CHAPTER 4

THE REPORT
 REPORT
• A report is a methodical, well-
organised document that
defines and analyzes a certain
issue or a problem.
• The main purpose of a report
is to provide information to its
readers.
•Reports are used in
different professions,
and there are various
types of reports
varying according to
the purpose.
Informal Report
• The purpose of an informal
report is to inform, analyze and
recommend.
• It usually takes the form of a
memo, letter or a very short
document like a monthly
financial report, research and
development report, etc.
• This report is shorter and
informal than a formal
report.
• It is written according to
organization‘s style and
rules but generally does
not include the
preliminary and
• The informal report is
generally more conversational
in tone and typically deals with
everyday problems and issues
of an organization.
• Sales reports, lab reports,
progress reports, service
reports, etc. are few examples
of this kind of reports.
An informal report usually
consists of:
•Introduction
•Discussion
•Recommendations
and reference
Introduction:
• Mention the general
problem first, so that the
readers can understand the
context.
• Then state the specific
question or tasks arising
from the problem that you
will be dealing with.
• Finally, explain the
purpose of the essay and
its expected results.
 Since this is an informal
and a short report, this
part does not need to be
long. Two or three
sentences will be
sufficient.
Discussion:
• Present your findings
clearly and briefly, in
an appropriate
method.
• You can use lists,
tables, charts, etc. with
adequate
• Present your results in
descending order of
importance. this way, the
most important information
will be read first.
• This will be the longest part
of your report since this
contains the major
information.
Conclusions and
recommendations:
• The conclusion of a report,
depending on its intention, should
remind the reader what actions
need to be taken.
• Recommendations section might
not be needed unless it is
requested.
• It depends on the
company’s/organization’s policy.
Formal report
• The purpose of a formal
report is collecting and
interpreting data and
reporting information.
• The formal report is
complex and long, and may
even be produced in bound
book volumes.
A formal letter generally consists of:
• Title page
• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Method / methodology
• Results / findings
• Discussion
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Appendices
• Bibliography
Title page:
• Title page should contain
the title of the report,
name of the author, name
of the course (if it is
written by a student) or
company and date.
Executive summary:
• Executive summary is the
summary of the whole report
in a logical order.
• This should highlight the
purpose, research methods,
findings, conclusions, and
recommendations.
• An executive summary
should be written in the past
tense and should not be
longer than 1 page.
• Though this section is
included in the first part of
the report, it is easier to
write this part, after
completing the rest of the
Introduction:
• The introduction should
contain the main
problem, its importance
and the goals of the
research.
• The background and
context of the report are
also included in this part.
Method/Methodology:
• This is the section where
you explain the methods
used in your research.
• If it is a scientific research,
you can describe the
experimental procedures.
Results\Findings:
• This section presents the
results or findings of your
project/research.
• You can also present
data using visual
methods such as tables,
graphs, etc.
Discussion:
• In this section, you can explain
what the above results mean.
• You can also analyze, interpret
and evaluate data, note
trends, and compare results
with theory.
• Generally, this is referred to as
the most important part of the
report.
Conclusions:
• This is a brief summary of
findings.
• Conclusion should not be
confused with results/findings
section as the conclusion is a
simplification of the problem that
can reasonably be deduced
from the findings.
Recommendations:
• In recommendation
section, suitable
changes, solutions
should be provided.
Appendices:
• This contains
attachments relevant
to the report. For
example, surveys,
questionnaires, etc.
Bibliography:
• This is the list of all
references cited.
• “Gender Gap Report 2008
cover” by World Economic
Forum at en.wikipedia –
http://www.weforum.org/gen
dergap. (CC BY-SA
3.0) via Commons
THE END