Communications - Chapter 11 Flashcards
What are 3 purposes of reports?
- Convey information
- Solve problems
- Answer questionsWht
What are 2 report functions and types?
- Informational reports
2. Analytical reports
What are 2 organizational strategies?
- Direct strategy
2. Indirect strategy
What are 2 writing styles?
- Formal
2. Informal
What 5 report formats?
- Letter
- Memo (often with email cover note)
- Manuscript
- Preprinted forms
- Digital
What are 3 truths you should know about reports? (Part 1)
- Everyone writes reports
- Most reports flow upwards
- Most business reports are informal
What are 3 truths you should know about reports? (Part 2)
- Memos, letter, manuscript format
- Reports differ from memos and letters
- Today’s reports take advantage of computer technologies
What are 4 truths you should know about reports? (Part 3)
- Many reports are joint efforts
- Ethical report writers interpret facts fairly
- Writers impose organization on data
- The writer is the reader’s servant
When do you use direct pattern?
- If readers are informed
- If readers are supportive
- If readers are eager to have results first
When do you use indirect pattern?
- If readers to be educated
- If readers need to be persuaded
- If readers may be disappointed or hostile
What are 7 tips for letter reports?
- Use letter format for short informal reports sent to outsiders
- Organize the facts section into logical divisions identified by consistent headings
- Single space the body
- Double space between paragraphs
- Leave 2 blank lines above each heading
- Create side margins of 1 to 1 1/4 inches
- Add a second page heading if necessary consisting of addressee’s name, the date, and the page number
What are 5 tips for analytical report - memo format?
- Use memo format for short (10 or fewer pages) informal reports within an org
- Create side margins of 1 to 1 1/4 inches
- Sign your initials on the From line
- Use an informal conversational style
- Put recommendations first for direct analytical reports and last for indirect analytical reports
What are 5 elements of a a work plan for a formal report?
- Statement of problem
- Statement of the purpose, including scope, limitations, and significance
- Research strategy, including a description of potential scores, and methods of collecting data.
- Tentative outline that factors the problem into manageable chunks
- Work schedule
What are 2 print secondary sources?
Print resources:
- Books – card catalog, online catalog
- Periodicals – print indexes, electronic indexes
What are 4 electronic database secondary sources?
Electronic databases:
- LexisNexis Academic
- ABI/INFORM
- Factiva
- EBSCO
What are 3 primary sources?
- Surveys (for example, low-cost Web survey software, such as SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang)
- Interviews
- Observation and experimentation
What are 5 tips for searching the web?
- Use two or three search tools.
- Know your search tool.
- Understand case sensitivity.
- Use nouns as search terms and up to eight words in a query.
- Combine keywords into phrases.
When evaluating web sources for currency what do you check?
Date of Web page?
When last updated?
Anything out of date?
When evaluating web sources for authority, what do you ask?
Who publishes or sponsors the page?
What makes the presenter an authority?
Is contact address available?
When evaluating web sources for content, what do you ask?
Is the purpose of the page to entertain, inform, convince, or sell?
Who is the intended audience?
How does the content compare with content elsewhere?
When evaluating web sources for accuracy, what do you ask?
Do the facts seem reliable?
Errors in spelling, grammar, usage?
Evidence of bias?
When do you have to give credit to avoid plagiarism?
- Another person’s ideas, opinions, examples, or theory
- Any facts, statistics, charts, and drawings that are not common knowledge
- Another person’s exact spoken or written words
- Paraphrases of another person’s spoken or written words
What are 4 steps to paraphrase?
- Read the original material intently to comprehend its full meaning.
- Write your own version without looking at the original.
- Avoid repeating the grammatical structure of the original and merely replacing words with synonyms.
- Reread the original to be sure you covered the main points but did not borrow specific language.
How do you cite with MLA?
- Author’s name and page (Smith 100) placed in text
2. Complete references in Works Cited
How do you cite with APA?
- Author’s name, date of publication, and page number placed near the text reference (Jones, 2011, p. 99)
- Complete references listed at the end of the report in References
What are the 4 functions of graphics visual aids?
- Clarify data
- Create visual interest
- Condense and simplify data
- Make numerical data meaningful
When to use a table?
to show exact figures and values
When to use a bar chart?
to compare related items
When to use a line chart?
to demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time
When to use a pie chart?
to visualize a whole unit and the proportion of its components
When to use a flow chart?
to display a process or procedure
When to use an organization chart?
to define a hierarchy of elements
When to use Photograph, map, or illustration ?
to create authenticity, to spotlight a location, and to show an item in use
