Description of the Business Report Parts - Assignment Example

Question 1 A report is a long document or a document that contains numerical data. In others, one- and two-page memos are called reports while in others a reports consist of PowerPoint slides printed out and bound together. A short report to a client may use a letter format. A report can be formal or informal. Kinds of report Informational reports- are reports that collect information for the reader to utilize Analytical reports- are reports that analyses and interpret information that is collected but do not recommend a course of action Recommendation reports- are reports that recommend a solution or a course of action of a solution. Question 2 A good purpose statement makes three things clear. This entails the organizational problem or conflict, the specific technical questions that need to be answered in solving the particular problem and the rhetorical purpose of the report. Question 3 A proposal must answer at least seven questions convincingly. This entails the problem that is going to be solved, how the problem will be solved, what exactly will be provided in solving the problem, whether the project can deliver the stipulated promises, the benefits of the project, when it will be completed and the cost to be involved in the entire work. Question 4 The sections that need to be included in a proposal for a student report include the problem identified in the problem, the feasibility, the audience the project targets, topics the project investigates, the method to be utilized, the resources and facilities available, the work schedule of the project and the action plan of the project proposal. Question 5 Progress reports should essentially tell what you’ve done, why it’s important, and what the next steps are i.e. the chronology, task and recommendation. They can also be used to enhance your image, float trial balloons and minimize potential problems. Make your progress report as positive as you honestly can. Question 6 A keyword is a term that the computer uses in searching for information in a database or in a web page. It is important to use synonyms and keywords you think off at the begging of a research. Question 7 Using capitalization when searching for web pages is a major issue. It is always important to uncapitalize words when searching for information, use quotations marks for exact terms and use root words in finding variations of information. Question 8 A survey is a study that is conducted on a large group of people referred to as subjects or respondents. A questionnaire is a list of questions that people fill and an interview is a structured conversation with someone who will be able to provide useful information for a study. Question 9 An open headed question do not lock the subject of what is being discussed into any sort of response while a closed question has limited number of possible responses. Question 10 In a random sample, each person in the population of the study theoretically has an equal chance of being chosen to take part in the study. In convenience sample only a group of respondents are targeted and will be easy to get. Judgmental sample entails a group of people whose views seem useful. Question 11 The mean is the average figure you get when you addup all the numbers and then divide by the number of numbers. The median is the middle value in the list of numbers and the range is the difference between the largest and smallest values. Question 12 Causation means that one thing produces or causes another thing while correlation means that two things happen at the same time. Question 13 The two most widely used formats for bibliographies and endnotes in reports are those of MLA style (Modern Language Association) and APA style American Psychological Association. Question 14 Citation means attributing an idea or fact to its source in the body of the report while documentation means providing the bibliographic informationin case the readers would what to get back to the original source of the information. Question 15 An informative report summarizes the completed work of research that does not result in action or recommendation. An feasibility report evaluates several alternatives and recommends one of them. A justification report recommends or justifies a purchase, hiring, investment or a change in policy. Question 16 The title page of a report contains information summarizing the problems and success of the project, the chronological account how the problem was discovered, what was done and the results and a concluding paragraph of suggestions for later action. Question 17 Introduction in a long report is important because it introduces the project. It helps us in determining the problems associated and success of the project and action plan as well as the results of the project. It identifies the project and the rationale of undertaking the work. Question 18 A conclusion is a summary of the entire report or project. They are logical deductions based on information obtained in the finding section while recommendations are future course of actions that can be taken to ensure success of the project. Question 19 The importance of including method in the introduction of a long report is that at a glance the method of caring out the project can be determined. It provides enough quantitative details of the project. i.e. how long, when and what is to be involved in the project. Question 20 Six things that can be accomplished by good stories include: the story should logic and make points vivid, should support a hunch of information available, should be a surprise, should provide challenge to common information, should show trends and changes that you never knew existed and should be interesting to read. Question 21 A writer can find good stories for visual by focusing on the topic of interest, simplifying the information and looking for changes and relationships in order to find good stories for visual. Question 22 Among the visuals available are graphs that are good in telling simple stories and can tell an interesting story. Graphs can be paired. Tables can be used when the reader needs to be able to identify exact figures, pie-charts in comparing a part to the whole information and line graph or bar chart when comparing items over time or from one item to another. Question 23 Every visual should contain a title that tells the visual story, a clear indication of what the data is, clearly labeled units of information, labels and legends, the data source if it is reported and the visual source if it is reported. Question 24 The guidelines for using color visuals are use of glossy paper in making colors more vivid, utilizing color carefully in visuals, use no more than five colors when the colors have a meaning and being aware that the colors in a computer screen look always brighter than similar colors on paper. It is important to avoid chart junk or images that are at best irrelevant and at worst misleading. Question 25 The factors to be kept in mind when deciding how much discussion a visual aids needs include making the visual more accurate by differentiating between actual and estimated project values, avoiding perspective and three-dimensional graphs and avoiding combining graphs with different scales. When analysing visuals it is important to refer every visual in the text, summarize the main points of the visual before presenting it and spell out the numbers falling out at the begging of a sentence. It is important to simply paper visuals for presentations and ensure that visuals for presentation have titles and it is not necessary to figure numbers. Read More