Difference between revisions of "Reports"

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Introduction

Within any type of workplace, great value is placed upon good communication and the ability to efficiently share information. One common way that information is shared by businesses is in the form of reports. There are two typical types of reports: informal reports and formal reports. The following section will explain when both of these reports are used, as well as important guidelines to follow when writing a report.

Informal Reports

Informal reports are generally shorter documents, typically 2-5 pages in length, which are used for various purposes. They usually contain more content than an average letter or memo, but less than that of a formal report. There are two types of informal reports: letter report and memo report.

Letter reports – This type of report is used when a business is sending a report to recipients outside of the company. This report follows the format of a business letter, but with additional content. These are often used for smaller projects that do not require much technical content, where a more in-depth formal report is not required.

• An overview of the business letter format can be found at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/resources/handouts/businessletter.pdf.

Memo reports – This type of report is used when a business is sending a report to recipients within the company. This report follows the memo format, but with additional content. Typically, a memo report will include more technical data than its counterpart, and is often used for projects where extensive explanations may be required.

• An overview of the memo format can be found at http://www.msu.edu/~zuidema2/TWmemo.pdf.

Guidelines for Informal Reports

The following will provide a brief summary of the ten important guidelines for writing informal reports, as presented in Technical Communication: A Practical Approach.

1. Plan before writing

It is important to have a clear purpose for your report before beginning to write. The information you provide in your report, and the way it is presented, depends heavily on the audience that you are writing for. Outlining also provides an easy way to organize how your report should be presented.

• For more on these topics, please see the Purpose, Audience, and Ideas and Outlining sections, or visit UniSA's report writing page at http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/reports.asp for more tips on planning.

2. Letter or memo format

Once a format type has been decided upon, use the standards for writing a typical letter or memo. However, don’t be afraid to alter your report’s format if you believe that it could enhance your report. There will also be a few extra guidelines to follow, such as the inclusion of a report title, which is not found in the letter or memo format.

3. Make text visually appealing

To make the content clear to readers, information should be organized in an easy to understand manner. This may include creating bulleted lists, numbering steps or sections, and frequent use of headings or subheadings.

• Consider visiting the Page Layout section for more tips.

4. ABC format for organization

• Please visit the ABC Approach section for more information

5. Include an ‘Introductory Summary’

An Introductory Summary is similar to an abstract, in that it presents the reader with an overview of the information contained within the report. The length of the summary should be kept to a minimum, while providing the reader with any pertinent information. This section should be included at the beginning of the report.

6. Important details in the body

The body of your report should be organized, and easy for readers to follow. Several methods of organizing information include headings, subheadings, and using small introductions for separate sections. Paragraphs should begin with a topics sentence which contains the outline that the rest of the paragraph will follow. This will keep readers on track as they read through your report. Also, any raw data or superfluous illustrations should be avoided in the body, as they tend to clutter the report.

7. Separate fact from opinion

It should be clear to your reader what is objective, factual data, and when you are stating your own opinions or making suggestions. Keep in mind that many reports are meant to be completely objective and should not contain any subjective opinions.

8. Focus attention in your conclusion

Your conclusion should draw your readers in, and explicitly state the conclusions (or suggestions) reached in your report in some detail. If these conclusions have already been stated in the body, then keep your conclusion short by briefly restating them.

9. Use attachments for details

Attachments are a good way to send extra information, without it cluttering your report. Typically attachments will include information that only a select portion of your audience will be interested in. An example of this could be a document detailing any financial costs that were estimated in your report.

10. Edit carefully

• Please visit the Editing and Revising section for more information

Goals of Informal Reports

There are many possible goals for informal reports, and you will likely encounter quite a few of them as you continue writing reports. Some reports may center on areas such as analysis, providing recommendations, evaluations, or summaries. It is important to deduce what is expected of your report, so that an appropriate tone can be selected in accordance with the goal. Also, the goal of the report should tell you whether any subjective opinions are desired. For example, a recommendation report may require you to select a recommendation based on any data collected, as well as your own opinion.

Formal Reports

Formal reports are similar to informal reports in regards to the content; however there are also a number of differences. Formal reports are longer documents, typically 6-10 pages, and are used to explain complex topics. These reports will often have readers of different technical levels, and will present information of varying technical levels accordingly. A formal report will also include many additional sections, such as a title page, table of contents, glossary, etc.

Organizing Formal Reports

This section will give you an overview of some strategies to help you organize your formal report.

Write for all your readers

Since one of the key features of a formal report is the variability of your readers, it is important that you write for all of them. This can be difficult when the readers come from varying technical backgrounds, and since they will get frustrated easily if presented with information that is above or below their technical background. The easiest way to do this is to write different sections of your report for different level readers. This will allow the readers to quickly jump to the section most suited to them.

Emphasize beginning and endings

Another useful strategy is to emphasize your points in the beginning and ending of your report. Since these are the sections most readers will jump to first, it is important they be able to quickly grasp the aim of your report.

Repeat important points

Finally, another useful strategy is to repeat important points. When the readers are presented with the same information more than once, they will recognize the significance of the point, and will be more likely to remember it. It is a much more common mistake among technical writers to not repeat important points enough, than to repeat them too much.

Guidelines for Formal Reports

When writing a formal report there are a variety of additional sections that should be included that might not be found in an informal report. These include, as presented in Technical Communication: A Practical Approach:

1. Cover/Title Page

2. Letter/Memo of Transmittal

3. Table of Contents

4. List of Illustrations

5. Glossary and List of Symbols

6. Executive Summary

7. Introduction

8. Discussion Sections

9. Conclusions and Recommendations

• For more information on these topics and some guidelines to consider when writing them, reference the Technical Communication textbook, visit University of Calgary's report writing page at http://www.efwr.ucalgary.ca/efwr/reportwriting, or visit UniSA's report writing page at http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/reports.asp.

Goals of Formal Reports

The goals of a formal report is similar to that of a informal report, but will more often center around the explanation of highly complex and technical processes or ideas. Since this is the case, the main goal of a formal report is reader comprehension. In order to achieve this you will have to present the topic to all your readers at each of their technical levels. Formal reports can still have subjective goals, but these will likely be based off a complex idea requiring lengthy explanation.

Further Readings

http://www.tony.atherton.btinternet.co.uk/articlehowritrept.htm

http://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/divisions/virtual_tours/northey/sample_chapter_9.pdf

http://bestentrepreneur.murdoch.edu.au/Guide_To_Report_Writing.pdf

References

1. Effective Writing Program: Report Writing. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Effective Writing Program, University of Calgary: http://www.efwr.ucalgary.ca/efwr/reportwriting.

2. Pfeiffer, William S. and Boogerd, Jan. Technical Communication: A Practical Approach. Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2006.

3. UniSA: Writing reports, 2005. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Learning Connection, UniSA: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/reports.asp.