Electricity prices in Queensland (Report) Public relations theories
Order Description
The issue : Electricity prices in Queensland
The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) announced that electricity bills on the standard domestic tariff would rise by 13.6 per cent last month, bringing the total
increase over the past three years to over 50%.
You work for the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCSS).
Assessment Name:Report
Length: 2000 words
Links to unit objectives: 1, 2, & 4. Relates to AOLs: KS 1.1; PC 3.1 (refer to the Unit Outline document for what these numbers mean)
Brief description: Write a report on one of the organisations and issues from the list of options provided. Include discussions of
• Who your organisation’s stakeholders are
• The public relations issue your organisation is facing
• The publics this issue creates
• The mutual significance of organisation, publics, and issue.
Step-by-step guide to preparing Assignment 2: Report
• Refer to the list of organisations and issues provided by your lecturer. These will be made available to you in lectures and tutorials, and under the Assessment tab
on the BB site. Choose ONE as the focus of your report.
• Provide a report that demonstrates your knowledge of key concepts in this unit by identifying and discussing your organisation’s stakeholders; describing and
analysing the issue from a public relations perspective; and discussing the publics that are created by this issue.
• You will need to begin your analysis of each of the three elements (stakeholders, issue and publics) with a discussion of a scholarly definition of each element. You
should use these definitions to frame your analysis. Please read the CRA for more information on this.
• In order to help you structure the content for this assignment, try addressing the following questions in your report:
o Who is your organisation, who are its stakeholders, and why do they matter to your organisation? Hint: Lecture 1 content will help here.
o From a public relations perspective, what is the issue facing your organisation and why does it matter to your organisation? Hint: Understanding issues from a public
relations perspective will be covered in lectures (especially in Lecture 2) and tutorials.
o Who are your organisation’s publics in priority order? Why do they matter to your organisation? Hint: Lecture 2 content will be significant here.
o What is the connection between all three elements (organisation, issue, publics)? Hint: Going back to Lecture 2 will help here too.
• You will need a brief introduction and a conclusion as well, and all content should be presented within the 2000 word limit. It’s up to you to work out how many
words go in each section.
• Note that the word count is calculated by clicking on the word ‘Introduction’ in your report, and highlighting ALL content through to the last word before the
heading ‘References’. The total thus indicated is your word count and should be between 1800 and 2200.
You’ll need to begin researching to find out what – and who – is involved. Where do you start? I’d suggest you do a basic Google search first to get an overview –
perhaps check out a few commercial news sites too. Then you’ll need to go deeper. Go to the Factiva (if you can)
There are other databases too, such as Aust/NZ Newspaper and Reference Centre.
Adapted from Writing Reports
www.citewrite.qut.edu.au
Commonly used headings for reports
Note: DO NOT SIMPLY COPY THESE ACTUAL HEADINGS INTO YOUR ASSIGNMENT – THINK ABOUT HOW YOU SHOULD ADAPT THEM TO MAKE YOUR WORK FLOW.
Title page
• the report title, which states the report’s purpose
• your name and the name of the person receiving the report (place in the bottom
right-hand corner)
• the submission date.
Executive summary
An executive summary is different from an introduction. It:
• provides the reader with a quick overview of the report’s purpose, its context, major findings, conclusions and recommendations
• is restricted to one paragraph
• includes one sentence for every main section of the report, omitting details and examples.
It is often easier to write the executive summary once the report has been completed.
You should provide an executive summary for your report in AMN465. DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS WORD TOTAL.
Table of contents
The table of contents lists the main sections (headings) of the report, and the page on which each begins. If your report includes tables, diagrams or illustrations,
these are listed separately on the page after the table of contents.
Not obligatory, but a good idea. DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS WORD TOTAL.
Introduction
The introduction should:
• discuss the importance or significance of the research or problem to be reported
• define the purpose of the report
• outline the issues to be discussed (scope)
• inform the reader of any limitations to the report, or any assumptions made.
In AMN465, your introduction will briefly set the scene by identifying your organisation and any other relevant information. It should be about 100 words long
(suggested guideline only).
Discussion or body (THIS IS DEFINITELY A HEADING THAT SHOULD NOT APPEAR IN YOUR ASSIGNMENT!!)
This contains the main substance of the report, organised into sections with headings and subheadings rather than paragraphs. The body of the report in AMN465 should
include a discussion and analysis of topic as specified in the CRA sheet.
All this must be supported by reference to appropriate sources. For full details, see your CRA sheet. This section forms the major part of your assignment and
should be about 1300 words (suggested guideline only).
Conclusion
This summarises the key findings from the discussion section and may be numbered here for clarity. Relate your conclusion to the objectives of the report and arrange
your points logically so that major conclusions are presented first.
In AMN465, your report should conclude with a brief summary of your major findings. Recommendations are not required. This section should be about 100 words
(suggested guideline only).
Reference list
This must contain all the material cited in the report.
For AMN465 the required format is APA
Appendices
These contain extra supporting information that is put at the end of the report so as not to distract the reader from the main issues. They contain detailed
information, such as questionnaires, tables, graphs and diagrams. Appendices should be clearly set out and numbered in the order they are mentioned in the text.
Do NOT try to use appendices to get around the word limit! They should be used only for information that is extra to the core ideas in your report – to
explain, illustrate, and enhance them perhaps. Your report must make sense as a standalone document, without the need to read appendices.
