Business communication Chapter 4 Report writing. Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao Contents Basic of report writing Report structure:The

Business communicationBusiness communication

Chapter 4

Report writing

Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao

Contents

Basic of report writing

Report structure:The short forms

Long ,Formal reports

Graphics


A.Basic of report writing

A Business Report is an orderly andobjective communication of factualinformation that serves a business purpose.

• Orderly —being prepared carefully• Objective —trying to seek truth and to avoid

human biases• Communication —covering all ways of

transmitting meaning• Factual information —basing on events,

records, data, and the like which are the basic ingredients of reports


Types of Reports?

Annual Reports

Sales Reports

Feasibility（可行性） Reports

Inspection（检查） Reports

Audit Reports

Progress Reports

White Papers


5 Steps to Report Writing

1. Define the problem2. Gather the necessary information3. Analyze the information4. Organize the information5. Write the report


1.Define the problem

three forms of problem statement: Infinitive phrase(不定式短语 ) To avoid burning another bag of popcorn…. Question What are the reasons of…?

Declarative statement (宣告性叙述 ) The sales income is decreasing,and management

wants to know why


2.Gather the necessary information

ways to gather information

Field investigation(调查 )Experiments or surveys

Consultancy(顾问 )Literature research

Internet sourcing


Survey

A survey is a method of gathering information from a number of individuals, known as a sample, in order to learn something about the larger population from which the sample is drawn.


Steps:

Establish the goals of the project Determine your sampleChoose interviewing methodCreate your questionnaire Pre-test the questionnaire, if practical Conduct interviews and enter data Analyze the data


a.Establishing Goals

The first step in any survey is deciding what you want to learn. The goals of the project determine whom you will survey and what you will ask them.

If your goals are unclear, the results will probably be unclear.


Some goals:

The potential market for a new product or service

Ratings of current products or services

Employee attitudes Customer satisfaction levels Reader/viewer/listener opinions Association member opinions Opinions about political candidates or

issues Corporate images


b. Selecting Your Sample

First : deciding what kind of people to interview.

Researchers often call this group the target population. If you conduct an employee attitude survey or an association membership survey, the population is obvious. If you are trying to determine the likely success of a product, the target population may be less obvious.

Correctly determining the target population is critical. If you do not interview the right kinds of people, you will not successfully meet your goals.


Second: to decide is how many people you need to interview.

The larger the sample, the more precisely it reflects the target group. However, the rate of improvement in the precision decreases as your sample size increases.

You must make a decision about your sample size based on factors such as: time available, budget and necessary degree of precision.


c.Interviewing Methods

Once you have decided on your sample you must decide on your method of data collection.

Personal Interviews Telephone Surveys Mail Surveys Computer Direct Interviews Email Surveys Internet/Intranet (Web Page) Surveys


The choice of survey method will depend on several factors:


d.Create your questionnaire

Naming your survey Memo From the Chief! Your Opinion About

Financial Services! Free T-shirt! Win a Trip to Paris ! Please Respond By Friday!

Cover memo or introduction it should include the purpose of the

survey , Why it is important to hear from the correspondent , What may be done with the results and what possible impacts may occur with the results, Person to contact for questions about the survey.


Write a short questionnaire. When drafting your questionnaire, make a

mental distinction between what is essential to know, what would be useful to know and what would be unnecessary.

Use simple words. "What is the frequency of your automotive

travel to your parents' residents in the last 30 days?"

"About how many times in the last 30 days have you driven to your parent's home?"


There are 3 basic types of questions: multiple choice, numeric( 数字的 ) open end and text open end.


Don't make the list of choices too long

Allow a “Don't Know” or “Not Applicable” response to all questions, except to those in which you are certain that all respondents will have a clear answer.

Include “Other” or “None” whenever either of these is a logically possible answer.


Do not put two questions into one. Avoid questions such as "Do you buy frozen

meat and frozen fish?" "Have you ever bought Product X and, if so, did you like it?“

Make sure your questions accept all the possible answers.

A question like "Do you use regular or premium gas in your car?" does not cover all possible answers. The owner may alternate between both types.


Consider the order of the question. Ideally, the early questions in a survey

should be easy and pleasant to answer. These kinds of questions encourage people to continue the survey.

Whenever possible leave difficult or sensitive questions until near the end of your survey.


Be aware of cultural factors.

Leave your demographic questions (age, income, education, etc.) until the end of the questionnaire. By then the interviewer should have built a rapport( 友善） with the interviewee that will allow honest responses to such personal questions.

Do not ask a respondent's gender.


d.Pre-test the Questionnaire

The next step is to test a questionnaire with a small number of interviews before conducting your main interviews. Ideally, you should test the survey on the same kinds of people you will include in the main study.

If you change any questions after a pre-test, you should not combine the results from the pre-test with the results of post-test interviews.


3.Analyze the information

Advice for avoiding human errorAppropriate(适当的 )attitudes and

practicesStatistical tools in interpretation


4. Organize the information

Present the information in the order that communicates best to your readers.

The construction of outline 2 ways to show different levels of headings: conventional( 传统的 ) system & decimal( 小数

的 ) decimal symbol system

Whatever system we use, we should show differences in the levels of headings by placement and form.


The nature and extent of outlining Introductory and concluding parts Organization by division Division by conventional relationships Combination and multiple division

possibilities Wording of the outline


B.Long ,Formal reports

Organization and Content of LongerReports:The reader’s needs determine thestructure of long, formal reports

• Formal reports are normally organized by three parts

- Prefatory （前言） Parts- Report Proper- Appended Parts


a. Title Fly contains only the report title

Title:- should tell at a glance what the

report covers.- should be carefully worded.- should be built around five “Ws”: who, what, where, when, why, ( how )- can be helped by subtitle.

1. The Prefatory Parts


b.Title Page: It displays essential identification

information: report title, identification of the writer and reader, and the date


c. Authorization( 授权 ) Message: These are normally only required for aVery formal report being presented to

orWritten within a public body

It might include: a clear description of the problem, time and money limitations, special instructions, and the due date.


d. Transmittal Message

- It is a personal message from the writer to the reader ( usually in personal style ) and its main goal is to transmit the report.

- can include anything that helps the reader understand and value the report.



e.Table of Contents It lists the headings from the body of

the report and the page numbers on which they occur.

It is not required to list all headings. This TOC could have excluded excluded all third-level headings.


f. Executive Summary (abstract)- serves as a preview to the report and is

written primarily for busy executives.- should include all the major items,

analyses, and conclusions and recommendations.

- is less than 1/8 of the report in general.- is written in direct order more than indirect

order in recent years.


2. The Report Proper

• Introduction

• The report body- presents and analyzes the information

gathered- uses good presentation form, with

figures, tables, and caption display

Sources used must be appropriately noted and documented


The Ending of the Report

The Ending of the Report

Ending summary

Ending summary

ConclusionConclusion Recommen-dations

Recommen-dations


3. Appended Parts

- It is for supplementary information that supports the body of the report but has no logical place within the body

- Should includes: questionnaires, working papers, summary tables, additional references, and other reports)

- Should not include: charts, graphs, and tables that directly support the report.

Bibliography is a list of publications used


Title FlyTitle PageAuthorization MessageTransmittal Message +Executive

SummaryTable of Contents

C.Report structure:The short forms


Characteristics of Shorter Reports:

• Little need for introductory information

• Writen in the direct order• More personal writing style• Less need for a structured coherence

（一致） plan


Forms Of Shorter Reports:

• The short report• Letter reports• Email reports


Special Report Forms:

• Staff report • Meeting minutes • Progress report • Audit report • Proposal


D.Graphics

the primary purpose of using graphics is to communicate

Functions of graphicsˉ to clarify complex or difficult informationˉ to emphasize factsˉ to add coherence ˉ to summarize dataˉ to provide interestˉ to help filter the vast amount of dataˉ to enhance the appearance of a report


8.4 Graphics

Placing The Graphics In The Report

- Place the graphics near the first place in the text in which you refer to them

- Graphics not discussed in the report belong in the appendix

- At the right place, incidentally invite the readers to look at the graphics


Reference

商务英语应用文模板大全程斌山东科学技术出版社

实用商务英语写作教程徐仁凤东南大学出版社

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Business communication Chapter 4 Report writing. Business communication. Swust. Shirley Miao Contents Basic of report writing Report structure:The