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Dynamics in Document Design

July 17, 2009 by Roy Johnson

information layout and management for professionals

Karen Schriver’s Dynamics in Document Design is another strong entry in the Wiley series of books about writing in the marketplace. Schriver does not intend yet another ‘how to’ book for beginning document designers. Such books are plentiful. She assumes her audience is acquainted with the fundamentals of document design and wants more information about the complexities and subtleties of document design. In this area – and many others – Schriver succeeds admirably.

Dynamics in Document DesignSchriver’s book is so rich in insight, information, and innovation that no review will do it justice. One of the book’s many virtues is its presentation of heuristics for making decisions about typography and page-layout grids. A heuristic, as Schriver explains, “is a way of thinking systematically about the key features of a problem.” Schriver’s heuristic for grids includes taking an inventory of all the text elements (photographs, descriptions, captions, etc.) in the document, organizing these text elements into rhetorical clusters, measuring the actual print or display area, dividing the print or display area into columns and rows, considering exceptions and deviations, trying out some optional spatial arrays for the document, and applying the grid to longer sections of the document to see how it works. For someone who has to design a longer document or complicated web site, Schriver’s heuristics are very useful.

Schriver has not neglected design issues on the Internet. Her 18-page discussion of a student’s case study of the effectiveness of a web site is worth the entire price of the book. As a practitioner of feedback-driven audience analysis, Schriver had taught the student, Daphne van der Vlist of Holland, procedures for studying user responses to document design. Van der Vlist studied the reactions of seven users to the Virtual Tourist web site.

As happens often in Schriver’s book, real users have rich and informative critiques of real documents. In her study, van der Vlist found that users had trouble with incomplete and illogically clustered headings, information that violated users’ expectations, underdeveloped information, poorly laid out lists, and pictures that narrowed content inappropriately. To aid her readers in understanding the users’ problems, Schriver used a four-page spread of eight screens from the web site, with user annotations in the margins surrounding the centered screen representations. Schriver’s analysis and graphic presentation of her student’s case is exceptionally informative and effective. People designing web sites should read this section.

Another strong section of her book describes one of her own projects-
evaluating government-created drug education brochures aimed at teenagers. Using feedback-driven audience analysis, Schriver and her collaborators gathered 297 students ranging from 11 to 21 years old and asked them to respond to the text and graphics in the brochures that they provided. The students’ responses were very sophisticated and revealing. Schriver presents the responses to several brochures by using the format mentioned earlier. She reproduces the brochure in the center of a single page or a two-page spread and surrounds it with student responses in the margin. She draws lines to connect student responses to specific passages and graphics.

The student responses are very constructive and sophisticated. One complained that a brochure was cliched and suggested that a more effective approach would be to present stories about how drug users died or destroyed their lives. Another student complained of the long paragraphs and suggested a list, which other young people would be more inclined to read. Another said the impact of a brochure would be improved if the authors “use pictures of a dead guy.” The students were especially fond of realism. Many of them disliked the line drawings and preferred photographs of actual drug users suffering the effects of drug abuse.

Schriver also discussed the constraints that the government writers and graphic designers operated under when they developed the drug education literature. Many were reluctant to talk about what they did. Bureaucracy and politics stifle the effectiveness of documents and of open communication between researcher/designers like Schriver and her subjects. A quotation from one person eloquently revealed the stress that some government writers and designers felt:

That brochure is not attributable to anyone. We receive lots of assignments, that was just one of them. We can’t say who wrote it. There are so many hands in the process. And we can’t say that what was printed was what anyone in this office wrote. We have to go now.

Schriver offers an important innovation to document design teachers – her protocol-aided audience-modeling method (PAM), which allows document designers to better anticipate problems that users have with documents. PAM has two steps: (1) The student reads a sample document and lists the problems she thinks the intended audience will have with the text and graphics. (2) The student reads a transcript of a think-aloud protocol created by one of the intended users of the same document. A think-aloud protocol has a user think aloud about any difficulties she or he encounters while reading a document (form, instruction, etc.). In her research, Schriver has found that students using PAM were 62% more accurate than a control group in predicting readers’ problems. PAM, in short, is much better than such traditional methods as audience heuristics, peer-group critiquing, role-playing, and purpose oriented audience analysis.

Yet another valuable innovation is Schriver’s timeline of document design from 1900 to 1995. She devotes forty-four pages to tracing the evolution of five design contexts: education and practice in writing and rhetoric; professional developments in writing and graphic design; education and practice in graphic design; science, technology, and the environment; and society and consumerism. On twenty-two sets of facing pages, Schriver has columns devoted to each of the aforementioned contexts in a given decade of the twentieth century.

The evolution of education and practice in writing and rhetoric is fascinating by itself. Schriver begins in 1900 with the instructional emphasis on usage, grammar, and mechanics. “Students are expected to adapt their texts for an audience and to find an original thesis, but they are not taught explicit ways to do so.” In 1904, one of the first technical writing courses in the twentieth century was taught at Tufts College. In 1939, “teaching technical writing or composition at the college level is considered ‘professional suicide’.” In the 1950’s, college instructors finally begin to pay some attention to audience analysis and the relations between writers and readers. In 1955 and later, technical communication courses begin to show interest in teaching graphics. In the 1970’s, some technical communications professors finally begin to get tenure for work in their specialties. In 1994, academics and industry experts express concern that literature professors have too much say in tenuring and promoting writing, rhetoric, and technical communication faculty.

Again, this review cannot pretend to do justice to the many virtues and innovations in Karen Schriver’s excellent book. Even though she aims her book more at experienced document designers and information architects, beginners and students can also profit from reading it. If you design documents for paper or electronic publication, buy this book. You will not be disappointed.

© Patrick Moore 1997

Dynamics in Document Design   Buy the book at Amazon UK

Dynamics in Document Design   Buy the book at Amazon US


Karen A. Schriver, Dynamics in Document Design, NewYork/London: John Wiley & Sons: 1997, pp.560, ISBN: 0471306363


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Filed Under: Information Design Tagged With: Data management, Data visualization, Document design, Information design

How to write a report

February 18, 2013 by Roy Johnson

planning, structure, writing, and presentation skills

What is a report?

How to write a ReportA report is a detailed and well-organised document that defines and analyses a subject or a problem.

A report should always be accurate, concise, clearly written, and well structured.

A report might also record a sequence of events, evaluate a product or a process, discuss a series of proposals, or make a number of recommendations.

A report should include all the information necessary for the reader to understand the topic under discussion and make informed decisions about it.


The purpose of a report

Reports are used in education, business, finance, government, manufacturing, and scientific research.

In small and medium companies they usually communicate information from one company to another. In large companies they communicate information between personnel.

You might write a report when applying for a grant; to accompany a business proposal; or to describe a project which has been commissioned.

Reports might also be important to record the progress of a business – as in a company’s annual report.

Reports do not have to be long – or boring. They should be clear and easy to understand, especially if they are written for somebody else.


How to write a report

Writing a report is often a major undertaking for many people. The task can be made easier by breaking it down into a series of steps. The following are recommended as guidelines for writing reports.

Stage 1 – Choose the type of report

Stage 2 – Decide the purpose of report

Stage 3 – Choose report sub-headings

Stage 4 – Assess your data

Stage 5 – Draft the report

Stage 6 – Edit and proof read

If you need to produce a report whose type is not discussed here, follow the same principles. That is – first of all think carefully about the form or kind of document you are going to produce.

It will help you enormously if you get hold of an example of the type of report you need to produce. In particular, study its structure, and use that as a model for what you have to write.

You might need to adapt another type of report for your purposes. If you need to create your own type of report, follow the guidelines for creating good structure in documents.

Acquaint yourself with some examples of various report types. This will help you to decide which type of report you need.


Stage 1 — Types of report

1. A meeting report communicates the details of a meeting to people who did not attend. It may also go to people who did attend, as a summary of events for future reference.

The minutes of a meeting record the major points made by a group of two or more people who conduct a meeting.

2. A project report is a record kept by the project manager, and is presented to management or sponsors. It usually details chronologically the events, achievements and attainment of a project’s targets and objectives.

3. A feasibility report is similar to a problem-recommendation report but it describes one possible solution in detail and makes recommendations.

4. A sales report gives the details of a salesperson’s contact with a specific customer or company – indicating whether or not sales have been made.

5. A status report tells the management what has been happening on a project, and to what degree it is going according to plan.

6. A problem recommendation report outlines the writer’s investigation into a particular problem and recommends a course of action to solve the problem

7. A site-visit report summarises the conditions which obtain at a particular location in relation to a project – such as the construction of a building.

8. A company report is the record of a business and its recent history, made usually at the end of a financial year. It combines management strategies, sales results, and accounts.


Stage 2 — The purpose of your report

The purpose of a report will have an effect on both its content and the manner in which it is presented.

A good starting point is to write out the purpose of the report in a sentence or two. This ‘purpose statement’ will help you to focus on your primary needs. It will help you by giving the report both a starting point and a goal.

Typical examples of purpose are to inform, instruct, persuade, or to record.

A report may have more than one purpose – just as it might have more than one audience. For instance, a company’s annual report is a statement for the directors, the shareholders, and the public in general.

An academic report (say, in science or engineering) may have a double purpose. First the recording of an experiement or a field visit. Second, demonstrating that the author is familiar with the conventions of academic writing in that discipline.

A commercial sales report might be used by regional and national sales managers, a finance controller, and the chief executive officer (CEO).

These various parties will be interested in different aspects of the report. And since each reader has different interests in the report’s content, it is important to plan the report so that it includes the information each reader is looking for.


Stage 3 — Report headings and sub-headings

Choose the sub-headings for your report from the following list. Doing this at the planning stage will help you to write a clear report which is easy for your recipient to read.

Arrange the sub-headings in conjunction with your main headings at a later stage. The following list of headings which belong with report types is arranged in alphabetical order.

Action needed

Example
Please select an appropriate time and place to meet and inform the members of the team.

Assumption

Example
The project team will consist of one half-time systems analyst and two full-time, experienced programmers.

Attachment

Example
You will find the following attachments which establish the legal status of this policy.

Background

Example
I met the Chair of Needwell last Thursday and we agreed that I would send you information regarding the expansion plans.

Benefit

Example
The benefits of a fully implemented WebCT system are as follows:

  • better utilisation of resources
  • a balanced production load
  • decreased stock in inventory
  • decreased order expediting
  • reduced production costs

Caution

Example
Although there is a new policy for internal promotion, there are more people qualified for advancement than there are slots available.

Constraint

Example
The union contract permits only eight hours work per day before overtime must be paid.

Contact

Example
If you or anyone in your department wants to submit comments on our new word processing equipment, send them in writing to J.Bloggs Staff Depot

Deadline

Example
These changes apply to all applications we receive on or after 10 October 2015

Decision needed

Example
Please let me know when we can meet to design a new form for travel reimbursement.

Implication

Example
If the Company adopts the proposed retirement policy we can anticipate the following:

  • a large pool of experienced executive talent for our T Project
  • improved morale among all employees approaching retirement age
  • slightly higher costs of medical expenses and insurance

Importance

Example
If we do not have our new word-processing equipment running by 17 September 2010, we will not be able to support the production goals.

Introduction

Example
The Fine Food Marketing Company has recently entered the health food industry with a brand new type of food supplement called Gatewell.

Law

Example
The commissioner of environmental quality engineering or his designee may issue orders in the name of the department of environmental quality on being presented with proof of the violation of any statute, rule, regulation, or code which the department is authorized to enforce.

Objective

Example
We expect that the new system will be fully operational by May 2006

Options

Example
The company has two staffing options available for this project

  1. use entirely new employees
  2. use a mix of employees and contractors

Policy

Example
This company will employ individuals without regard to race, colour, gender, or national origin.

Problem

Example
Our work processing system does not have the capability to handle special graphic presentations. This causes a loss of business.

Purpose

Example
The purpose of the meeting is to make and document an action plan for opening the Greenleaf Site.

Rationale

Example
Our decision to avoid genetically modified elements in our wines is based on the lack of evidence currently available concerning the effects of GM elements.

Recommendation

Example
In conclusion, we strongly recommend that new measures be put in place for testing our boilers for corrosion.

Reference

Example
Please refer to the Critical Quarterly for reviews on the publications mentioned in the body of this report.

Schedule

Example
The schedule below gives details of the staffing responsibilities

  • Week 1 Payroll
  • Week 2 Personnel
  • Week 3 Support Team

Source

Example
I found the statistics for the Boston Flyer in The Engineering Journal published May 2000.

Speaker

Example
Tuesday’s speaker will be Sir Harold Busby, Chairman of Astrolux.

Summary

Example
This report has examined the feasibility of a merger between Minibok and Fair Trading. It has examined the financial and social implications.


Stage 4 — Assess the data

Before sitting down to write your report, make sure you have all the research data to hand. Mark out each part of the data, allocating it to one of your sub-headings.

If you have some data which doesn’t fit any of the sub-headings, think carefully about whether to create a heading which fits the data or whether to discard the data as irrelevant.

It is perfectly normal to gather data which is not needed in the final report. Do not feel obliged to include material just because it exists.


Stage 5 — Draft the report

Draft your report in short sections, under each one of your headings or sub-headings. This way, you will be able to rearrange the sequence, or delete some content.

Working in short sections makes writing an easier process. Use the following guidelines for drafting the sections.

Create readability by structure

Your reader will digest the document most efficiently if the text is broken down into bite-size sections. Large dense blocks of text are overfacing and difficult for the eye to deal with.

Your sections should comprise no more than ten lines. Here is an example of the bite-size section.

Increased sales

New customers
The sales team has broken all records this month.
The number of new customers has rocketed from last month’s total of 10,000 to 12,975.

Additional bonuses
In view of this we are giving all members of the sales team an additional bonus of 0.5 per cent.

Create readability by relevance

Each section should contain one idea. Nothing else should be added. Extra ideas, even if they are connected with the subject, should be given their own paragraph.

In the example given above, the topic of increased sales stands alone. The extra topic of bonuses is related, but comprises a separate paragraph.

Create readability by navigation

Each topic in your report should have a signpost or a sub-heading. This prepares your reader for what is to follow.

It also helps the reader in referring back efficiently to a specific point or topic. In the example given above, each topic is signposted to prepare the reader for what is coming.

The heading ‘Increased sales’ introduces the main topic, whilst ‘new customers’ and ‘additional bonuses’ announce the sub-topics.

Create readability by verbal consistency

Your reader will digest your report quickly and efficiently if you use layout, headings, font style, and vocabulary consistently.

Reports are entirely functional and therefore quick, efficient reading is your objective.

In the example given above, vocabulary is used consistently. The word ‘sales’ is used both in the main heading and in the body text The word ‘customer’ is used both in the sub-heading and in the body text

Create readability by visual consistency

Consistency helps readers to find their way in a document. At every level of the document you should use consistency in:

Visual presentation

  • Font type and size
  • Page layout
  • Main Headings
  • Sub-headings
  • Bulleted lists
  • Numbered lists
  • Page numbering
  • Justification (right, left, centre, full)

Consistent language

  • Vocabulary
  • Sentence size
  • Sentence construction
  • Style of expression


Follow the guidelines on How to present documents to give your report a professional appearance.


Stage 6 — Edit and proof read

Editing and proof reading a substantial report might be a lengthy and time-consuming process. But it will make the difference between an amateur and a professional piece of work.

Editing is the process of checking your work very carefully in order to –

  • remove any spelling mistakes
  • check your grammar
  • make your punctuation consistent
  • re-write any clumsy expressions

Proof reading is the very last stage of making any changes. At this point it is assumed that the content of the report has been checked for accuracy, grammar, and punctuation.

Proof reading looks at the presentation of the text in even greater detail – mainly for matters of bibliographic and typographic consistency.

  • Capitalization of headings
  • Font size and style
  • Spacing between paragraphs
  • Regularity of indentation
  • Consistent use of italics and bold

Follow the guidelines on Editing your writing to produce a document which is free from minor blemishes.


Sample report structure

Title page

[This should normally include the following as a basic minimum]

the title of the report

the name of the author

or

the name of the organisation

the date

Acknowledgements

[If necessary – in longer reports]

A list of people and organisations who have helped in the production of the report.

Contents page

[Always included in any reports of more than a few pages]

A clear list of all the sections and sub-sections in the report – with page numbers.

If applicable, there should be a separate list of tables, figures, illustrations and appendices after the main index.

The headings in this list should correspond exactly with those in the main body of the report. Generate the list of contents after completing the report.

Terms of reference

[Sometimes included]

A definition of the task or the brief you were given. This is statement of the specific objective and purpose behind writing the report.

Even if you don’t include this as a heading, it is a vital process to go through in your planning.

  • What exactly is your report going to be about?
  • Who exactly is responsible for what?
  • How long have you got? What is your task timescale?
  • Why are you writing the report?
  • Who are you writing the report for?
  • What does your reader want to see?

Procedure

[sometimes included]

How your research was carried out; how the information was gathered and treated.

This section might also be called ‘methodology’ in some reports.

Materials and methods

[included if appropriate]

Similar to methodology or procedure, but more appropriate to scientific or engineering report writing. The following advice comes from Robert Barrass’ book Scientists Must Write (Chapman & Hall, 1978, pp.135-136).

1. List the equipment used and draw anything that requires description (unless this is very simple).

2. State the conditions of the experiment and the procedure, with any precautions necessary to ensure accuracy and safety. However, when several experiments are reported, some details may fit better in the appropriate parts of the Results section.

3. Write the stages in any new procedure in the order of implementation, and describe in detail any new technique or modifications of an established technique.

4. If necessary, refer to preliminary experiments and to any consequent changes in technique. Describe your controls adequately.

5. Include information on the purity and structure of the materials used, and on the source of the material and the method of preparation.

Summary

[usually included in longer reports]

This is a short summary of the entire report, created for those people who may not have time to read the entire document.

This is often called the Executive Summary (in business reporting), Abstract (in a dissertation or thesis) or Synopsis (in a scholarly work).

It’s a very brief outline of the report to give the potential reader a general idea of what it’s about. A statement of:

  • overall aims and specific objectives
  • method or procedure used
  • key findings
  • main conclusions and recommendations

Introduction

This might be optional, but writing an introduction will help you to describe your overall purpose.

This should show that you have fully understood the brief and that you are going to cover everything required. Indicate the basic structure of the report.

Include just a little background or context and indicate the reasons for writing the report. You may include your terms of reference and procedure or research methods if not covered elsewhere.

Your introduction will often give an indication of the conclusion to the report.

Write this last of all so that you know what it is you’re introducing. You could have a working introduction that is edited when the body of the report is complete.

Main body of the report

This is the substance of your report. The structure will vary according to the nature of the material being presented, with headings and sub-headings used to clearly indicate the different sections.

Charts, diagrams, tables, and illustrations can be used to reinforce the points your are making.

Sometimes it may be better to include these as an Appendix, particularly if they are long or complicated.

Do not include opinions, conclusions or recommendations in this section.

Results

[included mainly in scientific or engineering reports]

This section records your observations and would normally include statistics, tables or graphs.

These are called ‘findings’ in a business context.

Conclusion

[always included]

Your conclusion should state the implications of your findings, with deductions based on the facts described in your main body. Don’t include any new material here.

Recommendations

[if required]

These should follow on logically from your conclusion and be specific, measurable and achievable. They should propose how the situation or problem could be improved by suggesting action to be taken. A ‘statement of costs’ might be included if you are recommending changes that have financial implications.

Recommendations can be numbered for the sake of clarity.

Appendices

(if required)

An appendix (plural=appendices) is detailed documentation of points you outline in your findings, for example, technical data, questionnaires, letters sent, tables, sketches, charts, leaflets.

It is supplementary information which you consider to be too long or complicated or not quite relevant enough to include in your main body, but which still should be of interest to your reader.

Each appendix should be referred to in your text. You should not include something as an appendix if it is not discussed in the main body.

References

[if required]

This is a list giving the full details of all the sources to which you have made reference in the body of your report.

Bibliography

[sometimes included]

This is a list of all the sources which you have used during your research – books, articles, and web sites. It should include those you have made reference to in your writing, as well as any other materials you may have consulted but not quoted.

Glossary

[occasionally included]

A glossary contains specialist terms with their contextual definitions. This is particularly useful when specialist terms have been used in the report.

Include a glossary of terms if the report includes a lot of specialised vocabulary, technical jargon, or acronyms which may not be familiar to the reader.

© Roy Johnson 2013


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