Lecture Seven

1
Lecture Seven

• Strategies for Writing Reports
• Chapter Six

2
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

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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

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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)

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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

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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 Dont Just Develop a List
• Ending (Last paragraph should provide conclusions
  and recommendations)

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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

8
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

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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

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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

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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

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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
  187-188 for rules)