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Introduction

Report writing is a time consuming business so it is a great shame if, having devoted all that time to writing your report, the quality is such that hardly anyone can be bothered to read it. Quite frankly, most report readers do not actually read all the report; they are too short of time. You might as well know it and accept it -- that is normal. They only read the parts that interest them. Frequently these are the summary, the conclusions and recommendations.

Of course, some readers do need all the details you so carefully included, they are specialists, but most do not. Most readers just need two things: that the information they want is where they expect it to be so they can find it, and that it is written clearly so that they can understand it.

It is similar to reading a newspaper. You expect the news headlines to be on the front page; the sports coverage to be at the back; the TV listings on page whatever and the editorial comment in the middle. If what you want is not in its usual place then you have to hunt for it and you may get irritated. So it is with a report.

There is a convention as to what goes where. Stick with the convention and please your readers. Break the convention and people may get slightly irritated and bin your report.

So what is that convention, the standard format?

Standard Sections

Title Section. In a short report this may simply be the front cover. In a long one it could also include Terms of Reference, Table of Contents and so on.

Summary. Give a clear and very concise account of the main points, main conclusions and main recommendations. Keep it very short, a few percent of the total length. Some people, especially senior managers, may not read anything else so write as if it were a stand-alone document. It isnt but for some people it might as well be. Keep it brief and free from jargon so that anyone can understand it and get the main points. Write it last, but do not copy and paste from the report itself; that rarely works well.

Introduction. This is the first part of the report proper. Use it to paint the background to the problem and to show the reader why the report is important to them. Give your terms of reference (if not in the Title Section) and explain how the details that follow are arranged. Write it in plain English.

Main Body. This is the heart of your report, the facts. It will probably have several sections or sub-sections each with its own subtitle. It is unique to your report and will describe what you discovered about the problem.

These sections are most likely to be read by experts so you can use some appropriate jargon but explain it as you introduce it. Arrange the information logically, normally putting things in order of priority -- most important first. In fact, follow that advice in every section of your report.

You may choose to include a Discussion in which you explain the significance of your findings.

Conclusions. Present the logical conclusions of your investigation of the problem. Bring it all together and maybe offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section. Write it in plain English. If you have included a discussion then this section may be quite short.

Recommendations. What do you suggest should be done? Dont be shy; you did the work so state your recommendations in order of priority, and in plain English.

Appendices. Put the heavy details here, the information that only specialists are likely to want to see. As a guide, if some detail is essential to your argument then include it in the main body, if it merely supports the argument then it could go in an appendix.

Conclusions and Recommendations

In conclusion, remember that readers expect certain information to be in certain places. They do not expect to hunt for what they want and the harder you make it for them the more likely they are to toss you report to one side and ignore it. So what should you do?

1. Follow the generally accepted format for a report: Summary, Introduction, Main Body, Conclusions, Recommendations and Appendices. 2. Organise your information in each section in a logical fashion with the reader in mind, usually putting things in order of priority most important first.

Good luck with your report writing!

Author: Tony Atherton Tony Atherton 2005)

About the author: Tony Atherton is a freelance trainer and writer based in England. He has had four books published and about 90 of his articles have appeared in various magazines and journals. After an earlier career in industry he now runs in-company training courses in business writing, report writing (including technical reports) and taking minutes, as well as negotiation skills and time management. Over 6000 delegates have attended his courses. See http://www.tony-atherton.co.uk/reportwriting.htm for details of report writing courses, or see http://www.tony-atherton.co.uk for general information.

# posted by ujx @ 11:19 AM 0 comments

Your best friend is getting married and you are the maid (matron) of honor. What an honor that is! The only problem is that you are not sure how to plan the bachelorette party. Listed are a few games that are guaranteed fun! Please start the bachelorette party at home so your guests feel more comfortable and can get acquainted. If you decide totake the party out on the town later, you can reflect back on the fun activities from earlier in the evening!

Guess The Nuts

1 sturdy wooden hanger,
1 small salami or pepperoni,
1 pair men's cotton y-front underwear,
large safety pins,
whole walnuts,
needle and thread

Sew the leg holes and y-front of the underwear closed. Pin them on the wooden hanger using the safety pins. Fill the underwear with the walnuts making sure to count how many you put in. Place a small salami or pepperoni down the front of the underwear. When the guests arrive have them guess how many nuts are in the underwear. Encourage the players to feel the nuts! Leave the nut filled underwear hanging up for the remainder of the party, as it makes a great party decoration! The closest guess below the actual number, wins! The sausage and walnuts can be eaten at a later date!

Tape the Shape on Her Man

1 posterboard,
multi colored construction paper, scissors, clear tape, markers, 1 blindfold,
1 enlarged picture of the grooms head

On the posterboard, draw a picture of a sexy man's body from the thigh area up to and including his neck, but leave out his male member. Tape the picture of the grooms head onto the neck. Try to make this proportional, but if it's not, sometimes it's even more funny! Tape the poster to the wall at waist level.

Hand each player a piece of construction paper and have her cut out a shape of a male member. Make sure she writes her name on the back. Blindfold the first player. Fold down the square end of her playing piece and attach a loop of tape to it.Put the other end in her mouth. Spin her around 3 times and have her get on her knees to crawl over to the poster. Have her press her mouth up against the poster until her playing piece sticks. She must not use her hands to feel the poster. The player who is closest to being anatomically correct, wins! This is the big girl version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey! Wear the game pieces as name tags later in the evening.

Cucumber Race

1 cucumber per player,
1 maraschino cherry per player,
2 cans whipped cream

Divide the players into 2 equal teams. Choose one person from each team to be a captain. Seat the two captains across the room with one cherry per player and a can of the whipped cream. Have the rest of the team line up on the other end of the room and give one cucumber to each player. To begin, the first players in each line place their cucumbers between their thighs so the cucumber is horizontal to the floor. Have the players race down to their captain. The captain places some whipped cream on the end of the cucumber and places the cherry in the whipped cream. The player races back to the starting line, balancing the cherry on the cucumber. Then it is the next players turn. Continue until each player has a turn. The first team finished, wins! If a player drops her cucumber or her cherry falls off, she must start over. This game promotes team spirit!

These games are so much fun and are a great way to get the party started in the right direction!

http://bachelorettepartyshop.com We have free games and ideas on the web site along with all types of products to purchase, to make her bachelorette party the most fun! We have veils and t-shirts, food and drink items, prepackaged games, decorations, gag gifts and more! We included some bachelor items also. Some of our items can be used for birthday parties, sorority parties and girls weekend away parties! Author of "How To Host a Hilariously Fun Bachelorette Party!", Online ecommerce business for the past 7 years, 20 years experience

# posted by ujx @ 9:35 AM 0 comments