© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

Rien Elling
Bas Andeweg
Jaap de Jong
Christine Swankhuisen
Kim van der Linden ·

First edition

Noordhoff Uitgevers Groningen/Houten

 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
cover design: G2k Designers Groningen/Amsterdam
Cover illustration: iStockPhoto
Any comments about this publication or others may be addressed to: Noordhoff
Uitgevers bv, Afdeling Hoger Onderwijs, Antwoordnummer 13, 9700 VB Groningen,
e-mail: info@noordhoff.nl
Despite strenuous effort, it has proven impossible to trace all those who possess
copyrights to the texts and/or illustrations. Anyone who believes that (s)he
possesses such copyrights is requested to contact the publisher.
o1 2 3 4 5 / 16 15 14 13 12
© 2012 Noordhoff Uitgevers bv Groningen/Houten , The Netherlands.
Subject to the exceptions in or pursuant to the Auteurswet (Copyright Act) of 1912,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automated retrieval
system or made public in any way, either by electronic or by mechanical means, by
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. To the extent that reprographic reproduction of this publication is permitted
pursuant to Article 16h Auteurswet 1912 (Copyright Act 1912), the compensation
payable is to be made to the Stichting Reprorecht (postbus 3060, 2130 KB
Hoofddorp, www.cedar.nljreprorecht). Anyone wishing to reproduce part(s) of this
publication in anthologies, readers and other compilations (Article 16 Auteurswet
1912) may apply to the Stichting PRO (Stichting Publicatie- en Reproductierechten
Organisatie, P.O. Box 3060, 2130 KB Hoofddorp , www.cedar.nljpro).
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
ISBN 978-90-01-81259-1
NUR 810
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
Preface
Writing workshops are popular with companies and other organisations .
Writers who spend a lot of time writing often find that despite their efforts
they do not obtain the desired result. Their readers and they themse.lves
suffer from infobesity: drowning in the vast amount of paper and digital
information. Students are often badly prepared for their professional
careers . The many papers that they write often start with the assumption
that much is good (the more pages , the higher the mark) and the Internet is
a good source of information. In professional situations we tend to hear Can
this be reduced to one page? and Who guarantees that the information is
reliable?
Efficient writing is, therefore, partly a matter of unlearning things. You will
have to distantiate yourself from all the interesting information that you
have collected and start with the question of why readers with limited time
would want to read your text. What do they really need and why should they
believe what you tell them?
It is also partly a matter of learning new things such as knowing what the
conventions are regarding quotation of sources and what exactly a reader
expects in an introduction . These matters can be easily learned from a
book and as such , Report writing is suitable for self-study. For strategic
elements such as writing for a specific audience, feedback from readers
(lecturers, colleagues) remains a valuable source of additional information.
Writing reports for readers with little time is a translation and adaptation of
the fourth edition of Rapportagetechniek. It is suited to students majoring
in a broad range of technical, engineering, business, and other specialized
fields . Professionals in these fields could benefit too from the guidelines.
Delft, September 2011
Rien Elling
Bas Andeweg
Jaap de Jong
Christine Swankhuisen
Kim van der Linden
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

Contents

1 Introduction g

2 Writing effectively in professional situations · 13

2.1 The importance of writing in professional situations 14
2.2 Strategic factors 14
2.3 An absence of internal instructions 17
2.4 lndispensible writing skills 18

3 From assignment to text 21

3 .1 Determine the main question 22

3.2 Formulate background and key questions 27
3.3 Establish the structure via a preliminary table of contents 29
3.4 Draw up a time schedule 31
3 .5 Write the first version quickly 31
3 .6 Revise the first version systematically 33
3 .7 Collaborate efficiently 37

4 Dealing with sources of information 43

4.1 Referring and quoting conventions 44

4 .2 Frequently asked questions 45

5 Structuring 55

5.1 Three ways to read a report 56

5.2 Division into chapters and sections 57
5 .3 Division into paragraphs 61

6 Requirements for each part of the report 73

6.1 Cover and title page 7 4

6 .2 Preface 76
6 .3 Table of contents 76
6.4 Summary 77
6.5 Introduction 80
6.6 The chapters between introduction and conclusion 85

- -- -
-- --.. ---_ --- :. <.~ ... ~-~' _- -~~-:_ - .
-- : ' -- P'-. -~.... ~· =~- ' -, - ';.r _r_: ._-
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

6 .7 Conclusions 85 12 Layout 209

6 .8 Recommendations 88
6.9 Bibliography 90 12.1 Layout requirements 210
6.10 Appendices 90 12.2 The basic layout of a report 212
6.11 Notes 91 12.3 The layout of text elements 214
6.12 List of symbols 91 12.4 The layout of individual parts of a report 219
6.13 Glossary 91 12.5 Common layout pitfalls 225
6 .14 Index 92

13 Presenting a report orally 229

7 Special types of text 95
13.1 Preparing your presentation 230
7.1 Feasibility study 96 13.2 Delivering a presentation 244
7.2 Policy paper 101
7.3 Advisory report 105 Recommended literature 250
7.4 Literature report 108
7.5 Progress report 111 Appendix 251
7.6 An experimental research report 114 Evaluation report form 251
7.7 A qualitative research report 116
7.8 Design report 119 About the authors 254

Index 255
8 Letters, emails and memos 127

8.1 Business letters 128

8.2 Letters of application 139
8.3 Email 146
8.4 Memos 149

9 Putting ideas into words 153

9.1 Writing clearly 154

9.2 Writing concisely 158
9.3 Writing compellingly 161
9.4 Writing correctly 164
9 .5 Use of dictionaries and thesauruses 173

10 Persuasive writ ing 177

10.1 Aim the report at decision-makers with little time 178
10.2 Answer the questions of readers whose opinion counts 181
10.3 Formulate persuasively 186
10.4 Techniques that border on deception 188

11 Illustrations 193

11.1 The importance of putting things in visual form 194

11.2 General guidelines 194
11.3 Suitable material for illustrations 197
 -,

8 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv 9

1
Introduction

What do you need to know to be an effective writer? It can be summed up as follows: do

not use more words than necessary, make sure the text has an introduction, a main body
and a conclus ion, and avoid jargon . These ru les are deceptively simple: you probably know
them already and if you do not, it wi ll not take you long to learn them off by heart.

Using these rules, however, may be qu ite a different matter. If the ass ignment given by the
person in charge is unclear, if the readers for whom you are writing have wide ly different
backgrounds, if the mass of data that you have to incorporate is complex and the deadline
is set in concrete, then most of these rules may turn out to be purely academic .

With these considerations in mind, th is book sets out to provide an approach - a

systematic way of going about writing - rather than a set of simple rules . The first
requ irement for an efficient approach to a writi ng task is to adopt the right attitude towards
your readers . As a rule , your public wi ll consist of a number of different groups, varying
from specialists in the field to managers. While the information these readers wi ll be
looking for will vary, what they will have in common is a chronic lack of time and a dislike of
lengthy reports. As well as that they are like ly to be critical readers and you will have to
convin ce them that your information is important and reliable.

The approach we take in this book wil l increase the chance that you wil l produce an end
product th at is satisfactory for all parties. There wi ll be times , however, that you wi ll look in
vain for a remedy for your particular writing problems. Everybody has developed their own
way of writing texts , and these ways may be confused , laborious or incorrect. Not even the
most comprehens ive advice will be ab le to solve all problems . This book may not meet all
your needs, therefore - some things may need additiona l practice and you may need
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
10

feedback from experienced readers. If you do not have the opportunity to

follow a writing course you should make use of every opportunity to obtain
comments from critical colleagues .

This book was written for people with littl e time: if you wish, use it
selectively. The following table shows where to find the answers to some
important questions. The order is based on the five questions we are most
frequently asked in our own situations .

Five frequently asked questions - and where to find the answers

What individual parts should a report contain? Chapter 6

What are the requirements for each part of the Requirements for each part of the report.
report?

How do I approach writing effectively right from Chapter 3

the start? From assignment to text

How can I convey my ideas convincingly? Chapter 10

Persuasive writing

What is the best way of structuring my report? Chapter 5

Structuring (chapters, paragraphs)

How can I use the information I have gathered Chapter 4

correctly? Dealing with sources of information

-
I

.
- - - ,_ ,,/&-.

..- •.• I

-- -
•

---- ..
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv 13
12

2
Writing effectively
in professional
situations

2. 1 The importance of writing in professional situations

2 .2 Strategic factors
2.3 An absence of internal instructi ons
2.4 lndispen sib le writing skills

Some people see writing re ports and memos as someth ing that is keeping them from their
real work. In thi s chapter we will see that writing should, instead, be regarded as a core
task . Strategic factors that strongly influence writing in professional situations are also
dea lt with. Beca use useful guidelines for writing texts within compa nies are a rare thing,
writers usually have to f ind their own way. They have to be able t o create norms for
effective and convincing writing th emse lves . The skills needed for this wi ll be briefly dealt
with .
 14 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
~ The importance of writing in professional
situations
Highly trained people usually find that writing takes up more of their
working hours than many of them had imagined at the start of their
careers. Take engineers, for instance: of course they have mainly been
trained to develop or optimize technical products and processes. But
before there is a product, feasibility studies have to be written, research
reports produced, progress reports published and a lot of memos sent
back and forth. No matter how brilliant your idea for a new product was,
how clever your research plan or how decisive the conclusion of your
feasibility study, nobody will ever put it into practice if you are not
successful in conveying your findings clearly and convincingly to others: to
your colleagues, to those in charge and to your clients. And even though
oral communication is very important, you will find that you will have to
communicate largely on paper. That will take up a lot of time: sometimes
up to a third of your working time . It will take up so much time that it is fair
to say that very often the primary result of an engineer's work is not the
apparatus or a system , but text.
It is not surprising, therefore, that employers often ask in employment
advertisements for "good oral and written communication skills". And it is
also not surprising that shortcomings in this field are often a cause for
complaint by employer organisations.
~ Strategic factors
Why do so many people experience problems with writing at work that they
did not, or only to a minor extent, encounter during their studies? The
reason for this is the role that texts play in professional situations, a role
that is different from that in the educational setting.
The following three factors are characteristic of professional situations:
• The writing is primarily aimed at measures and decisions .
• There are a variety of readers, each with different interests.
• Readers are not prepared to spend much time on reading.
Many writers are insufficiently aware of the consequences of these
characteristics. We will deal with them next.
2.2.1 Action-directed writing
The reports that students write during their study serve an educational
purpose. They are designed to exercise the student 's skills and
demonstrate that the writer is more or less able to independently analyse a
problem and can indicate ways of solving these. Technical data and
analyses form the core of a text.
The things you write in a work situation are usually directed towards action:
measures to be taken or decisions to be made. The technical data and
analyses you provide will be indispensible for this, but mainly as a vehicle
for basing the necessary action on. This underlines the importance of firstly
- -~ - -- -
.
- -
- . ..
- ....... ·
.
...
......
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv WRITING EFFECTIVELY IN PROFESSION AL SITUATIONS 15
making it clear to the reader why something should be done (in other
words, why they should read the report). That should be emphasized in the
introduction. Another central aspect is what the reader is supposed to do
with the results. This is why there is a strong emphasis on the conclusions
and especially the recommendations .
The action concerned will almost always have repercussions for various
departments and individuals. A measure in the field of production can have
consequences for the purchasing, inventory management and marketing
departments. Decisions with far-reaching consequences presuppose the
involvement of several people within the firm's hierarchy, or at least prior
knowledge on the part of these people. This means that it is unlikely that
your report will only be seen by those who issued you with the assignment.
For many readers, the technical data will at most be regarded as
background information only, and not something they need to delve into in
detail.
2 .2.2 Writing for a variety of readers
The readers who will look at your report will usually either be readers with
specific background knowledge or readers who read the report only partially
or with a specific purpose in mind:
• Decision-makers. These are the people who will decide whether the
recommendations are to be implemented (managers and other
generalists).
• Specialists. These are the people who are especially interested in the
technical basis and the method adopted (the people who are
responsible for implementing the recommendations: staff members who
advise management).
The person who assigned you the task of writing the report will very often
be an intermediary. This will be the case if it is their task to test your
findings globally and subsequently send them on to others within the
organisation. Your report will only be effective if you bear all your readers in
mind equally, or in other words , if your report can be read in several ways .
The following advice can improve the efficiency of your report.
Do not just focus on the person who commissioned the report. A one-
sided concentration on the person who gave you the assignment can
result in the report being useless for other important readers. It is also
very possible that the situation will change after you have received your
assignment. The more time your research takes the greater the chance
of that happening. The original person may have been put onto a
different project. Chances are that the person sitting on his or her chair
will be less well informed. The successor may perhaps not understand
your report if you have left out those things that would have been clear
to his predecessor.
Do not write the report for a once-only use. A project relating to new
oil-extracting techniques might be put on ice for a while because oil
prices are too low. Your report on those techniques might resurface a
year later, but will not necessarily be seen by the person who
commissioned the report originally. The report should be usable
independent of the original context - for example, because you have
defined the problem fully and clearly in your introduction.
.
. . .
 16 © Noordhoff U itgevers bv
• Be careful about omitting things that you regard as obvious. Even if you
are confident that the person who commissioned the report will be the
reader of your report (and perhaps even the only reader), you should be
careful not to omit seemingly obvious details (such as the problem that
gave rise to the research and the preconditions that had to be kept in
mind). Since giving you the assignment, that person may have dealt with
a multitude of other matters. You cannot expect that person to have
instant recall of all the details of the assignment one or two months
later. Moreover, sometimes you will have to do some background
research before the assignment can be formulated clearly. You will have
to notify the person who commissioned the report of the exact
formulation .
Even if the person who commissioned the report still remembers exactly
how things were , your report will be all the more authoritative if you show
that you have an overview of the whole problem.
2.2 .3 Writing for readers with little time
Most people find that they have little time or inclination to read voluminous
texts. This is especially true of managers, who have to digest large
amounts of oral and written information daily. With everything they read
they will ask themselves:
• What is this?
• What should I do with it?
• Who should I involve in this?
If the text does not answer their own questions quickly, readers become
irritated or will not digest the information properly. The following
introduction will mainly raise questions in the mind of a decision maker:
AN INTRODUCTION THAT A DECISION-MAKER WILL NOT FIND USEFUL
Problem? The new installation for recycling of waste oil that was put into
operation last May has been shown to only remove particles to
0.2 mm in the three-stage filter for the batch tank.
Action needed? This report describes the results of a study into increasing the
amount of catchment. As well, the possibility of re-distillation in
two stages and the re-refining process of KTI will be looked at.
During that process, de-gassing and vacuum distillation are used .
Why was the
research done?
The way in which this introduction sketches a technical problem is suitable
for a specialist reader who is well-versed in the recycling process. For
decision-makers, the text is less easily accessible . What is more serious is
that it is completely unclear to the readers why they should read the text.
Because the text does not address this , they will not be able to assess the
valu e of the information or put it into perspective. There are , after all,
several possibilities:
-- , ~ . ~ --- . -· -
.. ,,.
. • I
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv WRITING EFFECTIVELY IN PROFESSIONAL SITUATIONS 17
• We are dealing with a quality problem because the final product does not
satisfy the desired specifications. This means that the quality control
and sales departments should at the very least be involved in the
matter.
There is potentially a conflict with the environmental protection authority
because the discharged liquid waste (polluted with oil and dirt) does not
comply with the legal requirements .
• There is a cost problem because a fourth filter will be necessary.
An accompanying letter or an oral explanation of the report may, of course,
address these issues. But by the time the various readers get down to
actually reading the report, the letter may have been lost or the explanation
forgotten . The following introduction would therefore be better for
decision-makers.
AN INTRODUCTION THAT A DECISION-MAKER WILL FIND USEFUL
Acute problem The new installation for recycling waste oil that was put into
operation in May has been found to insufficiently remove
pollution from the waste oil. As a result, the end product
does not comply with the standards for high-grade heating oil
and only fetches 60% of the normal price.
Recommended action This report provides recommendations for a few adaptations
to the production process that will bring the quality to the
required level within two weeks.
Long term The literature was also researched with a view to the future
(within a year or two, say) possibility of adopting a totally
different process, namely re-distillation in two stages or the
re-refining process patented by KTI (Kinetics Technology
International).
You will rarely find that readers peruse a report of a hundred pages carefully
from the first to the last page. But it is still sometimes necessary to write
reports like that. A well-set-up report has parts that are important to each
category of readers. Appendix 7 might be looked at intensively by the head
of the marketing department, who is not at all interested in the rest of your
report. It is of the utmost importance that the various categories of reader
can select the information that is relevant to them . A conveniently arranged
table of contents, informative chapter and section headings and a summary
that can be read independently will contribute to this .
Ul An absence of internal instructions
New employees who have been asked to write a report sometimes ask their
department for instructions on how to do so. Many companies have
directions for the formatting of reports , laid down in the house style. Some
companies have directions for the content of reports, such as what should
go in each section of a report. These directions are often all too vague and
offer little to go on. Often there will be no guidelines at all.
18 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

Each reader will, of course, have his or her own ideas about what a report
should contain, but they rarely get around to formulating these requirements
explicitly. The various different readers within an organisation may even have
different norms . Readers are not always by definition right. They might have
unreasonable demands. Members of a communication consultancy firm
discovered that when they were asked for advice by a company whose
managers complained regularly about the quality of the reports they received
from their employees. It became obvious that the managers expected
information in the reports that was superfluous considering the aim of the
text. They were expecting to see all kinds of marketing details, which they
regarded as extremely interesting because they themselves had a marketing
background. However, they did not need these details to make their
decisions. Instead of a writing course for the employees, something else was
needed here: either explicit instructions on the part of the readers about what
they expected in a report or the dropping of obviously unreasonable demands.

The moral of the story is that you will have to develop your own ideas about
what constitutes an effective text. While it is not advisable to deviate radically
from existing traditions in the department, you can count on it that good
communication will be recognised as such. And, of course, you can avoid
many problems by consulting with the person who commissioned the report.
For example, you could provide him or her with a preliminary table of contents.

~ lndispensible writing skills

What is required to cope with the problems described in the previous
sections?
• A systematic approach. If you want to maintain your grasp on what you
are doing you will need to adopt a systematic approach. The main thing
is to pay attention to what is needed at that particular moment in time.
If you try to keep all the important factors (prior knowledge of the reader,
structure , clarity, correctness, etc.) in mind at the same time you will get
writer's block. If you try to write coherent sentences too soon (that is to
say, when you are still struggling with the contents) you will waste too
much time. If you structure your report too late you will usually fail to
create a clear outline.
• Attention to the reader. A capable writer will regularly ask himself who his
readers are and what they need, bearing in mind the use they will make
of the text within the organisation. The writer will be able to tune in to
the various readers as th ey ask themselves "what do I have to do with
this?" Because the reader's demands are not always clear, it may be
useful to contact the person who commissioned the repo rt or some of
the other readers once or twice during the course of the writing process.
• Knowledge of writing techniques. A writer who is aware of what aspects
make for clarity of structure and text legibility will be able to produce an
accessible text relatively quickly.
• Setting priorities. Writing is almost always more time consuming than is
thought at first. Compared to educational settings , deadlines are usually
tighter. Being too late may make a report useless by that fact alone.
Points of special interest have to be chosen carefully. Instead of
skimping on your conclusions it can sometimes be better to leave a
chapter in a summary state.
 20
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
21

3
From assignment
to text
,.l· ,,,. '

3.1 Determine the main question

3 .2 Formulate background and key questions
3 .3 Establish the structure via a preliminary table of contents
3. 4 Draw up a time schedule
3 .5 Write the first version quickly
3 .6 Revise the first version systematically
3 .7 Collaborate efficiently

After a report is finished the writer often realises it could have been done far more
effi ciently. In hindsight it may seem incomprehensible that it took so long to get the broad
outlines of the report and inexplicable that it took so much staring at the computer screen
before the right formulations came to mind. And yet again , the deadline was not met.

If the person who commissioned the report is happy with the result there is not much to
worry about. But what if he makes all kinds of comments , comments about which the writer
t hinks "why didn 't he say at the start exactly what it was that he expected?" Incorporating
t he "new" wishes will cause even more delay.

Probl ems of this type cannot be avoided entirely. Things often only become clear to a writer
when he puts them to paper. The person who assigned the report often only knows exactly
what he or she wants after the report is on paper. Still, most people can write more quickly
th an they do and also produce results that are more in accordance with the wishes of the
readers. It is a matter of writing systematically, something that this book will describe in
seve n steps.

It is not necessary to have finished one step before beginning on the next. While writing
th e text you may discover that the main question has not been defined properly or that the

.
1· --
 22 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
table of contents needs to be adapted. Writing is a cyclical process. It is
important that certain activities - such as clear and accurate phrasings -
should not be started too early because you will only make more work for
yourself. Other things, such as determining the exact structure, however,
should not be left too late because making changes in this area could
prove to be very complicated and time-consuming.
~ Determine the main question
A systematic approach means getting a clear picture first of the assignment
you have been given, then analysing the needs of the readers and on the
basis of that, formulating a precise main question, ending with a question
mark.
3 .1.1 Make sure you know what you have been assigned to do
Usually you will have been asked to write the report in question, though
sometimes the initiative will have come from you yourself. If the latter is
the case, you will be formulating your own assignment.
When people request a written report they often fail to make clear what
exactly it is that they expect from you as a writer. Writing assignments are
often vague and too broadly formulated. While it may seem like a luxury to
work on a vague assignment (because it offers you a great deal of freedom),
vague assignments have a habit of working out badly and chances are that
the report will not meet the expectations of the readers. You might delve
deeply into problems the person who gave you the assignment does not
want dealt with at length , or your text leads to conclusions that he or she
does not want. Only upon completion of a vague assignment will it become
clear that the person who commissioned you has definite ideas about the
desired contents . Either your text will fail to meet expectations and
disappear into some drawer or other, or you will have to largely re-write it.
A VAGUE ASSIG NMENT
Ms Annet Weverlingh, who works for a manufacturer of electronics , is told the
following during a meeting with production chef D. Jansen: "You know there are a
number of problems with the Data Recorder production process . Can you find out
what the possibilities are for dealing with them and put it all on paper?" Initially she
thinks that the assignment is pretty straightforward . As she sees it, what came out of
the meeting was that the main problem is that the production process is not efficient
at the moment and therefore too expensive. She investigates the matter and
concludes in the report that the same work could be done by 10% fewer employees if
the tasks are distributed more efficiently.
Mr Jansen is very dissatisfied: after the problems the company has had with trade
• unions in the recent past she could have known that a reduction in the number of
jobs is completely out of the question. What he had expected in the report was an
investigation of new, more advanced production machinery. Expansion of production
was for him the desired way of solving the problem - something Ms Weverlingh could
have known if she had asked more questions when she took on the assignment.
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv FROM ASS IG NMENT TO TEXT 23
As in this example, there is often uncertainty about an investigation's terms
and conditions and other parameters, not to mention what is required in
terms of the report's content. It is a good idea to consult with the person
who asked you to do the assignment before you start on it and also during
the course of writing it. If you do this you will be sure you know what he or
she requires by way of a text. You could use the following checklist to make
sure you have all the information you need. Using a checklist like this is a
good way of clarifying a vague assignment, and you can talk the result
through with the person who asked you to do the assignment. If you hand
out writing assignments yourself, you could, of course , also use the
checklist in Fig 3.1 as a starting point now and then.
FIGURE 3 .1 Assignment checklist
D What purpose should the report serve?
D What function should the report serve when it is finished (is it a discussion report, or will
measures be taken on the basis of the report)?
D What terms and conditions and other parameters govern the report?
D Who will read the report?
D When does the report have to be finished?
D When and whom can you consult about draft versions?
D What size and format should it have?
We will use the Data Recorder assignment as an example.
TH E ASSIGNMENT IN CONCRETE FORM
Aim: to underpin a decision relating to extending the production of the
Data Recorder
Starting points: number of jobs to stay the same; investigate possibilities of
advanced systems
Readers : management, works council
Deadline: 10/12
Consultation: Ms Jansen will receive the draft 26/11; discussion 3/12
Size: no more than 10 sheets A4
If you start out with a draft of a research proposal or a report, you could,
naturally, base your checklist discussion on that. Th e advantage of a draft
is that a number of things are already down on paper. If the final report
conforms to the interim report, the reader cannot say in retrospect that he
or she had expected something different to what was presented .
3.1 .2 Analyse your reading audience
Everybody who wants to write an effective report must take note of the
readers for whom it is intended, and do so at an early stage. As we
discussed in the previous chapter, in real-life situations you will be dealing
with the people who have comm issioned the report (decision-makers) and
24 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TEXT 25

most probably others as well (those with specialist knowledge, for example).
The next three questions will help you analyse your reading public:
1 For what purpose will they be reading the text?
2 What questions will they want answers to?
3 How will they be reading the text, or in other words, what reading
strategy are they likely to use?
The answers to these questions for the two main reader groups, the
decision-makers and the specialists, are shown in Table 3.1
• In the introduction and the summary you should dwell at length on the
organisational side of things: specify the organisational problem that
has arisen from broadly described technical problems.
• In your conclusions, recommendations and summary you should provide
concrete information about the extent to which your solutions comply
with decision-making criteria: effectiveness, costs, possible savings, the
time required for implementation, legal terms and conditions, etc.
• Put some effort into visualisation: use attractive diagrams and graphs
that can be understood without reading the text.

TABLE 3.1 Writing for decision-makers or specialists SUMMARY AIMED AT A DECISION-MAKER

Decision-makers Specialists
Organisational problem The new installation for recycling waste oil that was put
Purpose • decision-making • advice to decision-makers into operation in May has proven to eliminate the
• management • control impurities from the waste oil insufficiently. As a result
the end product has failed to comply with the
• implementation specifications for high-grade heating oil and is fetching
Questions • What are the problems within our • What method has been used to obtain only 60% of the normal price. This means a monthly loss
organisation that are being addressed? these results? Is this method of about €300,000.
• What are the conclusions and the sufficiently reliable? Solution meets the criteria This report describes experiments that show that the
recommendations? • What technical problems could arise? quality can be raised to the required level by installing an
• What advantages do the • If a solution is found, what is the best extra filter in the installation, provided there are no
recommendations carry and what are way of implementing it? abnormal disturbances in production such as those that
the risks involved? occurred last May. It is recommended that this filter be
• What are the costs and the benefits? installed as soon as possible. Our technical services can
make the filter operational within four weeks. The money
Reading strategy The report will be read to obtain the broad The report will be read selectively, with invested will be earned back within the period of a year.
thrust though some parts will be read in certain details (often those found in
greater detail, especially the summary, the tables) and some appendices read
introduction, the conclusions and the intensively, depending on the reader's area
recommendations. The rest will be of expertise. Tuning in t o t he specialists
skimmed through; illustrations will attract Specialists will only be able to read selectively if the report is clearly
the attention. structured. The required information can be found easily if the writer
adheres to the following instructions:
• Start every chapter with a short introduction to allow the reader to see
quickly what the chapter is about.
Tuning into the decision-makers • Make sure there are appendices showing the technical details. These
To ensure that decision-makers get the main thrust of the report (and not should be able to be read independently of the text.
the technical details or other parts that they are not primarily interested in), Anticipate typical specialist questions:
you should insure that certain crucial parts - such as the summary - are • Give a careful account of the methods used.
directed specifically at them. The following instructions will help you to • Refer to the literature correctly and often enough.
meet their demands. • Give detailed results, preferably in the form of tables.
• Avoid presenting technical problems. It is organisational problems - in
other words, a problem relating to costs/benefits, quality, management, 3.1.3 Formulating the main question
safety, etc. - that they will be interested in. Rather than a question such The main thrust of the report needs to be made obvious at an early stage,
as "What techniques may be used to remove impurities more efficiently and is best done in the form of a question. Formulating a precise question
from waste oil?" they will want to read "How can we turn waste oil into will bring your readers to mind: what is the question that you will be
heating oil of a sufficiently high quality to attract the same price as answering for them? You also force yourself to work in a more goal-oriented
high-grade heating oil?" way.
• Avoid jargon in the summary, the introduction, the conclusions and the
recommendations, and do not dwell on technical details. The central question of the report is termed the main question. It should be
carefully worded.
26 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TEXT 27

CAREFULLY WORDED MAIN QUESTIONS INCORRECT: YES/ NO QUESTION CORRECT: OPEN QUESTION

1 To what extent is it possible to use nanocomposites instead of conventional Can the General Intelligence and What policy decisions can be taken
materials in building the Air Tech 100? Security Service formulate a policy that within the General Intelligence and
2 What is the best method of preventing the measuring and samp ling points of the combines openness with the required Security Service to provide openness
production line from freezing over? confidentiality? about its activities without jeopardising
3 What are the main causes of leaking losses at the propylene storage at the the required confidentiality?
plastics facility in Geleen?

These three questions give a good indication of the central subject of the
text, and as well as this, show the aim of the text. The reader will know
immediately after reading main question 1 that it is a feasibility study. In
the case of main question 2, it is immediately clear that the text has an
advisory function and will conclude with recommendations. Question 3,
however, is indicative of a preliminary analytical study.
The following main 'questions' have been less carefully formulated.
MAIN QUESTIONS THAT ARE TOO VAGUELY WORDED
4 This report deals with improvement in the output of the gas turbine.
5 In this memo we will look at sealing the basis of the dumping place by means of
a layer of foil.
6 In this report we will treat the way emails are dealt with in our organisation.
By the way, there is no truth to the idea that you cannot adjust the main
question as you get further into the report: the main question can always
be reformulated on the basis of new information or ideas.
~ Formulate background and key questions
From the main question background questions and key questions have to be
deduced: questions to which the reader needs an answer in order to
understand the writer's response to the main question.
Background questions create the framework with in which the main question
is answered. They elucidate the main question and its significance. The
following questions are almost always indispensible ones to ask:
• How have the terms of the main question been defined?
• What is the significance of the main question?
• What research method will be used?
• What are the terms and conditions?
• Wha t are the main considerations?

We wi ll illustrate this with an example.

The wording of formulations 4-6 will be problematic for the readers. They
will be unable to ascertain from the main question what the aim of the text
is. Expressions like "deal with" , "look at" and "treat" are popular for a BACKGROUND QUESTIONS
reason: they are vague and allow the writer to keep his options open. If you
write that you will be dealing with improvement in the output of the gas Main question: To what extent is it advisable to use nanocomposites instead of
turbine (formulation 4) it can mean at least three things: conventional materials when building the Air Tech 100?
• You intend to describe the improvement in the output (to what extent Definition: What do we mean by conventional materials and what are
and when does it occur?) nanocomposites? What components are we mainly talking about?
• You intend to explain it (what are the causes of the improvement in the Importance: Why is this comparison important? (Are there any alternative ways of
output?) designing Air Tech 100?)
• You intend to give advice relating to the output (how to increase the Method: How have the characteristics of the materials been compared?
output?) (Experiments)
Specifica tions: What type of plane falls within the scope of the investigation?
It is preferable to use an open question rather than a question requiring a (Only the civilian version)
yes/no answer. Readers very rarely want yes or no as an answer; they are Assumptions: What aspects do not need to be considered? (Costs)
more interested in how, why and wherefore. Furthermore, an open question
gives you more to go on during the writing process.

Background questions will mainly be answered in the introduction.

Key questions are questions of which the answers form an answer to the
main question. They form the basis for the chapters after the introduction.
You will announce them in the introduction when you explain the structure
of the report. In the example above, the following key questions could be
asked in relation to the main question:
28 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
KEY QU ESTIONS
Main question: to what extent could nanocomposites be used instead of conventional
material s for the building of Air Tech 100?
Does the construction using nanocomposites comply with all the current laws and
regulations?
• Have all the other criteria that determine feasibility been met?
• What, according to the experiments, are the relevant properties of nanocomposites
in comparison to conventional materials? How were the experiments conducted?
The type of key questions yo u include depends largely on the type of report
you are writing. The text models in Chapter 7 could be of use in
determining what key questions to include.
As a further illustration, we wi ll look at an example of a question-based
plan with a main question, background questions and key questions. It
concerns an advisory report in wh ich three water purification processes are
compared. The key questions deal with the choice of assessment criteria,
with using the criteria to eva luate the alternatives and with the final
selection of the best alternative. Providing global answers in the form of
key words will facilitate the posing of subsets of questions .
QUESTION PLAN
Subject
Removing traces of organic-chemical compounds from water: a comparison of the
three main purification processes (the biological process, the active carbon process
and the silicalite process).
Main question
What purification process is the most suitable for removing traces of organic-chemical
compounds from water?
Background questions
• What are the organic chemical compounds involved?
- mainly solvents and pesticides
• What are the three purification processes like?
- biological (micro-organisms break down compounds)
- active charcoal (compounds adsorbed to the charcoal)
- silica lite (compounds adsorbed to the silicalite)
• Why is it important to compare the processes?
- new statutory norms make more effective removal of noxious substances
imperative; it is unclear which method is preferable
• How are the processes compared?
- via literature research and laboratory tests
• What restriction is observed?
- no attention is paid to interactions with purification processes for other
substances
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv FROM ASS IGNMENT TO TEXT 29
Key questions
• What are the criteria for choosing the most suitable process?
- effectiveness (the amount of compounds should be reduced to such an extent
that the water complies with government norms) -7 what are these norms?
technical feasibility (the process should be easily implemented in the
purification process) -7 what demands does this place on the process?
- affordability (the constant and variable costs should be kept to a minimum) -7
what factors determine these costs?
- reliability (sudden rises in the level of noxious compounds in the water should
not halt the process) -7 what is the chance of these sudden rises happening?
- flexibility (the process should be able to deal with varying waste water flows) -7
how often do variations in the flow occur?
• To what extent do the various processes satisfy the criteria?
- according to literature
- according to the tests
~ Establish the structure via a preliminary
table of contents
The next step is converting the question plan into a preliminary tabl e of
contents. You have globally determined the content of the report and now you
shou ld try to find the right structure to make the contents accessible to your
readers. The table of contents you draw up at this stage of the writing
process will probably have to be adjusted at a later stage. At this point it is
important to work out how to arrange the core of the report (usua lly in
numbered chapters). You could draw up a preliminary table of contents or
one in which you use key words to indicate what should be dealt with in each
part of the text. The latter method will provide more support to the process
of writing (see the following example of a preliminary table of contents) .
PRELIMINARY TABLE OF CONTENTS
Hea lthy offices
Preventing and reducing complaints about the climate inside offices
Preface
• information package developed by RBB on behalf of DGA
• intended for: building manager, works council and personnel department
Summary
1 Introduction
Background and problem: many employees complain about headaches, dry
throats; doubt about causes (is it the employees themselves or the building?).
Importance: there is the need for an objective verdict; the complaints have
consequences (absenteeism, discontent, loss of productivity); have to comply
with the new health and safety regulations.
30 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TEXT 31

- Main question: what is the best way of analysing complaints about the internal
climate and the working space in offices, and how can the complaints be
reduced?
- Procedure: advice on the basis of scientific research and expertise of
experienced advisers
- Structure (key questions): complaints and causes; procedure for determining
causes and taking measures etc .
0 ) Draw up a time schedule
Once the assignment has been trans lated into a table of contents , the next
step is drawing up a time schedule. This schedule indicates to you when
certain tasks shou ld be finalised . Apart from fixed dates (such as the date
that the final version of the report has to be handed in), you can determine
for yourse lf when you want to submit a draft version.

2 Building-related complaints and their causes In the next example - a time schedule for a research report with a number
2 .1 Introduction of contributors - the writers have six weeks for the research and the writing
Chapter contains information about types of complaint (per section the main of the report. The names of the members of the group are mentioned to
complaints, the environmental factors leading to the complaints and the ind icate who is responsible for what.
background causes)
2 .2 Complaints about heating and cooling Examp le of a time schedule
2.3 Complaints about air quality
2. 4 Health complaints Time sc hedule

3 Procedure for dealing with complaints Tasks Who Weeks

3.1 Introduction
- dealing with lodged complaints usually not structurally regulated: examples Bas
Dntnco1t11ctlon
(lodge with whom? no systematic registration, neither of corrective measures ( lltorotu1 0 1osoorch)

nor effect) lnt1oducllon+Choptor2 Annet

- procedure: 4 steps in diagram
Choplc1 s 3-Sondconcluslons Jan
3.2 Central desk
- place of desk within the organisation , tasks, requirements P1e1sonldrnft vo1Slon Jeroen
(7morch )
3.3 Step 1: Registration
Els
- standard complaints registration form : what it contains and how to use it lncorpointoromorks

(appendix) Finishing
Els
3. 4 Step 2: Choice of complaints manager - Edlttoll
.Provldesummnry, Els
- considerations relating to choice of a suitable complaints manager appcndlcu, ctc.

3.5 Step 3: Diagnosis and measures , Tnko co re ol loyout ond

,P1lnUngondblndlng
lllu ~l roUons Jaap
Jaap .1
- example of a diagnosis and determination of the appropriate measures . deadline (21 march)

3. 6 Step 4: Feedback

4 Conclusion

Bibliography ········r·--

Appendix: Complaints registration form

~ Write the first version quickly
Making a prelim inary table of contents is not only useful in determining the
structure of the report; you can also use it in consulting with the person
who commissioned the report. A table of contents in its fina l form gives a
fairly clear picture of what you want included in the text. You can use it to
determine at an early stage whether your ideas match those of the person
who commissioned the report.
For you yourself, the table of contents will provide a good basis for effective
planning when you draw up a time schedu le.
Even experienced writers rarely write a good text first off, nor is it useful to
aspire to this: more time is lost by staring at an empty screen than by
revi sing an imperfect text. Writing is best done in two stages. During the
first stage, the accent is on putting the contents quickly into rough
formulations. In the fo ll owing stages the emphasis is increasingly on
formulating succinctly and on polishing up the text .
During the research phase you should constantly keep the writing phase in
mind . You shou ld be constantly aware that you wi ll eventually have to report
on your research . You shou ld therefore carefully record all the data you will
need later. How you do that will depend on the type of research .
32
~~------------------------~
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
A report on experimental research should start with noting down all details
in the lab journal. You should do that so carefully that you can later
reconstruct the work done in detail. Date all your notes: later you will be
able to see exactly when you made alterations to your experiments.
DATA TO BE RECORDED IF DOING EXPERIM ENTAL RESEARCH
• apparatu s used (note down type , brand and serial number, in case you have
doubt s later on about whether the apparatus has fun ctioned properly)
• materials used
• setting up the t est
• procedure: how was the test carried out, what did you measu re? How? Using
what?
• observations that have as yet to be evaluated
• data needed to convert observations to measurements: zero settings, graduation
units, ca libration factors, correction s to be applied
observations in the form of end re sult s
~ Revise the first draft systematically
With literature research , you should record the result of each reading
activity carefully. This can be done in the form of notes, quotations, a
summary or photocopies. If you fail to do this carefully enough it might not
be clear in the report what your sources are and what points your remarks
refer to. This will be detrimental to reliability and verifiability. Make sure,
therefore , that you note down all the details of each title . There are special
programs (such as Endnote) with which you can obtain details from
catalogues , databases or from the Internet (from Google Scholar, for
example). You can subsequently add your own remarks to the results. It
may be useful to keep a separate file for random ideas that occur to
you - ideas that you cannot use directly but that might come in handy later
(during the writing of the discussion chapter, for example).
The table of contents forms the framework for writing the text. This does
not have to be done in the order presented: you could skip difficult
chapters for the time being. It is important to keep up a high rate of writing
and not to worry about exact wording. Some writers like to write a perfect
version in one go. This is rarely an efficient way of doing things because
you are dealing with two things at the same time: working on the content
and formulating as clearly and attractively as possible. These two things
can interfere with each other: attention to perfect formulations can be to
the detriment of thinking clearly about the content, and conversely, the
contents can overshadow the wording. It is also time consuming to
formulate well in one go. It is usually less time consuming to revise a
preliminary version. There is the added risk that you will put a lot of effort
into formulating parts of the text that will change radically in terms of
content later on.
You should therefore concentrate initially on the content and putting it down
in a rough form, interrupting the stream of thought as little as possible. Do
not waste time at this stage on improving the way you have formulated your
ideas. Cumbersome bits of text, half sentences and spellings and stylistic
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TE XT 33
errors can be fixed up later. Indicate roughly where illustrations and other
visual additions have to be put in, but avoid being too specific at this stage.
Hints for writing the first draft
Keep the structure within chapters and sections clear by inserting
headings .
For the time being, skip complicated bits or parts for which you have
insufficient information as yet. While you are working on the easier bits
of the report you can allow your mind to go over the bits that still have to
be written. The gaps that develop in the text you can mark with an
asterisk( * ). Do a search for them later and then expand on these
sections further.
Do not bother writing out in full long words that occur frequently
(specialist jargon). Instead, insert a simple sign (b$ for instance) in the
autocorrect function of your word processor. This way you will avoid
interrupting your stream of thought. The computer will automatically
convert the sign into the word you want.
After you have finished putting the contents down in a rough form , it is
often best not to start immediately on your second draft: put the first one
away for a few days to create a bit of distance between yourself and what
you have written.
When re-writing the text, you could use the following questions as a guideline.
1 Is the broad outline clear?
Read the introduction and the conclusion one after the other and see
whether the question in the introduction really is answered in the
conclu sion. Skim over all the chapters and the sections (only read the
starting sentence of each paragraph) and check whether a global reader is
likely to get a clear impression of your train of thought.
2 Has th e text been formulated understandably for your readers?
Ask yourself at every piece of technical jargon whether your readers know
what it means . Look at the text globally to see whether there are not too
many long sentences (30 to 40 words) and whether long sentences
alternate sufficiently with short ones (5 to 10 words) .
3 Is the tone suited to the readers?
Ask yourself whether the tone is halfway between hesitant and imperative.
If a new employee introduces a proposal for a more efficient division of
task s on the work floor in the following way he will stand little chance of his
proposa l being adopted .
TOO IMPERATIVE A TONE
The division of t asks on the work floor is very inefficient at the moment. Management
needs to introduce a completely new system of job classification, one which will also
make it poss ible to reduce the number of employees on the work floor by twenty.
34 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
Somebody who is new to a company can rarely afford to adopt such an
imperative tone. It would probably also be wiser to formulate the problem
(the present division of tasks is not efficient) a little more carefully: the
readers of the report might very well be responsible for the present
operating procedures.
4 Has the information been presented in a well-organised manner?
A report becomes more accessible and attractive if you visua lise
information. Where possible you should present. research results in the
form of figures and tables, and use lists to break up blocks of text.
5 Have all parts of the preliminary and concluding pages been written?
As soon as the contents have been put down on paper, things like the
summary and the bibliography can be put into their final form.
Keeping the saying "two people see more than one" in mind: it is advisable
to give the second version of the text to somebody else to read. Even if you
yourself think that the text wil l be perfectly clear to your readers, a
proofreader will often see at a glance that the text is lacking in one way or
another. Do .tell the reader exactly what you want him or her to look at. If
you are looking for comments on the broad outline of the text you will not
want remarks about strange sentences or spelling mistakes. Those are
mistakes that you would remove later anyway. If comprehensibility is what
you are looking for, recommendations to add extra topics will be a waste of
time for both reader and writer.
With texts that are intended for a larger public (such as manuals, safety
rules or informative material) it is always necessary to pre-test the text with
part of the target group. Only by seeing how people use the text and asking
them if they are missing anything or whether anything is unclear to them
can you see whether your text functions just as well in practice as it
appears to from your desk.
Many writers find themselves pressed for time on their way to the final
version. It is therefore of the utmost importance to determine your
priorities. Make sure that you have been succinct. In the final stage you
should pay some attention to the report 's visua l design.
Set your priorities when writing under time pressure
Time pressure is something few writers can avoid. You will therefore have
to set priorities, especially since deadlines are often set in concrete in
professional situations. What these priorities are will depend on the types
of readers and their requirements. Since there will always be non-specialist
readers who are pressed for time among your public, you should certainly
make sure that the summary, conclusions and recommendations are clear
and convincing. If specialist readers request additional explanations or the
scientific data on wh ich your findings are based you can always supply
these later. If a scientific justification is an important aspect of your report
you will have to describe your method very carefu lly and also pay particular
attention to your references and the bibliography.
An attractive and timesaving option is to work out the chapters in point
form only, in the way you would approach a PowerPoint presentation. After
all, formulating complete, well-written sentences takes up a lot of time.
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TEXT 35
If you can explain the report during an oral presentation a point-by-point
notation is likely to be sufficient for your listeners. They and others will
probably be thankful to you for being brief and to the point.
Some more hints:
Avoid wasting time on investigating advanced word processing programs
or graphic programs you are not familiar with . Ignore them until you have
plenty of time to experiment with them.
Use those profiles or styles that come standard with your word
processor (heading, title, subtitle, etc.). They are not only handy tools for
the layout of your text but also for structuring and keeping an overview.
Do make use of simple to learn and time-saving shortcuts: shortcut keys
for quickly moving the cursor or the autocorrect function that enables
you to write complicated words or phrases by means of a shortcut key.
Make sure that you are concise
When they have to plough through big stacks of paper many a reader of
reports will sigh and say "Why don't they make these reports a bit
shorter?" Many people still have the mistaken idea that a thick report is
more impressive to readers than a thin one. In their view the time taken to
do the research should be reflected in the size of the report. The result is
vo luminous reports that strike terror into the hearts of the readers when
they see them. Take a recent report on the proposed building of an
electricity station on the Maasvlakte: 420 pages, of which only twelve
pages are appendices.
The t ime to check that you have been concise is after the first draft of the
text is fin ished. The research has been done, the conclusions are known:
now is the best time to determine what part of the information is essential.
How do you write a concise report? By following these three directions:
1 Make optimal use of appendices
Put any information that is not relevant for all readers and that is not
strictly necessary to the main thrust of the report into an appendix.
Calculations, research results and details of how a design was arrived at
are suitable for an appendix; essential information can be summarised in
the main body of the report. Appendices can take up more room than the
report itself as long as they can be used independently.
2 Determine what information is relevant
Sometimes it is clear right from the start that certain information is not
going to add anything to the report. Avoid bothering the reader with such
information. Information that falls into this category includes historical
rundowns: these are often includ ed out of habit although no consequences
follow from what has been investigated. Extensive descriptions of decisions
made earlier but that have in the meantime been superseded are better
left out for the same reason.
36 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
IRRELEVANT INFORM ATION
"The first written reports about the Low Countries are by the Romans . Around the
beginning of our era they wrote in horror about the marshy delta near the North Sea.
Tacitu s wrote: 's ilvis horridus aut paludibus foetidus' ('horrible because of its forests
and stinking because of its marshes'). The soldier Plinius Secundus describes the
Low Countries as an 'eternal battle ground of nature, covering a landscape of which it
is not clear to what it belongs: to the land or to the sea' Since Roman times the
land scape of the Netherlands has changed a great deal. Even the area around the
Hollands Diep no longer resembles the description given by the Romans.''
(Source: A Report on a dredging dump in the Hollands Diep)
It is sometimes only in retrospect (after the investigation has been
concluded) that you can determine whether information is relevant or not.
In a feasibility study, for instance, very often many alternatives are
investigated and in the end only a few prove to be worth considering
seriously. Consider, for instance, the high velocity train line between
Amsterdam and Paris . More than twenty alternatives were investigated and
in the end only three or four turned out to be feasible.
What this means for a report is that the alternatives that have been
dismissed do not have to be described in the same detail as the
alternatives that are proposed for consideration . It is usually sufficient to
point out why certain possibilities are not feasible. In short: there is no
need for your readers to experience the entire research process. The fact
that you only found out late in the piece that a certain alternative was not
suitable does not mean that the readers of your report also have to hear
that later on in the report .
TREAT AN ALTERNATIVE THAT IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE BRIEFLY
An engineering firm has been given the task of finding a suitable location for a
digestion plant for organic waste in the municipality of Leiden . The choice is between
three locations , all of which are investigated thoroughly during the course of the
investigation. One of the locations was later bought by a project developer, meaning
that it wa s no longer an option for the digestion plant. As such, it does not warrant
extensive description in the report.
3 Make arrangements about the rough size
An increasing number of organisations are attempting to limit the size of
reports by giving an indication of the maximum number of pages when the
report is commissioned. This usually applies to the main body of the report
(the numbered chapters), not the appendices. It forces the writer to be very
selective and to constantly ask whether the information really is essential
for all readers .
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TEXT 37
Make sure the design and fini sh look professional
The "wrapping" will at least partly determine whether your text is looked at
favourably. Here are some hints:
• Spend a bit of extra time on the design. It is sometimes all you need to
greatly improve the accessibility and attractiveness of a text: enough
white on the page, consistent chapter and section layout, no titles or
headings at the bottom of a page, here and there italics for emphasis .
• In order to avoid mistakes in titles and page numberings, it is preferable
to create the index automatically.
• Use the spelling and grammar checker of your word processor. Even
though not all mistakes will be picked up, you will avoid a lot of spelling
and typing mistakes.
• Check whether you have not forgotten figures or appendices and whether
they have all been properly numbered and have a suitable caption.
~ Collaborat e efficiently
Reports are often written by a group of people working together (perhaps
because information from different specialists is required) . This often turns
out to be a difficult situation because it is not always easy to get everybody
to submit their material on time or stick to the agreed design conventions.
There is always a certain art needed to make a convincing whole of the
t exts of the various authors and without differences in style, overlapping
passages or gaps being too obvious. This section will give some advice on
how to manage writing by a group.
1 Appoint a project leader and an editor-in-chief
Individual writers will often have their own interests and will not always be
able to see the big picture. The risk may be that a good report is not ready
in time . This is why it is a good idea to appoint a project leader with the
authority to make decisions. The project leader will keep in touch with the
person who commissioned the report, will monitor the time schedule, will
ensure effective progress discussion meetings and will do or will supervise
the final editing.
For a group report, the final editing will need to be done particularly
carefully. Appoint somebody as editor-in-chief responsible for transforming
all th e texts submitted into a cohesive and uniform report. The editor can
save himself a lot of work by making an agreement with the writers to
observe a number of rules. They may include using certain terms
con sistently, or sticking to a certain text layout. As far as wording is
conce rned , some of the things that could be agreed on include not
addressing the reader directly in the text (not "as you have seen in Table 5 "
but "as Table 5 shows ") and that the writers can refer to themselves as
"we .'
1
2 Make an action plan with a division of tasks and a time schedule
Even more so than when you are writing a report on your own, a group
writing effort requires a clear work plan. Each writer must have a clear idea
of th e report's overall aim . Everyone has to have a clear idea of who the
readers are and what use they will put the report to. It also should be clear
wh o has to provide what at what moment, and what stages precede the
38 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
completion of the report (talks with the person who commissioned the
report, providing the draft to each writer, etc). The work plan should include:
• the aim of the report and a description of its likely impact
• the readers for whom the report is intended and the role of the report in
decision-making
• the terms and conditions and other considerations (such as what
information is available/ has to be collected, the deadline for the final
report)
• a preliminary table of contents (contents indicated by catchwords)
• planning and division of tasks
The preliminary table of contents forms the best basis for a division of
tasks and the timetabling. The project leader should appoint an author for
all parts, including the summary, conclusions, appendices and the letter of
recommendation. Otherwise these matters - the most widely read and
therefore the most important parts - run the risk of being rushed through
at the end.
The writing of the report is frequently not an independent matter but part of
a project. Within that project information has to be gathered, research done
or proposals developed. Integrate the writing of the report into the overall
planning of the project (see , for example, the time schedule in Section
3.4.). Make sure that the writing is done during the course of the project,
when all the information is still fresh. This will save time.
3 Comment effectively on each other's texts
The members of the group will perform their tasks individually. As a
time-saving procedure, everybody could write a draft version consisting of
short topic sentences. Making a PowerPoint presentation is also a
possibility. This way the group can easily determine whether the contents
are correct and complete without having to wade through stacks of text.
SHORT TOPIC SENTENCES
• Di sadvantage of this approach: the road surface is more easily damaged.
• Solution: apply extra metalling.
The second version can be in the form of fully written out texts. Everybody
will read each text and provide detailed comments . During the meeting
there should be no detailed discussion of individual contributions, just of
the main outline and the contents of the report: do the chapters form a
whole, are there parts missing or overlapping bits? Naturally, decisions will
have to be made in relation to what to do with problematic bits of text.
Detailed comments on paper can be given to each author after the
meeting.
Making effective comments on a text is not easy. Many writers are very
sensitive about reactions to their work and take critical remarks personally.
A couple of practical hints:
• Do not forget to say what is good about the text.
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv FROM ASSIGNMENT TO TE XT 39
• Do not discuss the details in person. Remarks about how something
has been formulated are more effective if they are put on paper or
emailed . Then the author can think in peace about whether to adopt a
suggestion or not.
Give concrete suggestions for improvement.
Don't write Write
a Nonsense a Amount is not correct: should be 54 679 .
b Do you mean that? b On p. 34 you wrote .. ., therefore here too ...
c How's that? c I don't think the implications are as bad as that; I would play it down a bit.
d Too little structure d <Insert a heading here>
e ?? e The text does not follow on from the last sentence (word processing fault??).
f !! f Agree!
• It is sometimes refreshing if somebody other than one of the authors
turns the first draft into the second version. The project leader should
not be hesitant about making decisions and scrapping weak passages.
The report's goal is more important than keeping the peace.
• Make sure the versions are managed properly. Make clear in the title of
the document which version it is: for instance, by numbering them
(Feasibility study container terminal version 3.docx) or by adding a date.
4 Appoint one person to turn the draft into a definitive text
It is a good idea to make one person responsible for the final edition of the
report. This could be the project manager or somebody who works under
th at person 's direct supervision. The project leader should be involved in
matters of content.
In turning the submitted draft texts into a good final report, the editor-in-chief
will need to carry out a number of checks on the text:
• Broad outline. Do the introduction and the conclusion link up perfectly?
Is the report logical and consistent? This is the last chance to scrap
non-relevant passages or to shift them to an appendix.
• Persuasiveness for decision-makers. The editor has to check the
persuasiveness and the intelligibility of the conclusion, tile introduction,
the conclusions and the recommendations. Is the language in these
parts intelligible to the non-specialist? Do they comply with the decision
criteria of the decision-makers (often criteria such as effectiveness ,
feasibility - both financial and otherwise, advantages compared to other
solutions)?
• Reliable information for specialists. Specialists will want to know whether
th e information is reliable and properly documented. Correct references
and tables with detailed results are essential. The editor should check
whether every author has stuck equally to the requirements.
• Stylistic unity. The editor should correct the most serious discrepancies
in style as much as possible. Lengthy reports would take too much time
to check. The most frequently read parts - introduction, conclusion and
summary - should be checked to ensure that they are written
comprehensibly and in a readable style.
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
40

• Convincing and accessible presentation. One illustration often says more

than an avalanche of technical details . During the checking of the draft
the editor should decide whether there is sufficient visual material
(graphs, illustrations, etc.) and whether this material is immediately
accessible to the readers.

One task that often takes up a lot of time is the final layout. The editor
should check whether all the individual authors have stuck to the stylistic
instructions regarding titles and examples, whether there are any awkward
page transitions and whether the spelling is correct and consistent.
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv 43

4
Dealing with
sources of
information

4.1 Referring and quoting conventions

4.2 Frequently asked questions

In your work and in the academic world it is expected of you that you develop your own
point of view, linking it with and comparing it to existing points of view. You need to be able
to defend that point of view clearly and convincingly. As such, it is essential that a clear
distinction can be made between vour ideas and those of others. Sticking meticulously to
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
44
cg Referring and quoting conventions
The following example is a demonstration of two types of plagiarism: the
writer sticks too closely to the wording of his source, and it is unclear
where the source ideas stop and his/her own ideas start. Although the
author does not state that he/she is giving a personal view, the text
suggests that sentences two and three represent the view of the author.
I Original
Mason (1997: 298): "The personal benefits from working to agreed safety
procedures are often non-existent in an organisation. By comparison, individuals may
see many benefits of breaking rules and procedures, in addition to the financial gains
~ Frequently asked questions
which can often arise.
Instances are often reported of people being praised for their initiatives if they
improvise to 'get the job done' under difficult conditions. The violating of rules and
procedures which this involves may appear to have been condoned as long as they
did not result in unwanted events such as injury or plant damage.
An attitude often develops where strictly adhering to the rules is seen as conflicting
with the objectives of the organisation - e.g., where working to rule is an industrial or
commercial threat".
Source
Mason, S. (1997). Procedural violations - causes, costs and cures. In: F. Redmill &
J. Rajan (eds). Human factors in safety-critical systems (pp. 287-318). Oxford etc.:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Writer (version demonstrating plagiarism)
According to Mason (1997), working to agreed safety procedures often creates no
personal benefits. On the contrary, people may see many benefits of breaking rules
and procedures, in addition to the financial gains which can often arise.
People are often praised when they improvise to get the job done under difficult
conditions, by violating rules and procedures . Strictly adhering to the rules is often
seen as incompatible with the objectives of the organisation.
Writer (correct version: paraphrase)
Mason (1997) argues that violating safety rules and procedures often has advantages,
according to the organisation and workers themselves. He sees it as a danger that
following the rules is interpreted as harming the interests of the organisation.
Writer (correct version: quote)
Mason (1997) argues that violating rules and procedures often has advantages,
according to the organisation and workers themselves. Strictly adhering to the rules
risks to be seen, he says, "as conflicting with the objectives of the organisation -
e.g. , where working to rule is an industrial or commercial threat" (298).
Briefly, referencing and quoting should be done as follows:
1 All bits of text and all ideas, figures and other data that are not your own
need to be acknowledged correctly in the text and in the bibliography.
2 Paraphrases should not lean too heavily on the original.
3 Literal quotations must be indicated by quotation marks and page
numbers.
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv DEALING WITH SOURCES OF INFORMATION 45
4 Referring should be done consistently according to an accepted system
(APA, CMS, Harvard etc .), or according to the system prescribed by a
particular journal.
5 The bibliography:
should contain title descriptions according to an accepted system
(APA, CMS, Harvard etc.) , or according to the system prescribed by a
particular journal in a certain field;
- should contain only titles that are referred to in the t ext;
should contain all titles that are referred to in the text.
Writers are often confused about referencing. The 17 most commonly
asked questions are dealt with below.
1 What is preferable: quoting or paraphrasing?
It is almost always better to paraphrase than to quote. However, while it is
usually the ideas that are important, in the case of legal subjects and
definitions, the precise wording can be important. A text with frequent and
long quotations looks unprofessional: it looks as if the writer has only
co llected bits of text instead of incorporating the found ideas in his or her
own argument. It is also often shorter to put something in your own words.
Too many quotations could cause copyright problems: you cannot take over
large bits of text or figures that have been copyrighted.
2 Can I use sources like Wikipedia?
Although the information in Wikipedia is usually reliable it is not a scientific
source . Using it makes your text look unscientific. It is preferable to go to
the original sources or handbooks . They are usually mentioned at the
bottom of the Wikipedia article. If you do use Wikipedia you must
acknowledge it or you run the risk of being accused of plagiarism.
3 When do I not have to acknowledge?
For information that is easily found and undisputed you do not have to
state your source, provided you are using your own words. When you are in
doubt whether something is standard knowledge you should acknowledge
your source .
Exa mple
Wikipedia (retrieved 29 June 2010) contains the following information:
"The second law of thermodynamics is a fundamental law regarding the
co nve rsion of heat into energy, which until now has been confirmed by all
empirical data. One of the simplest and therefore incomplete expressions of
the Second Law is:
• Heat can only flow from an object with a high temperature to an object with
a low temperature .
46 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
A more scientific way of putting it is:
• The entropy of an isolated system that is not in equilibrium wi ll increase in
time until the maximum for that isolated system has been reached. The
state of maximum entropy is the state of equilibrium.
Example: when one part of an isolated system has a higher temperature than
another part, heat energy will flow from the warm part to the cold part, so that
the temperature difference wil l be levelled out. In th is way the system will reach a
state of thermodynamic equilibrium in which the entropy has a maximum va lue".
Avoid using Wikipedia in a scientific text: it is better to go back to the
scientific manuals: they will be more reliable. If the same information is
contained in all of these manuals, you need not acknowledge your sources
in your own text:
According to the second law of thermodynamics, heat can only flow from an object
with a high temperature to an object with a low temperature.
Although strictly speaking, the words that you are using are not your own,
the phrasing is so general that you run no risk of committi ng plagiarism. It
is riskier if you use a longer and more specific bit of text, even if the
contents are still generally accepted:
According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated system
that is not in equilibrium will increase in time until the maximum for that isolated
system has been reached. The state of maximum entropy is the state of equilibrium.
Because you have quoted the original wording almost literally it is better to
name your sources. It would be essential if you were to add the examp le
given in the original:
EXAMPLE
According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated system
that is not in equilibrium wi ll increase in time until the maximum for that isolated
system has been reached. The state of maximum entropy is the state of equilibrium.
Example: when one part of an isolated system has a higher temperature than another
part, heat energy will flow from the warm part to the cold part, so that the temperature
difference will be levelled out. In this way the system will reach a state of thermodynamic
equilibrium in which the entropy has a maximum value. [Second law ... 2010]
Bibliography
Second law of thermodynamics - Wikipedia. (2010). Retrieved 29 June 2010 from
http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Second_law_thermodynamics
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv DEALING WITH SOURCES OF INFORMATION 47
4 What system should I use for naming my sources?
In a scientific text, you should use one system cons istently. It could be one
of the four widely used systems:
• APA
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Harvard
• number style (for example IEEE)
University websites (such as http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ or http://
www.library.tudelft.n l/tu lib ) very often give examples of each of these
styles. There are many other systems and scientific journals very often
have their own variant. It is awkward to stick to a style completely unless
you use a database programme such as Endnote. In a company report or
teach ing text, a more general form of referencing author/year is acceptable,
though it may not have the finesse of the systems mentioned above.
Another way of referencing is to use numbers that correspond to a
numbered bibliography. This saves space, especially when there are a lot of
references . There are, however, two disadvantages to this method: it is not
informative for readers and it is easy to make a mistake when you are
adding a reference number. This last problem can be prevented by
automatic referencing.
Lastly, you can use footnotes for referencing. This method is used
extensively in legal and historical publications but hardly ever in technical
reports or in company publications.
5 How can I keep a check on all my sources?
There are handy database programmes for storing sources , including
Endnote, Reference Manager and Zotero. With a couple of mouse clicks you
can store search results from catalogues and databases such as Scopus,
Web of Science, put an acknowledgment in the text and automatically build
up a bibliography: cite while you write. Information that you find in Google
Scholar or on the websites of organisations can often be imported with one
click of your mouse (a hint: adjust Google Scholar via " preferences " to the
right database programme) . It pays to check the result: orga nisations are
sometimes careless in describing their sources. It is easy to switch from
one system (for instance, numbering) to another (for instance, APA).
6 How do I cite a source that I have found in another source?
You may on ly refer to information that you have not seen yourself if you
indicate clearly that you are citing second-hand information. If you have
found an idea by Smith (2008) in Jones (2009) you should acknowledge it
as follows: Smith (2008, as cited in Jones 2009). In the bibliography you
should only mention the work that you have seen, so Jones (2009).
EXAMPLE
The infra-red thermometer is the best instrument for measuring temperatures. It is
fast and accurate. The initial cost is high, but because the instrument has a longer
life cycle it is the cheapest in use. (Rosseel & Sanders 2009, as cited in Van
Achterberg et al., 2010)
48 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
Always try to find the origina l source and on ly use the above way of citing
your source if you rea lly cannot find it.
7 How do I deal with sources from the Internet?
A text that mainly refers to Internet sites is not going to be very scientific.
Some sources are, of course, re liable, if there is a re liab le organ isation
behind them (for example, www.abs.gov.au). But bear in mind that the
website of a reliable institution (such as a university) may have individua l
contributors whose information is not very re/iejb/e.
Make sure that you refer to the source accurately, using t he same detai ls as
you would with a normal publication, but adding the date you consu lted it.
EXA MPLE
• Bioethanol Fuel - Alternative Fuels. Retrieved 8 Ju ly 2011 from http://
www.uk-energy-saving.com/ bioethanol_fue/ .html
• National report on the joint convention on the safety of spent fuel management
and on the safety of radioactive waste management (June 2009). Retrieved 1 July
2010 from http://www.vrom.nljpagina.html?id=2706&sp=2&dn=9190
In the text, a webpage with a long title is usually abbreviated: (see
"National report on the joint ... ", 2009) . In the bibliography you shou ld cite
the reference in fu ll .
8 How do I refer to an article in a journal that is also available digitally?
If the artic le exists on paper as well as in digital form, no URL is necessary
and no consultation date . You may add " Electronic version" after the title.
Zhou, Q., & Farkas, D.K. (2010). QuikScan: formatting documents for better
comprehension and navigation [Electronic version] . Technical
Communication, 57,197-209
9 Do I have to acknowledge study material?
When you include information from teaching materials such as PowerPoint
slides by the lecturer, handouts and the like you shou ld acknowledge those
in the normal fashion . On ly when the information is generally known and
written in your own words no acknowledgement is necessary. When in
doubt: always provide a reference!
EXAM PLE
Ubacht, J. (2009). PowerPointslides accompanying SPM3430 Policy, Economy and Law
!CT domain. Delft: DUT, Faculty TPM
10 What if all the information for a chapter is taken from the one source?
Basing a whole chapter on j ust one source is not advisab le. If there is no
other way, at the beginn ing of your chapter you should say something like
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv DEALING WITH SOURCES OF INFORMATION 49
"All information in this chapter is based on Jones (2011)", instead of
constantly referring to the same source . You shou ld still use your own
words!
1 1 What is an acceptable paraphrase?
If you use three or more consecutive words from a text, or take over a term
that is used in the source in a unique way, it is usually not an acceptable
paraphrase . In the fo ll owing examp le, too many origina l terms have been
cop ied. Furthermore, "commodity service provider" and "strategic partner"
are so crucia l to the metaphor in the original that the writer should not have
created the impression that he thought them up himse lf . Compare a term
like "vulnerability", which is clearly much Jess original.
You should also note that the division between the authors' ideas and
those of the writer are blurred : the second paragraph looks as though it is
the writer's opin ion, wh ich it is not. The referencing is also incorrect.
Original (Van Grembergen & De Haes 2009:1-2)
" Information technology (IT) has become pervasive in current dynamic and often
turbulent business environments. While in the past, business executives could
delegate, ignore or avoid IT decisions, this is now impossible in most sectors and
industries. This major IT dependency implies a huge vulnerability that is inherently
present in IT environments. System and network downtime has become far too costly
fo r any organization these days, as doing business globally around the clock has
become the standard . Take for example the impact of downtime in the banking sector
or in a medical environment. The risk factor is accompanied by a wide spectrum of
externa l threats , such as errors and omissions, abuse, cyber crime and fraud.
IT of course has the potential not only to support existing business strategies , but
also to shape new strategies. Jn this mindset, IT becomes not only a success factor
fo r survival and prosperity, but also an opportunity to differentiate and to achieve
competitive advantage . Jn this vi ewpoint, the IT department moves from a commodity
service provider to a strategic partner."
Source
Grembergen, W. van & Haes, S. de (2009). Enterprise governance of information
technology. Boston: Springer.
St udent version (plagiarized)
Information technology (IT) has become omnipresent in current business
environments. While in the past, managers could delegate, ignore or avoid IT
decisions, this is now impossible in most situations. This IT dependency implies an
enormous vulnerability. System and network downtime has become far too expensive
for any organization these days. Take for example the impact of downtime for banks
or hos pitals. In add ition, there are all kinds of external threats , such as errors and
om iss ion s, abuse , cyber crime and fraud .5
IT of course has the potential not only to support existing business strategies , but
also to shape new strategies. In this way, IT becomes not only a success factor for
survival and prosperity, but also an opportunity to differentiate and to achieve
competitive advantage. In this viewpoint, the IT department moves from a commodity
service provider to a strategic partner.
5 Grembergen, W. van & Haes, S. de (2009). Enterprise Governance of Information
Techno logy. Boston: Springer.
 50 © Noordhoff Uitg evers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv DEALING WITH SOURCES OF INFORMATION 51

Student (correct version) • edition (only if it is not the first)

Van Grembergen & De Haes (2009) argue that dependence on information technology
(IT) has made companies vulnerable: they cannot afford any downtime caused by
errors or fraud . They see the IT department move from "a commodity service provider"
to "a strategic partner" (p. 2).
• place: publisher or institution
Kerzner, H. (2009). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling,
and controlling. Hoboken, New Yersey: John Wiley & Sons.

I 12 How do you cite two or more references wi.thin the same brackets?
APA prescribes an alphabetical arrangement:
Several studies (Balda , 2007; Kami I, 2003; Pepperberg & Funk, 2009) show ...
If you want to separate the main source from the others, you could do the
following:
Two or more authors:

Christensen, G., Florack, P. G. & Duncan, R. (2001). Wireless intelligent networking.

(Minor, 2001; see also Adams , 2008; Storandt, 1997). Boston, MA: Artech House.

13 How do I refer to a figure or table?

Put a reference after the title of the figure or table: From Janssen (2009:124).
14 What does a correct bibliography look like?
In a scientific text you should use the prescribed system. The following list
is set out according to the APA system and includes various types of
sources (books, chapters in anthologies, Internet sources, reports, articles
in journals) .
If more than one publication by the same author is included they should be
arranged according to year, with publications from the same year numbered
consecutively.
Schareman, G. (2011a). Environmental laws and sustainability. Delft: University Press.
Schareman, G. (2011b). Drought, sustainability, and the law. Delft: University Press.

Lagendijk , A. (2008) . Survival guide for scientists. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University

Press.
If there is no author, the title description can start with the title .
Mason , S. (1997). Procedural violations - causes, costs and cures. In: F. Redmill &
J. Rajan (eds). Human factors in safety-critical systems (pp. 287-318). Oxford etc. :
Butterworth-Heinemann. Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties (2004). London:
Science Policy Section of The Royal Society.
Sterk, W., Mehling, M. & Tuerk, A. (2009). Prospects of linking EU and US Emission
Trading Schemes. Wuppertal lnstitut fUr Klima, Umwelt, Energie. Retrieved 21 August
2009 from http:// www.wupperinst.org/publikationen/ entnd/index.html?beitrag_
id=1120&bid=6 If the publication is published by an organisation, you can use the name of
the organisation as author.
Tariq L., Gelder B.M . van, Zutphen M. van, & Feenstra T.L. (2009) . Smoking cessation
strategies targeting people with low socio-economic status. A first exploration of the
effectiveness of available interventions. Bilthoven : RIVM. The Royal Society, Science Policy Section (2004). Nanoscience and nanotechnologies:
opportunities and uncertainties. London.
Tidwell, L.C., & Walther, J.B. (2002). Computer-mediated communication effects on
disclosure, impressions, and interpersonal evaluations: Getting to know one another
a bit at a time. Human Communication Research, 28(3), 317-348.
Article in a journal
• surname, author's initials
• year of publication
15 What are the precise rules for the various types of sources? • title and subtitle of the article
The following are the prescriptions for the APA system. • name of the journal or its abbreviation (in italics)
• place: publisher or institution
Books and reports
• surname, author's initials (no academic titles) Thoenig, M. & Verdier, T. (2010). A macroeconomic perspective on knowledge
• year of publication ma nagement. journal of economic growth, 15, 33-63.
• title and subtitle (in italics)
 52 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
Chemists and physicists do not usually cite the title and they abbreviate
the name of the journal. For example:
Dai , C. Hu , J. & Tan , H. (2009) . J. Appl. Phys. 106, 043519 .
I A newspaper article often does not give an author. In such a case you can
quote the source as follows:
The Times (2011). Stagnation warning after rates are held . The Times , 8 July 2011.
Article in anthology
• surname, initials author, year
• title and subtitle of the article
• In: initials and surname of the editor of the anthology
• title and subtitle of the anthology (in italics), page numbers
• place: publisher
Andrienko, N. , & Andrienko, G. (2005) . A concept of an intelligent decision support for
cri sis management in the OASIS project. In: P. van Oosterom , S. Zlatanova & E. Fendel
(eds .) , Geo-information for disaster management (pp. 669-682). Berlin: Springer.
Patents
• surname, initials of the inventors and/or owners
• title of the patent (in italics)
• country where the patent was granted
• patent number
• dates
• report (if consulted instead of the patent itself)
Bazon , W. J. & Capano, P. J. (Western Electric Co., Inc.), Printing Ink, US 4,065,315,
27 Dec. 1977 , Appl. 706 ,655, 19 July 1976; Chem. Abstr. 1978, 88, 91180q .
Electronic sources
References to websites , software or other electronic information should be
treated in the same way as "normal" literature references. You can include
them in your normal bibliography. In the case of Internet sources, the date
you consulted the material is also of importance. After all, they may change
regularly.
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv DEALING WITH SOURCES OF INFORMATION 53
Traag , T., Heesch, M. van, Bosma, H. & Otten, F. (2010) . Hospital admissions affect
drop-out rate vwo pupils. http:// www.cbs.nljen-GB/ menu/ themas/ onderwijs/
publicaties/ artikelen/ archief/ 2010/ 2010-3002-wm .htm. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
It is important to quote the exact Internet page: it will not be sufficient to
write www.cbs.nl.
If there is no author you can either arrange according to title:
Education financing; Education expenditure and CBS/ OECD indicators. http //statline.
cbs.nl/StatWeb/ publication/ ?VW=T&DM=SLEN&PA=80393ENG&LA=EN Retrieved
2 July 2011.
or according to organisation:
CBS (2011). Education financing; Education expenditure and CBS/ OECD indicators.
http//statline.cbs.nl/ StatWeb/ publication/ ?VW=T&DM=SLEN&PA=80393ENG&LA=EN .
Retrieved 2 July 2011.
Do not forget to quote the version of software programmes. For example:
EndNote X3 for Windows (2009) . Thomson Reuters.
Interviews, emails and other personal communications
Information based on statements by authoritative persons should not be
included in the bibliography but only cited in the text:
(J. A. de Vries , personal communication, 10 December 2010).
16 How is my work scanned for plagiarism?
Many education institutes check the work of their students by means of a
plagiari sm scanner such as SafeAssign of TurnltlN. Lecturers also
som etimes use search machines like Google to check texts for use of
sources.
17 Is there such a thing as self-plagiarism?
Re-u sing your own texts or large parts of them (for example, those you
wrote for another discipline or another journal) is a form of fraud unless you
preface it by something like: "this text appeared previously in a different
form in ... ". You can also refer to the previous publication as a standard
source, paraphrasing from it briefly, with an acknowledgement.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv 55
54

5
Structuring
I

5.1 Three ways to read a report

5.2 Division into chapters and sections
5.3 Division into paragraphs

The structure of a text is essentia l to its usefulness. If your readers cannot find the
relevant information, your text wi ll quickly end up in a filing cabinet or a paper bin. Even if
they want to, most readers just do not have the time to study in detail everything that finds
its way on to their desk. You yourself can do a lot to save your texts from such a dismal
fate. Providing a clear division into chapters and sections will certain ly increase the
lifespan of your report.

This chapter starts with an outline of the ways a report can be read, then deals with the
division into chapters and sections. Finally, we treat the division into paragraphs. If you
follow the instructions in this chapter you will ensure that your text is accessible to readers
with diverging demands, such as decision-makers and specialists.
 56 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
Ot Three ways to read a report
One should be able to read a good report in three different ways. A clear
structure makes this possible.
1 Globally. Readers who want a quick idea of the main thrust of the report
should be able to find the essential information in the summary, the table
of contents, the introduction and in the conclusions and recommendations.
I
2 Selectively. Readers who are looking for specific information should be
able to find that quickly on the basis of the table of contents,
introductions to the chapters, headings in the text and topic sentences
at the start of paragraphs.
3 Intensively. Readers who want to read the whole text or parts of it
completely should not be put off by a poorly organized structure or bad
formulations, or by too many details or calculations. It is preferable to
put those in appendices.
Sometimes the table of contents will already show whether a report is
accessible both globally and selectively:
GLOBAL AND SELECTIVE READING IMPOSSIBLE
Summary is missing Table of contents
1 Introduction .... ....... ................ ... .. .. ... ...... ... ..... .. ......... ..... 3
Not informative 2 Result of employee questionnaire .... .... ........... .... .. ........ ... 5
3 Cause of sound pollution at BBS ...... .... .... ..... ... .... .. ......... 9
3 .1 Definition of noise pollution .. .. ... ... ..... ... ... .......... .. ..... 9
Not informative 3.2 Noise from outside ....... ... ....... ....... .... .. .............. ..... 10
3.3 Noise from inside ..... .................................. ............ 12
4 Possible solutions ...... ........ ...... ............. .... ........ ... ..... ... 15
4.1 Noise from outside .... .. ..... ... .... ... ...... .... .. .... ... ......... 15
4.2 Noise from inside ....................... .. .... ... .. .. ... ..... ... .... 17
5 Recommendations .. .... .... .. ..... ........... .. .... ............... ...... 19
No title and number Appendices ....... .... .. ......... ... .. ..... .... .... ........ ...... ...... ...... ... 23
SUITABLE FOR GLOBAL AND SELECTIVE READ ING
Contains summary Table of contents
Summary ................................................................ ........................ 2
1 Introduction....................................................................... .......... 3
Informative titles 2 Inventory of employee complaints ........................................... 5
3 Causes of noise pollution at BBS ..... ............ ........................... 8
3.1 Definition of noise pollution .............................................. 8
3.2 Noise from outside: traffic and installations .................. 9
3.3 Noise from inside: talking and appliances ................... 11
• 4 Possible solutions ................................................................ ... 14
4.1 Noise from outside: insulating facade and windows ... 14
4.2 Noise from inside: workrooms instead of open-plan
offices ................. ................ ........................................... .... 16
5 Recommendations ................................. .................................. 18
Appendix title & number Appendix 1: Results of employee questionnaire .............................. 20
Appendix 2 : Budget for facade and window insulation ........... . 24
Appendix 3: Budget to change open-plan office to workrooms ... 25
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv STRUCTURING 57
ft} Division into chapters and sections
5.2 .1 Make a table of contents at an early stage
Bulky reports are not popular. But nobody comp lains about the size of the
phonebook, simply because its logical layout makes it optimally accessible
to its users . While reports cannot be structured in the same way as the
phonebook, they can be just as accessible . The table of contents plays a
major role in this.
A table of contents that gives the division into chapters and sections
serves two purposes. Firstly, it makes the broad lines of the report clear.
Somebody who reads the report globally will study the table of contents
first to get an idea of what the report deals with. Secondly, the table of
contents plays a role in selective reading: looking for specific information .
Readers wil l decide in what chapter or what section they will continue their
quest on the basis of the table of contents.
If you make a detailed table of contents early in the writing process you will
force yourself to create a concrete picture of the report you are working on.
During the writing process , the table of contents will help you to keep track
of the broad outline.
RULES OF THUMB FOR AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Make use of existing instructions for organizing your report: this
wi ll save you time .
2 Do not use more than three division leve ls (1 .1.1); more leve ls
have the effect of making the text more obscure.
3 Provide clear and informative titles.
4 Make sure the titles show the connection between the sections.
These genera l rules will be dealt with further in the sections.
5. 2.2 Make use of existing instructions for organizing your
report
Companies and academic institutions sometimes have instructions for the
writing of various types of report. Before starting on a report you should
check whether there are instructions for the type of report that you have to
write. This could save you a lot of time .
In general, the best way is to order your report according to the instructions,
but there might be situations in which the prescribed division into chapters
will not work well. Take a situation in which your company requires you to
include a chapter on analysing the problems that gave rise to the report. If
there is an earlier report in which that has already been done, one
summarising paragraph in the introduction may be preferable to a whole
"Problem analysis" chapter. If you deviate from the existing guidelines it is
best to discuss this with the person who commissioned the report.
5.2 .3 Make use of adequate subdivisions
To make a report accessible it is important to have a title or other heading
that the reader can use for orientation at least every one or two pages. But
 58 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv STRUCTURING 59

giving every individual paragraph a heading will be counterproductive. The
text will become too busy and it will be more difficult to see the broad lines.
How can you bring about the right number of subdivisions?
1 Do not create more than three levels
A division into chapters and sections is necessary to make the text
accessible, but introducing too many levels (5.3.4 .1.2) will be
is useful if the table of contents serves as a miniature summary. For you as
a writer, the advantage is that you can be certain that the main message of
the report will escape nobody, even if readers only open it for the first time
during a meeting.
TITLE TOO VAGUE TITLE MORE INFORMATIVE

I
counterproductive . The reader will lose track of the whole. This is why you
should limit yourself to three levels in the table of contents (1.1.1). Within 2 Problems 2 Problems associated with the re-use
each section you can create a further subdivision by other means: for of milk bottles
instance, by using unnumbered headings or simply paragraphing the text . 3 Qua lity investigation 3 Body scans by customs are
below par
2 A subdivision should consist of at least two parts 5 Conclusion 5 Conclus ion: increasing the user-
Do not introduce a subdivis ion of one part to the table of contents. A friend liness of the GP information
subdivision implies a division into two or more parts. The same holds for system can save lives
subdivision into chapters and sections.
Make either more sections or do not divide at all. Introductions ,
conclusions and summaries shou ld never be part of a subsection. If they
are (and if there is only a single subsection of content), it can be viewed as 2 Indicate the connection between chapters and sections
a disguised single subdivision. Vague titles not on ly have the disadvantage that it is difficult to predict the
content of the section but they also obscure the connection between
chapters and sections . Compare the following examp les:
INCORRECT SUBDIVISION CORRECT SUBDIVISION

Division into one part No subdivisions CONNECTION UNCLEAR CONNECTION CLEAR

3 Tank clea ni ng 3 Tank cleaning according t o the
3 .1 The Verbeek method Verbeek method 2 Measures 2 Speed reduction measures for
4 Econom ic feasibil ity 4 Economic feasib ility Marconi Square
2.1 Material 2 .1 Replacing aspha lt by cobb le
Disguised division into one part Subdivision in more parts 2 .2 Ramps stones
3 Tank cleaning 3 Tank clea ning 2.2 Construction of speed ramps
3 .1 Int rod uction 3 .1 The Verbeek method
3.2 The Verbeek method 3.2 The Bristol method
3.3 Summary
In the first example , the reader has to really use his imagination to get an
impression of what the chapter is about. The titles say nothing about the
connection between the sections and the readers will be unable to
5.2.4 Give chapters and sections clear titles determine whether the chapter is relevant to them or not. The second
The table of contents wil l only give the reader a good idea of the content of example leaves far less to the imagination and there is less chance of
the report if the titles of the chapters and sections are sufficiently clear. wrong expectations about the text.
Take note of the following four instructions .
Avoid chapter titles that consist on ly of a repeat of the section titles. The
1 Make titles informative chapter title should indicate what binds the sections together, and
Only use informative titles in business texts . On occas ion you may have con sequently, why they fall within the same chapter.
used "Other matters " or "Genera l" as a section title. This seems a
convenient solution for the things that you cannot include elsewhere in the
report. But it is not. Such titles say nothing about the content and give the CONNECTION UNCLEAR CONNECTION CLEAR
reader nothing to go on. Vague titles like these only become useful if you
add informative elements : for example , "Other aspects of the trade in 4 Locks and bridges 4 Water work act ivities
stocks and bonds." 4.1 Locks 4.1 Renovati on of locks
4.2 Bridges 4 .2 Widening of bridges
You will aid readers with little time if you include the main conclusion of a
chapter in that chapter's title. In the case of advisory reports in particular, it
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv STRUCTURING 61
60

Finally, do not give a section the same title as that used for the whole
chapter. It could suggest that the information in the section is the same as
that in the whole chapter and might stop readers from looking at the other
sections as well.
4 Formulate titles uniformly
Give chapters that are similar in content similarly worded titles. Even
though dissimilar titles will not directly lead to lack of clarity, it is preferable
to replace them by consistent and similar titles. For example:

NON-UNIFORM TITLES UNIFORM TITLES

CONNECTION CLEAR
CONNECTION UNCLEAR

I 5 Computerizing administration
5 .1 Administration: computerization
5 .2 Systems management
5 Computerizing administration
5.1 Installing hardware and software
5.2 Systems management
5 Evaluation test Global Positioning
System (GPS)
5 .1 Positive aspects

5.2 What are the drawbacks of GPS?

3 Tit/es should be short and to the point
The main thing is that readers are able to obtain sufficient information from
the titles: the comprehensibility of titles is more important than their
length. It is an art to find titles that are at the same time informative and to
the point.
0)
Complicated sentences are not suitable as titles:
5.3 A description of the objections to the planned construction of the A4 Mid-
Delfland lodged by pressure groups including the environment movement and
citizens
Ideally, a title should not take up more than one line. The previous title can
easily be made shorter by only mentioning the essential points:
5. 3 Protests by pressure groups against the A4 Mid-Delfland
5 Evaluation test Global Positioning
System (GPS)
5 .1 Advantages of GPS: field workers
satisfied
5.2 Disadvantages of GPS: sensitive
to interference
5.3 Consideration leads to advice to 5.3 Conclusion: install GPS
implement GPS
Division into paragraphs
Some writers automatically press the enter key at the end of each
sentence. A text that originates in this way is like an IKEA chest to self-
assemble: all the parts are there but they have to be put together in the
right way. Unlike IKEA customers, the readers of the report have not asked
for a semi-finished article but a problem-free and ready-to-use text.
Other writers suffer from an unwarranted fear of the enter key. Pages
without lines of white are not conducive to further reading, however. You
could compare it to a cupboard with locked doors: you cannot see at a
glance what is in it. A locked cupboard may arouse curiosity about its
contents but a business text without a division in paragraphs seldom has
that effect on readers.
Making a good division into paragraphs that show at a glance what subjects
are treated is essential to an effective text.

If you want to shorten it even more, a title in telegram style is also

possible:
RULES OF THUMB FOR A GOOD DIVISION INTO PARAGRAPHS
1 Make a list of questions for each section and use th is as a basis
for the division into paragraphs .
5.3 Pressure groups protest against A4 Mid-Delfland
2 Do not deal with more than one subject per paragraph .
3 Start each paragraph with an announc ing or stating topic sentence .
4 Group your paragraphs if they are connected .
Stylistically, the last version may be less elegant, but it has hardly lost any
of its clarity. However, things can be carried too far:

These general rules will be dealt with in the following subsections.

5 .3 Protests pressure groups A4 Mid-Delfland
5.3.1 Make a list of questions for each section
You can derive your division into paragraphs from a list of questions that
you have drawn up before writing each section. The provisional table of
This title can be read in a number of ways: it might refer to protests against
contents in the work schedule is a good point to start from. Put not only
the pressure groups themselves.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
62
the questions but also the answers (in catchword form) into your list of
questions . This will make the transition from a question list to written out
paragraphs a lot easier.
We will illustrate this with an example that will come up again in the next
sections. Assume you have to write a report on noise pollution in the office
where you work. You write a section about the noise coming into the office
I
from outside, such as traffic noise. The list of questions looks like this:
1 What external sources of noise can cause noise pollution in office buildings?
• traffic noise: cars, railways, planes
• industrial noise
2 What regulations are there regarding the amount of external noise that is
permitted in an office?
• Law on Sound Pollution
• Building regulations
[... ]
5.3.2 Do not treat more than one subject per paragraph
If you use the question list as a basis you can be sure that you will not be
dealing with more than one question (and therefore not more than one
subject) per paragraph. For example:
CONN ECTION QUESTION LIST - PARAGRAPH
Question
1 What external sources of noise can cause noise pollution in office buildings?
• traffic noise: cars, railways, planes
• industrial noise
Paragraph
The two main sources of external noise that cause noise pollution in offices are
traffic noise and industrial noise. Traffic noise can be caused by road, rail or air
traffic . Industrial noise is not only caused by industrial installations but also by road
works or building projects.
Some questions may elicit such an elaborate answer that one paragraph is
not sufficient. If a paragraph threatens to become too long (more than a
third of a page, say) you should check whether more than one aspect of a
subject has been discussed. If this is the case, you should divide the
bigger paragraph into a number of smaller ones that each deal with an
aspect of the topic. You can make clear that they are connected in terms of
content by placing them in a paragraph group.
The length of a paragraph is also dependent on the layout of the text.
Paragraphs in a text in columns should be shorter than when the text
covers the whole width of the page.
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv STRUCTURING 63
PARAGRAPHS THAT /\RE TOO LONG: MORE THAN ONE SUBJECT
At what stages of the product cycle is Design for recycling needed?
Environmental protection starts at the design table: attention to the way a product is
manufactured is at least as important as making the product suitable for recycling.
What can be achieved in the production phase? The production process should be
such that there is little waste (scrap) remaining, or, if this is not possible, that the
waste can be re-used. The recycling phase should start at the end of the product's
life cycle. This is only possible if it is clear what materials have been used in the
various parts: this should be marked on those parts . Finally, there is the waste
phase. At the moment it is only possible to recover raw materials from bulk waste to
a limited extent. There is some doubt about whether it is feasible to develop
processes to recover all kinds of materials from waste. Design for recycling is, as yet,
hardly ever applied in industry. The German manufacturer BMW...
PARAGRAPHS THAT ARE TOO SHORT: EACH SENTENCE IS A SEPARATE PARAGRAPH
At what stages of the product cycle is Design for recycling needed?
Environmental protection starts at the design table: attention to the way a product is
manufactured is at least as important as making the product suitable for recycling.
What can be achieved in the production phase?
The production process should be such that there is little waste (scrap) remaining, or,
if this is not possible, that the waste can be re-used.
At the end of the life cycle of the product the recycling phase can start.
That is only possible if it is clear what materials have been used in the various parts;
t his should be marked on those parts.
Finally there is the waste phase.
At the moment it is only possible to recover raw materials from bulk waste to a
li mited extent.
There is some doubt about whether it is feasible to develop processes to recover all
kin ds of materials from waste.
Des ign for recycling is, as yet, hardly ever applied in industry. The German
ma nufacturer BMW.. .
GOOD DIVISION OF PARAGRAPHS: PARAGRAPH GROUPING
At what stages of the product cycle is Design for recycling needed?
The design phase: environmental protection starts at the design table. Attention to
th e way a product is manufactured is at least as important as making the product
suitab le for recycling.
The production phase: what can be achieved in this phase? The production
process should be such that there is little waste (scrap) remaining, or, if this is not
possible, that the waste can be re-used.
The recycling phase: occurs at the end of the life cycle of the product. This is only
poss ible if it is clear what materials have been used in the various parts. This should
be marked on those parts.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noo rdh off U itg eve rs bv
64 STRUCTUR ING 65

The waste phase : the fin al phase. At the moment, it is only possible to recover raw POSTULATIN G TOPI C SE NTENC E

mate ri als from bulk waste to a limited extent. There is some doubt about whether it
is feas ible to develop processes to recover all kinds of materials from v1aste.
Des ign for recycling is , as yet, hardly ever appli ed in industry. The German
manufacturer BMW.. .
Topic sentence first
Rooms th at reverberate a lot have so-called "hard acoustics."
In rooms like these, the reverberation time is a too long
because of insufficient noise absorption . Sparsely furnished
rooms with hard floor, wall and ceiling coverings (plaster,
tiles, stone , brick, hard floor surfaces) create particularly
hard acoustics.

I 5.3 .3 Start each paragraph with a topic sentence

Readers who wa nt to know quickly what a section deals with read the f irst
sentences of each paragraph. Writers should therefore make sure that the
main information of a paragraph is contained or ind icated in the f irst
The question list can form a good basis for producing topic sentences:

sentence. Such an informative first sentence is ca lled a top ic sentence.

In the next examp le, the topic sentence is in the midd le of the paragraph , REL ATIONSHIP QU ESTION LIST - TOPIC SENTENC ES
making both global and se lective reading difficult.
Questions list
1 What external sources of noise can cause noise pollution?
TOPIC SENTENCE HIDDEN • traffic nois e: cars, railways, planes
• industrial noise
Ca use 1 - topic sentence (effect) - cause 2 - cause 3 2 What regulations are there rega rding th e amount of external noise that is
permitted in an office?
A ri sk analyst has to base his findings on experiences from the past that might prove • Law on Sound Pollution
unreliable in future situations . As such, exact estimates are impossible to make , all the • Building regulations
more because the technique is still so untested in many situations (in the case of
nuclear reactors, for instance) that risk estimates in general can be regarded as Postulating topic sentences
tentative . In order to keep his study manageable, the risk analyst also has to 1 Traffic and industrial noise can be external causes of noise polluti on in offices .
di sregard many contingencies that might lead to accidents . However, he can never be 2 Regul ations regarding the amount of external noi se that is permitted in side an
sure that his judgement in this regard is correct. office are laid down in the Law on Noise Pollution and in building regulations.

Anticipa tory topic sentences

1 There are two types of noise generators that can cause noise pollution in offices.
We can identify two types of topic sentences. Firstly, the anticipatory topic 2 The fo llowing regulation s deal with the amount of ext ernal noise that is permitted
sentence that indicates what the paragraph will deal with: in an office .

ANTICIPATORY TOPIC SENTENCE

You can also ind icate the connection of a topic sentence with previous
Topic sentence first There are three reasons why a risk analyst cannot make paragraphs by using signalling formulations . A few of these are listed in the
accurate estimates. Firstly, he has to base his findings on next table.
experiences from the past that might prove unreliable in
future situations . As well as this , the technique is still so
untested in many situations (in the case of nuclear TABLE s.1 Signalling formul ations indicating a conn ection between paragraph s
reactors, for instance) that risk estimates in general can be Connection Signalling formulation Example topic sentence
regarded as tentative. Finally, in order to keep his study
manageable, the risk analyst also has to disregard many enumerative firstly, secondly, lastly; first, then, The second step in the production process is
contingencies that might lead to accidents. However, he can subsequently pouring the moulds.
never be sure that his judgement in this regard is correct. contrary on the one hand , on the other hand ; as Despite these problems, we have succeeded
opposed to; nevertheless in developing a good simulation programme.
elucidating because, for, as a consequence, since; this Consequently flotation techniques are
explains/ means; as such unsuitable for this location .
The second type is the postulating topic sentence that contains the main
information of the paragraph , with the rest of the paragraph consisting of explanatory for example, for instance, such as, by way of The next example illustrates this well.
an explanation or support for the statement: explanation , characteristic of
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
66
5.3.4 The paragraph group
Automatically inserting a line of white after each paragraph may mean that
you are overlooking an important way of structuring: the raragraph group.
This is a group of paragraphs that are closely related in terms of content
and are separated by a new line, with or without indentation. Lines of white
are used to separate paragraph groups.
Please note: English writers hardly ever use this approach ; normally they
only use indented paragraphs.
I
If you have made a question list for the writing of a chapter and you need more
than one paragraph to answer a question, then the obvious solution is to
create a paragraph group. A paragraph group starts with a question that covers
the whole of the paragraph group. You could also use a heading for this .
Say you are writing a report on recycling techniques and are working on a
chapter about design for recycling (DFR). One of the questions on your
question list is:
Which stages in the cycle of a product requires DFR?
• production stage: as little waste/ scrap as possible
• product stage: recycling only possible if the compounds/ materials used in the
product are clearly recognizable
• waste stage: is separation from the waste products (as opposed to separate
collection) still possible and feasible?
Possible ways of dealing with these points:
• The shortest way is answering the question in one single paragraph. The
assumption here is that your readers know what is entailed by the
different stages that you describe , maybe because they have been
described in an earlier report.
• If you expect the readers to want more information about what happens
at each stage, you could also deal with each question in separate
paragraphs. This would mean four paragraphs: one in which you raise
the question (in other words a paragraph that is at the core of the
paragraphs) and one for each of the three stages.
• You could also choose to group your paragraphs. Jn this case, each stage
will be dealt with in a separate paragraph group: in the first paragraph
you could explain what the stage involves and in the next one the place
of DFR at that stage. Jn this variant it is advisable to use an unnumbered
heading to make sure the readers do not Jose sight of the broad outline.
A division into paragraph groups makes it easier for the readers to read
globally or selectively, more so than if only lines of white are used. Because
the writer has already grouped the information the reader will get a picture
of the broad outline more quickly and be able to find information more
quickly too since large sections of text can be skipped.
We will illustrate this using two longer examples, one in which there is a
line of white after each paragraph and one in which the paragraphs that
belong together are grouped .
Read the topic sentences in the next example only. Look for those
paragraphs that deal with ways of combating noise pollution.
© Noo rdhoff Uitg evers bv
STRUCTURING 67
TEXT WITHOUT PARAGRAPH GROUPING
:rwo sources of external noise can cause no· .
Two sources of external noise can cause noise
inside an office building: traffic noise and . d1se pollut1on
pollution inside an office building: traffic noise and
· I · in ustnal
noise. tis not possible to generalize about wh· h
produces the most pollution because this will ~c sodurce
industria l noise. It is not possible to generalize
abou t which source pmduces the most pollution
the individual situation of the office building Th~pen on
because this will depend on the Individual situation
of th e office building. This will become clear if we
lookatthetwosourcesofnolscmoreclosely
beco I 'f . IS Will
Firstly, road traffic can cause traffic noise. An office
me c ear I we look at the two sources of .
closely. noise more
building that is situated beside a freeway will
expericncea lotofinconvenience,aswillofficesthat
areclosctoshoppingmalls,especiallyfromtrucks
delivering supplies to the shops. Secondly, 8 railway
linecancausenoisepollution,although this is Fir~tl~, road traffic can cause traffic noise. An office
regardedasbeinglessofaninconveniencethan
road traffic noise. Finally, aeroplane noise: for building that is situated beside a freeway w1·11 ex .
offices that are located near flight paths of a Jt f ' . penence
aeroplanes this is often the worst type of noise o o. inconvenience , as will offices that are close to
pollution.
shop~ing malls, especially from trucks delivering
su~piles to the shops. Secondly, a ra ilway line can cause
lndust1ial noise is not just noise created by
lndustria!installations:itlncludesnoisecausedby
building activities or road 1•1orks. These are. however,
only temporary. whereas industrial installations
noise .pollut1on, although this is regarded as being less
providepe1manentlnconvenlence.
of an inconve.nience than road traffic noise. Finally
Whatmeasurescanbetakentoreducetheamount
of noise that penetrates Into the office? we shall
aeroplane noise: for offices that are located near flight
dealwithwallinsulation,glassinsulationandthe
Insulation of movable parts such as doors and
paths of aeroplanes this is often the worst type of .
windows, in that order.
pollution. noise
Wallscanbelnsulatedbyfill!ngthehollowwallwith
Insulation mate1ial.Anotherway!s to attach nois~
reducing materials to the Inside wall. The most Industrial noi~e. is not just noise created by industrial
su!lable materia!sforthisare listed in Appendix 2.
Glass constllutes a weak point in the facade.
1ns~a.11at1ons: it includes noise caused by building
Double glass does not always provide better noise act1v1t1es or road wo:ks . These are, however, only
lnsulatlonthansingleglass.Thishastodowiththe
frequency of the pane: double glass sometimes temporary, ~thereas industrial installations provide
conveys the vibrations from outside more strongly
than single glass. For sound insulation, the permanent inconvenience.
thickness of the Individual panes of glass is
lmpo1tant. Only use glass that is more than Bmm
thlckorusespec!alsoundproofingglass.
What measures can be taken to reduce the amount of
no1s~ that ~enetrates into the office? We shall deal with
wall insulation, glass insulation and the insulation of
movable parts such as doors and windows, in that order.
Walls c.an be insulated by filling the hollow wall with
insul~t1on material. Another way is to attach noise-
reduc1.ng materi.als to the inside wall. The most suitable
materials for this are listed in Appendix 2.
Glass constitutes a weak point in the facade. Double
glass does not always provide better noise insulation
than single glass. This has to do with the frequency of
t~e p~ne: double glass sometimes conveys the
v1brat1ons '.rom outside more strongly than single glass.
For sound insulation, the thickness of the individual
panes of glass is important. Only use glass that is more
than 8mm thick or use special soundproofing glass.
In the above exam I
the right one If p p e you have to peruse every paragraph before you find
. . aragraphs are grouped th ' .
eas1er and the te t . . • ings immediately beoome a lot
the topic sentenc: I ~ 1ess time-consuming to read. You only have to read
What you are lookin; f~~:ragraph groups (always after a line of white) to find

68
o ~sign for rccrdi nJ!
Twosourcesofextema\noisecausenoiscpollut!on
insideanofficebtJilding:trafficnoiseandindustiial
noise. lt !snotpossib\etogeneralizeaboutwhlch
sourceproducesthemostpollutionbecausethiswill
dependontheindlvidual situation of the office
bullding. This will become clear if we look at the two
sourcesofnoisemoreclosely.
Firstly, road traffic can cause traffic noise. An
I
officebuildingthatlssituatedbesidealreewaywill
experience a lot of inconvenience, as will offices that
areclosetoshoppingmalls,especiallyfrorntrucks
delivelingsuppliestotheshops.
Secondly,arai\waylinecancausenoisepollution,
although this is regarded as being less of an
inconveniencetllanroadtrafficnoise .
. Finally, aeroplane noise: for offices that are located
near flight paths of aeroplanes this is often the
worsttypeofnoisepallution .
lndustrlalnoiseisnotnolsecreatedbyindustrial
installations:itlncludesnoisecausedbybuilding
actM ties or road wmks. These are, however, only
temporary, whereas indusuial installations provide
permanent Inconvenience.
Whatmeasurescanbetakentoreducetheamount
of noise that penetrates Into the office? We shall
deal with wall Insulation, glass Insulation and the
insulation of movable parts such as doors and
windows, in that order.
walls canbeinsulatedbyfilllngthehollowwal\
with insulation material. Another way l s to attach
Mise-reducingmatcrialsto theinsldewall.Themost
suitable material s fo r this arelistedlnAppendix2.
Glass consti tutes a weak point in the facade.
Double glass does not always provide better noise
insulation than single glass. This hastodowiththe
freQuency of the pane: double glass sometimes
conveys the vibrations from outside more strongly
than single glass. For sound insulation,
thickness of the individual panes of glass is
Important. Only use glass that is more than 8mm
thlckorusespecialsoundproofingglass.
5 •3 · 5 Enumerate your points
Enumeration is a very useful and orderly way of presenting in orm
creates a break in the text which instantly attracts the reader's attention.
But you will only achieve this if the enumerations are not too extensive.
When should you use enumeration for your points?
• When the information is important for the reader (for example , . n
to elucidate steps within a process, or to list the main conclusions ·
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
TEXT WITH PARAGRAPH GROUPS
Two sources of external noise cause noise pollution
inside an office building: traffic noise and industrial
noise. It is not possible to generalize about which source
produces the most pollution because t~i~ will depe~d on
the individual situation of the office bu1ld1ng. This will
become clear if we look at the two sources of noise more
closely. . than about six elements . The reader will be unable to remember the steps
Firstly, road traffic can cause traffic noise. An office
building that is situated beside a freeway will experience
a lot of inconvenience, as will offices that are close to
shopping malls , especially from trucks delivering
supplies to the shops.
Secondly, a railway line can cause noise pollution ,
although this is regarded as being less of an
inconvenience than road traffic noise.
Finally, aeroplane noise: for offices that are located near
flight paths of aeroplanes this is often the worst type of
noise pollution. . .
Industrial noise is not only noise created by industrial
installations: it includes noise caused by building
activities or road works . These are, however, only
temporary, whereas industrial installations provide
the permanent inconvenience.
What measures can be taken to reduce the amount of
noise that penetrates into the office? We shall deal with
wall insulation, glass insulation and the insulation of
movable parts such as doors and windows, in that o~der.
Walls can be insulated by filling the hollow wall with
insulation material . Another way is to attach noise-
reducing materials to the inside wall. The most suitable
materials for this are listed in Appendix 2.
Glass constitutes a weak point in the facade. Double
glass does not always provide better noise insulation
than single glass. This has to do with the frequency of
the pane: double glass sometimes conveys the
vibrations from outside more strongly than single glass.
For sound insulation, the thickness of the individual
panes of glass is important. Only use glass that is more
than 8mm thick or use special soundproofing glass.
· · f
. It
at1on
.·
.
1
der
°;
© Noordhotf Uitg evers bv
STRUCTURING 69
• To make the text more accessible (for examp le, by announcing the
contents of a section, or to sum up elements that will be dealt with in
greater detail).
For well-organized enumerations , observe the following:
1 Limit th e number of items in an enumeration
It is difficult to get an overview of an enumeration that consists of more
of the procedure described below:
ENU MERATION WITH TOO MANY ELEMENTS
Standard procedure for indicative environmental research.
• Determi ne the date for carrying out the field work and the number of days needed
for the field work.
• Collect fu rther information about the terrain to be investigated if there is
insuffi cient knowledge of that terrain .
• Determine where the drillings and the gauge tubes have to be located, when the
groun.d water samples have to be taken and where the collected samples are to be
exami ned.
• Fill in an "order environment fieldwork" form, make a site drawing and copy a map
of the area for the field squad so that they know what has to be done and wh
• Have the fie ld squad ex?lore the terrain to see whether problems are likely to ere.
?ccur during the execution of the task. If necessary, make adjustments to the task
1n con sultation.
• Perform t he fieldwork:_ do the drillings, note down observations about the samples
taken, place t he gauging tubes, fit in the drilling locations and pump the gauging
tubes dry.
• Take grou ndwater sa mples (usually a week later), measuring the pH, electrical
conduct1v1ty and temperature at the same time. The samples should be sent to
the laboratory for analysis.
• The drawing office draws soil profiles on the basis of observations.
Draw a conclu.sion about the type and extent of pollution (if any) and provide
recommendation s about whether to treat the pollution and/ or remove its source.
2 Grouped parts within an enumeration
:f the enumeration threatens to become too long it is worthwhile trying to
ook for the related parts of the enumeration . This will give the readers
more of an ove.rview of the enumeration and hence they wi ll be able to
remember the information better.
 70
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
~~---------------
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
...-
STRU CTURING 71

W ELL-ORGAN IZED ENUM ER ATION: PARTS GROUPED

NOT UNIFOR MLY FORMULATED

Standard procedure for indicative environmental research.

1 Preparing the field work The General Intelligence and Security S . (Al
task s of: erv1ce VD) has been assigned the new
- Determine the date for carrying out the field work and the number of days
needed for the field work. • gathe ring information about foreign countries Th. t
- Collect further information about the terrain to be investigated if there is of t he coming into operation of the L I . is ask has been added because
It also has a role in the new system ~~Son ntl~lligence and Security Services.
insufficient knowledge of that terrain.

I
- Determine where the drillings and the gauge tubes have to be located, when the Netherlands. This deals with prate t' urve1 ance .and Protection in the
c mg people and institutions in the Netherla nd s.
ground water samples have to be taken and where the collected samples are to
be examined.
Fill in an " order environment fieldwork" form, make a site drawing and copy a
map of the area for the field squad so that they know what has to be done and PARTS UN IFORMLY FORMULATED

where.
The Genera l Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) h .
tasks : as been assigned two new
2 Execution of the field work
- Have the field squad explore the terrain to see whether problems are likely to • Gathering information about foreign countries Th '
occur during the execution of the task. If necessary, make adjustments to the of the coming into operation of the Law o I ~ 11'1s task has been.added because
Protecting people and institutions in th Nn hn e igence and Security Services.
this t ask under the new system of Sue · 1~t er/ands. The AIVD has been assigned
task in consultation.
Perform the fieldwork: do the drillings, note down observations about the rve1 ance and Protection in the Netherlands.
samples taken, place the gauging tubes, fit in the drilling locations and pump
the gauging tubes dry.
Take groundwater samples (usually a week later), measuring the pH, electrical
conductivity and temperature at the same time . The samples should be sent to
the laboratory for analysis.

3 Analysis of the observations

- The drawing office draws soil profiles on the basis of observations.
- Draw a conclusion about the type and extent of pollution (if any) and provide
recommendations about whether to treat the pollution and/or remove its
source.

3 Formulate the parts of an enumeration uniformly

To maintain an overview of an enumeration, the points should be
formulated and presented uniformly. Be consistent: for instance, your
points should either all be complete sentences or all incomplete ones; all
your sentences should follow the same sentence structure.

NOT UNIFORM UNIFORM

Relevant topographic details of Bangkok Relevant topographic details of Bangko

and surroundings: and surroundings:
• There is little difference in elevation in • little difference in elevation
the area. • clayey soil
• Clayey soil.

If there is a part-sentence that introduces the enumeration, al l of the

enumerated parts should be formulated so as to connect grammaticallY
with the sentence.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
72 73

6
Requirements for
I each part of the
report

' 6.1
6.2
Cover and title page
Preface
6.3 Table of contents
6.4 Summary
6.5 Introduction
6.6 The chapters between introduction and conclusion
6. 7 Conclusions
6.8 Recommendations
6.9 Bibliography
6.10 Appendices
6.11 Notes
6.12 List of symbols
6.13 Glossa ry
6.14 Index

Your readers will have expectations about your report. They will probably have expectations
about the content (perhaps because they were involved in the research) though they will
certainly have expectations about the form. They will expect to find an introduction , a
summary and recommendations, and they will also have ideas about what should be dealt
With in those parts of the report. This is because what the various parts of a report should
contain is govern ed by conventions. If you are familiar with these conventions you can save
Yourself a lot of t ime, both in writing and reading.
Each report should at least contain the following parts:
• title page •
' table of contents
• summary
' introduction
' chapters of conte nt
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
REQU IREMENTS FOR EACH PART OF THE REPORT 75
74

NOT INFORMATIVE ENOUGH

However, you wi ll often have to include more than this. Most reports require SUFFICIENTLY INFORMATIVE
conclusions and recommendations. If you have taken data from the
literature there should be a bibliography, and a report without appendices is Tone perception The influence of tone distortion on tone
an exception rather than the ru le. perception

As a general rule, every report cons ists of three parts . The numbered
chapters (from the introduction up to and including the conclusions and
2 Consider using a subtitle
recommendations) form the core.

I Those parts that precede the core constitute the preliminary pages. Those An informative subtitle can be used to delineate the subject of the report
even further.
that fo llow the core are called the concluding pages.

An extensive report can consist of the fo llowing parts, usual ly in this order.
TITLE WITH AN INFORMATIVE SUBTITLE
This chapter will deal with them extensively:

Wate rtight division and leakage stability in cargo ships. An evaluation of three new
Concluding pages calcu lation methods
Preliminary pages Core

• cover • introduction • notes

,,
• title page • chapters • bibliography
3 Do not make a title too long
• preface • conclusions • appendices Avoid preliminaries such as "A study of ... ", "An investigation into ... ", or
• recommendations • glossary "Some cons iderations re lating to ... " A long title can often be simplified by
• table of contents
using a subtitle.
• summary • index
4 Avoid titles of the 'A and B" type
• list of symbols
Try to avoid titles like "The environment and the car industry." These titles
combine two wide fields without indicating the connection between the two.
They cover a wide range of possible connections, only some of which may
be dea lt with in the report.
Dl Cover and title page
Does your report have to be read more than once? Do you want it to look
professiona l? If this is the case, have a cover that is made of thicker paper TITLE TOO VAGUE (':4 AND B") CONCRETE TITLE
than the rest of the report. The information on the cover does not have to
be as detailed as that on the title page: the title of the report and the name Computers and education The use of computers in mathematics and
of the author/authors are sufficient. science classes in junior high schools

The title page is the first page of the report and forms the basis for a title
description. People who want to refer to your report shou ld be able to find
5 Avoid "literary" titles without a factual subtitle
all the relevant information on this page:
• title + subtitle (if any)
~~~e writers like to stimu late the ir readers' imaginations with titles like
•
•
initials + name of the author/authors
place and year
0~v~.ng for the future and the future of living," "Shifting pane ls" and "New
· What they usually on ly manage to create is confusion. For factua l
institution or company (for example, Netherlands Agency for Energy and reports it is better to choose an informative title so that the reader
unde~stands immed iately what the report is about. If you are set on using
the Environment).
your literary t itle anyway, it is advisable to add an informative subtitle.
It is a common fal lacy that the title of a report must be witty or contain a
play on words. Such titles are often only understood after reading a large
PLITERARY" TITLES WITH A FACTUAL SUBTITLE
part of the report. Here are five hints for clear report titles.

New old. Re-use of car materials

1 Use the title to delineate the subject
Ask yourself whether a reader can get a good impression of the contents of Investing in integration . Innovations in minority policy
the report from the title.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH PART OF THE REPORT
76 77

• Ensure that your layout clearly shows the d'ff

~ Preface pages, core and concluding pages . The st ' erenc~ b.etween preliminary
also be evident: make sections and b ructure within a.chapter should
The preface is the place for information that is not strictly part of the
indenting them. A line of wh ite b f su sections clearly v1s1ble by
subject of the report. The following subjects may be treated: makes it easier to get an overvie:~re and after each chapter often
• information about what prompted the report (the framework within which
it was written: e.g., assignment, project, thesis, series) and who the
sponsors of the project are
• an indication of the public for whom the report is intended (those for TABLE OF CONTENTS OF A DRAFT REPORT

I whom you can assume pre-knowledge)

• an indication of the way in which the report may be used (e.g., a reading
guide)
• words of gratitude to people who have contributed to the report in some
way (e.g., the people interviewed)
Preliminary pages:
not num bered
Core:
numbered
~~~:~~~~i~:~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: : :::::: :::::::::::::::::.'.~
2 c.apacity probl~~~-~·t·F;;~~;;;h~~r-st~t;~·~··························· 1
• in conclusion: place , date and name of the author/authors; this is
especially usual in the case of personal prefaces 3 Aims and restrictions on th d · ·· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 2
3.1 Design aims e es1gn for Presikhaaf Station 5
3.2 Design restri~~-i~~~- · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 5
Hierarchy clear 3.2.1 Terms and c;~·diti~~-~····· · ······ ·········· ··· ······· ······· 7
PR EFACE thro ugh indenting 3.2.2 Other considerations ········ ········· ··· ···· ········ ······ 7
4 List of requirements ····· ·· ········· ·· ·· ···· ·· ··· ····· ·· ··· 9
This report is the third progress report of the Information
Framework
Technology and Communications study group, consisting of 5 Four alternatives for p~~~-ikh~-~f·S~~~-i~· · ····· · ············ · ······· 12
delegates from the departments of Economic Affairs and
5 .1 Alternative 1: renovate the statio n .... ...... ... ... .......... 15
. n · ·. · · · · · · · ····· · ··· ·· ····· ·· 15
5 ·2 Alte rna t 1ve 2 · a stat'
5.3 Alternative 3: a stat;~n n~ar the university······ ········· 18
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
Readers who are especially interested in the application of
Reading guide railwa line . n a ong Arnhem-Germany
information technology in the services sector can find this in y ········
5 .4 Alternative 4: bus······
tra~·~· · ··· ·· ···· ········· ·· ·· ··· ··· ·· ··· ····· ... 20
Section 3. Subsidy regulations are discussed throughout the port . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
report; a short overview is given in Appendix D. 6 Ass essment of the alternat' ···· ··· ··· ····· ··· ·· ···
6 .1 Criteria ives ··· ······ ···· ······· ················· 25
The study group is very grateful for the valuable advice given by
Thanks
Dr J. Van de Gern of KPN. ·
6. 2 Assess;;;~-~~- b~· -~~~~~ ~f ·th~ -~~~;~-~~~d ·;;,·~~-h 25 ···········
6.3 Conclusion: renovate the station od ....... 27
7 Conclusions and recommendations ·· ······· ··· ...... ······· ··· . 30
Concluding page: ···· ······· ·· ·· ················ 32
not numbered Notes .............. ........... .
Bibliography ·· ··· ··· ·· ··· ···· ··· ··· ··· ·· ···· ·· · ··· ····· ··· ..... 33
~ Table of contents Appendices: title ~Pppendd~x 21: M~·~· -~f· P~~~i-kh~·~·f ·S·t~~-i~~::: ..... ...... ... ........ ..... 3375
The table of contents should, of course, provide a starting point for finding and number pen IX : Map of Arnhem ·· ··· · ··· ·· ·· ·· ·· ····· ·· · ··
information. Page references are indispensible here. A good table of Appendix 3: Evaluation of th~--~~~d··· · ~~~······· · ·· · ······· · ·· · ······ 38
y g p ··· ··· ·········· ······· ·· 39
contents , however, should also give the reader an insight into the broad
thrust of the report. You can only achieve this if the report is set out
logically and all parts have informative titles.

Keep the following guidelines in mind when making a table of contents:

Every report longer than five
Do not number the preliminary and concluding pages (preface, summary,
rea~e~s will only get as far a:~::~hould have a summary. A number of
bibliography, etc.). their first point of or1·ent t. . mmary. For others, the summary is
Do not list "title page" or "tab le of contents." o ti" a ion: if the read h .
u ine they will be better able to . ers .ave an idea of the broad
Only list chapters, sections and subsections, but not the unnumbered them. A summary shou ld b Judge what information is relevant to
headings. e readable, short and hit the mark
Give the appendices informative titles. If there are more than one they
1 A summary should b .
should be numbered as well (example: "Append ix 1: Map of Presikhaaf Summaries e readable on its own
are often read ·
station"). ~PPointment. If a copy has'~ spare moments: in the train or waiting for an
Check whether the titles in the table of contents are identical to the
titles in the text (this can be done automatically if you generate the tablB
r~:;:~l:hole report. Make s~~~. ~h:~:fo~:y~he ~nly this will be ta.ken along,
apart from th e report D ' a your summary w1 I be
of contents via your word processor). . o not use terms in your summary that
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhott Uitgevers bv
REQU IREMENTS FOR EACH PART OF THE REPORT
79

FIGURE s.1 The relat ionshi p between the numbered cha pters and t he su mma ry
readers can on ly understand after reading about them in the report. Do not
refer to other parts of the report or to ill ustrations that requ ire the readers Core of the report Summary
to leaf through the report. The subject and the prob lem shou ld also be
clear right from the start. This is not the case in the first of the following
·Background
summaries. I Introduction
I •Significance of the
main question
•Main question
PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY CLEAR

I
PROBLEM NOT CLEAR

The lock complex in the Vliet in Other chapters

Briefly, this report has three aspects: '--- "'"--

I
Arguments
• the technical, economical and social
Leidschendam is too small to deal with
the traffic on land and on water.
--1
aspect
Extension of the capacity of the lock from
• phasing of the design
• associated work
The phasing is described first and
400 to 1000 tonnes seems desirable.
This report describes a plan for a new
Conclusions and
recommendations }...-- Conclusions and
recommendations

subsequently some ... lock ...

MA NAGEMENT SUMMARY SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY

2 The summary should be short

In connection with the increase in the In connection with attempts to expand
Keep the summary short: explanations should be given in the report itse lf.
production of green energy, Tempest BV the share of wind energy in the electricity
A report of fifty pages should have a summary of one page rather than one
wants to build a windmill park. A previous su~ply, an investigation was done into
of four pages . study suggested three possible
A summary is a precis of the numbered chapters in the report. It is not SUltable locations for a windmill park.
locati ons: the Haagpark, just offshore ?n th~ ba.sis of a preliminary study, the
necessary to summarise all chapters in the same way: a summary does
near The Hague, the Waddenpark along 1nves.t1gat1on was limited to the following
not need to be a balanced representation of the contents . The introduction
the Afsluitdijk and the Delfpark between locations: the Haagpark Uust offshore
and the conclus ions provide the most important information.
Delft and Rotterdam. A decision should near The Hague), the Wadden park (along
Some background information in which the subject is introduced and the
be made qu ickly because otherwise the Afsluitdijk) and the Delfpark (between
prob lem is set out should be given in the summary. The readers will not
Tempest's pursuit of an attractive market Delft and Rotterdam).
otherwise be able to put the main question into perspective. And, of
share will be at risk.
course, a summary shou ld refer t o the conclusions and the
The .interests and desires of all interested
recommendations. Ou.r advice is to choose the Haagpark. parties \government, consumers, electricity
This req uires 12 windmills with a companies, neighbours, environmental
The parts that need to be included in the summary and the relationship
capacity of 3MW each. Limited safety organi~ations) have been analysed via an
between the main text and the summary are set out in Fig 6.1.
precaution s for ae rial traffic are required. ob1e~t1ves tree. A causal analysis has
The park cou ld be operational within 5 clarified the relationships between
3 The summary has to hit the mark
years. The risk of delay caused by developments in the electricity market
What constitutes an effective approach to a summary depends on the
appellate procedu res cannot entirely be policies in the area of environment and
target group and the context. A management summary or executive
ruled out. landscape and the size of the windmills.
summary, aimed so lely at decision-makers , has problem-advice-
The main reasons for choosing the The options differ mainly in area
arguments-implementation as its ideal layout.
Haagpark are t11e relatively low needed, pressure on the environment
The size shou ld idea lly not exceed one sheet of A4. Management criteria
maintenance costs, expansion ~nd yield. The Waddenpark scores badly
such as the significance of the problem, costs and risks require more
ossi~ilitie s in the future and fewer in terms of pressure on the environment
attention than technica l details such as the research method. Technical
bject1ons by environment groups. The but well on all the other points. For the
jargon should be avoided as much as possible.
add~npark is a good second option, Delfpark, the outcome is exactly the
A scientific summary that takes specialists into consideration without
pec1ally con sidering the amount of other way around. The Haagpark is the
becoming useless to decision-makers wil l follow the line of the report:
nd, but the longer preparation time of least attractive overall.
prob lem-research-resu lts-conclusion . It will also contain more technical
und 7 years makes it less attractive.
details .
Compare the two fol lowing summaries on a similar subject, but written for a The conclusion is that the Delfpark is the
r~com~en ded t hat the Danish firm preferred option for environmental
different aud ience. be given a des ign commission as reasons . It is recommended that a
n as possible. follow-up investigation be done into how
to increase the yields from this location.
 80
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
~ Introduction
. atewa . into the report: the reader can see what
The introduction forms ~ g d ho~ and why the research was done.
question was addresse ~~uction consists of three parts: the reason for
Broadly speaking , an l~~rthe research and an outline of the report. This
the research, the aim . in the structure of the introduction: an
division should be recogni~~~~econsist of three paragraphs , three paragraph
~~:r~:~:·o~ha
I
introduction, long report, even .three sections .
groups, or in
. I fan introduction will illustrate this. The
The following abndg:d examp e ~ lement-analysis apparatus for the
title of the report is Selection o an e
Falcon copper mine ."
EXAMPLE OF AN INTRODUCTION
Reason
~l~~~o~~ac:!~;sis apparatus is used to determine the metal
content of ores. Element analysis is the analy~1ng of a
b tance with the aim of determining the weight percentage
s~ e~ement X in that substance. The ore should at. least have a
~ertain metal content if mining it ist~. ~e econo;1c~lly the
feasible This so-called "cut-off grade is depen en on
. f .metal and the depth of the ore underground, among
pnce o . h 't .1 of paramount importance that the
~:~;lt~~~~:~:~f~~~ ~in :d ore and. of the ore .that is ~·till t~ ~;
. d be known at any given point in time. This is ac ieve
mine
tinually taking samples and su bsequen tly analysing them.
~~~he moment the Falcon copper mine makes use of al~ost
atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). This .AAS has a
reached the end of its technical life, necessitating the
purchase of a new element-analysis apparatus shortly.
This report answers the question of which element-analysis
Aim
t s would be the best to purchase to replace the
appara t uAAS This will be done by means of a literature study
presen . ·1 ble The investigation is limited to
of the apparatuses ava1 a . f in
devices that can determine the weight percentage o copp.er
particular. Four options that all satisfy the c.ntena of at~m1c
absorption spectrometer (AAS) - the inductively couple
lasma mass spectrometer (ICP) , the X-ray fluorescence
p
spectrome t e r (XRF) and the optical em1ss1ons spectrometer
(OES) _will be examined .
Structural description The report is set out as follows. Chapter 2 describes th.e way
that the four element-analys.is apparatuses war~ ;:ee~~~ices
Chapter 3 the evaluation cntena are set out an t . s
• · · Chapter 4 con ain
are evaluated according to these cntena. . garded
the results and recommendation: which apparatus is re
as the best buy.
~~------------
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
...........
REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH PART OF THE REPORT
81
6.5. 1 Reason for t he resea rch
Early in the introduction , the reader should get an idea of why the text is
important and why the research was done. You can best do this by giving
background information describing the problem and indicating the
importance of finding a solution.
Background information
Readers usually need some background information to put the report in the
right context. This will often take the form of a sketch of the situation in
which the nature of the subject and its place within a larger framework is
explained.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
• The General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), which operated from 1949 to
2002 under the name of Domestic Security Service (BVD) , is managed by the
Minister for Internal Affairs. Between 1949 and now, the world has changed
considerably. These changes have not gone unnoticed by the AIVD.
• During a heavy storm on the North Sea last month, 88 containers were washed off
a Leba nese container ship. Six of these containers are filled with the extremely
toxic agricultural pesticide Apron Plus.
Problem
Presentation of background information should lead naturally to a
description of a problem. The problems may sometimes be very serious
ones and finding a solution quickly may be critically important. For example ,
after a fire drill in a chemical factory, it was discovered that half the fire
extinguishers were not working properly. The problem does not necessarily
have to be a problem in that sense of the word: a report can also have
optimisation of a certain computer programme as its aim . The "problem " in
this case might be that the existing programme should be faster and more
user-friendly.
PROBLEM
• The idea most Dutch people have that the AIVD is a secretive organisation is
outdated. The AIVD has developed into a government organisation that aims to
give a full and open account of its activities and to contribute to the protection of
vital interests wit hin the Dutch community. However, the nature of this task may
make it necessa ry to keep working in secret. The desire for openness and the
need for secrecy may be at odds with each other.
• From 16 Janua ry onwards , thousands of bags of a particular toxin have washed
ashore along the coast of North and South Holland. A number of bags have burst
and the sea water and the beach contaminated by their contents .
Importance
~eaders are stimulated if they realise that it is important that the problem
e solved. Sometim es this is sufficiently clear from a description of the
 © Noordhoff Uitge~ve~r-sb~v-------------------···········
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH PART OF THE REPORT
82 83

MAIN QUES TION TOO VAGUE

problem and it is not necessary to pay any additional attention to it. Keep MA IN QUESTION CLEAR
in mind, however, that while the importance of your research is often very
clear to you, this might not always be the case for your readers. The ain: of thi s report is to loo k more The aim of this report is t 0
deeply i~to the position of men and position of men and
.
c~mpare the
women 1n th e
women in the computerization industry computerization industry Th .
Salaries will also come up ''~or d'1scuss1on.
.. are divided between th . e way Jobs
. e sexes will be
IM PORTANCE
examined and the question o
• It is therefore of the utmost importance for the AIVD to develop a policy that there are differences in salaryf wbhtether
men d . e ween

I
makes t he des ire d openness possible without jeopardi sing the secrecy t hat may an women investigated.
somet imes be necessary.
• The need to investigate the effect the agricultural pesticide has on surface water
is very urgent at the moment. During a collision between a tanker and a barge last
month , several barrels of the poison finished up in the Rhine. Ten barrels have not Avoid unclear formulations of th .
confused if you announce th t e mam question. Readers will become
as yet been recovered and the Department of Waterways is deliberating whether a a you will "t t f
report there will be "recomme d t. . ry o ind a solution" or that in the
large-scale search is warranted . To make a decision , information about the effects . n a 1ons1fthes
are not likely to take the repo t . e present themselves " They
. r seriously if th · ·
of Apron Plus is essential. confidence in his own research. e writer appears to have little
When you see this type of hedging 't .
the introduction was written before' ~h~s usually because the first version of
stage the writer is not sure yet wh th research was completed. At that
It is sometimes preferable to make the importance of your report clear · . e er he will be .
th e main question and whether 't ·11 b successful in answering
after delineating the main question. If so, you will need to describe what This being the case, the introdu~rw1 e useful to make recommendations.
can be achieved by finding an answer to the main question: you could completed. ion must be revised after the research is
mention, for example, how the conclusions, insights, analyses or
inventories you formulated can be applied. You could also make the
importance of your results clear by indicating who the people are that will
NOT CONFIDENTLY FORMULATED CONFIDENTLY FORMULATED
benefit from them.
This research uses fuzzy logic in
;:: ~e search uses fuzzy logic in charting
attempti ng to chart the deCISIOn
. .
IMPORTANCE AFTER MAIN QUESTION
ec1s10n strategies of members of
strategies of members of the L the Lower House.
House . ower
• Thi s report presents a method for the analysis of the internal climate of offices. By
using thi s method, building managers can determine to what ext ent their own
building is a " sick building."
The main que sr ion need not necessarily take the form of a question:

6.5.2 Aim of the research

GOOD MAIN QUESTION IN THE FORM OF A
The aim of the research encompasses the most important question GOOD MAIN QUESTION IN THE FORM OF A QUESTION
STATEMENT
addressed in the report (the main question), the way in which the main
question is answered (the method), and the preconditions and starting
The aim of th ·is repo rt is
· to present the
points, which serve to delineate the main question further, and as such, This r~port answers the following
0auses of leaking losses at the
form part of the research aim. question: what are the main causes of
r°J>:::~~- storage at th e Plastics location leaking losses at the propylene stora e
Main question at the Plastics location in Geleen? g
A carefully formulated main question makes it clear to the readers what
they can expect. In the first example that follows, it will not be clear to the
reader of the original main question what exactly has been investigated Procedure
because the terms used are too vague. Indicate brief!
stud Y how you have collect d h
y, experimental research que t'e t ~ data. for your report (literature
' s 1onna1res, simulation).
 © Noordhotf U itgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv REQUIREMENTS FOR EAC H PART OF THE REPORT
85

The cha_pters between introduction and

conclus10n
The application possibilities of photogrammetry in facial reconstructions were
investigat ed by means of a study of the literature and interviews with five plastic The core of the report cons ists of numb
subd ivided into sections It is . ered chapters that are often
surgeons. short introduction in wh ic.h youaggood idea to start each chapter with a
1ve some infor f
the chapter. Th is opens up the r t ma ion about the layout of
epor to the read · ·f h
whole report they can stil l get a uick . ers . I t ey do not read the

I Terms and conditions and other parameters interested in. The extra inform tq overview of the part they are
The writer shou ld define the subject of the report carefu lly, referring on the have. indeed chosen the right c~~~~e~~n he lp them to decide whether they
one hand to the externa l terms and condit ions of the research, and on t he The introduction does not always h .
other, to \imitat ions on the research imposed by the writer himse lf. section: if the introduction consistsa~~ :~:e in the form of a complete
Some types of report (such as design reports) contain a large number of not have to be numbered If the . t d . or three paragraphs these do
. · in ro uct1on is long th · · .
t erms and cond it ions and research parameters. These will usua lly be set to make 1t into a section of ·its er an this 1t 1s better
. own. 0 o not make 1 't t d ·
out in a separate chapter entit led "set of requirements" or someth ing into subsections or lower shou ld b . oo eta1led: a division
e avo ided.
sim il ar. In th is case, on ly the main ones are mentioned in the introduction.
These serve to give the reader an idea of the restrictions imposed on the
research design. INTRODUCTION TO A CHAPTER

3 THE CHOICE OF CARRIAGE FOR MAGNETIC TRAINS

Term s/conditions Because the apparatus has to be used in the operating theatre , Several types of carriage are suitable for . . .
reliability of the measurements and durability of the apparatus are have been sufficiently well developed t magnetic trains. At this stage, three types
essential design conditions . WagonStar, the WagonArrow and the W~ ~~~1t further analysis (Verkerk, 2009): the
are compared on the basis of cost p . g ass1c . In this chapter, these three types
. nee, speed capac't 1 d .
The design of the test model does not take into consideration that 1 omet re. On this basis a prelimin h . ' Yan maintenance costs per
Limitations k1 ary c 01ce was made.
there may be restrictions on the size of the apparatus.
3.1 The WagonStar

6.5.3 Description of the report's structure

After the ma in question has been formu lated, the report writer shou ld It is sometimes advisab le to f inish off a .
expla in how the report wil l answer the question. The reader must be able to ~ummary. A conc lusion is warrant d 'f chapter with a conclusion or
look up the various chapters and sections in the tab le of contents and be in the introduction to the cha t ·ef I a prob lem based question is posed
Per. or examp le· " h t
able to understand from the description of how the report is structured why the most suitab le?" The cha ter's . . w a research method is
t hese parts are necessary and what relationship they have to each other. In the question We recommen~ . . conc lusion sho uld provide the answer to
other words, the section on how the report is structured is where the writer for example, "'Conc lusion· giving the con.c lusion an informative heading:
0 I . . renovate t he station "
makes the broad outline of his report clear. n y include a summa ry if the cha te . ..
If various methods are referred to in the individual chapters, the description regard less of the length of the h pt r is long (five or more pages, say). But
of the report's structure sometimes includes an explanation of the methods and concise: at the most ha lf c ap er, the summary shou ld be very short
in the form of a table. ' a page . If you can, present the main resu lts
used.

DESCRIBIN G HOW THE REPORT IS STRUCTURED Conclusions

In order to answer the main question of this report, Chapter 2 firstly describes what Most readers of the re ort .
chemicals are present in the surface water and in what concentrations. This was readers - decision-ma:ers 7 111 at least look at the conclus ions. Some
determin ed after samples were taken from sampling points (see Appendix 1 for the c.hapters and go straight fr' or exa.mple - will very often skip the ma in
complete results). Chapter 3 will explain how the three purification methods operate.
five suggestions may be ofom the introduction to the conclus ions. The next
accessible to all your d ass istance in making the conclusions
Chapter 4 conta ins an evaluation of the methods according to legally prescribed rea ers .
criteri a. Conclusions as to the method most suitable for purifying the water are to be
found in Chapter 5 .
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH PART OF THE REPORT
87
86
NOT UNDERSTANDABLE INDEPENDENTLY
UNDERSTANDABLE INDEPENDENTLY

Conclusion Conclusion
The "BS 7510 information security Hospitals do too little to limit the risks to
concerns within the health sector" norm , patients that are inherent in the
which specifies hospital procedures, is introduction of ICT. The security of ICT
not systematically complied with. This applications and devices is below par:
will creat e ri sks for patients, particularly the norm (BS 7510 information security
M AIN QU ESTION treatment - with the introduction of EPR, which most concerns within the health sector) is not
. . are two systems for sewag~ . stem hospita ls are working on at the moment.
The aim of this investigation is to c?mp . g - with a view to determining w~at sy complied with systematically.
bubble diffu sing and counter :o~r~:~s~~t plant in Andel. Both systems w~:~~e A case in point is the Electronic Patient
is most suitable for the sewa _e . vestment cost and energy consump . Record (EPR) with which many hospitals
. d for purification eff1c1ency, in are experimenting at the moment. It has
examine
been shown that unqualified people can
easily gain access to patient data .
ANSWER IM MEDIATELY CLEAR
ANSWER NOT CLEAR
. h ost suitable
. . . of counter flow Bubble diffusion is t e m t .
3 Conclusions should follow on directly from earlier chapters
Th e purification efficiency f tern for the water treatment plan in
. ·n1y because o ~s t are3~ The conclu sion s should not come as a complete surprise for a reader who
diffusing is 5% higher, ma1 en bubbles Andel. The investment cos s . . n
has read the whol e report. In other words, the reader should be able to
the longer contact time betwe f lower than fo r cou~ter fl~w d1ffu~fo b~bble
and water. The investment costs o easi ly locate the basis for the conclusions in the preceding chapters .
While the purification eff1c1ency
bubble diffusion are , however, Implicitly, no new subjects should be broached in the conclusion either. If
diffusion is lower.. ·
considerably lower, mainly because ... you have only di scussed technical feasibility in a report on dyke
reinforcement in Sout h Limburg , the conclusion should not deal with the
environmental consequences.
ontain a conclusion. If the purpose_of a
Incidetni~~~· ;i~~ :v~~s~~i~~;~;~~~~ inventory (wqi~:~~i~~ns~~~~ ~0~~:dii~~~Z
0 4 Conclusions should be concise
Readers who look up th e conclusion section should be able to see at a
repor . ) the answer to the main
be attached to either ' d. t ly after the introduction . glance how many conclusion s there are: every conclusion should be
core of the report imme ia e numbered or be in a separate paragraph. Each paragraph or numbered
For example: point should al so be formulated in such a way that th e key aspects of the
conclusion are at the start of the senten ce .

0 CONCLUSION NEEDED
DESCRIPTIVE MAIN QUESTION: N gement within LL-ORGANIZED CONCLUSIONS
'b s the statutory regulations applicable to data mana
This report descn e
ONCLUSIONS
municipalities.
Improvement in the quality of the letters written by the Mitsubishi Movemaster
arm has been achieved in two ways.
b n described, e grip the robot has on th e pen has been strengthened : the pen is now virtually
n the regulations have ee
. quest'ion 1
The main ·s answere d Whe ovably fixed in the gri pper. The average deviat ion from the standard letter form
so a cone lus ·1on is not necessary. been greatly reduce d.
UP and DOWN routi nes have been adjusted. Lifting and lowering of the pen is
understandable independently s not read
2 Conclusions should be derstandable for somebody who ha rs may problem-free. The dist orted action previously apparent has been completely
lnated.
The conclusions should bef un the introduction . These global re ade f the
the rest of the work apart rom . traduced in the core chapters o
not be familiar with_ terms tha~l:r~ol~he conclusion it will have to be additional analys is on two other points has shown that no improvement can
repo rt . If a term is ind1spens1 on the solutions already chosen.
red efin ed again. extra points to the letters and subsequently making the robot move from
point has not reduced the di storti on. In fact, it evim increased .
h into the connection between the speed of the pen and the quality of the
howed that the best results are achieved with the current speed (10mm/ s).
 88
© Noordhoff Uitg eve rs bv © Noordh off Uitgevers bv ~-----------------
REQUI REMENTS FOR EAC H PART OF THE REPORT
89

5 Conclusions sh~~/dma~e things easy for cheir read ers =~~i:~t or more
b accurate t"mes state in
6 CONC LUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

~::~~~~,~~s7:;: th::h~::~~~:~:::~ ;:,'~~:!','. 'f: :~,al ~=~~,;~'0:~'

accurate (better, in . The reader, however,
0
.
6.1 Conclusions

I the writer's evaluation. . I to decision-making. Research was done into why in the Netherlands only 62% of the passengers in the
listed, mere y I data as they are likely to be cruc1a I . ns in a more global back seat wear a seatbelt whereas 95% of the drivers and front seat passengers do.
wa nt the factua . e the factual data in the cone us10 a\cu\ated at The resea rch yielded the following results:
It is perm1ss1ble to g1v t If the costs have been _c
form than in the previous chap ~~~~ can be rqunded off to JUSt over t en 1 Many people do not wear a seatbelt out of habit; they forget to put it on or

I €10,117 .25 , in the conc\us1on ,

thousand euros.

INSUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE
SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE
consider it too much trouble. However, once putting a seatbelt on has become a
habit, people do not abandon it easily: use of a seatbelt becomes automatic.
2 Knowing what the possible consequences of not wearing a seatbelt are does not
have a bea ring on whether a seatbelt is worn or not. [ ...]

. d ction in noise pollution
To achieve a_re u2016 all goods trains
by train traffic 1n : II goods trains w1
should be fitted with silent brake
tern s This will also reduce
sys · nd home
investment in noise screens a
insulation.
Recommendations
6.2 Recommendations
. the desired reduction
In order to ac h ieve . b train To promote the use of the seatbelt in the back of the car, the following measures are
of 7 decibels in noise pol\ut1_on YI\ be recomm ended:
traffic in 201 5 , a During 1 An education ca mpaign aimed at children
fitted with silent brake systems .n a Beca use wearing a seatbelt is automatic behaviour, the education campaign
the next five years this will _ m_ea f should be aimed at making wearing a seatbelt automatic. Children are an
. h dreds of m1\\1ons o
reduction of un . . screens and important target group in this respect. In order to encourage them to wear the
euros in investment in noise
seatbelt, we recommend developing some sort of gadget for reminding them that
home insulation.
is placed inside t he car. For example , it could be something the children can click
onto their seatbelts. These would be distributed to schools by teams that have
been form ed for t hi s purpose.
Mass med ia means such as billboards and TV commercials should be used as a
back-up. [ ... ]

der to take a certain course of .

:~t~~~:~~d::i~:~h~r:1 ;::~c~:~~~::a~~~~so~~;~~~~~~:c~~cca0b~e~~n~:ti~1: 2 Recommendations should be practicable

of the text is to_ give advice, ate chapters
The action you recomm end should be capable of being carried out by your
and no concl _
us1on. recommendations could each form se:;di ately clear readers, or at least, by some of them. Recommendations for further
Your conclus1dons :hned one chapter. If the latter, it must be :mendations are. research are not useful for a public consisting only of those who will carry
or be include in I sions are and what the reco out the proposals.
to the reader what the _cone u
Follow the three guidelines below. The writer should not exceed the terms of his or her assigned ta sk. A
student of aviation and aeronautics wrote in the report of his practical
on from the conclusions
1 Recommendations sh~~:~~~~~was well as recommendatio_ns,sthl~
other
assignment that the departm ent where he had done his practical should be
re-organized, a recomm endation that had nothing to do with his
If the report includes co on directly from the conc\us1on .
assignment. The result was that hi s other recommendations, practicable
recommendations should_ follow t ns\ation of the conclusions into ones, were taken less seriou sly by his readers.
wor ds , they should constitute a ra
recommended actions.
3 Recommendations should be concrete
~king recommendation s is only useful if they are so concrete that it is
r to the readers what they should do. The classic recommendation that
er research is required is almost always too vague . Indicate exactly
has to be examined furth er and why.

90
RECOMMENDATION TOO VAGUE
Ap art from looking into storing dredgings
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgeve~r:sb:v~-----------------············
REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH PA RT OF THE REPORT
91
• Refer at least once to each a .
RECG.'AMENDATION CONCRETE the text an appendix refers t~pend1x. Readers should know what
• Sta rt each append' · part of
1x on a new
Apart from looking into storing dredgings appendix they want . page. Readers need to be
on an island in the Hollands Diep , the continues into the aqu1ckly. It is convenient if the page able to find the
ppend1ces If . numbering

on an island in the Hollands Diep , it is
recommended that other potentially
feasible option s be investigated: for
example, underwater storage.
q~;cek~:,1ces ~~~7n~~~o;e
possibilities of underwater storage even between the a . : you include a coloured
should also be investigated . The required appendix it will become even easier and
dredgings are dumped in a dredged
trench and covered by clay or a plastic
film. We recommend investigating the
feasibility of thi s option , since the main
60 Notes
disadvantage of storing on an island
In addition to serving a referenc1ng
. fu t'

rarel;~:~n b~nu=~~upt
- skyline pollution - is avoided. t e text too much are somet' nc ion, remarks that would . t
h
academic texts but are sh.own as a note. Notes can
Use notes spari ngly and digre d in reports of a more technical ul in
You can choose footnot ss as little as possible nature.
es at the b tt ·

suit:~~erf te:~
placed at the end of each ch o om of the page or endnot
O> Bibliography Footnotes are especially or at the end of the whole that are
referenc~s
sincent~our
A bibliography is not intended to impress the readers: only include sources want to include longer remarks ie or short remarks and If
that you refer to in the text. Readers will form an idea of the quality and better to choose endnotes notes (more than five lines) .it 1
. you
topicality of the report on the basis of the bibliography. They can see the text as much . ese do not interrupt the visual
. unity
. s of
whether lead ing and recent publications have been used and they can
check the publications to test whether your data is accurate. In the text, insert a numb
. er .1n supe rscnpt
· to refer to th e note:
Variou s style systems, including IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers) and APA (American Psychological Association) have a prescribed
layout for the bibliography and references. Every scientific journal has rules This vision was attacked bY th e experts at the time. 5 The
for the bibliography and references. Software packages such as Endnote
make it possible to follow a certain system exactly or to change over from
one system to another.
A bibliography should preferably be ordered alphabetically. This enables a
quick overview and makes looking up publications very easy. With a numbered B List of symbols
list in wh ich the order in which publications are referred to in the text is the
organizational principle, the publications of each individual author are not A list of sy mb0 1s .
IS necessar ·

:nn~~~:·nT~~e:~:~~I:) ord:~:b~:~~:~=~c~~yt (t~~t

occur more th Y if there are a lot of .
grouped together and looking for specific publications is more difficult.
Precise instructions for using sources and referencing are found in Chapter 4. Latin symbols sFh ould be
· 0 r example:

(;!!!) Appendices Ugh~ efficiency (lm/ W)

emittance (lm/m 2)
Appendices are a good way of keeping the core of the report clear and ave length (m )
short: all detailed calculations, data relating to apparatuses, programme
listings and the like can be included in them. A technical report without
appendices is the exception , not the rule.
Keep the following in mind when making your appendices. Even If a list of s
less c ymbols has been .
• Appendices should be independently readable. An appendix should ommon symbol s when you u~;ot~ded, you will have to explain the
em for the first time in the text
always have a clear title that is included in the table of contents. If there
are a number of appendices then they should be numbered. If the data
that you have added are not immediately understandable, a short
lossary ·
introduction at the start of the appendix is recommended.
• The text should be understandable without the appendices. Do not force lh Wledge
text has to b
e accessible for read . .
your readers to leaf backwards and forwards between text and append! leafth~~gg~ssary can be very us:;~I wR1th diverging background
Only include in the appendix data that are not relevant for all readers to a clea I f . eaders who do
er, terms should b r Y ormu lated explanation . h not know a term
and make sure that the text is an understandable unity without the Make sure e explained in the . in t e glossary.
appendices. It is sometimes a good idea to include a simplified versl In the glos::~ the term is defined w~~~~~~selfdthe first time they are
. un ue reference to other
of a table in the text and a detailed one in the appendix .
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
~-----------------·
92

EXPLANATION CANNOT BE UND ERSTOOD BY ITSELF

battery see: squadron

company smallest service unit (150 men + equipment)
squadron see: company

I I Make sure too that you gear your explanation to those members of your
audience who have the \east prior knowledge. The glossary is usually
included in the back of the report and should, naturally, be ordered
alphabetically.

ca rbon dioxide a gas (C0 2 ) present in the atmosphere which plays an

Celsius temperature scale
chlorofluorocarbons
cirrus cloud
important role in the greenhouse effect
thermodynamic scale of temperature. Temperature in
degrees Celsius can be obtained from the value in
degrees Fahrenheit using the following formula:
c0
== (F - 32) x 5/ 9
chemicals that release chlorine atoms that destroy ozone
high in the atmosphere
high cloud, del icate, hair-like and feathery looking

<EID Index
An index is a practical tool for readers looking for specific information,
especially in large t exts and user documentation . It is also useful for
readers who want to look at everything that is said about one particular
subject in the text.
Now that we all have computers, it is relatively easy to make an index.
You do so by indicating a word in a specific way, after which the computer
generates an index automatically with a page reference to the marked
words. You can also get the computer to searc \·i for all places in a text
where a certain word is used, though the resulting list will have to be
cleaned up to obtain a usable index. Only include references to those
pages where important information about the term can be found .

Measuring system 72
• Anglo-Saxon 7 4
• Didot 72
• magnetic tape 100-103, 122 , 156
• metric 73, 206
 94
~~---------------
© Noordhoff U itgevers bv
......... 95

7
Special types of
I text

' 7.1
7.2
7.3
Feasibility study
Policy paper
Advisory report
7.4 Literature report
7.5 Progress report
7.6 An experimental resea rch report
7.7 A qualitative research report
7.8 Design report

A business text is always unique. After all, the problems the reports deal with are
dependent on a specific business situation. The same holds for the readers of the report
Ind the proposed solutions. But such reports have characteristics in common too. In
countless organisations people have to report regularly on the progress of projects .
mployees in laboratories everywhere are busy doing experiments they later have to report
In precise detail. Organi sation s and companies require advisory reports in order to be
to react to new developments.

la these texts will, of course, have more in common than containing the standard
ants discussed in Chapter 6, the similarities are unlikely to be so great that a
late could be used to create tables of content. Nevertheless, for every type of text
I success factors can be formulated. In particular, the success of the report will
on how convincingly you have answered your readers' questions. The pitfalls that
ly Plague writers are also spec ific for every type of text.

hlng
8 situation, it can be particularly unclear what type of text your reader expects
Project with an accent on practical and applicable advice on an actual
1°1tynal Proble_m, it might sometimes seem as though an advisory report is called
• What might be required is often a test of academic competence with an
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitg~ev~e~rs~b:v----------------··········- SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 97
96
• Technical feasibility
accent on originality of presentation of the issues , correct application of - Can
J th the solution be imp! emented?
certain methods and docume11tation of scientific publications. The terms s e technology available? .
used by lecturers (essay, paper, assignment, research report) usually give Is there enough know-how?.
little indication of the type of report that is required. - What is the likelihood oft eeth1ng
. trou bl es occurring?

6 ) Feasibility study FIGURE 7.1 Schedule for a feas1

.b1
..l1ty study

I New markets, product innovations, new materials, new production

processes, a new policy: companies and other organisations are under
constant pressure to change , to adapt to circumstances that are in a state
of flux. Before they throw themselves into each new venture, a reliable
feasibility study must be written: a report in which the viability of a project,
1 Summary
Describe the importance of th
re commendations you have co:~oblem and the conclusions and
fea s1b1l 1ty study is a dee· .
points in point form
2 The importa nce of th. .
.up with (and have subst r
is1on-making tool, it is a good id atn iated). As a
ea o !1st the decision
an investigation, a new product or a new system is evaluated . . e issue
- W Why is t he
. .plan , the new system o th .
In the first place , a feasibility study should be informative but not neutral: a hat existing or future prob! r e project important?
decision has to be made and that decision must have a credible basis. You What new opportunities doe em does it solve?
must aim to convince , and for three reasons. What benefits will b . s it create?
• A feasibility study is a decision-making document. Decision-makers 3 Criteria e provided?
(managers) have the task of deciding whether or not to implement a new - What criteria should are a . .
option. They often follow the advice of specialists in the field and will What priority do th . p rti~ularly important in the
4 Alternatives e various criteria have? assessment and why?
base their decision on a feasibility study. Well-argumented conclusions
and recommendations are crucial, therefore . - What are the main alternative .
• Most readers will use the following evaluation criteria: is the aimed-for What are the re levant qu IT s for consideration?
5 Testing 1
a ies of the alternatives?
purpose likely to be achieved and do the advantages outweigh those of
the old situation? While managers primarily apply economic criteria, - What method has been
depending on the situation, criteria such as flexibility may also play a role. Why has th is method be used to collect the data?
• To be feasible usually means more than just being possible: it has to be - To what extent is th e me~~o~hosen?.
desirable as well. As such, there should always be a choice , the pros and - How do the alternative inclusive and reliable?
cons of which the report has to weigh up: leave things as they are or Conclusions and reco s sc~re against the criteria? .
Wh mmendat1ons .
change, or choose the best alternative if it is clear that something has at conclusion has b .
Does~~~:~ ' it rea."y create opportu~it~es?e 0~~posal likely to solve the
prob! ? een arrived at? I th
to change .
likely to be un~=n~:~en~ sufficiently (more so th:~~~ee re~Jly
be. advantages?
Structure and readers' questions What is the b t s1 e-effects? a ernat1ves)? Are there
Basically, a feasibility study consists of six parts (see Fig. 7 .1). They es co urse of acti ?
usually take the form of six chapters (apart from the summary, which is not hould implement th on . What are the rec .
hould th" b e recommendations h ommendat1ons? Who
numbered) though there can be good reasons for dividing certain parts into is e done? ' ow should this be d one and when
additional chapters. Each part should supply an answer to the readers'

questions. • Imp/ementation time

Taking the evaluation criteria further - Is the time re .
Side effects quired acceptable?
The feasibility and desirability of the proposal should be examined using
various criteria . These may include technical, economic, social and - What positive s·d
1 e effect
Wh at negative side ff s are there likely to be?
managerial criteria. Do the tests systematically: in other words, apply all
the criteria to every alternative. The following checklist will prove useful: environment)? e ects are there likely to be. (
eptability safety,
• Effectiveness la It ethi
- Will the problem really be solved? Are th cally acceptable?
- Are the envisaged advantages likely to be reached? ere any I . .
there ~gal issues?
a possibility that third . .
• Affordability parties will raise objections to it?
- What will it cost to implement and maintain it all?
What will it bring in? How long before we earn our money back?
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitge~ve~r~s:bv~----------------···········- SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 99
98
3 Examination of the inspe t"
- experiments with t c ion methods
Presentation requirements est samples
Always use a table to summarise your data. If there are several alternatives - cost calculations
and a number of criteria the text can easily become very complex. A table 4 Eva luation of the diff .
or schedule enables the readers to get an overview at one glance and - detection of d" erent inspection methods
- cost 1verse type s 0 f small cracks
perhaps reach a different conclusion to the one the writer has reached:
they may, for example, regard certain criteria as being more important. - simple and reliable re .
ava ilable apparat cording of data
t ime frame for int~~dand. specialists

I
Pitfalls
• Irrelevant criteria. The target group must endorse your choice of testing 5 Conclusions uction
criteria otherwise they will not agree with your conclusions. Whid le the problem can be solved by · .
• A simple addition. Sometimes scores for evaluation criteria are simply an consequently
. . expe ns1ve
. A comb· visual. inspection • th is
· .1s very labo .
added up. Such a method is quite arbitrary, even if you have weighed spec1a 1sts are given · inat1on of methods . Ur-intensive
th 1 1eave from th . d is effective a d f
some factors more heavily than other. Make sure, therefore, that you a ree-month time frame e1r epartments , introducti . . n easible . If
6 Recommendations . on JS poss ible within
assess each point individually and that you back up your conclusions

with factual data . - Ch oose a hyb n·d method (visual . .

• Leaving out the zero option. Make sure you discuss the so-called zero Form a project group for the im 11nspect10.n +vibration analysis)
P ementat1on . ·
option: does the study make it clear why it would be a bad idea to leave

things as they are?

• Irrelevant information . Alternatives that will obviously be discarded need
not be discussed. If an alternative fails to meet any of the criteria there Structure of the evaluation c hapter
Th
is no point in including it as an option. Discard it quickly. In the e chapter on testing the alt .
introduction you could briefly explain why you are discarding it. be organized in various w ernat1ves against the criteria .
to criteria or an arrange ays . You could choose an arrang (evaluation) can
• Misleading title. Avoid a title that suggests a full-scale investigation ("The ment based on the alt . ement according
ernat1ves.
feasibility of commercial shopping facilities in railway stations") when
only one criterion (economic feasibility) is applicable.
ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING "0
' ' CRITER/A ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO ALTERNATIVES
Examples
4 Evaluation of the in spection

' 4.1 Detection of crac k depthmethods

4 4Evaluation
.1 Ad . of the ins pection .
methods
The structure of a feasibility study ~usted pressure m .
The engineering firm Thisse & Bots was commissioned by a steel 4.1.1 Adju sted pressure 4 1 1 D easunng
processing company to write a feasibility study on inspection protocols for .1.2 etection of crack depth
meas uring 4 · · Costs
steel constructions. The aim was to test the feasibility of a certain method 4.1.2 Vi bration analysis
for inspecting steel constructions (such as bridges and offshore platforms). 4 .1 .3 Recording results
4.1.3 Vi sual in spection 4 .1.4 Conclusion
The report had the following structure. 4.1.4 Conclusion 4 .2 Vibration analysis
Costs
:·22 .21 CDetection of crack depth
4.2.1 Adj usted press ure
· · osts
measuri ng
SU MMARY 4.2 .3 Recording re sults
4 .2.2 V~brati o n ana lys is 4 · 2 .4 Conclusion
4.2.3 Vi sual inspection 4 .3 Visual inspection
1 Introduction
- The existing technique for inspecting large steel constructions for metal fatigu 4.2.4 Conclusion
and rust is only capable of detecting major defects. Repairs are therefore ofte Recording res ults :·33 .21 CDetection of cra ck depth
· · osts
.3.1 Adju sted pressu re
difficult or too late. 4 .3 .3 Recording results
- More stringent legal safety requirements are currently being drawn up, rnakin measuring 4 .3 .4 Conclusion
the early detection of defects desirable.
3 •2V'b
1 rati·on analy .
3 3 V' S IS 4.4 Conclusion
- The aim of the report is to analyse whether other methods of inspection can • isual in spect ion
and should be used instead of the present pressure measuring. .4 Conclusion
- In choosing a method , cost and the ease with which data can be recorded a clusion
reproduced will be decisive. Whatever the method , cracks bigger than 5 mrn
deep and 15 mm long must be able to be detected.
2 Inventory of the different inspection methods
- adaptation of the present method (pressure measuring)
- vibration analysis
- visual inspection
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 101
100
. . · minently su1.t able for a situation TABLE 1 Evaluation of the three drive mechanisms
ccording to criteria is e financial expert
An arrangem~~to~ specia lists will read your repo~~c:::s" the head of the Criterion Weighing factor Drive mechanism
where a vane . wants under the heading .' . "Recording
will f ind everythin: h:rtment will concentrate on the_ cnt:r~o~'Detection of Caterpillar track Climbing arm Telescopic arm
data processing ep twill on ly read Section . ' Speed
" and the research exper . 3 7 5 9
results .. . . t decision-makers in Reliability 2 6
crack depth. t according to alternatives is aimed a ethod more quickly 8 2
An arrangemen . t overview per inspection m Manufacturability
They will ge an 8

I
particular. .th the first arrangement. 6 4
. they wou ld w1 Total 41 37 35
than in I ful to other categories
· "Conclusions" can be hep fa table. Legend: 1 = does not meet the criterion, 10 = meets the criterion completely
In both cases, the section bine both aspects in the form o
of reader. This section can com

Use tab/es for the evaluation_

It is a good idea to summarise
·
of test criteria . · table
the results of the test criteria in a d '
bering that readers usually rea a
a Policy paper
as in the following_example~:e::~at you wish to highlight should be A policy paper (policy document, policy plan) is a text in which a company
table from left to right, the p
describes and justifies its future policy. It is an action plan that goes
placed first. . beyond the evaluation of a problem but is not usually as concrete as an
t . on the two alternatives. implementation plan.
In the table below, the accen is
Most people will be familiar with government policy papers, ranging from
Recording comprehensive ministerial memorandums to tourist plans drawn up by a
Depth of crack Costs
Alternatives local municipality. However, companies and other organisations produce
+ +
policy papers too (often called a strategic plan, a long-range plan, a
Pressure measuring development plan etc.).
0 0
+
Vibration analysis
A policy paper may be occasioned by various issues, each requiring its own
approach. Three common ones are outlined below, though the one is not
exclusive of the other.
ent is on the criteria.
In the table below, the ace
• The issue is a problem. The writer has to demonstrate that it is a major
problem and cannot be resolved by means of the current policies.
Pressure measuring Vibration analysis
Criteria • The issue has ari sen out of new developments to which the organisation
+ must react. The writer will need to demonstrate that it is the responsibility
depth of crack
of the organisation to anticipate problems that might develop because of
+ 0
costs these new developments. Perhaps the organisation sees encouraging or
+ 0 adapting to new developments as necessary under certain circumstances.
recording
For instance, an organisation might need to regularly (every four years,
Legend: poor, 0 average,+ = good say) adjust all or part of its policies in the light of changing situations.
• The issue is whether is it possible to improve on the way that existing
objectives are realized. The writer will need to demonstrate that the
weighing factors are present situation can be improved upon and that in the light of the
. le of an evaluation schedule, edule as proof
In the following exa~~rs You should never use such a sch likely that you organization's objectives, it is advisable to go ahead with this.
represented_ by ~u~ativ~ is preferable. It is, after_all, qu~t~etermining the
that a certain a ~ utcome in mind when scoring ~n
The aim of a policy paper is threefold:
ar uments. Th
will keep the desired ~le is only intended to summanz~ the r ~e that the • to give information about plans for the future
weighing factors. Alta are the important thing. You m1gbh~_ta .~The figures to attract support for these plans and therefore to convince the readers
arguments them.~~ ves e important than "manufactura 11 ~hing more th
Of their necessity and feasibility
ed is ~~:dule are quite arbitrary: they do no
criterion "s_pe_ to Initiate a discussion about its future policies
showing this in the sd"fferent criteria differently.
show that you value I Icy Papers are written for a variety of target groups:
eels/on-making organs within an organisation. This could be a society's
neral meeting of its members, a company's management and board,
a government body.
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
~~---------------~
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 103

Presentation demands
These departments will be involved in
Internal departments-, . s' As the reader is likely to have little time to read the report, the following
implementing the pol1c~. uch as consumer organisations, farme~ok at suggestions may prove indispensible:
External interested parties ~rade unions and journalists. '.h.ey ~1l~~ing. It • Give a summary that follows the outline of the chapters. List matters
organisations, companies~ exert an influence on the dec1s1o_n m rests of crucia l to the decision-making process separately.

~h~ texttc rit~c~l~=;~~~c~ent attention to the dem:~:ys f:~~s l~~:t they are
is impor an . . king sure that every . f
• Use a lot of headings or else catch words in the margin.
Where possible , present the main points in the form of schedules (the
the various organisations, m~ This will improve the likel1hood o causes of the problem, for example).
being taken seriously at leas . .

I
• Include an index to enable the reader to quickly find certain details if
reaching consensus. . needs be.
f a team represen tngI
the various
The writer is usually the_ spt~~~s~:r~~:~e will have to take_ account ~:~~~e Many policy papers depend on consensus being reached between the
roups within the organisa I . Hopefully, consensus in respe_c groups involved. This often calls for a diplomatic style in which differences
~;,e,g;ng ;~t~~=,~~l~Yt~~~:,g~~,~~: <eoohed and ~:,::~~~':;~,",'::getHI a of opinion are played down. If this sometimes means a vague paper, you
might have to put up with it.
contents o smoothly. In those areas w . with the aim
process will run more d liberately vague terminology .
way off, the writer may cha~~~ n:gotiation and preventing the various Pitfalls
of maintaining some room renched in uncompromising pos1t1ons. • Bulky policy papers. Members of parliament, administrators and
parties from becoming ent journalists frequently complain about these . However, sometimes a bulky

I
document is unavoidable, if only because all interested parties want to
Structure and readers' question:licy paper. The schedule may provide a see their interests covered in the policy paper. Policy papers often deal
. hows a schedule for a p d ections but in some
~~~·~i·~gspoint c~:~~~~ca:mp~etely d~alt
with complicated matters that cannot be explained in a couple of dozen
for a division inhto with), it may be pages . You can help your readers by employing measures that help them
. ("f ome aspects ave
situations 1 s hapters or sections. read quickly and efficiently: a summary, a list of decision points, a clear
necessary to add extra c structure.
• Too explicit. Clarity is a desirable thing except where matters about which
there is still some disagreement are concerned. In such cases, vague
FIGURE 7.2 Sc hedule for a policy paper formulations might offer some room for negotiation.

summary Examples
1 Introduction
- reason for writing the paper Structure of a policy paper in response to a problem
- aim of the paper . · come? The memorandum Safe food in a changing environment. Food safety policy
2 Analysis of the current situation . "t likely to develop in the period to . 2001-2004, written by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality,
- What is the situation and how is I blems of the current and the future was published in 2001. The paper consisted of the following parts:
- What are the disadvantages or pro
situation? . · ble?
Why is this situation undes1ra bl ms? oduction
s of the pro e · ?
What are the cause essful or inadequate. Occasion: incidents such as BSE crisis, food contamination and dioxins which
Why is the present policy un~udcct achieve the desired results? hreaten to destroy cons umer trust
- . · h Id be appile 0
- What criteria s au . ving the desired results m of the policy in this regard: maintaining and strengthening a high protection
3 Possible measures for ach~eon criteria ~el of consumer health by means of clear food safety norms
4 Choice of measures, base sis: the producer has prime responsibility, the government creates conditions
_ objectives d provides supervision, the consumer - the final link in the chain - should
- means ndle food responsibly
_ implementation of the paper: to outline a policy for the coming years regarding the safety of
of the measures food
5 Consequences d side-effects
_ anticipated effect~ an and conditions t of measures outlined in this paper
- legal implications, terms I
6 Financial consequences certain policy criteria and principles
bottlenecks and objectives (in four areas)
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
©Noor dh off Uitgevers bv SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 105

104 .., Advisory report

. . f objectives
. aper aimed at the rea/1zat1on o rotection policy to
Structure of a policy Pk 0 n healthy production. Crop pd F od Quality and also An advisory report recommends measures. It may take the form of an
The paper "An outloo M. istry of Agriculture, Nature an o internal report (one that circulates within an organisation) or an external
0 " also by the in
201 ' . 00 had the layout: report (for example, recommendations by a committee to the government).
published in 20 ' They are usually written in response to a request or commissioned, though
they are also sometimes unsolicited. Advisory reports may be written by
individual advisors, advisory committees or a consultancy firm.
SUMMARY

I
The aim of an advisory report is to facilitate decision-making in respect of
. . able and competitive agricultural
1 /ntroduct1on elopment of a sustain d which enjoys . measures to be taken. The measures may be aimed at:
Cabinet aims at the dev ·ety as a whole endorses an . ble crop protection is • solving a problem
- which soc1 bl nd sustaina )h e • optimizing a situation
food sector, one .. Socially accepta e a Ian (1991-2000 av
international recognition. bjectives of the last long-range p w developments.
Part of that. Not all the o t·1me there have been some ne d The writer will not only describe these measures, he will also try to convince
. 1 the mean • ing peno · · the readers that the proposed measures are desirable. His arguments will
been realised. n f rmulated for the com f the policy. It w1I 1
eed to be o ain outlines o h be largely derived from analyses of present and future situations and
Objectives now n r will deal with the m d will indicate in w at

~:c~~b~~l~:~~~l~Ye :U~~=lin:~ ~o:e~: :ae~o~; i~e:~: ;;ars to come. organizational objectives or the objectives of the government for whom the
recommendation s are intended.
direction the agricultura! sec o
2 outlook on healthy produ.ct1on f the policy The writer of an advisory report has to take account of three different target
Starting points and aims. o groups:
- Main direction of the po.lie~

'
tailed approach . . 1 People who have to decide whether to adopt the recommendations: the
- I k on healthy production. ~e know/edge and app/1cat1on director or the management of an organisation. Do not overlook their
3 Out oo d direction: finances ,
4 Encouragement an . . . admission . staff members and advisors since they will be responsible for further
5 Encouragement an~ ~1i~:~~1i~~·: prevention policy in the·t~~~~ recommendations.
6 Encouragement an . t·on· maintenance and mon1 2 The people who will implement the measures contained in the
nt and d1rec 1 • recommendation s.
7 Encourageme f esticides
8 Non-agricultural use o h~althy production 3 Those who have an interest in the proposed measures. In the case of
9 Budgetary outlook on recommendation s relating to the reorganisation of a company, these
Appendices would be the employees, the works council and the trade unions. In the
case of recommendations to the government, many interested parties
. be softened will need to be considered: pressure groups, the press, political parties
Consensus formulations a "set-in-concrete" statement can and so on. It is very important that the writer find ways of involving
The following show how
directors or management in discussions with these interested parties.
slightly.1 The writer has to pre-empt any objections that they might raise.

f government. . al ructure and readers' questions

h Id be distanced rom t distance technlC
1 Technical management s ~~e at this point in time whether o Below are two schedules for advisory reports (see Fig. 7 .3 and 7 .4). These
. t appropriate to dec1 . . hether to edules could form the basis for a division into chapters and sections ,
2 It is no t from government. . d cide at this point in time w DUgh you might find th at you have to add extra chapters or sections to
managemen trely appropriate to e
3 It would not seem en ' t from government. I With points that need elaboration .
. I managemen
distance tee h rnca Uestion that is repeated in the schedules is to what extent have you
•ted from the original assignment? You will probably catch yourself
this quite often as peo ple frequently find that as they work on the
•they discover inadequacies in the way the assignment was originally
Another similar rephrasing: ated.
etlmes the assignment is too vague. If so, the advisor, advisory
·id· g practices. lttee or consultancy firm will have it tighten up themselves.
. nmentally friendly bu1 in . . ractices wherever
1 We will encourage env1ro nvironmentally friendly building P times the assignment is too limited. During the drafting of the
2 We shall try to encourage e mendations it may become clear that certain aspects have been
ked by the person who commissioned them. Government advisory
k naar de manter occa~ionally decide to widen the scope of the assignment, often
oordenwisselingen. Een onderzoe erdarn : Thela Tl! nsulting government and non-government organizations.
1 Mast, N. van der (1999). W I ·dsteksten bewerkste/ligen. Arnst
schrijvers consens us over be e1
 106
©Noor dho tf Uitgevers bv
~~------------
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
........
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 107

be impossible to treat 2 Situation analysis

. nment is too wide. It may st decide whether to
the·~ss:~tirety ad~s~~~~mented
- What criteria should be used to obtain the desired situation?
Sometimes in one go . The in the short - What are the strong and weak points, the opportunities and the threats inherent
the problem in I se measures that can e
limit the report to tho in the present situation?
_ Theoretically, in what way could the present situation be improved upon?
term. enerally discussed .. 3 Measures
i inal assignment a~e g ort. However, it is - Theoretically, what measures could be taken?
Deviations from the or ~son who commissioned. the re~d to say why the
beforehand with the p~ them out in the report itself a
- What is the best solution according to the criteria mentioned? (Objective ,
will know about means)

I
still necessary to singe. ted from. After all, not everyonethe persuasiveness 4 Implementation
original terms wer.e d~v1a f the choices made increases
. ood just1f1cat1on o - What is the best way of implementing the proposed measures?
this. Ag rt as a whole . - What are the costs and the benefits?
of the advisory repo . ·ntroduction to the - What consequences and side effects can be expected?
t can be cited literally in the I page) it should be 5 Recom mendations, action programme
The original assi~nmen nt was fairly long (more than ~~ea short summary in
report. If the ass1gnme. . the back of the report, w1
included as an a Pp end1x in
the introduction.
Presentation requirements
Readers are not likely to have much time to read the report. As such, the
. at solving a problem following elements are important:
FIGURE 7 .3 Advisory report aimed
• Management summary. This should consist of one page. The accent
should lie on the problem, the solution, the costs and the

'
? Why is it a problem? . . I
1 Introduction . ned the assignment. .t differ from the angina implementation. The summary should be at the beginning of the report.
- What problem occas10 f the assignment? Does I
• Separate budgetary section. For the specialists in particular.
Wha t is the exact nature o ?
- ·gnment and I'f so , how . Headings. You should make ample use of them. You could also consider
ass1 ' . f the text? placing catchwords in the margin.
- What is the aim o en structured? ? Schedules. Use them to set out the broad outlines (for example, the
How has the text be . 't 11
· kely to develop. causes of the problem).
- . bl ? How 1s 1 . t
2 Problem analysis and scope of the pro em. d ne so far and with wha • Index. This is a quick way for readers to find the details they want.

'
What is the exact nature blem? What has been o
-- What are the causes of the pro ·
A so-called pyramid structure can be an attractive alternative to the
results? . Id a solution satisfy? traditional way of structuring an advisory report. It starts out with the main
What criteria shou
thrust of the report, followed by the arguments and reasoning. In other
3 Solutions . ble? . d? (Objective, words, the conclusion immediately follows the introduction. The arguments
- What solutions are av~1la . rding to the criteria ment1one .
- What is the best solution acco and supporting details follow after that.

means) Pitfalls
4 Implementation . b implemented? • Neglecting the points of view of other interested parties. The report
the solution e . ?
_ How can d the benefits . d? should take into account not only the position of the person who
What are the costs an 'd effects can be expecte .
- es and s1 e assigned it but also that that of other parties involved.
- What conse.quenc tion programme • Excessive certainty. Th e report should not gloss over any doubts and
5 Recommendations, ac
uncertainties implicit in the recommendations, especially not in the
summary. Pronouncements on the effect of measures are often based
on models that simplify things. The data used may be incomplete or
. at optimizing a situation Incorrect, or based on extrapolation. It is risky not to take uncertainties
FI GURE 7.4 Advisory report aimed
Into account when formulating policies based on proposed measures.
tuati
1 Introduction ort? What can be .1mproved in the present s1 pie
- What occasioned the re~s b.e considered? 't differ from the origl 1 August 2000, an advisory committee published some
Why should improveme f the assignment? Does I
What is the exact nature o ? mendations - entitled Water Management in the 21st Century - for
cretary of state for Transport and Public Works and the pre~ident of
assignment, and if so , hopwo.rt? Ion of Water Boards.
·m of the re ·
What is the a1 t been structured?
How has the tex
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 109
1 08

developments following each other a .

The committee had been commissioned the task of advising on water can be handy if all the develo ta rapid pace. In such a s1'tu t ' .
management in the Netherlands in view of the expected consequences of . Id pments ar 1· t a ion 1t
f ie s of study who do not have the tim et is ed. For people in ad·uacent
climate change, rising sea levels and subsidence. such. a description of the "state of the art
e o" survey the field independ ently
The table of contents sets out clearly how the report deals with the .
Ioo k 1ng
.
for information pe
• op 1e often look f
can also be useful Wh
· en
'
problem. Making an inventory of require or key articles of this sort
· . ments and st t. .
A. m~n1c1.pal officer who is preparin . ar mg points for policy makin
d1stribut1on of drugs could t g a policy statement on the fre g.
wri e a report . e
1 Main thrust of the recommendations of such things as the legal as e in which he makes an invento

I (Summary of three pages, per chapter a list of core statements) elsewhere, and so on. p cts , experiences and problems ry
2 Terms of the assignment
(The actual wording of the assignment followed by an explanation of why and how the
Behind each of these aims is th .
committee expanded the terms of the assignment) summarising what is to be founde .'deba that the text must go beyond m I
. in ooks and . ere y
3 Analysis to
. see connections ' contradi'cti· ons and ga articles.
. The reader w··
ii
1 want
(Discussion of existing hydrological problems and future developments in connection . P~ pointed out. To do this . h
wr~t
involve comparing the quality f th
with rising of the sea level and similar matters. Discussion of previous ideas, such as Jn educational contexts the e publ1cat1ons critically m1g t
the "Fourth Memorandum on Water Management," which has had little effect so far) ' ' er of a lit t ·
t~ resea~
to demonstrate that he or she is ab! era ure report is sometimes ask d
4 Starting points problem, search for information on to independently formulate a h
(Criteria) record the result in a scientificall e subject, evaluate it critically and c
Y sound way. Th·is is
. closest to the third .

I
5 Changes to water management
(Broad overview of solutions and concrete measures) Structure and readers ' questions aim.
6 More room for water The schedule in Fig. 7 .5 provides a basis
. for a literature report.
(Policy recommendations and concrete measures)
7 Supervision and direction Presentation requirements
(Implementation) The
rISt oreader
f needs a summary and evaluatio
short summaries. It is a bad si
f .
n o all the information , not a
8 Costs and benefits
9 Recommendations the name of an author or a year. gn when every paragraph starts with
10 Action programme

FIGURE 7.5 Schedule for a literature report

0) Literature report roduction

:Alm of the report (what is it .

I
A literature report contains a description and an evaluation of the most hat research quest'1 going to be used for?)
authoritative literature sources on a certain subject. It may have a number d"1cat1on
. of the way tonshe re
are at the
. core of the subject?
of objectives: cation of th port will be structured
• Providing a starting point for new research. The writer should describe . e search method
what has been done in a certain field, where knowledge gaps exist and at literature data hav b
at kind of literature e een used?
where there is any disagreement. In doing do, the writer makes clear has the literatur ~a s been consulted?
what the focus of further research should be. If the literature report Is n was th e een processed?
part of a larger work (a doctoral thesis, for example) this could be the e research finalised?
research done by the writer himself. If so , this constitutes the writer's h on a sp ec1·r.·ic structure
s rbased ·
own motivations for his or her research. However, the writer may want s
ons H ould avoid merely making a list f .
suggest a research agenda for the field of study itself: the issues ts ~ft~ or sh.e sl1ould organize the io f summaries or a series of
e subject n ormat1on found in such t
researchers should concentrate on in the time to come. earch method erms as:
• Avoiding repeating research that has already been done or that takeS used
as or prec oncept1ons
. of the authors
less promising direction. If an instrument has to be developed or a
technical solution found it must be made clear that something like
does not already exist. Earlier attempts at a solution in the same n of the act ual state of thin
may be left out I gs does not necessaril
direction can make clear what approaches to the problem are likely nowledge o . n. other cases there could b Y need a conclusion
r prom1 s1ng approaches . e a summary dealing with
fruitful or not. On the basis of the literature research, a decision C
made on how to proceed with the design process.
• Giving a clear overview of the actual state of affairs with respect to n in other types of re port a
e rules, is crucia l. ' complete bibliography, compiled
certain subject. Readers might have a need for an overview of this
the field of study has gone through a turbulent period with manY
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 111

110
Seydel, 2000). As a European study conducted in 1996 shows, the reaction of the
Dutch is, however, less positive than it is in countries such as Spain, Portuga l or
Not:
Finland , where critical responses tend to be muted ("Biotechnology and the European
eriments that ... Public. Europeans ambivalent about biotechnology," 1997). Where genetic
2009 Graaff conducte d exp
2008 ) discovered that .. . In ' ma nipulation of animals , especially in commercial situations , is concerned, the Dutch
Kl aasse n ( . . d th view is clearly more negative (Smink, Hanning & Homan, 1998).
010) venf1e e ...
Andernac h (2

e
I But:
Progress report
08· Graaff, 2009), but A progress report describes the actual state of affairs in relation to a
ie Klaassen, 20 ' . .
reement on X (for exam P , , work has its lim1tat1ons current project: what work has been done and is the project running on
There seems to be ag f y Although Andernach s time? If the project is a long-term one, regular progress reports - weekly or
ch sees X as a result o .
Anderna f it is very valuable for .. . monthly perhaps - may be called for. If so, they are often numbered.
because o ... ,
If the project is a programme lasting for years and made up of a number of
different individual projects , yearly reports may be required (an annual
progress report). That report should aim to present an overview of the
. . t an incapacity to whole based on information on each of the current projects.
Pit~l~smany quotes in the report This ~soeu~u:~,~~;aringly and only if a A progress report will have several objectives.
• . d draw conclusions. • To provide information. It should primarily describe what was done in the
summarise an . · nutshell. ·
particular quote p~ts it '~~rces are referred to indiscriminate/y~eekly period under review (results achieved , costs incurred), and how this

' ~~~=~~~t~;t~s ~~::~

newspaper '
1~b~:t:een :~:~~i;~~~~~:~~c~~~e~=~~r:na~d
1

for example , an
. lly critical with Internet sou . .
literature. Be espec1a
information comes fr?m.
carefully. Pay some attent~on to w

represents commercial interes

advi:~~Y
rces· check where
hether the site

ts (Shell) or ideological ones

relates to what was foreseen in the project plan.
• To sway the reader. The report should reassure the reader that enough
work has been done and that any overspending or delay not planned for
in the time schedule was inevitable. The report should also indicate
what measures have been taken (or will be necessary because of a
delay or other deviation from the plans), what new developments have
taken place or what unexpected problems have arisen . The reader
(Greenpeace).
should be sufficiently convinced to keep on supporting the project
financially or even to allot an extra budget for it.
Computer support . 'ble for·
The computer is ind1spens1 . • To instigate new measures or to provide additional instructions. A progress
. 1 a~llterawre · report should make clear if there are any measures to be taken , and if
• Finding re ev s and bibliographies so, what these are .
• Making these into reference t that
. · hie managemen - The project's management team will need to decide on the basis of
software package for b1bl1ograp It converts the the progress report whether an intervention is needed (extra funding ,
It is best if you use a such as the programme Endnote. x box with replacement of persons responsible).
combines the ~~ha~~~i'n an electronic database int~~~e~~=ntly
simply be - The person supervising the project should use the progress report to
results of a se . descriptions. These can s . stem of
abstracts and correct ~1tpl~ace in the text and converted inhto : :~utton you
check on whether everything is going as planned. If it is not, he or she
. ted in the desire PA tc ) At the pus o should inform the project's management team, should insist on changes,
;osu~rchoice (numbered reference:~~ ~ef~;encing
to'r and bibliography. and should adjust the objectives or even decide to terminate the project.
can even cha nge the chosen sys - In the case of large projects : the people who are responsible for
supervising the individual projects should check that everything is
h writer uses the running on time or whether they need to make some changes to the
Example . ge from a literature report. T e
The following is a passa activities . This might prompt them to delay their activities or to take
unexpected conditions into account.
author-year system.
- If a research or technical development department has a number of
r n of bio-technolo P~ojects on the go, colleagues within in each individual project area
. lands with regards to the introduc io 993· Heijs & Ml Will sometimes refer to progress reports to see whether the
Public opinion in the Nethe~ somewhat ambivalent (Ha~st~a , 1 tra~t to some Preliminary outcomes are useful for their own projects .
applications is , on the wh~ et~eling & Smink, 1998). This is in conark and swed Financial and administrative staff members will sometimes r'J se a
1996; Midden, Hamstra, utries such as Austria, Germany, Den:utteling, Koop Progress report for invoicing and maybe also to make some changes
surrounding European c?un. !early critical of them (De Jong, to the budget. Often payments are made for the part of the project
where the public's reaction is c
concerned after the progress report has been approved.
 ©N~o~o~rd~h:o~ff~U:it:g:ev:e~rs~b:v______._,... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111111111111111111111
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 113
112
Presentation requirements
We recommend using tab/
Structure and readers' questions ~nd
in~ ~onv1nc1ng, make sure that youe/~resentation clear.
The schedule in Fig. 7 .6 shows what information should be dealt with in a For a pre sentation to b es schedules to make th
side rather than dwe ll
progress report. to produce a less favourab~~ength on what has gone wrongok ohn th~ sunny
response. • w 1ch 1s sure

Pitfalls
FIGURE 1.s Schedule for a progress report
• Ory. lists.
. . The progress report should
ac t 1v1t1es undertaken Th
everything
not be a dry enu
is proceed.in e emphasis shou ld be on them~rat1on
.
of the

I
Summary
writer should make a f g according to the previous p/a .atter of whether
1 Introduction
- What is the objective of the project as a whole? need to be made. irm statem ent about whether an~n~~~ and the
- What part of the project has already been completed and reported on?
- What activities and what period does this report cover?
• Overlooking the ha~d k
war to dat Th .
nges wi ll
that you have worked hard e. ere is nothing wron with .
the person who commi .. After all, you are dependent g th making clear
2 Activities and results
- What activities were carried out in the period under review? a lot of work has been ~~1oned
the report. It may be use~~/
t e g~odwill
of
- What results have been achieved?
- How do the results stack up against the planning? (Time, money)?
delays.
. ~ .
Howeve~•
the J·ust'fne, especially if the project has e o
11cat1on asp t xpenenced
~01nt
out that
1n1ormat1ve aspect ("wh at .1s the st t ec should never get ·in t he way of th
- Have any problems arisen? aspect , a chronological stru . a e of the project? "). For th e
structure (based on ar cture is often less useful than e latter
3 Future
- What work still has to be done?
- What work is planned for the ensuing period?
'.oor timing in termspof ~~e~~:~pects of the project, for exa:~~~~ent-based
probl~n
- Are any hitches anticipated during the ensuing period and if so , how should they infrequently that th e pers cy.. Pmgress reports may be .

' rep~~ake
changes if there are who initiated the project can nomade so.
be dealt with? appear so freq uently that t;s. Conversely, the progress timely
4 Conclusions and recommendations reader's tim e. ey take up too much of the wnter. ;s sand
maythe
- What is the overall state of things in terms of the aim of the project and the

planning? Examples
- Should the approach be changed?
- What specific actions are needed (who, what, when)?
Table of contents of a pro
The following is th fl gress report
th e es hed-out t bl

The text may be short (a note) or long (a weighty analysis).

e renovation of the .
parts of the project · t~lll a e of contents of a
quarter. The structure focus:rogress report on
. e va rious blocks of bu 'ld' . s. on the individual
I ings within the area.
There are two ways of presenting the information in a progress report: with
an emphasis on each individual project or with an emphasis on
chronological developments . The next example illustrates the difference. roduction
part of the "Mt'// q uarter " ·
blo:~o~ 2~;~ur
Ulldlngs, in th e period pro1ect aimed at the renovation
EMPHASIS ON CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS place on roofs in 1 June 2010 to 31 October suburban blocks
r work on the facad s orth and South. These acti ·r renovation work
t~=t es~ r~;~:t ~llow~d
EMPHASIS ON INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
lbes the activities o: th blocks, described in on from
a~e
1 Completed maintenance work
1 Maintenance of national highways 1.1 Maintenance of national high @red to the original I smce been completed wh· h a. This report
1.2 Maintenance of provincial ro n block North P annmg. , tc show some delay
1 .1 Work completed
1.2 Work still to be done 1.3 Maintenance of bridges and
vities and resu lt
1.3 Planning for the ensuing period viaducts lStS S
tacts with the res. ,
2 Maintenance provincial roads 2 Maintenance work still to be do block South idents committee
2.1 Work completed 2.1 Maintenance of national hi
ltles and re su lts
2.2 Work still to be done 2 .2 Maintenance of provincial
2.3 Planning for the ensuing period 2.3 Maintenance of bridges a
r details
viaducts work on blocks
3 Maintenance bridges and viaducts d activities East and West
3 .1 Work completed 3 Planning for the next period hedule
3.2 Work still to be done 3 .1 Maintenance national hi
3 .3 Planning for the ensuing period 3.2 Maintenance provincial
3 .3 Maintenance bridges
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgeve rs bv SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT
114 115

5 Conclusions and recommendations
Work is running behind by two weeks.
To catch up, it is recommended that two extra people be allocated to the work .
planned for the other two blocks. There have also _been_ som: unexp~cted c?nfl1cts
with the residents ' committee. A further consultation with this committee will ta ke
place on 28 November.
uestions a reader might ask. If the experiment is a standard one, many of
~ese issues need not be addressed, of course, including the theoretical
framework. If some parts of a chapter take up a lot of room (for example , what
materials were used), they can be turned into a chapter of their own.
The schedule in Fig. 7. 7 shows what information needs to be shown in an
experimental research report.

Presentation requirements
The shadow side and sunny side some readers (specialists) might want to check the experiment or perhaps
With the right formulations you can - up to a point - make negative even repeat it to see whether any pitfalls have been avoided. When Pons
information look less negative without bending the truth. Managers are not and Fleischmann reported on cold nuclear fusion, researchers from all over
easily fooled but you will increase the chance of a positive reception and the world tried to replicate their experiments. Specialists sometimes apply
perhaps agreement to a suggested alteration. the procedure followed to other cases. They will therefore require detailed
answers to the question of what methods, materials and instruments you
have used and under what conditions, answers so detailed that they can
SHADOW SIDE SUNNYSIDE copy your approach without problems. If you have used a standard
procedure, a literature reference will , naturally, be sufficient.
The storm of 28 October caused a lot of In the week following the storm of 28 Other readers (decision-makers) are likely to be more interested in the
damage and a full week's delay in October, a number of people worked significance of the research and the final results. They should be able to
overtime, thus limiting the delay to read about them without being hindered by technical details, which should

'
building.
According to the original planning, all 92
employees should have been issued with
a new PC by 14 November. We are, alas,
behind on our schedule: 20 employees
are still waiting for their PC .
just a week.
According to the original planning, all 92
employees would be issued with a new
PC by 14 November. We are almost on
schedule: during the coming week the
last 20 employees will be provided with
their PC.
largely be in the appendices. This will ensure that the main text is readable
for those who do not intend to look further than the main text. The
conclusions and summary should mainly be aimed at those readers who
want to get an idea of the importance of the research and the implications
of the results. For these readers, it is also helpful if the main text contains
a Jot of graphic material (such as graphs of important results) that can be
understood independently from the text.

MURE 7.7 Schedule fo r an experimental research report

~ An experimental research report
Measurements and observations form the basis of the experimental research
report. If these are to be presented convincingly in the report, start by ensuring
that you have recorded all your data accurately during the research itself. In the
case of laboratory research, this can be done in a laboratory diary. Record all hat occasioned the research?
details so carefully that you can reconstruct in detail the work that you have ypothesis, presentation of the problem
done. If the results prove ultimately not to match expectations or tie in with te of affairs in t he area discussed (connection with earlier research)
earlier experiments , the diary might give an indication of why this is so. of the research
If work circumstances permit, it is best to put the notes d~rectly onto yo~r rms, conditions and limitations (prescribed method/instruments)
computer. If you do this you will be able to include them directly 1n your fins f'teoretical fram ework
ments used, set-up, materials
report.
scrlption of the instruments and materials
Structure and readers' questions the instruments are set up and what auxiliary connections might need to
Experiments are usually aimed at testing a hypothesis. They can also sel used
to determine the exact relationship between different ent1t1es: for e~amp earch
between temperature and the length of an object. As such, your main t procedure was followed?
question maybe one of the following: t entities were measured, how and with what?
• To what extent is hypothesis A feasible? were the observations reduced to measurements?
• What is the connection between entities X and Y? adjustments needed to be made?

The report is usually structured along the lines of "problem-method-re:~! results, preferably in the form of tables or graphs; details in appendices
discussion." Below is a model for a detailed report. It deals with many
 --~,.....,.-:-=----- .
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
116 SPEC IAL TYPES OF TEXT
117

FIGURE 1.a Schedule for a qualitative research report

5 Conclusions It . tations?
- lnterpretatio.n of the ;:~tuw~h comparable results .or thet~~~a~~~;:;roved? . 1 Introduction
a Are they incon s1s I d or the hypothesis con ir - What occasioned the research? (What sources attest to this?)
blem been so ve
b Has th e. pro I tion generally valid? - What is the question answered in this research/ what is the aim of the
c Is the given so u research?
6 Recomm endations . the set-up or the procedure - What method was chosen? (Theory/ approach)
S ggestions for changing
= s~ggestionsfor further research
2 Theoretical perspective
- Why is qualitative research the best approach?
- What theory was used to deal with the problem? (Source references are
important)
Bibliography . . om uter programmes etc.
Appendices d Its technical denvat1ons, c P - What is the researcher's perspective and is he or she personally involved?
• Detail s of instruments an resu '
3 Method - Organisation of the research
- What research methods could have been used? What method was used? Why?
- What precautionary measures were taken to prevent the researcher exerting too
A qualitative research report great an influence on the research results?
-
What additional research methods will be used to verify the results of the main
w what a process has de livered or what research? (Triangulation)
Someti mes it is not enough to~i~~ted crossbeam is . The reader often 4 Results
the breaking index of a new la h happened, what reasons lie behind at
Describe the results in as factual a way as possible . Do not attach value
wants to know why something as. formati on supply is. It is custommy o

'
.s1on
. or how good a particul arr these
in judgments to pronouncements by interviewees ("enormously," "shockingly").
dec1 quest'ions 11· ke these . Qual1tat1ve
o ua litative research to ~nswe s and feel ings of the peop 1~ . Hint: let the topics or subtopics that you have identified in your research determine
~es~arch expetn~~c~easured
.
t he structure of this chapter. The chapter on results is often not structured
is about the opinions , objectively. In qua l1 tat1ve
d ta can often no according to individual research outcomes (interview, questionnaire or observation)
concerned . These a . ed and described by means of: in the same way as with experimental or quantitative research.
research, insight is ga in
5 Conclusion
. r mo re cases
• Observing one o bei ng a pa rticipant in an event - What is the answer to the main question?
Gain ing expe nenbce tbiheir ideas or feelings
• Asking others a ou - To what extent are the results of the research useful for understanding similar
situations?
ua litative research .it .is ·mportant for the
d - To what extent does the research support the theory used?
Whe n writ ing a report abou~ ~ his or her int erpretation of spec1f1c an
I . .
h r Appendices
researcher to make cle· ~~ t ~doing interviews, for instance , thedrese~~~ e Qualitat ive research appendices are very often very extensive (interview reports,
uniq ue events is plaus1 e. that he or she has not put wor s I ~
will need to convince the reade~ that the ident ity of the interviewee is not
observation diaries, etc.). A digital appendix (the material put onto a CD or DVD) can
be extremely useful.
mouths of the interviewees an ( d t he researcher t oo) will most li kely II
open t o questi·on. The. readers
h anerson interviewed .is co 1oured -' after. a ,
assume t hat the opinion ofnt o~j~ctive view. It is the researche r s J~~~oso as
there is no such t hing as a h ve influenced the research an . Incorporating interviews into the report
describe all the factors tha:l~:~vearesearch often uses the triangula~~~~tive Interviews of various types are frequently used in qua litative research.
thorough ly as possible. Qu . . g different qua l1 tat1ve and qua
Critica l readers will be especially interested in the fo ll owing five matters:
method : approach ing the su~Je~\~:1~esult - ins ight into the phenon:e~on
1 The organisation of your research. How did you select the people you
methods with the aim of ma. in ne way of gain ing more ins ight in o
_more re l1 ·able · Quest1onna1res are o interviewed? Every fifth passerby? The head of each department or a
in-depth interviews . specific manager? Or did the interviewees present t hemse lves as
volunteers?
2 The situation during the interview. What information did you give the
Structure and readers • questions . a s want s to know how t he research
The reader of a research report wll~ %:t~ods wi ll instantly detract from the
people interviewed prior to the interview? Did they, for instance, know
what you wo uld use their information for? What questions did you ask?
was done . After all , fl awed ~e~:~~~ers to keep the questions a reader~~ost Was everybody asked the same questions?
outcome . It is a good lid~~e ~ase of qualitative research, t he rea~~~~nce
on 3 Noting down the answers. How precise ly did you note t he answers down?
li kely to ask in mind . n th researcher himself has had an in Did you notice any pauses? How did you note down somet hing that was
li kely to ask to what extent h ~ow a question was formu lated ,.why a ade by intended as a joke (or conversely, was intended serious ly)?
the outcome of the researc ~ d for or on what bas is observations mder
Particu lar case study was op eh are more like ly to concern the rea
the researcher were made -t ese
than a meter reading .
 © Noordhott U~it~g~ev-e-rs_b_v----------··········
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT
119
118
FRAGMENT FROM REPORT
4 Analysis of the answers. How did you put together the answers of COMMENTARY (INTERPRETATION
PROBLEM)
different interviewees? When and how did you determine whether During the interview the . .
different people were of the same opinion or thought differently about we re raised: following issues It is not clear hOW the ISSU
.
or what method th . es were raised
something? 1 "During the trainin I e writer used.
about safely I le g learned enough
. arned tow k
by making mistakes " or safely 1 !t is not clear how the
interpreted Do quote should be
CLEARER 2 Accidents and ne · · es the sp k
UNCLEAR DESCRIPTION
. ar-accidents the training wa ea er mean
cons istently report d are not . s good be

I
Information is not dealt with properly. 3 [... ] e . working safely had to cause
Information is not dealt with properly. This has caused dissatisfaction between on the job? Or th t be learned while
. a one of th ..
With several groups of people bosses and employees among employees of the training was that e failings
interviewed, this has caused in department X as we// as those in group have learned h he should
OW to WO k
dissatisfaction between bosses and Y. One employee of group Y indicated 2 Who said this? The r safely?
employees. One employee indicated emotionally("/ was very angry about registration d people of the
epartment? 0
emotionally that he had no confidence in that") that he had no confidence in the workers themselve s.? . r the
the information provided after finding out information provided after finding out
that things were put in a completely that things were put in a completely
different light in another department. different light in another department.
3 Not too long. The best
u t r quotes are sh
q o a ion marks in the t ort and are put b
FACTUAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULT. usually indented (2 t b )ext. Long quotes are cited etween double
NON-FACTUAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULT. of white before and aaft s on the left and also on th separately and are
. . er the quot 1i e nght Put h If .

'
None of the people interviewed knows more ifflcult to inter t e. ry to avoid long . a a line
It is sad to find that none of the people d
the director's name . 4 Appropriate style Ad pre . quotes; they are
interviewed knows the name of the director. Yi . apt quotes to th
ou can add a verb (or . e sentence in wh·
sentence fluent For other information) in square b ich they are put.
The training for~m I example: rackets to make the
5 Retrospective checking. Have you checked your impression of what the e I P oyees seems t
mp oyee who said that h o be inadequate as
interviewee said with him afterward? Did you get a research colleague to but that he had "I e had not learned to w k, expressed by an
5 C earned to or safely d .
/ear reference. Use .... work safely by [making) . urmg training,
go over your interpretations? quote. The reader sh a simple system of reference mistakes."
Interview reports belong in the appendices of your report. These what group) the quotZultd be able to find out easilyfr the source of the
s ems. ram whom (or from
appendices are often confidential because the identity of the interviewed
person can quickly become apparent (especially in smaller organisations) Hint: balance out you
and this is not always in the interests of the people concerned. In the case quotes per intervie r quotes. Avoid tunnel visio .
Interviewees soun wee in your report. It is cons n_. count the number of
of university theses, it is customary for word-for-word recordings of the
voices of the othe d more frequently than those p1;uous if the voice of some
anonymous interviews to only be accessible by supervisors of theses. rs are not as frequent in o others. Find out why th
your report. e

Quoting from interviews

Reporting interview results is not easy. The writer may suggest that a Design report
majority of those interviewed hold one opinion and a minority something
else, even though there has been no quantitative research to verify this. Adesign report describ
nstru~tion, Whether ites the design
You should try to represent the opinions as accurately as you can. It is
often a good idea - and more convincing - to quote the interviewee
c Viaduct. The .
gives detailedi~;~er
b: of an instrumen
a steel-frame wind .
~~lh
Justifies the choices
t, a system or a
a transport system or a
verbatim . A good quote will have the following characteristics:
readers to decid rmat1on about the final de . as made as designer
1 A sketch of the situation. What question was answered? Did the Port system e _whether or not toe sign. The report should
interviewee volunteer the information? b or build th . rect the wind ·11 .
e needed . e viaduct. They h m1 ' implement th
2 A suggested interpretation (quotes do not a/ways speak tor themselv in that case . s ould also be able t o see what
e
Make clear what you want to show by the quote. In the example belO
r~ports serve a .
ct information i n _i nformative as well as
erlying principl s given about the charact a _persuasive purpose.
tternpt is mad:st and its effectiveness enst1cs of the design, its
nds better than o show that the desc~ibed .
other alternatives. design satisfies all
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 121
1 20
. long process leading to the Before a detailed design can be adopted, a decision sometimes has to be
II presents a stage in a
A design report usua y re . t t' n of a new product or system. made about particular design specifications and ways of finding solutions
I ent and implemen a 10
eventual deve opm ss has the following steps: to problems . If so, the report will go no further than Part 3 or 4 and the
Broadly speaking, ~he proc~ . d This contains a set of requirements (a results will be presented in a pre-design report. It will set out the options
• A design report is comm1ss1one .
(Pre-design for an ultra high capacity aeroplane). The actual design will be
programme of demands) . . . research possibly resulting in a described in a second report (Design of a four engine ultra high capacity
The designer carries out preliminary f the' possibilities and existing aeroplane with two passenger decks) after one of the model concepts has
t ·ning an inventory o
literature report con a1 t . often modified at this stage. been chosen
t f equiremen s is
solutions. The s.e o r d . which a description of the product or

I A design report is produce in

. 'f ton of the reasons
system and.iust1 ica I
for choosing that product or
re ort on testing of the prototype .
system is given, as well as a pd . . ·s made on whether the design
. of a test report, a ec1s1on I
On thed basf1sct be adopted or taken into production.
shoul , 1n a •
.
Terms and conditions, research parameters and requirements
The set of requirements has a crucial role to play in the design report. In
determining whether to adopt a particular design , designers often
differentiate between two types of restriction they have to take into ·
account:
f a design report are: . . . • Terms and conditions. These are limitations imposed from the outside.
The main target groups or . I d . the process as a whole. Their Job is , Research parameters. These are limitations that are self-imposed by the
• Specialists. They will be invo ve in
designer (why the designer prefers one design over another;
to implement the report. t d decide what future direction assumptions) .
Managers. They will look at the repor an
to take.

I
Drawing up a set of requirements is often a complicated process, one in
ders' questions . which the requirem ents have to be reformulated time again and again, and
Structure an d rea th basic structure of a design report. concessions have to be made to the other party which prove not to be
The schedule in Fig. 7 .9 shows e
feasible and so have to be negotiated all over again. It is not necessary to
record all of these skirmishes in depth in the report. This would only make
the report muddled and unconvincing. The following approach is better:
FIGURE 7 .9 Schedule for a design report • Present the final design as if there had been a systematic process from
requirements to res ults.
1 Introduction . eet? What function should it be able to serve? • Use the arguments tabled throughout the process to substantiate your
- What need should the design m '. ? final choice.
- What overall characteristics should it have.
• Choose a strategic approach : the requirements that the ultimate design
2 Set of requirements h t ristics of the design impose any restraint fully satisfies can be presented right from the start as "essential ," those
- Do the function and overaH c aracdethe design report stipulated any terms an requirements that th e design does not quite meet as "desirable."
who comm1ss1one
- Has the person . tal legal and so on sort? • Make a clear distinction between the terms and conditions and research
conditions of the env1ronmen ' .. g this in a set of requirements? parameters - even though this is often difficult. The distinctions do,
What is the best way of summarizin however, make it ea sier to consider the limitations systematically. Again,
3 Possible design options . ? a strategic approach should be taken.
- What design options are available .
4 Testing of con.c ept designst designs meet the criteria? H t of requirements for a piece of equipment usually contains the
_ Do the various concep lowing parts:
. . f the design chosen Cost requirements.
5 Detailed description o d characteristics of the design .
- Exact description of all parts an hysical requirements. Weight, dimensions, material characteristics
6 Test of the prototype ? . temperature resistan ce et c.).
- What testing method was used "t h uJd? If not, what is the matter with I nctional re?uir~ments. Performance, technical possibilities , suitability
- Does the prototype function. as I s o . different situations, likelihood of breakdowns.
. d recommendations . ts? tratlona/ requirements. Ea se of use, safety.
7 Conclusions an ff . tly with the set of requ1remen ·
- Does the design comply su ic1en? rluctlon re~uirements. Simplicity of production (assembly, for
- What improvements are require~ . b put into production/ implemented Pie), maintenance, repairs, rate of production; availability of the
Is it recommended that the design e ns of production (materi al, manpower).
nment require t p . .
Appendix 1: Test results . . . (d wings technical details, etc.) men s. ress ure on the environment during
Appendix 2: Design spec1f1cat1ons ra ' Uctlon and at the end of t he product's life.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv @ Noordhoff Uitg evers bv
122 SPECIAL TYPES OF TEXT 123

Market aspects (demand by customers or competing products on the 2 Set of requirements

market) are sometimes included in the set of requirements, though they Will - Price between €30 and €60
often have been dealt with in an earlier report. _ Weight 200-300 gms
- Prefera bly ro und
Wh en the design is a construction (a canal, a building) , the following types _ Takes a digita l reading while riding or standing
of requirement often play a role: _ Gradient expressed in steps of 3%, between +30% and -30%
• Environmental requirements. Requirements deriving from the natural Easy to remove from bike (click system)
situation of the chosen terrain (situation at surface and groundwater - Suitable for all bikes
levels, soil conditions); or assumption of unknown considerations in this _ Power su pply: reloadable battery (1 year)
regard if the necessary information is not yet fully available. Concept models
• Legal requirements. Requirements stemming from laws and compulsory Testing of alternative models
planning by the government (zoning plans , environment regulations) . Detailed specifica tions of the chosen concept
• Social requirements. Requirements relating to the social acceptability of Testing of the design
the design . For example, environmental aspects, landscape aspects, Conclusions and recommendations
conforming to certain policies, political feasibility. endix 1: Test res ults
• Technical and construction requirements. Requirements related to norms, endix 2: Design specifications
regulations and technical requirements of the construction.
• Technical execution requirements. Requirements that are in force during
the building of the construction and that have repercussions for the
design. Terms and conditions, research parameters and requirements

'
• Economic requirements. A design may have_ re strictions imposed on it. The following example
derives from a design for a waste incineration plant.
These requirements may derive from either the terms and conditions or the
research parameters.
AND CONDITIO NS TRANSLATED INTO A SET OF REQUIREMENTS

Pitfalls
Some writers assume that a design report should be a chronological record rat conditions
of the design process rather than a justification of the final design. fact that the upper ground layers of the chosen terrain are unstable must b
Assumptions like these tend to produce murky reports because the design n Into account. e
process will probably have been a bit messy. It is better to see the report frement: the pile fo undations must derive their dimensions from a solid la er
as a logical reconstruction of the designing process. In particular, avoid st 10 m below ground level. Y
spending a lot of time on alternatives that took up a lot of time durin~ the conditions
actual process but which eventually proved not to be workable for vanous r as emiss_ion s into the air are concerned, the plant must comply with th
reasons : perhaps because they did not quite make the grade on a crucial ve on Incineration 1 999. e
criterion. Do not include them in the analysis, just make a short note In ement: all gases _must be removed via a flue gas cleaning installation .
introduction on why you are discarding that alternative. cal and construct/On conditions
~t must be des igned according to the regulations of the Steam Engineering
Examples
ment: t_h_e waste bu nker must be fitted with a fire detection system
I condtttons ·
Table of contents in a design report
The following is a fleshed-out table of contents in the design report "D nddt~ater leve l may not be lowered in the immediate vicinity of buildings
of an inclinometer for a bicycle.'' n a ions on wooden piles.
ent: provisions have to be made to prevent lowering of the ground water

c conditions
1 Introduction
Many bike riders would like to know the gradient of the slope they are riding O Ing, together wit h t he installations, should not cost more than 90 million
This report describes the design of an inclinometer that can be read from an
ent: the b ·1d· . .
speed and distance meter. . ui mg, together with the installations should not cost more
Ill ion euros . '
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

124

RESEARCH PARAMETERS TRANSLATED INTO A SET OF REQUIREMENTS

1 Natural considerations
This preliminary study assumes that the ground layer 12 m below the surface level
has sufficient supporting power for the pile foundations.
Specification: the pile foundation will be based on the ground \ayer at 12 m depth.
2 Community and social considerations
The design should keep in mind that the plant should fit into the landscape
Requirement: the plant will be hidden from view by planting trees.
3 Technical and construction considerations
Soil and ground water emissions must be avoided.
Requirement: the rooms for temporary storage of waste will be equipped with
impermeable floors.
4 Building considerations
Noise pollution to the adjacent residential areas must be limited as much as
possible .
Requirement: the delivery of building materials will be done by boat wherever

possible.

I 5 Economic considerations
The heat energy from the incinerating process should be used efficiently.
Requirement: heat exchangers will be installed in the chimney.
 ~~--------------
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
........_ 127
126

8
Letters, emails and
I memos

' Business letters

Letters of application
Email
Memos

espite the fact that we can email via Blackberry and telephone for free via the Internet,
continue to receive letters every day. TNT Post delivers approximately five billion
dressed postal items per year. The old-fashioned letter remains an often used means of
munication, and for good reason.

le a telephone call is often the best choice, choosing a letter is occasionally more
oprlate even than email. The in-between form, a letter sent via email is another popular
on.

dvantages of a letter above a telephone call are:

&tter has status. Correctly formulated and designed letters demand attention and get
In most companies they are registered and documented and answered.
ta Bnd arrangements can be recorded clearly in a letter. Technical or detailed
mation is often incompletely conveyed in a telephone call. Letters form a reliable
ory aid and can prevent misunderstandings. They are useful to refer back to.
r has legal standing. This is why tenders, requests and appeals are not dealt with
ho~lcally. Even though oral agreements also have legal validity, most business
ctions are put down on paper "just to make sure." While signed letters of tender
nst1tute
llcitor. proof for a judge, deeds and contracts need to b e made in the presence
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
128 129
• 1
Use
5 .line spacing
. 1 . In s horter letters 1 5
4 A letter can present a difficult message in a thoughtful way. You will not . is sometimes used Th' ' . or a spacing bet
be interrupted halfway through your statement by the listener and have page . is makes for a more bal ween 1 and
anced layout on the
your concentration disrupted, making a difficult message sound even
worse. With a letter you can write and re-write until you are satisfied.
5 A letter never arrives at an inopportune time. A letter does not disturb the
AMERICAN LAYOUT NEW STYLE
receiver as much in his activities as a telephone call does. The chance
of the message being read sympathetically and having the effect you
want it to have is therefore greater. sender

I
Deltra B.V.
6 A letter can reach a large number of people at the same time.
Trans 10
3512 JK UTRECHT
Effective letter writing presupposes attention to style and letter writing
conventions. Section 8.1 deals with this. In Section 8.2 attention is paid to te l. 030 - 2 377 473
e-mai l deltra@live.com
a special type of letter: the letter of application. The letters we write
nowadays usually take the form of email. This has even prompted courses
receiver Mr L. M. Elbracht
with titles like "Email awareness training." Electronic mail both personal
and business has surged so greatly in popularity in recent times that it is UtrechtM
. - h on Foundation
arat
GI!dstraat 124
starting to develop its own rules (netiquette) and create new user
possibilities. It has some inherent risks and limitations , however (see 3572 ES UTRECHT
Section 8.3). Companies often pass on information in the form of short

I
date 22 November 2011
notes: memos or memorandums (Section 8.4). These can be sent via email
or on paper. subject and reference Re: financial contribution to
Your ref: your letter of 17 N the Utrecht Marathon
Our ref: VV/EH/brf352 ovember 2011
~ Business letters
salutation Dear Mr Elbracht,
8.1.1 Layout of the letter
There used to be strict rules in the Netherlands for the layout of letters, but
opening/introduction In your letter of 17 Nave .
during the last few years, things have loosened up in this regard. In the contribution to th U mber, you requested a
current climate of changing styles, one particular layout is being used with e trecht Marathon.
increasing frequency, not only in the Netherlands but also internationally:
the new style American layout. This layout has three characteristics:
• All formal components of the letter start on the left-hand side along the
same margin.
• The order of the standard components is: sender, receiver, date, subjec
reference, salutation, text of the letter, complimentary close and
line of white between
paragraphs
As I am sure you WI.11 understand
all the requests that reach
responsible ch .

le '
·
.
'we cannot comply with
us. To be able to make
mces, we have a p ]'
supportmg national so . 1
cia and charitabl
an d mstitutions rather th
an one-off pro·
.
o icy of pnmarily
e organisations
t
isure character. As su h iects with a strong
signature, enclosures and copy. Ou f c ' we cannot hon J
• The paragraphs are not indicated by indenting but by a line of white. " r Irm does contribute a sizable s our your request.
Nederland Sportief'' fu d um each year to the
donation from that fu dn . Perhaps you are eligible for a
Apart from a few minor differences, the layout is identical to that now n .
recommended by the Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut (NEN 3162). An
We hope that you a re .
marathon is very s!~es~~~~ our decision and that the
example follows of the model we recommend (p. 129), and then an
example of a suitable variant (p. 131).

A letter that is pleasing to the eye has enough white. You should there
keep the following in mind:
• Maintain broad margins: 3 cm left, right, top and bottom. (The mar
'°"'"'"'"''ly, ~ .vJq•f \r
5
the top and bottom are smaller in pre-printed stationary.) Make
you \eave a wide left margin so that not part of the letter is lost If
Ms T. van de Geest
filed away in a folder.
• Put lines of white between the formal components. You can, of co
vary the number of lines of white or the height of the lines of wh
reducing the amount of white to make the letter fit on to one pa
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
130 131

LETTER WITH A PRE-PRINTED LETTERHEAD

8.1.2 Letter conventions
A great number of conventions govern the formal components of a letter.
ArboExpert B. v.
Largely as a result of two things - greater informality and /ess gender
Expertise centre for working conditions
stereotyping, some of these conventions have changed in recent years.
Bu1tenwaters/oot 382 2
In industry, people now refer to each other in a less formal way than used a' 015 ' 490 DZ DELFT
to be the case. The more informal approach is obvious in the dropping of - 6327 293/fax 015
181 arboex@a rbo.ni - 6329 277
many academic titles, even in quite formal letters. This is even clearer in

emails.

l The growing realisation that the business world (including government) is

not solely a man's world has brought about another change. Twenty-five
years ago, most correspondence manuals recommended Dear Sirs as a
general salutation!
Ms 0 . van Marion
Head of General Affairs
ImpulsB.V.
Populierstraat 179
2509 GI DEN HAAG

Sender Your ref. Our ref.

Firms usually have paper with a pre-printed letterhead (and footer) in which
the sender's details are printed. If you send a letter as a private individual, Letter of 17 March 2011 GM/ab/SBS-136
20 March 2011
you could do it as follows: Re: Your questions about the Sick Bmldmg
. . Syndrome

I J. Western
Haasburgstraat 77
2272 XZ VOORBURG
Dear Ms Van Marion,

I would be pleased to respond t 0 your requests.

d you requested some b ac kground m

SFirstly, · formation in relation to th .
n~
yn rome. I am pleased to se
You could use your academic title of Dr or Prof. (but not together), though Offices. This manual which d you the recently published inform te Sick Building
most people do not do this nowadays except in an academic situation. inside climate in off{ce d . ea s with reducing and prevent' a wn booklet, Healthy
s an 1mprov· h mg complaint l
Medical doctors and vets do use the title Dr. Women often choose to e many questio . mg t equality oflife . . s re a ting to the
th ns regularly put to our bureau by build. m work spaces, attempts to answer
precede their name by Miss, Mrs or Ms. It may be useful to add your mg managers and
telephone number and email address (directly below the postal code and Your second questio b work councils.

'
na outhows ..
place name). requires a more extensive answer ~nouslyyou should take the complaints of
type of complaint should an I can give you here Th . your employees
not alw b · e most rrnport thin
an example: employees wh ays . e taken literally, though should b al ant . g is that this

Ms. C. van den Acker

humidity as the cause. Infa~t complam about the dryness of the air ofte~ t cen senously. To give
temperatures that are t hi ' those complaints are very often regard atmospheric
Beukenlaan 36 . oo ghand . causedbyaco b' .
question r would . poor arr quality Fo m mation of
6176 DE SPAUBEEK ' agam refer you to the bo kl . r a more extensive answer to thi .
0 et Healthy Offices. s unportant
06-44317814
caro@gmail.com After re a ding th.IS publicati
you raise. If so on you may well find th
natur , do not hesitate to rin at you would like to folio
ally, without any obi. . g me. I would be more tha h w up the matter
to you. 1gat10ns - about how our b . n appy to inform you -
meau can be offur·th er assistance
.
Receiver
The receiver may either be a private person or a company or institutlo

Receiver is a company
To avoid time delays, it is better to address a letter to a certain deP
within a company, or better still, to a specific individual, since the re
smcerely,
Tums·

A. van der Weerd

dt(L
V Y
L-. ( J:;:,._, (__
is likely to take greater responsibility for a personally addressed le CD!rector) ~

c.: Healthy Offi ces

 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
~---------------~
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
132 133

Persons with a Ph.Dare adressed with Ph 0 . .

Mr Sj aak Baa rs address but with Dr before their nam . t.h behind their name in the
Head , Department of Customer Service e in e salutation:
Optima Farma B.V. W. Koetsenruijter Ph .D
Postbu s 201 6 Grosvenor Place
23 70 AD ROELOFARENDSVEEN Hopatcong
NJ 34552
USA

I Addressed person is a private individual

Mr Mark Waaijenberg
Nieuwe Rijn 56 b
Dear Dr Koetsenruijter

There is no distinction between the formal d th .

the case in Dutch. Not only ·geachte' 'z an
.
e '~formal salutations as is
'lieve' are all translated by dear. Only 'wheer geachte and 'beste' but also
2312 JH LEIDEN . en you are good friends you may write:

My dear Willem

Place and date

Explanation
• It is customary to add Mr, Miss, Mrs or Ms to the name of the receiver, The place where the letter is written is not .

I
'th I mentioned in English lett (
1 as a ready been pre-printed). The date h . ers unless
but this is not absolutely necessary. s ou 1d always be written in full:
• If you do not know whether a letter is addressed to a man or a woman,
you can usually find out via an Internet search machine.
19-09-'11
In English and American adresses the number is before the streetname: 56 19 September 2011

Oak Road

There should not be a full stop after th .

Taylor's Bathroom Equipment to figures below ten in the date i d e date. A zero is sometimes added
82 St. Mary's Lane For example: 05 June 2011. n or er to prevent the date being changed.
Bethesda, MD 66932
USA Reference
To facilitate filing and finding of lett
two references: your reference a d ers, make sure that your letter includes
n our reference.
To facilitate automatic handling of mail, TNT Post suggests the following:
ur reference
• Do not put any commas between name and street name or between
elude the reference number of the letter .
street name and postal code. er our ref. in that letter) If th . you are replying to (you will find it
• Use two spaces between postal code and place name. e letter: . ere is no reference number, quote the date
• Write the place name completely in capitals.

Forms of address
Formal titles are not very much used in the English speaking world. We
write as salutation in letters to people with a university master's title JU
Mr or Mrs.

Dear Mr Johnson Where you put your own referenc

rnethod of creating refer e number. Each company will have
We make an exception for professors and Ph .D's. Then we add then artment code (Sales) . ~~ce numbers. Some common methods·
and we do not abbreviate the title 'professor': uter file name (tende; ~~)1:als (LG and TW) and file number or .

Dear Professor Biber

Dear Dr Van Dyck
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
134 135

• the internal postal number of the department, followed by identification

Dear Ms Brenkenbosch
data (policy number, membership number):
Dea r Mr Docters van Le,euwen
Dear Mr Ahmadi and Mr Nat ad'arma,

Our ref.: V7 /3392921

In less official business lette rs t o acquainta

for a more personal salutation (D ~r~n~~-nces and friends ' you m~o~

I • a short reference indication:

our ref.: 97 /FB (=letter 97 by Frans Brand)

The salutation in personal lett .
letters the comma is left out· ~r~ is f~llowed bij a comma, in business
by a colon. ' mencan letters the salutation is followed

Because
f h no
. initials are used in sa 1utat1ons
.
in D
o t e prefix becomes a capital. ' utch names, the first letter
Subject indication
Following re: you should give a short but informative indication of the
subject of the letter. This enables the reader to see at a glance what the
letter is about. The English place the subject indication after the salutation Not: Dear Mr A.A. de Vries

I the Americans place it before the salutation. '

But: Dear Mr De Vries
Not: Dear Mrs van der Wouden- .
But: Dear Mrs Van der Woud van Manon
en-van Marion

SUBJECT INDICATION

Re: Your order no. 277 of 19 November 2012 The addressee is a firm or an institut"
Re: Agenda annual shareholders' meeting What do you do if you do not know t~on
e name of the addressee?
Re: Delivery iPads

Sir
Sirs
Explanation Madam
• Do not treat more than one subject per letter. Different subjects are
often dealt with by different people and may be filed in different places. Sir or Madam
Ir/Madam
• Do not make the subject longer than five words.
• Sometimes hedging the subject matter is a good idea. If a complaint h
been dismissed, Re: Dismissal complaint might not go down well with
receiver. The subject in bad news letters and request and sales letter
not refer to a person usin t ,
is best stated indirectly (Re: Your letter of 19 April 2012). ar Director, Dear Sales Magna~at ferson s position within a company
n;e~~nsomebody you would ad~~e::~~tvhotidh academic titles unless
person such at title when sp k'
Salutation
You address your reader and set the tone of the letter in your salutatlo Tai practition~r
De as;our own professor - Dear Profe ea ing to
The salutation you use will depend on your relationship with the reade n, but you do k- ar actor. If you do not know th ssor - or your
tlo · now his/her title e name of the
"Dear Sir," "Dear Mr Van Woudenberg" or " Dear Sander." If you know n. For the attention of th you can put a line above the
other well, the last option is likely to be appropriate, although there Is e sales manager.
growing tendency in English to also use the Christian name, even whe
there is not a close relationship. If it is a formal letter that may be re
others, the first two options are the most appropriate ones.

The addressee is a person

If you know the name of the person you should use it in preference
"Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam."
..
Writing t o a group of
can use: people that you cannot or d0 not want to
 ©Noor dho tf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
137

under your weight. Wherever possible, opt for a you perspective. Try to
imagine yourself in the situation of your readers: address them on their
. and gentlemen
Dear ladies own terms and appeal to their interests. But be careful: too much you and
your could be seen as an undesirable intimacy.

. . .in popu\arity,
tlemen " is increasing . also
.
The salutation "Dear ladies and gen
people however, are o f the opinion that this NOT: "WE " STYLE
tt rs Some ' BUT: "YOU" PERSPECTIVE
in internal le e . b used in speech .

I
salutation should onl.y e are more specific: We, the editors and publishers of
The following salutations " Ingenious," do our utmost to make our As you may expect, the editors and
publication as interesting as we can publishers of " Ingenious " do their utmost
make it. But we never really know to ensure that the publication that you
f the board . read is as interesti,ng as possible. But
Dear members o 1· ation committee wheth er we have been successful or not.
members of the app ic . There is only one way for us to find out, success in this regard this is ultimately
Dea r f the works council decided by the subscribers. To what
Dea r members o and that is t o ask our readers. This is
extent does the publ ication meet your
the reason fo r this questionnaire. In it we
ask to wh at extent the publication is expectations ? How can it be improved?
meeting expectations and how it can There is only one way to find out and that
. olite formulas. A more be improved. [ .. . ] is simply by asking you. This is the
Starting sentences ere once full of flourishes andhp heading (the subject reas on for this questionnaire . ( ... ]
Starting senten.cest :pproach is usual nowadays. ; e ubject clear and so
Personal and d1rec d have made the letters s

'
) will alrea Y
or the reference ·ght to the point.
you should come stra1 Closing off formulas
While there are still people who do not think the traditional closing
formulations are a waste of time and paper, that group is dwindling.
NG SENTENCES
POMPOUS START! . have the pleasure of
ur letter of th e 5th of June inst., we ·FASHIONED CLOSING-OFF SENTENCES
In reference to yo . oblem .
informing you of the following . 12 January in regards to t~e above pr
We thank you for your letter oft of the 12th of January inst. e look forward to rece iving your reply and remain yours sincerely,
. d your \et er
We have duly receive d' g you enclosed ... remain , Sir, your obedient servant.. .
For your information 1 am sen in
·
1he expectation of a s peedy settlement, we remain .. .
await with interest your furth er reports .
he hope that we have been of service to you ...
. entences are far preferable:
Straightforward opening s

INFORMATIVE STARTI
NG SENTENCES
f \lowing reason, I reJ
·'e
. · r ny Noteboo ·k However for
' . the o und as we II ·
Thank you for repa1nnb ~or the costs the seco~d t1meh ar~abylon business
your demand that I payb r next we will be moving to t ~
t you do cleaning
On the first of Septe~ e ou because we understand t a rward to you r reactio n.
k We are contacting Y
par . fo r a nu mber of firms there . you meanwhi le for t he t rouble you have gone to.
work U In advance for yo ur cooperation.
pond as soon as poss ibl e (with a view to the holiday rush ,
before 12 June)
f or dealing wit h t his matter to my satisfaction .
" ,, .. . . may have
More "you" than we·ter have taken the init1at1ve. ~o:r a promise, o ch me on 0 6-37853311.
In a letter, you, the wn o~ may be making a reques u emphasise y
information to convey,r~tulating your reader. But if y~re too frequen
perhaps you are con~h and the pronouns I and we he haS disaPP also f'1 1· h .
of the matter too mu I g\ected, as though he ors n s by referring back to the central issue of your letter:
reader might well fee ne
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers b-v - - - - - -- ---------··········-
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS , EMAILS AND MEMOS
139

TWO EXAM PLES OF A SIGNATURE STATIN G TH E PERSON 'S POSITION

INFORMATIVE FINAL SENTENCES

• Should the above , however, represent the actual state of things , we insist that you With kind regards ,

*9
On behalf of the study group
do whatever you can to improve the situation.
• 1should like to discuss this proposal further with you. Can I ring you in
the near future to make an appointment?
~I
Anja Vesseur Pauline Post
Head , Human Resources

I
(chairwoman)
In modern business letters, final sentences like these are closed off with a
complimentary close :
Enclosures
Any enclosures (and their number) should b . . ·
Yours sincerely, letter, preferably with a description. e indicated at the bottom of the

If there is no name in the salutation, use the following complimentary

• Two enclosures
close: • Enclosures: 1 curriculum vitae
2 copy of diploma
Enclosure: offer (3 pp.)

'
Yours faithfully,

What do you type on the enclosure itself?

Or less formally: • Type at the top: Enclosure (and ive .
Number the enclosures if there Ts m the title of the enclosure).
• Number the pages . ore than one.
With kind regards ,
Copy
The names (and if desired, the addresses of
sending a copy of the letter w·11 d ) the people to whom you are
"With kind regards" is generally used in business letters if the writer kno 1 nee to be me r d
1lve, you should enclose a separate list of those
n ione . If there are more than
to whom the letter will be sent.
the reader. There is, however, a growing tendency for companies to use it
as their standard formula in their correspondence with customers and no
only after personal contact.
Mr J. Bellis and Mr w. Dijk
If you have a personal connection to the reader, you may like to write you Ms M. Schaareman (editor
complimentary close by hand instead of typing it out. of lntermediair)

Signature
A signature gives a letter legal standing and it shows the reader who is
responsible for the letter.
The signature is placed underneath the complimentary close . Since m
signatures are illegible ' the name of the person signing should ·be typto
below the signature, and underneath that or alongside it, the s1gna
position should be given . Many Dutch people have taken over the A
or French custom of signing off with their Christian name as well :
If you want to stress the fact that you are writing on behalf of a ftrm
department or a committee, you can do so in between the compllm
close and the signature. Usually it is sufficiently clear from the heS
the letter.
hould place the copy line a few lin
be placed just above the sal t t" es below the signature. Optionally it
u a ion though this is not as common. '
ers of application
e more than a mill'
~ed at a universit~o~r:~d .a half people in the Netherlands who
number of really intere~~st1t~te of higher education. In view of
from the rest. It is not un~ng Jobs, your letter of applicc!t ion must
two hundred applicants fosual for there to be anything between
r a single interesting position.
 140
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv ~-------------------
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS 141
..
People are increasingly putting their CV online on sites such as Linkedln. 3 Emphasize your motivation in applying for the position
As an applicant you could, of course, refer to your online CV, though most
employers still prefer a traditional letter of application and CV.
TOO GENERAL A MOTIVATION
MORE PRECISE MOTIVATION

8.2.1 The letter

Letters of application fall into two categories: those that are in reaction to This posit ion interests me a lot. This is
~ would like to apply to the full the skills
a personnel advertisement and open letters of application. why I wou ld like to be cons idered for ...
in designing programs in the graphic fie ld
If you cannot find an attractive vacancy in the papers or on the Internet, it that_ 1_ developed during my study. The

I
may be a good idea to send an open fetter of application, together with a pos1t1on mentioned wou ld seem to offer
CV, to a number of promising companies, selected with the aid of a career an excellent opportunity t o do so .
guide and the contacts you have built up.

If the advertisement states that further information can be obtained

te\ephonical\y you should always make use of this. Prepare well for this 4 Be informative and concrete
call: by writing your questions down you stand a better chance of creating a
good impression. It is a good idea to refer to this telephone call in the
introductory paragraph of your letter. SUFFICIENTLY CONCRETE

When sending an open letter of application it is also a good idea to ring up first. addition to my specialisation 1 did a In order to better integrate my t raining
. . as

I
.
You could ask them to send you some information. You may find that you are mber of courses in the Facu lty of an aeronauti cal engineer with the
sent an application form straight away. You should fill in that form extremely chnology and Ma nagement.
commercia l aspects of technology, I
carefully: it often replaces a letter of application and a CV. Such a telephone call dec1d~d to fo llow some optiona l courses
beforehand is likely to have the effect that your letter will be read with different in _bus_iness economics and presentation
eyes: you have become more than just a paper personality to the reader. ski lls in my fina l year.

Jn both types of application letters, the applicant should aim to be invited for an
interview. Mention your education, experience and your motivation for wanting to
work for that particular company. In a letter in reply to an advertisement, your 5 Look at things from the reader's perspect"
Try at least once in your letter which b . ive
look at things from the reader',s ers y i~s very nature has an I-style, to
motivation wi ll be extremely important. In an open application you should
mention your ambitions ("\ would like a position in the technical and commerclat
company: You can expect x and :fro!e~~~e. Indicate what you can offer the
area"), the field you would like to work in and the type of work you would like t
do. In open applications, it may be a good idea to hold back in this regard and
so keep the initiative for further contact in your own hands: "\ would like to
explain in greater detail why I have sent this letter of application and also 'I knowledge and experience with
e contribution to your pro· t safety systems I think I can make a
discuss whether you have a position available that suits my educational level ~ec group.
and my field of interest. May I ring you in about a week's time?"

Take the time to do preparatory work before you actually start writing. T
Present your knowledg d . .
following nine points will require special attention during writing. not be afraid f d e an skills tn a positive way
0 wor s like solid I
s that most selectors t ' va uable and successful. Research
1 Ensure that your fetter is clearly structured re neutral one ra e such a posi·t·ive 1Y worded letter higher than
Your letter should deal with the following matters, each of which could
up a paragraph of its own: how you know that there is a vacancy and W
position you are applying for (your introductory paragraph), what your
educational qualifications are (mention your area of specialisation an MORE POSITIVE
relevant subjects if applicable), what experience you have had, what • ~ \though you are looking for a mecha n-
motivated you to apply for the position in that company, and in concl tely, I do not satisfy an
ica l engineer and I am an electro
a reference to your CV and a sentence to the effect that you would requirement for t he
techn ician, I would like to apply for this
appreciate an opportunity to explain your application further in pers position. However, I
pos1t1on for three reasons . Firstly...
apply anyway.
• In orde~ to augment my solid ly
2 Address the requirements as set out in the advertisement study wa s far too
theoretica l training, I did six
Employers often want the impossible. Do not worry too much i! yo I did practical t raining months of practical tra ini ng with
satisfy all the requirements. Refer to this in passing and mention
s.
Phi lip 's consumer electronics
immediately a positive point in compensation (experience, extra c division . During that time I ga ined
va luab le experience in ...
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
143

7 Do not make the letter any longer than is necessary EXAMPLE OF A LETTER OF APPLICATION
While a letter of a page and a half is perhaps not excessive, if you can fit it
on one page so much the better. The longer your letter the more important
it is that your style is succinct. Avoid superfluous information. If you have C. Braas
had a number of important positions it is not necessary to refer in any Van Hasseltlaa n 112
2625 HA DELFr
detail to your high school subjects or your first jobs.
Ms. A. Planjer
8 Ask for comments on the letter before sending it Head Personnel Department

I We always miss that one spelling mistake or forget to mention an RMO Werkspoor Services B v.
Postbus 1250 ··
interesting course. Always get somebody else to read over your letter 1000 BG AMSTERDAM
before sending it.
28 May2012
9 Avoid both cliches and exaggerated originality
Some people have the misapprehension that application committees Place of advertisement
Re: Engineering position within the const .
expect letters in an old-fashioned formal style. Cliched expressions should Mention vacancy m De Volkskrant of 25-5-2012 ruction department as advertised
• vac.no. 1961-14
number
be avoided.
Dear Ms Planjer,

MORE MODERN FORMULATIONS I am interested in a PP1ymg

D . for the position of en · .

I
CLICHED EXPRESSIONS
• Further to our telephone conversation
• Herewith I submit my application to
of 12 December I would like to apply
you. I am taking the liberty to apply
for the vacancy of controller.
since ...
• I should like to apply for the
• Hoping to hear from you soon, I
position of coordinator Health and
remain ...
Safety that you have advertised.
• In expectation of receiving a
• In reaction to your advertisement in
positive reaction ...
NRC Handelsblad of 21 February, I a
applying for the position of junior
advisor. Our telephone conversation
has increased my interest in the
position all the more.
• I would like to explain my applica-
tion further in person.
• I would very much appreciate an
invitation for an interview.
epartment. The job description ties in well wiJ;meer mth the Construction
my trammg and experience.
Main educational and
In August I expect to graduate from the Facu .
Delft, where I specialized in rail t lty of Engmeering at the TU
experience details
research, which dealt with the d ra~sport technology. During my thesis
fast-moving railway carriage I loev: odpment ~fa coupling system for a
exerted ' 0 e extensively at the d
on stee1 constructions in railw . ynamic pressure
experience at the Institute for Tech . ay carnages. I also gained some
computers for design and prod ti' meal lnformat10n Technology in using
stude t · uc on. During my two h
n assistant, helping students with their CA years t ere I was also a
D!CAM practical sessions.
A good referee inspires Prof.H . Xu 'wh o is
· on the staff of the D
confidence Construction, introdu d epartment of Rolling Stock
. ce me to the work s t . .
was domg my practical there. My practical ~s ems m his. department while I
mechanisms and coupling elem ocussed on mvestigating drive
en ts used by the NS.
Goal-oriented choice of
After observing at first hand durin m r .
extra study components important cooperation and pass· g y p act1cal and my assistantships how
optional courses in oral and m"~ng on of mformation are, I followed some
courses I have followed. I en reporting. My CV lists other optional

Motivation for the Thea c t'JVIt1es

Do not go to the other extreme. Avoid exaggerated or frivolous language.
quiet, business-like and relaxed tone is preferable.
· · of Werkspoor the on! D
company parts, tie in well with my tr~inin y . utch manufacturer of rolling stock
(you-perspective) engmeer with the Werkspoor Co~ and mterests. If offered the position of
and relevant knowledge and ca struction Department I can offer recent
h'igh1 Y motivated.
. n assure you th a t my approach would be

Further personal details can be found in t

OVER-THE-TOP LANGUAGE
BUSINESS-LIKE TONE
ve~ry much if you would give me the opp ~e enclosure. I would appreciate it
m ormation in a personal i t . or umty to provide further
n erv1ew.
• Designing as a member of a s
• Stop looking: I am the person you
interdisciplinary team appeal
want. Herman Stoof is my name. Yours sincerely,
• When your advertisement in De lot.
• Th is is why I would like to ap
fngenieur appeared before my eyes, I
position you advertised in /n
knew ...
of 17 September.
• A career at Fokker would get me off to
a flying start. Cees Braas

Enc.: curriculum vitae

 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
144 145

CURRICULUM VITAE
8.2.2 The curriculum vitae
Your curriculum vitae (Latin for "course of life") should be enclosed with the curriculum vitae of C. Braas
letter of application. Apart from your personal details in summary form, you
personal details
should mention everything that is relevant to the position, including what Cornelis Bra as (Ce es)
Name:
you have already mentioned in the letter. The two requirements of a good Address: Van Hasseltlaan 112
2625 HA DELFT
CV are completeness and clear arrangement.
Telephone: 015 2784 529
Email: c.braas@live.com
Completeness Website with portfolio: www.CeesBraas.nl

I
Give information about the fo ll owing subjects:
Date of birth: 1 September 1988
Personal details: name, Christian names, address, telephone number Rotterdam
Place of birth:
date and place of birth. You may also mention your marital status. '
Education: secondary school (do not enumerate all your subjects), Education
further education, your specialisation, your main subjects, re levant other Atheneum-B in Rotterdam (diploma 2006)
subjects (do not omit other practical experience, languages you know Technical University Delft
and fami liarity with software). Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Rail Transport Technology section
Experience or work experience: including assistantships, practicals. Use {2006 - present; expected graduation: September 2011)
catch words to describe what you have done and what you have
Main Subjects
achieved. , Mechanics, machine dynamics, design theory' signal theo ry, cyb ernelic
. · ergonomics
.
Other activities: administrative experience, jobs to earn extra money

I while studying, perhaps relevant hobbies.

• Publications: your thesis can be cited as an internal publication.
• References: if you have excellent references you could mention the
names of your referees, their positions if relevant (in what capacity do
you know this person?) and their telephone numbers. You should, of
Thesis project
• Research into a new coupling system for the TGV-2 an

SuperVJsor: Prof. G.H. van Zoomeren (2010-2011: 8 months)

Other subjects
• Information technology for managers ' business econ om1cs,
J · 0f h d ·
constr~ctlons, resulting in a design for a new coupllng s~~~e:is t e ynam1c stress of steel

· p h"lI osop hy and ethics

course, inform your referees of this. Usually you need only say "If
required, I would be happy to provide a list of referees." Additional training
• Courses: Oral Presentations, Written Reports, Italian
• Computer: C, Turbo
Final Cut Pascal,
Pro Windows Vista' CAD/CAM ' Dreamweave1; Adobe Premiere,
Clear arrangement
Make sure that your CV is attractively presented, clearly structured, and • Languages: English, spoken: excellent; written: good
business-like and objective in tone . Do not write your CV in the form ofa French, spoken: basic; written: basic
Italian, spoken: fair; written: basic
story: put it in point form, making a clear division into main categories and Work experience
sub-categories. When mentioning experience and prestigious committee • Student-assistant CAD/CAM practicals· instr . d
of CAD/CAM experiments; co-author ·fman~~~7n ~~~~~X~t for second-year students; evaluation
0
work, give a rough indication of the period in question. If you have had an student-assistants (2009- 2010 . 18 month . or) -users and a manual for CAD/CAM
extensive employment history, a good way of structuring this history is to Research while doin ·· · s part-t_ime ·
deparlinent. Drives gs~e~:~1cal with Dutch Railways in the rolling stock construction
list the most recent positions and tasks first and then go back in time
conclusions were pr~sented ~d the couplmg elements were tested for durability. The
(reverse chronology). (2010: 4 months). unng a management meeting. Supervisor: Prof. H. Xu

Other activities
Administrative
11 months) . tasks as the treasurer of a stu d ent urnon.
. Responsible for a budget of €115,000 (2008:
Member of the board of a student u . .
programming anniversary week (20~~~~ comm1tt)ee responsible for sponsoring and
Editor of Laser, the two-month] . mo~ths .
Several activities toe y news bulletm of the student union (2007-2008 · 14 months)
:wing inst~uctor. am money to aug men t th e stu dY grant: as a chauffeur, taxi ·driver, waiter· and
aln hobbies: rowing (com etition . . . .
2006-2007); reading (memter of I" rnwer and com~elitor m mternational competitions in
now). a iterature and plulosophy reading circle from 2004 to

cations
•van Gerwen & C. Braas. Hand! "d.
ectrotechnology, Mathe~atic ei ~ng vo_or CAD/CAM-gebruikers. Delft: TU Delft, Faculty of
Braas: Ben nieuwe ko . s an Inf01 matron Technology, 2009. (37 pages)
' ppe1mg voor de TGV2- · De!ft ·· TU Delft, Rail. Traffic Technology section, 2011.
Pages, Master's thesis).
ces
be pleased to se n d you a hst
. of referees.
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
146 LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS
147
recipient and the re c1p1ent
. . does t
~Email message is shown on the b. no even have to open the .
• Use filters or rule t su ~ect bar. email: the
Email has become part of our daily routines. In some organisations, emails . s o send m ·1 f
subjects directly to a s . . ai rom certain persons or
have an informal character and constitute an informal discussion forum. team, De Vries This al pec1f1c file; for example clients about certain
Other organisations regard an email more as a document, and hence they · so create , managem
of emails superfluous· onl . s a useful archive. It makes . ent
are more formal in style. Make sure you are aware of the conventions when
you start a new job. Internal and external emails may also differ in style as
you cannot maintain a' saf~ ~~~~~hem out in specialcircum::~~~ng out
The emptier your inbox the a archive. es or 1f

I
well. immediately. clearer it is. Always remove spam

Whatever the level of formality, you need to keep in mind that an email is
increasingly regarded as a legal document and can be used to provide Hints for writing a busine ss email
evidence. During a major American bookkeeping scandal, the public
prosecutor attached great importance to an email that recommended Identification, addressee' attac h ments
destroying certain documents. Of course, a general disclaimer can attached • Al ways deal with one sub~ect · per ema·1·
1
tV:ao~:hf1Jtering, forwa~di~~:~kabout
second subject and it k . · a reader ofte f
to an email ("No rights can be derived from this message"), but this will not not hesitate to send filing and the
stop the email from being used later against the writer or the organisation.
Always state the subject pr .ree ~mails in a row to the sam ward. Do
Organizations need to have good filing systems, meaning that emails are
sometimes kept for a long time. Laws like the Sabanes Oxley Act in the
::question," "agenda" or "u~:~~~I!, ~~tt~e :~:rson.
subject bar. Do not
agenda_, management team 10-l2- pr~blems with printer deliver "

I
United States, in force since July 2002, require an organisation to be able
the receiver to filter and fil th 2012. This makes it als . y or
to provide authentic and reliable documentation when asked to do so. Think about what I . e e email. o easier for
An email is never completely private: employers often have the right to look sa utat1on to use C .
at emails, the computer department has access to them and the recipients ~eem to be less applicable to email ~nvent1ons for salutations in Jette
ear people, Hello and Hi are n t . owever, newer salutations h rs
can forward emails on to others. As such, you need to be careful how you
contexts. When addressi o. appreciated by everybod . ~uc as
word things and you should not mix personal and business elements.
try.to find a workableco~~~nv~ned reading public in abu~i~:~~siness
Removing emails is more complicated than you think: there are likely to be
copies floating around on the server or on other computers and a deleted
~~1en?e Communication Congres:~minator: th~ontext,
Dear delegates to

M
osc1enc~, Dear readers of Quest' ear people with an interest in
email can usually be retrieved from the hard disk.
ake a d1st1nction between T.1
0 and cc (
•
to")·, use To for people from w carbon copy; meanin "
A few hints on using email and writing efficient emails follow. sparingly, merely to inform othhorn you expect action and us! C~opy sent
• Use BCC (blind carbon copy) whers.
~~~~~:s::d the~nt~eC~~:gtan ~mail

'
Hints on using email
• Make a deliberate choice between email, telephone or dropping in. An you do not want to a number of
email is less intrusive and leaves a record. It can also reach a group of Use an au;omat' o w om or to disclose their
people at the same time. On the other hand, when sensitive matters ic sender text (" .
Thi s should show . signature") at the b
involved and the tone is important, email may not be the wisest cholc the like) which canbas1c sender details (address t I ot~m of your email.
A complex matter can lead to a long string of emails, while a personal can vary the c I not always be gleaned from ' e ep one number and
conversation may have quicker results. If you expect a reply to your ltter a o ours, font and length YI your email address. You
email to which you yourself have to reply in return - so-called urs: ccount or website, or to a re~en~~ ~::~vhen refer to your blog,
is ed film or book of
conversation emails - it might be preferable to phone.
• Check your email regularly. In an environment where everybody uses
email you should check your email at least once a day. Make sure Y
do not check your email too often: this will interfere too much with van den Broek
other activities. Mention in your email if and when you require an mmunicat i' on & Soci et
The receiver will appreciate the fact that he or she can plan when Mathemati c Y
Weg s and Science H
answer and you will avoid getting emails of the type "I have read 2, Leiden Postb ' uygens laboratory
.leidenuni v.nl us 9504, 2300 RA Leiden ' room 129,
email and will send you an answer tomorrow." If your message I
one , do not hesitate to use common abbreviations. A common o
(for your information) and is often used in a message that does
al - p
require further discussion. Other useful abbreviations are NRN 1 erspectieven
e dtaal . boom.nl voor makers en gebruikers
response necessary) and EOM (end of message). The latter c
after the message in the subject bar: "Jones rang for you. Wiii
tomorrow (EOM)." The advantage is that you have not disturb
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

-r. LETTERS, EMAILS AND MEMOS

149
.witter is an Internet b
Attachments (tweets of up to 140 - ~sed social network that all

~::::~~:::~;,::~~~:~;~~:::~;;~~;~;:'~:,~;~~~~'~' ~~~;,;,; ~~~~;~~.:h';~~e'

• If you want to send attachments it is a good idea to add them before you can co . c aracters) Yo ows you to P bf'
write your text. If you do this you will not forget to attach them.
• Do not make your attachments too big. Find out beforehand whether a
large attachment will cause problems for the receiver. operate:g:~ :~=~~~~they vvill read it i~o~n~~~e~v~n send twitterin;~i~i~~:::criminate
• Avoid attachments of the type .EXE, .BAT, .PIF. These files are seen as wh~;~c1l1ty. Many people use it ~~t~, ~~cause Twitter main~f state
keep in touch with
possible carriers of a virus and many recipients cannot open them.
Always send files of this sort in a condensed form: for instance, as a ZIP
c~ntact quickly with colle~~~us people are doing. Twit~~r a~lp
a public profile or to

I
a out their work, hobbies or s or. potential clients. Becau ows you to come into

~:=~ne;~~h~re attr:c':i~ea::~o;e. follo:~:i~1on

file. tweets for a while. H passions is availabl . se personalised int: .
mixing personal and is both an useful to
Form coming into contact with o w1t~er messages. Twitter' . nsky element in
• Keep the email short. Make sure the reader does not have to scroll who twitter about the · t~ers
Ir services
qwckly, and many ing is a good way of
companies
down. If you do have to write a longer text you should use some
company. Increasingly though or programmes under th fl employ people
headings or else make the text a separate attachment. and controlling inform~tio . ' communication departm e ag of the
• Do not include the whole of the original email when replying. Only use product s of the compan n circulated on Twitter about thents ar~ monitoring
those sections that are necessary for your answer to be understand. y. e services and
• Write short paragraphs, preferably separated by a line of white. They are
Linkedl n is a virtual .
easier to read like this. us 't t social network .
• Do not use coloured backgrounds or other embellishments in a business e ' o create a profile of aimed at professional
current proj ects (a pub1· yo.ur own career, emplo people . You can
email. {Facebook and Hyv ic curriculum vitae) Just ym.ent, education and
b. es, for exampl ) . as with other .
e.na ling you to see their . e you can invite other social networks
Netiquette (rules of etiquette for communicating via the Internet) Lmkedln lies in the help t~rof1les and their contacts Ths to become contacts
• Use the label "high priority" sparingly: the effect will soon wear off network - in finding a . b a~ it can provide - via rec. e advantages of ,
roft f JO ' clients or ommendation f
otherwise. ' rom the expert' people to collab . s rom your
• Extreme brevity, humour and sarcasm can be risky because of the lack of P ise of others via Linkedln A orate with . You can also
non-verbal language. The tone of emails is often misunderstood. If ou nswers.
something goes wrong it is advisable to use the telephone. You can use need to be aware that .f
~rail of information behind ' you engage in social netwo .
emoticons like ;-) to clarify your intentions Uoke!). players may determi on the Internet. Your potent' ~king, you leave a
• Be polite, but do not overdo it: you need not send a thank-you note for ne your suitability b I . ia clients and
Y g ancing at social network·ing sites.
.
everything that happens via email.
• Do not forward any email without the permission of the sender.

' SOCIAL MEDIA: SMS, TWITTER AND LINKEDIN

The modern writer has several new media at his or her disposal, each with its own
benefits, disadvantages and possibilities.
Written communicatio . .
These can vary from n within a company often
replaced by email t a hand-written message ~akes place via short notes
Characterized by; ho a nicely laid-out docum~n~ 't
.'s increasingly being .
A text message via SMS should, as a rule, be limited to informal contacts. Ually called a eading (often pre-printed) o six pages. The latte~
memorandum. and other standard parts', IS
.
Naturally, you will need each other's mobile telephone number to be able to
do this . Text messaging has increased rapidly, especially in international
communication. Its low cost, speed and the fact that it is less intrusive for
the receiver than a telephone call make it a popular form of communication. .V. POWER GENERATION: GROUP M
EMORANDUM
Text messaging is suitable for some forms of business communication too:
for short messages (up to 160 characters) and to make or change an Mr J. Halman (safet
N. Zuurveld (h Y supervisor)
appointment. Make sure that your text messaging does not become a Safety probJ ead .0 f Production)
conversation, with messages going back and forth. A telephone call is ems with i · ·
14 January 201 n1ect1on system
probably more effective. There is a greater tolerance for abbreviations,
ccident re 2
elliptical forms and even spelling mistakes in texting, although in business r BA port, Toledo
· . Sleger s (director
. WI'cox Spain)
communication it is good to watch out for these.
Ccidents .
in our bra nch in Spain have shown ...
 © Noord hoff Uitgev~e~rs~b~v--------------········
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
LETTERS , EMAILS AND MEMOS
151
1.50
Mr.
. Karrasch ' a busy manage ·
decla~~oln ~f ~· ~ece1ved
A memo heading enables the reader to identify the document quickly. For with the subject descn . ,/ In an American com a .
injection." As he operator interruption a memo
the writer it saves time, because he does not have to think about polite
gave the text a cursory I ater before an American S ig pressure
phrases in the opening and closing sentences . matters he initialled it ; ance. Thinking that it was ~nate
Committee, he
had reali sed that actidn ~t
forgot the memo comple~lout
technical routine
Although a memorandum looks a bit different from a formal report it has
roughly the same requirements. As with a report, details (such as large
reactor at Three Mile Isla
place .
~s
necessary, the incident 1
n (Harrisburg) would probably not
w~:fterwards.
thehave
nuclear
If he
taken
numbers of figures) are best put in an appendix to the text.

I
Things to keep in mind when writing a memorandum 4 Make the reason for th e text 1mm
. d"
The following six directions are aimed at optimizing the effectiveness of a Do not ass ume that th e receiver
. ( e 1ately
. . clear
nows exactly what it is all b even If it is the person h0
memorandum. k
Compare : a out or what the pre c1se
. previous
VI_ asked foris.it)
history
1 Include the conclusion and the recommendation in the first paragraph
It is not customary to include a formal summary in a memorandum, but in a
slightly longer memorandum in particular, it is advisable to put the REASON MISSING
REASON CLEAR
conclusion and the recommendation (such as a purchase decision) in the
first paragraph. For example: I have tested the nois e 1eve/ in . th
As agreed, during the H
dapartment
. at five different placese meeting on 23 June . ealt~ and Safety
an d at fifty diffe rent tim noise levels in th I investigated the
the source of the no· es to localise Co . e workshop
ise proble
CONCLUSION AT THE START OF A MEMORANDUM
used the noise leve l meter CE~s.
I
mplaints received b th .

'
production departme Y e_
Enclosed you will find the results of a comparative investigation into drawing with inbuilt octave/terts filter. 393 months about th nt dunng recent
programs done at your request with a view to the purchasing decision on 1 November. . e noise of the
~ach1.nes prompted the
The investigation shows that C-Draw is the most user-friendly programme with the
investigation.
best price-performance ratio.

2 Identify the role of those concerned Make sure your formul ations are precise.
.
It is customary to put the person's position behind the name in the memo
heading. After all, it could be relevant whether Mr. Halman receives the
memo in his capacity of safety advisor or as the chairman of the project
PRECISE FORMULATION
group Production Control. If Mr Halman has unexpectedly been succeede
by somebody else, the text will still reach the right person . As well as thl Is a summary of th
the receiver should know who else has been informed about the matter Below is a summary of the
endation made recently
e b recommendat" .
en. Y reimb ion in respect of
a copy. ursement of travelling
expenses made by Van V
3 Indicate the subject matter precisely May during th . elzen on 12
The subject should make clear to the reader if action is needed and W e meeting of
department heads.
that action should be .

SUBJECT CLEAR
SUBJECT VAGUE
Re: recommended measures t t stint on infor .
Re: sound measurements the noise level in the working than in a re mat1ve headings
I port text .
per page. The ~s. As a rule of thumb u ructure_ your memorandum
ng subheadin 'you will need to st
inal head ing should be ~~ a minimum of three
formation . ecommendations "
The following real-life example shows the importance of giving an V/SUa/ wh .
numerical data . erever possible
subject description. nb in the r · •
erever Possibl o o_ther data shou.ld b a ' ~ut it in a table.
e compared t unning text· inste d
on. e. This will make .t .e put into a graph or a
I easier for readers to process
© Noor dh off Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

153

9
Putting ideas into
words

Writing clearly
Writing concise ly
Writing compellingly
Writing correctly
Use of dictionari es and thesauruses

entists, engineers and technologists spend much of their time doing research. However,
also need to present th eir ideas, research and recommendations in a clear and
lse manner to a variety of readers. Hiding the results of months of research in
sing, convoluted prose is not desirable . A readable report will reach a larger audience
a report that is inaccess ible. To write such a readable report it is important to write
ly, concisely, compellingly and correctly. This chapter will give additional information on
do this.
 l
··············-----------~:::dh:o:ff
©Noor Uitgevers bv ©N
oordhoff Uitgeversbv
1 54
PUTTING IDEAS INTO WORDS
155

~ Writing clearly perhaps, etc. to the concluding paragraph ." This piece of advice was
~
ty1e wi11 affect
ality of your s . d recently given by an editor to a writer who had submitted an article for
publication.
at importance as the qu d achieves its desire
Writing clearly is .of gre message is understood an ge across clearly:
the degree to which ~ou~our ways of getting the messa It is a misconception that all scientific writing is factual. Writers are often
effect. We will descn e non-committal and vague on purpose. They use cautious language -
1 Use little jargon hedging - rather than assertive language. Hedging is a typical feature of
ropriately form al writing. It has developed because report writing usually includes
2 Hedge app f our sentences
3 Vary the length ~nyreferences . research, and in your research area there may be information that could be
4 contested. To protect themselves against accusations that they have made
Use clear prono . ·n more detail.
errors, writers are cautious about the claims they make in their findings.
uidelines 1
The following subsect1·ons will discuss these g
Compare these two sentences:
"ttl jargon .. certain area of 1 Your happiness depends on whether you drew the long or short version
9.1.1 fUse h e h ·cal terminology spec1f1c t? a k but if there is too of a gene known as 5-HTT.
Jargon is de i~e
. d as tee ni
·argon to give authon y
·t to their wor •
ou use jargon or no
t
2 Your happiness may depend on whether you drew the long or short
expertise. Writers use J . ate their readers. Whether y lea ues in the same version of a gene known as 5-HTT.
much jargon they c~n a~~~he fo~~~eve~
report. If it is written the audience will
depends on who will re ·1s perfectly acceptable. h . al knowledge as the
h ical terms e tee nic In the first sentence, the claim is presented as fact, indicating a high level

I
field, adding tee n ho do not share the .sam f them to understand.
usually include peopl~ :hat includes jargon d1fflcult or of certainty. The second sentence , on the other hand, is more cautious ,
writer, making a repor suggesting that this is the case in certain circumstances or under certain
condition s, but not necessarily always .

PLAIN ENG LISH

JARGON As the exam ple shows , using cautious language allows the writer to make
claims that correspond with the evidence available at the time of writing. In
. . · gin
ted herein, nothin Unless the agreemen.t s:ys so ' you are
Unless exphc1tly sta strued as other words, ca utious language, or hedging, helps to make statements as
not the owner of the ide . accurate and fair as possible.
t hall be con
this agreemen .s to intellectual
conferring any l1cens~ by implication or You can hedge in various different ways:
property rights, whet er

I
otherwise. • By using verbs such as: suggest, appear to be, indicate, estimate,
assume, tend , appear, seem, may, might, can, could
. data as. showing that Swearing when you hurt yourself actually
We interpret this • By using adverb s such as: seemingly, apparently, probably
h than being a makes you fee l bette r. By using adjectives such as: unlikely, probable, certain
swearing, rat e~ onse, actually

t e
maladaptive pain respi c effect. • By using nouns such as: assumption, possibility, evidence
produces a hypoalges • By using it clauses: it could be the case that. .. , it may be possible to ...
• By generalizing: primarily, for the most part, to an extent
Many respondents felt ...
A plurality of all respo ndents felt .. ·

HEDGING
. ered specialized
re~~~k pe·~~l~ertain
tter Will become a key tool in the fight

I
. e which terms are cons1d with a different
Writers will often not this is to have other terminology, ntain the spread of illnesses and Twitter could become a key tool in the
language. One way to c t If they have difficulty w1
d the repor .
ses. fight to contain the spread of illnesses
background rea eral options: and viruses.
the writer has sev
· rgon is little difference in the type or
Leave out the Ja the jargon
• Translate or
• Explain concepts
para~~r~~r~herdetail or add examples
al outcome of radiation-induced
d cancer when compared with
There appears to be little difference in
the type or clinical outcome of radiation-
atched controls. induced thyroid cancer when compared
Add a glossary t ng a reader· with age-matched controls.
• . demonstra I
. measures, the writer will be Warming has already harmed the
By taking these h to report writing. food production .
centered approac There is a possibility that global warming
has already harmed the world 's food
production.
9 ropriately . The study ·is not
1 2 Hedge app h end of the article. thors shO
. .
"Please use more hedges
f at t e .
all sample size. Therefore , au
generalizable because o sm
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uit gevers bv
156 PUTTING IDEAS INTO W
OROS 157
There are many hedging words and phrases so it is important to choose VAR IETY OF LONG AN
D SHORT SENTENCES
one that reflects the strength of the supporting evidence. The use of the
word probably in the sentence below indicates that the evidence is The fram ework provides th
as well as access to stan e government with digital ma .
~~~:;~~~n~~rF~~i~to-day in~sa;~~:: ;:i~:;~~ 'a~don1tonng
s.tre~t i~fo'~a~~~~~~!~aphical
reasonably strong. In the second sentence , the more cautious word could
was chosen, showing that the evidence is probably weak. data
1 Global dimming is probably caused by increased atmospheric pollution. ermore , it is vital f and pla . e are
2 Global dimming could be caused by increased atmospheric pollution. 20 + 16 8 or the emergency services nn1ng across local
+ words ·
Be careful not to overdo the hedging. The challenge for writers is to choose
hedging words appropriately.
Whether you make a 1ong or sh t
9.1.3 Vary the length of your sentences
Sentences in reports are often too long ("long" being defined as containing both should contain onl . or sentence, it is good
You could also use 1· t y one idea. to remember that
in the area of 30 to 40 words). While long sentences allow the writer to is to clarif ·
more clearly in a list f ormat. Y your ideas. Inform at'JOn often com
express relatively complex ideas, if they are too long you run the risk of es across
obscuring the intended meaning - and losing your audience. The average
length of a sentence should be in the area of 15 to 20 words.
NUMBERED LIST

I
Sentences will tend to become too long when we:
• Use stock phrases that do not add meaning to the sentence Software development tak
1 plann ing es place in several steps:
• Use a lot of words when the same idea could be expressed with one or
2 application
two 3 testing
• Try to put too much information into one sentence, thereby creating
4 documenting
many sub-clauses
5 installation
A short sentence is one that has no more than 10 words. There are
advantages to writing shorter sentences. Firstly, readers will get through Many organizations are involve .
d in software development
the report quicker as they will not get stuck in a dense mass of words. and most use th IS
' model.
Secondly, the reader will be more likely to understand the text as short

I
sentences are more direct and are easy to comprehend. Thirdly, writers
tend to make fewer constructions and punctuation mistakes with short
sentences. However, a report consisting of only short sentences can make
the report feel choppy. So it is best to follow this advice: he .fr~mework provides the
d1g1tal ma pping government with the followin .
1 Restrict the number of long sentences by splitting them when they
geographica l data g.

'
become difficult to read.
2 Vary longer sentences with shorter ones . access to standardized
property and street information
3 Use bulleted lists.
e are vital for the e
ltoring and . mergency services
plann ing across local gove:n:e~~ll as day-to-day in-service provision ,
LONG AND COMPLICATED SENTENCE

The framework provides the government with digital mapping and geographical d Umbered i·ists present i
as well as access to standardized property and street information , which are vita . .
ms in a rando terns in a certain o d .
not only the emergency services , but also to day-to-day in-service provision, llst items an;t~rder. R~member to use : ~while unnumbered lists show
monitoring and planning across local government. y lists: the more :ake list items consistent ad-1n sentence to introduce
4 ere are, the more they te~~ ~:~~!ure. ~void having too
43 words
Use clear e their effectiveness
text contains pro pronoun references .
hlch refer to th' nouns such as this th
en the two m ings or persons menti~ ese, th~t, those, they, their. i
ders might m~=~~=rpret
clear. When it is ~~tdc~;:v1ouhsly. The reltition~ht/p
them. r w at these words refer
 l
············---------~~=:d:ho:ff
©Noor Uitgevers bv ©N
oordhoff Uitgevers bv
PUTT/NG IDEAS INTO WORDS
159

INTRODUCTION FULL OF UNNECESSARY DETAILS AND DIGRESSIONS

UNCLEAR REFERENCE . lephants as they have to c ope with
Indian elephants have smaller ears than African e The first thing people Will wonder about when they read the title of this report is what
a hotter climate . is meant by it. The title not only suggests that there is little water in Rwanda but also
that there are quite a few problems surrounding the all-important water catchments.
The problems encountered by aid workers from abroad should be addressed in
the word they can particular. Technical aspects such as the lack of machines and engineering
Because the sentence co nsists of various plura l nouns, knowledge or climatic
play an important role circumstances
in this. which all cause materials to deteriorate quickly,
refer to:
• Indian elephants
Certain issues will be listed and evaluated in this report.
• African elephants the problem in this
" .
Using "the former ins tead of the pronoun they so lves
case.
This text could be shortened Without losing important information .

I
INTRODUCTION WITHOUT DIGRESSION
CLEAR REFERENCE h nts as the former have to
than African elep a
Indian elephants hav.e smaller ears
cope with a hotter climate. As there is little water in Rwanda , effective water catchment is of vital importance.
Unfortunately, this is quite a problematic issue. Foreign aid workers have encountered
the following problems: lack of machinery, lack of local engineering knowledge and
climatic circumstances Which cause materials to deteriorate quickly.
f unclear pronoun reference are listed be low.
This report contains a list and evaluation of the prob/ems surrounding water
Other examples o - -- - .,. catchment in Rwanda.

CLEAR REFERENCE
UNCLEAR REFERENCE

. rohibits smoking In 9.2.2 Limit the number of words

. rohibits smoking in Government policy p pie resent this
Government pol1~y p an people resent. public places. Many peo
public places which m Y In order to make a text look more formal, writers sometimes use phrases
policy. . is research becau that actually add nothing to the meaning of the sentence. The text will
. search because Smith discontinued h t provide fundln become less wordy and more readable if these phrases are left out.
Smith discontinued .his ;ending. the sponsors would no
they would not provide u
The report says that nose blowing can:
It says .1n the report tha t nose blowing
raise blood pressure.
. e blood pressure.
can ra1s
All things considered, it has become more difficult for
urban planners to play a significant role in the
development of cities.

~ Writing concisely . I thy reports a stru AH tMiAgs eeAsidered, It has become more difficult for
urban planners to play a significant role in the
d fo r time and will find eng 't'1ng an abridge development of cities.
ft n presse t mean wn Iv
Readers are o e riting concisely does no te direct and re e
to get through . Bu~r~ Concise also means acceu~~is;
version of the rep 'th which you can ach1ev As a matter of fact, it has become more difficult for
There are two w~ys w1 urban planners to play a significant role in the
1 Avoid digression ds development of cities.
2 Limit the number of wor . in more de
. ·11 explore these guidelines As a A1aHe1 et fact, It has become-more difficult for
The fol lowing su b sect1ons w1 urban planners to play a significant role in the
development of cities .

Avf~i: i~~~~csu~~~o stick to the ~e~~~1~~s~oo wordy.

. • n . They write I
9.2.1
Some writers in eak· ful l of digress10
same ma nner as they sp .
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
160
PUTTING IDEAS INTO WORDS
161

To all intents and

.t has become more
To all intents and purposes~~ play a significant role in
0 Writing compellingly
diffi cult fo r urba n pl a n~ers
th e development of c1t1es. A report does not have to be a literary masterpiece. Too many figures of
speech , met aphors and cliches might even raise suspicion. Readers
It has become more
To al l intrnts and purposes~o play a significant role in appreciat e a professional, clear and informative style. That does not mean
difficult for urban pla~~ers your report should be dry, abstract and unreadable . Even a professional text
the development of c1t1e s. can be pleasant to read. There are some rules of thumb to achieve this .
1 Give functional examples
2 Avoid figures of speech
3 Use th e appropriate register and be consistent
. . . using several words wh_en one 4 Make sentences active
b
Another o stacle to writing plain examp
common English!eiss with suggested alternatives:
5 vary your vo cabulary, sentence length and sentence structures
will do. Here are some

These rules of thumb can be found in the following sections.

SHORTER VERSION
TOO MA NY WORDS
because
On account of th e fa ct
that
Due to th e fact that
Because of th e fact that
EXAMPLE
It was necessary to use a
very intense source of
a-rays on account t:lf tile fae~
thtlt-because the amount of
reflection is very small.
because Due to U'\e fact t l'lat
Because habitat s are
being restored, forest
creatures are also .
re-establishing their
population ba ses.
because
9.3.1 Give useful examples
Examples are welcome additions to a text. They make abstract theory
concrete and provide th e reader with an opportunity to digest the
information.
STATEMENT CLARIFIED WITH AN EXAMPLE
A lot of waste is produced in the Netherlands . Each person produces, on average,
one garbage bag per day.
Dumping oil is extre me ly detrimental to our drinking water. Imagine a fish erman
t hrowing a litre of motor oil overboard. He probably does not realize that by doing
'SO he makes a mill ion lit res of water unfit to serve as drinking water.
uch of the corn grown on US soil is used for biomass fu el. In fact , 40% of that
orn now goes direct ly into petrol tanks.

Avoid figures of speech

At the present time
Have a tendency to
now ures of speech com e in many shapes and forms. Fiction writers often
a them to attract th e reader's attention
and make the text more
rtaining. However, figures of s peech are very language-specific and are
CUit to translate. Th e scientific world is international and educated
tend (verb) Pie whose native language is not English should be able to understand
Bl Writing. Avoid figures of speech in your technical reports: they will
create confusion .

In the event that if

EXAMPL ES

Reverse engineering
By means of through
Not unsuccessful
.. . is a can of worms
Dark light
Less is more
In the majority of mostly
As old as the hills
in stan ces Necessary requirement
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
162 PUTT/NG IDEAS INTO WORDS
163
9.3.3 Use t he appropriate register and be consistent Omit
Oppose Leave out
The difference between formal and informal English is not a difference
Perfo rm Go against
between correct and incorrect, but a difference of what is known as
Receive Do
register. In report writing, the style will generally be formal because reports
Regarding Get
are formal documents, but writers often go a step further making the text
Represent About
more bombastic than merely formal. Formal writing simply means avoiding
State Stand for
contractions (e.g. isn 't), street talk (e .g. cool) , cliches (e.g. cream of the
Submit Say
crop) and everyday expressions (e.g. back in the day) which are all
Sufficient Hand in
considered informal and thus not suitable for report writing. Here are some
Verify Enough
examples of the difference between formal and informal language.
Check

FORMAL
INFORMAL Of course , th e level of formalit s
y hould be decided "th
It is important to realize that ... 9.3.4 Make sent w1 the reader in mind.
It's important to realize that .. .
The results do not show a difference. . .f . ences act1"v
The results don 't show a difference.
A researcher from TU Delft ... . a te
Sc1ent1 1c texts normal/ Y contain
A guy from TU Delft ... It was an interesting assignment. focus of the text is not 0
described. On t he other h:~he
1
° proce~:u~t1on.s
of passive cons
agent but on the
.
since the
It was a wicked assignment. Life presents a number of challenges.
Life is not a rose garden. Life is tough. passive voice enhances th d, using the active voice rath r pnnc1ple being
There are advantages and
Every coin has two sides . make a sentence active . e readability of the text . S omet1mes
er thanit the
is easy to
disadvantages.
A final and equally important point is ...
Last but not least . ..
Another point is .. .
On top of that ...
PASSIVE

hapman argues t hat. . .

nes & Smith draw a link It is argued that
Formal writing does not mean that simple words are unacceptable. The
word ensure is not inherently better than make sure, and tell is not inferior
to show that.. . between X and A link was draw~
show that...
·b
etween X and Y to
to disclose. The difference between these words stems from historic times. sicists at TU Delft h
possibility of cold f ave researched The possibility of cold f .
English is, like Dutch, a Germanic language in origin. However, the French s. us1on for many researched by Ph . . us1on has been
language, which has its origin in Latin, has also greatly influenced the ys1c1sts at TU
many years. Delft for
English language, introducing many new words. Historically, French was e. results indicate a numb
er of
spoken in formal settings such as the royal and legal courts whereas A number of things are . .
these results. indicated by
English was spoken by the common people, thus creating a dichotomy
between the two which still exists to this day. Many word s in the English
language have two forms: a Latinate form and a Germanic form. Latina
words are generally one word verbs while Germanic words are often a way of reducing th
combination with h e use of the passive voice i .
multi-word verbs: phrasal verbs. The Latinate forms are often consider pie· "Th ' p rases such as "th · s by using reporting
more formal than their Germanic counterparts. Some are listed below. . is chapter presents the IS report" "this chapte•" F verbs
results 0 f th '· or
e experiment. "

SEMI-FORMAL WORDS
FORMAL WORDS

Find out acknowledge admit

Ascertain assert agree allege
Begin assume announce
Commence conclude believe claim
Carry out confirm comment
Conduct estimate consider decide
Think about expect decree
Consider foresee explain fear
Show guara ntee feel
Demonstrate mention hold hope
Talk about note imply
Discuss ropose notice object
Go over rea lize observe
Exceed quest recall reckon
Point out revea l recommend
Indicate lpulate rule rumour
Make suggest say
Manufacture suppose think understand
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
164
PUTTING IDEAS INTO WORDS
165
Vary your vocabulary, sentence length and sentence Present continuous t
9.3 .5 Th ense
structures fte present continuou s is. used .
Repetition is boring. Use the thesaurus function and grammar check in your o en. used in interim re o in any situation that i .
so it is translated as 'b P ns): There is no Dutch t s ongoing (and is
word processing program to vary your vocabulary. Doing this will help you ez1g z11n met ' or 'is aan het~~se that conveys this,
create a more readable report that will keep the reader 's attention.

DUTCH
INCORRECT ENGLISH
~ Writing correctly CORRECT ENGLISH
Windturb ines worden
Windturbines b
The growing trend for bilingual education and the use of English as the steeds gebruikeliik
, er. commonplace. ecome more Windturbines are b .
standard language in business has led to the need to write professional more commonp/a ecoming
ce .
texts in English . Dutch researchers are very active when it comes to
publishing articles. Although Dutch researchers write a lot of reports and
articles, there is often a difference between texts written by native 9.4.2 Passive voice
speakers and those written by non-native speakers. This section aims to In English , th e passive vo1· .
t' . I ce is used .
highlight some of the signs that betray reports written by non-native P.~r 1c1p e wh ereas in Dutch the .with the auxiliary verb
zun and a past participle passive is formed by th be and a past
speakers of English. . e verbs Worden or

Tenses A common error is that Dut h

9 .4.1 the auxiliary verb be. c speakers sometime s use the wrong t
Formal writing employs all of the tenses of English . The most problematic ense of
are discussed below:
DUTCH
Past simple INCORRECT ENG LISH
The past simple tense is often used for descriptions of methods, CORRECT ENGLISH
procedures and results . Note that when there is a time adverbial in the De verschil/ ende
vluchtfases zijn eerder Th e different flight ph
sentence, Dutch uses the perfect tense (voltooide tijd) where English would ar t ases The different flight phas
behandeld in hoofdstuk e reated previously
use a past simple. (see Chapter 2). were treated previously es
twee. (see Chapter 2).

CORRECT ENG LISH It prototype is ontwikkeld

INCORRECT ENG LISH This prototype is
DUTCH oor de TU Delft. This prototype was
The Netherlands dump developed by the TU Delft
Tusse n 19 46 en 1982 The Netherlands has developed by the TU Delft.
dumped radioactive waste in radioactive waste in th
heeft Nederland Atlantic and Indian Oc

t
radioactief afval gedumpt the Atlantic and Indian
Ocean between 1946 and between 1946 and 19 In these examples Dutch
in de Atlantische en uses the past sim~/e pass~::s the present simple passive wher E .
lndische oceaan. 1982 . ,4, e ng/1sh
3

l
me . Word order
times a mistake is ha .
Yet the sentence do rd to pinpoint. The gramm .
Present perfect tense use the word order es not fee/ right to a native ar might be impeccable
The present perfect tense is used for situations or actions that started lM either at the be . is _not correct. In English . speaker. It may be
the past and continue now. However, Dutch uses the present simple t

I
on is the end f ginning or the end of a , important information ca
with prepositional phrases of time . ~ssentia/ info~m!~e sentence. In Dutch i~~~~~nce, though the usual n
ng sentence cf ion is placed at the be . . e opposite. Here, the
early shows the influe ginning of the sentence Th
CORRECT ENGLISH nee of the Dutch way: . e
DUTCH INCORRECT ENG LISH

The GRACE sate

GRACE maakt al sinds 2002 The GRACE satellite made detailed
zorgvuldige metingen van makes detailed measurements
het zwaartekrachtveld van measurements of Earth 's gravity field sin
de aarde. gravity field since March •
2002 .
2002 .
 ©Noor dh o ff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

166 PUTTING IDEAS INTO WORDS

167

Note that in sentences where the object is a clause er is translated by it.

CORRECT ENGLISH
POOR ENGLISH
DUTCH
Many are optimistic DUTCH
Espec1a . lly in the social INCORRECT ENGLISH
Vooral in de sociale about the effects of CORRECT ENGLISH
sciences, many are
wetensc happen zijn velen . . . about the effects human rights on the Er wordt gezegd dat de
There is said that the
optim1st1c
optimistisch over de position of migrants •. planeet gevaar loopt. It is said that the planet
of human rights on the planet is in danger.
effecten van de espec1a. lly in the social Er wordt vaak gedacht dat... is in danger.
pOSI.t .10 n of migrants. There is often thought that. ..
mensenrechten op de sciences. It is often thought that .. .
pOSI·t·e
I van migranten.

The thing to remem~=~~:: f~llows the OVS order is incorrec .
language. A senten
DUTCH
Op veel universiteiten
wordt studenten gevraagd
in groepen te werken.
9.4.5 Pronouns
. . SVO (subject-verb-object) In report writing, the personal pronouns I and we are avoided. Students
. h t English is a t·
sometimes try to get around this problem by translating Dutch men with the
pronoun one, as in: One can find the information in Chapter 3. While this is
correct English, it is outdated.
CORRECT ENGLISH
INCORRECT ENGLISH
There are severa l ways writers can avoid using the personal pronouns I or we:
At many universities
At many universities are k . students are required to
· d to war in • By using an inanimate subject
students require
work in groups.
groups.
GENERALLY NOT ACCEPTA BLE
ACCEPTABLE

I Interpret the results as [ .. . ]

94 4 There . to there in English. In this chapter I will discuss [ .. . ] The results indicate [ .. . ]
T~e .Dutch word er translates in
In this report I will describe [ .. . ] This chapter discusses[ .. .]
This report describes[ .. .]

ENGLISH
DUTCH

I have been there. I es in Colombl • By using the impersonal pronoun it and a passive tense:
There are many vo cano

ACCEPTABLE

. . ver b of the sentence,. er cannot be

t the main Uld say that the prediction accuracy in
If a form of to be is nol k at the following sentences. area is inadequate. It can be said that the prediction
translated with there. oo accuracy in this area is inadequate.
elleve this approach has significant
ations. It is believed this approach has
significant implications.
CORRECT ENGLISH ct that this method will be highly
INCORRECT ENGLISH Ve. It is expected that this method will be
DUTCH
highly effective.
. takes made.
There were mis
Er zijn fouten gemaakt.
There was much research
Er is veel onderzoek naar
gedaan. .. done . ere five Five out of ten w
Of the ten there w
Van de tien zijn er v1Jf discarded.
discarded. Evaluations are
afgekeurd.
At the end of a course ACCEPTABLE
Aan het eind van een end of a cours
there is evaluated.
cursus wordt er that the prediction acc uracy
geevalueerd . is insufficient. The prediction accuracy in this area is
There is referre d to the site said to be insufficient.
Er wordt verwezen naar this approach has significant
conditions. This approach is believed to have
de site condities .
this method wi ll be high ly significant implications.
This method is expected to be highly
effective.
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noo rdhotf Uitgevers bv
168
PUTTING IDEAS INTO WORDS
169
9.4.6 Countable versus uncountable nouns 9.4. 1 False friends
The words number and amount , and much and many, are often confused. There are a few words in Dutch .
Wh ich word you choose has to do with whether it refers to a countable or mean different things Be and English that look very s · .1
. careful not to confus th im1 ar and yet
uncountable noun . Countable nouns are nouns that have both singular and e ese words:
plura l forms . Countab le nouns often found in reports are:
DUTCH
INCORRECT ENGLISH
CORRECT ENGLISH
chapter method De volgende stap is het
idea The next step is to control
report issue controleren van de
effect the results. The next step is to check
task problem resultaten. the results.
machine

Example sentence : Two different methods were used to correct the data. Here is a list of common fa/ se f nends.
.

Uncountable nouns have no plura l form and therefore take a singular verb.
Another characteristic of an uncountable noun is that you cannot put 'a/an' DUTCH ENGLISH
in front of it. " He gave me an advice " is therefore incorrect English . Several ENGLISH
DUTCH
examples are: current/ present actual
draft feite/ijk
consequent concept idee
consistent
knowledge machinery controleren consequent
research check logisch gevo/g
technology ventuee/ control
advice environment Any/ possible beheersen
equipment information unctie eventual
progress job uiteindelijk
aragraaf function doe/
section
ructuree/ paragraph a/inea
systematic
chniek structural
technology echte structuur
Example sentence: A great deal of research was conducted and good le technique
opinion werkwijze
vision
progress has been made. bee/d van de
toekomst
Note that collective nouns such as government or data can have either a
singular verb or plura l verb.
• The government has decided to invest more in promoting sustainable B.4.S Punctuation
Punctuation m tt
energy. Often d a ers beca use it facilitate .
• The government have decided to invest more in promoting sustainable: epends on accurate punctuation s dreading and because meaning
an punctuation
energy.
Ost of the punctuation rul es are the . .
• The data indicates that more research needs to be done. ever, there are some differ same in Engl ish as in Dutch
sectio ences and th ·
• The data indicate that more research needs to be done. n, a few basic rules will be' given . ese should be kept in mind. In

Use number or many when talking about something countable and us comma
amount or much when referring to an uncountable noun . • fore and or .
or in a seri es of three

CORRECT ENGLISH roads d

INCORRECT ENG LISH ' ams, and ra il roads.
Colombia has around 1,000 al
Colombia has around 1 ,000 airports but
only a small number of them h
only a small amount of them have paved
runways. Parate two .
runways. r. independent cl
Too much snow can cause av, 'so, or, nor, Yet) auses connected with a co n1unct1on
. . (and,
Too many snow can cause avalanches .
.
gone through m
r issue. any changes in the last century and b .
' o servat1on has
 ··········-----------~d~h~o:tf~Uitgevers bv
©Noor © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
170
PUTTING IDEAS INTO WORDS
171
clause or word and before the main DUTCH
3 After the introductory phrase, ' INCORRECT ENGLISH
clause CORRECT ENGLISH
De ingenieur die het
contract wint, wil een The engineer who wins the
contract, will want to get an The engineer who wins the
idee krijgen van de
d . the introduction, it is important to have a program idea of possible site contract will want to get
Is state in d t · nd mogelijke site problemen.
To achieve the goa the reliability of the a a. th the corresponding times a problems. an idea of possible site
structure that ensures bserve the place on ear ' Dit bepaalt de positie van problems.
tellite is able to 0 · a KML file. de satelliet en berekent
This defines the position of
If the sa h atellite are stored in t be taken into account. the satellite, and calculates This defines the position
positions oft e s hazards that have o de minimale afstand. of the satellite and
However, there are some the minimal distance.
calculates the minimal
distance.

. ·s
4 If the information I non-essential
The apostrophe
In the English language, apostrophes are used in contractions (don't) and
. a fault started to form.
to orogenes1s, to show possession (Professor Brown's work).
Then, because of all the stress due

DUTCH

I
INCORRECT ENGLISH
. discourse an d a q uotation
5 To shift between the main CORRECT ENGLISH
Residu's
Residue's
Collega 's Residues
Colleague's
. t go to the window, look up, and smile for Colleagues
Stephen Wri.ght sa.:d, "Every s 0 often I like o
a satellite picture.

In English -s is used to show the plural form of abbreviated wordt such as

CDs.

6 To set off geograp hical information

The semi-colon
Use the semi-colon to link two independent clauses not connected by a
. .is located in a hilly area.
Los Bambinos, Colombia, conjunction and that show a close relationship.

e values are set in Aircraft class; they are followed by an increment.

7 To separate eac h group of three digits

The colon
The costs are estimated at $28 ,000,000.
Use a colon to introduce a list, a quotation or a final clause that explains
What went before the colon. ·

Do not use a comma b. ct from the verb

• to separate the su 1e t have the same subject. aln causes are the following: poverty, lack of education and disease.
• to separate ve~bs th~ utch 5,5 is 5.5 in English
la states: "Do not place a colon immediately after a verb."
to indicate decimals, D ompanies have two mobile device platforms with one similar thing in common:
re unable to fully multitask.

Run-on sentences •
Ing Punctuation can lead to run-on sentences like this one:

Investment
Vlde can contribute to the development of a country it can
employment.
 © Noor dh o ff Uitgeve rs bv © Noordhoff Uitgeve rs bv
172
PUTTIN G IDEAS INTO WORDS
173
We can correct th .is sen tence in several ways . Some commonly used expressions with prepositions are:

By using a semi. cooI n help the developmen t of a GOU ntry .' it can also Compa re something t o something (resemblances)
Foreign direct investment can Com pa re something with something (differences)

employmenp~rate
Conduct/ pursue/ carry out research on something
provide sentences I ent of a country. It can also Differ from something
By creating two se help the deve opm
Foreign direct investment can The effect/ influence of something on somebody/something
Give an in sight into something
~yForeign
rovide employment.
using a conjunction
direct investment can
help the development of a
country and it can also Have an effect/ influence on somebody/ something
Present somebody with something
Provid e information on something
provide employment. is not possible. Write a report on something
Using a com ma to separate the two independent clauses

Then vs. than

9.4.1 0 Miscellaneous
Then is an adverb that refers to time and often denotes the place in a
sequence.

At last/ Last/ Lastly ressions at last with last or lastly. At last means after
Do not confuse the exp
a long de lay.
First, a simulation is made using a Java program and then calculations are done.

. wa s at last done.
After 14 years, justice
Than is a conjun ction or preposition used in comparisons.

Last or Lastly .is us ed at the end of a sequence. The honeycomb structure is stronger than the cylindrical one.

· Chapter 6.
Last/Lastly, the recomm endations: these w1-11 be discusse d in

Use of dictionaries and thesauruses

.
There is no d1ffere
consistent. If you have use
d f1'rst at the beginning

should use last at the ~nand are also more common in

considered mom forma
u should aim to be
nee between last or lastly_but yo of a sequence then you

d of that sequence. F.trs tly,' secon

di" lastly are
n
. British English t h
It Is important to vary your expressions. Using a database with standard
Phrases is recomm ended. The Academic Phrasebank of the University of
Manchester http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk contains a plethora
Of Phrases you can use in your report, varying from ways to formulate the
f
in American Engl ish .

l
Urpose of your report to ways to express criticism. Some examples:

Prepositions . . in English have a tendency to use the same

Dutch writers wnting Id use in Dutch:
prepositions that they wou

l
Per Will focu s on/ examine/ give an account of .. .
CORRECT ENGLISH
say critically examines/ discusses/ traces .. .
INCORRECT ENGLISH
DUTCH Of this paper is to determine/ examine .. .

Het doel van dit rapport
is om inzicht te geven in
het ontwerpen van een
vliegtuig.
h' eport The purpose o Ose of this paper is to review recent research into the . ..
The purpose oft ~si~sight in report is to pr r Will review t he research conducted on . ..
. to provide som Per I argue t hat . . . •
~~e
design of an airplane . insight into th
an airplane . ter reviews t he lit erature concerning the usefulness of using .. .
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
174

Highlighting a knowledge gap in the field of study (for research):

So far, however, there has been little discussion about ...

However, far too little attention has been paid to ...
Most studies in X have only been carried out in a small number of areas .
The research to date has tended to focus on X rather than Y.
In addition, no research has been found that surveyed ...

I So far this method has only been applied to ...

Several studies have produced estimates of X (Smith, 2002; Jones, 2003), but there
is still insufficient data for ...
However, there have been no controlled studies which compare differences in ...

Identifying a study's weakness:

However ...

I
The main weakness of the study is the failure to address how ...
The study fails to consider the differing categories of damage that ...
The research does not take into account pre-existing ... such as ...
The author offers no explanation for the distinction between X and Y.
Smith makes no attempt to differentiate between various different types of X.
The paper would appear to be over ambitious in its claims.
The author overlooks the fact that X contributes to Y.
What Smith fails to do is to draw a distinction between ...

Remember to activate your computer's spell check to check the text tor
spelling errors and inconsistencies between different varieties of English.
Use a search engine such as Google to see whether your intended use of
word is generally accepted. Do be discerning about the sites you are
directed to. For example, if you are wondering whether you can use "empl
cycle" you will undoubtedly find sites which mention this, but they will
mostly be non-English websites . You can safely say, therefore, that the te
"empiric cycle " derives from a sort of "in-between" language rather than
correct English . The correct term is "empirical cycle."
 ···········-----------~==dh~otf
©Noor Uitgevers bv ©Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
177

10
Persuasive writing
I

Aim the report at decision-makers with little time

Answer the questions of readers whose opinion counts
Formulate persuasively
Techniques that border on deception

let us say you have worked for three months on designing an inclinometer for cyclists. The
~erson who commis sioned the instrument - a manufacturer of bicycle computers - has to
clde on the basis of your design report whether to take the inclinometer in production or
t. The design meets all the requirements: it is easy to use and can be read while cycling.
Wei/ as this, it can be integrated into the latest bicycle computers. But if this ingenious
algn
youris inclinometer.
not backed up by a convincing report, the chances are small that cyclists will ever

chapter offers advice on how to increase the persuasiveness of texts. It deals

Clal/y With texts on the basis of which a decision has to be made, such as feasibility
les and design or policy proposals.

times Writers balance on the divide between being convincing and misleading. What
lcally justified or not may sometimes be a personal matter and may sometimes
on the purpose of the text. As a reader, it is useful for you to know what techniques
Use to mislead you. A number of tricks that are often used in real-life situations are
th in the final section of this chapter.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhott Uitgevers bv
178
PERSUASIVE WRITING
179
fI!D Aim the report at decision-makers with Conclusions and recommend t·
Research has shown tha a .'°ns straight after th .
little t ime strategies, both equal/ t dec1s1on-makers adopt two e introduction
• Skipping to d y common:2 main reading
an fro through
A convincing text improves the chance of your recommendation being knowledge very often the report. Readers wit
adopted or your design or policy report being implemented. This chapter is looking for answers t already have questions in th h a lot of prior
all about achieving the desired result and how a text can contribute to that. behaviour. o. Their questions will dictatee1r heads that they are
• Following the d their reading
. 0 r er of the ch
Firstly, it is important for you to know who your readers are. Most important The risk with this t apters but skippin fa .
are those readers who will decide on whether to adopt your proposal or la st chapter and . ype of reading is that the reagd rge portions of text
• in many r er will n t ·
recommendations. Very often they do not have or take the time to read an your conclusions and eports this is where the . ?
get to your
extensive report from start to finish. As such, you need to make sure that You will take maxim recommendations. main information is·
um advantag ·
the main message cannot escape them, even if they only spend a few the conclusions and th e of these readin . . .
introduction. e recommendations immedg strategies If you insert
minutes on your report. The following recommendations are formulated with lately after the
the reading behaviour of decision-makers in mind.

The title should contain the main conclusion PLAN FOR A TABLE OF
CONTENTS Al
Put the most important conclusion in the title of the report. This is MED AT DECISION-MAKER

especially recommended if readers are likely to be either neutral or positive Executive summary s WITH LITTLE TIME

I towards your advice. You need to give them a perspective from which to
read the rest of the report. If you expect some opposition or objections, it
might be more effective to formulate a relatively neutral title.
1 Introduction
2 Conclus ions and re
3 (... ) commendations

TITLE SHOULD CONTAIN YOUR CONCLUSION

Deal with counter-arguments
Infusion pumps for home use: a growing market with good opportunities :eople who are critical of a
immediately. If you hav proposal usually think of
with any counter-a rg e a cnt1caf reading public it . counter-arguments
Will increase th e cre~~~i~ts in the text and to refut~s t~ goo_d idea to deaf
proposal will be accept /of your report and with it th em If you can. This
TITLE IS NEUTRAL e . e chance that your

Feasibility study into infusion pumps for home care

DISPROVING A COUNTER-ARGUMENT

fully automated park·

Summary in one paragraph rs on the same floor'~~::age (FAP) makes it possible to
The summary serves the important purpose of enabling decision-makers to emselves: they drive it into . People do not drive their car .p:rk a greater number of
familiarise themselves with the contents of the text. In the case of car to a free parkin an elevator, get out and in o the garage
ry make that extra a~ space. Our proposal counter a comp~ter-controlled FAP take
~nd ;~,~~~~ts ~h:n~Ao:1.ections
extensive reports, it might pay to include a very short (one paragraph)
summary which deals with the main question and the main conclusion :,1e business:s attract extra traffic. that neighbour:
and/ or recommendation. You could either do this on the title page of the ng in the neighbourho d 1m~ed1ate vicinity. It has th is o~ly intended for
report or in a memo in which the main issues surrounding the decision a o as it can reduce localized ek~otent1af to improve
par ing pressure.
clarified.
rt With the st

THE REPORT SUMMARIZED

re~der is infl~:~~=~\;roposal or argument
With your Y the order in h' .
Posa/ is con~;~~~gest ca rd and make:~~: :~formation is presented.
There is a growing need for infusion pumps for use in home care . The device g too. Psychological rese a~ your last argument or
hospitals are too complex for home use. This report demonstrates that the arc shows that the first and
market is viable for our company from a financial, technical and marketing P ...
utel!ng
view. The pump that is most suitable for home care is the type lnCare 210. s, R. (1997) D .
eenteraads/e . e e1genzinntge lezer H
adaptations, we can make this pump suitable for safe use in the home. den bele1dsteksten beo d . oe Tweede-Kamerleden en
o~ elen o
· iss. Den Haag: Sdu.
 l
············------------~=~d:h:off
©Noor Uitgevers bv © NoordhofUitgevers bv
PERSUASIVE WRITING
. , pro posals , etc .) 181
uments criteria
. an enumeration (arg
the last elements in .
' e that all of the
While you should ensur an bear the €I!B Answer the questions of readers whose
attract the most
arguments in every
att~~~~o~.at
needs to be rea~ c~~:~ll;e~evant and the most
d r limit yourself tot e
opinion counts
. f critical rea e •
scrutiny o a t or proposals .
Decision-makers and specialists read a report with different questions in
powerful argumen s . e a point-by-point
mind . As a writer you can make use of this. The better you know your
. strategy if you us . a
You will profit the most fr~~i~~:our arguments or proposals in readers, the easier it will be to select the arguments that will convince
enumeration rather than them. It starts with the way in which you formulate the importance of the
continuous text. report. Decision-makers often look for an answer to standard decision
issues and specialists also have standard points they look for when
weighing up a proposal. Since specialists advise decision-makers, it is
INT BY-POINT d important that your text convinces them too. ·
ARG UMENTS ENUMERATED PO - ·1 to abandon the planne
hy we are ad vising the counc1

~~~~og ;ooocpt~~~ H~h::swoold

10.2.1 Convince your readers of t he importance of your report
are three reasons w d town hall. been laying down new
Why should people read your report? You need to answer this question at
estete w;th '" ao ooce\;able pacty. tmosfec the eofae
1 The developer has proven table to the council since the very start of your report. If your readers do not immediately realize that
h t are unaccep · h" two the report is important for them there is a great chance that it will
disappear unread in a drawer.
~:rantee w~~molition
conditions t a e council. . . . be delivered wit in

II
financial risk burden to that the building permit for the
2 The developer cannot g_ b"ections to granting a
How can you make the importance of your text clear to your readers? One
years . This has to do with o J If the economic tide does not
existing buildings . h building is cause for
3 The rentab1l1ty oft e
conce~n.
·11 not be prepared to p y
high rental prices for unusual
way of doing this is to point out serious problems that conflict with the
company 's aims or the wishes of the readers . You will build up a certain
go our way, businesses w1 tension in this way, a tension that the solution in your report will defuse.
I architecture. After all , a report se rves the purpose of providing a solution to a problem .

l The following introductions to the same report demonstrate the point.

. . suits first ositive results before

Mention pos1twe re our results , accentuate the p disappointing results.you IMPORTANCE CLEAR
Wh
en you mention y ful ones . If there are n The following During the production of elementary
I s success · roved upo ·
dealing with the es these may be able to be imp "bes the design of a new hosphorus , micros copically small During the production of elementary
should indicatef
comparisons o
:~~s
I
of starting a report
m demonstrate e
tt~att~:s~~proaches. rticles are fo rme d that are phosphorus, microscopically small
interface for a contro roo sufficiently filtered out using the particles are formed that are insufficiently
sting techni ques at Chempro . filtered out using the existing techniques
earch has been done into ways of at Chempro. As a consequence, the
POSITIVE RESULT FIRST Ing these small pa rticles to grow,
NEGATIVE ASPECT FIRST aimed-for reduction in emissions to below
Ing separation poss ible. the norm that will be in force from July
Conclusion . o erating all next year cannot be met. Exceeding the
Conclusion
The project aimed at I ~oom via one
h e ·1s still a lot to norm after 1 July will lead to hefty fines
f t that t er
Despite the ac 1 0 the interface for systems in the contro essful With; (€25,000 per incident).
improve on Global . ' k The design been succ .
does wor · interface ha~ Global 1.0 on
the control room . di yet and not all
implementation of ontrol roorn
is not very user-fr;;b: operated via k in the c
the eight des s h d of schedul not always necessary to make the conflict fully explicit. If, for example ,
systems can as y t nly two of the
t the momen o I even two weeks a eta rs will be tr described situation is evidently contrary to general business aims,
Global: a with the system. t November, all oper; ~Y operation is no need to spell out why a solution is imperative:
operators can work b r before Global
and Global will b;illube impleme
will take until Novemt eall eight desks.
second version This will
will be able to opera e t the beginning
There w1·11 be an update a beginning of next yet~·to the us
of next year. further improve~~nthe two re
and will meant a ning on
systems currently r~; operate ember and January, there were three instances of problems at Stipra BV
monitors can also Shutting down the press installations for maintenance. In two cases,
Were caught in a j am when an installation was started up prematurely.
Were the cause of another employee having to be hospitalised with
roblems.
 182 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
10.2 .2 Answer the questions that decision-makers usually ask
Decision-makers usually seek answers to questions revolving around the
necessity for change and the feasibility of the proposed plan.
Questions decision-makers want answered
The need for change
1 Are there problems in the current situation that justify new measures?
2 Are these structural problems?
Feasibility of the proposal
3 What is the proposal?
4 Is the proposal practicable (financially, technically, etc.)?
5 Is the proposal efficient (will it solve the problems)?
6 Are the advantages greater than the potential disadvantages?
Whether you need to address all questions in equal detail will depend on
the purpose of your report. Sometimes everybody will be aware of the
urgency of the problem: take, for example, the car manufacturer whose
brake problems have led to a lot of publicity. If this is the case, you need
'
only mention the problem briefly, shifting the focus to the cause and an
assessment of the possible solutions (questions 2 to 6).
Your purpose might be to convince management first that measures are
necessary. In this case, your report or memo need only deal with questions
1 and 2. In the example of the car manufacturer, this could be relevant If
doubts had arisen about the braking system during the tests in the factory,
The severity of the problem will determine whether management should c
for further research or look closely at what measures are available. For a
text to be convincing it is not enough to state that there are serious
problems . You have to show what the problems are and preferably
substantiate them with facts (research results , figures, opinions of expe
etc .) that demonstrate that the problems are really serious .
10.2.3 Questions specialists want answered
Specialists can play a crucial role as advisors of decision-makers,
especially when the subjects are technically or financially complex. Like
decision-makers, specialists rarely take the time to read the whole repo
They want to find a quick answer to their questions . A badly organised
report will give them the idea that you will not have carried out the
investigation carefully and may easily lead to advising management that
recommendations be turned down. It pays , therefore, to put plenty oftl
into convincingly presenting information that is important to specialists.
Somebody from the Planning and Control Department will look at a text
different way to his colleague from the Production Department or the fl
legal advisor. However, even though they will be looking for different
answers in the report, they will want to know whether the right things (
terms of their particular area of expertise) have been investigate~ and
critically examined , and whether this has been done in a responsible
manner.
@ Noordhoff Uitg evers bv PERSUASIVE WRITING 183
Questions specialists want answered
M in question of the report
• aHas the right question been asked?
.
Research method
How was the research carried out?
.
Is this a good way of answering the central question?
, Has the investigation been carried out well and have responsible choices
been made?
Quality of the information used
, Have the right data been used?
, Has no relevant information been left out?
Specifications and other evaluation criteria
, What specifications/criteria have to be met?
1 Why these specifications?
• To what extent do th e options meet the specifications?
1 Was the evaluation done correctly?
Consequences of th e investigation
1 Do the conclusions follow from the results?
, Are the recomm endations practicable?
What this means for the report is that the introduction needs to raise the
main question and briefly describe how to answer that question . An
extensive justification of the method used is best put in an appendix: often
It Is only relevant to a limited number of readers.
Acknowledge the information that you use to base your report on. In the
case of data in figure form , always quote your source so that the data can
be verified. The readers should be able to easily locate the specifications
and other criteria in the report (preferably all in one section).
WLEDGMENT OF INFOR MATION SOURCES
easuring the effect we have chosen scores on the 2009 performance indicators
r benchma rk . We did this because they have been used as a benchmark in a
er of nation-wide stud ies. Consequently, we can compare our findings with
nal figures.
.2.4 Present t he choice of alternatives convincingly
ters regularly have to j ustify a choice between different options (for
tance, between different des igns or measures). Whenever this happens
mai · · '
.n cntena for the pe rson who commissioned the report or other
Pie l~Vo!ved need t o be shown, the alternatives tested according to
e cntena and a recommendation arrived at. For decision-makers it is
ortant to se th . .
e e resu1t s of the selection process presented 1n a.clear
ner. Such an overview is also handy for specialists though they will
Want to kn ow how you reached your conclusion.. '
1.84 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
PERSUASIVE WR ITIN G
1.85
There are several ways of visua li sing a comparison on the basis of criteria.
TABLE 10.2 Example of a scorecard with co/our marking· de . 'th .
Two are described below, together with their advantages and . t . a 1ing w1 noise pollution
at an a1rpor
disadvantages.

Multicriteria analysis Alternatives

A multicriteria analysis (see Table 10.1) is a common way of comparing New runway Noise-reducing
Banning noisy
alternatives in an organised way. Every criterion is given a weighting, measures planes
indicated by a figure or by - -, - 0, +, + +. Sometimes a so-cal led "killer Number of dwellings with noise problems
criterion " is included: a concept must meet the minimum demands of that
Exhaust gasses (in tons)
criterion to qualify for a role in the discussion. "Safety" is an example of
such a criterion . If a concept does not meet the minimal requirements in Long-term employment
neutral
that regard it is not included in the table.
Investment required (Meuro)
100

TABLE 10.1 Comparison of drive mechanisms

Attract attention t hrough visualisation
Concept ·nf
Limit visualisation of resu lts or alternatives to that 1 t· h
. . orma ion t at you
want to emphas ize especially. Readers who leaf through
Criterion Weight Caterpillar Climbing Telescopic arm . . your report are
easily tempted to linger over an attractive illustrat·ion th t ·
track arm . . a 1s c1ear at a
glance. It 1s a good idea to test that on a few people h ·
. . w o are not involved
speed 1 8 5 9 m your project: can they explain to you what it is all about or do
makes some changes to it? you need to
constructability 2 6 8 2
reliabi lity 2 8 6 4
total 36 33 FIGURE 10.1 Energy use of alternatives to the conventional light globe
21
Legend: 1 ~ does not meet criterion; 10 ~ meets criterion fully
Energy Energy Energy Energy
saving saving saving saving
Weighting the different criteria often only provides a false sense of securll:Y'
and can have a negative effect on the persuasiveness of your case.
• The weighting that is al lotted and the score assigned to an alternative
r
70-80%
a criterion are relatively subjective. The writer can use them for Consump-
manipulation purposes . There may also be a difference of opinion abo tion
the scores. If there are a relatively large number of decision-makers o
stakeholders, the weighting allotted might diverge considerably. One 50-60%
person might find cost the most important criterion, whereas another Consump-
might give greater importance to environment. As such, the table is ti on
a good basis for discussion: it contains a mixture of fact and opinio
• The importance that the person who commissioned the report attac
to a criterion can change . Fuel consumption can suddenly become a
major criterion if oil prices rise sharply. 20-30%
Consump-
<20%
tion
Score card Consump-
Another possibility is using a scorecard (see Table 10.2). Criteria can b tion
scored both quantitatively and qualitatively on a scorecard. Decision· Conventional c-c Iass improved B-class improved
incandescent incandescent Compact Light emitting
then have to decide for themselves what they regard as most impo incandescent fluorescent diodes
The writer can make the task easier for decision-makers by making t bulbs bulbs (halogen
bulbs (halogen lamps (CFLs)
per criterion visib le by means of colours: green for the best score, ye lamps filled (LEDs)
lamps with
neutral and red for the worst. (in the table: light blue, darker blue, an with xenon gas) infrared coating)
dark blue respectively)
European Commi ssion, 2009
..
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noord hoff Uitgevers bv
186
PERSUASIVE WRITING
187

Formulate persuasively . . 10.3.2 Choose a perspective that will help you reach your aim
It is essential that you sell your results and your insights to the reader. It is
f lated text may no t be taken seriously. (Extensive advice not a matter of presenting the matter in a rosy way but of using strategies
An awkwardly ormu d been given: see Chapter 9.)
on formulation has alrea y that will make the reader more receptive to the results achieved or to
fol/owing your recommendations. Perhaps it suits your purpose more to
th appropriate tone choose a negative perspective rather than a positive one.
10 3 1 Choose e . d b how formally it is phrased (are
• • t . partly determine y d I t?)
The tone of a repor is h th passive voice been use a o .
· ti ddressed as e · Negative information has a greater impact
the readers direc Y a . ' .11 ften reduce its persuasiveness.
Formulating a report too informally w1 ho Id be avoided too, especially if it Many people have a natural tendency to formulate positively and to
. ative in tone s ou h. h emphasise the profits that can be made from implementing a proposal. The
Making a text too imper h me hierarchical level or ig er up.
I who are on t e sa
is intended for peop e . t . tone will not go down we II e1'th er psychologists Kahneman and Tversky discovered that people run faster to
too subserv1en 1n avoid loss than they do to gain a profit. We dislike losing €50 more than we
Formulations that are across as decisive.
as the writer will not come like winning the same amount. Their research , for which they received the
Nobel Prize in 2002, shows that the perspective - the frame - from which a
message is formulated can be of crucial importance to the choices that
RECOMMENDATION FORMULATED TOO IMPERATIVELY . people make.

. s that immediate measures are required. A

Absentee-related problems are so senou d to these problems should be installed

I
Health and Safety officer who can put an en DIFFERENCE IN EFFECT BETWEEN NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE FRAMING
immediately.
Alternative A (nega tive perspective)
The result of t he proposed policy will be 10% unemployment.

RECOMMENDATION FORMULATED TOO S UBSERVIENTLY Alternative B (pos itive perspective)

The result of t he proposed policy will be 90% employment.
. with absenteeism . It might be advisable to
There are some problems ass~c1~t;d officer can offer an opinion on what to do.
enquire whether a Health and a e y o thirds of decision-makers will want to take alternative A measures: unemployment
as a negative connotation. Although alternative B is the same in content, the positive
rmulation will spur less people on to action.

RECOMMENDATION NEUTRALLY FORMULATED .

It is advisable to employ a Hea Ith and Safety officer who can resolve the high It is not very useful to ask people what convinces them. 3 Many people think
absenteeism problem . that they are more motivated by profit than by loss and are often on the
lookout for "win-win situations." But research that measures behavioural
effects often shows a different picture: negative information influences
8haviour more often. Studies of the brain show that we can process
. . ma y be approprl
. erative formulation .g
Naturally, in some situations anl im~he formulation should leave nothm gative information in a fraction of the time that we need for positive
In safety regulations, for examp e, ormation. Because negative information stimulates brain activity it would
the imagination. f h"s am that more attention is paid to the contents of that message. 4

· ·
his readers of the 1mpo rtance " 1n
o tr types Of framing
It is hard for a writer to convince If You should avoid words like hoprt.
8
he does not seem sure_ of h1~si~ ~he recommendations of your repo sages can be formulated from a host of different perspectives, and the
"try" in the main question an t and loss perspective is only one of these. The way you frame your
lage Will contribute to how a reader processes your text.
an gain a lot by framing your message to suit your goal. Take the title
PURPOSEFUL STYLE Ive Your text or project. A project with the name Betuwe route conjures
HESITATING STYLE
Picture of a railway line running straight through the beautiful nature
. . d escribed in this .b s a solutlo
During the invest1gat1on This report descn e . I fr
report we tried to find a solution for t~e roblem of sudden matena
problem of sudden material fracture. ~ives an insig~t in~o t~~bi:~~
a crucial role in this P
..
lerhuis, A., & Aarts, H. (2003 ). On wildebeests and humans: The preferential
hope to clarify the factors that play a Ion of negative stimuli . Psychological Science, 14, 14-18.
crucial role in this problem. Pol, B., C.Swankhuisen, P. van Vendeloo (2007) . Nieuwe aanpak in
l /dscommu · t· .
n1ca 1e. Mythen m1sverstanden en moge/ijkheden. Bussum: Coutinho.
···········-------------------~© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhotf Uitg evers bv
188
PERSUASIVE WRITING
189
k a lot of oppos1.t.on
I . If the railway line
area of the Betuwe. This may proftvoer~he motorway that it follows, there The catch is in the last paragraph: the neighbours will be getting a six
d the A15 route , a
had been cal le b en fewer objections. metre high fence in their backyard. The writers of the report are clearly
would perhaps have e afraid of the NIMBY ("not in my backyard ") effect and have tried to
circumvent objections from the neighbours by hiding the information from
. f mation concrete . .
10.3.3 Make abstract m or of convincing their readers by us_1n_g them. It may well have a reasonable chance of success: council members
.
Writers often miss out on a chancet A manager w ho has to make a dec1s1on· and th e public will only read this section globally (only the topic sentences).
For them the way in which the golf links are constructed is of minor
argumen ts that are too abstrac
leaning· polluted soi.1 w1. 11 reJ·ect vague
" formu 1at1ons
about a new method for c more effective or cheaper]. importance. Council members will want to know if the links fit into the

~uantification theM1~inogr t~~ngs

l'ke "the new method is better_[or t t thing is how much better and zoning plan and whether it is advantageous for the council to have the links
is required :_ concrete by using comparisons constructed (extra income; employment) . Citizens are looking primarily for
h w method 1s. a . implications for their living comfort, but they do not expect any information
cheaper t e ne . ke the text more persuasive .
or an example will ma about that in this section because of the title.
Incidentally, hiding arguments or manipulating information in other ways can
also be to the writer's detriment. If the information really is important it will
. as much oil flowed into the ocean ever~
During the oil disaster i_n the Gulf of :a7;~~odisaster. Until then, that was the worst oil almost always get out and cause the writer to lose credence for any
five days as happened m the Exxon subsequent proposals he may submit.
disaster in North America.
It is often more convincing to mention the disadvantages of the proposal
and then to take the edge off them, or alternatively, to show why the
disadvantages are unavoidable. A tried and true method is to present the
.
Techmques that border on deception disadvantage as a positive measure:

. ues that verge on deception. That .

Sometimes writers res.ort to techni~oose to leave out information that is
border is crossed if writers s1m~ly the decision-making process. But readers
DISADVANTAG E PRESENTED POSITIVELY
th ·r conclusions or o
relevant to . ei d . more subtle ways .
can be manipulate in
People who live in the vicinity of golf links often complain about golf balls in their
garden. In order t o avoid this problem, a net will be constructed around the golf links.
10.4.1 Hiding relevant infor~~~i~~es not suit their purposes in an
Writers sometimes put inforhmap~~~at their readers will overlook it. In ~thhea
.
inconspicuous place in thef om a thick report of 1 ges dealing WIcil h
50 pa
following example - taken . ro f new golf links for which the city cou~ 10.4.2 Not spelling things out or doing so misleadingly
proposal for the construct1o;d~rs were (apart from council m.embers Sometimes one cannot avoid the impression that things have not been
to give its approval - the ;~o lodge a protest against the project. spelt out on purpose . In a report on the expansion of Schiphol airport, the
citizens who were entitle following calculation of probability was made: if the plans were carried out,
eople in the vicinity of Schiphol would have a chance of one in ten million
fbeing involved in a plane accident - seemingly a small chance. But a
HIDDEN NEGATIVE INFORMATION ember of the House of Representatives calculated what that meant in
r&ctlce. Taking into account the number of flights per year, people in the
ds the ground will be loosened an d ·mproved
· k s.. methods
Construction of the golf /1n with
I nd approxl
lnlty have a chanc e of experiencing an incident once every 14.5 years,
Ing an unacceptable ri sk.
On fairways that follow bold tr~~ bunkers will be dug on the fa1rw~yss
aThe botto
from adjacent fields . A ou ill have a depth of up to 0. 75 me r~able on the t!I
36 along the greens. T~ese ~that is virtually free of humus (a:a~aysthe sa
Manipulating the amount of informat ion
Particular alternative is usually discussed more extensively than
bunkers will be made o san to make the level of the a1
. -11 be necessary
Some earthmoving WI . Behln rs, Particularly in reports that evaluate a number of alternatives . This is
st always the alternative the writer prefers. It might have the effect
that of the greens an d the tees .
tructed in the same way as the. fairways.
net will be
The driving range will be con;ential blocks and the plantat_1ons) ~ug up and~ teaders Will stop regarding the other alternatives are serious.
driving range (along the res~ 6 metres. Any tree stumps will be rlation on this, when a writer knows that the readers are considering
constructed with a height o 8r alternative to the one that has his preference, he or she may
that alternative extensively, but emphasising the negative aspects.

+
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
190
PERSUASIVE WRITING
191
10.4.4 Deliberately vague formulations Fig. 10.3 By changing the zero .
Formulating things in a deliberately vague way is a technique that requires exaggerated. The reader who o~loinl t the effect has been greatly
skills of its own. It may not always be with the purpose of misleading, Y ooks at the he d'
cursory g1ance at the picture will . d a ing and who throws
especially not in reports for readers with diverging interests who have to in eed see a marked growth . a
decide jointly on the proposals. Vagueness may be necessary for reaching
agreement . It is easier for all parties to agree on "in the coming year the FIGURE 10.a Exponential growth in th . .
e sa le of sta1rl1 fts in 2009-2011
budget will have to be cut drastically" than the more specific alternative "in
the coming year the budget will have to be cut by 3.5 million." 50%
Information deliberately phrased in vague terms may be regarded as 0 Northern Netherlands
bordering on the misleading if it is to the disadvantage of others. If the • Central Netherlands
company's management makes the decision to axe a complete department
• Southern Netherlands
and informs its employees that "the downward turn in the economy has
forced the company to adjust the organisational structure," this can be
construed as being deliberately misleading, as would a letter informing the
public about a new railway through their municipality in which it is
mentioned that a number of dwellings will be relocated. "Demo lish " or "pull
down" might be closer to the truth.
2009 2010 2011
Illustrations that mislead

I
10.4.5
While mislead ing illustrations may be nothing new, new technologies make
it very easy to manipulate images. Thanks to Photoshop, pictures of
unnaturally beautiful and skinny photo models are a daily occurrence, as
are news pictures that are manipulated to make them a fraction more
dramatic. In reports too, it is sometimes very tempting to cross the border
between factual and misleading information.

Misleading by means of diagrams and graphs happens a Jot and is not

always done consciously. A writer might exaggerate the differences between
two alternatives by presenting the information in a certain way, as the
following illustrations show. While this is not necessarily misleading, it can
be. Depending on the interpretation the writer gives to it, it can be
acceptable or manipulative.

Fig.10.2 shows a graph that has not been manipulated.

FIGURE 10.2 Number of sta irlifts sold per region in 2009- 2011

60%-

2010 2011
2009
..
 C Noordhoff Ultgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
192

193

11
Illustrations

The importance of putting things in visual form

General guidelines
Suitable material for illustrations

There are two reports in front of you, one with illustrations, figures , drawings, schedules,
done with nothing but text. Chances are that you, just like most readers, will look at the
port with illustrations first. Such a text is more inviting to the reader and yields up its
formation more quickly than a massive wall of words. Did you look at b first too?

•
b Layout with illustrations
194 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noord hoff Uitgevers 1.Jv

ILLUSTRATIONS
OE The importance of putting things in visual A NON-INDEPENDENTLY FUNCTIO
195
NING ILLUSTRATION
form
A single-lens reflex camera d
b th . epends on four th' g f .
. e mirror, c. the viewtinder d th I' in s or its operation· a th I
Putting things in visual form (from tables to photographs) is part and parcel found in the camera is show ' . e ight sensor. Where these four.th : e ens,
of the job of reporting and you should get into the habit of doing it as soon If we look through the viewti ndon the ~allowing cross-section of an SLRings can be
as you can. Temporarily inserting a quickly scanned or photographed sketch . n er we will see th b' camera
an d a pnsm. If we press the ex e su ~ect through the len . · .
in the initial stage of the writing process will help you see what visual hit the light sensor directly (se pFo~ure button the mirror swings up and th via,. a mirror
information will have to be created later. Texts with spatial information e 1g.1). e 1ght rays
clearly demand at least one illustration, whether it be a map, an electrical
diagram or a photograph. Making an adequate drawing or figure need not
take much extra time at all.
Nowadays, readers expect you to make an effort to show them what you
mean. They are used to texts being visually supported: communication in
the twenty-first century is to a large extent visual communication , c
regardless of whether the medium is newspapers, magazines or the
Internet. As such, a professional presentation is increasingly coming to
mean one which includes visual elements.
This does not mean, of course , that illustrations make a text better by
definition. Some writers are so taken away by the countless possibilities of
graphic programmes that their illustrations lose their functional value and
tend to detract from the text.

Illustrations that are chosen for their appropriateness have a lot of

RE 1 Single-lens reflex camera
advantages.
• They attract immediate attention .
• They ensure fast transfer of information.
• They ensure that information is remembered more easily.
• They emphasize main points convincingly.
DEPENDENTLY FUNCTIONING ILLUSTRATION
• They make complex information accessible.
Ingle-lens reflex camera (see F'
inder of the ca mera, we see ~~~1~;orks as follows. If we look through the
OE General guidelines m. If we p~ess the exposure button
sensor direct ly
;:ct
through ~he lens via the mirror and a
e mirror swings up and the light
Three suggestions for using illustrations effectively are shown below, · rays hit the
followed by some general hints on making illustrations.

11.2.1 Make sure the illustration can be understood

independently of the text.
A reader must be able to understand figures and tables without further:
explanation. You should always indicate exactly what the picture show
therefore, by adding a suitable caption, a legend, or, in the case ofa
explanatory notes. If so presented, the illustration can function on Its

Make the captions or titles of every illustration informative. Do not

"The influence of anodising" but "The influence of anodising on the a= lens
b =mirror
corrosion resistance of aluminium."
c = view finder
For a figure, the caption is usually put underneath the figure. With
d =sensor
the caption is usually put above the table. In reports with a wide
e =prism
putting the captions next to the illustrations is an attractive altern ss section of .
The following examples show how adding legends and a more pre a single-lens retie
x camera (situation before i"ressing th
caption enable the reader to interpret a figure without needing to e exposure
text. The figure in example B can function independently, in cont
example A.
 196
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
11.2.2 Refer to t he illustrations in t he text
Give each illustration a number and refer to it at least once in the text.
Illustrations that only serve a decorative function, such as cartoons , form
an exception to this.
You can refer to an illustration in the following ways:
• Fig. 4 clearly shows the effect of . . . . drawing or photo always involves a certain amount of effort. A
Because of the pressure, the capstan has shifted to the left (see Fig. 7).
• Tables 5 and 6 give an overview of the measuring results of .. .
Number tables and figures separately. Your software programme can make
references and numberings automatically and you should make good use of
this. \twill ensure that your numbering is always right.
11.2.3 Put illustrations where they have the greatest effect
I Illustrations should, of course, be as close as possible to the text passage
they relate to. Only then will they really have the effect you are aiming for.
For typographical reasons such as a lack of room on the relevant page they
sometimes have to be shifted to the next one.
To save time it is sometimes more convenient to postpone the insertion of
illustrations. Do reserve some space on the page so that you can have an
idea what the page will look like.
Try to put the figures in a similar position on the page (for inst~nce, at the
bottom or at the top). This will create a restful effect. By not tying the
illustration to the text but to a place on the page , the software can ensure
that the text runs on normally while your illustration stays at the top or the
bottom of the page.
There are three situations in which it is preferable to place illustrations at
the back of the report in an appendix:
• \f the same illustration is required in different places in the text (thou
placing the same drawing or photograph twice is sometimes a better
solution).
• \f the figures are so numerous and large that they would interrup~ tha
text too much (but do place the most important of these figures in th
text)· . ddltlo
• \f the figures are not very important and function _more as an _a tt
But remind yourself that an unimportant il\ustrat1on in your text IS be
than no illustration at all.
11.2.4 Work simply, quickly and safely
Three hints to finish off with. . t m
• Keep the illustration as simple as possible. Do n~t try to mak~a oh te
0
things clear in the one illustration. Too many variables in a g P
• • d do not choo
make it confusing. Use embellishments sparing 1Y an e-dl
fantasy font for texts in an illustration. Extensive use of thre t"mne
effects (such as adding shadows) does not .improve an i\\ustra 10 •
case of photographs , remove distracting elements with your so
~~-----------------~
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
ILLUSTRATIONS 197
• Use existing illustrations sensibly. Often you can use illustrations that
have bee n made by others and have been made available via the
Internet (for example, stock photos). You can work much faster this way
You should always acknowledge the source. In the case of tables and ·
the like, you should refer to the work you have taken the illustration
from . In the case of photographs, drawings and cartoons, it is usual to
mention the author.
• A/ways work with copies of your illustrations. Making a good graph ,
photograph that you have altered to fit into one text you might need to
use in anoth er. Make sure you file the originals properly. Make a
dedicated CD/ DVD of your collection of illustrations.
Suitable material for illustrations
In this section we will look at a few different types of illustrations and
suggest how could you use them.
11.3.1
Function
Tables: present all the data clearly
Atable is an excellent way of presenting entire sets of data succinctly. The
reader usually read s a table from the left column to the right. You should
therefore put the sea rch entry in the left-hand column. When presenting
research data , the 1n_dependent variable is put into the first column; the
other columns contain the data of the dependent variables (the values
measured).
Design
It is e~sy to make a table : most of the work is done by your word processor.
Sometimes_ it pays to find out whether you should adapt the basic design .
Do you, ~or instance'. need all the lines in the table? Since the data (usually
figures) is arranged in columns, the amount of white between the columns
aerves the same purpose as lines. Professional designers therefore often
omit the lines - it makes the figure quieter, as the following example
demonstrates.
!Nlth larger tables, it is advi sable to insert a line of white here and there
r Instance, every fifth row). This makes it easier for the reader to find his
If In the table.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
198
ILLUSTRATIONS
199
. a mt·nimum number of lines
Examp le of a table - with Simple illustrations are also an option

. ultural land (millions of kg) If you have a small number of figures - too few for a real table - do not
Mineral balance for agric
bury the data in the running text. You could create an informal minitable
2000 2005 2007 2008 (without a number or a title) to present the information. For example:

Nitrogen
721 680 668 DATA IN RUNNING TEXT
Supply to soil 845
DATA IN MIN/TABLE
Supply animal manure 409 356 340 346
At the moment, commercially available
330 269 248 230 solar ce lls convert a maximum of 15% of At the moment, commercially available
Fertiliser
the sunlight that falls on them into solar cells convert a maximum of 15% of
Other supply 106 96 92 92 electricity. the sunlight that falls on them into
429 380 391 397 Monocrysta lline silicium is usually used. electricity. But ongoing developments
Removal via crop yields etc.
But ongoing developments may mean may mean that a theoretically possible
Net impact 416 341 289 271 conversion yield of 85% can be obtained.
that a theoretically possible conversion
yield of 85% can be obtained.
Yields:
At the moment, a conversion rate is
Phosphorus reached of 21% with polychristalline • monochristalline silicium 15%

I 108 93 80 77 silicium. Cells that are based on gallium • polychristalline silicium 21%
Supply to soil
arsenide have a very high yield. The yield • gallium arsenide 35%
Supply animal manure 76 67 61 62
of the very best laboratory cells is 35%
Fertiliser 27 21 16 12 at the moment.

Other supply 5 5 3 3

Removal via crop yields etc. 60 55 56 58

Net impact 48 38 24 19 11.3.2 Graphs represent one particular aspect of the data
Source: Statistisch Jaarboek 2010, CBS Function

It is, of course, possible to present your research data in table form, though
Splitting long ta bl es to a single page. If so, it is usua II y beltter
t"onto inmake two
terms the reader will have to work through a lot of information to get to the
A table may not fit on d r and a more elegant so u I essence of the data presented. If you use a graph, that task will take your
t bles: this is c earer
• • 1 for the rea e . reader on average about 25% less time.
a layout of the repo rt .
the table run on to the next page (not advisable,
eat the Why is this? It is because a graph represents a certain view of the data.
Alternatively you c.an let the . In this case you will h~ve t~ rep Not all data need be presented as being equally important - only those
but sometimes it. is the :;~o~;~utomatically
by setting it upb:~:~~~ thl aspects that you, the writer, regard as important. Your view of your research
Is passed on to your reader.
headings. NB: this can . /most always preferable to put ta
software programme. It is a
The other side of the story is, of course, that the reader is more easily
an appendix.
deceived by graphs than by tables . Many readers appreciate it if you include
I table showing the basic data in the appendix to your report.
Use possibilities offered ~ :~:~~~~~=~: possibilities to offer and you lllgn
Your software programm them often c
should make efficient use of t d~ta is a problem that people have Ost calculating programmes (spreadsheet programmes, statistical
How to include your most ~:c:~lved almost automatically. ,If ~:e-con grammes) can convert the data you collect directly into a graph . In the
up against but which c~~e
last moment it can be e~treme:wever,
to II e of a Presentation programme you will usually still have to type in the
include new results at cell of a table. It is possible, h blishing a le data for a graph yourself. The quality of the graphs of these
to make changes to every adsheet programme. By es.ta disk, ammes is almost always better than that of hand-drawn ones . If you
contents of a table to a ~~~~e in the text and the data f1l~l~~n the need a rough draft in the starting phase of your writing process a
connection between the be transported directly to the tathe text to rawn graph is usually quicker. Take a photograph or make a scan of
drawing to put it in the text.
on the spreadsheet can d heet when transferring
not forget to include the sprea s
computer.
drawing graphs you should keep the powers of observation of~our
in mind. Research shows that people are less able to judge angles
1as than to judge positions along a longitudinal scale. Compare, for
e, the difference between a pie chart and a bar chart (Fig.11.1). The
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
200
ILLUSTRATIONS
201
difference in length of the lines is more obvious than the difference in area TAB LE 11.1 Overview of graph forms
between the pie pieces.
Type of graph ~ln~s;tr~u~c~t~io:n:s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Line chart Example
~hr~ao:i: ~:i~u want to show changes in a number of
FIGURE 11.1 Diffe rence in observed area and length information in one or mo;: :t~~rc~a~i~~::s~hese changes with changes '""

g J==::::1 Choose a line chart for:

• trends (exact figures are not important)
• data collections that have many subsequent values
• several data collections in one chart
dl=======::::::i data relating to periods
• frequency distributions
c ~=======:::::!~ • estimates, predictions, interpolations or extrapolations
b F=================~
a!====================:::::1.. Bar chart
I A.ffbar chart compares different entities shown as bars of

t
0 5 10 15 20 d1 erent lengths (h ·
. onzontally or vertically). The /en th
the bar is proportional to th e amount. g of 80

,;;- - __
With your software you can shape the same data collection in different Choose a bar chart for:
ways. Without much trouble you can present the same graph in three • comparing size or amount
dimensions. However, striving for effects like these is usually a matter of • differences within a variable at d"ff .
. 1 erent times
trying to impress: the graph often suffers from it. Compare the two • differences between variables at a set time
examples in Fig. 12.2. Observe that the May figures in the graph on the
In the 3D version so b
right are hardly visible. ' me ars can disappear behind others.

FIGUUR 11.2 Difference between a two-d imensiona l and a three-d imensional

rea li sation Pie chart
~~~ ~~~o~hw~nt~o show the rnlationship between a part
g~ 201·
-
=asr
=
AK4

RTD
chart usua~,;~o~~a~;: :~:~nT~~~~~~i~nc~~~! ~~e:~;r
"'
>.,. 15 .
Keep the following in mind:

10 - •~:'~:ts~:~; :o~~~;~~s
I
between a part and the whole
ive segments per pie chart
a ways put the labels outside the pie chart itself

0
~:~:: 3D version, the graph has to be tilted a bit which
Jan.
s some distortion. '
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun.
Use if you want to show th . .
the total over a cert . e contribution of several items to
charts, the relations~;~ ~:;~:e~f time. Just as with pie
Graphs can be manipulated relatively easily. By simply changing the S essential here. a part and the whole is
on the axes you can present your readers with a steep or an almost I
graph. A large degree of exaggeration is usually regarded as mislead
Keep the following in mind:
however. • limit the numb f
Do make sure that the effect you want to show is clearly visibl~- To . er o 1ayers to a maximum of five
8 • Pl ace the items w·th th
demonstrate the point, we have put the most common graphs in this m I I e least variation at the bottom·
Table 11.1. The best graphic solution is obvious. Note that the 3 a <es the graph easier to follow. .
add no new information and are sometimes even confusing.
·············-----------------~©~Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
202
ILLUSTRATIONS 203
. represen tation: presenting relationshi ps
Diagrammatic
11 3 3 11 .3 .4 Photographs and drawings: representations of reality
· · d t and concepts . A report that deals with tangible objects should always have illustrations.
between a a . the relationship between ideas or
· ntat1on shows II Although an illustration gives the impression of representing a neutral,
A diagrammatic represe tain this simplicity. You can usua y
. Make sure you re . I d objective vision, the writer can influence the reader by his choice of
events in a simple way. t w·1th a square or a tnang e an
. ber of concep s · h perspective, choice of detail, and choice of what is shown in the photo or
suffice with framing a num It . then up to the text to explain w at
then connec t .1n g them with an arrow. is drawing (and especially by what is left out). You can choose between such
the schedule really means. things as technical line drawings and photographs. With a technical drawing
you can show the exact details the user needs and you can leave all
irrelevant detai ls out. By doing this you can also give a picture of things
Simple conceptual schedule
that do not exist as yet. In the case of photos, this is somewhat more
difficult. With both technical drawings and photographs it is a good idea to
A high degree of keep a check on the size of the file you are adding to the text.
trust
Photographs
use photogra phs if you want to give the reader an impression of the
situation as it exists in reality. A photograph does not only give an image of
the object but of its surroundings as well. For general readers this often
means that they can place the object in its particular context more readily.
Ahigh level of A photograph may also show unimportant details (a vase with flowers that
J)8rformance
just happens to be there, a rusty spot, an old-fashioned computer) which
can sometimes lead to the intended effect (better orientation) being lost.
FIGURE The relationship between trust and
performance A digital photograph is like a drawing built up of a grid, the squares of which
may be filled or not. Each square forms a dot in the drawing and is called a
pixel. The more pixels on any given area, the greater the detail that can be
. n easily become complicated. The
A diagrammatic representation_ ca t pressing the various factors that seen on the illustration. This is called the resolution of the image. If part of
mple aims a ex f · a Bitmap of 2 by 2 centimetres is enlarged to 2 by 2 centimetres once
diagram in the. next
. exa .
t on a project. Th e way this is done creates con us1on
have a dynamic 1mpac more, the detail will not be greater - quite the contrary, the enlargement will
instead of clarity. be qualitatively inferior because the eye is starting to see the individual
pixels and loses sight of the original image (see the following enlargement
of the axle of the instrument in the example at the end of this chapter).
Confusing diagrammatic representation

FIGURE Important factors in project planning

 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
204
ILLUSTRATIONS
205
Hint for designers: take photographs of your work in your workshop; Technical drawing: a represent t'
a /On of something that does not exist as yet.
photograph all the immediate stages of your model. Photographs from 2
megapixels can be used in a report. In the case of photographs with more
pixels it is possible to use part of the photograph. water tank
Rule of thumb: the width in centimetres of the photograph should equate to
the number of pixels in the image divided by 100.
payload

FIGURE 1 Photograph of an international stage

gas tanks

parachute

FIGUUR 2 Model for re-entry module

Try to .keep non-relevant aspects out of the d .

parts in the drawing as close a . rawing. Place the names of
s possible to th
makes the drawing cluttered put th . e parts concerned. If this
' e names 1n a leg d
of numbers. If it becomes unclea h en and refer by means
· . r w ere a certa·
use~ thin line (0 .5-1 point) to connec in name bel~ngs to you can
drawing. t the name with the object in the

I
Source: www.amersfoort.nl

Partic.ularly with instructions to laymen a .

Hint: cut irrelevant details out of the photograph (make sure you are left technical drawing. Make sure your hoto photograph is often clearer than a
with a picture with enough pixels). should do (task orientation· see th P shows clearly what the reader
· e next example).
Hint: use copies to work with. Make a backup of the originals and make
sure you keep an overview. Rename your photos (not: IMG100456.jpg, b
SuitcaseProject_firstphase_handles.jpg).

Technical drawings
Technical drawings are usually made with the aid of a CAD (computer-aid
design) programme. Corrections, adjustments and additions are thereto
less time consuming. A technical drawing is not built up of pixels but f~
a mathematical description of the drawing. For this the drawing is divld
into a large number of mathematical primitives called vectors (lines, C
circles, ovals, squares , etc.). With this descriptive method there is no
quality loss when enlarging or reducing: a line remains a line, a circl
a circle. To use a drawing in a report the drawing file has to be adap
converting line pieces into pixels. When enlarging details, the resol
the picture has to be kept in mind.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
206

DIFFERENC E IN USE BETWEEN A PHOTOGRAPH AND A TECHNICAL DRAWING

Task orientation
The photograph shows the real situation: the position of the hand in relation to the
machine. It is clear how the task (feeding staples into a photocopying machine)
should be done.

\I
I
Product orientation
The drawing shows where the heads of an audio recorder have to be cleaned.

I Because the sealing cover has been left off, the user will, however, never have this
view. The illustration is mainly of use to technicians.

I
208
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
- 209

12
Layout

12.1 Layout re quirements

12.2 The bas ic layout of a report
12.3 The layo ut of t ext elements
The layo ut of individual parts of a report
Common layout pitfalls

A report whose pages are all full from top to bottom and without lines of white, headings or
Illustrations will be dismissed as "boring" or unintelligible. People are unlikely to be
motivated to read a report like that. It is the layout of the report that stops them , not the
ontent. The layout will prevent the reader from tracking down the main points.

LIKE A WALL OF WORDS (U NI FORM, VISUALLY NOT ATTRACTIVE)

No!111wr11ersenJoywrillng. Somesee thewritingofreportsorarticJesasanannoying

hulllleontheroadto a ca1eer and happiness, one that can be got around by copying
Not all writers enjoy writing. Some see the writing of reports or articles as an annoying
lbts..mortyor In part from somebody el se. The right to make a copy for your own use
hurdleontheroadtoacareerandhappiness,onethatcanbegotaroundbycopying
11.howe-.-e,,somethlngqulteditferentfromthe righttocopy.ltisadifficultworldforthe
textswhollyorlnpa rtfromsomebodyelse. Therighttomakeacopyforyourownuse
'Mllet of tem. If You are not car eful. somebody else might flaunt your treasured work is,however.somethingquitedifferentfmmtherighttocopy.
.. thel1 OM. For teache1s too, these are difficult times. You might want to keep your
ltisadilficultwor/dforthewriteroftexts. lfyouarenotcareful,somebodyelsemight
ltudtntsonthe straight and narrow.but how do you protect te:<ts from belngscaven-
flauntyourtreasuredworkastheirown.Forteacherstoo.thesearedifficulttimes.You
lldbyiout-and-pastegeneraUon?
ftealldlJUtup\\ 1thlt? As awriter o1 teacher, should you simply learn to
might want to keep your students on the straight and narrow, but how do you protect
texts from being scavenged by a cut·and-paste generation? As a writer or teacher.
1Acic:iortnng Biendan Scott 12001), the ancien t Greeks, Romans and Chinese already had should yousimplyleamtoliveandputupwlthit?
lllonil •imse of lhe wrongs of plaglarlsm. However, copyright was a more flexible
According Brendan Scott (2001), the ancient Greeks. Romans and Chinese already had a
llClllari In the Pils! than at J>Jesent. Copyists In th e Middle Ages thought little of !mp10-
moral sense of the wrongs of plagiarism. However, copyright was a more nexible notion In
:::an1
1 Wise on the orlglnal authors during the ir copying work. During the past
the past than at present. CoP'fists In the Middle Ages thought little of Improving conterit
.. • rnarrt writers and compo sers Incorporat ed
the works of others enthusiasu-
wise on !he original authors during their copying work. During the past centuries, many
. Wlthou1 bolhe1lng about payment or acknowfe<1gement. Greats like Shake-
. . . lltd
writers and composers incorpomte<1 the works of others enthusiasUcalfyand without

..,.;~~: :e~:Cal W/Jllngs of the first professors of Dutch were influenced

- 'Goethe and Bach some IImes recycled th e Ideas of their tolleagues in their own
by the
Ill '-nuon ol the other side of the borde r, Th e first copyrigh t laws were made after
"1ttnuon was lo ...Printing press In 1445. There was no mention of authors' rights;
bothering about payment or acknowledgement. Greats like Shakespeare. Goethe and
Bachsomelimesrecycledtheideasoftheir col 'W!gueslntheirownwork, andtherhetori-
cal writings of the first professors of Dutch were Influenced by the work of those on the
0U1er side of the border. The first copyright laws were made after the invention of U1e
printing press in 1445. There was no mention of authors" rights; the Intention was to ...
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noord hoff Uitgevers bv
210
LAYOUT 2U
Thi s chapter is about using your own software and printer to do your own, 12.1.2 Functionality
home-grown layouts. The layout of documents to be published is best left to A layout should be functional·
experts in the field. . · to help the read er d"1gest the information in
the text. It should assist the reader to:
• separate the main issues from side issu
.k es
see qu1 c ly where the main parts are
Layout requirements keep an overview of the text.

A good layout supports and reinforces the purpose of the text. In business A functional layout should therefore provid b k f
communication contexts, your purpose is likely to be to convey information attention to important par~s and help' ing to et act up or the text, drawing
and/ or convince your reader. A good layout is a down-played one that . s rue ure the information in th
text. A fun ctional layout is an understated la t Pl . e
serves a functional purpose and reinforces your image as well as that of page and spa ring use of lines will enhance P~~~e.ss1·enngtyofotfhwehlte on the
the organisation. information.

12.1.1 Understate your layout FUNCTIONAL LAYOUT. THE TEXT IS VISUALLY INFO
A good business text layout is one that is not too overt. You do not have to INFORMATION EASILY RMATIVE: THE READER CAN FIND
show that you have mastered all the possibilities of your software
programme (see the next example). An understated layout is what readers kopregel
kopregel
are used to. White paper, normal fonts (no fantasy fonts) and functional 2.1 The Import ance of writing In professlonal s ituations

I
illustrations are classic layout elements. As well as being plea sing to the 2 .2.1 AcUofHllrec ted writing
Hlghtytrainedpeopleusuallyfindthatwritingtakes up more of their
eye, a text with these elements will be regarded as a no-nonsense text. working hours than manyofthemhadimaginedatthe start of their
Thereportsthatstudentswritedurfngtheirstudyserveaneducational
careers.Takeengineers •. forlnstance:ofcoursetheyhavemainlybeen
Pages in landscape format, coloured letters and a large number of cartoons tralnedtodeveloporopt1mize technical products and processes. But
purpose.Theyaredeslgnedtoexercisethestudent'sskllfsand
demonstrate that thewriterismoreorless able to independently
beforetherelsaproduct.feasibilitystudleshavetobewritten,research
are not suitable for business texts and will distract the read er's attention reports produced, progress reports published and a lot of memos sent :~: :~: 1;:::~~~: ;hn: ; 0: : ~fd~c;;~~ays of soMng these. Technical data
1

and cause annoyance. You are more likely to attract comments on the back and forth. Nomatterhowbri!liantyouridea fora new product was
howcl_e_veryourresearchplanorhowdeclslvetheconclusionofyour
layout than aid understanding of the contents. Eye-catching layouts are the feaslb1htystudy,nobodywilleverput itlntopracticeifyouarenot
successful lnconveyingyour_findlngsclearlyandconvincinglytoothers·
domain of magazines and advertising and serve to attract attention to the to your colleagues, to thoseinchargeandtoyourcllents. Andeven . data andana!yses~ouprovfdewiUbe lndispensibleforthis, bu t mainly
though oral communication is very important, you will find that you will
text. These texts are usually short, not much information has to be havetocommunlcate!argelyonpaper. Thatwllltakeuparotoftlme·
sometimes up to a thlld of your working time. 11 will take up so much.
transferred and reader irritation may even se rve a useful pu rpose . tlmetha'.ltlsfalrtosaythatveryoftentheprimaryresultofan
englneersworklsnottheapparatusorasystem,butte:irt.
ltlsnotsurprlslng.therefore,thatemployersoftenasklnernployrnent
advertisements fo~ ·good oral and written communication skills". And it
A RESTLESS AND OVERSTATED LAYOUT lsalsonotsurprlsingthatshortcomingsinthisfieldareottenacause
forcomplalntbyemployerorganlsations.
2.2 Strateglcfact or1
A.fhor Fimmglm;J
Wtry do so many people experience problems with writing at work that
M., "''''""'--.h'" , JO. f<l,,;, ~ G~;l.o"l:lh."..;:'f u "'" " " " .i,,,.,\ i,;u. ~ J~-'
,., ,.., ..;,_ .,.,•. l. h"'-'ll• •• .., .. '-" theydldnot, oronlytoa minor extent, encounter during their studies?
: . .. ~ ••1.11t,i..
'
The th.logs you write in a work situation are usually directed towards
acl/on.measurestobetakenordecisionstobemade. Thetechnfca!
asaveh/c/eforbasmgthenecessaryacUonon.Thlsunderlinesthe
lmportan~e of firstly making it clear to the reader why something should
be done (m. other words, why they should read the report). That should
beem~has1zedinthe lntroduction.Anothercentralaspectiswhatthe
reader I~ supposed to do with the results. This Is why there Is a strong
empha~1s on the conclusions and especially the recommendations.
Theac11onconcerned~i!lalmostalwayshaverepercussionsforvarlous
departmentsand lndiv1duals. Ameasurelnthefieldofproductioncan
have c~nsequencesforthepurchaslng, inventorymanagementand
marketmgdepartments. Decisions with far-reaching consequences
presuppose~elnvolvementofseveralpeoplewithlnthefirm "shierarch
or at le~st prior knowledge on the part of these people. This means Iha~·
_
~:Is un/1keJy.thatyaurreportw/llonlybeseen bythosewholssuedyou
Ith the assignment. For many readers. the technical data will at most
~::;~:r;:~:~n~:~~g~:~~~ information only, and not something they

.
~~::::- ~:·~~ ~~:·::~~:~:~;.·~ ::::i~::=.·.::! ~~~
,1.,.,;,k .i. .... 00... ., , ••n. r,;1 .. J :" J , Jl.n.n.... ,,.,,,
..
..;.. .o mn
i;. u ~;i .., r
Thereasonforthls lsthern/ethattextsplayinprofesslonalsituation.sa
role thatlsdlfferentfromthatintheeducatlonalsettlng. , 2 · 2 · 2 Wrltlngfor avarlety of readers

~:~~r;~.~·(:~~~~~~;~~::_:~~·.::t~;:~~:~~?.?7~~~~;~.~~~£~i
Wll • h .VI I ,. >>' , O: V O• •O ll"' " ' ~ • I" ' " · ' ' ' " '·
~h~~:Jl::i~n; three. factors a1e characteristic of professional situations: T~e read~rs who will look at your report will usually either be readers
gJspumarllyaJmedatmeasuresanddecislons. w1th.spec1fic.backgroundknowledgeorreade1swhoreadthereportonl
Thereareavarletyofreaders,eachwithdifferentlnterests part1allyorw1th aspecificpurposeinmind: Y

2 Mhor Fionnghail Readers are not prepared to spend much Ume on reading..
Mt1nyWJ1tersareJnsufficientryawareoftheconsequencesofthese
characterlsUcs.Wewlll dealwlththemnext.
• Oecision·makers. These are the people who will decide whether the
;i:~:l~mendations are to be Implemented (managers and other genera-
Speci~lisls. T~ese
are the people who are especially interested In the
techmcalbas1sandthemethodadopted(thepeoplewhoare responst·
~:~:;~:~~enling the recommendations; staff members who advise

[I D
Ma c\la 11 Zo 11 Man age m e n t BV

•
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
212 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

LAYOUT 213
12.1.3 Image reinforcement PAGE WITH (AJ MARGINS, (BJ MARGIN LINE
The layout you use for a page will also depend on the impression you want AND (CJ TAB STOPS
to make on your public. You might think for example, that using grey
recycled paper will highlight the fact that your company holds the
/~ ..... i/f !bu,.pnrocn
environment dear, or that colourful abstract elements will create a modern ==~~--
image befitting a progressive engineering firm. However, if you focus on a - -- - ---J.....
elements like these and overlook the key requirements mentioned above
(an understated and functional layout), you are likely to miss the mark. You
will eventually find yourself looking for a professional designer who b - -- ---L__.._1
understands how to find a balance between understatement, functionality
and image reinforcement.
c -----J.-~

• ·Jqnl1ijt1•ur

-----+-i(~:r~~
:;j !~1~;~~:~:::::,
ftE The basic layout of a report
Your teachers or your firm will usually prescribe the layout of your report (or c
at least dictate some guidelines) . An A4 format (21 x 29.7 cm) is usually

§~iir~::~;~:
required, and this will dictate line length and font size to some degree.
When you are drafting your text it is a good idea to print two pages next to
each other on one sheet of A4 . This will give a good overview and save
paper.
' ' ,- - - - - - - - - - - .
One important decision you will need to make is how much white to have
on a page . A report with a lot of text and little white on the page creates an
impression of greyness and is unattractive. On the other hand , too much
white or white in unexpected places will create a messy and restless
One l_ast word: sometimes your financial . .
impression . Determine beforehand, therefore, where you want to have text margins of your publications Th I margins will determine the
and where not. Choose the margins you want at the top and bottom and (your image message : "we d~ n~ ;ss white, the lower your paper costs
plash our money about") .

I
left and right.
Margin lines
The margins The text usually sta rts immediate! .
Use functional criteria to determine the width of your margins: also known as the margin line Bu{ ~o the right of the left-hand margin -
• Are there notes to be made alongside the text? (If so, a margin of at somewhat away from the marg.1·n 1· _ome textual elements are placed
least 6 cm is necessary.) • an ·in dented paragraph ine.
• Will the text need to be filed away in a ring binder or document file? (A • an enumeration or fist (with bullet .
margin of at least 2.5 cm will be necessary for any perforations.) an enumeration w·th· points)
1 in an enumeration
• Will the text be bound or glued? (To be able to open the text without th
glued binding coming loose you need a binding margin of at least 3 cm Where you · d .
ty . in ent to is predetermine
• Will the text be cut by the printer to obtain a smooth outside edge? 1/ewnters When tab stops physical! d by tab stops (a term from the era of
(Count on 0.3-0.7 cm margin loss.) fact, tabbing is creating a series ; ~~~~ped the car_riage of a typewriter).
Yi ' en margm Imes.
Presentation plays a role as well: the more white there is, the better it our text should .
look. After all, a gourmet meal looks best when served on a plate with l'ou Will US '.Without exception, start from
broad rim. mmon prually find that you need t h one of these margin points
ac ice to relate th d' o ave at le as t th ree tab stops It .
t· ·
,:~o the size of the basis f~nt is~ance bet.ween a tab stop to the .ma~s in
urement for th e distance b Yt u are using. For example: a good g
th of a 1 e ween two t b .
st ower case letter m At 11 . a stops is four times the
ops at ever 0 · points Times Ro .
ally on the .dY ..9 cm. Your software's default man, this amounts to
w1 e side . setting for tab stops is

Ice of font
ing 0 ..
th .Y ur margins you have .
e line length determines y~~~~~vely determined your line length. In
o1ce of font size · The b'1gger the
214 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
letter, the less text will fit onto a line. The optimal line length is between 50
and 70 characters (letters, spaces , punctuation marks and the like). The
size of the letter is usually given in points. One point is approximately 0.04
cm. The size of the letter is measured in length from the top of the tallest
ascender (d) to the bottom of the longest descender U). Letter size says
nothing about the width of a letter. Useful font sizes for the main body of
your text lie between 10 and 12 points.
The choice of a particular font depends on what is available and your
personal preference. Exotic fonts are generally regarded as being hard to
read (for instance, the left letter in the following example). Stick to one or
at most two fonts (with their bold and italic forms). Too many fonts draw the
reader's attention away from the contents and make it more difficult to read
quickly. Whether to use a font with or without a serif depends on your
personal preference. Nowadays, a sanserif font seems to be regarded as
more modern and one with a serif as conservative and respectable.
LETTERS WITH AND WITHOUT A SERIF
A;\
(g) The layout of text elements
A report may contain some text elements that require a separate layout. In
this section we will deal with some of the most common ones, briefly
discussing their function and giving some layout hints. But we will firstly
look at an important tool for ensuring a consistent layout of text elements:
the layout format or style.
12.3.1 Consistent layout by using formatting and styl~s
Regardless of whether you are working alone or with others, knowing how
to use the layout tools of your software programme can come in very han
One of the most useful tools is the formatting tool. It is a simple tool to
use (only a single action) but it can save you a lot of time and ensure
consistency of similar textual elements. The standard default settings
your software programme are a good starting point for experimenting
with the layout of your text. A format is a set combination of layout
characteristics . Fig. 12.1 shows you how a title was formatted.
© Noord hoff Uitgevers bv
LAYOUT 215
FIGURE 1 2 .1 Example of a representation of the format in Word (via Shift-Fi)
12.2 T he basicl11youtof a repo r t
Your tcn~h~rs or your firm will usually prescribe the layom of your report (or m least dictate
some gu1dhncs) . .AJJ A4 fom1:it (2 1 x 29.7 crn) is usually required, and 1his will dictate !inc
length and font size to some degree. When you are draft.ing your text it is a good idea to prim
two pages next to each other on one sheet of A4. This wi ll give a good overview :md ~al'e
paper.
O~e irnpor1m1t decisio.n you 1~·ilf need to ma ke is how much white to have on a pa!;c. A repon
with a lo~ of text and little white on the page ~reates an impression of greyness and is
unattrnct1\"c. On the other hand, too much whuc or white in unexpected places wilt create a
messy and restless impression. Detem1ine beforehand, therefor<!, where you want to have te.~t
and where not. Choose the margins you wa nt al the top and bottom and Jcft und right
T he margins
Use functional criteria to determine the width of you r margins:
• Are there notes to be made ulongside the text'! (lfso, a margin of at least 6 cm is
necessary.)
Will the te.l t n~ed fo be filed away in a ring binder or document file'! (A margin of at
least2.5cmwillbenecessaryforanype rforations.)
Will _rhe text be bound or g!ue~'! {To be able to open the text without the glued binding
commglooscyouneedab1nd1ngmarginofatleast]cm)
WiJJ the ~e.~t be cut by the printer to obtain a smoo th outside edge? (Count on 0.3--0. 7
cmmargmloss.)
•- .W......-'iLJ<9"" Ilg t) Ko I
In the example , the letters in the section heading (heading 2) are 14 points
in height and are bold and in italics. Each time you give a sentence this
format it will be formatted as a section heading. You only have to go through
the procedure once and do not have to go through a number of different
menus. You can always change a style or a format retrospectively: with a
click of the mouse you can change the chapter titles into a 22 point letter of
the type Times Roman. What this means is that you do not have to go
through the whole text to see whether you have forgotten to adjust
something. The software programme can also make sure that all texts that
you have given the "section title " format to will be put into the automatically
generated index.
12.3.2 Titles and headings
Function
Titles and headings are not a part of the text proper. Theoretically, they could be
left out. Writers often make the mistake of running the title into the text itself.
Titles and headings
By this we mean text elements that...
Titles and headings
Titles and headings are text elements that ...
rm
~teadlng should be directly recognisable as a separate text element. The
er has four ways of achieving this·
~hite _on the page (above, below, a.longside)
•Ont size
:~tter type (bold , italics, underlined) ..
nes, etc. (above , below, alongside)
these four lin 0 f ·
ing ( ' es white are the most effective. For each type of
chapter sect· b ·
• ion , su section, etc.) you choose a fixed combination
216 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
© Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
LAYOUT 217
of these options (see the fo IIow1n
. g example). Preset your format to this
enumeration - the introductory sentence - should be grammatically
combination. . t font for titles if you wish: for example, a sanserif complete. It usually ends with a colon.
You could use .a d1ffe.ren while the main text has a font with a serif
for the title (Anal , Un1v;~s) Avoid underlining as underlined words tend to
(Times,
jump outDutch' Bookm
from the page. )Th e default values that
. your software programs INCOMPLETE INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE
COMPLETE INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE
gives for titles are usually of a reasonable size.

.. ...
We rega rded the possibilities:
. .. We regarded the following possibilities
included word-for-word in the table of contents
d as important:
Titles are numbered an are do this automatically if you have given the
(your software programme cann s are not numbered and are not included
titles a spec1f1c forma~. ~~~~~~ered
headings are used in the text if you
as im porta nt.
. ...
in the table of content . th section level but want to provide the reader Drawbacks to this solution:
do not want to include ano er . This solution has the following
with extra orientation points within the text.
. ... drawbacks:

EXAMPLE OF LAYOUT TITLES AND SECTIONS

Machinvragmentatie
An enumeration should have a minimum of two elements and a maximum
1 Mar de mod can fiel chamon that depends on the type of enumeration. A numbered enumeration may be
somewhat longer than an enumeration of the bullet point type. For the
latter type , aim for a maximum of six.

Do not make the elements of a enumerated list too long (a maximum of 12

i.1 Bolde bals vain gfema son
to 15 lines) otherwise the reader will no longer see it as an enumeration. If
Im fortinster blatgo doh fa limans ~rix bra. Baa l schr;m~nk d:lkvr~xp;:s~a~: ~:~tri~~onk the elements are relatively long, add a heading to each element.
con brio en book bleuband lmfortmsterblatgodoh a ima~ ·
dol ve pansa. DI festvaconbrioen bookbleuband Im fortmsterblatgo

~~l~~~i::;:~1:::s~:~u~:{~:ians krix bra. Baalschrimonk dol ve pansa. Di fest va Give the elements of an enumeration the same sentence structure.
con brio en boo k bleuband Im forti~ster blatgo dbo'h fa 11::": ~;~:::~dBl:lfortinster • Structure: a phrase or sentence, if necessary followed by an explanation .
schrimonk dolvepansa.D1festvacon rmen
: blatgo doh fa limans kri x bra. Baal schrimonk dol v~
pansa . .Di fest va ~on Make sure that you structure all of the enumerations in the same way
. brioenbookbleubandlmfortinsterblatgodohfallmanskr1xbra.Baa (parallel structures).
schrimonkdolvepansa. Di festvacon brio en book bleuband

\\/rams dre lwre mons frak/ . chr"monk dol ve pansa. Di fes t va

1
lm fortins terblatgodohfa !!mans krixbra . Baas ; . krixbra Baal schrirnonk
con b1io en boo_k bleuband l~_fo~~n::: :1:1~:b:~~ 1:11r:1r~~nsster bla~o doh fa llmans
dolve pansa D1fes t va con no . b d Im
krix bra. Baa; schrimonk dol ve pansa. DI fest va ~on brio ~n boo :s:1e~i ~:st va con PARALLEL STRUCTURE
for tlnster blatgo doh fa li~ans krix bra. ~aal s~h~::~;u~~ n;I~: fort ;nster blatgo doh
brio en boo kbleuband 01 festvacon bnoen ° e research identifie d the following
Za~~:cnh~i~:n~r:~Ive pansa. Di fest va con brio en book bl euband..,~mc::~~i:t:~ ee possibilities: The research identified the following
blatgodoh fa limanskrixbra. Baa l schrirnonk delve pansa. DI fest
three possibilities:
bookbleuband the current cana l system should be
adapted; • adaptation of the current canal
system;
building storage elements such as
servoirs; • building storage elements such as
reservoirs;
se the river Vecht fo r drainage.
1 2 .3.3 Enumerations and lists • using the river Vecht for drainage.

Function . h as a numbered list or a list with

Information in the form of units sue in a well-laid-out list will be tak Design: begin with a signalling sign - a letter, figure or typographic sign:
points is easily surveyed. lnformat10~ t'on in paragraph form.
and remembered more easily than in orma I asterisk(*), bullet ( · ), dash (-) - on the margin line of the text proper.
The text of the enumeration element should be indented to the next tab
atop (a hidden margin line).
Form . d t or announcing phrase o Begin: begin the text with a capital if the introductory sentence en€1 s with
A list should be preceded by an intro uc ory nd gives an indlc
sentence This sentence announces the ~·u~.os; ~umbered one, yo
~full ~top. If there is a full stop within the enumerated element, the
t he numb~r
of elements in the list. If the is is t ce that precedes
llowing sentence should
tart in lower case .
start with a capital letter. In all other cases,
refer to the exact number of e Ieme nts . The sen en
l~se:
1 close each element off with a semicolon and the last one with a
stop, If the elements are very short (a few individual words) you need
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
218
not include closing punctuation marks. If the element closes with a
complete grammatical sentence, close with a full stop.
• Division: make short enumeration elements follow each other directly (no
lines of white). Longer elements should be separated by a line of white.
The enumeration as a whole is often separated from the rest of the text
by a line of white above and below.
If an enumeration forms the end of a chapter or a section it is advisable to
add a concluding sentence, thereby rounding off the textual unit.
12.3.4 Running headlines and footers and page numbering
Function
Headers and footers make it easier for readers to find their way through the
text. They also provide an opportunity to mention the firm's name and/or
the firm's logo - an image consideration.
A header or footer should also contain the page number. If you wish, you
can also include the following:
• the title of the publication
• the title of the chapter or section
Form
Placing a header or footer is a standard option in software programmes.
You may even be able to choose two lines: one for the left-hand page and
one for the right-hand page. Some programmes allow you to relate the
content of the headers or footers to titles in the text. In this case you
can be sure that the header or footer refers to the chapter or section it
belongs to.
The following layout instructions are important ones.
• Use a smaller letter for headers or footers. This makes them stand out
less prominently. They are obvious enough because of where they are
placed.
• Make sure there is a clear division between the header or footer and the
main text: for example, by leaving a line of white and/or by adding a thin
horizontal line (a hairline - 0.5 points in width).
• Place page numbers on the outside of the page preferably (in the case
of one-sided texts, on the right-hand side). Page numbers are an
important means of orientation and having them on the outside ensuret
that they are visible when the reader is leafing through.
• Keep the text in headers and footers short. If necessary, abbreviate thl
title of the report.
TITLE IS TOO LONG FOR A HEADER/FOOTER
Levels of analysis for the improvement of written safety procedures
© Noordhoff U itgevers bv LAYOUT 219
f
ABBREVIATED VERSION
Levels of analysis safety procedures 12
, Do not use a footer if you also have footnotes. Doing so will cause a
piling up of various textual elements, leaving the page looking
unbalanced.
, If you have headers and footers, limit your use of such things as lines
and logos. They will be distracting.
12.3.5 Boxed texts
Function
Aboxed text is a type of text illustration. In a boxed text you could put such
things as an elaboration on implementing policy plans that you have
devised. Alternatively, if the main text contains an elaborate description,
you could put your mathematical derivations in a boxed text.
Form
A boxed text consists of two elements: the box and the text. The box is
sometimes indicated by a thin line (no more than 1 point) or by a thick (2
point) top and bottom line. It is, however, more common not to put a line
around the box but delineate it using a 10% grey background colour. Adding
a shadow for a 30 effect may show off your ability to use your software but
the layout will suffer for it.
The text is usually printed in a smaller letter. If that is not a good idea (grey
tones and small letters may reduce the impact of the text to some degree),
choose a different font. If you align the boxed text to both the left and the right
margins ("justified text") you may end up with some disturbingly large gaps
between the words.
Unlike a figure , a boxed text does not have a caption. Refer to it as follows:
"see boxed text on p.35."
The layout of individual parts of a report
Some parts of a report need a layout that differs from the rest. In this
section we will look at three of these parts: the table of contents , the index
and the bibliography. We will briefly look at the function each of these serve
and give instructions for their layout.
0
The table of contents
e table of contents is the main means of orientation for the reader. It is
sential that the titles in the table of contents be identical to those in the
~nd that the page numbering is correct. Your software programme can
•
this automatically for you (another reason for mastering this functi on).
 220 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv

LAYOUT 221
Form FUNCTIONAL TABLE OF CONTENTS REPORT
The default layout of a software programme is usually quite adequate for
creating a table of conte nts. Th e table of contents is more or less like a
table in the text: a text element with its own tab stops . Your layout should
Table of contents
be as functional as possible: for example , indent to ind icate a section or
sub-section.
Preface
·············· ······· ············ ·· ···· ····
Some professional designers tend to use aesthetic rather than functional
···· ··· ··· ··· ··· ·· ···· ····vii
1 Introduction
criteria: in the following example, compare the visually more attractive table ···· ··· ··· ······ ··· ··· ······· · .. ... .... ........ .. ... ....... ..... ... 1
of contents with the more functional one: the latter. 2 Long and short term effects
··· ······· ···· ······· ···· ··· ··· ······· ····· ·· 3
3 The appearance of the letter
ESTHETICALLY PLEASING BUT NOT VERY FUNCTIONAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
3.1 Introductory formulatio~~········ ·· · · ·· · · ·· ·'· · · · ······ · · ····· ·· ·· 5
3 .2 Standard elements ·· ··· ···· ·· · ··· ··· ·· ·· ··· · ··· ···· ·· ··· ·· 6
3.3 The layout .. . · ·· ·· · ··· ·· · ··· ··· .... ··· ··· .... ··· · ··· ···· .... .. 8
Contents •• • • ••••• ••••••• •• •• • •••• • • •••• ••• ••• •• • • • ••• •• •• • •• • •• 12
0

4 The letter proper ...

Introduction 3
The structure.~f-~h~·;··t·t············ · · · ····· ···· ···· ··· ·· · ·· · ···· 13

I
4.1
e er ....
4 ·1 .1 Connection w"th :··· ······ ······ ······ ···· ···· ··· 13
1 The appearance of the letter 5
4.1.2 Subject ........ i previous communication ... 14
1.1 Introductory formulations 6
4.1.3 Purpose and ~~-~i~~···· · ·········· ··· · · · ···· ······· ·· 15
1.2 Standard elements 8 s. ...... .... 16
4 ·14
· Closing off ···· ··· ···· ··· ··· ··· ·
1.3 The layout 12
4.1.5 Number of ~~-;~·g· ~~-·h·· ·· · ·· · ·· ·· · · · · · ··· · ······ · · · ··· 18
1.4 The structure of the letter 13
4 ·2 The s t YIe of the letter p s · · · · · · · · · ·· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 20
1.4.1 Connection with previous communications 14
·· ····· ··· ···· ···· ···· ·· ·· ······ ······ ··· ·· 21
1.4.2 Subject 15 5 Letters of application
1.4.3 Purpose and motives 16
5.1 Introduction ··· · ···· ·· ···· ·· ···· ··· ··· · ·· ···· ·· ·· · ·· ···· ··· ··· .. 25
1.4.4 Closing off 18 5.2 The letter its·~·,[· · ····· · ···· · ·· · ····· ·· · · · · · ··· · · ······ · ······ · · · ·· ·· 25

I
1.4.5 Number of paragraphs 20
5.2.1 Open a~~li~~~i·· · ········ · ······ ····· ····· · ··· ·· · · ·· · ··· 27
on ..... ... .
5 ·2 ·2 R_eplying to an advertis~~-~~~·--······· · ·· · ·· · · · ··· 2 8
2 The style of the letter 21
Letters of application 25 5 .2.3 Eight hints · ···· · ·· ··· · ····· ·· 29
2.1
2.1.1 Introduction 25 5.3 The resume .......... ."." ." ." ."."." ."."."."."." ."."."."." ."."." ." ."."."."."."."."." ."."."."." ."." ." ."."."."." ." ." ." ~~
2.1.2 The letter itself 27 6
2.1.2.1 Open application 28 Application letters in English .. ...... .... .
6.1Introduction ·· ······· · ······· ··· ·· · ·· .... 37
2.1.2.2 Replying to an advertisement 29
Introduction ~f-~h~ ·;~~~-~~· ··· ····· ····· · ······ · · ·· · · ···· · ····· ·· · 37
6.2
2.1 .2.3 Eight hints 31
6.3
The standard elements .. ···· ······ ········ ········ ········ ····· 38
2.1.3 The resume 33
6 ·4 The application letter pro.. ..... . ··········· ···· ·· ···· ······ ···· 4 o
2.2 Application letters in English 37 6 · 5 Th e resume per··· ··· ···· · ··· ··················· 43
2.2.1 Introduction 37
6.6 The app/icati~~-f~~~ · ··· · · · ····· · ··· · ······ · ····················· 44
2.2.2 Introductory formulations 38
6.7 The most common ~i~~~k···· · · · ········ · ·· · ······· · ·· ······ ·· 46
2.2.3 The application letter proper 43
es······ ··· ····· ···· ······· ··· ····· 47
2.2.4 The resume 44 7 A step-by-step preparation
2.2.5 The application form 46
····· ····· ········ ··· ··· ······ ········ ·· ···· · 51
2.2.6 The most common mistakes 47
Bibliography .. .. ... .. .. .

Bibliography 53 Index .. .... .. ... ... ......... ."."."."."."."."."." ."."." ."."."."."."." ."."." ."."."."."."."." ."."."."."."."." ."."."."."."." ." ."."."."."."."."."."." ." ."~~
Index 55
 222 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
The dots between title and page number (the software programme can EX AMPLE OF AN INDEX IN THREE COLUMNS
create them automatically) are a point of contention. Some people dis like
these dots immensely. On the other hand, they are very functional and A Cross tabulat ion 114
ensure that the page numbers are connected directly to the title (the Abstract 152
reader's glance is unlikely to accidentally stray to the wrong page number). Acti on res earch 52
We think the criterion of functionality should dictate your choice. Anonymous 84, 90
Appendices 152
12.4.2 The index Appli ed re search 14
Article 140
Function
Assoc iation and projective
Entries in the index enable readers to find the information they seek easily.
materia l 81
In the past it was not usual for a report to have an index, but since it is Auditt ra il 139
now relatively easy to construct an index with a software programme, they Author 142
tend to be more common. Average 117
Weeding out superfluous page numbers in an index may be time- Axial coding 132
consuming. But if you have to choose, it is better to have too much
information in the index than no index at all. B Descriptive 38
Barchart 115
I
Form Birthday rule 5 6
I Descriptive statistics
An index is, in fact, simply a long alphabetical list with references.
• Use columns . A list of entries is re latively narrow so it should be easy to c
I.. 11 make two columns . If you choose a smaller font you can perhaps even CAPI (= Computer
1,
create three columns. If you can, this is certainly preferable . Assisted Pe rs onal
Ii • The index should have the head ing Index (and be shown in the table of Interviewing) 83
contents though without chapter number).
Case study 29, 40, 64, 136
JI • Page references should be placed directly after the entry and be CATI program s (=
separated by commas. Computer Ass isted
• If an entry appears on several consecutive pages, you need only give the Telephone Interviewing)
I
f irst and the last page, connected by a dash.
83
• Page references that run onto the next line or onto a number of lines are
Causal rel ationships 44,
indented on those lines (about 0.5 cm) . 145
• Important references can be printed in bold or ita lics. Chance 70, 120
Chat conferences 88
hi-square 124
hi-square calculator
124
onclusion 149
onfidence level 60
Onfidential 84, 90
nstruct 20, 69
nstruct vali dity 75
ntent analysis 102
tlnuous variables
0 Keywords 24
Venience sam ple 58
elation 11 7, 125
ert observation 96
ach 's alpha 77
Figures 147
LAYOUT 223
Fixed research
Cumulative percentage question 17
114
Focus group 41, 87
Forced choice 93
D
Frequency of event 97
Data matrix 107
Data reduction 130
G
Data triangulation 7 4
Generalization 20
Definition 69
Golden Standard 59
Degrees of freedom 123 Graphs 115
Delphi research 41, 86 Grounded theory 42, 128
Demand characteristics Group approach 87
51 Group testing 88
Dependent variable 48
H
Descriptive research 28 Hawthorne effect 52
Histogram 115
111 History 50
Design 37, 142 Homogeneity 77
Desk research 74 Hypothesis 30, 144
Dimensions 70
Discourse analysis 103
Hypothesis-test ing
research 30
Discrete variables 110
Discussion 149
Double-blind research Identifying number 108
48
Image research 81
Duration of observation
Incentive 32
97
Independent samples 122
Independent variable 48
E Indicators 70
Ecological validity 76
Individual approach 8 7
Editing 13 6
Inferential statistics 111
Effect variable 48 Informant 73
E-mail surveys 85 Instrumental validity 144
Essays 81 Interim event 50
Ethnographic Internal validity 144
research 40, 13 4 Internet chatting 86
Event sampl ing 97 Interval measurement
Excel 106
scale 110
Exceptional groups 57 Intervention 48
Existing sources of Introduction 89, 142
information 73 Iterative process 130
Exploratory research 42
Extent of the K
range 118
External validity 144 Kurto sis 119
F
L
Fa ce-to-face approach 83 Labelling 13 0
Literature list 152
 224 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

LAYOUT 225
EXAMPLE OF A BIBLIOGRAPHY LAYOUT
Literature search 2 3 N . Ordiinal measurement
Logbook 130 Negative case analysis scale 109 Bibliography
Longitudinal survey 43 139 Organization of data 129
Negative correlation 117 outliers 116
M Nominal measurement Anderson
Boston:, P.Wadsworth.
V. (2010). Technical communication. A reader-centered approach. 7th ed.
Margin of error 60 scale 109 p
Matching 50 Non-parametric testing 112 Paired.t-test 122
Matrix 93 Non-response 32, 57, 82 Panel research 43 Beno it, W.L. & Benoit, P.J. (2008). Persuasive messages; the process of influence.
Maturation 50 Normal distribution 116 Parametric testing 112 Ma lden/ Oxford/Victoria: Blackwell Publishing.
Median 118 Participant study 96, 136
Mediator variable 46 0 Peer debriefing 139 Broek, J. van den, Koetsenruijter W. , Jong, J. de & Smit, L. (2012) Visual language.
Member checking 139 Observation 73 Pie chart 115 Perspectives for makers and users. Den Haag: Boom Lemma Uitgevers.
Memo recorder 96 Observational direction Placebo 48
Meta-analysis 102 97 Plan your time 31 Butterman, D. (2007). English for high-flyers. A reference book for those who wish to
Minimum 120 Observational list 96 perfect their English. Amsterdam: Boom.
Plausibility 76,138
Missing data 108 Once-only survey 38 Plausible 145
Mixed methods One-tailed test 123 Policy and management Chicago Manual of Style (2010). 16th ed. Chicago: the University of Chicago
ThePress.
research 39 Open coding 130 research 41
Mode 118 . Open interview 80 Population 20, 144
Moderator variables 46 Open question 80 Population register 55 Cialdini, R. B. (2008). Influence: science and practice (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Multi-stage Open unstructured Positive correlation 117
sampling 56 observations 96 Postal surveys 84 Cohen , S. ia:
(2001).
Columb IRE. Numbers in the newsroom. Using math and statistics in news.
Mystery shopping 95 Operationalization 37, 69

Lindsay-Roberts,
Mifflin Co. S. (2009). Strategic business letters and E-mail. Boston: Houghton

1 2 .4.3 The bibliography

I
Swales, J.M. & Feak, C.B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students. Essential
tasks and skills. 2nd ed. University of Michigan Series in English for Academic &
Function . etica l li st of the publications you have Professiona l Purposes.
The bibliography is an alphab "dea of the authoritativeness of the
consu lted. It can give the reader at_n I 4 2 deals with the elements that
. Zlnsser, W. K. (2006). On writing we//. 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to
material the writer has us ed . Sec ion ·Use our software programme to Writing Nonfiction. 7th ed. New York: HarperCollins.
need to be included (title, author, e~c.)base/on the references to literature
automatical ly generate a b1bl1ograp y
in your text.

The bibliography is laid out as~ aded Bibliography and included int e
Form . . n enumerated list. . h tab
The bibliography should be e b .
Common layout pitfalls
• of contents (but without page num
• The entries in the bibliography can e
:n~~~arated by a line of white,
. There are many ways of making a nice text illegible in the layout phase .
Beginners often make the following errors.
though this is not necessary. than one line it is a good idea to • Too little White (margins, lines of white between text elements). The text
If the title description covers more f the author will become more
f t line The name o . gives the impress ion of being a massive block and is not inviting to the
indent after the_ irs d th"s will facilitate searching. ritta reader. Important elements of content are not directly visible. A handy
prom inent in this way an I grammes and other non-w rule ofper
thumb
. t es computer pro White pageis
. to always ensure that you have at feast three fines of
Reference video ap ' heading in the bibliography.
sources under a separate
Too many fonts. People who are experimenting with layout often become
lost in the many poss ibilities their word processing or layout programme
has to offer. The result is always confusing and not very attractivE!. A

~t
Well-known designer once compared it to using spices in food : "A little
1 can enhance th e fl avour, but beware of using too much." One font for
e main text and anoth er for the other elements (chapter or section
les, captions, titles of tables and figures, formulas, etc.) is enough.
 226 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

Too many italics or other ways of emphasising. Too much emphasising

has the opposite effect. Try to limit the number of emphases on a single
page to between 5 and 7. It is likely that having more italics or
capitalized words than th is has the opposite effect.
Too many hidden margin lines. If the various parts of the text start at
seemingly arbitrary distances from the left margin , the effect will be
messy (compare the difference between the two examples), particular if
tab stops are not used. Lists within lists can also mean an
overabundance of margin lines. Lists of this. sort should be avoided .
Not using software properly, causing such things as mistakes in the table
of contents, missing page numbers, or paragraphs that are not indented
when they should have been.

TOO BUSY; RANDOM MARGIN LINES MORE BALANCED LAYOUT: LIMITED NUMBER OF
FIXED TAB MARGIN LINES

1Mardemodcan fie l chamon 1 Mar de modcan lielchamon

lmfortinsterblatgodohfa limansklixbra. Baalschrimonkdo1vepansa. Di Im fortinster blatgo doh fa llmans krlxbra. Baal schrimonkdol ve pansa. DI

I
festvaconbrioenboo kb!euband lmfortinsterblatgodoh fa limans krix
bra. Baal schrlmonkdolvepansa. Dlfestvaconbrioenbookbleuband Im
fortinsterblatgodohfalimanskrixbra.Baalschrimonkdolvepansa . Difest
vaconbrioenbookbleubandlmfortinsterblatgodohfalimanskrixbra.
Baalschrimonkdolvepansa.Olfestvaconbrioenbookbleuband.
festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmforUnsterblatgodohfallmansluixbra. '
Baa!schrimonkdolvepansa.Dl festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmfortJn.
sterblatgodohfa!imanskrixbra. Baalsch1imonkdolvepansa.Dlfestvacon
·.,
brioenbookbleubandlmfortlnsterblatgodohfalimanskrixbra.
Baal schrimonkdolvepansa. Di festvaconbrioenbookbleuband.

Im fo1tlnsterblatgodohfa limanskrixbra. Baal schrimonkdolvepansa. 01
festva conbrloenbookbleubandlmfortinsterblatgodohfalimanskrix
bra. Baa!schrimonkdolve pansa. Difestvaconbrioenboo kbfeubandlrn
,I fortlnsterblatgo.
Im f01tlnster blatgo doh fa lirnans krix bra. Baal schrlmonk dolve pansa. DI
festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmfortinsterblatgodohfalimansluixbra.
Baal schrimonkdolve pansa. Difestvacon brio en bookbleubandlmfortJn.
sterblatgo.

lrnfortinsterblatgodohfalirnans krixbra.Baalschrlrnonkdolve pan sa. Di lmfortinsterblatgodohfa limanskrixbra. Baal schrimonkdolve pansa. DI

festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlrnlortinsterblatgodohfa limanskrix
bra. Baal schrirnonkdolvepansa. Dilest vaconbrloenbookbleubandlm
fortinsterblatgodohfalirnanskrixbra.
Baal schrirnonk dol ve pansa. Di festva con brio en book bleuband Im
fortinster
blatgodohfalirnanskrixbra.
festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmfortlnsterb!atgodohfallmanslulxbra.
Baal schrimonkdolvepansa. DI festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmfortln-
st er
blatgodohfalimanskrixbra.
• Baalschrimonkdolvepansa . Difestva
• conbrioenbookbleubandlmfortinsterblat

I
Baalschrimonkdolvepansa.
Difestvaconbrioenbookbleuband. godohfallmanskrixbra . Baa!schrimonkdolvepansa. Dlfestvaconbrloen
bookbleuband. lmfortinsterblatgodohfa limanskrlxbra. BaalschrJmonk
lmfortinsterblatgodohfa !irnanskrlxbra.Baalschrirnonkdolvepansa. Di dolvepansa. Dlfestvaconbrioenbookbteubandlmfortinsteiblatgodoh l&
festvaconbrioenbookbleubandlrnfortinsterblatgodohfallmanskrlx limanskrixbra.
bra. Difestva con brioenbookbleubandlmfortinsterb!atgodohfallmans
Difestvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmf01tlnsterblatgodohfallmans krixbra.
krixbra. • Baalschrimonkdol ve pansa.
Baalschrirnonkdolvepansa.
Di festvacon brio en boo kbleuband Im fortinsterb!atgodohfa llmanskri~

Difestvaconbrioenbookbleubandlmf01tlnsterblatgodohfa l!manskrix bra. Baal schrimonk dol ve pansa. Baal schrimonk dol ve pans a. DI festva
bra. Baal schrimonkdolve pansa . Baal schrimonkdolve pansa. Di festva conbrioenbookbleuband.
conbrioenbookbleuband. Di fest va con brio en book bleuband Im fortinsterblatgo dottfa llmans
Dlfestvaconbrioenboo kbleuband lmfortinsterblatgodohfa kri~ bra.
limanskrixbra. • Baa\schrimonkdolvepansa.
Baalschrimonkdolvepansa.

Too few enumerations. Even when there are enough lines of white on a
page , a text that presents all its information in running sentences is not
very user-friendly. Enumerations are an efficient way of presenting
information. They also serve to break up the text in a functional way:
readers remain alert.
Too few illustrations. Illustrations help to focus the reader's attention.
A technical report without clarifying drawings, figures or other
illustrations is hardly imaginable.

If you are working in a group, it might be wise to choose the simplest

layout. This is to say, do not format your work: it will give the editor tewe~
•
headaches.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv

229

13
Presen ting a
report orally

13.1 Preparing your presentation

13.2 Delivering a presentation

While a written presentation is an admirable form of communication, giving an oral

presentation of your report can certainly increase the value of your report.
• Speakers have a greater impact. As well as words, they can use gestures, tone and the
force of their emotions to get their message across .
• Speakers have a greater control over how their message gets across than writers have.
Speakers can determine the order of the arguments that the listener has to process and
can choose the right moment for presenting the conclusion. While a writer is never sure
when and how a reader will read a report (or even whether it will be read at all),
speakers can make sure of attracting the listener's attention through the use of visual
and other presentation means. As well as this, speakers can interact with the audience
and can improvise to make their account come across better.
• Listeners can react directly. Listeners can ask any questions they might have and get an
immediate answer. Misunderstandings or conflicts can be resolved immediately.
• Listeners do not have to put as much effort into a good presentation . Listening to a
Person is less tiring than reading - provided the person has a professional manner.

Presentations also have certain disadvantages: they can be time-consuming and getting all
the People together for a presentation could be costly. Furthermore, presentations that are
not Prepared well can become chaotic: the audience may interrupt and interact in other
Ways to try and get the information they want. •
 230 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
Regardless of this, professional people often choose to present their report
orally, and for several possible reasons: sometimes in order to get a first
reaction to a draft version of the report from those who commissioned the
report or from a part of the target group, sometimes in order to increase
the effect of a finished investigation and the report and to prepare the way
for the recommendations. It would seem that it is worth the trouble .
This chapter is about the art of oral presentations. The following are nine
guidelines for how to prepare a presentation of your report and four for how
to present it.
&D Preparing your presentation
Your report is finished. And to thank you for meeting the deadline on time,
the person who commissioned the report has a surprise up his sleeve: you
can present it orally. It is a great way to increase its impact, but a fifty page
I
report in twenty minutes? A nice challenge ....
Luckily, preparations for an oral presentation are quite similar to how you
would go about preparing a written report. You start by noting down the
issues: what public is the presentation intended for and what is its
t purpose? With a view to the limited speaking time, what is the most logl
way of structuring the information and arguments? What parts of the thlo
report should you highlight? What is a good way of introducing you~ topic
and what is a good way of rounding it off? What visual and other aids ca
you use to maintain the attention of the audience?
After you have made a draft of your presentation, write down the mal~
points and practice presenting them orally. You may find that you nee
make some changes as you go.
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
13.1.1
PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY
Gear your speech to your audience's interests, their
- 231
background knowledge and their perspectives
While the subject of your speech is fixed, your angle and your line of
approach are not. You need to make them dependent on your audience's
interests , what they know and what their attitudes are . It pays to make a
few phone calls. Sound out the organiser of the meeting you are speaking
at, and if possible, people who will be in the audience.
• What is the audience interested in? A good speech has news value. Your
audience is there to learn something: perhaps the latest technical
developments (techniques for avoiding traffic jams on freeways, for
example). They may want background information on a topical subject
(smart drugs on the shop floor) or they are interested in something that
they can put to immediate use (what can the new colour printers do?}:
You can also make a topic interesting by adopting a contrasting view to
the prevailing one (in a time of reduction of working hours, advocating
longer working hours).
What does the audience know? Try to get an idea of how much the
audience knows about your subject. Try to avoid technical terms if you
expect that the audience will not be familiar with them. If certain terms
are essential to your talk, give a clear explanation, preferably illustrated
by an example.
What are the audience's views and perspectives on things? If your
audience is likely to be critical or negative it is a good idea to start with
perspectives and points of view that you know you share with the
audience. Make sure you are aware of what they are likely to see as the
"bad news" in your account and deal with that carefully, backing up what
you say with convincing arguments and examples. It helps if you know
what the audience thinks of you. A female engineer who has graduated
in transport policies will be accepted readily as an expert in the
transport field. But if she says something about the architecture of the
new business premises she will have to establish her authority or
credibility in this field first.
13.1.2 Formulate your aim clearly
What exactly do you want to achieve with this presentation and this
audience? For a presentation to be effective, it is essential that you
formulate your aim beforehand.
Posing a question at the beginning of your presentation and addressing it
during the course of your speech is a useful way of presenting your
research aims. Concrete questions are easier to work with than theoretical
matters. With the latter, terms like "will be dealt with," "will be raised," or
"information will be provided in respect of" tend to creep in . By focussing
~n a question you can largely avoid hedging formulations. Compare "The
investigation into our personnel policy will be dealt with" with the following:
• Why should ma nagement give its employee s more frequent opportunities to follow
courses during working hours? (convince those present of the necessity for change
or action )
What are the fo ur main points of ou r personnel policy for the next year? (informing
those pre sent: bringing them up t o date with a project, event or policy)
How do you cond uct a performance intervi ew? (instruct those present on how to
carry out som ething)
 © Noo rdhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
232
PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY
233

s uch a concretely formulated aim or main question can be used as a

13.1.4 Give the subject matter a clear structure
selection criterion for the contents and structure of the speech . ("Scrap
If you want your listeners to understand and remember your presentation
this?_ Yes, because in the light of the main question this is simply a side
t hey mu st be able to store your main points mentally. Unless you structure
track.")
yo_ur presentation c_learly and simply there is no chance of that happening.
When formulating th e aim, keep the length of the speech in mind. " In
It is best to stick with the old but still relevant structure of introduction
fifteen minutes I cannot possibly explain this complicated subject , about
core and conclusion. The core will be looked at first. The introduction a~d
which I have written a thick report," is no excuse for presenting your
the conclusion serve a special purpose, about which we shall hear more
audience with an incomprehensible talk. The main issue addressed by the later.
presentation could be the same as that of the report, though you could
restrict it to some extent. After all, the report can always be referred to for
Structure the core of your talk to suit your immediate purpose: there is no
more extensive information.
need to automatically follow the structure of your report. Find a way of
doing it that appeals to the audience you are addressing. Compare the
13.1.3 Select concise, interesting and convi ncing subject examp les below. ·
matter
Speakers who follow the structure and phrasing of their report too closely
are likely to bury their audience under an avalanche of information and
A bui lding society has bought a church building and wants to protect it against
details. A strict selection of the contents is essential: after all, listeners are
lightni ng. An expert of the firm Lightning Protection has written a research report and
not readers . Listeners cannot concentrate full y for longer than twenty is holding a presentation.

I
minutes. Readers can. Listeners have to understand everything in one
goes: the presentation cannot be put aside for a while . This is why it is a Origina l report
good idea for a speaker to keep the presentation short and concise and to Possible structure for the core of the
limit the account to one main issue which is looked at from three or four presentation
main perspectives . Let us assume you have done extensive re search into
the Sick Building Syndrome . Your report contains chapters that describe
the syndrome, the many misconceptions that exist about it, the causes of Contents [problem structure] Main question: how
building-related complaints, procedures for dealing with those complaints can we resolve the safety issues? First
Preface .... ...... ..... ... .. ..... ............. .. .. ....... 3
and an inventory of the problems associated with dealing with those Summary and foremost, we need to look at what
...... 4
complaints. You have round ed it off with a proposal for a new procedure. 1 Introduction .... ...... ....... .. ........ ........... ..... ... ... ........... s the issues are and then what solutions
2 Lightning s trikes: a frequent occurrence .... ... 6 are available.
2. 1 Direct hit ..... ... ...... .......... .... ...... ........... ..... .... ........ 6
This is where you get your scissors out. You might choose to focus on a 2.2 Power surges ....... ........ ...... .7
main question: for example , what procedure for dealing with complaints
3 Protection possi bilities .. .. .. .. 9 [geographic structure] Main question:
3. 1 Extern al protection ... .. .............. ........ .... .... ........ g
should we follow? Matters such as the origin of the complaints and what measures need to be taken? (The
3.2 Interna l protection ... ......... .. .. ...... .. .. .... ... ........ .. ll
problems in handling them can form the backbone of your presentation. 3.3 Power surge protection ...... .... .. .... .... ...... .. ....... 13 audience is then taken on a walk through
4 Risk assessment
Avoid looking at all of the problems and do not analyse every complaint. ............ .. ...... ... .............. 15 the building and are shown what measures
4.1 Descrip tion present situa tion . ......................... 15
4.2 Safety class determinati on .... ... .... ......... ........... 19
need to taken from top to bottom.
5 lnstalJ ation procedure ... ... .. .. 31
5.1 Determining safety zo nes ........... ..... .. .. ... .. 31 [alternatives structure]. Main question:
Not: "the following seven causal factors were behind the complaints." . 5.2 Poten ti al balanci ng ...... 32
But: "In this presentation I will look at the two main causal factors behind the 5.3 Connecting energy and data leads .. ....... ..... .... 33 why is the debatable solution x the best
complaints." 5.4 Selection surge diversions ............. 35 one after all? The symptoms of the
t 6 Conclusions & Recomm endations .................... ... 37
Not: "The first problem was ... The second problem was ... " App endix A problem are discussed first, then the
........ 41
But: "The most fundamental problem was ... " Appendix B: Delivery p ossibililies ...... ... .. 45
obvious measures. Show why they do not
work. Finish with a solution that does
work. This approach can be useful if you
have to defend an unpopular measure.
.
Make sure your selection is relevant to the au d1ence an d that you stick to
our most interesting . as much as poss1'bl e.. ·inc 1ude the best
material
Y
pieces of research or the trickiest problems .1n your presen t at'10n· ChoOSS
aspects that can be presented well visually or that have a good story
attached to them. Choose those arguments that you can present m
.
convincingly and that you can substantiate . h .in t eres ting facts, exa
wit
or references to authoritative research.
234 © Noordhoff U itgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY
235

The fol lowing wil l also help your audience to take in and remember your
• Ask a question. The audience will be drawn into the subject by thinking
main po ints:
about the answer. An added advantage for the speaker is that he h
• Announce how you intend to structure your presentation (at the end of d t t. . f as a
rea Y_s ar mg point or the conclusion of his speech: he can answer the
your introduction and preferably in no more than three or four points).
q_uest1on t~en. He could also answer the question immediately or pose a
• Indicate when you are moving on to the next main point.
kind of a nddle and postpone giving the answer for a while.
• Summarise the main points in the end (do not enumerate al l of them but
choose the most important) .
"What is the difference between a management consultant and a tram? [Short
Sometimes choosing a variety of ways in which to arrange your points can pa use]
ensure that your presentation is memorable. The important thing is for your A tra m stops when it loses track."
audience to be able to see the broad outlines of your presentation.

13.1.5 Introduce your presentation in a lively way and

conclude succinctly
• Give examples, tell anecdotes or include quotes. They can come in handy
The opening and closing moments of the presentation are important ones in the introduction as we ll as elsewhere:
and they need to be prepared well. Improvisation does not usually work.

Introduction
"Nowadays , nobody sticks to the speed limit any more. During a cabaret performance
Inexperienced speakers often come straight to the point. They tend to
by Hester Macra_nder, I heard the ultimate solution. "Only when cars are being
neglect their relationship with the audience, failing to prepare them for what
produced that will put the exhaust fumes back into the car at speeds above 120
they are about to hear, not making clear what they intend to do and not
kilometres an hour will people stick to the speed limit.'' I want to talk to you about
making apparent what they expect from the audience. The listeners are less drastic measures for enforcing the speed limit."
likely to be confused and irritated and less accepting of what you have to
say. Our research has shown that listeners remember less of your
presentation if you spend too little time on the introduction. How should
you start? The Greek and Roman rhetoricians were already aware of the 2 Make your audience favourably inclined towards you
three most important aims of the introduction: to gain the attention of the
Make yourse lf credible in the eyes of your audience: indicate in one or two
listeners, to call on their good will and to prepare them for the main part of
sentences that you are competent or that your approach has been
the presentation.
successful in the past. Our research shows that this works. Do not talk
about yourse lf too long because people find that boring.
1 Gain the attention of the listeners
You can do this in several ways:
• Focus attention on the interests of the listener. For example:
"During the last few months we have been working enthusiastically on a new model
to predict _cha nges in river flow. The approach chosen by us is more practical and
more efficient than that of our rivals in Twente."
"The faces I see in front of me this morning are not all happy ones. This is very
understandable. However, the new sales registration system will work for you if you
understand how to work with it. For most of you this will be your first introduction to
;au can _i~crease the likelihood of your presentation going down well by
the new programme. We want to make this introduction as pleasant as we can and
we want you to tell us how we can help you. During this meeting we will outline so
mphas1z1ng the importance of what you have to say for your audience or by
of the ways that are available." flattering your audience.

"It i~ well known t hat engineers do not like beating about the bush, so I shall come
• Come out with a controversial proposition. The chairman of the Product
Board for Livestock and Meat caught the attention of the audience straight to the point this morning ... "
immediately when he opened his speech at the Grand Gala of Plenty
with the words:

3 Provide point t h I .
Th' . ers o e P your audience follow your presentation
"Vegetarians think they live longer than others, but that is not the case. . is IS a two-fold approach:
They just look older. There, now you know immediately where I stand.'' Firstly: formulate your purpose. Be concrete:
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
Not: I will say something about my research.
Not: I will say something about my research into noise pollution .
But: How can you avoid problems resulting from noise in the office?
If the audience is strongly opposed to the ideas of the speaker it could be
wise to build up the speech in such a way that the purpose only becomes
clear at the end of the story. If you want to convince the employees of a
firm that they have to work on Saturdays without pay, you will have to deal
with the background history first. By doing this you may be able to create
some acceptance for the measure.
Secondly: announce the main points. Announcing the main points will
enhance understanding and give the audience something to go on. For the
speaker this is a way of making sure that he does not lose sight of the
whole and listeners know what they can expect. Since the spoken word is
more fleeting than written text, it is a good idea to put the main points on a
PowerPoint slide (or on a whiteboard or flipchart).
Conclusion
1 Alert the audience to the fact that the end of the presentation is near
Your presentation should not simple fizzle out (" OK, that was it ... "). You can
signal that the talk is coming to an end with formulations such as "Finally,"
"In conclusion," "To sum up" or "What have we learned from the failure of
this project?" Our research shows that the audience will straighten up and
listen to you with renewed energy. They will remember your conclusions
better.
2 Summarise th e main points and give a conclusion
Always summarise the main arguments of your presentation. Logically,
there should be no need to do this because a summary is a repeat.
Nevertheless, summaries are indispensible for a good speech .
A so-called indicative summary (" I have put the problem before you , have
indicated the causes and hope you will agree to my proposal.") is unlikely
to go down well. A more informative summary, phrased in a less clinical
way, will give the speaker a chance to clarify his point of view and express
his feelings once more , before the audience is required to give its opinion:
" So why am I pleading for a change in the constitution of our professional
organisation? In order to make a more efficient way of decision-making possible.
in order to avoid undemocratic situations."
With more informative speeches too , you will be paying the listener a
service if you summarize the main points:
© Noordhoff Uitg eve rs bv
PRES ENTING A REPORT ORALLY
237
"This is the crux of the matter: I don 't mind if you forget everything else."
Repeats (and graphic material) greatly increase the chance of the main
points of your talk being remembered.
3 Finish off with a flourish
Not every speech has to end with a flourish . You could also finish off with
something aimed at starting a discussion. But you are likely to be more
convincing if you save your trump card for the end: the best example, the
anecdote that demonstrates your main point best. Or you could come back
to your starting point and close the circle . The following can be effective too .
• Quote:
"In short, ladies and gentlemen , what is a translator? I close with the definition that
Dolf Ve rspoor, himself a translator once gave: "A translator is somebody who of five
synonyms chooses the sixth ."
• List of three: question-answer and repetition:
"Can we leave behind our mutual distrust? Can we as two groups with different
cultu res come to form a real unity? And can we together start on a new project and
make it into a success? I know we can - I know we have to - and I know we will! "
• Repetition:
"I shall go and get a breath of fresh air tomorrow by walking to the main building to
vote th ere. I wish you all a breath of fresh air too - and afterwards, as a result of your
votes - a bre ath of fresh air through our company."
It is important th at all these techniques reinforce the main point of the
speech: a joke about an insignificant detail will detract from the core
issues.
13.1.6 Make sure the visual aids are meaningful, legible and
of a high quality
Good visual support of your presentation is important. You can make use of
a Whiteboard , a flip chart, maps, replicas and obiects not to mention of
co J '
1
"'" '
Urse, prese ntation programmes like PowerPoint or Prezi . Prezi is a
Progr~mme th at instead of slides uses one big screen on which the whole
text, image and vid eo of the presentation is presented. By zooming in and
out You bring th e parts under discussion to the fore in a playful way.
 238 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
~~~--------------
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY
........._ 239

Powerpoint slides have a lot of advantages. They are cheap, easy to

produce and make a presentation attractive, easy to follow and, as
research shows, easier to remember. Asthma management

• Action plan: describes what a patient should do when having an asthma attack
Slides
-7 Only 35 % have an action plan

1 Do not make too many (but not too few either)
Research shows that a presentation without visual support is less well
remembered than a presentation with visual support. Make sure the slide
does not show information other than that in the spoken explanation. Make
sure the audience does not have to choose between listening and reading.
• Instructions for the use of the puffer: important for
therapeutic efficiency!
Who instructs the patient on how to use the puffer correctly?

2 Make them readable

Choose a big and clear basic font: the 30 point Arial, for instance. A bigger
font size is preferable to putting the entire text in capitals or italics - these
·1I GP
-• - 6,7

Pharm acist GP and

pharmacist
16
2,5
N obody '
. . Only 23% are instructed
by the pharmacist!

make the text hard to read. The standard settings of a presentation

programme are usually satisfactory. Make sure background illustrations do
not interfere with your text.

3 Do not make them too full

• Have a maximum of 7 lines, with no more than 7 words per line, but
·! preferably fewer. Presentation slides
' Simplify schedules and technical drawings. Do not import illustrations
from the Internet indiscriminately: eliminate superfluous details by using
a drawing programme. Only include information you can say something A'lthmamnnagement Asthma management
Asthma management

about, or make "growing slides" (a sequence of slides in which more
• A<tlorlp!on:Gur.nb"'""'l•,,.ti•nt"""'ld 60y,t>en"°';"l•naot11m.1on tci<
-<Or.ttlS%1'tr'" ""octlonP •n
0 Mtli>np11n:<1ewit1U\l>holo1>J!l<n!•hould60"heni;.,..irf, onutlvJ\o> 1tta.<1<
-00W,JS1>;/111;,, 1111a<t1oop1an
0 Actl<so?1.>n'<1e ":1•>u ..1u1 o potien1 •hoold <la.,henlur.ineano sttmao11aci<
->O<'iltlSlit>a-.1' 0tl&<UonplM

and more of a drawing is shown). • frul1U<'tl>lufot!l>e11H <lf!M W'l.r.'""""1antr0f

lhor1Po<>1l:ertldfnq l , ltUlfuttlotu fotlM.,.eot Ul<!putl<-~ lnwtt1ntf0<
ll>oropeutk: olrocle<ql

lll>O lr!>ll>•<f>tl>tt par;,,nroo1>o.. rouw 11"' f'Ulf.,<=r1•1:t-,?

4 Make them in a house style

Maintain one style during your presentation (the logo always in the same
place, the same margins, footer, background colour) Computer programmes
such as powerpoint will help you make something attractive of your draft.
Keep to the layout principles mentioned in Chapter 12: make it quiet,
functional and image reinforcing.
Delivering a powerpoint presentation
Audiences often expect you to summarise your report in a powerpoint
presentation. While slides that are rich in information form a useful
reference source, they are less suited as a means of presentation. Lead
your audience through complex slides step-by-step, focussing the attention
of the listener on specific parts of the slide using arrows, circles and
underlining. These can be left out of your printouts of the slides.
A print out of a slide from a presentation on the decision to involve
pharmacists in patient education:
1 Check the equipment
Do you know how to link up the projector to the computer? Can the
projection be seen by everybody or will you be standing in the way? Have
you tried out your video clips and have you checked the sound?
2 Funnel attention
• Only show the information you are talking about. Information that you
want to deal with step-by-step should not be shown yet. Showing
everything at once will distract the audience rather than support your
account. The audience will only start listening after they have read the
entire text on the slide , and in the meantime you may have said quite a
bit.
• Use the programme's various functions to accentuate that part of the
d~awing or the text you are talking about. You can, for example , place a
simple circle around that part of the table that the audience's attention
should be drawn to.
• Use a l.aser pen or a pointer when you want to highlight something, but
ma1nta1n eye contact with the audience.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
PRES ENTING A REPORT ORALLY
241
3 Take the time to explain what is on your slides
With text slides: each line on the slide corresponds to approximately one
paragraph of verbal explanation (about 120 words) . . . "You ~ill no doubt accept my statement that the environment is not served b
• With slides showing images: make sure not to rush things. Do not think dumping 011 in the surface water. But how bad is it if a captain lets the last liit_le b'
"they will see that for themselves ," but take the time to describe what is oil flow into the wat:r? If you realized that one litre of oil makes a million litres of it of
to be seen . water unfit for drinking purposes you would have an answer to that question."

13.1 .7 Use rhetorical devices to keep your listeners' attention

A catchy opening is no guarantee that you will have a captive audience
during the rest of your speech . What can you do to keep the attention of Comparisons with a familiar measure give meaning to an inconceivably
small or large number:
the audience or to regain it?

1 1 Make clear when you are moving on to t he next main point

Indicating the transitions from one part of your speech to another is very Every year we throw away 2:5 billion plastic bags . That is enough plastic to provide
important. In the first place, the audience will find it easier to remember nearly half of the country with a plastic wheelie bin .
information if you clearly indicate to which main point it refers, and
secondly, it is a way of recapturing the listener's attention if he or she has
been momentarily sidetracked. Marking the transitions in your speech

I clearly gives the listener an opportunity to regain the thread .

"Information technology is therefore crucial for the world economy, but there are quite
a few obstacles to overcome before we can make optimal use of it. How do we do
The statement "India has an area of 3,28 7,782 km 2" does not mean as
much to the average listener as "India is more than 78 times larger than
the Neth erlands - or 6 .5 times larger than Spain."

13.1.8
It ~s better to have a speech plan than a completely
written out text
that? Let us look first at the users of information services." <new slide>
Talking t o the audience is a different thing to reading a text. A reader is
more concerned with his paper than with his audience. He loses his abil't
t . . d h' d I y
o 1m.prov1.se an. 1s elivery tends to become monotonous and uninspiring,
causing his audience to lose interest.
Take the time to make it clear that you are starting on a new main point. Do
not be afraid of a moment's silence: a short pause indicates that a new Good spea kers deliver their talk largely by heart but have a speech plan as
an aid to memory.
subject is being broached and often refocuses the attention of the
audience on the speaker. Our research shows that the timing of your It is a good idea to make one, therefore. As your basis, use your PowerPoint
announcement matters quite a lot. Announce the change of topic first and presentation handout. You can include elements other than the main points
of the talk :
then go on to the next slide, not the other way around .
• Transition sentences. Insert these between the various sections to make
sure the structure remains coherent.
Use examples and models
What do people remember of a talk? They usually do forget the formulas • Details that are hard to remember. These include figures , formulas , dates
and quotes .
and abstract discussions and remember the examples and models.
Whether your subject is fireproof baby seats, the advantages of porous • Instructions on how to use audiovisual appliances and other aids.
asphalt roads or the newest latex colours, show the audience what you are Prompts for facial expressions, gestures, tempo, volume and so on.
talking about. Bring the object along, produce a model, show colours and
samples. . . back to
You can make complicated matters easy to grasp 1f you bnng them .
human proportions . The pronouncement "dumping oil in surface water IS
very damaging to the environment" is too abstract to make an impa?t 0 ~
the listeners They will believe it but will not understand how damaging ith 1s,
and th ey will ·soon forget .1t. Making
. 1t. concrete ·increases th e impact oft a
statement and makes it more believable.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
242
PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY
2 43

EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH PLAN Use spoken language throughout , including written introductions and
conclusions . Resist the temptation to copy large parts of your report:
Welcome
instead, give a spoken version of it. Do not make your sentences too Jong
and avoid typical written expressions ("As I mentioned in the preceding
Introduction: (Ariane de chapter.. .")
Zwart, on behalf of BB,
lightning career in high
Speakers sometimes get themselves into needless trouble by bringing
tension: Developed into the
along notes that are written or printed in letters that are too small to read
biggest firm in the field in
or are in the form of chaotically arranged bits of scrap paper. Write in
three years) .
letters that are big enough to be read without effort from a lectern or a
Item from yesterday's
table. Some speakers prefer putting their notes onto system cards that can
television news: 1 billion
Ii damage each year in NL
be held in the hand easily. Deal with one main point per card.
'! ? through lightning strikes ~
13.1. 9 Practise your speech and make sure you have an
does not have to happen to emergency plan
you : a small investment will
Give yourself enough time to practise your speech and check whether it
prevent major damage
\! sounds right. Will your speech plan serve the purpose well? Practis ing
ii aloud is also the only way to find out how long your talk will be.

I
ii
iII It is a good idea to ask somebody if you can practise your speech in front
of them: every comment that you get beforehand will be invaluable in
ensuring that the real presentation goes off as smoothly as possible . Your
Ii "practice audience " could perhaps focus on the following things:
• Is t he purpose clear? What exactly does the speaker want from his
·I audience?
Ii • Does t his introduction immediately draw the attention of the audience?
• Are the visualisations, examples , jokes and anecdotes relevant? Do they
come across?
• Is the conclusion clear and convincing? Does the conclusion answer the
questi on/ aim of the introduction?
• Does th e speaker speak clearly and is his posture good?
Strike despite conductors
Emergency plan
• Direct strike
Timing is cru cial in many presentations. You may often be given twenty
• Indirect strike
minutes speaking time or half an hour of the lunch break for a product
• Power surge
presentation . With an emergency plan to fall back on you can make sure
your talk fini shes exactly on time .
Select a part of the story that can be scrapped in case of lack of time and
a part that ca n be enlarged on or added if you have time to spare. Make
the emergency plan such that you can decide at the last moment to expand
or scrap the next part. Naturally, a flexible approach will only work if you
keep an eye on the time during your speech.

Acute lack of time? Execute your emergency plan promptly

Assess your chances of exceeding the allotted time by a couple of minutes
Without getting into trouble with the chairman or the audience. Since it is
almost always better to speak for a shorter time than to exceed your time,
do not activate your emergency plan too late.
• Avoid talking twice as fast. Suggest that you would like to deal with the
other points afterwards or at some other time. "I see that the time_,ti as
caught up with me. I would like to talk about. .. some other time " and
immediately go to your final slide. Do not flip through the remaining slides.
• Present the conclusion in its entirety calmly and as you have prepared it.
Never skip it.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
244
• Do not panic! Do not hurry. Keep your control and most of the audience
will not even realise that you have run out of time .
ftB Delivering a presentation
Good preparation is a job more than half done. Some things , however, will
require on the spot management.
1 3 .2 .1 Find ways of dealing with stress
Do you suffer from nerves before your talk? Then you are in good company,
because even actors and political leaders notice they are breathing
I restlessly and have butterflies in the stomach just before an important
I performance. Some speakers suffer more from it than others, however.
What is the best way for you to deal with stress?
:I
Focus on the excitement, not the fear
Combat those thoughts that undermine your confidence and increase your
I
feelings of stress. One consolation is that stress goes as soon as you are
busy with your talk. Moreover, your audience is unlikely to notice your
nerves unless you let them. And even if things go wrong , remember that a
speaker is allowed to make mistakes. Nobody in the audience expects a
perfect performance.
Are you inclined to feel stress? Excellent: you need that excitement to give
a good presentation.
Know that you have prepared as well as you can
Good preparation is the best way of ensuring that you can be confident of a
good result. Start your preparations well in time and do not procrastinate.
Be conscious of what you want to achieve, who your audience is and what
the main points of your speech are . Make sure there are a number of
points in your talk that are really worthwhile. Make sure of good visual
support. And rehearse your talk as much as possible.
Familiarize yourself with the venue
Unknown situations can cause insecurity. Make sure you familiarize
yourself in time with the venue where you will hold your presentation. To
avoid unwelcome surprises, check the following points.
• Sound. Will you need a microphone? How do you switch it on and off?
Test the microphone to make sure the amplifier is loud enough and has
no acoustic feedback. "f
• Light and temperature. Where are the light switches? What can you do 1
the sun shines into the room too brightly? How can the room be
darkened if you want to show slides or are working with a projector? How
can the heating be adjusted? How does the air conditioning work? Can
the windows be opened? . . . . ctor?
• Position of the stage. Will you be standing 1n the light of your proJe
Where will you put your notes? Is your laser pen .in t he n·ght spot?· Where
is the computer placed?
Do relaxing exercises . . ·ust before
Despite all your preparations you may become quite stressed J wh
your speech. The following fairly inconspicuous exercises can be done
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY 245
you are waiting for your turn or even during your last visit to the toilet before
you enter the room.
• Take a slow deep breath through the nose , hold your breath for six
seconds and breathe out slowly. Do this consciously a few times before
you stand up to deliver your presentation. Keep breathing calmly
throughout your presentation: good deep abdominal respiration forces
you to relax.
• Clench your fists slowly while breathing in and relax them while breathing
out.
13.2.2 Make contact with your audience
Make eye contact
Some speakers seem to derive satisfaction from simply making contact
with their lectern. But we suggest that you put a large part of your energy
into making contact with your audience during your talk. The main thing is
to look at the people in the room and to really address them. Otherwise the
audience will not feel involved in the talk and they may feel tempted to do
something else, such as preparing for the next meeting.
Anoth er advantage of eye contact is that you see how the listeners are
reacting to your speech. People will laugh when they think it is funny, look
knowl edgeable or confused, knit their brows if they cannot follow you (you
will notice this and quickly expand your explanation) and will let you know if
they cannot hear you properly. Eye contact makes for good customer
relation s.
Ask questions, including rhetorical ones
A question during speech will attract attention because of its different
intonation and syntax. It will draw the attention of the audience . You could
pose a rea l question about which the audience has to think for a moment
("Do you know how many bikes are stolen per day in our province?") and to
which you provide the answer later on. You could also ask rhetorical
question s to which the audience already knows the answer or which is
implicit in th e question ("We cannot all go to sleep with a pistol under our
pillow, can we?" ).
Address t he audience
Make your talk personal by addressing the audience personally: use "you"
and include th e audience in the situations you describe. Ensure that
everybody fee ls a sense of involvement. The listener must get the idea that
"This is meant for me too." Referring to "we" will reduce the distance
between spea ker and audience and suggest that the speaker and the
audience are in the same position: a handy little trick.
• "Let's ass ume that you have an extra hour up your sleeve each day. What would
you ... "
• "Yesterday I was in our old building for a moment. Do you remember how about ten
of us wou ld smoke in the courtyard during breaks?"
..
You could make beli eve that you are having a dialogue with the audience:
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
246
"You will probably be thinking 'that's easy for him to say: he doesn't have to do all
that research."'
13.2.3 Project your voice and use your body language
effectively
Many speakers suffer from a cold start. They start speaking but their voice
falters and grates. They clear their throat forcefully a couple of times,
hoping to get their voice going again. It usually takes a few sentences
before the voice sounds all right. Such a false start does not give a good
first impression.
The following bits of advice can help you ensure that your voice remains a
reliable instrument.
Advice for the preparation
• Smoke and drink as little as possible. If you are preparing for your talk
really seriously it is a good idea to smoke and drink as little as possible.
Alcohol and smoking may help you relax but they also irritate the mucous
membranes and cause hoarseness. Other things that are certain to ruin
your voice are whispering loudly, yelling and disco "conversations ."
Loosen up your voice. Here are three well-tried exercises to avoid
becoming hoarse during the first minute of your speech.
Snorting like a horse is a nice exercise to loosen the whole of the
voice area: flap your lips. Snort at first without a tone, after that with
a tone - from high to low and vice versa.
- Stretching: Stretch out, open your mouth wide and draw in a sound
while you are doing this: aMiah. Do not force it.
- Speech-singing, or your customary opera act under the shower. Try
saying and singing the opening sentence of your talk ("Do you drink
enough, ladies and gentlemen?") with varying emotions: angry, happy,
sad, slightly amused. This exercise will lift the dynamic range and
expressiveness of your voice.
• Try out the acoustics of the hall. It can give you a good feeling to project
your voice into an empty hall. You will get a good idea of how loudly,
emphatically and fast you have to speak.
• Relax. Relax your muscles (especially the jaws, shoulders and neck). Be
aware of how you sit (or stand). Feel your own weight and see how your
breath sinks to the bottom of your stomach.
Advice for during the talk
• Adopt a relaxed posture: Stand up straight but with a relaxed_ posture.
Walk calmly to the spot you will speak from. Then pay attention to your
posture for a minute. Balance your body weight over both feet, stand up
straight but remain relaxed.
Breathe deeply and calmly. Avoid quick and shallow breathing as you
start your speech. Begin calmly and slowly. Your pace should be slower
. h· · ht em unnatura 11Y
than with a normal conversation, even thoug 1t m1g se
slow to you. If there is a bit of echo in the hall it is better to speak
slowly and emphatically. the
• Speak so loudly that you can be heard in the back of the hall. Varyf ur
. · h ssages o yo
pitch of your voice depending on how important eac pa
© Noordhoff Uitgevers bv PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY 247
speech is, but never let your voice drop to such a low level that you can
hardly be understood any more. Do not force your voice. Do not try to fill
the hall with sound but fill yourself with it (resonance).
• Vary your intonation. Prevent sleep-inducing monotony by varying your
pitch and doing it often. A bit of drama in your intonation will make your
speech livelier. Pause immediately after an important statement or to
indicate that you are starting on a new point. Try to avoid fillers,
stopgaps and stereotypes ("er," "um," "so," "well," "you know").
Posture
Just like your voice, your body posture is an important source of information
for your audience. By being conscious of your posture and gestures you can
add a lot to your talk. You can talk about two parties or theories in an
abstract way, or you can typecast them by using gestures and miming (one
party or theory: huddled up, frowning, with small gestures and with a small
voice - the other party or theory: up straight, open face, large gestures, a
lot of sound). Think about passages in your talk where you can express
something or can support them by gesturing (for instance, keeping count
during an enumeration).
Exaggerated movements that serve no apparent purpose give a tense
impress ion and make the audience restless. Are you a "dancing" speaker
(a step forward, a step backward)? Do you tend to pace up and down,
clicking a pen in and out, stroking your hair compulsively? Try to move more
deliberately. Your "at rest" posture should convey an impression of
calmness : two feet firmly on the ground, hips at ease. At those moments
that your story needs visual underlining, let the movement come from your
hands and arms.
The other extreme should also be avoided: there is nothing engaging about
a speaker whose posture is wooden, and what that speaker has to say may
not even be listened to.
13.2.4 Answer questions politely
You have ended your speech with a final sentence that clinches things, and
the audience applauds. Do not spoil that moment by coming in too quickly
with the usua l "Are there any questions?"
What happens next is an essential part of the communicative process: your
monologue - possibly already interrupted by one or two brief questions -
becomes a dialogue. The listeners have the opportunity to test their
understanding and to test your statements and proposals critically.
Cordially invite your audience to ask questions.
Five steps
Follow the process outlined below when you answer questions.
1 Listen carefully to the question that is being asked. If necessary, jot down
a quick note. Determine whether you can or want to answer the question
and how you will do that.
2 Repeat th e question. In large halls, the question is not always audible.
Summari se the question in a few words. This will also give you the
chance to find out whether you have understood the question correctly.
3 Answer th e question. Sometimes a short answer will do sometimes it
Will _need to be expanded on. Try to avoid using terms that go over your
audience 's head or engaging in a private chat with the questioner. Look
around during your answer to make sure everybody feels involved.
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
248 PRESENTING A REPORT ORALLY 249

4 Round off the answer. At the end of your answer, look back at the person • Postponing:
who raised the question and check whether the question has been
answered to that person's satisfaction : "Does this answer your
question?" I do not have the exact details available at the moment. But I ca n make sure you get
5 Keep in charge of things . Unless there is a chairman it is up to you to them via email later today.
make sure things go smoothly. Try to pass the word to other people in a
friendly way. (" Do you mind if we see whether there are other people with
a question?") Keep an eye on the time during qu estions. Announce the
last question with "I think we have time for one short question." • Making things con crete:

Difficult situations
Most questions you get are likely to be simple requests for more I don 't quite understand what you mean . Can you give an example?
information or explanations.
Naturally, you will answer these as concisely and pleasantly as you can . But
questions are not always friendly and to the point. What do you do then?
Look at the following three types of question . It is much easier to respond to a concrete example . Or you can try to make
th e question concrete yourself.
1 The emotional question
What do you do if a clearly overwrought listener stands up and starts • Returning the question:
lashing out? It is important that you realise that this "questioner" is not
really asking a question but is mainly interested in getting something off
his chest. He wants to be heard and be taken seriously. If you ignore this A ve ry interesting question. You have obviously had some experience with thi s. Can
and only give a matter of fact answer you will probably pour oil on the fire. you te ll us a bit more about it?
Start off by acknowledging his emotional state : go with the flow. Hopefully
this will calm him down a bit and you can then calmly give a more relevant
answer.
You could al so return the question to the audience as a whole or to an
2 The hostile question expert in the field who might be present.
You can react in different ways to this. You can disregard it completely.
"That's a personal question and I'm not going to answer it. Is there anybody
with a more relevant question?' You could also rephrase it in your own Has anybody here had some experience with this?
words , removing the sting. Then you could answer the question in a neutral
way. "Let me rephrase that question. What you are really asking is .. ." Try
and parry the attack. Stay calm, remain in control. • Break th e tension with a joke:

Question: "All those beautiful plans of yours to build these big apartment blocks will You want to know a great deal, sir! I'll do my best to .. .
ruin our neighbourhood . Is that what you want? " It wa s my intention to be a bit provocative and I seem to have been successful ...
Answer: "You are talking about our plans for urban renewal. Well, we want to build a
healthy neighbourhood where people can live and do business."

• Evading: answering a different question to the one that was asked for
exampl e. Thi s approach is not entirely ethical and will not be succ~ssful
3 The question you do not have an answer to . with persistent question ers, but many politicians use it successfully.
You will sometimes find that you do not have the answer to a question,
perhaps because it falls outside your field. Usually it is best to admit .
straight away that you cannot answer the question. However, if you co~tinue I am glad you asked that. Because it brings me to the point that is at the core of thi s
to have trouble answering the questions, an embarrassing · s1·t ua r10 n might matter: .. .
develop. The following might help you get out of your difficulties :

..
If you are able t o come across as a credible and authoritative speaker you
~~y not even need th e above hints. Do not lower yourself to the level of "yes
It 18 - no it isn't" · correct and polite, and do not lose your temper.
, remain
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv 251
250

Recommended Ap e dix
literature Evaluation report
------------------------------------ - form
Reporting
Anderson, P. V. (2010). Technical communication. A reader-centered approach. 7th ed.
Boston: Wadsworth.
Cohen, S. (2001). Numbers in the newsroom. Using math and statistics in news. ------------------------------------- Evaluation Remarks
Columbia: IRE.
Standard parts of a report
Reporting in English
Butterman, D. (2007). English for high-flyers. A reference book for those who wish to The title page:
perfect their English. Amsterdam: Boom. • conta ins all standard elements that belong on a title
The Chicago Manual of Style (2010). 15th ed. Chicago: the University of Chicago Press .
. page
makes clear what the report is about
Scientific writing The preface:
Swales, J.M. & Feak, C.B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students. Essential tasks
and skills. 2nct ed. University of Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional • gives the framework within which the report was
written
Purposes.

Convincing readers
Benoit, W.L. & Benoit, P. J. (2008). Persuasive messages: the process of influence. Malden/
..
The table of contents:
is complete
does not contain mistakes in arrangement
Oxford/Victoria: Blackwell Publishing. • makes the internal story line clear:
Cialdini, R. B. (2008). Influence: science and practice (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. - the titles are informative
- the t itl es show the relationship between a chapter
Letters and the corresponding sections and subsections
Lindsay-Roberts, S. (2009). Strategic business letters and E-mail. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Attractive language use

.
The summary:
contains the following parts:
- problem
Zinsser, W.K. (2006). On writing well. 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing
- main question
Nonfiction. 7th ed. New York: HarperCollins.
- method
- arguments justifying the conclusion
Illustrations and layout - conclusion
Broek, J. van den, Koetsenruijter W., Jong, J. de & Smit, L. (2012) Visual language.
Perspectives for makers and users. Den Haag: Boom Lemma Uitgevers. .
• the formulation is succinct
can be read independently
The introduction:
• gives background information about the problem the
report dea ls with

.
• contains a formu lation of the problem/main question
contains a description of the research method
• contains the main terms and conditions pertaining to
the research
• contains an explanation of how the report is structured
..

------------------------------ -- ----
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
APPENDIX 253
252

Argumentation and justification of choices

..
The conclus ions:
answer the ma in question
fo ll ow logica lly from the previous chapters .The text:

. can be read independently •

describes the alternatives clearly
explains why these alternatives are inc luded in the

..
The recommendations:
fol low on logically from the conclusions
. assessment
compares the alternatives systematically, based on

.are usefu l to the reader

can be read independe nt ly
. fixed criteria
gives the strong and the weak po ints of the

.
The bibliography:
contains title descriptions that comply with the
. alternatives in a choice matrix or score card
makes a convincing, we ll-argumented choice of one or
more of the alternatives, or shows that a choice cannot

.. guide li nes
is ordered alphabetica lly
on ly contains titles referred to in the text
be made, or at least not now

Use of sources
. contains all t it les referred to in the text
• all ideas, text fragments , figures and data that have
been taken from somewhere else have been
..
The appendices:
have a title and a number
have all been mentioned at least once in the chapters •
referenced properly in the text and in the bibliography
litera l quotes are indicated by quotation marks and

..
Figures and tables:
have a title and a number
. page number
paraphrases are not too close to the original

can be understood independently (have a legend, for Formulations

. example)
are referred to in the accompanying text .
The formulations are:
clear: the explanation is expl icit and the sentences are
Structure
. not too long
succinct, without the writer resorting to a telegram

.
Chapters:
are sufficiently subd ivided into sections and . style
attractive: the length of sentences varies, where

. subsections
start with a chapter introduction describing the . appropriate, examples are used
correct: there are no grammatica l or spe ll ing mistakes,

. structure
follow each other logical ly: the steps in t he reasoning
can be fo llowed wit hout difficulty
punctuation is correct; the style is neither too formal
nor too informal
Layout

.
Paragraphs:

..
start with a topic sentence that indicates clearly the The layout of the report is qu iet and functional:
a business-li ke font has been used
. subject of the paragraph
are not too long: there is on ly one subject per the headings are easy to identify

. paragraph
where necessary, paragraphs have been given extra
structure in the form of paragraph groups

..
Enumerations:
contain a lim ited number of items (no more than six)

. contain parts that are interrelated in terms of content

have been constructed in the same way
 © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv © Noordhoff Uitgevers bv
255
254

About the authors Index

------------------------------------ - ---------------- ---------------------
A
Dr Bas Andeweg is a lecturer in technical communication at Delft University Endnotes 91
of Technology, Centre for Languages and Academic Skills. His main field is Active voice 163 Enumeration 68, 69, 70, 217 , 218, 226
oral communication. Together with Jaap de Jong he wrote a doctoral thesis Advisory report 105, 106 Executive summary 78
in 2004 entitled De eerste minuten. Attentum, benevolum en docilem parare Aim of the research 82 Experimental research 32
APA 50,90 Experimental research report 114, 115
in de inleiding van toespraken.
Appendices 35, 76, 90, 91
Dr Rien Elling is the director of the Centre for Languages and Academic Area chart 201 F
Skills, at Delft University of Technology. He has specialized in written Arrangement according to Feasibility study 96, 97, 98
communication, especially in the technological sectors. Among other alternatives 99, 100 Figures 193, 194, 196
publications, he has written on safety rules in the process industry (his Arrangement according to criteria 99, 100 Figures of speech 161
Attachments 148 Font 213, 214, 216, 225
doctoral thesis).
Audience 23 Footers 218, 219
Prof. dr Jaap de Jong is professor of Journalism and New Media at Leiden Footnotes 4 7, 91
University, where he also teaches discourse studies. He is the editor of the B Formal writing 162
monthly journal Onze Taal and has written many books on language, writing Background 21 , 27 Framing 187
Background information 81
and rhetoric.
Background questions 27 G
Ors Kim van der Linden currently divides her time between giving lectures Bar chart 199, 201 Global and selective reading 56
on English language skills and technical communication at the Centre for Bibliography 45, 50, 90, 224 Glossary 9 1 , 92
Languages and Academic Skills, at Delft University of Technology. She has Business letters 128 Graphs 199, 200
previously worked at universities in the UK and Japan as well as private Group report 37
institutions in Italy helping students reach a sufficiently high level of English c
Chapters 57 , 58 , 59 H
to successfully complete their studies.
Collaborate 37 Headers 218, 219
Ms Christine Swankhuisen has been a partner of Tabula Rasa, a Conclusions 85, 86 , 87, 88, 179 Headings 215, 216
consultancy firm in the field of communication and behavioural change, Cover 74 Hedging 155, 156
since 1998. Prior to that, she worked at the Department of Communication Curriculum vitae (CV) 140, 144, 145
and Knowledge Transfer of the Delft University of Technology for seven
D Illustrations 193, 194, 196, 197
years. Tabula Rasa operates in an area where theory and practice overlap.
As well as doing advisory work for the government and business, Christine Decision-makers 15, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, Index 92, 222
Swankhuisen does research in collaboration with a number of universities 39, 78,85,96, 100, 115,178,179, Internet 48, 52
181,182, 183 Introduction 80, 81, 179
and regularly gives lectures.
Design report 84 ,119, 120, 122 Introduction to a chapter 85
Drawing 197, 203 , 204 ,206
J
E Jargon 154
Editor-in-chief 37, 39
Electronic sources 52 K
Email 146, 14 7, 148 Key questions 21, 27, 28

------------------------------- ------
 © Noordhotf Uitgevers bv
256

L Q
Layout 209 Qualitative research report 117
Layout of the letter 128 Question plan 28, 29
Letter conventions 130 Quoting 44, 45
Letter of application 139, 140, 143
Letters 127 R
Limitations 84 Readers 15, 16, 17
Line chart 201 Reading strategy 24
Line length 214 Receive 130
Li st 216, 217 Recommendations 88, 89, 179
List of symbols 91 Referencing 44, 45
Literature report 108, 109 Referring 45
Literature research 32
s
M Salutation 134
Main question 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 82, Scientific summary 78, 79
83,84,86 Score card 184
Management summary 78, 79 Sections 57, 58 , 59, 77
Margins 212, 213, 225 Sender 130
Memo 150 Set of requirements 84, 121
Memorandum 149, 150 Signalling formulations 65
Minitable 199 Social media 148
Multicriteria analysis 184 Specialists 15, 24, 25, 39, 78, 96 , 100,
115,181, 182,183
N Styles 214
Notes 91 Subdivisions 57, 58
Subsections 77
0 Subtitle 75
Open question 26, 27 Summary 77, 78, 178

p T
Paragraph group 66, 68 Table 194, 196, 197, 198 ,199
Paragraphs 61, 62, 63 Table of contents 29, 30, 32 , 38, 57, 58,
Paraphrase 49 76,219,220
Paraphrasing 45 Tenses 164
Passive voice 163, 165 Terms and conditions 84
Persuasiveness 177, 186 Time schedule 31, 37
Photograph 196, 197, 203 , 204 ,205, 206 T~e 58,59,60,61,74,75, 76 ,215,216
Pie chart 199, 201 Title page 7 4
Plagiarism 43, 45, 46, 53 Topic sentence 38, 64, 65
Plain English 154
Policy paper 101, 102, 103, 104 w
PowerPoint 34, 38, 237, 238 Websites 52
Preface 76 Weighing factors 100
Prezi 237 Wikipedia 45, 46
Priorities 34 Writing clearly 154
Problem 81 Writing compellingly 161
Progress report 111, 112, 113 Writing concisely 158
Project leader 37, 38 Writing correctly 164
Project manager 39
Punctuation 169 y
Yes/no question 27

------------------------------ ---- --
 In the higher education sector, Report writing for
readers with little time is a textbook that is widely
used when compiling reports of a technical nature.
It is a particularly popular reference book for
professional writers.
Report writing for readers with little time shows you
ho'h to write convincingly, even for readers who are
used to simply scanning reports. The book's many
examples demonstrate how to structure reports
but also how to formulate and illustrate matters
effectively. Simultaneously, plenty of tips are given
on graphic presentation. It deals with writing under
pressure {with, for instance, organizing team-based
writing) and provides concrete advice on how to give
oral presentations, write job applications and avoid
pitfalls when writing in English.
This edition also includes a chapter on how to deal
with information sources. In that chapter special
attention is paid to deliberate or unconscious
plagiarism. Finally, it elaborates on how to persua-
sively present one's case.

II

~ Noordhoff Uitgevers •

NUR 810
I SBN 978-90-01-81259 - 1 ..

9 789001 812591

-- ... . - -- -._
. .....
'

~
' :
~

.
I