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Reader-Friendly Reports: A No-nonsense Guide to Effective Writing for MBAs, Consultants, and Other Professionals

by Carter Daniel

January 2012

Beginner

224 pages

3h 50m

English

McGraw-Hill

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Recognizing the Difference between a Topic and a ThesisStating the Thesis in the First ParagraphConstructing Subheaded Segments
Failure to Be NeatFailure to Write GrammaticallyFailure to Write Appropriately and Effectively
The Nature of Grammar and DictionariesFourteen Sentence RulesTwelve Other Stylistic Considerations
Rule 1. Use a Comma with and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet to Separate Two Complete SentencesRule 2. Use a Comma to Separate a Long Introduction from the Rest of the SentenceRule 3. Use Commas to Separate Items in a SeriesRule 4. Use Commas—One Before and One After—to Separate an Interrupter from the Rest of the SentenceRule 4½. Use a Comma to Separate Elements That Could be Misunderstood If Read Together
The SemicolonThe Colon
The DashThe Hyphen
Problem 1. Doubled or Not-Doubled LettersProblem 2. Frequently Confused WordsProblem 3. The Uh ProblemProblem 4. The Silent-Letter ProblemProblem 5. The Suffix ProblemProblem 6. -ie and -ei
Whether to Use a GraphWhere to Put the GraphsHow to Draw GraphsWhich Kind of Graphs to Draw
Rule 1. If It’s Singular and Countable, Use a, an, or theRule 2. If It’s Plural, You Usually Don’t Use the
Step 1. AreaStep 2. TopicStep 3. Tentative Source ListStep 4. Working Source ListStep 5. NotesStep 6. ThesisStep 7. Skeleton PlanStep 8. Final PlanStep 9. Writing
Variety of SourcesAvailability of InformationMinimal Photocopying and PrintingBeing OrganizedWriting
Ideas and TermsPeopleCompaniesProducts or IndustriesCountries
Whether to FootnoteWhen to FootnoteHow to Footnote
Rule 1. Write as if You Were SpeakingRule 2. Identify the Purpose of the Letter as Close as Possible to the First SentenceRule 3. Don’t Give Any Information You Don’t Have ToRule 4. Do Give All the Information You Have ToRule 5. Be Absolutely Clear about What Response You Expect, or What Steps Are to Be Taken, and When, and by WhomRule 6. In E-mail, Have a Subject Line, and Be Sure It Says Something SpecificRule 7. Plan before You Start WritingRule 8. Proofread!!!Rule 9. Be Specific about DatesRule 10. Pause before You Send
Rule 1. Know What You’re Talking AboutRule 2. Don’t Read and Don’t MemorizeRule 3. Begin by Telling Us WHAT You’re Going to Say and WHY We Should CareRule 4. Establish a Structure That You Will FollowRule 5. Tell No JokesRule 6. Think of Visual Aids as Evidence to Be Commented OnRule 7. Know How (and When) to Use the ProjectorRule 8. Keep It SimpleRule 9. Anticipate Questions and ObjectionsRule 10. End by Asking for QuestionsRule 11. Rehearse
PaperTypingPunctuationPage NumbersFormat and LayoutCover SheetFasteningDateRight MarginProofreading
Chapter 24ch24fn01a
ch32fn01a

Content preview from Reader-Friendly Reports: A No-nonsense Guide to Effective Writing for MBAs, Consultants, and Other Professionals

A REALLY BAD REPORT

FICTITIOUS UNIVERSITYSpringfield, Kansas

To: President McGinnisFrom: Marlon Smith, AssistantDate: November 24, 20-Subject: Dediums Company as an internship partner

Irrelevant

The Dediums Company was founded in 1924 and is incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware. It employed 34,862 people as of 2010. It operates in 13 countries. Since 1999 the president has been John Hare.

Irrelevant, vague Point unclear Relevance unclear

Reader should know the point by now—whether yes or no—as well as the order the report will follow.

Subheading must state the point that’s going to be made.

LocationThe company has its main office in Norwalk, Connecticut, but it has branches all around the country. It also has overseas operations. ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780071782852

Reader-Friendly Reports: A No-nonsense Guide to Effective Writing for MBAs, Consultants, and Other Professionals

by Carter Daniel

A REALLY BAD REPORT

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

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Publisher Resources

A REALLY BAD REPORT

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,and much more.

You might also like

Business Report Guides

The Definitive Guide to Business Finance: What smart managers do with the numbers, Second Edition

The Language of Success: Business Writing That Informs, Persuades, and Gets Results

The Manager's Pocket Guide to Effective Writing

Publisher Resources

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.