Business writing (деловое письмо). Палагина С.С. - 96 стр.

        c) how was the investigation made? (authorities consulted, people
interviewed, places visited, discussions held, reading done);
        d) what are the specific results or recommendations.
     3) Begin with the summary statement. A formal or lengthy report usually begins
with the summary of the methods used to obtain information and the results of
recommendations. The summary is followed by the body of the report which
discusses these summary points in detail.
     4) Be selective but comprehensive. No report reveals everything known about a
subject – be selective about which details to include and which to omit. Nevertheless
no competent writer regrets collecting more material than will be used.
     5) A report should be objective. It should be approached without personal
prejudice. Results and recommendations should be based on materials collected and
assembled with an open mind. An effective report contains no exaggerations and few
superlatives. A reliable report writer presents facts as clearly as possible.
     6) A report should be direct. Each paragraph should begin with the topic
sentence. A reader who wants to examine in detail a particular part of the report
should be able to locate that part without fail just by glancing at the topic sentence.

      7.3 Suggested reports

      7.3.1 Preliminary Report

     To: Mr P Hardy, Personnel Manager                From Miss J Smith, Personnel
Officer
     Re: proposed introduction of flexible working hours

      As requested I have been finding how various members of staff react to the idea
of this change.
      Findings – There was a lot of support for a flexible working hours scheme.
Some relished the thought of longer lunch breaks. Others thought they would be able
to avoid the worst of the traffic and that parking would be easier. Resistance came
from the Data Processing Department who pointed out that they have to act as a team,
and (understandably) the Security people who appreciate the extra work it would
involve for them. The Office Manager felt that, apart from being expensive to
administer, such a scheme would need to be very carefully supervised.
      Recommendations – I feel much of the resistance could be overcome by
introducing flexible working hours for a trial period, say, three months. During this
time people could generally find out for themselves whether it was beneficial or
otherwise. We could sort out some of the inevitable snags as they appear. In the
meantime I think we should arrange some information sessions so that people know
exacltly what we have in mind. I am sure they would be able to offer some useful
suggestions too. Finally, I think we should accept that the purpose of the exercise is
to improve efficiency. To that extent I think we would need to watch productivity
closely, but I believe we would find that the flexible working hours significantly

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