Question 1

It is a good idea,when planning to write a report,to talk to your readers to determine how much detail and formality they want.

Accepted Answer

Up-front planning helps you use your time efficiently. Start by thinking about the whole report process. Talk to your readers to understand how much detail and formality they want.

Question 2

You should write the purpose statement only after researching the specific alternatives the report will discuss.

Accepted Answer

To write a good purpose statement, you must understand the basic problem and have some idea of the questions that your report will answer. However, you should write the purpose statement before researching the specific alternatives the report will discuss.

Question 3

Analytical reports interpret data for the reader and recommend actions or solutions.

Accepted Answer

Reports can be called information reports if they collect data for the reader, analytical reports if they interpret data but do not recommend action, and recommendation reports if they recommend action or a solution.

Question 4

A manager's report about the various economic opportunities that were available during his trip to Luxembourg is a credit report.

Accepted Answer

Trip reports can simply share what the author learned at a conference or during a visit to a customer or supplier. These reports can also recommend action based on that information.

Question 5

Companies' annual reports and audit reports are types of analytical reports that present and interpret data for readers but do not make recommendations.

Accepted Answer

Annual reports provide financial data and an organization's accomplishments during the past year and audit reports provide interpretations of the facts revealed during an audit.

Question 6

Secondary research retrieves information that someone else gathered; it includes library research and online searches.

Accepted Answer

Secondary research retrieves information that someone else gathered. Library research and online searches are the best known kinds of secondary research.

Question 7

Accident reports can simply list the nature and causes of accidents.

Accepted Answer

Accident reports can simply list the nature and causes of accidents in a factory or office. These reports can also analyze the data and recommend ways to make conditions safer.

Question 8

Informal reports may be letters,memos,or computer printouts of numerical information.

Accepted Answer

Informal reports may be letters and memos or even computer printouts of production or sales figures.

Question 9

Progress reports can simply summarize an applicant's income and other credit obligations.

Accepted Answer

Progress and interim reports can simply record the work done so far and the work remaining on a project. These reports can also analyze the quality of the work and recommend that a project be stopped, continued, or restructured.

Question 10

Documenting the need to purchase an additional 20 computers for the customer service department based on growth,demand,and sales data is an example of a justification report.

Accepted Answer

Justification reports justify the need for a purchase, an investment, a new personnel line, or a change in procedure.

Question 11

The data,evidence,and facts required to produce a report must be both available and comprehensible to the person preparing the report.

Accepted Answer

The data, evidence, and facts required to produce a report must be sufficient to document the severity of the problem and to prove that the recommendation will solve the problem. It must be both available and comprehensible to the person preparing the report.

Question 12

The purpose statement appears in your proposal,but not in your final report.

Accepted Answer

The purpose statement goes both in your proposal and in your final report.

Question 13

The easiest way to ask many questions to a group of people is to conduct an interview.

Accepted Answer

The easiest way to ask many questions is to create a questionnaire, a written list of questions that people fill out.

Question 14

Formal reports typically contain elements such as a title page,a transmittal,a table of contents,and a list of illustrations.

Accepted Answer

Formal reports contain formal elements such as a title page, a transmittal, a table of contents, and a list of illustrations.

Question 15

Extracting data with a computer program is not considered as research.

Accepted Answer

The research may be as simple as pulling up data with a computer program or as complicated as calling many different people, conducting focus groups and surveys, or even planning and conducting experiments.

Question 16

Feasibility reports provide information but not analysis to support a recommendation.

Accepted Answer

Feasibility reports provide information and analysis to support a recommendation and evaluate a proposed action and show whether or not it will work.

Question 17

Payback reports provide calculations of the point at which a new capital investment will pay for itself.

Accepted Answer

Make-good or payback reports provide calculations of the point at which a new capital investment will pay for itself.

Question 18

Once you have defined your problem,the next step is to write a purpose statement.

Accepted Answer

Once you've defined your problem, you're ready to write a purpose statement.

Question 19

Key words are the terms that the computer searches for.

Accepted Answer

Key words are the terms that the computer searches for.

Question 20

When writing a report,you should start writing your first draft only after all the research is completed.

Accepted Answer

When writing your report, start writing your first draft before the research is completed. An early draft can help clarify where you need more research.

Quiz 15: Planning and Researching Proposals and Reports

It is a good idea,when planning to write a report,to talk to your readers to determine how much detail and formality they want.

You should write the purpose statement only after researching the specific alternatives the report will discuss.

Analytical reports interpret data for the reader and recommend actions or solutions.

A manager's report about the various economic opportunities that were available during his trip to Luxembourg is a credit report.

Companies' annual reports and audit reports are types of analytical reports that present and interpret data for readers but do not make recommendations.

Secondary research retrieves information that someone else gathered; it includes library research and online searches.

Accident reports can simply list the nature and causes of accidents.

Informal reports may be letters,memos,or computer printouts of numerical information.

Progress reports can simply summarize an applicant's income and other credit obligations.

Documenting the need to purchase an additional 20 computers for the customer service department based on growth,demand,and sales data is an example of a justification report.

The data,evidence,and facts required to produce a report must be both available and comprehensible to the person preparing the report.

The purpose statement appears in your proposal,but not in your final report.

The easiest way to ask many questions to a group of people is to conduct an interview.

Formal reports typically contain elements such as a title page,a transmittal,a table of contents,and a list of illustrations.

Extracting data with a computer program is not considered as research.

Feasibility reports provide information but not analysis to support a recommendation.

Payback reports provide calculations of the point at which a new capital investment will pay for itself.

Once you have defined your problem,the next step is to write a purpose statement.

Key words are the terms that the computer searches for.

When writing a report,you should start writing your first draft only after all the research is completed.