Short Reports
Module
Twenty Three
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
LO 23-1 Select patterns for short business report
organization.
LO 23-2 Apply strategies for short business report
organization.
LO 23-3 Apply principles for good business report
style.
LO 23-4 Apply strategies for specific and polite
question use.
23-2
Do different kinds of reports use
different patterns of organization?
 Informative or closure report
 summarizes completed work or research that
does not result in action or recommendation
 Introductory paragraph, chronological report,
concluding paragraph
23-3
Do different kinds of reports use
different patterns of organization?
 Introductory paragraph
 summarizes the problems or successes of the
project.
 Chronological account
 how the problem was discovered, what was
done, and what the results were.
 Concluding paragraph
 suggestions for later action.
23-4
An Informative Memo Report Describing
How Local Government Solved a Problem
23-5
Do different kinds of reports use
different patterns of organization?
 Feasibility reports
 evaluate several alternatives and recommend
one of them.
 normally open by explaining the decision to be
made, listing the alternatives, and explaining
the criteria
23-6
Do different kinds of reports use
different patterns of organization?
 Justification reports
 recommend or justify
a purchase,
investment, hiring, or
change in policy
23-7
Justification Reports
1. Indicate what you’re asking for and why it’s
needed.
2. Briefly give the background of the problem or
need.
3. Explain each of the possible solutions.
4. Summarize the action needed to implement
your recommendation.
5. Ask for the action you want.
23-8
Justification Reports
If the reader will be reluctant to grant your request:
1.Describe the organizational problem.
2.Show why easier or less expensive solutions will not
solve the problem.
3.Present your solution impersonally.
4.Show that the disadvantages of your solution are
outweighed by advantages.
5.Summarize the action you need.
6.Ask for the action you want.
23-9
What are the basic strategies for
organizing information?
Comparison/
Contrast
Problem/
Solution
Elimination of
Alternatives
General to
Particular or
Particular to
General
Geographic or
Spatial
Functional
Chronological
23-10
Should I use the same style for reports
as for other business documents?
 Follow the advice in Modules 15 & 16,
except
 Use a fairly formal style, without contractions
or slang.
 Avoid the word you.
 Include in the report all definitions and
documents needed to understand the
recommendations.
23-11
Should I use the same style for reports
as for other business documents?
The following apply to any kind of writing,
but they are particularly important in
reports:
1.Say what you mean.
2.Tighten your writing.
3.Use blueprints, transitions, topic sentences, and
headings to make your organization clear to your
reader.
23-12
Use Blueprints, Transitions, Topic
Sentences, and Headings
 Blueprints
 overviews or forecasts that tell the reader what
you will discuss in a section or in the entire
report.
 Transitions
 words, phrases, or sentences that tell the
reader whether the discussion is continuing on
the same point or shifting points.
23-13
Use Blueprints, Transitions, Topic
Sentences, and Headings
 Topic sentence
 introduces or summarizes the main idea of a
paragraph
 Headings
 single words, short phrases, or complete
sentences that indicate the topic in each
section.
23-14
Use Blueprints, Transitions, Topic
Sentences, and Headings
 Talking Heads
 Tell the reader what to expect.
 Are preferred over topic headings.
 Should be expressed in parallel form.
23-15
Asking Specific and Polite Questions
 Specificity
 Give simple choices.
 Ask the real question.
 Start with the 5Ws and H (who, what, where,
when, why, and how) if you want longer, more
qualitative answers.
23-16
Asking Specific and Polite Questions
 Politeness




Use timing.
Keep questions to a minimum.
Avoid embarrassing or provocative questions.
Avoid language that implies doubt, suspicion, or
criticism.
 Use you-attitude and empathy
23-17