Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Incident Report ADVICE Or, how to tell people bad news without making them freak out This presentation will describe:  Project grading (the answer key!)  Some reminders about report BASICS  Some TIPS for applying these basics to the trucking report  Some TRICKS that I will incorporate into my example There are lots of ways to write a good report. However, the audience and goal of this specific writing challenge put some constraints on what you should think about doing.

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Incident Report grading USE and PRACTICE what we talk about in class  Edit effectively for style (clear plain language statements), use correct grammar (correct tenses, correct comma punctuation, etc) and NO typos (including no formatting typos)  Follow all general guidelines for report writing (clearly stated goals, clear intro, clear conclusion, clear statement of purpose, etc)  Follow all literal directions (make a MEMO, include ALL info, do not change facts, etc)  Do some BASIC audience analysis (format for easy skimming, answer Spangler’s OBVIOUS questions, etc)  For an “A”, do all this PLUS some advanced audience analysis EFFECTIVELY control Spangler’s feelings about the incidents, answer some NON-obvious but HELPFUL questions, SUCCESSFULLY convince Spangler that you are super great

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke remember this slide? Introduction (from “what is a report”) States the subject and purpose Tells the audience WHY THEY SHOULD READ Summarizes conclusions and any recommendations Concise introductions are useful because they provide essential information at a glance. Useful introductions CLEARLY state the main point of the report. The communicate the report goals.

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke An incident report intro should: State any bad news right up front (don’t try to hide bad things) Answer ALL KEY questions right up front Some brainstorming ideas for what Spangler might want to know:  Was anyone hurt? Who and how badly?  Will this cost us money? How much and for what? What is the bottom line cost?  Will this lose us customers? Who and how bad?  Did this get us bad PR? How and how bad?  Will we get sued? Are we liable for anything? For what and when?  Will this cost us (or save us) money in the future? When and how much?  WHY did this happen? WHO is responsible? Will it happen again? WHY? Answer KEY questions right in the intro, then give additional detailed info later in the body of the report. Also GIVE POSITIVE INFORMATION right up front in the intro!

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke remember this slide? Body (from “what is a report”) Presents an organized account of the report’s subject Should have a USEFUL amount of detail “Useful” detail depends on the objective, the complexity of the subject, and how much the reader knows about the subject. All details should be relevant to conclusion

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke An incident report body should: Give details relevant to all the big key questions you very quickly answered in the Introduction  Convince Spangler you know what’s going on  Convince Spangler things are under control  Make certain every detail has a CLEAR PURPOSE Be organized around big key questions the audience wants answered  Group information in a way that Spangler can understand Be formatted to scan for specific details really easily and quickly  Remember who Spangler is (very busy, hates missing details, etc)

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke remember this slide? Conclusion (from “what is a report”) Summarizes main points Tells readers what is significant about the main points Readers generally want to know how something will affect them.

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke An incident report conclusion should: REITERATE all the big key questions you very quickly answered in the Introduction  Remind Spangler of what the big issues are  SHOW Spangler you’ve given answers for all these big issues  Remind Spangler of what the goal of the report is  REITERATE AND EMPHASIZE ANY POSITIVE NEWS PROVE that things are under control  Is this going to happen again? HOW can you know for sure? HIGHLIGHT any positive outcomes  Was this whole thing a blessing in disguise? If so, WHY?

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke remember this slide? Recommendations (from “what is a report”) Not always included in informal reports Sometimes combined with conclusions section Generally describes a course of action you believe is necessary This is very often a list of things that you need the audience to do.

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Incident report recommendations might: CLEARLY describe a plan to avoid incidents in the future  Has the problem been fixed? If so, HOW? If not, WHY not? PROVE that things are under control  Is this going to happen again? HOW can you know for sure? GET AUTHORIZATION to take action  Will fixes cost money? Labor? Opportunity cost? If so, how much?  Will fixes change operating procedures? If so, what are pros and cons? MAKE REALLY CLEAR what the audience needs to do  Authorize changes? Cut a check? Talk to reporters? Call an employee?  Maybe just a FYI report? If so, WHY should Spangler have this info?

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke What to write about in YOUR report? Do a “Do / Know / FEEL” brainstorm to answer this!  Spangler is probably concerned about his employees  He is probably concerned about the company’s image  He is probably concerned about profits and losses  He probably doesn’t want to lose customers  He probably doesn’t want to get sued  He probably wants to know why bad things happened and who is responsible  He probably wants to know how you will PREVENT this from happening again Focus your report on making Spangler feel secure about the issues that concern him the most!

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke What wording to use? Remember who Spangler is:  obviously very busy, not an academic, probably likes a lot of detail but also needs to skim quickly, etc Very CLEAR, STRAIGHTFORWARD, and PLAIN LANGUAGE wording fits this audience Therefore, use CLEAR AND SIMPLE PLAIN LANGUAGE statements !

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke What formatting to use? Remember what Spangler wants to do with the report:  Scan quickly for specific details  Spot answers to key questions  See clearly what had been or needs to be done  File for future use (lawsuits, etc) Remember that the incident report genre is very flexible: Think about using tables, highlighting, bullet or numbered lists, etc [if MS Word formatting give you problems, then just SKETCH!] Use COMMON SENSE here. This is a report writing class, so don’t do a bunch of research or spend hours and hours fiddling with MS Word formatting.

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke A trick I’ll use for my report: REDUNDANT wording !  The report will describe several very similar incidents  Give info in the exact same order using the EXACT same wording  This will make it VERY easy for Spangler to scan for specific facts  This will make it VERY easy to spot any missing details  This will make it VERY easy to spot connections between incidents Using REDUNDANCY EVERYWHERE is a good idea for incident reports. This might seem weirdly repetitive, but that’s the point. It is a VERY practical and VERY useful strategy that makes writing and reading the report easier and faster.

Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Redundant wording example: Accident #1 happened on the fourth floor at 8:02 am. A student named Stevie Nicks slipped on a banana peel in the middle of the hallway. Ms. Nicks fell to the floor and was knocked unconscious. Some unidentified students called 911. An ambulance arrived in five minutes. Ms. Nicks regained consciousness before EMS paramedics got to the scene. The paramedics evaluated Ms. Nicks for a concussion. The paramedics couldn’t tell if Ms. Nicks was concussed. The ambulance took Ms. Nicks to the hospital. The hospital released Ms. Nicks after a few hours. Ms. Nicks did not have a concussion. Accident #2 happened in the lobby sometime between 5:10 and 5:30 pm. An unidentified man slipped on spilled yogurt at the bottom of the stairs. The man appeared to twist an ankle. The incident was reported to the main office by Tom Jones and Nick Cage (two students who saw the incident). No one called 911. The unidentified man got up and limped off before anyone could offer help. The man was not evaluated. No one knows what the unidentified man’s injuries might have been. Accident #3 happened on the second floor at 7:03 pm. A student named Joe Bobb slipped on spilled soda in a classroom doorway.. Mr. Bobb hit the floor and hurt his left wrist. Dr. Jan Vincent (Mr. Bobb’s instructor) called 911. An ambulance arrived in fifteen minutes. Mr. Bobb sat on the floor in lots of pain until EMS paramedics got to the scene. The paramedics evaluated Mr. Bobb for a broken wrist. Mr. Bobb’s wrist was definitely broken. The ambulance took Mr. Bobb to the hospital. Mr. Bobb is still in the hospital. Mr. Bobb’s broken wrist will need surgery.