国际商务信函写作（英文版）Unit 18 Business Reports.ppt

As the business environment grows in its complexity, the importance of skillful communication becomes essential in the pursuit of institutional goals. Business report is an orderly, objective message used to convey information from one organizational area to another to assist in decision-making or problem-solving. We will study illustrations of practical reports and the problems will provide the opportunity for students to develop and sharpen their communication skills. 3. Language and Tone of Business Reports Language Tone How Is a Business Report Laid Out? 1. Structures of Reports 2. Outlined Structures of Major Types 3. Layouts of Reports 1) Short Reports Now we are using this space for a few words on reports that are brief in subject matter and short in length. Short reports serve business purposes in their own right. Shortness does not imply any surrender to quality or utility. If anything, they are more organized and "distilled", so to speak. We might as well have a look here at the structure and organization of two typical short reports, before we talk about the structures of other formal types. Figure 1 Skeleton of a short and informal report 短篇非正式报告纲要 Figure 2 Highlights of a short but formal report 短篇正式报告纲要 2) Long Reports A long report may contain many reports of varying lengths and types. The format outlined below is one of the most frequently adopted structures for long business reports. It is important that readers have a clear idea of the components it contains. Also important to note is that this outline below can be identical to the contents page of a formal report. For that purpose, all readers have to do is to add page numbers on the right to each item in the major framework. Also, if need be, readers can alter or replace most of the items in this outline to suit your actual report requ