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MICHAEL STRICKLAND Literacy |
Effective decision making is vital in the business world. Companies require access to information that is concise, easy to interpret and clearly presented. Many decision makers refuse to deal with reports or proposals that are over specified lengths. Reports must be useful to accurately assess situations, solve problems, and meet goals.
Imagine that one of your managers at work has given you an assignment to write a professional report. What should you do first? A good framework for how to proceed is found in the outcomes of Boise State’s English 101. In that course, students apply strategies for generating ideas for writing. They deal with planning and organizing material, illustrating their awareness of a writer’s relationship to the subject, context, purpose, and audience. In the BSU First-Year Writing program, students produce writing in non-fiction, inquiry-based genres, and use an academic documentation style. They use a variety of strategies to integrate evidence gathered from experience, reading, observations, and/or other forms of research.
With this in mind, you should begin by identifying clearly what you are writing about. A client or your supervisor may request a written document from you in the following way:
Our organization is interested in receiving a proposal that shows how we can lower our security costs with sustainable sources from our current base of employees, especially our essential personnel.
Once you have clearly identified your topic, explore its scope. What is “inside” and “outside” of the main idea? A good way to determine the boundaries of your topic is to create a concept map. Write your topic in the middle of your computer screen or a sheet of paper. Circle it, and then write down everything connected with it that comes to mind.
Good reports feature carefully constructed introductions, detailed bodies and logical conclusions. You need to clearly state your purpose. Workplace documents tend to be written for two primary reasons: to inform or persuade.
Write specifically for your audience. Who are your readers? Are they familiar with your topic or completely new to it? What are their needs and expectations? Will they be reading at their desks, in a meeting, on an airplane? Will they read your report from a printed page, a computer screen, tablets or smartphones? (more…)
