...ENHANCE YOUR REPORT IMAGE Whether in school or on the job, you must prepare and present reports. Written reports create an image of you – on paper. To achieve the most positive image, written reports must be prepared carefully and presented forcefully. To prepare an excellent report, Clippinger (1995, 11-12) suggest five equally vital steps that must be taken in the order listed: (1) plan; (2) draft; (3) revise; (4) edit; (5) format. Plan the Report To plan, ask: What is my purpose for writing, and what is the reader’s purpose for reading what I write? The answers become the core of the message. Compose and key the core idea. Then as they come to mind through listening, reading, and thinking, jot (on the computer screen) ideas and facts that related to the core idea. Next, check the list for missing items (and add them), unneeded items (and delete them), and redundant items (and combine them). Put the items in psychological order (main point followed by details, usually) and arranged them logically (in chronological, geographical, or importance order, for example). Finally, check the list to see that the items are tied together and related to the core idea. When appropriate, use tables, charts, or graphs to condense data; then list only summaries of what the visuals reveal in greater detail. Draft the Message To draft or compose the message, pretend that the reader is sitting before you. Write (at the keyboard) as you would talk with that person (level...
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...Writing Reports: According to Oxford English Dictionary, a report is a statement of the results of an investigation or any matter in which definite information is required. Different Types of Report: Depending upon the subject area it might would be: laboratory reports, technical reports, and reports of a work placement or industrial visit, reports of a field trip of field work. For writing a proper reports following material should considered: • Plan your report and divide the platform in a various stages, • Careful planning of reports will give a clear concise and effective results, • Collecting the information from various truthful sources and organizing the information, • Finally structuring the reports that vary according to the various types of reports said earlier. Following are the common elements can be found in many different reports: o Title page: The authors name, module, course and the date. o Acknowledgements: Give thanks to the librarians, technicians or computer centre staff. o Contents: List all the main sections in a sequence with page numbers. o Abstract of Summary: It should be concise informative and independent of the report. o Introduction: It will include context, scope of the report, terms of reference as well as define the limits of report, give a brief general background. o Methodology: Show the way of inquiry like interviews or questionnaires. o Results or findings:...
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...1.0 Introduction: • General introduction to the topic – crime, globally and in the UK • Introduce violent crime - give a definition (FBI Violent Crime) • Introduce your city - Manchester (1 or 2 sentences - see Manchester City Council) • Violent crime in Manchester (1 or 2 sentences - see Greater Manchester Police or maybe gov.uk – UK Government Website) • State the problem that the report will address, ie. There are high rates of VC in Manchester and something has to be done to address this. • Introduce the 2 options – Education and Providing Job Opportunities • Purpose Statement - This report will analyse the feasibility of Education and Providing Job Opportunities in terms of cost and effectiveness and will make a recommendation as to which option is most viable / feasible / suitable to reduce violent crime in Manchester. 2.0 Background: Give more detailed information about – • Manchester – population, location, local economy – ie. What budget is available? What is the employment/unemployment rate? Plus any other information that you think is important. • Violent Crime in Manchester – what types of violent crime are there in Manchester (see the FBI definition – 4 main types)? What are the rates of violent crime in Manchester? Are they higher or lower than the national average? Are they increasing, decreasing or staying the same? 3.0 Presentation of Options: Define your options 3.1 Education 3.2 Providing Job Opportunities 4.0 Requirements ...
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...A ‘DUMMY’S GUIDE’ TO WRITING AN EFFECTIVE REPORT “I didn’t have time to write a short report, so I wrote a long one instead.” Mark Twain (1835-1910) Report is a good way to documents the research or study done on a subject, but writing one is both difficult and time consuming. One needs to remember certain rules to become good at report writing. An effective report needs to be readable, credible and understandable. First of all a report that is not readable become irritating for the reader and dissuade him to ‘carry on’ reading. Readability means an appealing and welcoming effect the text has on the reader. We all have experienced it in advertisement that catches our attention. Similarly this can be achieved in reports by using simple tools like headings and attractive presentation. But readability is just one block of the puzzle. In addition to that, a piece of work that lacks credibility has little to no worth and cannot be considered effective. We all assume the role of a critic especially when obtaining information from a new source, in order to obtain our interest the source whether a person or a text needs to have some credibility. Credibility could be due to an authority, a title, an award or a simply a perception the source holds in our mind. Furthermore, a document that is both readable and credible would fail achieve its purpose and have the desired effect if the reader cannot even understand it. To be understandable first a document needs to be in...
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...How to Write a Good Report Bhaskaran Raman, Apr 2004 This short document describes how to write a good report. This is based on common mistakes I have observed over a period of time. While most of the following apply in general, they have been written with BTech/MTech/PhD students in mind. The comments below apply for course projects, other semester projects, technical reports, theses (BTech/MTech/PhD). That is, technical writing in general. While a google search on the topic may churn out many hits, the following is tailored for IIT (Kanpur) students in particular. I will first mention some general guidelines, then the structure of the report. Towards the end, I will also describe how to refine your writing, and how to give feedback on others' writing. Based on these, I will recommend a possible strategy for producing high-quality reports which have high potential for being published. General Guidelines These are some general things you should know before you start writing. I will try to answer the questions of the purpose of report writing, and the overall approach as well. Purpose of a report: writing to be read A key thing to keep in mind right through your report writing process is that a report is written to be read, by someone else. This is the central goal of report-writing. A report which is written for the sake of being written has very little value. Before you start writing your report, you need to have in mind the intended audience. In the narrowest...
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...HOW TO WRITE A TECHNICAL REPORT by Alan Smithee A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for ME 000 Some Course Department of Mechanical Engineering Fictitious Institute of Technology 01 January 9999 ABSTRACT Mechanics of writing a technical report is explained in a pseudo report format. The purpose of this pseudo report is to explain the contents of a typical engineering report. It can also be used as a template for an actual engineering report. With some adaptation, the format can be extended to other type of technical writings as well. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................i LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ......................................................................................... iii LIST OF SYMBOLS .................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS.....................................................................................................1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS................................................................................................2 SECTION DESCRIPTIONS...
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...How to Write a Book Review The purpose of a book review in the most basic sense is to convey to the reader what the book is about and whether it is worth reading or not. A good book review expands upon these two areas. When describing the book the following should be included: • The vital statistics: the title, author, publisher, price, paperback or hardback, length, illustrations, if it has been translated • The type of material: fiction, nonfiction, essay, poetry, biography • The contents: describe what the book is about, the plot, its purpose, its organization • Information about the author: what they have written before, other prominent work, their qualifications • A quoted passage: to allow the reader to see important information and a sense of the writer’s style. When providing judgment of the book it should be followed by the reason why that judgment was made. It should provide enough support for the reader to decide whether or not they want to read or buy the book. The following are examples of what to make judgments on: • Intent or purpose: how well the author realized their intent or fulfilled the purpose of the book • Relevancy: if the book is relevant to the real world and our time • Accuracy: whether the book works or fails based on its accuracy or errors • Uniqueness: comment on the unique qualities of the book • Audience: a comment on the intended audience of the book or its appeal to other potential readers In addition...
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... ON Writing about a case builds on the process of analyzing a case.The case situations described in previous chapters can be used to organize essays. An essay arguing a decision is organized in a different way from one offering a problem diagnosis.The structure of problem, decision, and evaluation essays is described in chapters 10 through 12, respectively. The chapters also include cases and sample essays about them. The essays are based on the writing of MBA students. To convince a reader that a conclusion about a case is valid, the writer must offer credible evidence linked directly to the conclusion. This fact helps explain the characteristics case-based essays have in common: 1. Answers two questions—What? Why?—and often a third—How? 2. Makes a position statement (What?) OT C CHAR ACTERISTICS OF A PERSUA SIVE C A SE ESSAY OP riting about a case is very different from talking about it.You collaborate with others in a discussion, bringing to bear everyone’s background and case preparation along with the instructor’s knowledge and facilitation skills. But you usually work on your own when writing about a case.You have to perform the entire analysis yourself as well as organize and express your thinking for a reader. However, the difference between talking and writing about a case runs deeper still.Audiences have much more exacting expectations of a text than they do of spoken comments. Logical gaps and the back-and-fill tolerable in a discussion are a major problem...
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...Biology lab report: If you are taking a biology course, at some point you will have to do lab experiments. This means that you will also have to complete biology lab reports. The purpose of writing a lab report is to determine how well you performed your experiment, how much you understood what happened during the experimentation process, and how well you can convey that information in an organized fashion. Biology Lab Reports: Formats A good lab report has a format that includes five main sections. They are the introduction, methods and materials, results, discussion and conclusion, and citation. Keep in mind that individual instructors may have a specific format that they require you to follow. Please be sure to consult your teacher about the specifics of what to include in your lab report. Introduction: The introduction of a lab report states the purpose of your experiment. Your hypothesis should be included in the introduction, as well as a brief statement about how you intend to test your hypothesis. To be sure that you have a good understanding of your experiment, some educators suggest writing the introduction after you have completed the methods and materials, results, and conclusion sections of your lab report. Methods and Materials: This section of your lab report involves producing a written description of the materials used and the methods involved in performing your experiment. You should not just record a list of materials, but indicate...
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...TITLE: BUS 2020; BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (SECTION C) AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT DATE OF SUBMISSION: WEEK 10, WEDNESDAY MARCH 14TH 2012 A REPORT ON WHY COMPUTERIZED SYSTEMS HAVE NOT IMPROVED COMPUTER SERVICES IN JIPANGE COMPANY LTD. This report was prepared as a result of a directive given by the Customer Services Manager to me, Personal Assistant to Customer Services Manager. The report was compiled and written on 1 March 2013 and it addresses effects of computerization and ways to reverse these effects. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to thank the following for their help during this investigation: Mr. P.L.O Mumbai Ms. Agatha Chebet Mrs. Tharaka Njeru Mr. Hughson Lesoi TERMS OF REFERENCE This report was prepared after strict instructions given by the Customer Services Manager. This was after the event of computerizing all the customer services but no notable improvement was made in the provision of services. The report was intended to investigate the matter and write recommendations towards the same. I was to investigate: The effect of computerization of all customer services within and without the organization Reasons as to why customer service did not improve after computerization Facts and figures that support the negative effect of computerization Recommendations that would improve the situation The report was to be submitted in two weeks on 14 March 2013 SUMMARY This report was meant to discover why the customer services in Jipange LTD have not improved...
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...Strategic Management Report This document summarises what I have learnt about report writing in my own career in industry, consultancy and academia. I believe that it constitutes a reasonable guide to good practice. But this is an area in which opinions and practices differ - for example, some people DO like to see the different theoretical models laid out in detail, something that I regard as unnecessary. You are advised to check with your tutor to make sure that what is written here accords with their own requirements and preferences. ©Adrian Haberberg 2001 Please remember that you are writing a business report and not an academic essay, and that you are writing it for a busy and intelligent manager. More specifically: 0 Do not waste time and paper reproducing information from the case study. In particular, do not bore your "client" with a long history of the organisation you are studying. You should assume that they have read and understood everything in the case study. Your job is to add value to that information. * Remember that a report, like any other good piece of writing, tells a story in an interesting and coherent way. There should be a clear flow from one section of your writing to another, and each part of the report should draw upon what has gone before, and feed analysis forward to what follows. * Do not assume that, if you write down all the theoretical models one after the other, you have done your job. If all you write is a PEST, followed by...
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...findings (Pechenik, 86). This should include your hypothesis and a brief statement about why these types of results are expected. There should also be a comparison of how your actual results related to your expected findings (Pechenik, 86). Here, you should state whether or not your results supported or didn't support your hypothesis. In addition, the degree to which the evidence supported your hypothesis should be stated. For example, were the results completely supportive, or were there variances? There should be an explanation of unexpected results (Pechenik, 86). When looking for possible explanations, consider the following: Was the equipment used adequate for the task? Was the experimental design valid? Were the working assumptions made correct? A common mistake that many writers make is to blame themselves for the unexpected results. Unless you actually made a mistake following the methods of the experiment, and could not go back and correct it, do not make up such errors to explain the variances you observe. Think about and analyze the methods and equipment you used. Could something different have been done to obtain better results? Another possibility to consider is if the experiment was conducted under factors that were considerably different from those described in the manual. Be sure to include ideas on how to test these explanations (Pechenik, 86). Briefly explain a way to test these possible reasons for unexpected results. For example, if there is a problem with...
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...Plants produce offsprings. One more propertie of life that plants follow is evolution. Plants follow natural selection that change over time. From the seven properties I was also able to identify several properties for animal cells. Animals are able response to environment. For, example when I got out for run I produce sweat because my body is regulating my body temperatures. Another, property would be growth. Growth is the stages of life. The stages start with birth and end with death. The last property I was able to observe from the animall cell was reproduction. Animals as well as humans are able to reproduce of their own kind. 6. I estimated that nine plant cells could fit end-to-end within one millimeter (mm).Than I calculated to find how many fit within 1mm based upon the estimated plant cells. I just simply divide 1 over 9 and my answer was 0.11111. That been said the size of a single plant cell is 0.11111millimeters (mm). 7. The size range for an average plant cell is 0.01-0.1mm. The size I calculated for the plant cell was 0.11111mm meaning that the size does fall into the average range size for plant cells. 8. I don’t think I would be able to see a virus with a light microscope. I would need electron microscope to use a to observe such a tiny object like a virus. 9a. The four major molecules of life are carbohydrates,proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. 9b. I am thinking of bringing veggie chips to the lab. I believe the major molecules of life within the veggie...
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...Using an organisation of your choice write a report that explains how the company seeks to deliver customer value. This report will be explaining how Tesco Plc seeks to deliver customer value, through objectives and strategies they have in place to try and deliver customer value, and also improving the relationship between them and the customer. Tesco was founded in 1919 when Jack Cohen began to sell groceries from a stall in East London. The name Tesco only became known in 1924, and the first store was open in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London. Now Tesco is one of the world’s largest food retailers, operating in 14 different countries worldwide, in Europe, Asia and North America. Tesco is also a leading retailer in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in Hertfordshire and 2,715 stores nationwide, it employs almost 300,000 members of staff, and has a market share of just over 30% in the United Kingdom, this creating over 60% of the group sales and profits. Tesco’s main objectives is to increase market share, maximise sales, to grow and maintain the number one retail company in the United Kingdom, remain the market leader, create value for their customers to gain lifetime loyalty, to be an outstanding international retailer in stores and online, be a creator of highly valued brands and supporting the well-being of communities and economic issues. In order for Tesco to achieve their organisational objectives, they need to be able to determine the wants and needs...
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...perform. The management topics of communication strategy, communication technology, effective business writing (including memos, letters, and analytical reports), nonverbal communication, and formal oral presentations will be emphasized. The course will focus primarily on written communication. Several practical writing assignments will be given and each student will be required to give an oral presentation using PowerPoint presentation software. COURSE TEXTBOOK Geraldine Hynes, MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND APPLICATIONS, 5th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin Publishers, 2011. To cite your secondary sources accurately for the report, you must either purchase an APA Reference Style book or download my handout (on Blackboard) describing and illustrating the APA Reference Style. 882-E Scantron sheets are needed for exams. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. To understand that effective management is dependent on excellent communication skills. 2. To learn the communication skills and activities that are required for managers at all levels of management. 3. To learn the correct strategy in writing business memos and letters. 4. To learn how to conduct effective secondary research. 5. To learn how to organize and write an analytical business report following effective report writing principles. 6. To improve your oral presentation skills by...
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