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REPORT WRITING. A business report should be. ACCURATE CONCISE CLEAR OBJECTIVE. A report should be. ???? true facts, precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources ???? all the important ideas in as few words as possible avoid repetitions (KISS) ????
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A business report should be ... ACCURATE CONCISE CLEAR OBJECTIVE
A report should be ... ???? • true facts,precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources ???? • all the important ideas in as few words as possible • avoid repetitions (KISS) ???? • easy to read • clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering…. • not too long sentences ???? • content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased) • impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)
A report should be ... ACCURATE • true facts,precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources ???? • all the important ideas in as few words as possible • avoid repetitions (KISS) ???? • easy to read • clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering…. • not too long sentences ???? • content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased) • impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)
A report should be ... ACCURATE • true facts,precise wording, supporting data, reference to source CONCISE • all the important ideas in as few words as possible • avoid repetitions (KISS) ???? • easy to read • clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering…. • not too long sentences ???? • content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased) • impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)
A report should be ... ACCURATE • true facts,precise wording, supporting data, reference to source CONCISE • all the important ideas in as few words as possible • avoid repetitions (KISS) CLEAR • easy to read • clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering…. • not too long sentences ???? • content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased) • impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)
A report should be ... ACCURATE • true facts,precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources CONCISE • all the important ideas in as few words as possible • avoid repetitions (KISS) CLEAR • easy to read • clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering…. • not too long sentences OBJECTIVE • content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased) • impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)
PROPOSED STRUCTUREOF A SHORT REPORT • TITLE • INTRODUCTION (TERMS OF REFERENCE) • PROCEDURE (or METHOD) • FINDINGS • CONCLUSIONS • RECOMMENDATIONS (if required)
PROPOSED STRUCTUREOF A SHORT REPORT • TITLE • INTRODUCTION (TERMS OF REFERENCE) What? Purpose? Upon whose request? Deadline? • PROCEDURE (or METHOD) How were the data collected and processed? • FINDINGS Data? • CONCLUSIONS What do the data show (interpretation)? • RECOMMENDATIONS (if required) What can be recommended based on the data?
PROPOSED STRUCTUREOF A LONG REPORT • TITLE • CONTENTS PAGE • SUMMARY (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, ABSTRACT) • INTRODUCTION (TERMS OF REFERENCE) • PROCEDURE (or METHOD) • FINDINGS • CONCLUSIONS • RECOMMENDATIONS (if required) • SOURCES (LITERATURE, BIBLIOGRAPHY) • APPENDIX (APPENDICES)
Which sections of the report do the following belong to? • The purpose/aim of this report is to ... • The report was requested by Mr Jasons, Sales Manager, on March 4, 2013. • It was concluded that ... • The key findings are outlined below. • It would be advisable to.. It is essential that ..., The recommendations are that ... should be ... • This report has been written because .... • The objectives of this report are to .... • The main findings were that ... • It was to be submitted to the Manager by 02 November. • This report examines (presents) .... . • 200 respondents, chosen by the random sample method, were surveyed. Of these, 167 were invited for interview. • The findings indicated that... • No conclusions were reached regarding ... • The major finding of the investigation was that ... • I recommend that ... should be ...
Rewrite the following sentences to improve objectivity and to incorporate an impersonal style. • The enormous increase of 32 percent proves the sales department has done a superb job. • The proposed procedure is bad because it would require 15% more employees. • The enormousincrease of 33 percent was a result of the amazing growth in city population of 10,000 during the past year. • The horrible effect on employees from the change in parking regulations will be one of creating massive traffic problems. • You can hardly imagine the effect of incentive pay on employee morale. • I feel certain that the new plan is better than the old method. • Most of us agree that a monthly status meeting will be helpful.
Blue words out, red sentences in • The enormous increase of 32 percent proves the sales department has done a superb job. The sales department has increased sales by 32 percent during the past quarter. • The proposed procedure is bad because it would require 15% more employees. The proposed procedure would require 15 percent more employee time. • The enormousincrease of 33 percent was a result of the amazing growth in city population of 10,000 during the past year. The city population increase of 10,000 during the past year represents a 33 percent growth rate • The horrible effect on employees from the change in parking regulations will be one of creating massive traffic problems. The change in parking regulations will create additional traffic congestion. • You can hardly imagine the effect of incentive pay on employee morale. Incentive pay improved employee morale in the following ways:... • I feel certain that the new plan is better than the old method. The new plan is more effective than the old method for the following reasons:... • Most of us agree that a monthly status meeting will be helpful. In the quarterly staff meeting 15 out of 18 members of staff supported having a monthly meeting.
Report Writing - Assessment • Layout: title, headings, spacing, clear text organization (e.g. numbering), signature, name, position • Content: Task fulfilled? Makes sense? • Language: a) phrases typically used in a report, b) terminology, c)spell/gramm • General features: accuracy, concision, clarity, objectivity • Each element: 2.5 points X 4 = 10 pts