WACked out: The Last Mile

Finally decided to put pen to paper again :)

Since it is almost time for the fachchas to submit their "yet another" WAC report (albeit only online I heard), I thought there should be a gyaan session on what all needs to be done at the last minute.

Honestly, a last minute preparation does help in WAC.

So assuming that most of the fachchas would be done with their content by now, it is important to complete the below checklist before the submission time.

1) Cover Page: Mistakes are pretty common on this one. Unfortunately, it sets the tone for the evaluation of the rest of the report as well sometimes. Topic, "For the requirements of ... ", Name of the Professor (Spelling mistakes can be costly :) ), AA, Your name, Section, Roll Number, Date and IIMA Logo (I guess it is optional) are some of the things you should have on the cover page.

2) Letter of Transmittal: From, To, Subject, gist of the recommendation in the body should be double checked.

Instead of a Letter of Transmittal, you may have to write a memo as well depending on the context of the report.

3) Executive Summary: Check if you have written about all the things in your report (Situation Analysis, Problem Statement, Options, Criteria, Evaluation of options and the recommendation) here. Do not forget to mention the number of words.

4) Table of Contents: Use MS Word to auto generate it for you. Saves a lot of trouble.

5) Situation Analysis: As the topic suggest, even if you are stating 2-3 facts, make sure that you have a reason (read: analysis) of why you are wasting those precious number of words. Its always helpful.

6) Criteria and Evaluation of Options on the basis of the same: Make sure that you apply all the criteria to all the options. Many a times to make sure that our pre-decided solution comes out to be the best, we do not apply the criteria which would not show our pre-selected solution as the best alternative.

7) Try and include a "To the point" action plan as well.

8) Do not forget the number of words at the end of the report ( Count from Situation Analysis till the starting of Exhibits(if any) )

9) Incase you have decided to mention a backup plan (not compulsory), do not choose an option that you have already rejected previously. A backup plan should not be one of those.

10) Most importantly, just finish everything and read your report as you would read a newspaper article. While reading it in a flow, you would be able to spot many grammatical and spelling errors. Best would be if you could get it read/ reviewed through a friend who does not know your writing style.

All the best. Hope it helps!