lecture 4 reports

8/13/2019 Lecture 4 Reports

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REPORTS

Lecture4

CE403

Professional

Practices

and

Communication


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Definition

Formalstatementof

Facts

information

Writtenfor

aSpecific

Audience

Formakinginformeddeision


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Definition

Reportalsocontains

Inferencesmade

Conclusionsreached

Recommendations

provided Inferences,Conclusionsand

Recommendationsbasedon

Facts

Supportingevidenceincluded


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Typesof

Reports

Short

Long

Informational

Interpretative


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Formatof

Short

Reports

MemorandumReport

Letter

Report

InformationalMemorandumReport ConferenceReport

ProgressReport

PeriodicReport

InterpretativeMemorandum

Report

PersonnelReport

RecommendationJustificationReport


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InformationalReport

Summarizesinformationbyreviewingfacts

covered

Avoidgivinginferences,opinions,judgements

recommendations

from

presented

data Useneutral,unbiasedlanguageratherthan

givingaparticularpointofview


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InformationalMemorandum

Report

Informationalreportspresentedin

memorandumform

Normallyusedforcirculationwithinthe

organization

by

email,

fax

etc


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InformationalMemorandumReports:

ConferenceReport

Reportwrittenbyemployeesorexecutives

aftersignificant

conference

with

individuals

or

committees

Text

of

report

organized

by

topics

discussed

or

presentedsimplyinchronologicalfashion


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ProgressReport

Showsprogressi.e.accomplishments

overtime

atagivenstageofamajorassignment

Organizational

plan

of

progress

report

is

usuallyinductive


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Contentsof

Progress

Report

Introduction

Descriptionof

accomplishments

during

period

Unanticipatedproblems(ifany)

Plansfor

next

reporting

period

Summary(overallappraisalofprogressto

date)


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PeriodicReport

Reportswrittenatregularrecurringperiods

weekly,monthly,

quarterly

etc

InUSAcompanyperiodicreports isexpected

tobehalfapageifthenewsisfavorable

Forunfavorablenews,thereportmaybeone

pagewhichshouldincludereasonsforthe

unfavorablesituation

and

the

way

it

was

being

handled


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AnalyticalMemorandum

Reports

Seektoanalyzeasituation

Hasaconclusion

Mayormaynothavearecommendation


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AnalyticalMemorandumReports:

PersonnelReports

Introduction,whichmaycontainthefollowing

AuthorizationPurpose

Background

Methodologyand/orsources

Planof

presentation

Briefstatementofdecision

Mainbodywithheadingsandsubheadings

Terminalor

closing

section

with

summary

and

conclusions


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AnalyticalMemorandumReports:

RecommendationJustification

Reports

Recommendachangeor remainwithstatus

quo(policy

aspect)

Supporttheideathatsomethingisdesirable

orundesirable(valueaspect)

Defendtheaccuracyofinformation(fact

aspect)

Reportmay

be

in

response

to

arequest

or

it

maybevoluntary


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SectionsofRecommendation

JustificationReport

Introduction Purpose

Authorization Layoutofreport

Body(Text,Discussion) Currentstateoftheproblem

Effects

and

causes

of

problems

Possibleoptionstoremoveproblems

Criteriainevaluatingsolution

Recommendedsolution

Terminal

Section

(Conclusion,

Recommendation) Briefsummaryofmajorpoints

Conclusion

recommendation


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LetterReports

Smallreportinletterform

Used

to

send

information

to

a

reader

outside

the

organization

Includesthefollowing: Date

Insideaddress

Salutation

Subjectline(optional)

Body

Complimentaryclose

Signature

Referencesection


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WritingaLetter

Report

Firstparagraph Pleasantgreetingandauthorization(dateandnameofpersonmaking

request) Purpose,aim(always)

Problem,issues(ifproblemsexist)

Conclusion,statementofresults(optional)

Planofpresentation

Middle

paragraph

Presentallfactsfavorableorinfavorable

Mentionsourcesandmethodologyusedifany

Emphasisonfindingresults

Headingsandvisualaidswhenevernecessry

Lastparagraph

Bringthelettertoapleasantfriendlyclose

Concludeorrecommendifyoudesiretodoso

Offertodiscussfurther,ifappropriate


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Structureof

Short

Reports

Prefatorypartorintroduction

Discussion,text

or

body

Terminalsectionwhichincludessummary,

conclusions

and

recommendations


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Writing

a

Short

Report Introduction

Givepurpose

or

aim

(always),

background,

list

of

topicstobediscussed,authorization

Forshortintroductions(oneortwoshort

paragraphs),the

title

Introduction

is

generally

omitted

BodyorText

Present

all

relevant

facts

accurately

and

impartially

Organise


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Writing

a

Short

Report BodyorText

Emphasize

important

ideas

by

giving

important

details,placement

in

document

of

relevant

information,stylisticmeans

Useheadingstoguidereaderthroughthereport

Include

visual

aids

graphs,

charts,

pictures

whenever

theyclarify

Usetopicsentencesatthebeginningofaparagraph

Useintroductoryparagraphsatthebeginningofa

majorsection

ApplysevenCsofwritingprinciples


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Writing

a

Short

Report TerminalSection

Summarize,conclude

and

offer

recommendation

Summarycondensestext.Conclusionsevaluate

andinferfromtext,recommendationsoffer

specificcourse

of

action

Summarizepointsinthesameorderastopics

discussedinthetext

Donotincludenewmaterialintheterminal

sectionofthereport


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Long

Report Extensionofashortreport

Involvesgreater

length

and

depth

of

discussionofmorecomplex problems

Requires

more

preliminary

collecting,

sorting,

interpreting,writing,editingandcreationof

visualsthanshortreports

Mixof

informative

and

persuasive

information


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Structure

of

Long

Report Prefatorypart

Mainbody

Backmatter


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Structure

of

Long

Report Prefatorypart

CoverFrontispiece

Copyrightnotice

Forwardingletter/Transmittal

letter

Preface

Acknowledgements

Table

of

contentsListofillustrations

AbstractandExecutiveSummary


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Structure

of

Long

Report Mainbody

Introduction(section

or

separate

chapter)

Discussionortext(dividedintochapters,sections,

subsections)

Conclusions(section

or

separate

chapter)

Recommendations(sectionorseparatechapter)


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Structure

of

Long

Report Backmatter

Appendices

Listofreferences

Bibliography

Glossary

Index


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Long

Reports Expansionofashortreport

Greaterlength

and

depth

of

discussion

of

morecomplexproblems

More

collecting,

sorting,

interpreting,

writing

editing,visuals

Mixofinformativeandpersuasiveinformation


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Preparatory

Steps

of

a

Long

Report Recognizeclearlyissues,problems,purpose,

scopeof

report

Realizewhoyourreaderswillbe

Get

an

idea

of

sources

of

information Understandwhenthereportneedstobe

completed

Recognizefinancial

and

time

constraints


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps

FirstStep

Definethe

problem

Collectallneededmaterial

Sortandinterpretdata

Organizethefinaloutline

Preparevisualaids

Finally,

write,

edit,

revise,

type


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps

SecondStep(WritingFirstDraft)

Begin

Writeoutlineandstartwriting

Summary,conclusions,recommendations

Introduction

Executivesummary,letteroftransmittal,

bibiography or

endnotes,

table

of

contents,

table

offigures,tablesetc


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps

ThirdStep(Editing,RevisingDraft)

Layaside

first

draft

for

several

days

Lookobjectivelyatthematerialandidentify

weaknessofthedraft

Revise,rewrite

draft

several

times

etc


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps

FinalStep(TypetheDocument)

Writeconsistently

using

harmonious

style

throughoutreport

Useeitherdoubleorsinglespacing(morepopular

inrecent

years)

Alwaysdoublespacebetweenparagraphs,before

andafterquotations,visualaidsandfootnotes

Insinglespacedreports,paragraphsmaybeindentedorbeginatleftmargin


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps


Usesingle

space

for

transmittal

document,

quotationandexamples,listofitemstosetoffor

emphasize,footnotes,tablesandvisualaids

Atop

margin

of

1.5

to

2inch

Eachpageinareportexceptcoverandtitlefly

shouldhaveanumber.SmallRomannumeralsfor

prefatorypages

and

Arabic

numbers

for

supplementalsheets


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps


Numberingscheme:

Coverandtitlefly:donotcountnumber

Titlepage:countbutdonotinsertnumber

Transmittaldocument:

count

but

do

not

insert

number

Tableofcontents:countandnumbereachpage

Tableoftables:countandnumber

Executivesummary:

count

and

number


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Writing

the

Long

Report:

Four

Steps


Numberingscheme:

Forbodyandsupplementalparts,putpagenumbers

nearupperrightcornerofpage,alignedwithright

margin

and

0.5

inch

above

the

top

imaginary

line

that

framesthetypewrittenmaterial

Numberoffirstpagesofeachchapterisomiited

thoughcountedorplaced0.5incj belowtheimaginary

linethat

frames

the

bottom

part

of

the

typed

material


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Cover

and

External

Title ReporttitleshouldhavefiveWs:

Who(bywhomandforwhom)

What(titleorsubjectmatter)

When(date)

Where

Why

Titlesshouldbeshort

Extremelyshortandvaguetitlesshouldbe

avoided Judgement termsshouldnotbeused


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Title

Fly

and

Internal

Title TitleFly:blanksheetofpaperbetweenthe

coverand

internal

title

page

Titlepagehasfourparts

Titleasstatedontheexteriorcover

Therecipientofthereport

Thepreparer

Thedate


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Letter

of

Transmittal Coverletterorcovermemorandumaddresses

the

receiver

of

the

report

as

in

a

letter

with

fiveparts:

Authorization:openingwordsrefertotherequest

made

for

preparing

the

report

including

the

date

therequestwasmade.Sometimestheactualreportrequestisincludedinthereportassupplementaryinformation

Transmittaldetails:

puts

into

words

the

handing

overofthereporttotherecipientinperson


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Letter

of

Transmittal Coverletterorcovermemorandumaddressesthereceiver

ofthereportasinaletterwithfiveparts:

Backgroundand

methodology:

briefly

suggest

research

methods

employedandgivethereaderfeelregardingscopeandlimitsofthereport.Itshouldincludeauthorsaswellasinvolvedcommitteemembersbackgroundandqualifications

Highlights:informationbrieflymentioningconclusionsshouldbeincluded.

For

friendly

audience

be

precise

about

your

conclusion.Forlessfriendlyaudience.Conclusionsshouldbemoregeneralthanprecise.

Courteousending:Acknowledgethosewhoassisted,suggest

willingness

to

respond

to

further

questions

or

indicate

later

reportsormoreresearchfindingswill beforthcominh


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Table

of

Contents

(ToC) PrepareToclastafterassigningheadingsandfinal

page

numbers PlaceTocjustbeforethereportbody

AllheadingsinToC shouldparalleltothoseintext

Tableof

tables:

list

of

illustrations,

data,

visuals

Visuals:detaileddrawingsarefrequentlyplacedintheappendix.Explicitvisualaids

supplementingoral

presentation

or

supporting

thereportmaybeplacedintheirownsection


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ExecutiveSummary,Abstract,Synopsis

Generallyplacedrightafterthetransmittalletter

Mostread

part

of

areport

based

on

which

many

executivestakeadecisionwhethertoreadthe

reportornot

Somefirms

only

circulate

executive

summary

of

reportstomanagementpersonnel

Itmaybedeductivelyorganized

(recommendationsfirst)norinductively

organized*recommendationslast)


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ExecutiveSummary,Abstract,synopsis

Issuesthataregenerallyaddressedinthe

executive

summary

are:Purpose

Scope

Background

Dataanalysis

Methodsofresearch

Currentissues

Causes


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ExecutiveSummary,Abstract,synopsis

Issuesthataregenerallyaddressedinthe

executive

summary

are:Effects

Problemanalysis

Solutions

criteria

Conclusions

Possiblesolutions/recommendations

BenefitsTimeframeanalysis


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Bibliography Listofsourcescitedasdocumentationfor

relevant

content

in

report Includedattheendofthedocument(for

scholarlyreportalways,forbusinessreport

optional) Foradditionalreading,sourcestoreader

Bibliographicforms:

ModernLanguage

Association

(MLA)

format

AmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA)format


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Footnote

and

End

Notes

(Citations) Eitherexplaincontentoridentifysourcesof

content(citation)

Improvescredibility,

convince

readers

about

the

trustworthinessofdatapresented.Givesopportunitytoreadertoexaminesources

Footnotesgenerally

provide

additional

information,discussorexplaincontentwithintext

Footnotesare

placed

at

bottom

of

page,

at

end

of

chapter oratendofbooksoastonotinterruptflowofthoughtinmaintext


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Footnote

and

End

Notes

(Citations) Toreferyourreadertoexplanatoryfootnotes

orendnotes

and

to

number

them

use

superscriptnumerals

Thesuperscriptsmaybenumbered

consecutivelythroughout

report

or

begin

a

newserieswitheachchapter

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