Annual report analysis

Assignment Requirements

 
I’ll attach the requirements

Can I get the first paragraph tomorrow morning, because its due tomorrow, and the essay after 7 days

Company Name	Forbes Ranking	Report Year	Annual Report URL
Abbott Laboratories	71	2012	http://www.abbottinvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=94004&p=irol-proxy (click to download 2012 report)
Aflac	128	2012	http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/3187/4715/document_0/IAR2012.pdf
AT&T	11	2012	http://www.att.com/Investor/ATT_Annual/2012/downloads/ar2012_annual_report.pdf
Caterpillar	46	2012	http://www.caterpillar.com/cda/files/2674611/7/2012_Year_in_Review.pdf
CHS	78	2012	http://annualreport.chsinc.com/FY2012/PDF/CHS_AnnualReport_2012.pdf
Cigna	130	2012	http://www.cigna.com/assets/docs/annual-reports-and-proxy-statements/cigna-2012-interactive-annual-report.pdf
Coca Cola	59	2012	http://www.coca-colacompany.com/annual-review/2012/year_in_review.html
Dow Chemical	47	2012	http://www.dow.com/investors/pdfs/161-00784_2012_Annual_Report.pdf
Exxon Mobil	1	2012	http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/1465/4748/document_0/2012_SAR.pdf
Fluor	124	2012	http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/12/124955/ARWall/pdf/Fluor2012.pdf
Ford Motor	9	2012	http://corporate.ford.com/annual-report-2012/index
General Electric	6	2012	http://www.ge.com/ar2012/#!report=home
Goldman Sachs Group	80	2012	http://www.goldmansachs.com/s/2012annual/
Halliburton	118	2012	http://ir.halliburton.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=67605&p=irol-reportsAnnual

 

 

Company Name	Forbes Ranking	Report Year	Annual Report URL
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group	84	2012	http://www.libertymutualimages.com/AnnualReview2012/index.html
Manpower	129	2012	http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/MAN/2633983941x0x648084/0293B1D4-61C0-4702-8467-9E60BF4D9344/MAN_Annual_Report_2012.pdf
Marathon Petroleum	31	2012	http://www.marathonpetroleum.com/content/documents/investor_center/annual_reports/MPC_Annual_Report_2012_with10-K.pdf
Mass. Mutual Life Insurance	121	2012	http://www.massmutual.com/mmfg/pdf/mm_annual_report.pdf
Nationwide	100	2012	http://static.nationwide.com/pdf/Nationwide-2012-annual-report.pdf
Pepsico	41	2012	http://www.pepsico.com/annual12/
Pfizer	40	2012	http://www.pfizer.com/files/investors/financial_reports/annual_reports/2012/index.html
Philip Morris International	99	2012	http://investors.pmi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=146476&p=irol-reportsannual
Procter & Gamble	27	2012	http://annualreport.pg.com/annualreport2012/files/PG_2012_AnnualReport.pdf
Safeway	63	2012	http://216.139.227.101/interactive/swy2012/
Sysco	69	2012	http://www.sysco.com/documents/Annual_Report_2012.pdf
Target	38	2012	https://corporate.target.com/annual-reports/2012
Time Warner	103	2012	http://www.envisionreports.com/TWX/2013/21701MA13E/95f44e9bb45d41a693f374ae56ee1a89/Time_Warner_AR_04-04-13_secured.pdf
TJX	125	2012	http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/1713/4771/document_0/TJX2012AR_431406_Complete.pdf
United Technologies	48	2012	http://2012ar.utc.com/assets/pdfs/UTCAR12_Full_Report.pdf
Company Name	Forbes Ranking	Report Year	Annual Report URL
Valero Energy	12	2012	http://media.valero.com/flash/annualreport2012/pdf/report.pdf
Verizon Communications	15	2012	http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/interactiveannual/2012/index.html
Walgreen	32	2012	http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/WAG/2305161536x0x608988/5A4CA423-70A4-46A7-876E-0EA1FBDF14AA/WAG_2012_AR_lo.pdf
Walmart	2	2013	http://stock.walmart.com/microsites/annual-report-2013/
Wells Fargo	26	2012	https://www.wellsfargo.com/downloads/pdf/invest_relations/2012-annual-report.pdf
Xerox	127	2012	http://www.xerox.com/assets/pdf/partners/studiocom/annual/2012_Xerox_Annual_Report.pdf

 

Writing Prompt

 

In this paper, you will analyze the Annual Report of a single Fortune 500 company, asserting and giving evidence of the most powerful visual, verbal (and, if relevant, aural) techniques and strategies the document uses to target and persuade its intended audience.

 

Preparation—READ CAREFULLY

 

1. YOUR EXPERIENCE AT THIS TYPE OF ANALYSIS: In class, you have analyzed the Goldman Sachs equity analysis report on Network Appliance, looking specifically at how the document was designed, for whom the document was designed, and whether (and for whom) the document was effective.

 

You’ve already begun to understand the COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES or STRATEGIES that a document uses to affect/persuade the reader.

 

2. CHOOSING THE RIGHT FORTUNE 500 COMPANY’S ANNUAL REPORT:

Choose an annual report of a Fortune 500 company that includes lots of the following:

 

• Visual TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

o    E.g. Photos, colorful charts, graphic representation of data, formatting that chunks information (like section headers or bullets)

 

• Verbal TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

o    E.g. Descriptive, powerful wording used to affect the reader. These can describe the business, the products/services, the people who work for this company, etc.

 

• Mixed Visual/Verbal/Aural TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

o    E.g. Videos. These may use powerful visuals, descriptive language (heard or written on screen), and even music (an aural strategy) to affect the viewer.

 

WARNING: If you choose an Annual Report with only a letter to shareholders or which is just the company’s SEC 10K financial reporting, your analysis and your grade will suffer.

 

3. Read the following article (assigned and posted on Blackboard):

 

“Ten Things to Remember When Writing an Annual Report,” a National Investor Relations Institute article.

 

For more information on the Annual Report—what it does, how it does it—see the following: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_report

 

 

 

 

See next page for more instructions…

 

 

 

Write a structured essay that has the following:

 

1. ASSERTIVE, SPECIFIC, AND PROVABLE THESIS: A strong thesis must assert what you are going to argue in your paper, i.e., your three main claims are about the most powerful, influential, and persuasive strategies—what they are and why they are used—in your chosen Annual Report.
2. “TOPIC SENTENCE-DRIVEN” PARAGRAPHS: Body paragraphs must each have a strong topic sentence that asserts one thesis claim.
3. UNIFIED PARAGRAPHS: All body paragraphs must use only evidence that supports the topic sentence claim—no topic drift.
4. PARAGRAPHS THAT USE DETAILS/DATA/SPECIFICS: Evidence supports topic sentence claims.
5. CONCLUSION THAT ECHOES & ELABORATES: Conclude by echoing your thesis (briefly summarizing the visual and verbal strategies you found in the Annual Report) and then explain briefly what specific communication strategies in this report you found most effective and powerful.

 

Formatting Requirements—READ CAREFULLY

 

1. No more than 3 pages.
2. 12 point Times New Roman or Calibri font, double spaced (for double spacing, you will need to change the default setting on MSWord).
3. Your header should be RIGHT JUSTIFIED and SINGLE SPACED – see example directly below:

Student Name
BA 2196 Section (identify)/Instructor Name
Writing Assignment: Analyzing the Annual Report

4. EDIT YOUR PAPER!

• Remember to review the WRITING SKILLSHEETS posted on Blackboard.
• Papers will be graded on how well you learn to edit your papers effectively.

 

Make an Appointment with a Peer Writing Tutor at the Business Communications Center:

 

If you need additional help with your writing, make an appointment with the business writing center at the Fox School Business Communications Center, Speakman Hall 106. To learn how to make an appointment, visit www.fox.temple.edu/bcc. All appointments are made through the Center’s online appointment system.

 

 

APPENDIX: Want some help thinking through your analysis? Questions below might spur ideas.

 

• What techniques/strategiesdid the Annual Report’s author/designer use to powerfully AFFECT the audience?
• Why do companies take the time to write an Annual Report when all they are legally required to do is to file their financial information with the SEC?
• How does the Annual Report present information? Does it highlight any themes? Ideas? If so, how specifically? To what audience(s)? What would its intended audience(s) be looking for?
• Did specific information stand out to you as a reader? What made it stand out?

 

Content Requirements: You must choose an Annual Report of a Fortune 500 Company, full of visuals (e.g., photos, colorful charts, and videos) and verbals (e.g., lots of descriptive, powerful language) that clearly and powerfully describes the company, its mission, and its business. Reads and analyzes the annual report deeply—asserting and giving evidence of the most powerful VISUAL, VERBAL, and/or AURAL strategies/techniques used in the report Clearly identifies the intended audience of the Annual Report and gives specific examples of how the Annual Report targets that audience using the strategies/techniques Uses well-chosen details, data, and specifics to make points—you must give clear, detailed evidence for your claims about the strategies/techniques Considers how the language of the Annual Report is used. Considers how the visuals are used. Tells us what “story” is being told in the Annual Report (what overall impression is the reader left with?). Describes clearly/specifically the purpose/intent of the Annual Report and how the techniques/strategies tie in with that purpose and intent If applicable, discusses how the organization of the Annual Report might relate to the writer’s strategy. _____/35

Structure and Logic: Opening paragraph sets up the issue and has a thesis statement that makes a strong, clear claim. Internal paragraphs: o    Each have a single topic sentence linked to the thesis claim o    Fully explain and support that topic with specific, detailed, and well-chosen evidence o    Demonstrate an interesting and powerful progression of ideas (without redundancy) Clear logical transitions between ideas explain connections. Closing re-iterates claim and elaborates on which strategies were most successful. Organizes information so most important information to the reader is placed first and explanations follow. Assignment shows clear logical flow. _____/30

Language: Language is economical, clear, precise, and professional and meets the following qualifications: o    Relies upon detailed, specific, concrete statements (free of abstract and vague statements) o    Free of discriminatory or biased language o    Free of weasel words such as “generally,” “some,” “various,” “very,” “basically” o    Free of informal, unprofessional, or overly conversational language o    Free of jargon and clichés o    Free of long-windedness, redundancies, and weak openings (“My point is that it is very important that people understand the importance of…”) o    Confident, positive, and professional tone (No use of “I believe” phrases) o    Limits use of passive voice o    Free of “There are” or “It is” constructions o    Free of unnecessarily complex verb tenses, convoluted constructions Sentences are energetic and varied. Free of grammar and usage errors, including: o    Pronoun disagreement o    Subject-verb disagreement o    Tense changes o    Comma errors o    Unparallel sentence structure o    Misuse of punctuation (e.g., apostrophes, quotation marks) _____/35

 

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