GROUP E Chapter 22 Ruben Beltrandelrio, Michael Durling, Lisa Hairston, Sara McKinley and Eva Olivas

MICHAEL DURLING Basic Features of Activity Reports

BASIC FEATURES OF ACTIVITY REPORTS Common Components: Introduction Summary of activities Results of activities or research Future activities or research Incurred or future expenses Graphics Conclusion Format not concrete; can/should be modified to suit needs of report

PRIMARY GOAL OF ACTIVITY REPORTS To inform intended audience about: What happened What is currently occurring What will occur in the future

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACTIVITY REPORTS Progress Reports Briefings and White Papers Incident Reports Laboratory Reports

PROGRESS REPORTS Also called status reports Purpose: to inform superiors or peers about progress or status of a project Frequency: at regular intervals, ideally weekly, biweekly, or monthly Common components: Summary of finished activities Discussion of current activities Forecast of future activities

PROGRESS REPORT TEMPLATE Visual Example

BRIEFINGS AND WHITE PAPERS Purpose: to inform management or clients about an important issue Briefings: provided verbally White Papers: provided in print Both include: Summary of the facts Discussion of the importance of the facts Forecast about the future Should be straightforward and objective Do not select a side or course of action

INCIDENT REPORTS Description of event, usually an accident or unfortunate occurrence Present facts objectively Answers the following questions: What occurred? Why did it occur? How was the situation handled? How will problem be avoided in the future? Example

LABORATORY REPORTS Purpose: to describe experiments, tests, or inspections Should include: Summary of experiment (methods) Presentation of results Discussion of results

SARA MCKINLEY Determining the Rhetorical Situation of an Activity Report

PLANNING AND RESEARCHING ACTIVITY REPORTS Minimal planning and research Keep activity journal/work log Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, or PDAs Keeps you on task Saves time

ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION Begin by asking: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION Think about the rhetorical situation to outline the activity report Subject Recent activities Need-to-know information Purpose What happened and what will happen State purpose directly in the introduction Use action verbs

ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION Think about the rhetorical situation to outline the activity report Readers Supervisors, clients, testimony Compose report to suit every readers needs Context of Use Statements should reflect actions and results Needs to be accurate

RUBEN BELTRANDELRIO Organizing and Drafting Activity Reports

ORGANIZING AND DRAFTING ACTIVITY REPORTS Activity reports should be brief, i.e., should not be longer than one page If you are spending more than one hour developing an activity report, you are spending too much time

WRITING THE INTRODUCTION Stick to the facts Jack A brief framework explaining the facts should be provided to the reader, i.e., concisely define your SUBJECT, PURPOSE, and MAIN POINT

WRITING THE BODY Should include a “Summary of Activities” Summarize in chronological order the projects two to five major events since the last report Be sure to highlight any advances or setbacks since the last activity report

WHAT ARE YOUR RESULTS? List two to five significant results or outcomes of the project since the last report Future activities or research Tell the reader what you plan to do during the next work cycle

EXPENSES You should be able to state the costs incurred over the previous week or month and if these costs are deviating from the projects budget

WRITING THE CONCLUSION Again, be as brief as possible Restate the main point Restate the purpose Restate your outlook for the project’s future

EVA OLIVAS Designing and Formatting Activity Reports

WHAT ARE ACTIVITY REPORTS? “Activity reports are used to objectively present ideas or information within a company”.

EXAMPLE OF AN ACTIVITY REPORT

DIFFERENT KINDS OF ACTIVITY REPORTS Progress Reports: Informs management about the progress or status of a project Briefings and White Papers Informs management or clients about an important issue Incident Reports Describe an event, or accident, and identify what corrective actions have been taken Laboratory Reports Describe experiments, tests, or inspections

HOW MIGHT THEY BE USED Electrical Engineer Scientist Chemist Technician

USING STYLE ACTIVITY REPORTS Sentences: Subject should be the “doer” of most sentences Verb should express the action in most sentences Paragraphs: Topic sentence Tone: No sarcasm or humor Professional tone Negative information stated candidly with no apologies

REMEMBER, ACTIVITY REPORTS ARE MOSTLY INFORMATIVE, NOT OVERLY PERSUASIVE So try to keep them straightforward

USING DESIGN AND GRAPHICS Also straightforward Governed by a standard format Company will specify format for activity reports Visuals should be centered and placed after being mentioned Label graphic and refer by number in the text Oral presentation Photos help audience visualize Graphs show trends in the data

LISA HAIRSTON The Importance of Editing and Proofreading Activity Reports.

PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER Basic features Determining the rhetoric Organized and draft Strategy for style Designing and formatting

WHY PROOF? Informal Disposable Discarded Buried

ETHOS AND ERRORS Quality of Work Professionalism Dedication Considerate Respect Management Co-Workers Team Work Promotions ReputationReciprocity

REVISING AND PROOFREADING Subject Purpose Readers Content Carefully Spell Check Print Out Send Electronically Physical RevisingProofreading

QUESTIONS? 2 minutes per answer.