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Usually reports are made in one of these four forms:memorandum，letter，short informal report，and long formal report．Most reports that you will be concerned with will fall into one of the first three categories．The report in either memorandum or letter form is both short and informal．Usually the letter form is a little more formal than the memo．The memo is used for intercompany reports．The letter might be used if you were writing a short report that would go to the higher levels of management—the president of the company，for example，or it could be used for reports going outside of the company．The short informal report is usually no longer than ten pages．The long formal report is structured to a definite pattern and is ordinarily prepared by specialists—sometimes brought into a company just to prepare the report—or by an outside agency．These reports may take long periods of time to prepare，cost hundreds of thousands，and run hundreds of pages in length．

a．Reports in Memo Form备忘录式的报告

The memorandum form of a report is the simplest to write．Such reports are usually written deductively—the point or conclusion that has been reached is put into the opening．The body adds details and the closing is a summary with perhaps an offer of further information or assistance if the reader wishes it．It should be one，or no more than two，pages in length．It includes a summary of the original request to remind the reader of the purpose of the report．It does not ordinarily include conclusions or recommendations;it is simply an informational report．

A Sample Report in Memo Form

At the request of some of the division directors5，we have made a survey of machine transcribes to see what could be done to improve both the quality of transcripts and the speed with which the work is completed．These are their suggestions:

1．Both dictators and transcribers should be familiar with the dictating and transcribing equipment．A manual is available for every machine;it explains how to use the equipment．

2．It would be helpful if all dictators would:

1)Mark the indicator slips with special instructions and corrections．Mark the slips，too，to slow the length of the letter or report．

2)Spell any proper names as well as technical or unfamiliar words．

3)Control their voices so that the dictation is neither too loud nor too soft．Be sure to enunciate clear．

4)Supply as much information as possible—number of copies，type of messages，and identity of dictators．It would also help if salutations and subject lines，when used，were dictated．

5)Indicate when you would like the dictation complete the work—dictation is rush．

3．Machine transcribers will complete transcription by the day following the receiving of the tape unless the dictation is marked rush—then every effort will be made to complete the work when it is wanted．

Please let me know if you have further suggestions．I should also like to know if these suggestions result in better transcripts．

b．Report in Letter Form信函式的报告

A report in letter form is much like the memorandum report．The tone，though，of a letter is more formal than that of the usual business letter or memorandum．Like the memorandum，the letter report is both factual and informational．It may include tables，charts，or other graphic presentations that substantiate6 facts and conclusions included in the report．The inside address，salutation，and complimentary close may be omitted;letterhead stationery is ordinarily used for the first page．Headings，subheadings，and visual aids are used to make reading easier．A subject line can be valuable．

A Sample Report in Letter Form

You wrote to us asking for information concerning our experience with community college television．Our school has participated in the Community College Television Series for the past two years and has provided television instruction to almost 2，100 students．The following data summarizes our experiences in this program．

The program，provided by the Community College Television Series，is shown over one of the local networks．Enrollment procedures are those suggested by the Series．Most of the television classes are shown twice—once in the early morning andonce in the afternoon or evening．Our college also provides a service of videotaping each lesson at the Audiovisual Center so that students can review them in the Video Lab at their convenience．The programs vary in quality from class to class;generally，however，they seem to be informative，academic，and well-done．

From surveys we determined these factors about the participating students:

1．Age　2013—2014　2014—2015

Age under 20 years　15%　8%

21—30 years　34%　22%

over 65 years　0　0

Conclusion:Television students are older students who are probably are full-time employed，married，have children，and are part-time students．

2．Sex　2013—2014　2014—2015

Conclusion:The trend of more women returning to college appears to hold true in Classes by Television as well．

3．Occupation　2013—2014　2014—2105

Full-time Homemaker8　21%　23%

Full-time Employed　42%　43%

Part-time Employed　29%　26%

Conclusion:The goal of College for Television of reaching full-time employed and homemakers who would otherwise find it difficult to attend campus classes is being realized．

4．Educational Level　2013—2014　2014—2015

No High School Diploma　1%　2%

High School Diploma only　7%　12%

1—30 Units of College　36%　35%

31—60 Units of College　41%　31%

Bachelor's Degree　12%　16%

Master's Degree　3%　4%

Conclusion:Both regular full-time and part-time students enroll in the Television Classes with an increasing number of other students participating．

College by Television is a valuable service to the community．The enrollments havevaried from year to year depending upon the type of classes provided by the Series and the amount of publicity given the classes at both the local and national levels．As the quality of the television program continues to improve and new instructional techniques developed，the effectiveness of televised instruction will also increase．We plan to continue with the Series．

Should you require additional information，we shall be happy to supply it．We are glad to share our experiences．

c．Short Informal Report较短的非正式报告

The short informal report is the usual form that most reports take．Certainly it is the form that the average business writer will use most often．The short report differs from memorandums and letter reports，though，short report topics are limited and frequently quite simple．

A short report may include some or all of these parts:

(2)a summary of findings with conclusions and recommendations;

(3)an authorization letter or a statement that the authorization was made informally;

(4)the purpose or problem of the report;

(5)a statement of findings，conclusions，and recommendations．

Other items that might be added include graphic illustrations such as tables or charts and bibliographical information9．Headings and other typographical display devices might be used to make the report easier to read．The report in its final form may be unbound or bound either at the top or side．

A sample of an Informal Short Report

This report was prepared under the supervision of Mrs．Carla Martinez，administrative secretary of the word-processing10 center，to determine the reason for the restricted use of the new dictating equipment that was recently installed at Empire Products and to suggest means of increasing the use of this equipment．

Problem:Three months ago a new dictating system was installed at Empire Products．The system consisted of direct lines to the word-processing center enabling dictators to use existing telephones to dictate reports，correspondence，and other material．

The system was thoroughly checked before installation;surveys were conducted to determine whether employees were in favor of the new system(90 percent were)，and whether work loads11 justified the purchase and installation of such equipment．It was decided that such equipment would be valuable to the company．

After two months of using the equipment，these are the figures on actual usage．Approximately seventy-five people should be dictating over the lines;so far about half—53 percent—of these people are actually doing so．Some who use the equipment admit to writing the dictation in longhand12and then dictating over the lines．Those who are not using the dictation equipment often bring longhand drafts with oral instructions to the word-processing center．A few come to the center to dictate to one of the transcribers．This causes confusion as well as delays in the transcription of all work．The transcribers are having problems with the quality of the dictation—some of it is difficult to understand，which results in a lot of unnecessary correcting and retyping．This，in turn，takes extra time for both dictators and transcribers．

What has happened is that a system that we had anticipated would save time，cut costs，and improve the quality of our transcripts not only is not doing so but is actually creating additional problems．

Survey:Questionnaires13 were sent to both dictators and transcribers concerning the problems．These are the results:

75 Questionnaires to dictators　69

10 Questionnaires to transcribers　10

Reasons for Problems:

Unfamiliarity with equipment　17　2

Prefer dictating to secretaries than to

impersonal machines　21　　—

Difficulty in dictating long or technical

reports or letters　33　　—

Speech peculiarities or distorted

dictation causing difficulty in

understanding dictation　2　6

Inconvenience of use:dictators

cannot ask secretaries to read back;

easier to give oral instructions;

a transcriber has difficulty asking

questions when they arise in

transcription　37　2

Work brought into the center is

often expected to be completed out

of scheduled order　8　6

1．Prepare in booklet form thorough written procedures for both dictators and transcribers on how to use the equipment．Distribute these booklets to all personnel involved．

2．Incoming mails should be processed—that is，files should be checked and information gathered—before the mail is given to the dictator．

3．Set up a training program that can be given at regular intervals for both new employees and those who have questions or need additional training．Perhaps videotaped dictation sessions might prove helpful．

4．Ask dictators to be very aware of speaking properly，placing their delivery，and avoiding personal distractions such as smoking or eating or moving about the room while dictating so that all dictation is easy to understand．

5．Dictators should not expect the transcribers to stop their work and take shorthand dictation．

6．Ask transcribers to follow adopted schedules—do not take work from dictators out of schedule merely because the dictator brings it into the center and waits for it．

7．All transcription should be supervised14 by the administrative secretary in charge of the word-processing center．No work should be given to transcribers directly．

8．A follow-up study should be conducted within two months to determine if use of the equipment is increasing．

d．Long Formal Report较长的正式报告

The formal report is structured in a definite pattern，and it differs significantly from the other reports discussed．It is presented in more detailed form;that is，it is longer，more complex，and has more parts．Because of its length，it contains more reading aids in the form of headings，subheadings，graphs，charts，and other visual aids．It should be typed or printed in uniform style．Often it is prepared by specialists，either inside or outside the company．

The following is a detailed listing of the parts found in a long formal report;not all are used or even necessary:

1）Cover（封面）—a folder or covering used to protect the report．It usually bears the name of the report and other title-page information．

2）Flyleaf15（衬页）—blank sheets of paper placed at the beginning and end of the report．

3）Title fly16（书名页）—a page bearing only the title．It is usually typed in all capitals and placed in the upper third of the page．

4）Title page17（扉页）—a page bearing the complete title and subtitle，the name and title of the reader（probably the person requesting the report），the name and title of the writer，the firm and its address，and the completion date of the report．If no cover is used，the title page isconsidered to be the first page of the report．

5）Letter of authorization18（授权书）—the letter requesting that the report be made．If no written request was made，then the oral request should be included in either the letter of transmittal or the introduction．

6）Letter of acceptance（受让书）—a written answer to the authorization letter．It is rarely included in the report．

7）Letter of transmittal（绪言）—a letter on letterhead stationery written after the report is completed．It accompanies the report as a kind of preface or foreword．It may give the purpose of the report，a summary of conclusions，a mention of problems or limitations，and an acknowledgment of the help of others．

8）Acknowledgments（鸣谢）—used only if there were a number of persons helping with the report；otherwise，acknowledgments are included in the letter of transmittal．

9）Table of contents（目录）—an outline of the headings of the report and page numbers on which the headings appear．It is a complete breakdown of headings and subheadings as they are listed in the report．

10）Table of illustrations（插图目录）—a listing of graphic materials．It is included only if the illustrations are extensive．A short listing of illustrations could be combined with the table of contents．

11）Abstract（摘要）（summary，synopsis，digest，or preface）—a condensing of the report；it is usually 5 to 10 percent of the full report．Its purpose is to save the reader's time．It is written after the report has been completed．

12）Body of the report（报告正文）—the text of the report，consisting of three parts—introduction，text，and conclusions or recommendations．The introduction usually contains the purpose or reason for the report and something of the methods used in obtaining the information and material（research）．The text shows the organization，presents the facts that were found，and leads the reader to the findings（conclusions or recommendations）．The conclusions and recommendations are the result of the research presented in the text．If the report is written deductively，the conclusions are placed right after the introduction；if written inductively，they are placed after the text of the report．The text makes up 75 to 80 percent of the report．

13）Appendix（附录）—the supplementary material that the reader does not need to read but that might be of interest．Such things as correspondence or survey forms used in preparing the report might be included．

14）Bibliography（参考资料）—a listing of reference sources consulted．