it per day? Will there be enough room for
everyone’s lunch boxes/bags? What about long-term storage, like storing a case of water bottles or soda cans all week? Who will be
responsible for cleaning the fridge, and when? You do not necessarily need answers for every single question, but bringing them up (perhaps
to be addressed in future memos) is a good way to enrich your analysis and demonstrate that you’ve thought carefully about the issues.
Report Grading Rubric (165 points)
Problem Analysis
(50 points)
Detailed & compelling
analysis of the problem,
clearly supported by
research. Excellent
understanding of the
Solid and clear
analysis of the
problem, adequately
supported by research.
Good understanding of
Inconsistent or confusing
analysis of the problem,
poorly supported by
research. Basic
understanding of the
Very little analysis of the
problem, unsupported by
research. Poor or inaccurate
understanding of the
Category A (90-100%) B (80-89%) C (70-79%) D/F (40-69%)
Memo Header
(15 points)
Includes all these
format elements:
company logo, to, from,
subject, and date fields.
To and from fields
include names and job
titles. Subject line
clearly establishes topic
and outcome.
Missing 0-1 format
elements. To and from
fields may be missing
job titles. Subject line
generally relates to
report content.
Missing 2-3 format
elements. Subject line is
“Project 3” or otherwise
unrelated to report content. Missing 4-5 format elements.
Document Structure
(25 points)
2000-3000 total words.
Section headings
rhetorically frame the
content. Paragraphs are
consistently 100-175
words long.
1500-1999 total
words. Section
headings mostly copy
assignment section
names (e.g., “Problem
Description”). Most
paragraphs are 100-
175 words long.
1000-1499 total words.
Section headings only
copy assignment section
names. Some paragraphs
are 100-175 words long.
0-999 total words. Section
headings are absent. Few
paragraphs are 100-175 words
long.
Research &
Documentation
(25 points)
4+ relevant sources,
including 2 academic
sources. All quotes,
paraphrases, and
summaries are cited
correctly in APA.
4+ relevant sources,
but missing one or
both academic
sources. Most quotes,
paraphrases, and
summaries are cited
correctly in APA.
1-2 relevant sources. Some
quotes, paraphrases, and
summaries are cited
correctly in APA.
No relevant sources mentioned
or cited.
community, effects, and
potential outcomes.
the community,
effects, and potential
outcomes.
community, effects, and
potential outcomes.
community, effects, and
potential outcomes.
Recommendations
& Counterargument
(50 points)
Solution is clear,
detailed, and targeted to
the organization and
setting. Includes these
rhetorical elements:
specific actions, a
working budget, a
timeline, and a list of
specific benefits.
Acknowledges and
responds to one
potential objection to the
recommendations.
Solution is clear and
detailed. Missing 0-1
rhetorical elements.
Acknowledges a
potential objection to
the recommendations,
but does not respond
to it.
Solution has some vague or
confusing parts. Missing 2
rhetorical elements. Does
not acknowledge any
potential objections.
Solution is simplistic or only
addresses part of the problem.
Missing 3+ rhetorical elements.
Does not acknowledge any
potential objections.
