Lecturer: Gareth Jones
Class 1: Introduction, Basic Writing Skills & Reports
Lecturer: Gareth Jones
 Email: garethjonesit@gmail.com
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“Guide to Managerial Communication” by Mary
Munter
“Excellence in Business Communication” by J.V.
Thill & C.L. Bovée”
Additional reading & assignments may be posted online
at:
◦ http://www.uwcentre.ac.cn/haut/
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Pay attention in class
No cheating (I will know)
Ask questions if you don’t understand anything
It’s important you work hard in the tutorials- it’ll make the
exam, assignment and presentation easier for you
It’s an English language module- the instruction
language and assessed language is ENGLISH
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This course is comprised of two modules:
◦ BUS-102 Practical Business Communication
 Focus on writing reports and presentation skills with an
assessed presentation and assessed piece of coursework
◦ BUS-101 Written Business Communication
 In addition to the content covered in BUS-102 the addition of
communication skills, careers and practical business
knowledge with one written examination
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Assessment
Tutorial Attendance
Group Assignment
Group Presentation
Percentage of Final
Grade
5%
50%
45%
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Assessment
Tutorial Attendance
Written Examination
Percentage of Final
Grade
5%
95%
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You will be given an assignment to complete in groups of
4 or 5, the selection of which will be beyond your control
The assignment will be based on writing a report on a
topic given on Thursday September 1st
You will learn the skills required to complete this
assignment in classes 1 – 4
There is no ‘right’ answer to this assignment!
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You will give a group presentation on an aspect of your
written assignment in the same groups as that
assignment
You will acquire the skills needed to complete this
assignment in classes 7 - 9
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Class #
Assessment – BUS102
Date
16
Presentations (45%)
Monday September 19th 2011
19
Written Assignment (50%)
Thursday September 22nd 2011
Class #
25
Assessment – BUS101
Final Examination (95%)
Date
Friday September 30th 2011
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In order to pass the course, you must attain 40%
The British grading system is roughly:
◦ 1st Class >= 70%
◦ 2:1 >= 60% < 70%
◦ 2:2 >= 50% < 60%
◦ Third >= 40% < 50%
◦ Fail = below 40%
Note: Most people get 2:1’s and 2:2’s
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By the end of this module you should be able to:
◦ Plan and write effectively
◦ Be able to take notes more effectively
◦ Research and reference your work in the right way
◦ Format letters, memos and emails in the correct way
◦ Write a good CV and cover letter
◦ Understand new media business communication
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By the end of this module you should be able to:
◦ Give an impressive interview
◦ Give an effective business presentation
◦ Understand business etiquette & teams
◦ Understand business between different cultures
◦ Run a meeting
In short, understand how to communicate better
through any medium!
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Knowledge
Paraphrasing
Source
Information
Absorb source
information
Process
information
in your own
way
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Paraphrasing
◦ your own version of essential information and ideas
expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
◦ a more detailed restatement than a summary, which
focuses concisely on a single main idea.
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Sentence Structure
Paragraphs
Business Reports
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What is a sentence?
What is a paragraph?
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A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete
thought
A sentence should contain one clause (subject and a
predicate)
4 types of sentences:
◦ Simple
◦ Compound
◦ Complex
◦ Complex-compound
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1 clause
“Company profits decreased this year”
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The subject is the person or thing about which
something is said.
The subject is usually a noun or pronoun.
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The predicate is everything that is said about the
subject.
The predicate always contains a verb.
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Subject:
◦ Cat
Predicate:
is fat!
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2 or more clauses that express two or more independent
but related thoughts of equal importance
Usually with and, but or or
“Profits have decreased by 10%, and employ turnover
has been high”
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One main clause and one or more independent clauses
related to it
The subordinate thought could not stand alone
“Although his performances this year have been
disappointing, you can’t deny that he’s been trying his
best”
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2 main clauses, one of which must have a subordinate
clause
“Company profits have decreased again this year, and
although his performances have been disappointing you
must admit that he has tried his best”
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Use a combination of sentence structures in your writing
Use sentence style to emphasise key thoughts
Don’t try to overcomplicated things
Be succinct
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Sentence Structure
Paragraphs
Business Reports
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Organise sentences related to the same topic
Unit of thought structured through sentences in the
paragraph
Contains a topic sentence, support sentence and
transitional words and phrases
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Sentence that introduces the topic
In business often the first sentence
Introduced the subject allowing it to be developed
“The team has been in difficulty since the start of the
season”
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Support the topic sentence
Must have a bearing on the general subject
Provide enough details to make the topic clear
“The team has been in difficulty since the start of the
season. Since 2007 a number of media reports have
suggested all was not well behind the scenes. The
coaching staff have been accused of in-fighting, and
there have been suggestions that a number of key
players intend to leave. ”
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Helps paragraphs to be arranged in a logical order
Words or phrases that tie ideas together
◦ Connecting words: and, but, however
◦ Echo words from previous sentences
◦ Use pro-nouns that have referred to nouns previously
◦ Use frequently paired words
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Additional details: moreover, furthermore, besides
Casual relationships: therefore, because, accordingly
Comparison: similarly, likewise, in comparison
Contrast: yet, conversely, however
Condition: although, if
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Illustration: for example, in particular, in this case
Time sequence: after, when, sometimes
Intensification: indeed, in fact
Summary: to sum up, to conclude, in brief
Repetition: that is, in other words
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Illustration
Comparison or contrast
Cause and effect
Classification
Problem and solution
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Giving examples
“Sales have increased by 5% this year to £10’000’000
per annum, despite the gloomy economic forecasts”
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Using similarities or differences to develop the topic
“Based on the fact sales in the Northern region
decreased after the launch of the new marketing
campaign, we should not pursue the same campaign”
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Focus on reasons for something
“The managerial problems and disputes between
players could be attributed to the fact that results have
been poor since 2007”
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General idea broken into categories
“We can roughly divide the players in our team into
several categories. Firstly, players from within our own
academy system. Secondly, player’s we’ve brought in
from the other local academies. Thirdly, players we’ve
brought in from within the country. Finally, players we’ve
brought in internationally.”
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Presenting a problem and discussing the solution
“Managing star players has been very difficult for our
team with all the media pressure. However, by offering
extra support to star players and encouraging
camaraderie with their team mates, some of this
pressure can be taken off the players and therefore the
team as a whole.”
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Paragraphs are used to organise sentences with the
same topic
Paragraphs contain a topic sentence, support sentence
and transitional words and phrases
Using different types of paragraphs based on your
audience is a good idea
A combination of types of paragraphs is usually a good
idea in any context
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Whether your writing in a business, or another context,
what you are doing will usually have a beginning, middle
and end
Try to make what you do focused and well planned
◦ Know what you are writing about before you start
We will revisit writing skills later in the course, now onto
business specific writing…
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Sentence Structure
Paragraphs
Business Reports
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The backbone of business communication
This report presents information to assist in business
decision making
Any large decision a company makes must be preceded
by a formal Business Report
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Examples:
◦ Hire a new employee
◦ Begin a new project
◦ Purchase new equipment
◦ Start a new advertising campaign
◦ Fire an employee
◦ Analyse a merger
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All of the previous examples must begin with a business
report
So, how do we format these reports?
◦ Every company has their own report format
◦ Most report formats follow a general trend…
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Title Page
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Executive Summary
Methods
Report Body
Recommendations
References/Bibliography
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1. Title Page
◦ Must include:
◦ Title of the Report
◦ Author
◦ Date (Finished or Submitted)
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2. Table of Contents
◦ Must include:
◦ A list of the sections of the report with page numbers
 Name of each section
 Number page starts on
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3. List of Figures
◦ Must include:
◦ The name of every figure, graph, chart etc. that is in the
report
◦ The page number each figure is on
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4. Executive Summary
◦ Must include:
◦ The most important parts (key points) of the report
 Helps the reader to understand the report by only reading a
short part of it
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4. Executive Summary
◦ How long should it be?
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Less than 1/10th the length of the body
E.g:
Body 30 pages
Executive Summary 3 pages
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4. Executive Summary
◦ What is it?
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For your assignment: Think of it as one or two
paragraphs (4-7 sentences each)
◦ Must have:
 Topic Sentence (Beginning)
 3-5 Body Sentences (Middle)
 Concluding sentence (End)
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5. Methodology / Methods
◦ Description of the way you got the information to write
your report
◦ Answers the questions:
 “How did I get this information?”
 “Where did I get this information?”
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5. Methodology / Methods
◦ How did I get this information?
 Surveys/Questionnaires – open & closed questions
 Interviews
 Focus groups
 Case studies – positive and negative
◦ Where did I get this information?
 Staff
 Customers
 General public
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6. Report Body
◦ The ‘meat’ of the report
◦ Contains all the important information, data, analysis
and conclusions
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6. Report Body
◦ Three main sections:
 Introduction (Beginning)
 Main Body (Middle)
 Conclusion (End)
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6. Report Body
◦ Introduction
 Explains why the report is written and what will be in the
main body
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6. Report Body
◦ Main Body
 Contains all the important information, data, analysis etc.
 The longest part of the report
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6. Report Body
◦ Conclusion
 Summarises and concludes the report
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7. Recommendations
◦ Suggestions, solutions or recommendations for the
audience to consider
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8. References / Bibliography
◦ Suggestions, solutions or recommendations for the
audience to consider
◦ A list of the sources used to prepare the report
 Includes: books, websites, articles, interviews, databases,
videos etc.
◦ Should stick to one referencing format (we will use the
Standard Harvard Referencing System)
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Title Page
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Executive Summary
Methods
Report Body
Recommendations
References/Bibliography
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Order in Report
Section
1
Title Page
2
Table of Contents
3
List of Figures
4
Executive Summary
5
Methods
6
Introduction
7
Main Body
8
Order Written
8
Executive Reads
Always
Write all of these
sections at the end
N/A
N/A
7
Always
1
If interested in
research
3
Sometimes
4
If interested in
research
Conclusion
5
If surprised
9
Recommendations
6
Always
10
Bibliography
2
(As you research)
If report is weak in
some area
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We have covered:
◦ Basic writing structure (sentences and paragraphs)
◦ Basic report structure (from the title to the references)
◦ What the course is about!
Outcomes:
◦ With a bit of practice you should be able to write more
professionally and structure reports
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In the tutorial we will explore and practice basic writing
skills
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The writing process
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