Chapter 56. PROFESSIONAL REPORT Basics of a Professional Business, Project, or Status Report --- Why?           Starting                                         Organizing                       Revising & Editing           --- 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. --- Return to top.              How Will You Start?    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.  --- Return to top.           What Are Some Organizing Methods?    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 Unique Title                            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     Unique Title                            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.)                                           --- 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. --- Return to top.             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..  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?       ---        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 --- 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. --- Return to top.

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