Communications - Chapter 11

Question 1

What are 3 purposes of reports?

Answer 1

1. Convey information
2. Solve problems
3. Answer questionsWht

Question 2

What are 2 report functions and types?

Answer 2

1. Informational reports

2. Analytical reports

Question 3

What are 2 organizational strategies?

Answer 3

1. Direct strategy

2. Indirect strategy

Question 4

What are 2 writing styles?

Answer 4

1. Formal

2. Informal

Question 5

What 5 report formats?

Answer 5

1. Letter
2. Memo (often with email cover note)
3. Manuscript
4. Preprinted forms
5. Digital

Question 6

What are 3 truths you should know about reports? (Part 1)

Answer 6

1. Everyone writes reports
2. Most reports flow upwards
3. Most business reports are informal

Question 7

What are 3 truths you should know about reports? (Part 2)

Answer 7

4. Memos, letter, manuscript format
5. Reports differ from memos and letters
6. Today’s reports take advantage of computer technologies

Question 8

What are 4 truths you should know about reports? (Part 3)

Answer 8

7. Many reports are joint efforts
8. Ethical report writers interpret facts fairly
9. Writers impose organization on data
10. The writer is the reader’s servant

Question 9

When do you use direct pattern?

Answer 9

1. If readers are informed
2. If readers are supportive
3. If readers are eager to have results first

Question 10

When do you use indirect pattern?

Answer 10

1. If readers to be educated
2. If readers need to be persuaded
3. If readers may be disappointed or hostile

Question 11

What are 7 tips for letter reports?

Answer 11

1. Use letter format for short informal reports sent to outsiders
2. Organize the facts section into logical divisions identified by consistent headings
3. Single space the body
4. Double space between paragraphs
5. Leave 2 blank lines above each heading
6. Create side margins of 1 to 1 1/4 inches
7. Add a second page heading if necessary consisting of addressee’s name, the date, and the page number

Question 12

What are 5 tips for analytical report - memo format?

Answer 12

1. Use memo format for short (10 or fewer pages) informal reports within an org
2. Create side margins of 1 to 1 1/4 inches
3. Sign your initials on the From line
4. Use an informal conversational style
5. Put recommendations first for direct analytical reports and last for indirect analytical reports

Question 13

What are 5 elements of a a work plan for a formal report?

Answer 13

1. Statement of problem
2. Statement of the purpose, including scope, limitations, and significance
3. Research strategy, including a description of potential scores, and methods of collecting data.
4. Tentative outline that factors the problem into manageable chunks
5. Work schedule

Question 14

What are 2 print secondary sources?

Answer 14

Print resources:

1. Books – card catalog, online catalog
2. Periodicals – print indexes, electronic indexes

Question 15

What are 4 electronic database secondary sources?

Answer 15

Electronic databases:

1. LexisNexis Academic
2. ABI/INFORM
3. Factiva
4. EBSCO

Question 16

What are 3 primary sources?

Answer 16

1. Surveys (for example, low-cost Web survey software, such as SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang)
2. Interviews
3. Observation and experimentation

Question 17

What are 5 tips for searching the web?

Answer 17

1. Use two or three search tools.
2. Know your search tool.
3. Understand case sensitivity.
4. Use nouns as search terms and up to eight words in a query.
5. Combine keywords into phrases.

Question 18

When evaluating web sources for currency what do you check?

Answer 18

Date of Web page?
When last updated?
Anything out of date?

Question 19

When evaluating web sources for authority, what do you ask?

Answer 19

Who publishes or sponsors the page?
What makes the presenter an authority?
Is contact address available?

Question 20

When evaluating web sources for content, what do you ask?

Answer 20

Is the purpose of the page to entertain, inform, convince, or sell?
Who is the intended audience?
How does the content compare with content elsewhere?

Question 21

When evaluating web sources for accuracy, what do you ask?

Answer 21

Do the facts seem reliable?
Errors in spelling, grammar, usage?
Evidence of bias?

Question 22

When do you have to give credit to avoid plagiarism?

Answer 22

1. Another person’s ideas, opinions, examples, or theory
2. Any facts, statistics, charts, and drawings that are not common knowledge
3. Another person’s exact spoken or written words
4. Paraphrases of another person’s spoken or written words

Question 23

What are 4 steps to paraphrase?

Answer 23

1. Read the original material intently to comprehend its full meaning.
2. Write your own version without looking at the original.
3. Avoid repeating the grammatical structure of the original and merely replacing words with synonyms.
4. Reread the original to be sure you covered the main points but did not borrow specific language.

Question 24

How do you cite with MLA?

Answer 24

1. Author’s name and page (Smith 100) placed in text

2. Complete references in Works Cited

Question 25

How do you cite with APA?

Answer 25

1. Author’s name, date of publication, and page number placed near the text reference (Jones, 2011, p. 99) 2. Complete references listed at the end of the report in References

Question 26

What are the 4 functions of graphics visual aids?

Answer 26

1. Clarify data 2. Create visual interest 3. Condense and simplify data 4. Make numerical data meaningful

Question 27

When to use a table?

Answer 27

to show exact figures and values

Question 28

When to use a bar chart?

Answer 28

to compare related items

Question 29

When to use a line chart?

Answer 29

to demonstrate changes in quantitative data over time

Question 30

When to use a pie chart?

Answer 30

to visualize a whole unit and the proportion of its components

Question 31

When to use a flow chart?

Answer 31

to display a process or procedure

Question 32

When to use an organization chart?

Answer 32

to define a hierarchy of elements

Question 33

When to use Photograph, map, or illustration ?

Answer 33

to create authenticity, to spotlight a location, and to show an item in use