Organizing Information and
Constructing the Outline
Identify the problem (task)
What must I accomplish with this
message? inform, persuade
Who is the audience receiving the
message?
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Identify the primary reader of the message
Determine the secondary readers
Determine the demographics of the readers
Analyze audience knowledge of the subject
Identify the message expectations of the readers
What needs to be investigated?
Identify the factors that need to be
considered (scope), and why.
Identify what data need to be gathered
for each factor and how to gather it.
Gather the data.
Based on the problem . . .
Classify the data
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Such as by time, quantity, factors, or place
Tabulate the data collected
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Use statistical tools where appropriate
Organize the outline by:
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determining the outline ORDER.
determining the outline’s DIVISIONS.
Determining the outline’s HEADINGS.
ORDER of the Outline
Study Notes p. 17
Indirect order is inductive. Indirect order moves
from known to unknown—typically introduction, facts,
conclusions & recommendations, closing (summary).
Direct order is deductive. Direct order begins with
the most important information—conclusions &
recommendations, introduction, facts, summary,
closing.
Modified Direct order – The only difference between
the direct and modified direct orders is in the
placement of the introduction. In modified direct:
Introduction, conclusions & recommendations, facts,
summary, closing.
Chronological order is in time sequence.
Chronological order is an order based on the present to
the past or the past to the present.
DIVISION OF INFORMATION
Time periods. When the information has a
time basis. E.g., progress on a building’s
construction.
Place. When the information is related to a
geographic location. E.g., sales reports by
city.
Quantity. When the information has a
number base. E.g., demographic habits of
buying.
Factors. Areas of investigation. E.g.,
quality-of-life factors of neighborhoods.
Combination and Multiple Divisions.
Combinations of the above. E.g., annual
report to stockholders.
OUTLINE SYSTEMS
See Study Notes
pp. 14 - 16
Businesses usually use the format
depicted in Nelson, page 16. You will use
this format in this class.
Study Notes p. 16
HEADINGS of the Outline
Topic Headings. Topics give only the
subject of discussion. E.g., Introduction,
Background, Analysis, Limitations, etc.
Talking Headings. Talking headings
identify the subject AND tell what is said.
E.g., Background of the Production Problem,
Investigation of the Production Department,
Analysis of the Personnel Records, Need for
More Financial Information, etc.
Heading Formats
See Study Notes pp. 18-19
Short reports normally use Level 1 and
Level 3 headings.
For more complex reports additional
levels may be added.
Level 5 is only used for the largest
reports.
READ Study Notes pp. 18-19
Tips to Write Effective Headings
Parallelism
Conciseness of Wording
Variety of Expression
Parallelism of Construction
pp. 152-153
Captions at a level of division should be grammatically
parallel. E.g., if caption II is a noun phrase, so should
be captions III, IV, V, etc.
Incorrect
I.
Machine output is
lagging. [sentence]
II. Increase in cost of
operations [noun
phrase]
III. Unable to deliver
necessary steam
[decapitated sentence]
Correct
I.
Lag in machine
output
II. Increase in cost of
operations
III. Inability to deliver
necessary steam
Conciseness of Wording
Make the talking captions concise
Incorrect
I.
Personal appearance
enhancement is most
desirable feature of
contact lenses that
wearers report.
II. The drawback of
contacts mentioned by
most people who don’t
wear them is that they
are difficult to put on
Correct
I.
Personal appearance
most desirable feature
II. Installation difficulty
prime criticism
Variety of expression
Repeating words in captions can be
monotonous.
Incorrect
Correct
A. Chemical production in
Texas
A. Texas leads in chemical
production
B. Chemical production in
California
B. California holds runnerup position
C. Chemical production in
Louisiana
C. Rapidly gaining
Louisiana ranks third
Organizing information exercise
Assume you have interviewed a representative
group from the student body at Indiana State
University on the subject of total out-of-pocket
expenditures of students during the academic
year. Making any logical assumptions, into what
categories could your findings possibly be
classified?
List them making certain that you employ
parallel construction, concise wording, and
variety of expression.
After you have organized your information,
you are ready to write the report
Your introduction sets the stage for
your reader about the report
The introduction in short reports is
usually one paragraph
The introduction in long formal reports
is an entire section called “Introduction”
or “Overview”
Writing an
Introductory Paragraph
Before starting to write:
Review the purpose of the message
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To inform
To persuade
Review information about the audience
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Primary reader of the message
Secondary readers
Demographics of the readers
Audience knowledge of the subject
Message expectations of the readers
Introductory Paragraph
Construction
Topic sentence – tells the reader the main
idea of the paragraph
Use deductive.
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Deductive plan – starts with the main point
Inductive plan – ends with the main point
Pivotal plan – main point in middle
Supporting sentences – presents the content
of the paragraph (the “facts”)
Summary/Transitional sentence – reiterates
main point and/or sets up next point (to come
in following paragraph)
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH CONTENT
Depending on the situation, audience analysis, and
company custom, the introduction of an informal
report, such as a memorandum, could include the
following items: (put items marked with * into your
paragraph)
Authorization*
Larger picture of the problem
Areas investigated (scope)*
What you did to gather information*
Why you did it
Criteria for decisions
Shortcomings (limitations)
Preview of report contents*
Example Case
You are an assistant manager in the human
resources department of a large manufacturing
company, Technicraft, Inc. In a recent staff
meeting, the Vice President of Human
Resources, Mrs. J.T. Smith, assigned you the
responsibility to investigate the causes of
unrest in one of the production departments,
Production Unit A. Write an introductory
paragraph (only) for a report to the Vice
President regarding the situation which you
investigated. Remember to follow the
instructions in the textbook and Study Notes.
Introductory Paragraph
AUTHORIZATION
WHAT/ WHY, AREAS
INVESTIGATED, AND
HOW GATHERED
As you requested, Mr. Smith, I investigated the reported
unrest
employees in Production Unit A after the
TOPIC among
SENTENCE
situation was brought to the attention of the Human
Resources Department by the unit supervisor. To investigate
the situation thoroughly, I interviewed line workers, union
representatives, and supervisory-level personnel within the
SUPPORTING
unit throughoutSENTENCES
the month of July. During the same period, I
checked personnel disciplinary records and, in order to obtain
candid responses, set up a suggestion box for anonymous
comments. This report will present the findings from my
interviews,
records investigation, and suggestion box
PREVIEW SENTENCE
comments, followed by my conclusions.
REPORT PREVIEW
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Write an introductory paragraph (only)
for the case described in the handout.
Remember, you are NOT REPORTING
FINDINGS in the introductory
paragraph; you are setting the stage
for the report that follows which does
contain the findings.
As you requested, Mr. Smith, I investigated the reported
unrest among employees in Production Unit A after the
situation was brought to the attention of the Human
Resources Department by the unit supervisor. To investigate
the situation thoroughly, I interviewed line workers, union
representatives, and supervisory-level personnel within the
unit throughout the month of July. During the same period, I
checked personnel disciplinary records; and in order to obtain
candid responses, set up a suggestion box for anonymous
comments. This report will present the findings from my
interviews, records investigation, and suggestion box
comments, followed by my conclusions.