Chapter 56. PROFESSIONAL REPORT
Basics of
a Professional
Business, Project, or Status Report ---
---
Introduction
This section explains the basics of writing and
revising a professional business, project, or status report--why this type of paper exists and how to start, organize, and edit it.
You may want to first see the "Introduction"
before reading this page. Be sure, before or after reading this "Basics Page," to
see "Sample Papers"
by students. For more advanced information, go to "Advanced Methods."
---
|
Why
This Type of Paper? |
The
heart of a business, project, or status report is is a description of what
has happened. It does not attempt to propose, nor is its purpose primarily to
evaluate (though some reports may have evaluation in them). Primarily, its
purpose is to offer details about a project, event, or situation.
Sometimes a proposal precedes a status or project report; at other times, an
ongoing work situation (e.g., a work division's yearly production or an
employee's yearly activities) are the occasion for a report.
Professional report writing has many uses in school and work. In school, it
obviously is useful in business classes. Similar types of reports also must be
written for a wide variety of other classes, from the sciences and English to
technical and even physical education courses. Academic report writing basically
asks you to break down a subject into groupings, and then break each of those
groupings into smaller parts, according to some kind of system. Usually you must
choose or even invent the system. Some reports also ask you to give your own
opinion in some part of them; other reports must be written in a strictly
objective, factual way throughout all parts.
In the world of work, professional report writing is an important skill
especially for working in businesses, companies, or service units in which you
are expected to make reports to some person or group overseeing your activities.
If you are an independent businessperson making and carrying out proposals, you
may also need to write ending reports on your projects, too. In general, the
standard or most common type of formal writing in the business world is the
business report (and the standard for informal writing in the business world is
the email memo). For this reason, you will find it important to master the
skills involved in writing this kind of paper.
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The major section of WritingforCollege.org called "Starting"
offers a number of useful ways to start thinking, speaking, and writing about a
subject. The advice here, which follows, is for this chapter's type of paper in particular.
When brainstorming a status or project report, imagine that you are at the top of a
mountain--or at least on a craggy high point--overlooking whatever it is that
you must report. Your job is to help your readers see the big
picture. You will need to provide some details; however, you don't want
the report to be bogged down in details. You must, instead, provide a good
balance of overall pictures of current progress (or lack of it) and the
important facts and figures (such as hours, money, or materials used) that show
how that progress came about.
You can brainstorm by writing down a long
list of
ideas, events, and details you want to discuss; then choose one or a few and
start writing. You also can start by
freewriting:
simply letting out your thoughts and
feelings about
the project or situation on paper.
Outlining
is another option, especially if you are an experienced report writer. If
you are looking for an especially interesting, sharp, or reader-grabbing report,
you might start by first developing some interesting or wild opposite
ideas--that is, make up some
fictions--and
write about those a bit; then look at them and see if any of them reflect an
interesting truth or otherwise new angle on how to see the project or situation
on which you are reporting. (However, don't get too wild! The
final report must be an accurate reflection of reality.) You also can practice
imaging. Stretch, then sit back, relax, breathe,
clear your mind. Then ask yourself, "What image accurately
demonstrates the core of the situation, here?" You also can practice
imaging by imagining your
readers,
or one typical reader, and writing your first draft for that person and the
questions he or she might have.
The
style,
tone,
or sense of
audience you use in your early drafting can, of course, be
anything you want. However, if you are the type of person who writes early
drafts better if you know what tone of voice to use, then for a status or project report
you should choose
a professional
tone--businesslike if it is for a workplace
status or project report, or formally
academic if it is for a college course. Your report should have a tone
of confidence, fairness,
and logic.
The
style should be formal unless you specifically have been told that an
informal style is preferred. In workplace reports, your style generally
should be clear, simple, straightforward, and efficient. In academic
reports, your style should make use of somewhat longer and more complex words,
phrases, and sentences. In either type of writing,
avoid sounding emotional, but also avoid sounding mechanical; try instead to
sound logical, thoughtful, and open to suggestions. In some situations, a
friendly tone is helpful; in others, a tone of strength and certainty is more
appropriate.
You also may start with a sense of your
audience,
if you wish. If you do, consider not only the immediate person(s) who
might see your report, but also the wider network of peers, other supervisors,
and/or committees who might read it, as well.
In any case, write your first drafts however you
wish. Then revise as needed so that the appropriate tone, style, and sense
of audience are evident in each paragraph and sentence.
Also be
sure--as you build your paper--that you have plenty of details. In
professional writing, details may include quotations, paraphrases,
personal-interview information, illustrations or images, and charts, lists,
diagrams, or other statistics. Be sure to cite and document each, even
illustrations and experiential anecdotes, using in-text citation a bibliography.
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When
organizing a professional business, project, or status report, you may want to consider three
practical matters. Be aware of
(1) the typical visual/textual design, (2)
the
central key to organizing this type of paper, and (3) dangers to
avoid. General principles of organization are described in detail in
the "Organizing"
chapter. Specific details for this type of paper are below.
In
workplace writing, often a writer is especially concerned about the structure or
pattern. It's fine if this is how you approach writing a professional
paper: while your content--your ideas and details--ultimately are the important
thing--they are wrapped up in a structure that actually helps determine what
they will be and how they will be shaped. The structure of a
paper helps you learn what to look for in developing it. Below are two
views of the structure or organization of a status or project report: the simple version, as
shown already in the "Introduction,"
and a more complex, detailed version:
The
Visual Plan or Map
TYPE
OF PAPER
PROJECT & STATUS
EVALUATIVE ESTIMATE |
(A
Brief
Summary of the Project--if Required)
|
Section 1: Step,
Time, Location, or Activity #1
|
Section 2: Step,
Time, Location, or Activity #2
|
Section 3: Step,
Time, Location, or Activity #3
|
Section 4, 5,
etc.: Step, Time, Location, or Activity #4, 5, etc.
|
(Separate Evaluation of Needs or Results, if
Required)
|
RESTATEMENT
OF STATUS
& OF
EVALUATIVE ESTIMATE |
Bibliography
[if Needed]
Bitson, A.J. Book. et al.
Jones, D. L. "Chart," et al.
Smith, M. S. "Diagram," et al.
Zamura, R.F. "Personal Interview," et al. |
---
Here is a more detailed view of this
structure. This view is a visual and textual plan of how a dialogic paper generally looks when it is finished.
More Detailed Visual Plan or Map
Introduction**
Type
of paper: "status" or "project report."
1-2 sent. each: occasion/purpose; project/event/person/situation;
period covered & date of last project/proposal; current status of
project; overall evaluation.
|
Summary
or Abstract
If required, a brief
summary of the overall project (or an
abstract
of the report itself). [1-2
par.]
|
[1st
Section]***
Break your report
into several sections using such divisions as steps, times, locations,
or types of activities. Then for each section, provide (a)
a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
description with systematic details,
(d) specific
supporting details (e.g.
lists, graphs, charts, & statistics), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
|
[2nd
Section]
(a)
a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
description with systematic details,
(d) specific
supporting details (e.g.
lists, graphs, charts, & statistics), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
|
[3rd
Section]
(a)
a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
description with systematic details,
(d) specific
supporting details (e.g.
lists, graphs, charts, & statistics), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
|
[4th,
5th, etc. Sections]
(a)
a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b)
a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a
description with systematic details,
(d) specific
supporting details (e.g.
lists, graphs, charts, & statistics), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence. [2+ par.]
|
Evaluation
If required or needed, a brief evaluation of the quality of the
current status, needs, or problems (i.e., is the project going well or
poorly, how, and why?). [1-2 par.]
|
Conclusion
1-2 sent. each: restatement of status; summary of evaluation
of status, if needed; next report date; and
projections, recommendations, and/or final thoughts, if needed.
|
Bibliography
[if Needed]
Bitson, A.J. Book. et al.
Jones, D. L. "Chart," et al.
Smith, M. S. "Diagram," et al.
Zamura, R.F. "Personal Interview," et al.
Create an alphabetized bibliography on a
separate page, according to the requirements of your
discipline/instructor. Formats vary among differing disciplines.
(See the chapter the "Researching" section on "Quoting/Paraphrasing"
for more detail.) |
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The Key to Building a
Professional Report: Create
Divisions to Answer the Question "How is it going?"
The key to the overall organization of an status or project
report is to have several divisions. You may choose to do these categories
in any way that you believe will make the most sense to your readers and/or be
the most logical and helpful. For example, you could use "Stage A," "Stage B," and "Stage C";
or "Work with Employees," "Work with Management,"
and "Work with Clients." Use what works. In some
situations, almost anything is
appropriate, as long as it helps your readers see the information in smaller,
more easily digestible chunks of information. In other situations, your
supervisor or instructor will have predetermined divisions for you to use.
Each division is a body section in your paper. It then can then be
divided further into smaller subsections, if you wish: for example,
"TIMELINES," "COSTS," "EMPLOYEE HOURS," and
"MATERIALS."
The basic pattern of report writing is relatively simple and
straightforward. Here are a few hints to help you achieve this simplicity
of organization:
Introduction
Most reports have brief, efficient introductions that give readers basic
information placing the report in its exact situation. You should state
what kind of paper you are writing (a "status" or "project report"
so that readers won't initially mistake your paper for a proposal or other type
of paper. This can be done in the title, instead, if you wish. You
also should state in a phrase or sentence why the report is being written and
for what project, event, person, or situation (e.g., "to describe the
current status of project A," or "to summarize Chris Jones' work
year"). You also may need to mention the time period the report is
describing and, possibly, the most recent report (or, if a first report, the
date on which an initial proposal or beginning was made). If your report
is more than a brief one, your supervisor may wish you to provide a summarizing
sentence or two that offers your evaluation of how the project or other activity
is working, especially if you provide an entire "Evaluation"
section (see below).
If your report is academic in nature, or if it is a longer, more formal report,
you may have somewhat different elements to include in your introduction.
Be sure to check with your instructor or supervisor to find out what these might
be. Some types of professional situations--for example, a government
scientific project involving a large amount of money--may have very rigid
formulas for how a report must be written, step by step.
Project Summary or Abstract
of Report
Some professional situations require a
summary
of the project itself, or occasionally an
abstract
of your report. In general, summary and abstract mean much
the same thing, though you should check with your supervisor or instructor to
find out the discipline- or profession-specific requirements for this
section. Usually this section is brief, most often no more than one or two
paragraphs, as its purpose is to allow your readers to quickly and easily
gain an overall sense of either the project or your report.
Each Section
You should divide your report into major sections, and typically you
should use a short, descriptive subtitle at the beginning of each section
(unless your overall report is very short). Three to five sections is
common, though long reports may have more. In long reports, you may want
to add sub-subtitles. Typically, subtitles are underlined (Subtitle),
sub-subtitles are printed in caps (SUB-SUBTITLES), and titles for all
lists and other graphics are added in italics (List/Graphic Title),
but there are many official and unofficial variations of this from discipline to
discipline and workplace to workplace. Each subtitle normally is even with
the left-hand margin (but in a short report, a sub-subtitle sometimes may
instead be at the beginning of the first line of a paragraph, along with a
colon: e.g., "SUB-SUBTITLE: This section details the...").
How do you choose a method of division?
You should consider what your readers need to know or what they expect, along
with the easiest system for dividing the information. If, for example,
your readers want to know the costs, materials used, and employees involved, you
could use these three as subtitles. However, if there are three locations
in which the project is taking place, then you could use the names of the three
locations. In fact, one set of three could become your major subtitles and
the other three your sub-subtitles. The result might look something like
one of these two examples:
2 Different
Ways of Arranging Same Information
Costs
LOCATION #1
LOCATION #2
LOCATION #3
Materials
LOCATION #1
LOCATION #2
LOCATION #3
Personnel
LOCATION #1
LOCATION #2
LOCATION #3 |
OR |
Location #1
COSTS
MATERIALS
PERSONNEL
Location #2
COSTS
MATERIALS
PERSONNEL
Location #3
COSTS
MATERIALS
PERSONNEL |
Many other categories are possible, too. For example, you could use the
names of the major activities, primary outcomes or results, actual steps or
sub-steps on a timetable, or major dates or time periods (such as week 1, week
2, etc.).
You should start each section with some kind of topic sentence--a sentence
summarizing the section. If you are in a business in which clarity and
emphasis are extremely important, you may want to repeat and expand upon your
subtitle by making a complete sentence of it. If you are in a profession
or discipline in which brevity and efficiency are more important, then avoid
repeating the subtitle; instead, briefly mention the main subjects you will
touch upon throughout that topic section.
Then
provide a detailed description. If you already have sub-subsections (like
those shown immediately above using sub-subtitles), you can use those as a guide
for describing (with or without the sub-subtitles). If you don't, figure
out the basics of what your readers want to know. Get to the point, and
use visual formats--lists, pictures, graphs, charts, etc.--to efficiently and
clearly present your information. (If you are writing an e-paper, you also
may add audio buttons and hyperlinks.) Lists, charts, and other visual
materials are very arresting--your readers are more likely to notice them before
reading your actual words, so your most important details often should be placed
in such visual formats. Sometimes, in fact, visual materials take up much
more space in a report than written sentences. If your visual materials do
this, you should still add at least a brief, introductory sentence or two to
each list, chart, or other visual material: introduce it, provide a verbal
summary of it, or describe how it fits in with the rest of the topic
section. Also add a title to each list, chart, or other visual material
(e.g., Jobs Accomplished in Location #1) and, in an appropriate place in
the paragraph or two before it, refer to the title by name ("see 'Jobs
Accomplished' below"). Again, such use of visual formats and their
titles varies dramatically, sometimes, from one profession, discipline, or
situation to another, so ask your supervisor or instructor for examples.
At the end of the topic section, you may want to provide a concluding sentence
or two. You can summarize what you said in the section, explain its
significance, state outcomes or results, or summarize the current status of the
topic section's activities. Another option is to provide--in a sentence or
two or even in a final paragraph--an evaluation of how well or poorly everything
described in the section is going.
Evaluation
Some readers expect evaluations of the value, outcomes/results, speed,
efficiency, maintaining of timelines, or other qualities of what is described in
your report. Though all of your other information in a report should be
factual, evaluation calls for your own professional judgment. Make your judgments
logically, intelligently, and confidently. Hopefully you can do so with a
positive tone; however, if problems seem to be occurring, do not avoid them;
rather, describe positives first, and then discuss in a constructive manner how
problems have been--or can be--handled. Some readers prefer to have a
separate evaluation section near the end of a report, where all evaluations are
made. However, other readers--and situations--require brief evaluatory
comments to be placed either in the concluding paragraph (below) or, briefly, at
the end of each topic section (above). And some situations require little
or no evaluation: perhaps a brief sentence or two in the introduction and
conclusion, or none at all.
Conclusion
Your
conclusion should be very brief. Often, a conclusion will have in it a
brief restatement of the current status of the overall project and a mention of
the next report date and the period about which it will report. Sometimes
it also is helpful to add a final sentence or two evaluating how the overall
project or activity is going--either as an entirely new statement or as a brief
summary of evaluations you may have made in previous sections. If at all
possible, end on a logical and positive note.
-----
As
you develop or revise your organization, consider how you are forming your
paragraphs.
To
see how to develop paragraphs individually, go to the "Paragraphing"
chapter in the "Revising and Editing" section.
If your paper requires research, see
the "Research" section of
this Web site or the Online
Grammar Handbook for methods of research, citation, and
documentation. Remember to add an appropriate bibliography.
For further Web directions on how to write papers in your specific profession or
workplace, check out this section's "Links"
page. For additional physical textbooks, handbooks, and guides related to
your particular profession or workplace, see the "Annotated
Bibliography."
---
Dangers to Avoid as You Organize
One of the dangers to avoid when writing a status or project report is being
too verbose. This means you should keep what you say to whatever is a
reasonable minimum for the job you are doing. If your supervisor or
instructor wants plenty of details, be sure to provide these. On the other
hand, in most reports you should not wax eloquent, avoid ideas or thoughts not
directly related, and avoid excessive repetition (except, possibly, to repeat
key words and phrases as needed).
Another danger is to avoid trouble when it is present. There are a
variety of reasons why you need to report trouble. First, your supervisors
need to know about it in case it gets worse. Second, they often can help
you in ways you don't realize. Third, if you don't report it and it gets
worse, you may be held accountable for not reporting it sooner. Fourth,
you may be legally, financially, and ethically responsible if something gets out
of hand that you didn't report. Of course, if you work in a business in
which people often are blamed unfairly for problems they can't control,
sometimes it is difficult to admit to any problem. However, in both
functional and dysfunctional businesses, the best way to report problems is to
take a constructive approach. If at all possible, be alert to problems
before you must report them in writing, figure out possible solutions and
resolutions, and be prepared to report not only the problem but how it will be
handled (or already has been handled). In general, if you need to ask for
help from others, it is better to do so verbally and in person before you must
make a written report of it. Written reports appear--and often are--much
more official than personal verbal communication; personal communication can
help recover a strong position from which you can then write a constructive and
generally positive report.
A third danger is to be overly cold and clinical. While a rather
clinical and even cold tone may still be appropriate in some professional
situations (e.g., scientific or actuarial), the tone of writing even in these
traditional forums is changing as we progress into the twenty-first
century. Of course reports are supposed to be logical and factual.
But that doesn't mean you can't add a low-level but consistent tone of positive
good nature. Readers of reports generally like to come away from them
feeling positive about what is going on. You can develop a positive tone
either in your early drafting or, as many people do, in your final drafts.
How? Try reading your report out loud to a good friend in a positive
way. Wherever you find your positive verbal tone and emotional feeling
slipping--or your spoken words changing what written ones say--look there to
make a change. For more advanced "mood enhancing" like this, you
also can try imagining negative moods your readers might have as they read your
report--unhappy, tired, or even angry--and see where you can change your wording
to reinforce a more positive mood. Sometimes you also can make the overall
emotional tone of your report positive simply by adding a positive sentence or
two in the introduction and conclusion, nothing dramatic, but rather just a
"Things look good" type of sentence, reassuring and logical at
once. For more discussion about this issue, see "tone."
-----
As you complete your later drafts, look carefully at the visual map above and
the sample papers in this chapter. Rearrange the order of your body
sections and of your paragraphs as needed. Consider your use of major
organizing devices: for example, have you placed the correct key sentences in
your introduction and conclusion, and have you developed a subtitle and topic
sentence at the beginning of each major body section?
Asterisks *, **, and *** for the
organizational plan or map above (similar advice given in most chapters):
*In most professions and businesses, the title is
typed simply: no quotation marks, underlining, or bold marking. It
is centered, and the font size and style are those used in the rest of the
paper--normally a 12-point font in a style such as Times New Roman,
Garamond, or CG Times. In a professional situation, you may use
academic style or whatever is commonly acceptable in your workplace.
** In some disciplines, the "Introduction" subtitle
may be optional or even forbidden. (Most social sciences and psychology
papers, for example, should not have an "Introduction" subtitle.)
***Some
professions and disciplines sometimes require a short
summary,
abstract, or précis
(see) of a text before you begin responding to it. Ask your
instructor. Such a summary generally should have no quotations within it
and, in professional and business writing, it usually must be a summary of the
contents of your paper.
***Some instructors may allow--or even, occasionally, prefer--your paper
to be completely free of subtitles. In most professional and
business situations, however, subtitles are required or encouraged.
That is because they are efficient. Because of the expectation of
efficiency, your topic sentences should be very brief, sometimes just a
transition word, along with a key word from your title or your
introduction's main statement of the paper's subject: for example, in a
paper about a zoo, your three major topic sentences (at the beginning of
each major topic section) might start with "First, the zoo...," "Second,
the zoo...," and "Third, the zoo..."). (See "Topic
Sentences.")
In addition, it is more efficient to add
simple, short transition words than to avoid them. Your word count
may end up slightly higher, but your improved clarity will make your paper
much easier to read.
For more
about organizing body sections, topic sentences, and subtitles in general,
please go to "Organizing
College Papers." For more about organizing paragraphs, go to the
"Paragraphing"
chapter.
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|
Are There Special Revising and Editing Needs? |
In revising a professional business, project, or status report, the focus techniques
with which you started in the
Introduction to this
chapter also can help you finish your paper:
FOUR FOCUSES FOR REVISING:
Subject,
Drafts, Style, & Authenticity
.
|
SUBJECT: Have you stayed on the main
subject throughout? In a status or project report, this means being
sure that everything ties together logically, not just in your own mind but
in the minds of readers. You also should avoid adding details and
thoughts just because they are interesting. In professional writing,
be efficient in keeping to the subject at hand. (If you have a really helpful or interesting
detail that is indirectly related, place it in a brief footnote, but keep
it brief.)
If you think your audience may have trouble grasping some parts of your
paper, add
background or explanation.
Be sure, in addition, to introduce, explain,
or connect each resource to the content of your
discussion. This means that whether you have a quotation,
paraphrase, graph, image, or copy of something from the Internet, be sure
you have at least a sentence before and after it showing readers its purpose
or fit in the flow of your paragraph. |
|
FIRST & SECOND DRAFTS: Have
you used all of the needed steps to write and revise your drafts?
-
Free-write: If, after
reading your paper aloud, you feel there are places where the paper
sounds choppy or the flow is otherwise poor, try rewriting one or more
paragraphs spontaneously without looking at your original words.
(To help cure
choppy sentences, see "Using
Mixed-Length Sentences" in the "Editing" section.")
Imagine you are saying it aloud to a friend, instructor, or work
coordinator. Then revise and edit the new portions. For general freewriting, see "How
to Start First Drafts.")
-
Gather details: Have you
spent too much time on general explanation and too little on
details? Details--names, dates, data, charts, lists, diagrams,
illustrations, and/or quotations and paraphrase--are the proofs of
a good professional paper. They also are the first elements your readers tend
to notice and the ones they will most remember, whether in the same
kind of detail or with a strong sense of you having supported your
points well.
-
If you have too many details for one
section, consider dividing the section into two sections or subsections.
Instead, you might try moving some of the details to another section
where they might fit as well or better.
-
Write for your audience: Imagine your
audience as being more than your immediate supervisor or
instructor. To whom might your supervisor show this paper?
What committee(s) might see it? A good professional paper can travel far,
and it may even be the basis of legal action, good or bad, or the
basis of a proposals, profits, or losses. Have you visualized
your audience?
Have you read your paper aloud as if reading to this audience?
Have you tried reading your paper aloud to a colleague, peer, friend, or
family member, pretending he or she is your audience? If you are
working with others in a pair or committee, have you asked them to read,
comment on, and help rewrite it?
-
Organize: Have you used either the
organization above or a modified version of it suggested by your
supervisor or instructor? Have you carefully added and then reread
each major and minor part of this organizational system? Have you kept your
introduction, conclusion, and/or a beginning summary reasonably short, moving excess discussion
in them to body sections? Do you need to reorganize the body
sections for the greatest degree of logic, clarity, and audience
interest? Does each body section fulfill its purpose as expected
with this type of paper as applied to your particular discipline or
profession?
-
Research: iF you need
to support your points and/or others' points with research, do you have
a sufficient number of high-quality sources? Have you fully
integrated them with your paper by citing and documenting them?
(In most disciplines or professions, "citing" means adding authors'
names and page numbers beside quotations, paraphrases, graphic
elements--e.g., pictures or charts--and anecdotes of experiences.
"Documenting" means providing a bibliography--or, if you have just a
very few sources, you sometimes are allowed to provide bibliographic
details in parentheses immediately after source material or in a
footnote.)
If you are using non-print sources such
as interviews, videos, or television, will they be considered
appropriate and representative (well representing a viewpoint needed and
accepted by your audience? If you are
using online sources, have you checked them carefully to verify their
quality and accuracy (see "Evaluating
Web Sites" in OnlineGrammar.org)?
|
|
STYLE, TONE, AUDIENCE, & CRITICAL THINKING: Have you converted all parts of
your writing to the appropriate style and tone? This type
of paper
should use a formal professional writing style. If your
audience and purpose are of a more general nature (rather than of an
academic or scholarly nature), then you may want to use a more efficient
business style of writing with a mixture of medium and short sentences, and
varied medium and short paragraphs.
Generally, in professional and business writing, the tone or voice in your
words should show professional competence, honesty, and confidence.
Warmth may or may not be helpful, depending on your audience, but coldness,
sarcasm, or emotionalism should be avoided. To check tone or voice,
try reading your paper aloud--or have a colleague, peer, or friend read it
aloud to you--so you can hear whether your sentences sound as you want them
to.. |
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AUTHENTICITY: Have you made your paper as
reasonable, practicable, and logical as possible to your audience? If
you're not sure, ask questions of your audience ahead of time, and imagine
how your audience member(s) might want elements of
your paper explained to them. Have you tried to go to the heart
of the matter you are discussing? Have you brought interesting, vivid, and even
unusual details into the paper's contents? Have you been true to
yourself and your own interests in the subject by trying to find the most
interesting information to write about in each paragraph, something
meaningful to you? |
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Final Advice Given in Most Chapters
In most papers, you should use the third-person
pronoun: "he," "she," "it," and "they." You should not use "you"
unless you
are giving directions, or writing a diary or personal reflection, or a less
formal magazine or newsletter article or other specific advice (as in this
chapter). In professional writing, "I" is never used (unless occasionally
in the form of an anecdote, starting with a phrase such as "For example, I
was...").
Paragraphing in most academic papers follows some relatively standard guidelines.
You usually are working with a large amount of information when you write a
professional paper. For this
reason, clear, consistent paragraphing becomes even more important. Your
paragraphs should help you logically divide your body sections into smaller
sub-parts, ideas, or sub-ideas--just for the sake of clarity and ease of
reading, if for no other reason. Also, generally, for a short- to
medium-length paper, you should have one paragraph each for your introduction,
conclusion, and--if you have it--your summary.
You should, as a matter of habit, have at least two or three paragraphs per page in your final draft.
On the other hand, be careful not to have too many paragraphs per page. If you have a lot of
short, choppy paragraphs, combine them. The goal, graphically speaking,
is to provide your audience with a variety of paragraph lengths--an
occasional short one for emphasis or change of pace added to a mix of varying
medium and long paragraphs. The goal in terms of content is to make your
ideas flow so well that your audience can easily keep them clear and separate
without ever even noticing your paragraphing (or, for that matter, any other
mechanical aspect of your paper).
For more advice, go to the "Paragraphing"
chapter.
Several other common, useful strategies
of efficient, thorough editing are in the several chapters of the "Revising
and Editing" section. Some of these strategies also are summarized
in the following very-brief web page, which is aimed especially at people
writing professionally and/or in their majors:
Very Brief
Review of How
to Edit Your Final Draft
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Good luck with writing this type of paper.
For more advanced and/or interesting information on this type of paper, please
see the "Advanced"
section of the chapter.
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