paul mundy writing a project report collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

19
Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Upload: laurence-baldwin

Post on 13-Jan-2016

214 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Paul Mundy www.mamud.com

Writing a project report

Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Page 2: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Steps in writing a document

1. Decide what info you will need

2. Collect the information

3. Focus the topic – what is it about?

4. Organize the information

5. Write a draft

6. Rewrite the draft

Page 3: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Decide what types of info you need

Mechanical

Name of project

Locations

Times, duration

Budget

Names of organizations and people, contact details

Exploratory

Problem

Purpose

Main activities

Achievements

Creative

Photos, graphics

Human-interest stories

Quotations

Implications

Recommendations

Page 4: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Collecting information Familiarize yourself with the project

Read relevant documents – especially the approved project document

Talk to people involved Develop questions to ask

Gather information Visit the field Interview the project manager and staff Interview partners Interview beneficiaries Collect documents, photos

Page 5: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Collecting information

Ask questions Observe Soak up information like a sponge Make notes Think of interesting angles while you are

gathering information

Page 6: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Find out

What has the project done? What has it achieved? Has it done what it said it would? What went right, and why? How can the

project build on this? What went wrong and why? How can this be

corrected? What interesting things happened? What’s

new?

Page 7: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Focus the topic

Think of three highlights to focus on Separate your main points from the detail

What am I trying to say? Discuss the subject with someone

Tell him/her a story Explain what happened Give only the information the listener needs to

understand

Page 8: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

The elevator pitch

Imagine you are in a lift with Bill Gates What would you tell

him about your project?

What is the most important thing to say?

You have 2 minutes! Used with investors

Page 9: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Nine Cs of an effective elevator pitch1. Concise As few words as possible, but no

fewer2. Clear Your grandparents can understand it3. Compelling Explains the problem4. Credible Explains how you solved the

problem5. Conceptual Not unnecessary detail6. Concrete Specific and tangible7. Customized Addresses audience’s interests8. Consistent Same basic message9. Conversational Not complete, but aims to interest

audience in more information

Page 10: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

4 Organize the information

Page 11: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Organize the information

What is the story about? Main idea to which all other ideas relate

Page 12: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

What we want to end up with

Evidence

Focus

Lead

A carefully constructed story with evidence supporting our main idea

Page 13: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Does your org have a set format for reports?

Create a document using those headings

Sort your information into those categories

Write the information under the right heading

Yes No No

Create one that works for you

Find one that works for you

Adapt it if needed

Use it!

Collect info you need for this format

Page 14: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Organize the information

Make a short list of 7-8 categories your information falls into Eg, Situation, Problem, Production, Intervention,

Results, Solution Label your notes with these categories Sort the notes according to category Sort the categories into a logical order

Page 15: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Write!

Four ways to start Write a summary sentence Write some possible leads Write an ending Write without notes

Don’t Start off with a 100-page report and try to edit it

down to 3 pages

Page 16: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Write

Focus What is the story about?

Organization What information is included? How is it presented?

Page 17: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

Rewrite

When you have finished writing Have you said it well enough? Reread what you have written

Is it in the right order? Is it interesting? Does it grab the reader’s

attention? Does it say anything new or useful?

Page 18: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

When you have finished writing Ask someone else to read it

Ask them to be critical of the structure, organization, logical flow

Ask them if the piece is interesting, easy to read Ask them what they learned after reading

Page 19: Paul Mundy  Writing a project report Collecting, organizing and writing information on a project

More information

BBC SXSW (click on the video) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7947729.stm

Youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0tan49rmc

O’Leary: Elevator Pitch Essentials