Jeni DiSalvo

350 Carver Hall

Iowa State University

 

disalvo@iastate.edu

 

Where in the world is

Jeni DiSalvo?  Schedule

English 302  Business Communication

Course Selection

              Schedule                 Syllabus               Grades
   

   

    Report Body

The body of the report contains the information that you are providing for your audience.  The format and organization of that information should reflect the needs of your audience and the purpose of the document.  However, some general rules should help you create a report that meets the expectations of general audiences and help you maintain consistency throughout your document regarding headings, fonts and page design, figures and illustrations, and even pagination.

Headings

The headings of your document help guide your audience by telling the audience what to expect in that section until the next heading.  By grouping information into chunks under headings, your audience will find the information easier to process.  Your audience will be able to see how your document is organized and find information of interest quickly by surfing through the headings.  Headings will also provide visual breaks in the text, so the reader is less likely intimidated by a vast page of text.  Material in the middle of any lump of information is more likely to be lost, so breaking up the material will make your information easier to retain.  Single words, short phrases, or (in rare cases) complete sentences should be keys to the information in the section until the next heading.

Some guides for creating headings include

 

·        Make headings specific,

·        Use consistent grammatical structure for all headings at the same level,

·        Center the highest level of headings (Introduction, Conclusion, Executive Summary, etc.) and left justify headings

·        Use subheads that are grammatically consistent with subheads at the same level (but not necessarily consistent with upper level headings),

·        Use larger fonts for higher level headings and smaller fonts for subheads (but never smaller than the text),

·        Use san serif fonts for font sizes larger than 16 point if find the necessity to use larger fonts (but never use more than 2 font styles in a document), and

·        Use capital letters for the first word and all major words and lowercase for all other letters (do no use all capital letters).

 

Fonts and Page Design

The design of the page is more than artistic placement of words and illustrations on a blank piece of paper.  Remember that while beautiful is nice, usable is most important to you, as a writer trying to get your information to an audience, and to your audience, who needs to use that information to make decisions and take action.  Always consider the way to make your material most accessible to your audience.

 

Readability

In the electronic age, writers are becoming more and more aware of how the shapes, sizes and placement of words on a page affect how easily our readers can access the information in the text.  Eye strain resulting from fonts that are too small is not a situation that you want to create for your audience.  You will also want to avoid misreading of information or frustration because you selected a font that looked attractive on the page but had a low readability level.

A few guidelines for fonts include

  • Avoid artistic fonts (save those fonts for logos and other unique needs),

  • Avoid using fonts smaller than 10 point or larger than 12 point for body text,

  • Avoid using fonts larger than 18 point for headings (instead, use bolding to raise heading levels),

  • Use serif fonts (Times, Bookman) for text and san serif fonts (Arial, Helvetica) for headers—especially higher level headers, and

  • Do not use more and two font types in a single document.

Keeping fonts easy to read will help your reader avoid frustration and any eye strain that may result from reading long, detailed reports.

 

Layout

The layout of a page creates a shape that the reader’s eye will be able to follow.  Avoid Force Justifying the page to create parallel edges on both sides of the paper.  A left-only justified page will leave a ragged edge on the right side of the paper that will help provide eye-catchers to help your reader to move down the page without losing his or her place.  It will also avoid the uneven spacing between words that Force Justifying will create.

Reports and other professional documents should not be used as opportunities to be cute or creatively artistic.  A professional appearance in such documents usually demands simplicity in design.  Avoid any images that do not serve specific purposes—do not use images to “decorate” the page or fill in white space.  A few guidelines for page design include

  • Use white space as a visual separation between sections and to emphasize points,

  • Use headings to group points and lead the reader through the document,

  • Avoid using all capital letters,

  • Avoid using more than two different font styles,

  • Avoid right justification,

  • Avoid unnecessary color, decorative images or other artistic elements, and

  • Use bulleted lists when possible make information easy to access.

By using a layout that makes information easily accessible for your reader, you can help your reader find important elements in your report and efficiently use the information that you are providing.

     We will cover more elements in writing and designing the Body of your Report in the next reading.

 

letter

memo

 Project Management Plan

Culture Report

Brochure

PRoposal

Extra Credit Options