How to write annual reports - Emphasis

How to write annual reports How to write annual reports Annual reports should be focused, well written and dynamic – and, above all, they mustnt shy away from giving a clear and accurate message. A good place to begin when you need to write one (or, indeed, any other document), is with a question. Why do you write? This isn’t as foolish a question as it seems. We all write, but the style will differ depending on the medium and the audience. Criticising government policy in a column in the Financial Times needs a certain degree of logic and rhetoric. Criticising government policy on the wall of a public convenience, however, demands a style that is less formal and more succinct. Oh, and a good-sized permanent marker. (A biro will make you look like an amateur.) Every business action – including communication – must be targeted, with a clear result in mind. Internal actions are almost always intended to improve efficiency, while external actions have three main aims: 1. to increase sales 2. to promote the brand 3. to reassure current or potential shareholders. A lot of bad business writing is born of an obsession with number three. We are so afraid of saying something that might be construed negatively that we opt to say nothing at all. Sometimes that’s fine, when your purpose is to reassure; to show that the writer and his organisation conform to preconceived notions. Like a parent saying there, there, there to a crying baby, the words themselves don’t matter. If you’re a listed company, then there are rules about what’s in your annual report and too often the summit of achievement is to get it written without attracting any attention. A simple description of the business position is all that’s called for. Here’s a middling example – neither good nor bad – from Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke: In the UK, we have an outstanding core business. It made progress in the year but some aspects of our performance can improve. Stronger sales momentum here is a key priority and I am confident that the focus and energy our new UK leadership team is bringing to the business will see a return to form in the months ahead as Tesco tries to do its bit to help customers who face pressure on their household budgets. The increasing scale and competitiveness of our international businesses are now driving strong growth in sales, market share, profits and returns, supported by the generally improving global economic environment. We have built some excellent springboards for future growth, and whilst there is still work to do, particularly in the United States, I am delighted with our performance in Europe and Asia, where I expect further strong growth this year and beyond. Taken from the Tesco annual report 2011 It uses fairly plain English to describe the situation in Tesco’s main markets in guardedly optimistic terms, while refusing to promise anything. You might point out that Tesco’s share price dropped by a quarter following publication of the results, but we expect the CEO’s spectacles to be rose-tinted. But things can go badly wrong if you try to impress your readers. Lucy Kellaway of the FT gave her award for Outstanding Services to Bunkum to Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, for this horror from the company’s annual report: In the wholesale channel, Burberry exited doors not aligned with brand status and invested in presentation through both enhanced assortments and dedicated, customised real estate in key doors. Such clichà ©-ridden jargon only invites ridicule. So how do you avoid becoming the target of mockery? What rules can you follow if you actually want to say something, to convey a message, to change minds or inspire action? Whole books have been written on this subject, but some of the basics can be summed up here. 1. Write it three times Your first draft is simply a list of the points you want to cover. Your second draft gets those points into some sort of coherent narrative. Don’t worry about it being an unreadable mess or that you’ve used the wrong word here and there. No-one will ever read it but you, although you might be surprised to find your prose is more vigorous than normal – especially if you’re the sort of executive who can speak with charisma. The third draft will tidy it up, ideally without smothering the vibrancy of the writing. Then get someone to check it and edit it. If it’s for publication, use an outside professional. 2. Avoid clichà ©s Your readers will switch off the moment you synergise an ecosystem. As soon as you leverage solutions to issues going forward, or, worse, exit a door not aligned with brand status, you are doing exactly what teenagers do when wearing the uniform of whatever subculture is cool this week. They are masking their individuality in an effort to conform. Clichà ©s are the calling cards of a mind that has stopped thinking for itself and is using thoughts that are off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all, microwave-for-three-minutes-for-a-delicious-individual-meal. Clichà ©s are verbal clip-art, which means mediocrity. If you are familiar with seeing a word or phrase in print, don’t use it. 3. Use the right imagery We use imagery all the time, because it brings our prose to life and paints pictures in the mind. It also reveals a lot about a writer’s attitude. So, when my local health trust writes about delivering healthcare, I know that they think of healthcare as a commodity. Their language implies that the personal, human activity of caring is beneath their dignity and a long way from their thoughts. Try to use words that have literal, rather than abstract, meanings, and never forget what the word actually means. Try to picture it, and ask yourself if the picture makes sense. David Gillespie, author of the book Charisma, describes Bill Clinton as a man who does exactly what it says on the tin!; a horribly wonderful blend of mixed metaphor and clichà ©. Just try to picture it. 4. Write simple sentences Keep your sentences short and simple, but not so short that they become staccato. Keep the verb close to its subject, and always use a short word instead of a long one. When you come to cut your piece, as you almost certainly will, delete as many adjectives and adverbs as you can, starting with ‘ongoing’. 5. Use strong, active verbs Verbs are the engine of language. Nouns are the cargo; adjectives and adverbs the packaging. If you overload your prose with heavy nouns and drive them with weak verbs (‘to be’ is the weakest), then your writing will plod along like an old lady lugging twelve bags of shopping. Compare the sporting clichà © it’s a must-win game with we must win this game. The second sentence is so dynamic it almost demands an exclamation mark. Why? Compare the verbs: ‘is’ versus ‘must win’. Now compare the subjects: ‘it’ versus ‘we’. By saying ‘we’, the second speaker is taking responsibility by focusing on himself and his team, while the first speaker is looking at the game: a distant, abstract thing. The first speaker has turned the important thing – ‘must win’ – into a feeble adjective. The second speaker has made it the main verb. Above all, let your own personality come through. For more on how to write reports that yield real results, take our one-day Business report writing course. To learn more about making writing annual reports a much easier and less painful task, check out our free webinar  recording How to turn your expert analysis into exceptional reports.  Its ideal if you have to write reports to colleagues and clients as part of your day-to-day job – whether thats as a traditional written report or as a slide deck.

Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes

Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes By Maeve Maddox Writers can avoid most errors of punctuation by mastering the following conventions. 1. Introductory words, phrases, and clauses are followed by a comma. Incorrect: Moreover students are expected to read at least one English classic every six weeks. Correct : Moreover, students are expected to read at least one English classic every six weeks. Moreover is an introductory word and should be followed by a comma. Incorrect: To become fluent readers students must read outside school hours. Correct : To become fluent readers, students must read outside school hours. â€Å"To become fluent readers† is an introductory infinitive phrase and should be followed by a comma. Incorrect: If you want to write well you must be prepared to practice the craft. Correct : If you want to write well, you must be prepared to practice the craft. â€Å"If you want to write well† is an introductory clause and should be followed by a comma. 2. Nonessential information is set off with commas. Incorrect: Joseph Conrad who was born in Poland began to learn English in his twenties. Correct : Joseph Conrad, who was born in Poland, began to learn English in his twenties. â€Å"Who was born in Poland† is a clause that provides nonessential information and should be set off by commas. 3. Essential information does not require commas. Incorrect: The boys, who vandalized the public gardens, are in police custody. Correct : The boys who vandalized the public gardens are in police custody. â€Å"Who vandalized the public gardens† is essential information because it identifies which boys are meant. It should not be set off by commas. 4. A comma is placed before a coordinate conjunction that joins two main clauses. Incorrect: The cougar moved quickly but the tourist reached the safety of the cabin. Correct : The cougar moved quickly, but the tourist reached the safety of the cabin. The clauses joined by the conjunction but could stand alone as complete sentences: â€Å"The cougar moved quickly† and â€Å"The tourist reached the safety of the cabin.† A comma is not needed with a compound verb joined by a coordinate conjunction: â€Å"The tourist saw the cougar and ran to the cabin.† 5. A comma is not strong enough to join two main clauses. (Comma splice) Incorrect: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter, nevertheless they kept up with their studies. Correct : Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter; nevertheless, they kept up with their studies. Also Correct: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter. Nevertheless, they kept up with their studies. A comma splice results when two main clauses are joined by a comma. The main clauses here are â€Å"Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter† and â€Å"nevertheless, they kept up with their studies.† The word nevertheless is a conjunctive adverb. Its function is to provide a transition between two thoughts, but it is not a joining word like and or but. A comma splice can be avoided by placing a semicolon after the first clause or by ending the first clause with a period or other end stop and starting a new sentence with a capital. 6. A comma is not needed before a noun clause in ordinary narration. Incorrect: The spelunkers found, that the caves were closed to protect the bats. Correct : The spelunkers found that the caves were closed to protect the bats. The noun clause is â€Å"the caves were closed to protect the bats.† The clause functions as the direct object of the verb in the main clause, found. 7. A comma is needed before a direct quotation. Incorrect: The wizard said â€Å"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.† Correct : The wizard said, â€Å"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.† 8. Colons should be used after a complete sentence to introduce a word, phrase, clause, list, or quotation. Incorrect: Her favorite flowers are: daffodils, roses, and pansies. Correct : She has three favorite flowers: daffodils, roses, and pansies. â€Å"Her favorite flowers are† is a sentence fragment. A complete sentence should precede a colon that introduces a thought that expands on the meaning of the sentence that precedes it. 9. Main clauses that are not part of a compound or complex sentence require an end stop. When a period or other end stop is omitted, the result is a â€Å"run-on sentence.† Incorrect: The rushing waves capsized the boat indifferent gulls wheeled overhead. Correct : The rushing waves capsized the boat. Indifferent gulls wheeled overhead. The simplest way to correct a run-on sentence is to put a period at the end of the first clause and capitalize the next one. 10. Multiple exclamation points don’t belong in mature writing. Incorrect: Before my astonished eyes, the house sank into the tarn!!!! Correct : Before my astonished eyes, the house sank into the tarn! On the rare occasions that an exclamation mark is wanted in formal writing, one is sufficient. Bonus: Quotation marks should not be used for mere emphasis. Incorrect: Our staff is required to take three â€Å"safety† courses every year. Correct : Our staff is required to take three safety courses every year. In most contexts, placing quotation marks around a word suggests that the word is being used with a meaning other than the obvious one. Writers who enclose words in quotation marks merely for emphasis risk annoying their readers. No one likes to waste time trying to discern a hidden meaning where there is none. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Common Mistakes category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?Writing the CenturyConfusion of Subjective and Objective Pronouns

Investigate the arguement for restricting trade and provide argunmats Essay

Investigate the arguement for restricting trade and provide argunmats for not restricting trade. Also list and explain some coun - Essay Example In time, trade has gone through revolutionizing changes with the advent of a legal tender system. This saw trade become widespread and global in perspective because of the new terms of valuation. These new terms of valuation made it easier to conduct trade because, unlike barter trade, it was easier to carry money for long distances than the actual goods. This paper aims at investigating the arguments for restricting trade and those for not restricting trade. Restrictive trade originated in the late 1800s where rich merchants involved in trade of high value products and services sought to create monopolies in the market so that they could control the market (GILLIES, 2004: 862). This amounted to restricting trade through the formation of international organisations for traders and manufacturers of a few select items that were of high value and demand in the market. An organisation like this is allied, by agreement, to control the natural elements of supply and demand, in the market. They achieve this by fixing prices and quotas for sales, divide markets and limit supply (GILLIES, 2004: 867). These restrictive trade practices end up eliminating competition in the market, which creates a precedent for consumer exploitation. Competition, in the market, keeps all the players, in check, by ensuring that they all strive to satisfy the consumers’ needs, or risk losing out to those who fulfil their customers’ needs. Without competition in the market place, the consumers would be faced, with the aspect exploitation from unscrupulous traders out, to make a profit at the expense of consumers. When a system of trade restricts trade practices among its players, it predisposes consumers to exorbitant and unaffordable prices. Consumers are supplied with substandard goods and services because there is no alternative source of the products they seek. Elimination of competition by restricting trade robs consumers of the freedom and right of choice regarding the qua lity and supply of commodities they desire and need (BRUCE, 2001: 56). Limitation of supply creates high demand for goods and services, which exposes consumers to abuse through over pricing. Restricting trade has seen a decline in trade volume because it reduces consumers’ purchasing power and decreases the number of traders allowed to participate, in a given trade. Restriction on trade has also contributed to protection of inefficient and unqualified traders in the market who add no value to consumers or the economy of the country. Restriction on trade has seen to the development of domestic and international organisations that operate like cartels because of their characteristic monopolising of markets of their interest (FRANK & BERNANKE, 2003: 419). Beneficiaries of these organisations advocate and support these cartels by arguing that they help protect participating firms that are weak thus shielding them from unfair competition. According to most studies, business entiti es that benefit from restricted trade systems postulate that this structure of trade helps these firms deal with limitations caused by high business operating tariffs (BRUCE, 2001: 78). Cartels created because of restrictive trade systems are able to distribute risks and profits equally amongst themselves which acts as a cushion against uncertainty in the market. This uncertainty can be