Message Strategies: Informational Reports

Assume that your college president has received many student complaints about campus parking problems. You are appointed to chair a student committee organized to investigate the problems and recommend solutions. The president gives you a file labeled "Parking: Complaints from Students," and you jot down the essence of the complaints as you inspect the contents. Your notes look like this:

Inadequate student spaces at critical hours

Poor night lighting near the computer center

Inadequate attempts to keep resident neighbors from occupying spaces

Dim marking lines

Motorcycles taking up full spaces

Discourteous security officers

Spaces (usually empty) reserved for college officials

Relatively high parking fees

Full fees charged to night students even though they use the lots only during low-demand periods

Vandalism to cars and a sense of personal danger

Inadequate total space

Harassment of students parking on the street in front of neighboring houses

Now prepare an outline for an informational report to be submitted to committee members. Use a topical organization for your report that categorizes this information.