Outline for Informative Report

Create an outline for an informative report that includes an introduction, descriptions of risks and benefits, a conclusion, and references to sources that will be used in the report.
Introduction
For this assessment, you will create an outline in preparation for Assessment 3, the informative report of a selected innovation. As you’ve learned in the readings about planning a writing project, whether in school or at the workplace, pulling together an outline is key to creating a strong, final writing deliverable. A solid outline will help you to focus your information on pertinent facts that directly align with what you want your readers to do, think, or act. Your outline is also a way to integrate time management into your writing assessments. Sometimes, we forget about the amount of time needed to research that is necessary for us to see the big picture and to analyze the information to understand what it means to individuals, organizations, or communities. And keep in mind that an outline is an artifact that you can use to get early feedback from peers, colleagues, managers, and in this case, your faculty, so that you can use the feedback to improve and strengthen your writing. You will find that a good outline helps make the research, drafting, and writing process efficient, so don’t underestimate the power of a good outline.
Note: Complete Assessment 2 before moving on to Assessment 3.
Preparation
For this and the rest of the assessments in this course, consider this scenario:

Your workplace has experienced significant change recently, and your department is expected to respond to change with innovation. Your direct leader has asked you to determine one specific innovation for your department; you will be responsible for the implementation of this innovation.
Your direct leader has also asked you to first create an informative report in which you present the benefits and risks around your suggested innovation. Once they approve or provide feedback on this, they would like you to create a recommendation report for your immediate manager. Finally, you will need to create a pitch email to communicate the final changes to your entire department. 

For these assessments, you should consider an innovation in a workplace within your discipline. You can consider your current job or a job you aspire to in the future.
One of the prewriting strategies is outlining; a good outline will help focus your main points and help you to see how they connect to create the premise of your paper.

Review the Outline and the Stages of Writing [PDF] from the Capella Writing Center to help you with your outline. 
Use the Outline for Informative Report Template [DOCX] to complete the assessment. The template will help guide your thoughts and clearly show how to structure your outline.
Remember to use the General Education Information Research Skills Library Guide to help your research. 

Instructions
Your outline should address the points below and be supported with scholarly references and other credible resources. 

Step 1: Develop an introduction about the selected innovation.

Provide a brief description of the innovation.
Explain why this innovation is important and what it means for individuals, companies, communities, et cetera.
Describe the call to action that you want from your audience.
Include a transition to the body of the report.

Step 2: Describe three risks.

Your informative report will include three risks. You will select one risk and explain it in detail. 

Step 3: Describe three benefits.

Your report will also include three benefits. You will select one benefit and explain it in detail. 

Step 4: Develop a conclusion that is succinct and reminds the audience about the importance of the innovation, the call to action, and the risks and benefits. 

Craft a succinct conclusion that reminds the audience why this innovation is important, how they should respond, and the risks and benefits of this innovation. 

Step 5: Provide a citation page. 

In business and professional writing, APA format and style are not required but for the purpose of the course assessments, you may follow current APA style. 

Additional Requirements
Your assessment should meet the following requirements:

Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
Formatting: Use the Outline for Informative Report Template [DOCX]. Include three risks and three benefits on the template.
Citations: As you complete research, it is important to cite your sources so that you can provide the original author with credit for their work. There are different citation formats. As you move forward, you will use APA in your coursework. You do not need to use APA formatting in this course, but it is important to learn the intent of it so you have the necessary foundation. For this assessment:

Provide the author’s last name and the year of the publication in your outline. If there is a direct quote, use quotation marks and provide the page number, too.
Provide a separate reference page that includes a list of the research you used for the assessment.