Transcript

Reports

Module 5 Lesson 4

What is a Report?

• Written communication which presents focused content to a specific audience.

• The audience can be academic or business

• The report can be bound or unbound

Business vs Academic• Business

– Market research – Technical – Financial– Analysis– Background

• Academic– Research– Essay– Position/opinion– Book Report– Case Study

Business vs Academic

• Differ in purpose

• Differ in audience

• Differ in layout

• Differ in spacing

• Differ in supporting documents

• Differ in reference documents

Business Reports

Sample 1Sample 2Sample 3

Parts of a Business Report

• Title Page (Topic 2)

• Table of Contents (Topic 2)

• Outline (Topic 2)

• Report (Now)

• Bibliography (Topic 3)

Business Reports

• Unbound--Typically short reports prepared without binders or covers. A multi-page report may be held together by paper clip or staple.

• Bound--Typically longer reports are bound with covers or binders.

Unbound vs Bound• Unbound Margins

– Top 2” first page– Top 1” second page– Bottom 1”

(depending on page break decisions)

– Left 1”– Right 1”

• Bound Margins– Top 2” first page– Top 1” second page– Bottom 1”

(depending on page break decisions)

– Left 1.5” (for binding)– Right 1”

Unbound vs Bound

Top

Right

Bottom

1” Left Margin

1.5” Left Margin

Unbound Bound

1” depending on page breaks?

When writing a report, you want to avoid widows, orphans and splitting side headings from their paragraphs. This gives your report a cleaner, more tied together appearance.

Widow—last line of a paragraph at the top of a page by itself

Orphan—first line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page by itself

Widow

Orphan

Report Body Formatting

• Center the title of the report in ALL CAPS, then quadruple space after the title before beginning the body of the report.

Report Body Formatting

• Double space the body of the report.

Report Body Formatting

• Side headings are underlined and keyed in initial caps.

Report Body Formatting

• Paragraph headings are indented .5” from the left margin and end with a period. Capitalize the 1st letter of the 1st word only.

Side vs Paragraph Heading

Underlined

initial caps

left margin

no period

1st letter of 1st word capped

indented .5”

end with a period

Side Paragraph

Report Body Formatting

• Key references/bibliography on the last page or on a separate page of the report in hanging-indent style.

• To cite sources, use textual citations within the report or key endnotes on the last page or on a separate page in hanging indent style.

Report Body Formatting

• Short Quotations—less than 4 lines, use quotation marks

Ellipsis: Used to show an omission of words from quoted material.

Report Body Formatting

• Long Quotations—4 or more lines, indented .5” on left (and right if you like) AND single spaced

Short vs Long Quote

site source

use ellipsis as

necessary

<4 lines

with paragraph

quotation marks

4 or more lines

indent .5” on left

no quotation marks

Short Long

Academic Reports also known as MLA (Modern Language Association)

Sample 1Sample 2Sample 3

Parts of a Academic Report

• Table of Contents (Topic 2)

• Outline (Topic 2)

• Report (Now)

• Works Cited (Topic 3)

Bound or Unbound?

• Like a business report, the academic report may either be bound (1.5” left margin or unbound (1” left margin.)

Margins

• Top 1”

• Left 1” if unbound or 1.5” if bound

• Right 1”

• Bottom 1” depending on page break decisions

Title Page?No title page is used for Academic style

reports. Instead, key a heading in the top left corner on the first page. Double space between lines and include the following:

• Name of Student• Name of Instructor• Course Title• Date in military style (21 November 2010)

Heading Sample

Spacing?

• Double-space the body of the report—no exceptions.

Quotations?

• Long quotes are indented 1” from the left.

Business vs Academic

Left, Right and Bottom Margins

DS body

Side & Paragraph Headings

Short Quotes

Title Page

Top margin of 1st page

is 2”

Indent long quote .5”

SS long quote

Business Academic

Heading

Top margin of 1st page is

1”

Indent long quote 1”

DS everything

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