Notes pages 167-207 ( Reports and Other Longer Documents)

Notes pages 167-207 (Reports and Other Longer Documents)

Reports and Other Longer Documents
-Two types of reports: formal (multi-part and used to present results of a detailed project) and informal (shorter and less components).
-Audience should be analyzed. They include the layperson, the executive, the expert, the technician, and the operator.

Audience Analysis: The Problem and a Solution (Mathes and Stevenson)
-Three fundamental components of communication: writer, message, and audience.
-Look over assumptions on page 171.
-Make the report for dynamic situations (long term).
-College students only write for individual professor. Student learns to write for an audience of one.
-The who of the audience involves their specific operational functions as well as their educational/business backgrounds.
-There are three types of audiences: horizontal, vertical, and external. Horizontal audiences exist on each level. Vertical audiences exist between levels. External audiences exist when any unit interacts with a separate organization.
-Report writer must realize the separation between him or her and any of the three types of audiences.
-Even a horizontal audience could have little in common beyond the fact of working for the same organization, of having the same rank and perhaps of having the same educational level.
-Different divisions in the own company can be external audiences.
-An egocentric organization chart identifies particular individuals and it categorizes people in terms of their proximity to the writer rather than in terms of a hierarchical relationship. It can be formatted to show the people you interact with daily, then the people who are in the same office or project group, etc.
-In this chart, the writer is center and he communicates to the tiers of rings.
-Characterize your audience in terms of operational, objective, and personal characteristics.
-Operational includes how time is spent, professional values, knowledge of your role, daily concerns,
-Objective includes specific, background data about the person. (education, past experience)
-Personal includes name, age.
-Think of consequences of your report and it will guide your writing.
-Classify your audience in terms of how they will use the report. There are three categories primary, secondary, and immediate.
-Primary make decisions or act on the information the report contains.
-Secondary are affected by the decisions and actions.
-Immediate route the report or transmit the information it contains. (can be part of both primary and secondary audiences, just depends on the situation)
-Matrix for Audience Analysis (185) includes audience type and characteristics of the audience.

What to Report (Dodge)
-Managers report criteria are outlined on pages 188-9.
-The summary should contain what the report is about, the significance and implications of the work, and the action called for.
-Managers most frequently read the summary.
-Manager interested in five broad technological areas: technical problems, new projects, experiments, materials/processes, and field troubles.
-Market factors and organization problems are additional areas of interest.
-Manager may not be in same field as writer in terms of educational and experience background.
-Manager has responsibilities too: define the project; provide perspective for project; make sure effective reports are submitted on time; and see that reports are properly distributed.
-The manager can schedule four conferences to make sure that the reports are what he or she wants. (beginning of project conference, completion of the investigation conference, after the report is outlined conference, and after the report is written conference)

The Writing of Abstracts (Arnold)
-Everyone will read the abstract.
-2 purposes are to provide a specialist in the field with enough information about the report to allow him or her to decide whether or not he could profit from it and to provide the administrator or executive with enough knowledge about project and enough results to satisfy most of administrative needs.
-Most difficult part to write.

Ten Report Writing Pitfalls: How to Avoid Them (Vinci)
Ignoring your Audience –who, why, and how (how are you going to present the information based on your audience)
Writing to Impress (don’t do it)- readers don’t like big words
Having More than one Aim-know specific audience and information; write analysis first then introduction
Being inconsistent
Over qualifying- avoid modifiers
Not Defining – know what to define and how to define it (substitution or detailed explanation)
Misintroducing- intro is not table of contents
Dazzling with data-don’t dazzle with a ton of data (what can remove without losing meaning)
Not Highlighting –highlight key points and key elements for understanding
Not Rewriting- multiple drafts