TO: Leslie Patching, English Department FROM: Christopher Harkness, Student DATE: February 4, 2014 SUBJECT: Highlights of recent

chapter reading discoveries

Within the text Technical Communication Today by Richard Johnson-Sheehan, I have learned that there is a big difference between types of analytical reports that show results, and Incident Reports that recount issues encountered within a project or situation. Analytical Reports These reports are about being concise. No effort is wasted going into detail that is not directly attributed to the scientific (or otherwise) study at hand, and we are left with a quick report of the facts that adequately covers the subject without any wasted effort. Often times these reports will go about their business in a fashion similar to Introduction>Methodology>Results>Discussion>Conclusion format, but not always. These are used to present the findings of a study that has yielded results to be published, but it is the most concise format in which to give the reader the quick version much like an abstract might be used in another situation. Incident Reports While similar to analytical reports, in the sense that they all address the root cause of a problem or situation, incident reports give the reader an understanding of the events that led up to a given error or problem. In the same way that analytical reports give a general overview of the methodology behind a set of results, incident reports give a chronological breakdown of events leading up to an event. As the name implies, incident reports are utilized to convey and record details and report them to a superior. The difference between these two reports in how information is ultimately compiled and conveyed. For example: If we are compiling information on a chemical study and we knew that the resultant chemical reaction could become volatile we would make note of this within either the methodology or the introduction so as to let everyone reading the reporting know of the dangers; but we would not delve deeper into the what-if scenarios that are present when dealing with volatility in chemicals. However, should our experimentation result in the detonation of said chemical compound triggering a laboratorywide evacuation, and rendering lab A6 a total loss, we would want to recount each and every detail that led up to that catastrophic event. Now that I am aware there are very specific differences between these report styles, I will be able to adequately convey information in both these formats with a particular focus in mind for the desired audience. Previous to these examples I found it difficult to establish the differences between an incident report and an analytical one, considering the similarities they share. In the future when writing an incident report, a chronological style will be far more desirable than the analytical approach I once used.