BA 205 - Term Research Assignment
Understanding the research process is critical in communication. This assignment will allow you to show your
research ability, topic and research understanding, and persuasive aptitude. You may complete this assignment on
your own or with one other student from the class. If you wish to work with another student, it is up to you to pair
up as your instructor will not determine with whom you work.
There are two parts to this assignment: the research process itself and the written understanding of the research.
This assignment is designed to help you understand how to find research that is specific to your topic and is
persuasive (along with informative) in content.
Part 1 – Topic Identification / Audience Analysis
This part is about identifying a topic and considering the audience; it consists of two steps.
First Step: Choose a topic from the list below. If you don’t see a topic which interests you, you are welcome to
suggest an alternative topic to your instructor for approval. Your goal is to persuade your audience to do one of
the following.
to implement an unlimited vacation policy
to implement an employee volunteer program
to devote XX hours per month on charitable work with XX agency
to offer an education-reimbursement program
to install a green roof on their building
to become a certified B Corp
to begin a social media program using XX social media tools
to drive enrollment in a retirement plan
to join a specific union
to increase vaccination against a specific disease in a specific population
to conserve water (or other energy type)
to generate private investment in a particular business sector
to implement an employee sabbatical program
to implement all-user restrooms in their facility
to implement a paid-parental leave policy
to boycott (or support) a specific product or products that support a particular agenda
to implement a telecommuting policy
to encourage participation in an employee giving campaign
Second Step: Identify the following three items.
1. Who is your audience? Who are you persuading in your assignment? (This must be a business,
government agency, or non-profit entity.) Identify the actual decision makers from your audience, by
name and title. This cannot be a fictitious audience, it must be existing and researchable.
2. Who are you representing? To be able to persuade you have to be representing a known entity (business,
government agency, or non-profit entity).
3. What specifically are you persuading them to do? What do you want the audience to do when you have
successfully presented your argument? What is the audience’s next step if and when they are persuaded?
Once you have completed these two steps, you are prepared to complete written Assignment 2; additional
assignment details are on D2L.
Part 2 – Research
This part is about finding and understanding the research on your chosen topic.
Gather Research
Now that you know your topic, audience, and persuasive goal you need to find research that can be used to back
up your claim and persuade your audience. You must find at least 6 articles (not books) that can be used to back
up your persuasive argument. Of these 6 articles at least 3 MUST be from peer-reviewed academic journals.
To verify these articles are from peer-reviewed journals, please verify using Ulrichs International Periodicals
Directory. Ulrichs’ can be found online through the PSU Library. Go to www.pdx.edu, click on “Library”, click
on “Databases & Articles”, and then click on “U” in the alphabet presented to get to Ulrichs’. To verify the
journal is peer-reviewed, type the name of the journal in the search bar and hit enter. When the journal comes up,
if there is a striped referee shirt to the left of the journal listing, then the journal is peer-reviewed. If there is no
striped referee shirt, then the journal is NOT peer-reviewed.
Part 3 – Written Understanding / Persuasive Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
Once you have found the 6 articles (with at least 3 peer-reviewed) your job is to read all the articles and
understand the content well enough to write an annotated bibliography. Information on how to write and produce
an annotated bibliography will be given in a separate document and discussed in class. This annotated
bibliography will be 2-3 pages in length and will be typed single space, using 11 point Times New Roman font.
A copy or “picture” of the journal showing that it is peer-reviewed (as shown in Ulrich’s) is required to be pasted
under each annotated bibliography that is from a peer-reviewed journal. This can be done by using the “CTRL”
“PrtScn” command on your computer (hold Ctrl down and tap PrtScn) and then copying that picture into Paint (or
another similar software). Then cut the picture so only the one journal is shown on the page. Insert that picture
into your Word document at the end of the annotated bibliography from that journal.
An example of what this will look like in your paper is below.
Persuasive Memo
This is the final part of the assignment. You have a strong understanding of the persuasive goal, you have found
research to help persuade your audience, and now it is time to prove you have the necessary information and
persuasive research to successfully persuade your audience. Instead of writing a formal report to your audience
you will write a 1-2 page memo to your instructor outlining the following.
HOW do you plan to use the research to persuade your audience?
WHY will you be successful in your persuasion?
WHAT parts will you use from each article to prove your points?
The goal of this memo is to outline your research, ideas and motives to show you can successfully persuade your
audience. Please make sure to write a strong memo outlining the necessary information needed to persuade your
audience. You can refer to the annotated bibliography in the memo as well.
You will turn the assignment in with the memo first and the annotated bibliography second.
Early assignments are gladly accepted.
Term Research Assignment FAQ’s
This is an overview of questions received regarding the assignment. It is not all inclusive and may be
added to throughout the term.
Q.
If I am working on this assignment with a partner, do we both need to turn in an
assignment?
A.
No, only one assignment needs to be turned in by one of the partners. Please make sure both
names are on the memo. One of the partners must upload the assignment into D2L.
Q.
Do I have to use Word to complete the assignment?
A.
Yes. This is another use of what you learned this term using Word. Combine the two parts of the
assignment in to one file. You will be graded on how you used Word as well.
Q.
Are there any Word format requirements?
A.
Yes, the assignment must be single spaced (DO NOT use the default spacing in Word), with a 1”
margin. The font must be 10 or 11 point Times New Roman.
Q.
What exactly should the completed assignment include?
A.
The completed assignment is made up of two parts – both completed using Word.
1. A 1-2 page typed persuasive memo – written to Ava Stevens – from you (representing
your business, non-profit, government entity, or committee). This memo outlines HOW
you plan to persuade your audience and what your main persuasive point(s) will be and
how you will back these points up with your research. Basically it is a narrative or
outline of your argument. Think of me as your boss, and this memo is being used to
prove to me that you have the needed information to continue with this persuasion. How
you organize this memo is your choice – but you may find bullet or numbered points
helpful in presenting some of the information. Remember you cannot end a memo with
a list. There needs to be at least a one sentence close to end the memo (don’t just
stop…write for the reader). Don’t forget to use the correct second page heading for the
second page of your memo.
This memo is NOT your entire argument – it is designed to prove you are ready, with the
necessary resources, to write the persuasive argument. Don’t make the mistake of using
this memo to argue your point. Remember to write to your audience – Ava Stevens
– what does she need from you to know you are ready to write the persuasive
argument to your audience?
2. A 2-4 (or more) page typed annotated bibliography – the minimum number of sources on
this annotated bibliography is 6. Of the 6 sources, at least 3 must be from peer reviewed
academic journals. (Information is provided below to explain how to verify if the journal,
and therefore the article, is peer reviewed.)
Each source will have two paragraphs. The first paragraph is an overview of the
article. DO NOT use the abstract to write this – read the article and explain the overall
idea of the article using your own words. You are uploading this in D2L and it will be put
through Turn-it-in. Please don’t earn zero points because you plagiarized. The second
paragraph is WHAT you will use out of the article to back up your argument. It is taking
the needed information from the article and explaining briefly how you can use it to
strengthen your persuasive argument.
Don’t forget to include the proof that the journal (and therefore the article) is peerreviewed. You will include a “snip” of copy of the line from Ulrich’s to prove the journal
was peer-reviewed (see below).
You are using MLA documentation for this Annotated Bibliography. That means you
need to make sure you present the source in the correct method. The first line of the
source starts at the left margin and the remaining lines of the source are indented 5 spaces
(see below).
“When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements.
These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works
Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Author.
Title of source.
Title of container,
Other contributors,
Version,
Number,
Publisher,
Publication date,
Location.
Each element should be followed by the punctuation mark shown here.”
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in
Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu."Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature,
vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.
This information was taken directly from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab Webpage on November 11, 2018:
Q.
A.
How do I find strong articles for my topic?
Your goal is to find good search words or phrases. Brainstorm what you could look for and then
use Google Scholar or Academic Search Premier to find articles. You can use non-peer reviewed
articles, but verify they are strong articles for your topic and your credibility. One of your articles
should be about the organization you are representing so you can build credibility. Creative
thinking will help you to come up with ideas to search – if you are not finding information please
contact Ava Stevens and she will help guide you in your search.
Q.
A.
How do I identify if the articles are peer reviewed?
To verify these articles are from peer-reviewed journals, please verify using Ulrichs International
Periodicals Directory. Ulrichs’ can be found online through the PSU Library. Go to
www.pdx.edu, click on “Library”, click on “Databases & Articles”, and then click on “U” in the
alphabet presented to get to Ulrichs’. To verify the journal is peer-reviewed, type the name of
the journal in the search bar and hit enter. When the journal comes up, if there is a striped
referee shirt to the left of the journal listing, then the journal is peer-reviewed. If there is no
striped referee shirt, then the journal is NOT peer-reviewed.
An example of what this will look like in your paper is below. Please make sure to include
this with all your peer-reviewed journal articles. The assignment will be marked down if you
don’t show which articles are peer-reviewed.
Q.
A.
Why did I have to identify who I was representing?
To be able to create a strong argument you need credibility. Therefore who you align yourself
with makes a lot of difference. You can use this in your memo to help with your persuasive
argument. This means one of your sources can be background on who you are representing (a
company or non-profit’s web page for example).
Q.
Why did I have to identify the audience when they won’t be given the actual assignment/
argument?
To be able to find the right information, and to build the correct persuasive argument, you must
know your audience – what they know and what they need to know to be persuaded. Without this
information your argument will be generic and very basic – and will not be persuasive for that
specific audience. Remember, your goal is to write for your audience.
A.
Q.
A.
What do I do if I get stuck or need help on this assignment?
Contact Ava Stevens at avamaria@pdx.edu and she will help guide you – but please do
not procrastinate and expect immediate help the night before the project is due.
MEMORANDUM
To: Tesco PLC Executive Committee
From: Naser Alawadhi
Date: 9th April 2019
RE: To drive enrollment in a retirement plan
Audience
This memo is addressed to the executive management of Tesco PLC for they are the main decision
makers in this enterprise. They include;
Dave Lewis – Chief Executive Officer
Alan Stewart – Chief Financial Officer
Natasha Adams – Chief People Officer
Tony Hoggett – Chief Operations Officer
Allessandra Bellini – Chief Customer Officer
Introduction
Whenever employees attain their retirement age, they need to have an amount of money saved up to cater
for their needs after retirement. This is a necessity especially for employees rather than for people who
own their personal businesses. As such, all employees need to have a set retirement benefits plan to avoid
future problems in old age such as living in the homes for the elderly. Having a retirement benefits plan
thus aids both retired individuals, their families, as well as, the government due to the reduced budgets of
caring for the elderly. This memo is addressed to the management of Tesco PLC on the issue of enrolling
their employees on a retirement plan.
Body
From the problem identified, it has come to our notice that the branches of Tesco PLC do not have a set
retirement benefits plan for their workers in three States in the United States of America. This issue as
known by all fails to adhere to the regulations set by the national government of the United States of
America about the issue of enrolling all the employees on a retirement benefits plan which is designated
to cater for the employees and their families once they get retired.
For this cause, the State government of Wisconsin under the municipal supervision orders Tesco PLC to
consider the enrollment of their employees to two retirement benefits programs with immediate effect.
Some of the recommended retirement benefits plan include;
•
•
•
•
•
•
401 (K) plan
Pension plans
Participant rights
Fiduciary responsibilities
Employee retirement income security and,
Participant rights
Identifying and Reducing Clinical Waste
2
This memo is to be redistributed to all the branch managers of all the multiple branches of Tesco PLC for
them to enlist all the formal employees serving under their respective branches. this redistribution is
meant to ensure no employee will be left without a verified retirement benefits plan as the regulations and
statutes demand on retirement and pension plans in the United States of America. Pension plans in the
United States of America are regulated by the following bodies and Tesco PLC must abide to the list of
regulations as stipulated by these statutes and regulations.
•
•
•
•
The United States Treasury and Regulations
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986
The Department of Labor Regulations
Finally, the above bodies have offered Tesco PLC a grace period of two months (45 working days
excluding weekends) to comply with the demands made in this memo. Failure to do so, Tesco PLC will
be arraigned in court for unethical misconduct as well as not adhering to the rights of employees as it is
stipulated by the above enlisted regulations and statutes that regulate pensions and retirement benefit
plans in the United States of America.
Conclusion
This memo has been written by one primary student from a subjective point of view. The research is done
on governmental regulations websites which major on the subjects of employee pension and retirement
benefits for information on the regulation of pensions and retirement benefits programs as well as the
results of having a pension and retirement benefits plan for employees. The key words and phrases used
to search for the information include;
•
•
USA Pension plans
USA retirement benefits programs
Thank You.
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