ENG201 Short Notes

FAQs , Short Question and Glossary

Question: What are the types of reports and what is the main difference between short reports and long reports?

Answer: TYPES OF REPORTS:

1- Short Reports or Informal Reports:

Short reports are often presented in memorandum form. A short report is concise, accurate, unbiased, all inferences depending on supporting evidence to help readers make an informed decisions

aInformational Memorandum Reports;

The central purpose of informational reports is to inform and to summaries information.

-Conference reports;

Topic for conference reports range from personal sales call conferences to write-ups of meetings attended be hundreds of persons

-Progress reports;

As the name implies, progress reports show “progress”, accomplishments, or activity over time or at a given stage of major assignment.

-Periodical reports

Some periodic reports are written to correspond to the company’s fiscal year. Others may be written weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually, or in other regular recurring periods.

bAnalytical Memorandum Reports:

A pure analytical report has one central purpose: to analyze a situation or issue.

-Recommendation-Justification Reports:

Persuasion is central to recommendation reports.

cLetter Reports-Informational and Analytical: Letter reports are similar to traditional business letters, more often sent to outside the organization complex in structure.

*The format of report depends on the type of report you are writing. The main difference between Long and Short report is of length and of being formal and informal; short report is informal and not that lengthy while long report is formal and lengthy as it contains all the details.

Question: How to write a business letter?

Format of a Letter

If your organization has a specific style for business letters, follow that format. Otherwise, follow the guidelines provided here.

Business letters are commonly either full-block formatted, with every line starting at the left margin and usually a business letterhead at the top of the page, or modified-block formatted, with the heading and the closing aligned at the center of the page.

Elements of a Letter

Business letters have the following elements:

Heading Recipient's address Body Closing

Heading

If you are using letterhead stationery, include only the date two lines below the bottom of the letterhead. Spell out the name of month.

If you are not using letterhead stationery, begin with your full address (city, street, and zip code) 1 to 1½ inches from the top of the page. Spell out address designations, such as Street, Avenue, and West. The state name may be abbreviated using the two-letter, all-capitals U.S. Postal Service designations. Include the date aligned at left with the address, spelling out the name of the month.

Recipient's Address

Two to four lines below the date, place the following items:

The recipient's title (such as Mr., Ms., or Dr.) and full name (address a woman who does not have a professional title as Ms. unless you know she prefers Miss or Mrs.; if the recipient does not have a title and you are unsure of his or her gender, omit the title). The recipient's job title, if appropriate. The name of the company or institution, if appropriate. The full address, following the same format as for the address in the heading. The recipient's address is always aligned on the left margin.

Place the salutation two lines below the recipient's address. The salutation begins with the word Dear, continues with the recipient's title and last name, and ends with a colon. If you are unsure of the recipient's gender and the recipient does not have a professional title, omit the title and, instead, use both the first and the last names in the salutation (Dear Leslie Perelman:). If you do not know the name of the recipient of the letter, refer to the department you are writing to (Dear Technical Support:). Avoid salutations such as Dear Sir or Madam:.

Body

Start the letter two lines after the salutation. Body paragraphs should be single spaced with a double space between paragraphs. (Indenting the first line of each paragraph is acceptable but is more informal than the unindented style.)

Be concise, direct, and considerate. State the letter's purpose in the opening paragraph. Include supporting information in a middle paragraph or two, and conclude your letter with a brief paragraph that both establishes goodwill and expresses what needs to be done next.

If a letter requires more than one page, make sure there are at least two lines of body text on the final page. Never use an entire page for just the closing. The second page and all subsequent pages must include a heading with the recipient's name, the date, and the page number.

Closing Phrase

Write a complimentary closing phrase two lines below the final body paragraph. Yours truly, Sincerely, or Sincerely yours are common endings for professional letters. Capitalize the first letter of the first word of your complimentary closing, and end the complimentary closing with a comma.

Four lines below the closing phrase, write your full name. If you are writing in an official capacity that is not included in the stationery's letterhead, write your title on the next line. Your signature goes above your typed name.

At the bottom of the last page of a business letter, end notations may show who typed the letter, whether any materials are enclosed with the letter, and who is receiving a copy of the letter.

An enclosure notation--Enclosure:, Encl., or Enc.--alerts the recipient that additional material (such as a résumé or a technical article) is included with the letter. You can either identify the enclosure or indicate how many pieces there are.