Detailed Investigation Report: Effective Writing Textbook Issue

This investigation report addresses a textbook issue for the Effective Writing Strategies course at Conestoga College's Communications Department. The report examines the transition from the third to the fourth edition of the "Writing Effectively" textbook. It includes insights from interviews with the Bookstore Manager, an instructor, and the administrative assistant to determine the number of textbook copies required for the upcoming semester and the feasibility of using the new edition. The findings indicate that the third edition should continue to be used due to course content alignment and existing inventory, with a recommendation to supplement with used copies if needed, given the lower student enrollment for the upcoming semester.

Running Head: INVESTIGATION REPORT
Investigation Report
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INVESTIGATION REPORT
To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Date: 17. 7.2018
Subject: Addressing the Issue of a Textbook Requirement for the Effective Writing
Strategies Course
Dear Ms. Kelly Book,
This is to bring to your notice that the Effective Writing Strategies course that
is offered at the Communications Department of Conestoga College requires those
who sign up for this course to read a basic textbook, entitled Writing Effectively, as a
part of the course’s study requirements. The third edition of Writing Effectively was
extensively used in the previous semester, and the faculty members at the
Communications Department fully intend on making their students read this book
once again for the Effective Writing Strategies course in the upcoming semester. Yet
Oxford Publishers, the publishing house that is responsible for printing and
distributing this textbook to book sellers has come up with a new fourth edition of the
book, which they now wish to sell in place of the third edition. This report investigates
as to whether the Effective Writing Strategies course at Conestoga Communications
Department is likely to undergo any changes because of this transition. It also
inquires into the number of copies of Writing Effectively that will be required by
students enrolling for the Effective Writing Strategies course in upcoming semester
and whether more copies of the 3rd edition of Writing Effectively can be ordered and
used or not. The report is based on three interviews that were carried out with David
Book, the Bookstore manager, Mr. Hoan who is an instructor for the Effective Writing
Strategies course and Hector Mead, the administrative assistant at the
Communications Department in Conestoga College.
The Supply of the textbook “Writing Effectively” can turn out to be Problematic
The supply of the third edition of the Writing Effectively textbook is likely to
take a big hit as mentioned by David Book, the Bookstore Manager in Conestoga
College. Oxford Publishers has now decided to introduce a new fourth edition of this
textbook and all the existing copies have to be returned by the bookstore within a
period of four weeks, and before the start of the new semester, if the bookstore is to
receive and distribute the new edition. If the remaining copies of the third edition of
Writing Effectively are not returned to Oxford Publishers within the stipulated
timeframe then these books have to be sold by the Conestoga College bookstore in
the upcoming semester. If it is not possible to sell of all existing copies of this
textbook, the Communications Department at Conestoga College will be charged for
these books since the Conestoga Bookstore will no longer be allowed to return them
to Oxford Publishers. The bookstore therefore has to take a major decision now and

2INVESTIGATION REPORT
decide whether it will take a chance and avoid returning the copies of the third
edition of Writing Effectively in lieu of the fourth edition. As many as 106 copies of
the third edition of Writing Effectively were sold in the previous semester and at least
15 copies of the book remain in the store’s inventory. These 15 copies can now be
used in the upcoming semester and depending on how many students register for
the Effective Writing Strategies course, there are used copies of the third edition of
the textbook that can be ordered by the bookstore. The used copies of the textbook
can be returned within a period of one year to the supplier if not used (Raoofi etal,
2014).
Student Enrolment Rate for Effective Writing Strategies is Lower for the
Upcoming Semester compared to the Previous Semester
Mr. Hector Mead who is the administrative assistant at the Communications
Department at Conestoga College revealed in his interview that as many as three
hundred and fifty six students had enrolled for the Effective Writing Strategies course
in the previous semester. For the upcoming semester though, the number of
currently registered students stands at a hundred and twenty seven, a figure that is
far lower than what the enrolment rate had been in the previous semester. Thus
there aren’t too many students for the course in the next semester so the number of
copies of the 3rd edition of Writing Effectively that may be required in the next
semester will not be as many as it had been in the previous semester.
The Third Edition of “Writing Effectively” Shall Continue to be Used in the Next
Semester
According to Mr. Hoan who is an instructor for the Effective Writing Strategies
course at the Conestoga Communications department, the third edition of Writing
Effectively is going to be a very important study requirement for students in the
upcoming semester. Using the fourth edition of this textbook is not going to be
feasible as it includes a chapter on a topic that is not covered by the course at
present. The fourth edition of Writing Effectively will have to be reviewed by Mr.
Hoan first and some slight alterations are going to have to be made to the Effective
Writing Strategies course structure is this book is to be used as a text (Graham etal,
2013). Hence, at the moment, owing and referring to a copy of the third edition of
Writing Effectively is what all course participants need to do in the new semester
(Nielsen, 2014).
It seems evident from all the interviews that were carried out with Mr. Hoan,
Mr. Mead and Mr. Book that replacing the third edition of Writing Effectively with its
fourth edition is not required. There remains as many as 15 copies of this textbook in
the bookstore inventory, the number of students opting for the Effective Writing
Strategies course in the next semester is greatly reduced at 127 in comparison to the
previous semester where the enrolment rate was as high as 350. Mr. Hoan the
course instructor intends on continuing with the use of the third edition of book as the
fourth edition contains some changes and additions that are not a feature of the

3INVESTIGATION REPORT
ongoing course on Effective Writing Strategies (Harris etal, 2013). Hence, it is
recommended that the remaining 15 copies of the third edition of Writing Effectively
be used for students of the Effective Writing Strategies course in the new semester,
and the bookstore can always order 112 used copies of the book, thus providing all
enrolled students with a copy of the textbook.
Respectfully Yours,
Name of the Student carrying out the Investigation

4INVESTIGATION REPORT
References
Graham, S., Gillespie, A., & McKeown, D. (2013). Writing:
Importance, development, and instruction. Reading
and writing, 26(1), 1-15.
Nielsen, K. (2014). Self‐assessment methods in writing
instruction: a conceptual framework, successful
practices and essential strategies. Journal of Research
in Reading, 37(1), 1-16.
Raoofi, S., Chan, S. H., Mukundan, J., & Rashid, S. M.
(2014). A qualitative study into L2 writing strategies of
university students. English Language
Teaching, 7(11), 39.
Harris, K. R., Graham, S., Friedlander, B., & Laud, L. (2013). Bring powerful writing
strategies into your classroom! Why and how. The Reading Teacher, 66(7),
538-542.