GROUP E Chapter 22

1. GROUP E Chapter 22 Rueben Beltrandelrio, Michael Durling, Lisa Hairston, Sarah McKinley and Eva Olivas

2. MICHAEL DURLING Basic Features of Activity Reports

3. BASIC FEATURES OF ACTIVITY REPORTS • Common Components: • Introduction • Summary of activities • Results of activities or research • Future activities or research • Incurred or future expenses • Graphics • Conclusion • Format not concrete; can/should be modified to suit needs of report

4. PRIMARY GOAL OF ACTIVITY REPORTS • To inform intended audience about: • What happened • What is currently occurring • What will occur in the future

5. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACTIVITY REPORTS • Progress Reports • Briefings and White Papers • Incident Reports • Laboratory Reports

6. PROGRESS REPORTS • Also called status reports • Purpose: to inform superiors or peers about progress or status of a project • Frequency: at regular intervals, ideally weekly, biweekly, or monthly • Common components: • Summary of finished activities • Discussion of current activities • Forecast of future activities

7. PROGRESS REPORT TEMPLATE Visual Example

8. BRIEFINGS AND WHITE PAPERS • Purpose: to inform management or clients about an important issue • Briefings: provided verbally • White Papers: provided in print • Both include: • Summary of the facts • Discussion of the importance of the facts • Forecast about the future • Should be straightforward and objective • Do not select a side or course of action

9. INCIDENT REPORTS • Description of event, usually an accident or unfortunate occurrence • Present facts objectively • Answers the following questions: • What occurred? • Why did it occur? • How was the situation handled? • How will problem be avoided in the future? • Example

10. LABORATORY REPORTS • Purpose: to describe experiments, tests, or inspections • Should include: • Summary of experiment (methods) • Presentation of results • Discussion of results

11. SARAH MCKINLEY Determining the Rhetorical Situation of an Activity Report

12. PLANNING AND RESEARCHING ACTIVITY REPORTS • Minimal planning and research • Keep activity journal/work log • Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, or PDAs • Keeps you on task • Saves time

13. ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION • Begin by asking: • Who? • What? • Where? • When? • Why? • How?

14. ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION • Think about the rhetorical situation to outline the activity report • Subject • Recent activities • Need-to-know information • Purpose • What happened and what will happen • State purpose directly in the introduction • Use action verbs

15. ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION • Think about the rhetorical situation to outline the activity report • Readers • Supervisors, clients, testimony • Compose report to suit every readers needs • Context of Use • Statements should reflect actions and results • Needs to be accurate

16. REUBEN BELTRANDELRIO Organizing and Drafting Activity Reports

17. ORGANIZING AND DRAFTING ACTIVITY REPORTS • Activity reports should be brief, i.e., should not be longer than one page • If you are spending more than one hour developing an activity report, you are spending too much time

18. WRITING THE INTRODUCTION • Stick to the facts Jack • A brief framework explaining the facts should be provided to the reader, i.e., concisely define your SUBJECT, PURPOSE, and MAIN POINT

19. WRITING THE BODY • Should include a “Summary of Activities”   • Summarize in chronological order the projects two to five major events since the last report • Be sure to highlight any advances or setbacks since the last activity report

20. WHAT ARE YOUR RESULTS? • List two to five significant results or outcomes of the project since the last report • Future activities or research • Tell the reader what you plan to do during the next work cycle

21. EXPENSES • You should be able to state the costs incurred over the previous week or month and if these costs are deviating from the projects budget

22. WRITING THE CONCLUSION • Again, be as brief as possible • Restate the main point • Restate the purpose • Restate your outlook for the project’s future

23. EVA OLIVAS Designing and Formatting Activity Reports

24. WHAT ARE ACTIVITY REPORTS? “Activity reports are used to objectively present ideas or information within a company”.

25. EXAMPLE OF AN ACTIVITY REPORT

26. DIFFERENT KINDS OF ACTIVITY REPORTS • Progress Reports: • Informs management about the progress or status of a project • Briefings and White Papers • Informs management or clients about an important issue • Incident Reports • Describe an event, or accident, and identify what corrective actions have been taken • Laboratory Reports • Describe experiments, tests, or inspections

27. HOW MIGHT THEY BE USED • Electrical Engineer • Scientist • Chemist • Technician

28. USING STYLE ACTIVITY REPORTS • Sentences: • Subject should be the “doer” of most sentences • Verb should express the action in most sentences • Paragraphs: • Topic sentence • Tone: • No sarcasm or humor • Professional tone • Negative information stated candidly with no apologies

29. REMEMBER, ACTIVITY REPORTS ARE MOSTLY INFORMATIVE, NOT OVERLY PERSUASIVE So try to keep them straightforward

30. USING DESIGN AND GRAPHICS • Also straightforward • Governed by a standard format • Company will specify format for activity reports • Visuals should be centered and placed after being mentioned • Label graphic and refer by number in the text • Oral presentation • Photos help audience visualize • Graphs show trends in the data

31. LISA HAIRSTON The Importance of Editing and Proofreading Activity Reports.

32. PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER • Basic features • Determining the rhetoric • Organized and draft • Strategy for style • Designing and formatting

33. WHY PROOF? • Informal • Disposable • Discarded • Buried

34. ETHOS AND ERRORS Reputation Reciprocity • Quality of Work • Professionalism • Dedication • Considerate • Respect • Management • Co-Workers • Team Work • Promotions

35. REVISING AND PROOFREADING Revising Proofreading • Subject • Purpose • Readers • Content • Carefully • Spell Check • Print Out • Send • Electronically • Physical

36. QUESTIONS? 2 minutes per answer.