Please see new guidelines as of 1/1/2020. A report or published paper, and a non-technical summary (abstract) of it, representing the applicant’s professional work is required as the second part of the written assignment. Effective communication skills are essential for anyone contemplating attainment of the CCM credential.¹ A CCM candidate must demonstrate that he/she possesses the ability to apply his or her meteorological knowledge beneficially to the affairs of mankind and communicate that knowledge to the public. Usually a client does not have the same technical expertise as the consultant hired; therefore, it is essential that the consultant be able to provide a written product that communicates effectively to any non-technical user. All CCM applicants are required to submit a written report to accompany their formal application. This report may not be more than five years old at the time of submission. It must adequately addresses the twin objectives of demonstrating both meteorological analytical skill and effective communication. To meet these objectives, the following guidelines apply:

1. The abstract should be limited to 250 words, and the technical paper should not be less than 1000 words and not more than 5000 words and should contain no more than 10 graphics
2. The report must represent the applicant's professional work. If the applicant is not presently involved in professional work that results in written reports, or cannot provide a written report meeting the five year age restriction, the applicant must prepare a written report that specifically demonstrates his or her ability to meet the report objectives outlined herein.
3. The report may not be one that has been, or will be submitted for fulfillment of academic degree requirements.
4. The report must demonstrate the ability to communicate with non-technical clients. Published papers that are so specialized that practitioners in a narrow specialty can only understand them do not meet that criterion and will be rejected.
5. The report must demonstrate meteorological analytical skill. Reports on subjects allied to meteorology (e.g. communications, computers) that do not contain meteorological analyses are unacceptable.
6. Reports that simply provide descriptive statistics (e.g. climatological data) and do not contain substantive meteorological analysis of these data are unacceptable.
7. The CCM applicant must be the principal author or the principal author of a substantial part of the report. The report may be one prepared under the technical supervision of the applicant; however, administrative supervision, such as in the role of a contract officer, is not sufficient. The applicant must be a significant contributor to the technical meteorological analysis and must be able to defend the concepts in the report during the oral interview. In cases of multiple authors, the applicant must indicate his or her role in the preparation of the report when he/she submits it to the BCCM for consideration.

8. Reports interpreting meteorological information presented previously (within the last five years) for a non-technical client (audience) are acceptable providing they are technically correct and display a greater understanding of meteorology than would be expected of a journalist. In lieu of the non-technical summary (abstract) described above, such reports should be supplemented with a 250 word or less technical summary describing or demonstrating the meteorological analysis or insight involved in the process of creating the report.
   
   Below is a link to a sample technical report that will give you a better idea of what is acceptable.
   
   Sample Technical Report

¹Eloquent Science: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Better Writer, Speaker, and Atmospheric Scientist; © 2009-Author David M. Schultz; -ISBN 978-1-878220-91-2