Report

Writing
Business Report

A business report is an impartial,

objective and planned presentation
of factual information that serves
some business purpose.
Direction of Business Report
Bottom-up
Top-down
Horizontal
Technical Vs Academic
Writing
 “Technical” or “Business” writing is very
different from “Academic” writing. Each
has its unique purpose and format to
follow.
 Why the Differences?
 Time management
 Variety of Readers
 Reading for different reasons( such as
decision making, propose an idea or
announcement etc)
“Differences”

Business leaders don’t have time in their day to sift

through many pages, searching for the information
they need to know
 “Differences”

Technical writing will have many

different readers, reading different parts
of the work.
- a project manager, financial officer, CEO,
and supervisor might all read parts that pertain to their
jobs, then discuss as a team the merits of the proposal.
Connotative VS Denotative
Terms
 Characteristics of Technical
Writing
 Clear, Concise and simply organized.
 Highly defined structure/format.
 Examples: Lab reports, memos, business
letters, technical reports, and proposals
 Compare these Statements:
 Looking into  The
sun sets in the
the azure blue sky west
one could see the
golden orb of sun
slip gently beneath
the western sky
The left-side description of the sun setting is an
example of academic writing and the right-
side description is an example of technical
writing.
Role of Reports in the business
World
 Provides better understanding of the
problems
 helps in decision making
 create more cohesive and better-
functioning teams
 streamline processes
 improve financial operations
 alert management to opportunities for
business growth
 record the proceedings of the previous
years
Preparation before Writing
Reports
 Define the problem & purpose of the
report
 Visualize the audience
 Determine the type of data and
information to include
 Collect the data
 Sort & organize the data
 Analyze the data
 Prepare the outline
Writing Process
Pre Writing
Analyzing:
 Examine your purpose( entertain, persuade,
inform)
 Determine your goals
Anticipating:
 Consider your audience
Adapting:
 Communication channel
Writing Process
 Writing
Researching
Organizing
composing
 Re Writing
Revising
Proofreading
Evaluating
The Report-
Writing Process
Phase 1: PREPARE
Identify & define the problem
Analyse the audience

Phase 2: RESEARCH
Determine the methodology
Collect the information

Evaluate
Phase 3: ANALYSE
work at
Organise & evaluate the information
every step
Draw conclusions & make
recommendations

Phase 4: WRITE
Draft, revise & edit the report
Package the report
Audience
Recognition
and
Involvement
Audience
Recognition
Types of Audience
Audience Recognition
 Determine whether your audience is
1. High tech
2. Low tech
3. Lay
4. Multiple
 1. High Tech Audience
 Work in your field of expertise

 Same department or similar capacity in

other company

 Canbe termed as colleagues because they

have
 Same educational background
 Same work experience
 Same level of understanding

 Writing to high tech audience is easy.

 Characteristics of High Tech
Audience
1. Are experts in the your field.

2. High tech jargon, acronyms and

abbreviations can be used.

3. Minimal details about standard

procedures or technical theories

4. Little background information about a

project’s history.
2. Low-Tech Audience
 Familiar
with your field’s technology
but do not know the details.

 Include
 Bosses
 Subordinates
 Co-workers in other departments.
 Colleagues in other companies.
 Characteristics of Low-tech
Audience
1. Familiar with your field’s technology
without knowing details.

2. Preferable to define jargon, abbreviation

and acronyms.

3. Define technical concepts.

4. Need for providing background

information
 3. Lay Audience
 Donot work for the company and have
no knowledge about your field of
expertise.

 Include
 Customers
 Clients
 End users

 Writing
to lay audience is difficult and
demanding.
 Characteristics of Lay
Audience
1. Unfamiliar with your field’s technology.

2. Avoid jargon, abbreviations and

acronyms or define them thoroughly.

3. Avoid high-tech terms or define them

thoroughly.

4. Lay readers need background

information.
 25

4. Multiple Audience
 Correspondence is not always sent to just
one type of audience.

 Challenging to write for multiple audience

with different levels of understanding.
 Characteristics of Multiple
Audience
1. Provide background data as some of
the readers will be unfamiliar with the
subject matter. ( Use references )

2. Define jargon, acronyms and

abbreviations. (Within parenthesis or in a
glossary)

3. Use a matter-of-fact business like tone.

Defining terms
for different
audience levels
1. High Tech Audience
 Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation alone
 HTTP

2. Low Tech Audience

 Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation with
parenthetical definition.
 HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

3. Lay Audience
 Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation with
extended definition.
 Extended definition = Term + Type +
Distinguishing Characteristics.
 HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a computer
access code providing secure communications
on networks.
Biased
Language
Issues of Diversity
1 Avoid Sexist Language
 Radium was discovered by a woman, Marie
Curie.
 Radium was discovered by Marie Curie.
 31

2 Avoid Unequal Treatment

 Mrs Acton, an attractive blonde, is Joe’s
assistant.
 Mrs Acton is Joe’s assistant.
 The poor women could no longer go on,
the exhausted men……
 The exhausted men and women could no
longer go on.
 32

3 Avoid Stereotyping
 The manager is responsible for the
productivity of his department.
 Management is responsible for
departmental productivity.
 A good lawyer will make sure that his
clients are aware of their rights.
 A good lawyer will make sure that clients
are aware of their rights.
 Words to avoid
 Mankind  People
 Manpower  Workers , personnel
 Businessmen  Business people
 Policemen  Police officers
 Firemen  Firefighters
 Chairman  Chairperson
 Waiter / Waitress  Server
Audience
Involvement
Keep your reader interested
!!
Achieve Audience Involvement
Through
1. Personalized Tone(use of pronouns,
names & contractions)
 Modern technical writing is person to
person communication.

2. Reader Benefit
 Motivate your readers by giving them
what they want or need.
1. Personalized Tone
1. Pronoun Usage
 Upon receipt of form, the company will
issue a replacement policy.
 As soon as we get the form, we’ll send
you your replacement policy.

2. Names

3. Contractions
 2. Reader Benefit
1. Explain the Benefit
 State benefit early or late in the technical
document. We will remain open from 9 AM
till11PM
 Now you can shop from 9 AM till 11 PM.

2. Use Positive Verbs and Words

 We’ve received your letter complaining about
our services.
 Thank you for writing to us about our services.
 We can not process your request. You failed to
follow the printed instructions.
 So that we may process your request rapidly,
please fill in line 6 on the printed form.
 38

Multicultural Audience
 Define Acronyms and Abbreviations
 Avoid Jargons and Idioms
 Distinguish between Nouns and Verbs
 Watch for Cultural Biases( Gestures etc.)
 Avoid Humour/ Pun
 Avoid Figurative Language
 Be careful while using Numbers, Dates,
Measurements & Time etc.
Summary of
Lecture 1
 Role of business reports
 Writing reports

 Recognize the types of audience as high-tech,

low-tech, lay or multiple.

 How to define terms for different audience.

 Avoid gender biased or sexist language.

 Involve your audience through

 Personalized Tone (Use Pronouns, Names, Contractions)
 Reader Benefit ( Explain benefit and Use positive words)