The Art of Writing Reports

REPORT WRITING
Definition of reports
Provide

technical data,collected and

analyzed, presented in organized
form
Answer a request or supply a data
Serve a practical purpose
Are authorized or requested by one
person for particular audience
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Short Reports
Memorandums

(memo report)
Always should be
Objective
Un-biased

Common types of
reports
Periodic
Periodic

reports are written daily ,

weekly, monthly, annually
Examples : grade, sales bank
statements etc.

Observation reports
Observation

reports record
observable details

May

present results of experiments,

research , testing

Progress reports
Progress

report gives the status of a

project currently underway
Progress reports may answer these
questions
__ how much work has been
accomplished?
__ how much money has been spent?
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Progress reports continued..

Is

the progress on schedule?

Are the changes needed?
What unforeseen problems have
arisen?
In essence, progress reports address
the present , past , and future of a
project.
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Feasibility report
Analyses

what is possible and

practical
Used for decision making :
__should we choose another part of the
country?
__Should we build it or not?
__ what is the best location for the
building?
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Content of the Longer

Reports

1. Title Fly
Contains only the report title
Construct titles to make them
describe the report properly
As a checklist use:who, what,
where, when, why, and sometimes ,
how.

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Content of the Longer

Reports

Who: Rafi Groups

What: building recommendations
Why: of a commercial plaza
Where: on mall road

one or two-word titles are too broad.

Subtitles can help conciseness

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2. Title page
The

title page displays the title,

identification of the writer and
authorizer, and date.
Title
Recipient of the report
Prepared by
Date.
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3.Letter (memo) of
authorization
Include

letter or memo of
authorization if the report was
authorized in writing

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4. Letter of transmittal,
foreword, preface.
Letter of transmittal is a personal
message from the writer to the reader.
It substitutes for a face to face meeting
Its main goal is to transmit the report
In addition it includes helpful comments
about the report. The close is goodwill
Letter of transmittal is usually in
personal style.

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4.(a) Foreword or Preface

For

broad audiences, a foreword or

preface is required
Forewords or preface simply
comment about the report
Preliminary messages from the writer
to the reader
They seek to help the reader
appreciate and understand the report
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4.(a) Foreword or Preface

(continued)
They

may include helpful comments

about the report
Its use
Its interpretation
Follow-up

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5.List of illustrations &

Table of contents
Include a table of contents when the
report is long enough to need a guide to
its contents
The table of contents lists
Headings
Prefatory parts
Figures
Tables
It gives page numbers

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6. Executive summary
Also

called
Synopsis
Abstract
Epitome
Precis
Digest

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6. Executive summary
(continued)
It

summarizes the report

It includes
Highlights of the facts
Conclusions
And recommendations
__in proportion
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REPORT PROPER

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THE REPORT PROPER

Most

of the reports are in indirect

order

Introduction
Body
conclusion

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MAKEUP OF A REPORT
INTRODUCTION
THE

REPORT BODY

THE

ENDING OF A REPORT

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INTRODUCTION
Should

prepare the readers

In deciding what to include, consider
all likely readers
Then determine what those readers
need to know..use the following
checklist
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Checklist for introduction

Origin.the

facts of authorization
Problem..what the report seeks to do
Purposethe reason for the report
Scope..the boundaries of the problem
Limitations.anything that impairs the
quality of the report
History..how the problem started,
what is known about its
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Checklist continued
Sources

and methods.how you got

the information
More complex research requires
thorough description
Definition of the unfamiliar words,
acronyms, or unfamiliar words
Preview a description of the route
ahead.
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THE REPORT BODY

The

report body presents and

analyzes the information gathered.
It should be clear and concise
Language should be suitable to the
requirements

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The Ending of the Report

Reports

can end in various ways

The ending summary is not as
complete as the executive summary
Ending summary is the summary of
major findings
Include recommendations if the
readers want or expect them
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Appended Parts

Add an Appendix or Bibliography when

needed
Appendix used for supplementary
information
It supports the body of the report
Bibliography when your investigation
makes heavy use of published resources,
you normally use a bibliography

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