Harty pg 167-207

Part 4
Reports and Other Long Documents
report- variety of documents that vary in form and purpose
Formal reports- multi-part format, used to present the results of a detailed project (cover letter, abstract, table of contents, glosary, introduction, discussion, conclusions and recommendations, attachments)
informal reports- shorter, consist of essential items (introduction, discussion, conclusions, recommendations)
- reports are action-oriented based on audience
Types-
1)layperson
2)executive
3)expert
4)technician
5)operator
Audience Analysis: The Problem and a Solution
communication situation- involves writer, message, audience
- many writers ignore the audience component
false assumption- that the person addressed is the audience
Audience Components and Problems They Pose
- must understand how your audience poses a problem
- analyze audience- design report structure
3 types of Audiences:
- horizontal- exist on each level
- vertical- between levels
- external- exists when any unit interacts with a separate organization
A Method for Systematic Audience Analysis
- audiences derived from organization charts is abstract/unspecific
3 Steps of Audience Analysis:
1) Prepare an Egocentric Organization Chart
- identifies specific individuals rather than complex organizational units
- categorizes people in terms of their proximity to the report writer rather than in terms of their hierarchical relationship to the report writer (picture page 177)
- this step must be particularized for each report
2) Characterize the Individual Report Readers
- in terms of operational, objective, and personal characteristics
- operational- identify significant differences between his or her role and yours; how will your report affect his/her role?
- objective- specific, relevant, background data about the person, ex: educational background
- personal- taking name of role and age into consideration
3) Classify Audiences in Terms of How They Will Use Your Report
- trace communication routes on your egocentric organization chart, add other routes not on the chart
- think about the consequences of the report
Assign priorities to your audiences:
Primary- who make decisions or act on the basis of the information a report contains
Secondary- who are affected by the decisions and actions
Immediate- who route the report or transmit the information it contains
What to Report
- technical reports can aid in decisions-making
What Management Looks for In Engineering Reports
- pertinent facts and competent opinions that will aid him in decision making
- summary should convey 3 kinds of facts:
1) what the report is about;
- define the problem
- set forth objectives
- reasons for doing the work
- conclusions and recommendations
2) the significance and implications of the work
3) the action called for
Subject Matter Interest
Managers are interested in:
1) Technical problems
2) New projects and products
3) Experiments and tests
4) matierals and processes
5) field troubles
Level of Presentation
- technical and detail level depends on the reader and his use of the material
- management never has the same knowledge of and familiarity with the specific problem being report that the writer has
- therefore, write at a technical level suitable for a reader whose educational and experience background is in a field different from his own
Management Responsibilities
1) Define the project and the required reports
2) Provide proper perspective for the project and the required reporting
3) See that effective reports are submitted on time
4) See that the reports are properly distributed
The Writing of Abstracts
- most important section, two purposes:
1) provides the specialist in the field with enough information about the report to permit him to decide whether he could read it with profit
2) provides the administrator or executive with enough knowledge about what has been done in the study or project and with what results to satisfy most of his administrative needs
- descriptive abstract and informative abstract respectively
Guidelines for effective abstract:
1) Your abstract must include enough specific information about the project or study to satisfy most of the administrative needs of a busy executive.
2) Your abstract must be a self-contained unit, a complete report-in-miniature.
3) Your abstract must be short. (Length defeats the purpose.)
4) Your abstract must be written in fluent, easy-to-read prose.
5) Your abstract must be consistent in tone and emphases with the report paper, but it does not need to follow the arrangement, wording, or proportion of the original.
6) Your abstract should make the widest possible use of abbreviations and numerals, but it must not contain any tables or illustrations.
Ten Report Writing Pitfalls: How to Avoid Them
1) Ignoring Your Audience
2) Writing to Impress
- Don't assume that words that are familiar to you are easily recognized by your readers.
- also includes unnecessary detail and technical trivia
3) Having More Than One Aim
4) Being Inconsistent
- Be very familiar with topic.
- includes style, formatting
5) Overqualifying
- using too many modifiers: adjectives, clauses, phrases, etc.
- avoid obscure facts
6) Not Defining
- Clarify words.
- Common words are used in science with other than their common meaning
- Terms needs to be defined.
7) Misintroducing
8) Dazzling with Data
- Know what to leave out.
- Evaluate relevancy of material.
9) Not Highlighting
- Accent only significant elements, findings, illustrations, data, tests, facts, trends, procedures, etc.
10) Not Rewriting
- Don't stop at draft.
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