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Inver Hills Community College

          

          
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PARTS & SECTIONS

   Click on a title below:

Part I.
Basics/Process

  A. Chapters 1-6:
      
Starting

  B. Ch. 7-13:
       Organizing

  C. Ch. 14-20:
       Revising/Edit
ing

Part II.
College Writing

   D. Ch. 21-23:
        What Is It?

   E. Ch. 24-30:
      
 Write on Rdgs.

   F. Ch.31-35:
       Arguments

  G. Ch. 36-42:
       Research

   I.  Ch. 49-58:
       Majors & Work

Part III.
Writing to Literature

 H. Ch. 43-48:
       Literature

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 Study Questions

 

                                                                                                                 

Chapter 56. PROFESSIONAL REPORT

Advanced Methods of Writing a Professional Business, Project, or Status Report

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Introduction

These advanced ideas and/or applications can help you understand and use this paper's type of thinking better.  For additional information, check the chapter's Grammar Book Links in the right column. 

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Additional Types of Professional Reports  

Employee Report vs. Employee Evaluation:

Be sure to distinguish carefully between a true "report" on an employee and an "evaluation" of an employee.  For the former--a report--you simply prepare it as you would any report: you base it on pure fact, pure action and event--with no judgment or evaluation.  In short, a true report on an employee is simply a detailing of his or her actions.  

However, if what you really want is some kind of evaluation, judgment, or assessment of the employee's work, relationships with other employees, and/or potential for other jobs, then you are seeking to develop an entirely different type of paper.  For an evaluation of an employee, please go to the "Evaluation" chapter, use it to develop a set of criteria by which you judge every employee equally, fairly, and fully, and then apply these criteria to the employee, supporting what you say with details.

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Return to top.

         

 Rhetorical Modes   

Also see the Rhetorical
Modes
page in the "Starting" section.

CLASSIFICATION, COMPARISON-CONTRAST, and ARGUMENT:

If you are working with the rhetorical modes, a professional report uses some of these modes. It is useful especially for writing in the mode of classification. It also is useful for writing in the modes of cause-effect and of argument.  Here's what you need to know to use these modes when writing a professional report.

"Classification" means simply that a subject--a person, place, event, or object--is broken into parts and sub-parts. For example, a student chosen at random might be classified and sub classified by LOOKS (Height, Weight, Hair, and Build), by LEISURE PURSUITS (Hobbies, Friends, Dating, and Music), and by PERSONALITY (Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, and Physical). A simple classification paper creates these parts and sub-parts and then describes them in detail.

A professional report requires good use of classification: most reports on business or technical activities require that the activities be grouped or divided according to some system, whether that system is by time, by place, by relative success or failure, or by any of a number of other methods. A good report often has its information divided and subdivided so efficiently, consistently, and logically that it can be organized or summarized by an outline.

"Comparison/contrast" means to show how subjects are alike and/or different. A simple comparison/contrast paper often has two subjects and describes how they are alike, then how they differ. For example, a comparison/contrast paper on two forms of weekend entertainment, camping and dancing, might first give details on how both can involve physical skills, friends, and enjoying sounds and sights; then the paper might next give details on how camping and dancing differ in that one is in nature and the other is not, one is slow and quiet and the other fast and loud, and one is peaceful while the other is rousing.

Good professional reports require a working knowledge of comparison/contrast. The two subjects to be compared and contrasted are the present report and the previous report or proposal. The reason for this is that every report or proposal sets up expectations: the people reading the report or proposal expect certain events to happen in a certain order, at a certain time, for a certain cost. What each new report does is to tell people how their expectations are being met, and how they are not. Therefore, a good professional report often will compare and contrast the present status of the activity in question with the status as of the previous report or proposal.

An "argument" is, simply, an educated guess or opinion that is not totally factual. "Men have walked on the moon" is a fact. But "People will walk on Venus in the next ten years" is an opinion. Anything that reasonably can be debated is an argument. A simple argument paper usually presents a debatable opinion and then offers supports in favor of it, or sometimes an argument paper will discuss both sides of an issue and then give good reasons for choosing one side over the other.

Argument sometimes is necessary in a professional report, even if often simple and brief. The readers of the report often like to have some kind of comment--often in or near the end--that tells how the report's project is coming along. The readers want to be reassured that the project is coming along well, can be fixed if in trouble, or should be scrapped. Usually report writers at this point in their reports try to give the readers what they want to hear--but still be honest and fair about it--so that readers are left feeling as good as possible but do not have unreasonable expectations.

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I. WRITING FOR MAJORS & WORK

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Chapter 56. Professional Report:

Introduction

Basics

Advanced

Samples (none)

Activities

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Related Chapters/Pages:

Details & Images

Creating Websites

Leading Writing Groups
                      

                    

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Links in Grammar Book

  16. Research Writing

  17. Citation & Documentation

  18. References & Resources

  19. Visual/Multimodal Design

  20. Major/Work Writing

 

Updated 1 Aug. 2013

  

   

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Writing for College 
by Richard Jewell is licensed by Creative Commons under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
WritingforCollege.org also is at CollegeWriting.info and WforC.org
Natural URL: http://www.richard.jewell.net/WforC/home.htm
1st Edition: Writing for School & Work, 1984-1998. 6th Edition: 8-1-12, rev. 8-1-13. Format rev. 11-28-21
Text, design, and photos copyright 2002-12 by R. Jewell or as noted
Permission is hereby granted for nonprofit educational copying and use without a written request.

Contact Richard.  Questions and suggestions are welcome.