G040 - Lecture 05

Common Document Layouts

Mr C JohnstonICT Teacher

www.computechedu.co.uk

Session Objectives

Know standard layouts for formal business documents

By able to apply standard layouts to common documents and other communications

Publicity Flyers Used to promote your business, Left around, handed to people, put through letter boxes, Printed on single sheet of paper – typically A5 / postcard

size, Could be single or double sided Need to grab attention

High use of colour Strange shapes of card Large writing Short sentences

Questionnaires and Forms Used to gain feedback or collect information for a

specification purpose, Often the purpose is stated at the top of the questionnaire, Should be easy to understand and easy to complete with

clear instructions, Shading and borders add structure - often you find individual boxes for

each character so its easy to process as written information is clear, Questions tend to be closed for ease of processing although

sometimes open questions are asked, Scales from 1-5 are often used to gauge peoples opinions, Try and fit them on one piece of paper so parts don’t get lost.

Business Letters

A formal written communication form from a sender to a recipient for a specific purpose,

Layout follows a standard format: Reference Number / Subject of letter Content of letter Close (Yours….) Signature of person sending letter A note of copies or enclosures

Company address / logo Reference numbers Date Recipients name and

address Greeting Typically the senders information will appear in the middle of the letter as a letter head, although sometime will be left aligned,

The language used for a letter will vary depending on what the letter is for.

Newsletter Internal or external document which informs people of what is going on within an

organisation, Normally newsletters are laid out in columns like a newspaper and have a title at

the top and date of issue, Pictures are used throughout the newsletter to illustrate articles, Typical newsletter features could include:

Company news, Jokes / puzzles / entertainment, Readers offers, Classifieds / adverts, Births / Marriages / Deaths,

A main story, Interviews with stars Readers letters, Employee news, Jobs / whose got a job,

Presentations Used to display information on screen as part of a display system, lecture, training session or trade fair for

example, Each slide should have a clear title, and minimum text as people have to read them quickly or from a distance, The text included should summarise a point so needs to be chosen carefully, Consistent use of colour and text style is required – often companies corporate colours are used, Graphics are used to illustrate the points, Presentations often use other media including sound, video and animation to bring them to life.

Brochures / Catalogues Used by companies to advertise their products with the aim of selling them, It will clearly display the company name, contact details and date any prices are valid till, Products will be laid out clearly with a picture, price and textual description – a grid system or tables

may be used for clear presentation, Product descriptions will use a positive language style to sell benefits and make them desirable, Terms, conditions and legalities will be included somewhere, Pictures will be high quality to make you want the products on sale.

Memo A memo is a brief document which is used to communicate with organisation

members, Typical features on a memo include:

Heading memorandum normally centred, Recipient name, senders name, date and heading aligned using same tab stop, Main body of memo is usual written under a line to improve presentation, The body of the memo is short and less formal that a letter, To end a memo you should use your initials.

Memos don’t have a greeting or complimentary close as the senders and receivers will know each other well.

Business Reports Formal multipage document which will report on

something – could be justification of the years accounts or findings of market research,

Will typically have the following structure: Main content Conclusion Appendices Index

Title Page Abstract or summary of report Contents Page Introduction

Language used will be formal with SPAG clearly checked Main content will be set out as numbered sections and

paragraphs, Any graphics, tables or charts included will be labelled as

figures so they can be reffered to within the text.

Website

Many companies have websites as a a means to advertise their products / services and communicate with customers.

The site will use the house style of the organisation so customers can relate to it,

The design of a homepage is vital as its often the first page on a site you will see,

Typical homepage features include: Special offers / sample products Ability to register / login Latest company developments Customisable Suitable page title in blue bar

Name of the company What the company offers Contact details Navigation aids to rest or site Facilities to easily find products

Session Task

Download this topics exercise from my website and complete it.