Reader-friendly reports : a no-nonsense guide to effective writing for MBAs, consultants, and other professionals / Carter A. Daniel.

Includes index.

I. Planning a reader-friendly report : Right and wrong, boss and book ; What business writing isn't and is -- Understanding the assignment ; Assessing the audience ; Determining the controlling purpose ; Organizing a report -- II. Writing a reader-friendly report : Understandability ; Organized paragraphs ; Strong sentences and clear style ; Sentence connectives ; Numbers and words ; Possessive apostrophes ; Commas ; Semicolons and colons ; Dashes and hyphens ; Spelling ; Graphs and charts ; A note on a, an, and the, for non-native speakers -- III. Research techniques : Myths and realities ; The nine steps in research ; Five other suggestions about effective and efficient research ; General tips about different kinds of research ; Footnotes -- IV. Other things : Letters and email ; Résumés ; Interview questions ; Talks -- V. Sample reports : A really bad report ; A bad report ; A good internal report ; A good external report -- VI. The appearance of the finished document : Paper ; Typing ; Punctuation ; Page numbers ; Format and layout ; Cover sheet ; Fastening ; Date ; Right margin ; Proofreading -- Appendix : [Checklists] 1. Format and appearance of the report ; 2. Thesis and the thesis paragraph ; 3. Subheadings ; 4. Segment and paragraph structure ; 5. Sentences and diction ; 6. Graphs and charts ; 7. Research.

Reader-Friendly Reports is the A to Z guide to ensuring you meet your first priority: making sure people can understand and remember your report from beginning to end. --from publisher description.