Informal Reports

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–1

 Six Kinds of Informal Reports

• Information Reports
• Progress Reports
• Justification/Recommendation Reports
• Feasibility Reports
• Minutes of Meetings
• Summaries

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–2

 Information Reports
 Information reports collect and organize
information.
 They may record routine activities such as daily,
weekly, and monthly reports of sales or profits.
 They may investigate options, performance, or
equipment.
 Although they provide information, they do not
analyze that information.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–3

 Progress Reports
 Progress reports monitor the headway of unusual
or non-routine activities. For example, progress
reports would keep management informed about
a committee’s preparations for a trade show 14
months from now.
 Such reports usually answer three questions:
(1) Is the project on schedule?
(2) Are corrective measures needed?
(3) What activities are next?

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–4

 Justification/Recommendation
Reports
 Justification and recommendation reports are
similar to information reports in that they
present information.
 However, they offer analysis in addition to data.
 They attempt to solve problems by evaluating
options and offering recommendations.
 These reports are often solicited; that is, the
writer has been asked to investigate and report.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–5

 Feasibility Reports

 When a company must decide whether to

proceed with a plan of action, it may require a
feasibility report. For example, should a
company invest thousands of dollars to
expand its Web site?
 A feasibility report would examine the
practicality of implementing the proposal.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–6

 Minutes of Meetings
 A record of the proceedings of a meeting is
called “the minutes.”
 This record is generally kept by a secretary or
recorder.
 Minutes may be kept for groups that convene
regularly, such as clubs, committees, and
boards of directors.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–7

 Summaries
 A summary condenses the primary ideas,
conclusions, and recommendations of a
longer report or publication.
 Employees may be asked to write
summaries of technical reports.
 Students may be asked to write summaries
of periodical articles or books to sharpen
their writing skills.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–8

Information Reports

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–9

 Information Reports
 Writers of information reports provide
information without drawing conclusions or
making recommendations.
 Some information reports are highly
standardized, such as police reports,
hospital admittance reports, or monthly sales
reports.
 Other information reports are more
personalized, as illustrated in the letter report
shown in Figure 9.2.
Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–10
 Information Reports
Information reports generally contain three parts:

Introduction

Body (findings)

Conclusion
* The body may have many subsections.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–11

 Information Reports
Introduction:
 Explain why you are writing.
 For some reports, describe what methods
and sources were used to gather information
and why they are credible.
 Provide any special background information
that may be necessary.
 Preview what is to follow.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–12

 Information Reports
Introduction:

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–13

 Information Reports
Presents introduction and facts without
Introduction: analysis or recommendations

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–14

 Information Reports
Body (Findings):
 Organize the facts in a logical sequence:
(1) chronological,
(2) alphabetical,
(3) topical,
(4) geographical,
(5) journalism style (who, what, when, where,
why, and how),
(6) simple-to-complex, or
(7) most to least important.
Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–15
 Information Reports
Body (Findings):
Uses parallel side headings for
consistency and readability

The information is arranged topically.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–16

 Information Reports
Body (Findings):
They are also parallel.

The body contains many subsections.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–17

 Information Reports
Summary:
 Use the summary to summarize findings or
highlight main points.
In the sample report, the writer uses the
summary to emphasize the three main topics
previously discussed.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–18

 Assignment
1. What are the six kinds of informal reports?
2. From the lists you made in Question 1, select a report category for each of
the following situations:
a. Your supervisor asks you to review the Web site of one of your competitors
and to write a report that condenses the important content.
b. You want to tell management about an idea you have for consolidating two
departments in order to eliminate redundancy and lower expenses.
c. You are in charge of developing a new procedure for processing payroll.
Your boss wants to know what you have done thus far.
d. You are asked to record the proceedings of a meeting of your college’s
student association.
e. As Accounting Department manager, you have been asked to describe for
all employees your procedure for processing expense claims.
3. List and explain four ways you can build credibility in a business report.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–19

 Assignment
4. Are the following report headings and titles talking, functional, or mixed:
a) Background
b) Need for Changing Passwords Regularly
c) Annual Budget
d) How Instant Messaging Can Improve Corporate Communication
e) Solution: Promoting an Employee Carpool Program
f) Solving Our Networking Problems With an Extranet
g) Comparing Copier Volume, Ease of Use, and Speed
h) Alternatives
5. Choose ONE of the two topics mentioned in questions 9.2 and 9.3 on page
260, and write and information report about.

Your answers for questions 1-4 are going to be checked in class next time,
while your answer for question 5 should be typed, printed out, and submitted.

Essentials of Business Communication, Second Edition Ch. 9–20