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REPORT WRITING 401

REPORT WRITING 401. WRAP-UP LECTURE CHAPTER 4-6 Presenter: OR Vitou. Objectives of the lecture. To wrap up the detailed contents from chapter IV to VI Clarify all the doubts from the students if any. MAJOR CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV: Planning The Report CHAPTER V: Writing The Introduction

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REPORT WRITING 401

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  1. REPORT WRITING 401 WRAP-UP LECTURECHAPTER 4-6 Presenter: OR Vitou

  2. Objectives of the lecture • To wrap up the detailed contents from chapter IV to VI • Clarify all the doubts from the students if any

  3. MAJOR CONTENTS • CHAPTER IV: Planning The Report • CHAPTER V: Writing The Introduction • CHAPTER VI: Using Language That Communicates

  4. CHAPTER IV:PLANNING THE REPORT • OBJECTIVES: • Explain how to plan the body of the report so that the relevant information is communicated clearly to the reader

  5. SUB-CONTENTS • The Selection of information • The Organization of information • The Ordering of information

  6. What goes in the body of a report? • Necessary yet complete facts

  7. SELECTION OF INFORMATION • Relevant • Unbiased • Accuracy • Up to date

  8. Relevant facts • Any fact connected with the subject/ purpose of your report • Also depending on the reader’s purpose/ expectation (reliability of the data collected)

  9. Unbiased facts • Needs to figure out which information is facts and which is opinion • Guidelines to distinguish between facts and opinion • Read critically (don’t accept everything you read) • Listen critically (interviewees should know the subject of your report well) • Be aware of questionnaires (opinion/fact, anonymous/identifiable, large percentage of respondents) • Be aware of advertising (claims/facts)

  10. Accurate facts • You facts must be accurate • However, sometimes you might obtain conflicting information. Thus, you have to make decision to establish the truth of the situation

  11. Up to date facts • Statistical data you obtained must be the most up to date ones • Some data might differ in just a short period of time (ex: sale data)

  12. ORGANIZATION • Why organize the findings under headings? • How do I do this?

  13. Why organize the findings under headings/sub-heading? • Headings increase the report’s readability • They provide the reader with an overview of the repot • They help the reader to read selectively • They help the reader to understand the details • They show the reader where to stop and think • They make the report more concise

  14. How to organize the findings under the heading/sub-heading? • Read your notes and write down the topic of each note in the margin • Sort and group the headings to form main headings and sub-headings • Check with the original outline that you made before starting your research (no problem if it is different)

  15. How to organize the findings under the heading/sub-heading? (cont..) • Check the headings and sub-headings carefully to make sure that they clearly describe the topic that your intend to discuss. Each heading should • Cover the scope of information to be included in that section • Not overlap with the scope indicated by the other headings • Be clear • Be precise • Be brief

  16. ORDERING OF INFORMATION • Now that your section has been groups, you need to decide on the sequence in which you are going to present it. • Which section will come first, next or last? • Logical order

  17. ORDERING OF INFORMATION (cont…) • Numbering/decimal system 1 ………………… 1.1………….. 1.2………….. • ………………… 2.1…………… 2.2……………

  18. ORDERING OF INFORMATION (cont…) • Letters and/or Roman numerals A …………….. I …………… 1…………… A………….. 2…………… B………….. B …………….. II ……………. 1…………… A………….. (a)……. (i)……. (B)……. (ii)……

  19. SUMMARY • The Selection of information • The Organization of information • The Ordering of information

  20. END OF CHAPTER IV

  21. CHAPTER V: WRITING THE INTRODUCTION • OBJECTIVE: • After finishing this chapter students will be able to write the good introduction of a report

  22. Sub-Contents • Purpose • Recommendation • Scope • Background or problem • Definition of terms • Method of investigation

  23. Introduction section of a report serves two main purposes: • To provide the reader with any information that he will need to know in order to understand fully the body of the report • To prevent the reader from expecting something that the report does not contain

  24. Purpose/objective • What you set to achieve in your report • If there is more than one objective, you need to include all of them • Help the reader to figure out why certain facts have been included and how you have reached your conclusion

  25. Recommendation • One of the objectives of the report may be to make a specific recommendation • Not detail as the recommendation section • It just perhaps tells the reader the content you will include in your recommendation section in the end of your report

  26. Scope • Range of subject to be covered in the report • In other words, it tells the reader what to be included and not included in the report • Help inform the reader whether the contents of the report will provide him with the information he is seeking • Answer questions “what are the limitations/restrictions/reasons to concerning the subject matter of the report?”

  27. Background or problem • Provide information about company/brief details of previous events • Enable reader to read the body of your report based on the background • Help the reader to easily/clearly understand report and accept your conclusion

  28. Definition of terms • Used when you have doubts about your reader’s understanding of specialized terms used in your report • If just a few terms just explain it in the introduction • However, if there are many terms, you need to include the definitions of the terms in the glossary section of the report, but you just have to include a short note to refer the audience to go to the glossary section

  29. Method of investigation • Sources of information and statement on how to obtain the information that a report contains • Did you conduct a survey? • Did you do literature review?

  30. SUMMARY • Purpose • Recommendation • Scope • Background or problem • Definition of terms • Method of investigation

  31. END OF CHAPTER V

  32. CHAPTER VI: Using language that communicates • Objective: • After this chapter, the students will be able to communicate the information (language use) in their report to the reader effectively

  33. Sub-contents • Correctness • Conciseness • Clarity • Cohesiveness • Objectivity • Readability • Appropriateness

  34. 1st Aspect: CORRECTNESS • Diction • Grammar • Spelling • Punctuation

  35. Diction(Choice of words and phrases) • Denotation: intended meaning (need to choose correct words to covey the meaning you intended) • Connotation: meaning or idea suggested by a word or thing in addition to the formal meaning or nature of the word or thing (ex: slim: positive; thin: negative) • Collocation: words that go together (ex: strong coffee)

  36. Spelling • In informal report, spelling mistakes are considered to be acceptable. • However, in formal writing spelling mistakes indicate your un-professionalism/carelessness • Also it reflects that your facts or data is not reliable

  37. Grammar • Grammatical errors have negative effects on the meaning you intended to convey • It also indicates your un-professionalism

  38. Punctuation • Help to communicate your report clearly to the reader

  39. 2nd Aspect: CONCISENESS • Not only concise in terms of content but also language use • All superfluous words must be omitted • Repetition, wordiness and transition sentences

  40. 2nd Aspect: CONCISENESS • Repetition • Wordiness • Transition Sentences

  41. Repetition • If the point is important it is ok to repeat it as to emphasize its importance • It is effective when not every point is repeated, or repeat the same points many times

  42. Wordiness • Trying to use impressive words to attract the reader’s attention • However, it might make your statement unclear • Circumlocutions (a way of saying something that is longer than necessary) are sometimes found in the report and that needs to be avoided

  43. Transition sentences • No need to indicate transition sentences to indicate your new topic • Your report headings and sub headings can automatically inform the reader where to start and stop already

  44. 3rd aspect: CLARITY • The most vital aspect in report writing • If report contain grammatical errors, but reader can understand, it is still acceptable • However, if the reader misunderstand what your have written, he may make the wrong conclusion • Thus, the report writer needs to be responsible • When the report is clear, the reader does not need to spend time trying to understand what is difficult to read • Thus, clarity is also a time saver

  45. 3rd aspect: CLARITY (cont…) • Familiar words: express your thoughts simply and clearly • Watch your jargon: technical terminology (situation) and obscure language (negative) • Concrete words • Precise words: (based on your research) • Active rather than passive: active clear than passive • Avoid ambiguity: pronoun must refer to only one noun, position words and phrase correctly, double negatives are to be avoided, parallel constructions • Short sentences: less grammatical mistake and reader can understand easily

  46. 4th aspect: COHESIVENESS • Tending to stick together\ • Links between sentences, paragraphs, sub-sections and sections of the report, so that the reader can clearly follow the presentation of facts to reach the same conclusion as the writer

  47. 4th aspect: COHESIVENESS • Unity • Controlling idea • Topic sentence • Linking words

  48. Unity • All the information in a sub-section should relate directly to that particularly topic. • Major supporting details vs. minor supporting details

  49. Controlling idea • One main idea per paragraph • Controlling idea limits the coverage of the topic in the topic sentence

  50. Topic sentence • Topic sentence indicates the main idea of a paragraph • The rest of the paragraph should expand upon the topic sentence by giving additional details, examples, explanations etc. • T/S is sometimes positioned at the end of the paragraph • However, its position in the beginning of the paragraph is favorable as it makes the reader easy to find the main idea to paragraph

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