The Final Product: A Killer Document

Many of the criteria about selecting a topic, researching it thoroughly and getting feedback from professors apply here.

Presentation

A Cover To Judge A Book By

Presentation is very important in every paper that you hand in. Throughout your life, many have reminded you that not all books should be judged by their covers, yet teachers often forget this.

Your cover page must stand out. Either have the company logo or product image on it. You can even go the extra mile and present the paper as the final product in the appropriate packaging (in marketing classes especially). Make Management papers resemble censuses. Make IT assignments look like white papers. Something as simple as a different shade of color for the paper will make a big difference. If the paper is for a Finance class, make it look like an actual annual report, analyst recommendation or government proposal.

Presentation comes to many other factors though. In group projects, names should be alphabetized. Some rank them in order of input, others by student number. The latter makes sense but the former does not. If your professor wants a sense of who contributed the most, he will ask.

Consistency

Presentation also means consistency. Page numbers, headings and font must be consistent.

Eye Grabber

Whatever you do, ask yourself what would make the teacher notice it from the pile and give it a read while he browses the others. A solid presentation with out-of-the-box thinking could lead the professor to be curious about the contents of the paper.

Vicious Spiral

Some teachers may prefer that you not bind your paper. Many will ask that you staple it in order to keep it thin. Imagine a poor professor that must carry dozens of thick papers back and forth between the classroom, office and home. Ask your teacher about their preference.

Table Of Contents

The table of contents should be attractive. Be descriptive and add some interesting headlines.

Try to ask yourself what would jump out and grab your attention as a reader. Try to use terms that come up in classes and business such as "Flight To Quality" or "Conspicuous Consumption." Better yet, take something conventional and add a personal twist to it. The Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan once criticized the American investor for irrational exuberance. If your position is that stock prices are not irrational (Greenspan was suggesting that they were), use a title like "Rational Exuberance" and readers will know that you follow the market yet have a different take. Chances are that the grader will pay more attention to the rest of your paper.

Bibliography

The bibliography is one of the most important parts of a paper. While some disciplines like Psychology, History and Sociology rely on bibliographies more than Business, never underestimate the importance of backing up your claims in consistent, methodical fashion.

Business is for ambitious and bold individuals who think out-of-the-box but this does not mean that all of your ideas will be accepted at face vale. So back every idea, quote and fact with an appropriate source.

Index

It may also be a good idea to include an index of people, topics and events to help the teacher "frame" your presentation better. This shows that you laid out a game plan and then executed it. It also demonstrates that your ideas and findings are not just based on personal pontification.