Computers

This report reviews various documents - business letter, promotional

letters, informative leaflets, spreadsheets and websites. In this

report, I intend to highlight the various aspects of each document

reviewed, pointing out mistakes and suggesting possible improvements.

Parameters I will be looking at in each of the documents are the

documents type, purpose and intended audience; language tone and

style; layout and structure; ease of understanding - content and level

(specialised or clearly explained); spelling, grammar and

typographical errors and graphical content. I will then summarise any

errors identified and suggest possible improvements in my conclusion.

Ten documents will be reviewed, some issued for this report and some

from personal research. Documents that are of similar nature will be

compared against each other, resulting in a conclusion of what is more

effective and how to combine the best elements to form a good

document.

2.0 Documents

Here are the documents I have used and their sources -

* 3.1 a - SAGA Home and Motor Insurance flyer - Daily Newspaper

* 3.1 b - Dimplex Installation and Operating Instructions - Issued

for course

* 3.2 a - The Times Mortgage Service flyer - The Times Newspaper

* 3.2 b - 1066 Pianos Cambridge advert - Issued for course

* 3.3 a - Grasslands Nursery business letter - Grasslands Nursery

* 3.4 a - http://www.gametalk.com - GameTalk

* 3.4 b - http://home.riverview.net/aroneous - Issued for course

* 3.5 a - Art of Siam Menu - Art of Siam Thai Restaurant

* 3.5 b - HarperCollins order invoice - www.harpercollins.com

3.0 Leaflets

3.1 a - SAGA

3.1 a i - Purpose - A flyer to advertise SAGA home and motor

insurance. The flyer contains all the necessary details of the

services on offer, so it is clearly intended to promote SAGA's

services. In circling this flyer, SAGA hope to get more consumers

using their services, thus increasing their market share and turnover

- advertising is a key factor in business growth. To achieve their

goals, SAGA must ensure that the flyer contains all the correct

information and that it is presented in a pleasing way.

3.1 a ii - Content - The front of the leaflet has the title across the

top, with a brief introduction about what the leaflet contains, then

there is a colourful illustration underneath. This is likely to draw a

person's attention to the leaflet, so that they will read it.

Underneath that is a statement saying how many people already use

their service and a logo to say they have won the Consumer Finance

Awards 2002. Straight away, people seeing this will be drawn to using

the service.

On the other side, there is information on the home and motor

insurance services. This includes all of the things on offer, the

special services and extras available and contact details. These phone

numbers can be used to obtain more information about the service, as

can the coupon at the bottom of the page, which can be filled in and

sent by post.

3.1 a iii - Layout and Structure - The information on the back of the

leaflet - motor and home insurance - are clearly separated to avoid

confusion, with the phone numbers underneath each. The information

itself is in clear bullet points, stating what the services offer, the

extras available, etc.

3.1 a iv - Language/Tone - The language on this leaflet is not simple,

but not at all difficult to understand. This indicates that the

service is being aimed at the average person, to cover a wide range of

the 50+ markets. The tone is not formal, as not to make it daunting,

but it isn't exactly conversational either. The tone of the leaflet is

informative, but in a more relaxed kind of way. This is more likely to

appeal to the older generations, which is who SAGA provides their

service for.

3.1 a v - Clarity/Ease of Understanding - The clear layout enables the

reader to easily take in the information and understand it. The light

and informative tone gets this information across without

overcomplicating it, so it is very easy to understand.

The text is clear and easy to read and the contact details on the form

stand out. The form is laid out clearly and simply for ease of filling

in, thus making the service appeal