M8A1: Preparing an Executive Summary For this assignment, you will create an executive summary of a report that would be shared with executive management

M8A1: Preparing an Executive Summary

For this assignment, you will create an executive summary of a report that would be shared with executive management.  As we have learned in our readings, the executive summary presents the most important information about a report. It is often the only thing that will get read, so you want to make your executive summary compelling and highlight all the major points. 

To begin this assignment, first choose one of the following reports to focus on and begin to note important facts that should be included in your executive summary.

• American Hospital Association. (2015, June.) Teaching hospitals: Preparing tomorrow's physicians today (Links to an external site.) TrendWatch.
• American Hospital Association. (2014, June.) Increasing consumer choice in coverage and care: Implications for hospitals (Links to an external site.). TrendWatch.

Your executive summary should include the following elements:

• An accurately APA formatted title page with your name and all APA required elements.

• An introductory paragraph that immediately identifies the main idea of the report.
• Three to five supporting paragraphs that includes additional important details from the report.
• A concluding paragraph where you offer the executive management team your opinion as to whether the report was compelling in its recommendations or information.

Your executive summary should be 1-2 pages, double-spaced.  Provide the APA formatted citation at the end of your summary. Be sure to proofread your assignment carefully before submitting it.  This assignment will be due at the end of Module 8. 

You may also wish to use one or more of the following recommended resources to ensure success in writing your essay. 

• Basic Grammar: Grammarly (Links to an external site.)
• Citing Resources: Avoiding Plagiarism Tutorial (Links to an external site.)    
• Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue OWL (Links to an external site.)

Compose your work in a .doc or .docx file type using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word, etc.) and save it frequently to your computer. For those assignments that are not written essays and require uploading images or PowerPoint slides, please follow uploading guidelines provided by your instructor.

Check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Upload Submission.”  Enter the submission title and then click on “Select a file to upload.” Browse your computer, and select your file. Click “Open” and verify the correct file name has appeared next to Submission File. Click on “Continue.”  Confirm submission is correct and then click on “Accept Submission & Save.”

Turnitin

This course has Turnitin fully integrated into the course dropbox. This means that you should only submit your assignments to the dropbox below. Please do not submit your assignment directly to Turnitin.com.    

Once submitted, your assignment will be evaluated by Turnitin® automatically.  You will be able to view an Originality Report within minutes of your first submission that will show how much of your work has been identified as similar to other sources such as websites, textbooks, or other student papers.  Use your Originality Report as a learning tool to identify areas of your assignment that you may not have cited appropriately.  You may resubmit your assignment through this dropbox as many times as you need to check to see if you have made improvements, until the due date of the assignment. However, once you have made your first submission, you will need to wait 24 hours after each subsequent submission to receive a new Originality Report.  Plan accordingly as you draft your assignment. Once the due date has passed, your assignment submission will be considered final. 

Make any corrections as indicated by your Turnitin report.  

Evaluation

This assignment will be graded using the HSC310 M8A1 Executive Summary Rubric located on the Course Rubrics page within the Start Here module of this course. Please review this rubric prior to beginning your work. This assignment is one of four shorter course writing activities, which are collectively worth 30% of your overall grade.