Chapter 21 Informal Reports

1. Chapter 21Informal Reports

2. Informal Reports • Are routine documents inside all workplaces • Often replace memos, letters, and emails • May function as a piece of a longer document • Inform specific audiences and solve problems • Take many forms to address different workplace and rhetorical situations

3. Types of Informal Reports • Progress reports • Lab reports • Directives • Incident reports

4. Progress Reports • Update audiences on an ongoing project • Detail where a project is in relation to its overall goals and objectives • Are written during various stages of a project • Are attentive to the project's time-frame

5. Lab Reports • Document the procedures, methods, and results of an experiment and explain their significance • Demonstrate the writer’s understanding of the data and the underlying concepts & principles • Usually cover a great deal of information for their readers, explaining purposes, results, problems, and recommendations

6. Components of Lab Reports • Title page • Abstract • Introduction that states objectives • Materials • Procedures followed during the experiment • Results and discussion of those results • Conclusions • References, if any • Appendices that provide raw data

7. Directives • Apprise audiences of policies or procedures that they should know and follow • Explain where new policies came from, their specifics, and how readers should comply • Often grouping information under separate headings, for clarity

8. Incident Reports • Document events in the workplace such as accidents, emergencies, and problems • Explain to readers what caused the incident and how the incident is being handled • May also serve as a kind of warning

9. Elements of Informal Reports • Introduction • Announces the project, explains the role of the writer, and identifies the purpose • Body • Provides details, often organized in subsections • Conclusion • Reviews pertinent information and asks the audience to take action

10. Composing Informal Reports • As writers consider the Problem-Solving Approach, these concerns are crucial: • Audience needs • Purpose • Type of report • Tone and style • Layout and design principles • Revisions and transmission

11. Ethical Issues • Ethical reports must disclose everything the audience needs to know about a project, experiment, situation, or problem. • Ethical reports must accurately record and report results and correctly explain problems.