Page 38 - Mini-Module 11

Recommendations

If these do not relate closely to your conclusions, you are hardly likely
to convince anyone to implement your recommendations. They should
be a natural and logical consequence of everything which has been
written before. These are the end of a story, one which makes sense.
The readers should be satisfied therefore that they have read a
convincing and coherent storyline.
Recommendations should be absolutely clear. They stand little chance
of success if they are vague. It is not a good idea, for example, to write:
'It is recommended that we consider the possibility of taking on extra
professional support staff if we are to better cater for minority
students. It is difficult to believe anyone could take any action on a
recommendation like that. How many ancillary staff should be
employed? When are they needed? And is the writer trying to shirk
responsibility if things go wrong by referring to growth? Be precise and
ensure that you are realistic, and that you explain briefly why you have
chosen that course of action. It is a good idea to type the
recommendation statement in bold or italic characters (or underline)
and then give a few lines of explanation. An example is shown in Figure
8.

Figure 8: A Recommendation

Recommendation 1 Two additional professional support staff should be
employed immediately.

With increasing numbers of minority students, teachers are unable to
adequately meet their basic needs. Teachers are considerably overloaded. They
generally work all day on Saturday to prepare adequately.

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