Business Correspondence and Report writing

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Managerial Communication: Module: 3 Business Correspondence and Report writing:

Business Correspondence:

Standard parts of a letter:

According to Microsoft Office Online, at least one third of all office work is letter writing. A business letter

represents both you and your employer so whether the letter comes from you or your administrative staff,

should look and sound professional. When the text is clear and simple, and appears balanced on the page,

the reader more easily grasps the message.

Heading

Most companies use letterhead--stationery with the company’s logo, name, address and other contact and

identifying information. If the company does not have letterhead, the company’s full name and

address should be typed at the top of the page.

Date

Letters should always include a date. You enter dates two to six lines below the heading, depending on the

length of the letter. Use the full month name spelled out, then the day, followed by a comma, and then the

four-digit year, for example, June 6, 2010.

Reference

Include a reference line to identify a file or case number, invoice number or any other internal identifying

information, if your company requires one. Some companies have specific reference codes that they place

either in a reference line below the date, or at the very bottom of the letter.

Addressee

Your letter should include the name of the addresses with her title (Ms. J. Jones, Dr. Charlene Price),

followed by her company name and full address, including the postal code.

Subject

Adding a subject line makes it easier for the reader to quickly understand the situation. Normally the subject

sentence follows the word ―Subject:‖ or ―Re:‖ (regarding). Place the subject after the addressee’s address

and before the greeting.

Salutation

The salutation is your greeting. Most salutations begin with ―Dear‖ followed by either the recipient’s first

name, or title and last name. Endeavor to address all letters to an actual person. However, if you don’t know

the person’s name, use Dear Madam/Sir, or the job title, such as Dear Accounting Manager.

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Body Paragraphs

The opening paragraph should always state why you are writing. Then, in a simple and straightforward

manner, explain the situation, the solution, the suggestion or whatever other message you need to get across

to the recipient. Be as brief as possible since long complicated messages often distract readers. Start a new

paragraph whenever you begin a new subject.

Close

Always use a complimentary close. It is a short, polite closing followed by a comma. When the letter is

impersonal, use ―Yours truly.‖ If the letter is to someone above you in rank, use ―Respectfully yours.‖ If you

have a personal connection to the addressee, use ―Sincerely‖ or ―Sincerely yours.‖ (Ref. 1, Ref. 2)

Signature

Four spaces below the close, type your full or business name. In the space in-between, you will hand write

your signature in ink. Use black or dark blue ink for your signature.

optional parts of a letter:

Identifying Notations

If you type a letter for someone else, add identifying initials. For example if John Doe types a letter for Jane

Smith, the notation would be JS:jd. Then, if you are enclosing items in the envelope, add an enclosure

notation (Enc:, Encl: or Enclosures) followed by the title of the enclosures. Add the notation cc: followed by

the names of everyone receiving a copy.

Postscript

To add information not necessarily related to the letter, like a personal note, include a postscript (P.S.) at the

bottom.

Standard parts of a letter:

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Types of business letters:

The term ―business letters‖ refers to any written communication that begins with a salutation, ends with a

signature and whose contents are professional in nature. Historically, business letters were sent via postal

mail or courier, although the Internet is rapidly changing the way businesses communicate. There are many

standard types of business letters, and each of them has a specific focus.

Sales Letters

Typical sales letters start off with a very strong statement to capture the interest of the reader. Since the

purpose is to get the reader to do something, these letters include strong calls to action, detail the benefit to

the reader of taking the action and include information to help the reader to act, such as including a

telephone number or website link.

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Order Letters

Order letters are sent by consumers or businesses to a manufacturer, retailer or wholesaler to order goods or

services. These letters must contain specific information such as model number, name of the product, the

quantity desired and expected price. Payment is sometimes included with the letter.

Complaint Letters

The words and tone you choose to use in a letter complaining to a business may be the deciding factor on

whether your complaint is satisfied. Be direct but tactful and always use a professional tone if you want the

company to listen to you.

Adjustment Letters

An adjustment letter is normally sent in response to a claim or complaint. If the adjustment is in the

customer’s favor, begin the letter with that news. If not, keep your tone factual and let the customer know

that you understand the complaint.

Inquiry Letters

Inquiry letters ask a question or elicit information from the recipient. When composing this type of letter,

keep it clear and succinct and list exactly what information you need. Be sure to include your contact

information so that it is easy for the reader to respond.

Follow-Up Letter

Follow-up letters are usually sent after some type of initial communication. This could be a sales department

thanking a customer for an order, a businessman reviewing the outcome of a meeting or a job seeker

inquiring about the status of his application. In many cases, these letters are a combination thank-you note

and sales letter.

Letters of Recommendation

Prospective employers often ask job applicants for letters of recommendation before they hire them. This

type of letter is usually from a previous employer or professor, and it describes the sender’s relationship with

and opinion of the job seeker.

Acknowledgment Letters

Acknowledgment letters act as simple receipts. Businesses send them to let others know that they have

received a prior communication, but action may or may not have taken place.

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Cover Letter

Cover letters usually accompany a package, report or other merchandise. They are used to describe what is

enclosed, why it is being sent and what the recipient should do with it, if there is any action that needs to be

taken. These types of letters are generally very short and succinct.

Letters of Resignation

When an employee plans to leave his job, a letter of resignation is usually sent to his immediate manager

giving him notice and letting him know when the last day of employment will be. In many cases, the

employee also will detail his reason for leaving the company.

Memoranda;

A short note written as a reminder

A written record or communication, as in a business office.

• Memorandum is the Latin word for ―something to be remembered‖

• Memos are brief in-house correspondence sent up and down the corporate ladder

• They can be on paper or sent through e-mail

Memos are written messages sent among people working in the same company. Memos can be written

for a number of reasons :

Inform staff about decisions/actions/events.

Request information / action /events.

Remind staff of action needed/procedures/changes in policy.

Provide information on work related topics.

Format of MEMORANDUM:

MEMORANDUM (Heading Segment)

TO: The person receiving the memorandum

FROM: The person writing the memorandum

DATE: Usually a formal manner of writing the date, for example 19 September, 2007

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SUBJECT: A short title descriptive of the topic in discussion in the memorandum

Electronic mail: e-mail

messages distributed by electronic means from one computer user to one or more recipients via a network

Email is widely used as a form of business communication and overall it is a highly effective

communication tool. Email is inexpensive, only requiring an Internet connection that is generally already

present in the business. Although a printout of emails is possible, emails often stay as soft copies because

archiving and retrieving email communications is easy to do. From the CEO to the janitorial staff and even

temporary employees of the business can send and receive email communications.

Function

Although it cannot and should not replace all face-to-face communication and others forms of

communication, internal email usage can cover many areas within the business. Internal emails can function

as an effective communication for sharing basic information, such as new cafeteria prices, paper use

guidelines or security precautions, for example. Sending simple messages to an entire workforce with just

the click of a mouse is fast, easy, convenient and can save the company money. If saved, the email can

function as proof of a message sent or received, and is easily accessible to remind the recipient of pertinent

information. Many businesses use email as part of its marketing efforts to share information with prospects,

customers, vendors.

Format

Business emails should be concise and to the point. Use plain text and common fonts with a simple

signature line. Fancy graphics, fonts, and backgrounds can take up unnecessary storage space in the

recipient’s inbox and may load slowly, or not at all. Stick to one topic in a business email and write only the

things that are appropriate for anyone to read, as email forwarding makes it possible for originally

unintended parties to receive the email. Proper grammar and spelling is very important in business emails

because it reflects on you and your abilities. Attachments should be prepared in a format that any recipient

can easily access/download

Etiquette

Whether sending an internal or external email, the subject line should accurately represent the content of the

email. Use proper punctuation and capitalization, and use bold, italics and white space to make important

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information stand out from the rest of the content. Use a salutation to begin the email and only send to

individuals that readily need or request to receive information from your business. Business emails should

be brief, positive and professional.

Considerations

Using email in business communication is certainly less personal than face-to-face communication. It can

hinder social interaction and lead to less relationship building in the workplace. Misunderstandings are

commonplace in written communication simply because the recipient cannot read the writer’s tone and

expression, and therefore is left to interpretation. Consider that even though email can be quite informal, it is

also a permanent record and should be treated carefully.

Effects

Email has been revolutionary in the world of business communication because information is quickly passed

along with instantaneous efficiency and effectiveness. Employees are able to access information from a

computer, phone or PDA nearly anywhere, and so are the company’s current and potential customers. The

use of email within a business can greatly increase productivity for employees and can be a quick way to

increase sales as well. More companies are using email communications as part of the marketing mix to

communicate and interact with its target markets.

Short Message Service – SMS

Abbreviated as SMS, the transmission of short text messages to and from a mobile phone, fax machine

and/or IP address.

Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile

communication systems. It uses standardized communications protocols to allow fixed line ormobile

phone devices to exchange short text messages.[1]

SMS is the most widely used data application, with an estimated 3.5 billion active users, or about 80% of all

mobile phone subscribers at the end of 2010.[2]

The term "SMS" is used for all types of short text messaging

and the user activity itself in many parts of the world. SMS is also employed in direct marketing, known

as SMS marketing.[3]

SMS as used on modern handsets originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers using standardized

phone protocols. These were defined in 1985 as part of the Global System for Mobile

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Communications (GSM) series of standards[4]

as a means of sending messages of up to 160 characters[5][6]

to

and from GSM mobile handsets.[7]

Though most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages,

support for the service has expanded to include other mobile technologies, such as ANSI CDMA

networks and Digital AMPS, as well as satellite and landline

Making an effective presentation (PowerPoint presentations).

TIP DETAILS

Minimize the number of

slides.

To maintain a clear message and to keep your audience attentive and

interested, keep the number of slides in your presentation to a minimum.

Choose a font style that

your audience can read

from a distance.

Choosing the right font style, such as Helvetica or Arial, helps to get your

message across. Avoid narrow fonts, such as Arial Narrow, and avoid fonts

that include fancy edges, such as Times.

To learn more about how you can use pre-designed theme fonts in your

presentation, see All about themes, Quick Styles, cell styles, and background

styles.

Choose a font size that

your audience can read

from a distance.

Choosing the right font size helps to get your message across.

NOTE The following measurements indicate the size of a font on your

computer screen, not projected on a screen for your audience in full screen

mode. To enable full screen mode, on the View tab, in the Presentation

Views group, click Slide Show.

A one-inch letter is readable from 10 feet.

A two-inch letter is readable from 20 feet.

A three-inch letter is readable from 30 feet.

To learn more about how you can use pre-designed theme fonts in your

presentation, see All about themes, Quick Styles, cell styles, and background

styles.

Keep your text simple by

using bullet points or

Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each to one line; that is, without

text wrapping.

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short sentences. You want your audience to listen to you present your information, rather than

read the screen.

Some projectors crop slides at the edges, so long sentences may be cropped.

You can remove articles such as "a" and "the" to help reduce the word count

on a line.

Use art to help convey

your message.

Use graphics to help tell your story. Don't overwhelm your audience by

adding too many graphics to a slide, however.

Make labels for charts

and graphs

understandable.

Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or graph

comprehensible.

Make slide backgrounds

subtle and keep them

consistent.

Choose an appealing, consistent template or theme that is not too eye-

catching. You don't want the background or design to detract from your

message.

For more information about using themes, see Apply a theme to your

presentation.

Use high contrast

between background

color and text color.

Themes automatically set the contrast between a light background with dark

colored text or dark background with light colored text.

To learn more about how you can use themes to automatically set a visually

satisfying contrast level, see All about themes, Quick Styles, cell styles, and

background styles.

Check the spelling and

grammar.

To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always check the spelling

and grammar in your presentation.

Covering letters:

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter accompanies a CV (and/or completed application form). It's an opportunity to highlight what's

in your CV and to provide real examples to support your ability to do the job. Some recruiters place more

emphasis on the cover letter than the CV so it pays to take care with it.

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What should I write in a cover letter?

Unless you are asked to apply by letter of application only, a cover letter should be brief and drive home the

key aspects of why you are a good candidate. It should summarise what's in your CV, by emphasising your

key strengths in relation to the job.

A cover letter should include a heading to make it clear which job you're applying for and, following the

introductory paragraph, it can take the form of bullet points or short statements. It should also include your

own name, address and contact details. For more information, see our example of a cover letter.

How do I start and end a cover letter?

Make it clear which job you're referring to by using a heading and an opening line such as, 'In response to

your advertisement on the Prospects website for the role of XXXXXX, I write to enclose my CV'.

If you're given a named person you should address the letter to that person and begin the letter, Dear Ms

Jones, and end with Yours sincerely, Justin Smith. If you don't know the name of the person, but have a job

title, such as the HR manager, you should address the letter to the HR manager, and include Dear Sir or

Madam, and end with Yours faithfully, Justin Smith. A cover letter should always end positively and look

ahead to the next stage, for example, 'I would be happy to provide further information at interview' or 'I look

forward to hearing from you'.

How do I write a cover letter for a job that's not advertised?

This kind of letter is sometimes referred to as a 'speculative letter'. This means that you're writing to find out

if there are likely to be any vacancies in the future. Your speculative letter should be welcoming and

enthusiastic.

It's more difficult to write a speculative letter because you're not responding to a specific vacancy but, with

some research about the company, you can find out about previous job advertisements and angle your letter

accordingly.

If you've undertaken work experience at the company, you can draw on your knowledge of that

Quotation letter:

Dear Sir,

Further to your recent enquiry i am able to quote for the work/service you have specified as follows:

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Goods/service - 100.00

Installation - 25.00

Delivery - 10.00

If you are interested in taking this further please contact us so that we can raise the necessary order

processing documentation. This quotation remains valid for the next 30 days.

Yours faithfully,

AN Other

Quotations Manager

Tenders and letters for shortfall in material:

A business tender is an offer, to provide certain goods or perform a certain job for a specific price and is

usually written in response to bids on a project. When writing one, you need to be clear about the products

or services your company provides. More importantly, you need to ensure you understand what exactly the

project and the client require. Then, you need to determine if the project you hope to secure will be a money

maker or not. Then you can now design your tender, demonstrating how your company can fulfil the

requirements. Lastly conclude by emphasizing your company’s past successes with other clients who

requested similar services. Place the sales pitch at the end.

Sample Form of Tender

Form of Tender

To : [Institution]

[address]

[Date]

Dear [insert Sir/Madam or name]

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Tender Ref: [insert internal reference number]

Tender for [insert short description of requirement and, if appropriate, relevant time period]

1. I/We have read the information provided in your Invitation to Tender and subject to and upon the terms

and conditions contained in [Document reference] - Contract Documents, I/We offer to supply the

[requirement] described in the contract documents in such manner as may be required.

2. Terms and Conditions. I/We agree that this tender and any contract which may result, shall be based

upon the documents listed below, and that the Buyer is the [give the legal entity of your institution (eg the

University Senate/Court of the institution)].

2.1 The contract documents as shown in the Invitation to Tender.

2.2 The prices to be inserted in the Contract shall be those shown in [document name] of our tender; or, if

the Institution selects an alternative proposal from [document name], then the prices shown in [document

name] pertaining to that proposal.

3. In [document name] - Alternative Proposals, I/We include alternative proposals, together with costings,

which we feel might provide better value for money for the Institution than the required proposal. I/We do

not wish to submit alternative proposals in Appendix C - Alternative Proposals *

* Delete as appropriate

4. The prices quoted in this Tender are valid until [state date given in section 2.3 of Conditions of tender

submission] and I/We confirm that the terms of the Tender will remain binding upon me/us and may be

accepted by you at any time before that date.

5. I/We note that the contract shall be valid upon acceptance and signature by both parties of the Contract

Documents.

6. Law. I/We agree that the construction, validity, performance and execution of any contract that may result

from this tender shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with English [Welsh/Scots /Northern

Ireland] Law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales [Scotland

/Northern Ireland].*

* Delete as appropriate

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7. I/We agree to bear all cost incurred by me/us in connection with the preparation and submission of this

Tender and to bear any further costs incurred by me/us prior to the award of any contract.

8. I/We agree that any other terms or conditions of contract or any general reservation which may be printed

on any correspondence emanating from me/us in connection with this tender or with any contract resulting

from this tender, shall not be applicable to this tender or to the contract.

Dated this ___________________ day of _________________________

Signed _____________________________________ in the capacity of

________________________________________________________________

duly authorised to sign Tenders for and on behalf of

_____________________________________________________________

IN BLOCK CAPITALS

Registered Address :

letters for shortfall in material:

This is a sample Letter Complaining of Short Supply of Goods.

National Limited

191 / N - Patricia Avenue

Liverpool – 600 020

Phone : 0011 - XXXXXXXX

Fax : 0011 - XXXXXXXX

Your ref : VGT / 0091

Our Ref : SAL / 6 / 1425

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6 March - 19XX

To :

Mr. Raymond Lim,

Sales Manager,

Relish Food Industries Sdn Bhd,

889 Jalan Lazat,

68000 Ampang.

Dear Mr. Lim,

RE : SHORT SUPPLY OF GOODS

We received your supply of assorted goods yesterday. As usual, we checked the goods against the invoice

(No. 7389) and we found that one item does not tally with the invoice.

Item 3 says that you have supplied 20 dozen KOMO SNACK PACKETS, but my store assistant found only

10 dozen. Could you send us the balance of 10 dozen or give us a C/N?

Thank you.

Chin Ah Seng

Proprietor

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Letter to Breakages:

If you receive a parcel that contains damaged goods, the seller is responsible for replacing them and for

covering the cost of return postage.

[Your address]

[Company/ supplier address]

Dear

[Reference: contract number]

On [date] I [bought/placed an order for] a [item], and this was delivered to me on [date]. I have

discovered that the [item] has the following damage: [add details].

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 makes it an implied term of the contract that goods I receive must be of

satisfactory quality and for the reasons stated above they are not. As you are in breach of contract I am

entitled to [a refund / have the item repaired/ have the item replaced] and I would request that you

confirm by [dd/mm/yy] [set a reasonable deadline appropriate to the specific situation] that you will do

this.

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I also require you to confirm whether you will arrange for the [item] to be collected or that you wish me to

return this and that you will reimburse me for the cost of returning the [item] and arranging adequate

insurance.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

late order dispatching: How to Write Complaint Letters Regarding Delay in Delivery of Goods?

Dear Sirs,

Reference to our order no. ____________ of ____________ (Date) for ____________ meter. of

____________ (Item Name) which has not been received by us till date. We had very much pressed for an

urgent delivery as an export order is pending with us but it seems our many requests have had no influence

on your tardy working. We shall be glad to know when we may expect delivery. This delay on your part is

causing us considerable embarrassment. Please intimate us on the phone the status of your delivery schedule

as soon as you receive this letter. We may be forced to cancel the order and buy the required cloth from the

local market if you fail to reply and cause any more delay.

It is now up to you to salvage our belied expectations.

Yours faithfully,

(Your Name)

Reply to above

Dear Sirs,

We very much regret the delay and want to assure you that we have done our utmost to expedite the delivery

in spite of the recent strike in our factory. We are sorry to have kept you waiting. We are aware of your

urgent need and that’s why we have set aside many other orders. This season the demand for our linen has

been unprecedentedly high. We trust this will convince you of our sincerity towards our customers. This is

for the first time that we have been unable to execute your orders within the stipulated period.

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We have already dispatched the goods today. In the meanwhile we want to assure you once again of our best

cooperation, always.

Yours faithfully,

(Your Name)

What is a dunning letter?

An informal term for letter of collection

A dunning letter can also be called a letter of collection. It is a notice from creditors demanding payment of

debt by a debtor.

A dunning letter is a notification sent to a customer, stating that the customer is overdue in paying an

account receivable to the sender. Dunning letters typically follow a progression from polite reminders to

more strident demands for payment, if the customer continues to be non-responsive in paying. The first few

letters that are sent to a customer should be polite, on the theory that the customer has simply overlooked

payment, and the company wants to retain its goodwill for future business.

However, as more time passes, the company begins to change its assumption of doing further business with

the customer, and so tends to downplay the amount of customer goodwill that it wants to retain in favor of

being paid now. Irrespective of the tone of the letter, it always states the amount due, the date of the unpaid

invoice, the number of the invoice, and any late payment fines or interest penalties.

At some point following the normal payment date, the effectiveness of issuing dunning letters will decline,

so that a company discontinues their use and relies upon personal contacts, attorneys, and collection

agencies instead.

A dunning letter can take a variety of physical forms. It was originally a letter that might be sent by regular

mail, registered mail, or overnight delivery in order to convey the increasing urgency of the request, as well

as to create a record of receipt (in the case of registered mail or overnight delivery). However, a dunning

letter can also be sent as a fax, e-mail, or even a text message. These electronic delivery methods can go

astray (especially a fax), and may not be as effective as the more traditional paper-based method.

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Dunning letters are frequently generated by a computer, with no human input at all. The system is

configured to use a particular text if payment has not been made within a certain number of days, and to then

use a different text for letters generated after a longer time period has passed without payment.

The credit department staff may periodically change the timing or content of these automatically-generated

letters, if they feel that some variation will improve the rate of collection. This can be accomplished with A-

B testing, where two versions of a dunning letter are issued, and the effectiveness of each one monitored; if

one version results in more customer payments, that version becomes the new default letter format to be

used.

There are rules governing the level of threat that can be included in a dunning letter, depending upon the

government jurisdiction in which the customer resides, so you need to avoid excessively strident dunning

letters.

A dunning letter is not the same as a month-end statement. A statement is sent to all customers having

unpaid invoices at the end of the month. The statement includes all invoices that have not yet been paid,

even if they are not yet due for payment. The statement is not considered to be harassment, but rather a

simple statement of account as of a point in time. However, it is still considered a collection tool, since it

may result in customer inquiries about invoices that they do not have in their records, and which they

therefore would not have paid.

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Report Writing:

Qualities of well-written reports:

Virtually all people will have to write a report at some point in their education or career, whether it's a

research report, a sales report, a yearly progress report or another kind. Regardless of the type of report

you’re writing, there are several qualities common to all reports that are essential to its success.

Clear Purpose

The purpose of your report must be clear from the opening paragraph. Stating the report's goal clearly and

succinctly lets your reader know why you have written the report and what kind of information they can

expect to find within it. It also gives the writer a road map to follow when researching and creating the

report, keeping the information on track and relevant to the subject.

Logical Flow

It is crucial that your report flows logically through its subject matter. Good organization allows the reader

to move through the information in a way that feels natural and progressive. You do not want your readers to

feel as if they are ―jumping around‖ from topic to topic. Depending on the type of report you’re writing,

some good organizational options include chronological order, cause and effect, comparison and general to

specific ordering.

Thorough Research

A good report covers all relevant areas of its topic using accurate information from trustworthy sources.

Include as much pertinent information as possible within the guidelines of your assignment and the confines

of your thesis. Always double-check facts before including them in your report -- look for the same piece of

information in more than one reliable source. Use caution when including Internet sources, as content can be

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added and modified with little accountability. Look for hallmarks of authorial credibility such as association

with professional organizations, academic degrees or demonstrated expertise in the subject.

Clear Attribution

Most reports, whether in academia or the corporate world, use information that did not originate with the

report writer. This includes elements like quotes, statistics and definitions as well as broader information on

the topic. It is imperative that all non-original information be clearly attributed to its source to avoid

accusations of plagiarism and to lend credibility to the information. There are several ways to cite sources in

a report, including in-text citation, footnotes and endnotes. Make sure to consult any formatting guidelines

for the report, as some citation styles require specific information and formatting

1. It should be factual: Every report should be based on facts, verified information and valid proofs.

2. Clear and Easily understandable: Explained below

3. Free from errors and duplication

4. Should facilitate the decision makers in making the right decision:

5. Result focused and result oriented

6. Well organized and structured

7. Ethical reporting style

Reader-Friendly

Readers are various stakeholders who receive reports generated by M&E. If reports are reader-friendly, they

are likely to be read, remembered and acted upon. Following decisions need to be made by CSOs to make

their reports reader-friendly:

What do they need to know?

When do they need to know?

How do they like to know?

Easy, Simple Language

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M&E reports are meant to inform not impress. Using easy, simple language, be it Urdu or English makes the

report friendly on reader. To do this, here are some useful tips:

Write only what is necessary

Avoid repetition and redundancy

Give interesting and relevant information

Avoid preaching or lecturing

Compose short and correct sentences

Purposeful Presentation

Each report has some objective(s) to meet. The ―objective‖ comes from analyzing the needs of the reader. A

CSO is working for a project that has several donors, and is channeled through an agency that needs to be

informed about some specific things going on in the field. CSOs reports are the main pathways or channels

of information to the people who decide to fund this and other such projects. Similarly, field reports are the

amin vehicles for the management of the CSOs to make decision regarding the project itself. A good report

presents facts and arguments in a manner that supports the purpose of the report.

Organized and Well-Structured

Each CSO comes up with a format of internal reporting to suit its requirements. Reporting to donors is done

on their prescribed formats. The M&E system should be able to generate information that can be organized

using different formats. In the annex, this manual provides some useful formats that can be customized by a

CSO.

Result-Focused

In general, all readers are interested in the RESULTS. Therefore, one over-riding principle that CSOs should

aim for in all report writing is to report on the results of their activities. This requires some analysis on their

part that goes beyond a mere description of their activities.

Result-focused means that description of activities is liked with the project objectives. This aspect must be

addressed especially in the project progress reports. According to Phil Bartle, ―A good progress report is not

merely a descriptive activity report, but must analyze the results of those reported activities. The analysis

should answer the question, "How far have the project objectives been reached?"

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Timely Prepared and Dispatched

M&E generate ―Information Products‖, a customized set of information according to needs to a defined

group of users. M&E’s information products are time-bound for both internal and external stakeholders.

Reports, in suitable formats, need to be timely produced and made available to the readers. It is useful to

develop an Information Product Matrix (IPM) like the one described below:

Straightforward

A good report is straight forward, honest description. It contains no lies, no deception, no fluff. It is neat,

readable and to-the-point. It is well spaced, has titles and subtitles and is free of language errors

Types of reports:

Report: A document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and

purpose.

Types of reports include memos, minutes, lab reports, book reports, progress reports, justification reports,

compliance reports, annual reports, and policies and procedures.

There are broadly two types of reports Short Report and Long Report.

Short report contents

Title page

Introduction

Discussion

Recommendations

References

Short formal reports have more in common with long reports than they do with informal reports. A short

formal report, in fact, becomes a long report at about ten pages. In addition to this difference in length,

short formal reports differ from long reports in that they contain fewer of the formal report parts.

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Formal short reports are almost always the result of special assignments covering specific problems.

They are also more important than informal reports, which tend to be routine parts of a job. They are

read by more people with greater care over a longer time. Because they play such an important role in

the decision-making process, short formal reports have a physical appearance that corresponds with the

serious nature of the report itself.

Formal short reports include the following parts:

1. A title page, containing the title of the report, the name and professional title of the person for whom it

was prepared, the name and professional title of the person who prepared the report, and the date the report

was completed.

2. A letter of transmittal, including the date and reasons the report was assigned, and a brief summary of the

important findings and recommendations.

3. Necessary references, tables, and charts inserted within the text itself.

Even though the appearance of the report is formal, the language you use should remain natural and

conversational. Use active voice and a personal style, for example:

NOT: It was determined that . . .BUT: I determined . . .

BUT: I determined…

NOT: In undertaking this project, the writer . . .BUT: In beginning this project, I . . .

BUT: In beginning this project, I …

Long Reports can be specific topic related reports like Engineering report, Science report, Business

report, Research report,

Business reports are used to communicate past work while proposals are used to pitch ideas or future plans.

No matter the subject, the content of business reports should be complete, properly documented, objective,

written clearly and error-free. Ensuring that the document matches the assigned requirements and careful

proofreading can save a report writer time, money and frustration.

Annual Reports

Annual reports are one of the better known types of business communications. Public companies are

required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to draft and distribute an annual report with financial

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information to stakeholders. Privately held companies or associations may also issue an annual report to

employees, stakeholder groups or volunteer boards of directors. In addition to financial information, these

reports include an overview of the past year, including new products released, milestones achieved or

communication campaigns launched.

Project Reports

A project report updates management, team members or a client on the status of an assignment or

undertaking. Reports may be assigned at regular intervals or conducted by request. Effect report writing

requires the author to strike an appropriate balance of "need to know" information with supporting detail.

For example, a report on the development of a new website intended for the CEO should be organized with

the main points first combined with any calls or requests for action. Including every single detail covering

all twists and turns of the project will frustrate the reader and may cause him to question the thinking behind

the project.

Research Reports

Company leadership may ask for a research report from a department or outside firm before embarking on a

new venture or to evaluate the effectiveness of programs or products. A research report includes an abstract

that summarizes the problem researched and its solutions, a summary of the method used during the

research, the results of the research and a conclusion or discussion section that outlines recommendations.

The size of the report will depend on the complexity of the research project.

Statutory or Required Reports

Statutory reports detail a company's compliance with federal, state or local laws. Although filed with a

governing agency, some statutory reports may be available to the public. Types of reports required will

depend on the size and type of company and its location. Types of statutory reports include how a company

is meeting mandated accounting, human resource, health or environmental laws.

Long reports are not as common in business today as they on were. Most companies prefer that information

be condensed into as few words as possible. But every now and then a company will encounter a problem

sufficiently complex to require a lengthy report. Long reports are always presented in a formal way, and

they are almost always analytical, containing conclusions and recommendations.

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Because long reports deal with complex data and contain more information than short reports, they

include additional parts to help the reader deal with the large amount of information.

Analytical memorandum reports:

The word ―analysis‖ is actually very simple in meaning. It means to break something into its component

parts, to see how it is put together. Still, for many students, it is a mystery word, a process that is something

like an old-fashioned hamburger grinder. You put the meat in one end, and it comes out all chopped up on

the other end. What happens in between the ends can sometimes seem mysterious, especially if a student is

trying to get a handle on just what it is.

Analytical reports call on you to answer questions, to ask why something happens, which product is the best,

or is an idea good. Analytical reports call for research, interpretation and recommendation. And when you

work within particular professional contexts, analysis often means very specific things involving your

particular skill set and expertise.

If you are writing a professional analysis from within your profession, you will very likely be called upon to

apply a particular methodology to conduct your analysis. That, for you, is your meat grinder. A civil

engineer is called on to analyze a situation to properly ventilate a room containing chemical fumes. Federal

standards require the room air to change completely X number of times in an hour for the workers who must

work in the room. The civil engineer uses certain professional skills to analyze the room dimensions, fan

capacity, possible sites for fan placement, etc. Those are the parts that the problem is broken down into

according to the expertise of that field.

More than any other type of technical writing, analytical reports call on you to use critical thinking skills.

They require you to analyze a problem, to analyze the work that has been done before on that problem, and

to recommend a solution. Analytical reports also call for self-criticism and objectivity on your part to come

to the best possible solution.

They also require a frame of reference, if not a full-blown professional research methodology based in a

discipline. It is difficult to conduct an analysis without expertise in something. On the other hand, many

people have expertise they didn’t know they had. A group of first year students in a laptop computer pilot

program were called on to analyze and write a report evaluating the program. They argued that they were

only first year students and knew nothing about the program. But they were indeed experts. They had used

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their laptops and participated in the program for an entire year. They were the people most suited to conduct

the analysis of the program.

Analytical Reports in Memo Form

Feasibility Reports

o Used when decision makers need to assess whether an idea or plan or course of action is

realistic and practical

Is this course of action likely to succeed?

What are the assessment criteria (e.g. cost, safety, productivity)?

Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks or risks?

What are the pros and cons?

What alternatives do we have?

Can we get the funding?

Should we do anything at all? Should we wait?

Recommendation Reports

o Interpret data, draw conclusion, and recommend a convincing and realistic course of action

Justification Reports

o Recognizes a problem and comes up with a solution

Answers the question: "Why should we?"

• Informational Reports in Memo Form

Progress Reports

o Used to track activities, evaluate an project

o Often performed in a series

How much has been accomplished?

Is the project on schedule?

If not, what went wrong?

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How was the problem corrected?

How long will it take to get back on schedule?

What else needs to be done?

What is the next step?

Any unexpected developments?

When do you anticipate completion of the next phase?

Periodic Activity Reports

Similar to progress reports in that they summarize activities over time, but PARs summarize general

activities over a given period of time

• Informational Versus Analytical Reports

The reports that offer data,facts, feedback and other types of information without analysis or

recommendationsExplanation,Informational Reports provide the information about that

employees,managers and others that needs in order to make decisions and take action.

Informational reports provide information, while analytical reports go a step beyond by interpreting the

information

Informational memorandum reports search out and make known to the reader data and evidence. Those

reports clarify; they try to omit a recommendation. An analytical memorandum report, now to be discussed,

seeks to analyze a situation or problem- it may end with or without a specific recommendation. Our

following detailed discussion suggests a step-by-step analysis of a personnel situation, ending with a

conclusion without a recommendation

II. Informational Memorandum Reports

A. Conference Reports

B. Progress Reports

C. Periodic Reports

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Documents in Hard-Copy Versus Digital Format

Even as more and more types of communications go "paperless," hard-copy text is unlikely to

disappear soon

• Formal Versus Informal Reports

While short reports require no extended planning and contain little background information, they do

concisely provide the information and analysis that readers need. Short reports most often take the

form of a memorandum.

• Purpose of Memo Reports

Report ideas and facts to decision makers

A major form of internal communication

Leave a paper (or electronic) trail

• Elements of a Usable Memo

Easy to scan, file, retrieve

Header identifies sender, recipient, subject, and date

• Interpersonal Considerations in Writing a Memo

What are we doing right, and how can we do it better?

What are we doing wrong, and how can we improve

Who’s doing what, and when, and where?

• Survey Reports Used to examine conditions that affect an organization

Meeting Minutes

Report what happened during a meeting

Copies are circulated to all members and interested parties

o What group held the meeting? When, where, and why?

o Who chaired the meeting? Who else was present?

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o Where the minutes of the last meeting approved (or disproved)?

o Who said what?

o Was anything resolved?

o Who made which motions and what was the vote?

• Electronic Mail

Email benefits

o Lack of real-time constraints

o Efficient filing, retrieval, and forwarding

o Attachments

o Can be democratic

o Can foster creative thinking

o Excellent tool for collaboration

Email copyright issues

o Any email message you receive is copyrighted by the person who generated it

Email privacy issues

o Email is public—anything you send to anyone can potentially be read by anyone

o There are no privacy laws regarding email

o Everyone on a group list may receive a message automatically whether you intended that or

not

o Even when deleted from the system, email may still exist in backup files

o Anyone with access to your network password can read your documents

o Forwarding a message without the original sender’s concept violates her or his privacy

• Instant Messaging

allows text-based communication in real time

not useful for any type of communication that requires planning

• Corporate Blogs and Wikis

Internal blogs

o anyone in the network can either post a message or comment on other messages

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o especially useful for rapid sharing of information

o enhances workflow and moral

Wiki

o type of blog in which users can not only comment on earlier posting, but can edit them as

well

o excellent tool for collaboration

External blogs

o facilitate customer feedback, and enhance marketing and public relations

RSS Feeds

o Rich Site Summary

o a retrieval program that monitors selected sites, identifies the information most relevant to the

individual subscriber, and delivers (usually via email) a list of pertinent links