COMD358 Professional Communication

Term Paper Project Instructions & Template

Teamwork: Oral and Written Reports

Written Project and Team Progress Report Template

(25% total = 10% Presentation + 15% Written Report)

The class has been divided into teams, and each team will work on its professional communication project.
The teams will be responsible for a written submission of a communication report and a 15-minute oral
presentation of their suggestions about the following scenario.

This project is a team effort, and each student will be evaluated by the instructor as well as their peers.

Bilkent University working towards Sustainable Development Goals

This year the COMD 358 Professional Communication students will work on
bringing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 sustainable
development goals to the Bilkent University campus.

A set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, also known as the Global

Goals) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice and tackle climate change
by 2030 were adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable
Development Summit in September 2015. These global goals are universal,
inclusive and signal a bold commitment to people and the planet.

Student teams will work together to focus on an SDG of their choice. They will
do some research about the goal they would like to implement at Bilkent, and
plan how they want to adapt it to the Bilkent context. They will later work on a
research report and a communication plan to communicate their suggested
project to the Bilkent University management team and the Board of Trustees to
be implemented in Bilkent.

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The report will be approximately 10-12 pages, typed in 12 ft. Arial or Times New Roman, and 1.5-spaced.
The Communication Report components and requirements are:

● Introduces the Sustainable development goal of the student teams’ choice, relevant background,
and context of the project. Provide SDG implementation examples from other institutions, etc.

● Expresses the purpose and rationale behind the team suggestions effectively and professionally
with the relevant components: Project goals, relevant research on best practices, how the SDG will
be adapted to the Bilkent context and how the project will be operationalized, how the
communication process should be managed with the target audience (i.e., how to communicate
with the student populations and Bilkent community members)

● What communication strategies and tactics will the team use for their audience and with what
rationales?

● Outlines what the team norms and mission are, and provides a project management Gantt chart,
sample meeting agenda, and minutes.

● Fulfills professional report writing requirements and expectations with good writing and design.

The Communication Presentation will be 15 minutes long and its components and requirements are:

● Has a professional title slide, outline that clearly explains the relevant sections of the project in a
visually appealing manner.

● Is an effective team effort.

● Clearly reflects the SDG project and its implementation in Bilkent considering their target audience
and explains the rationale behind how the suggestions can benefit the Bilkent community and
students.

GRADING RUBRIC
COVER PAGE (0.25 pts)

TABLE OF CONTENTS (0.25 pts)

1. SUMMARY (1.5 pts)

This section should include information for readers who will not read the entire document but who will need a
summary of the proposal. Although this section appears first in the document, it is usually written last (max. one
page)

The summary should contain the following elements:

• Brief identification and the central idea of your team
• Brief identification of your decision about the content of this document
• The purpose and the anticipated end result of this proposal

2. INTRODUCTION and TEAM (1.5 pts)

Introduce yourself and/or your team here.It is best to begin by explaining your relevant background information
so that your readers know who you are and what you do.
2.1 TEAM MEMBERS
Introduce your team and yourself with the relevant background information. (max. one page)

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 2.2 TEAM NORMS
Decide on at least 6 points and explain them. (max. one page)
2.4 TEAM MISSION STATEMENT
Define your team’s mission in one paragraph. (max. one page)

3. OBJECTIVES (2 pts)
3.1. PROJECT AIM
Briefly explain what do you want to achieve as a team in a paragraph. (max. one page)
3.2 GOALS OF THE PROJECT
Write three SMART goals for your team (see https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-
development/smart-goals). (max. one page)

4. SUGGESTIONS (4 pts)
This section should include every detail on your two suggestions. (max. four pages)
Please explain:
• What is the suggestion?
• Define the problem(s) and tell about your solutions.
• Provide examples from other contexts, institutions, etc. with references.

5. REACHING THE COMMUNITY (2 pts)

In this section, explain who your target audience is. (max. two pages)
• For whom and for whose benefit are you doing this work?
• How would you announce your suggestions? And how you would like to communicate with your target
audience?

6. CONCLUDING REMARKS (1 pt)

Please briefly describe what you got from this project and what might be the future plans of your team and
project. (max. one page)

7. TEAM PROGRESS (2 pts)

In this section, add your team progress materials.
7.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT GANTT CHART
Use a Gantt chart that shows the division of tasks and project outputs to be produced with a specific
timeline
7.2 MEETING AGENDAS
Add two Meeting Agendas. (max. two pages)
7.3 MEETING MINUTES
Add two Meeting Minutes. (max. two pages)
7.4 SELF-EVALUATION (Individual submission)
Evaluate your overall contribution to the team project in an objective manner and identify one strength
and one weakness you have observed in your own performance. (max. one page)
7.5 PEER-EVALUATION (Individual submission)
Evaluate your peers’ overall contribution to the team project in an objective manner. (max. one page)
This will be uploaded separately on Moodle

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8. REFERENCES (0.5 pts)
You should use APA style for your reference as well as page formatting (See
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.ht
ml).

8. APPENDIX

Project Submission Schedule

14-16 December 2022: Presentation Rehearsals/Meetings

All group members should be present for a final check-in with the instructor.

21 December 2022: Written Components Submission Deadline

Written componens should be sent to the instructor via e-mail before 8 am.

21-23 December 2022: Actual Presentation in Class

Revised speech with visual presentation on assigned class hour. All group
members should present.

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