Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Business and Administrative Communication SIXTH EDITION

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 14 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports Using Your Time Effectively Analyzing Data and Information for Reports Choosing Information for Reports Organizing Information in Reports Presenting Information Effectively in Reports Writing Formal Reports

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analyzing Data and Information Analyzing the data you have gathered is essential to produce the tight logic needed to produce a good report: 1. Identify the source of the data. 2. Analyze numbers. 3. Analyze words. 4. Check your logic.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Organizing Information in Reports 1. Process your information before presenting it to the reader. 2. When you have lots of information, group it into three to seven categories. 3. Work with reader’s expectations, not against them.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Basic Patterns for Organizing Information Comparison/contrast: can focus on alternatives or on criteria. Pro and con: divides the alternatives and discusses the arguments for and against that alternative. Problem-solving: identifies the problem, explains its causes, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of different solutions.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Basic Patterns for Organizing Information, continued Elimination: identifies the problem, explains its causes, and discusses the least practical solutions first. General to particular: begins with the problem as it affects the organization or as it manifests itself in general, then moves to a discussion of the parts of the problem and solutions to each of those parts.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Basic Patterns for Organizing Information, continued. Particular to general: starts with specific aspects of the problem, then moves to a discussion of the larger implications of the problem for the organization. Geographical or spatial: discusses the problems and solutions by units. Functional: discusses the problems and solutions of each functional unit.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Presenting Information Effectively Use these four techniques: 1. Say what you mean. 2. Tighten your writing. 3. Introduce sources and visuals gracefully. 4. Use blueprints, transitions, topic sentences, and headings.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Headings in Reports Headings are single words, short phrases, or complete sentences that cover all of the material until the next heading. Informative or talking heads tell the reader what to expect in each section. Headings must use the same grammatical structure.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report Title Page Contains four items: The title of the report Whom the report is prepared for Whom it is prepared by The release date

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued Letter or Memo of Transmittal Purposes: to transmit the report to orient the reader to the report to build a good image of the report and the writer Personal statements are appropriate, even though they would not be in the report itself.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued How to Organize the Transmittal 1. Transmit the report. Tell when and by whom it was authorized and its purpose. 2. Summarize your conclusions and recommendations.  If they will be easy to accept, put them early in the report; if they will be difficult, summarize the findings and the conclusions first. 3. Mention any points of special interest. Thank people who helped you. Explain how you overcame problems.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued How to Organize the Transmittal, continued 4. Point out any additional research that is necessary, if any. 5. Thank the reader for the opportunity to do the work and offer to answer any questions.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued Table of Contents List the headings exactly as they appear in the report. List all the headings if the report is less than 25 pages. In a long report, pick a level of headings and include that level and above.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued List of Illustrations Enables your reader to refer to your visuals Give the name and number of each visual. Remember that tables and figures are numbered independently. List them in the order in which they appear in the report.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued Executive Summary Tells the reader what the document is about. Summarizes the recommendations of the report and the reasons for the recommendations. Should be easy to read, concise, and clear. Has a more formal style than other forms of business writing.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parts of the Formal Report, continued Introduction: Always contains purpose and scope. May also include: Limitations Assumptions Methods Criteria Definitions

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction, continued The purpose statement identifies organizational problem the report addresses. technical investigations it summarizes. rhetorical purposes (to explain, to recommend).

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction, continued Scope Identifies how broad an area the report covers. Allows the reader to evaluate the report on appropriate grounds.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction, continued Limitations Make your recommendations less valid or valid only under certain conditions. Usually arise because time or money constraints haven’t permitted full research (e.g., couldn’t do a random sample).

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction, continued Assumptions Statements whose truth you assume, and which you use to prove your final point. If your assumptions are wrong, the conclusion will be wrong too.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction, continued Methods Explains details such as how you chose your subjects and when they were interviewed if you conduct interviews, focus groups, or a survey. Omit if your report is based solely on library and online research. Reports based on scientific experiments typically include “Methods” in the body rather than in the Introduction.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction, continued. Criteria or standards The factors you will use to evaluate possible solutions, and their relative importance. Definitions Define technical terms if some members of your audience may not understand them. If you have a lot of terms, use a Glossary.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Background or History  Included even if the current audience knows the situation, since reports are often filed and read again years later by a very different audience.  May cover many years or just the immediate situation.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Conclusions Summarizes the main points made in the body of the report. Contains no new information.

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Recommendations  Action items that would solve or ameliorate the problem.  Often combined with “Conclusions” if both sections are short.