Lecture Seven Chapter Six Strategies for Writing Reports

REPORT WRITING PROCESS DEFINE THE PROBLEM OR OBJECTIVE What does reader want from the report? (Information, Data, Analysis ESTABLISH HYPOTHESES Set up IF - THEN statements SEEK DATA Primary (Collected through surveys, interviews, experiments. Secondary ( Historical information) FORMAT Informal (Short Memo) - Letter or Memo Report - Formal

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS FORMAT CONSIDERATIONS Audience Effort (Phone Calls to several weeks in the library) Value (End use) Original Assignment (Expectations of Reader) Precedent Order (What appears first in the report) Direct - Indirect

ORGANIZATION Time (Is the information chronological) Place (Is information geographic) Quantity (Organized by statistical category) Factors or Other Criteria (What helped you reach your conclusion?) (Optimum characteristics of a job candidate)

INTERNAL STRUCTURE HEADINGS - Establish the degree of significance of material to follow (Can be used in formal and informal) Reflect the outline of your report Use as transition devices (When finish one section introduce the next) Be descriptive but short ( No more than seven words) First Degree (Some writers center and make bold) Be consistent Second Degree (Usually at left margin) indicate a sub category of the section) Third Degree (Indented, underscore, Capitalize the initial letter only. Follow the heading by a period and start the body of the paragraph

MEMORANDUM AND LETTER REPORTS Most Informal (Follow style guide for the organization) Introduction (Purpose and who authorized) Body (Direct or Indirect Style) Use Headings Use Lists Only After Introducing Subject Tell the Story Don’t Just Develop a List Ending (Last paragraph should provide conclusions and recommendations)

LETTER REPORTS ORGANIZATION DIRECT OR INDIRECT (Mostly Indirect because of uncertainty of reader reaction) INTRODUCTION Similar to Memo Report. Use to orient reader BODY No set length usually 8 - 10 pages ENDING Conclusion and Recommendations

FORMAL REPORT PREFATORY TITLE FLY TITLE PAGE Title,Presented To, Presented By LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 1st paragraph - Transmits report to recipient, states nature of report, mentions authorization Body - Synopsis, helpful hits in reading and acknowledgments Close with goodwill statement TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES SYNOPSIS If not included in Letter of Transmittal. Sometimes called epitome, review, brief, digest or executive summary

REPORT PROPER INTRODUCTION State Purpose of Report Authorization Methodology Plan used to present information (First, second, finally) Optional Sections Statement of limitations Scope of research Definitions Background of the report problem

REPORT PROPER CONTINUED BODY Well organized with useful of headings Transitions used to introduce the next section Smooth flow of information Appropriate degree of objectivity Assumptions and inferences are acknowledged Correct tense (current tense for your data, past tense for historic data) SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND OR RECOMMENDATIONS Summary (used to end informational report Conclusions (List results of writers investigation. Do not introduce new information) Recommendations can introduce new information resulting from research

VISUAL AIDS GENERAL RULES Appropriateness Must add value not create clutter Reference and Placement Refer to visuals in text (Usually before it appears) Size Keep it as simple as possible Content Relates closely to current discussion Conventions Distinguish between figures and tables. Place title of table above and figure below

COMMON VISUALS PIE CHARTS Useful for proportions BAR CHARTS (simple and complex) Parts of a whole and comparing over a period of time LINE GRAPHS Presents trends in a informational and dramatic way TABLES Arranging data in a concise manner (see page 143-144 for rules)