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Business Communication: Building Critical Skills
Kitty O. Locker, Ohio State University
Steven Kyo Kaczmarek, Columbus State Community College
Kathryn Braun, Sheridan College
Short Reports

E-Learning Session

  1. What are the basic strategies for organizing information? Try one of these seven principles.
    1. Seven patterns for organizing information:
      • General to particular or particular to general.
      • Comparison/contrast.
      • Problem-solution.
      • Elimination of alternatives.
      • Geographic or spatial.
      • Functional.
      • Chronological.
  2. How do I decide what organizational pattern to use? Work with the readers' expectations.
    1. Use these patterns for informative and feasibility reports. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
    2. Use these patterns for justification and recommendation reports. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
      • CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Reports use essentially the same pattern of organization, regardless of their purpose. CONCEPT CHECK
  3. Should I use the same style for reports as for other business documents? Yes, with three exceptions.
    1. Use all of the advice in Modules 15 and 16, with some exceptions. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
    2. Use transitions. TRANSPARENCY MASTER
    3. Use headings. POWERPOINT SLIDE
      • Headings should be parallel.
      • Subheadings under the same heading should be parallel with each other but not necessarily to those in other document sections.
        1. CONCEPT CHECK True or False: Headings follow subheadings in documents; that is, they are subordinate to subheadings. CONCEPT CHECK
  4. Go to the Self-Quizzes section if you would like to test your understanding of this module.




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