PREPARING REPORTS

The aim of this handout is to enable you to write an effective report. An effective report should be capable of being;

- read without unnecessary delay,

- understood without difficulty,

- accepted and acted upon.

Before writing the report you should ask (and answer) the following questions:

1. What is the precise purpose of the report?

2. What is my overall objective in writing it?

What results do you want to achieve by writing the report?

Your aim will probably include,

to inform

to describe

to explain

to instruct

to evaluate and recommend

to provoke debate

to persuade

3. Who will read the report?

4. What information will I need to obtain? - Identify the main features that need to be examined,

and deal with them logically.

5. How shall I present my findings? - A good report is like a map - it places information in a logical sequence and enables the reader to move progressively through the document. It should also be capable of being accessed quickly when the reader just needs to view the conclusions. The structure of a report should form the skeleton onto which you attach the 'meat' of the report.

Ensure the structure of your report matches the expectations of the person who asked you to commission it. Your aim is to provide information in an understandable form. Grammatical conventions can turn a simple sentence into a tongue-twisting nightmare.

When writing the report, it is useful to use the third person; This means that instead of saying, "I noticed that several machines were awaiting repair", the report should say, "During a tour of the site, it was noticed that several machines were awaiting repair"

Make sure your document has page numbering

Use conventional font styles, not an italic font, and keep font sizes to 12 point for ease of reading.

The 10 Commandments of Report Writing

  • The Reader is the most important person.
  • Keep the Report as short as possible.
  • Organise for the convenience of the Report user.
  • All references should be correct in all details.
  • The writing should be accurate, concise and unobtrusive.
  • The right diagrams with the right labels should be in the right place for the reader.
  • Summaries give the whole picture in miniature.
  • Reports should be checked for technical errors, typing errors and inconsistency.
  • The report should look as good as it is.
  • The Reader really is the most important person.

Most of these commandments are common sense, though when they come to write a report, many people break the rules hoping thereby to impress the reader. Readers really do appreciate short reports which are complete, but without unnecessary padding. It is much easier to find relevant information in a well presented, concise report; the Commandments aptly refer to readers as users. If other work is properly cited, the reader can follow up any points of interest. Attractively presented work is more likely to be read and the ideas accepted.

REPORT STRUCTURES

Front Cover - This should identify the author and project title

Title Page - This should include the:
- Project Title
- name and job title (if appropriate) of the author
- name of the qualification (Awardin First Line Management)
- awarding body – ILM
- month and year in which the project is submitted

Table of Contents - This is a directory for the reader and is completed when you have finished the report. Headings and sub headings should be listed, with page numbers. Appendices should be listed (usually numbered) in the order to which they are referred in the main report.

Introduction - This provides a context for the report and prepares the reader for what is to follow. It may include some or all of the following:
- brief definition of the problem
- background, circumstances, history
- assumptions, limitations, parameters
- definitions and explanations
- glossary of terms if any technical expressions are used (or place in the first Appendix)
- a brief outline of the host organisation or department. It should be a concise history.

Main Body of the Report. This contains all the information you gathered during your research. You may present information in a chronological order, or break information down into useful and connected groups. The body of the report should lead to clear conclusions about the nature and solution of any problem.

Analysis and Conclusions.
This section will analyse the data arising from the investigation and draw conclusions drawn directly from that analysis. Deductions should be based on logical reasoning and should be clearly and concisely stated.
- Possible alternative solutions should be developed and evaluated (taking into account relevant financial and human resource considerations) before taking a decision on what to recommend.
- There must be a relationship between your research and your conclusions. Evidence convinces people, not assumptions

Recommendations.
These are a statement of the author’s proposals for the situation investigated in the light of the evidence arising from the analysis and conclusions.
- Recommendations need not be dramatic and revolutionary; they may confirm that the present situation is best.
- Key implications of a proposal should be included in terms of financial and human resources. A separate statement of cost, or savings, that would result from the recommendation may be included. Ideally this information should have been identified in Analysis and Conclusions.

Appendices.
This section should include supporting evidence arising from the investigation, which it is not appropriate to include in the main body of the report. These could contain details of surveys, charts and diagrams that are too bulky to be included in the body of the report. Don’t include every completed questionnaire; one sample is enough.
- There must be adequate cross-referencing with the main report to enable the reader to find supporting information quickly and easily.
- Appendices should be essential sources of reference to help explain the content of the report, not for irrelevant material to increase its bulk.
- A useful appendix is a Glossary of Terms – a list of technical terms you have used.

Bibliography. An alphabetical list of books, newspapers or magazines consulted during the research, or quoted in the report.

Results or findings - Present your findings in as simple a way as possible. The more complicated the information looks, the more difficult it will be to interpret. There are a number of ways in which results can be presented.

Here are a few:

• Tables

• Graphs

• Pie charts

• Bar charts

• Diagrams

Illustration checklist

• Are all your diagrams / illustrations clearly labelled?

• Do they all have titles?

• Is the link between the text and the diagram clear?

• Are the headings precise?

• Are the axes of graphs clearly labelled?

• Can tables be easily interpreted?

• Have you abided by any copyright laws when including illustrations/tables from published documents?

Useful References

Barker, A. The Right Report. The Industrial Society, 1993.

Bowden, J. How to Write a Report. A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Report Writing. 2nd ed. How To Books Ltd, 1994.

Ellis, R., Hopkins, K. How to Succeed in Written Work and Study. Collins, 1985. (Chapter 12. The Report).

Forsyth, P. 30 Minutes to Write a Report. Kogan Page, 1997.

Hemingway, J. Report Writing. Briefcase Booklet. Video Arts, 1993. (See accompanying video).

Sinclair, C., McNally, J. Writing Reports in Sauders, D. (ed.) The Complete Student Handbook. Blackwell, 1994.

Sussans, J. E. How to Write Effective Reports. 3rd ed. Gower, 1991.

Vidal Hall, J. Report Writing. The Industrial Society Press, 1992.

Wainwright, G. Report Writing. A Practical Guide to Effective Report Writing Presented in Report Form. 2nd ed. Management Update, 1990.

Williams, K. Writing Reports. Developing Writing. The Oxford Centre For Staff Development, 1995.

Writing reports - Business reports can take many forms; it could be a report on a large project that has taken several months to complete, a weekly sales report or a brief report on the success of a new production process. Reports can be half a page long or 500 pages long, but they all have key principles; the key facts are identified, and then presented in the right order as simply and directly as possible.

When preparing a report the following points should be considered:

/ Who are your readers? This will determine how you structure the report and where you place the emphasis, what you can afford omit or assume the reader already knows, how to pitch the language and what technical terms you may include.
/ Remind yourself constantly about the knowledge of the reader and remember that he or she will know far less about the subject area than you. Make sure that you express yourself clearly and check that you have included all the relevant facts to facilitate the reader's understanding.
/ Don't treat you reader as though he or she knows nothing. An overly simple report can be very irritating to the reader, as can an overly technical one.
/ Don't include your own opinions. You are presenting facts, conclusions and recommendations for other people to make their own decisions and opinions. Be objective and balanced, especially in the recommendations section.
/ Be clear about your terms of reference. You may need to seek guidance on how deep you should delve into a particular topic. You should also be clear on the expected length of the report and how much time you should devote to it.
/ Find out the expected deadline for the finished report and construct a timetable, breaking it down into manageable chunks to be dealt with on a daily or weekly basis.

Researching material for a report:Finding the information to include in your report may take longer than you anticipate. Depending on the type of report, you may need to visit libraries, other companies, conduct interviews, watch training videos, observe people at work, search through old records, etc. To cope with this variety of activities you will need to plan a strategy. First map out the topics that you intend to cover in the report, and identify for each one where you will get the material. Then you need to ensure that you will be able to access the information. You should then construct a schedule of activities ensuring that you waste as little time as possible in collecting the material.

Making notes - As you collect information and develop ideas and thoughts about how it will be presented in the report you will need to document and file it. If you have a large amount of material on a particular topic it is probably best to use major categories and sub-categories for filing purposes. Index cards may be used to write notes on each article or interview pulling out the important points to be included in the report, they can also be used to record your thoughts and opinions as you work through the material. The advantage of using this kind of system is that you will have all of the important material gathered in one place in an easily accessible form. Always take notes whenever you come across something useful. Trusting information to memory alone is dangerous.

Planning the Structure- Once you have familiarised yourself with the report material, you feel happy that you have a 'feel' for the topic, and you have gathered material from a variety of sources, you should be able to visualise the shape of the report and begin drafting.

It is usually easier to begin with the body of the report rather than the introduction or conclusion because the main body is based on the facts from the information you have collected. The introduction and conclusions will be much easier to write after you have decided how you will present the facts. You may even find that in writing the body of the report, new ideas emerge, and your conclusions have altered slightly.

Planning the structure of the main body of the report should be done logically. The best approach is to write down all of the ideas, items, topics, etc., that come into your mind and group them under broad headings. Study the relationships between them and begin linking sections of the report schematically.

The body should broadly cover the following aspects in order:

/ A description of what you did to gather the information, e.g. experiments conducted, surveys, interviews, source material used, etc.
/ An account of the findings that emerged from your investigations
/ Your interpretations of the findings.

The order of topics in the report will depend on the nature of the report. You may decide to tackle each topic systematically one at a time, or you may decided to present all of the evidence for one side of the argument before presenting the evidence for the other side. You will need to consider the best way of presenting the material so that the reader grasps the points you are making without the need for a lot of explanation. The reader should be guided through the material in a gentle way so that he/she can understand how you have reached your conclusions.

Once you have a basic structure you can begin to add more information under each heading and sub-heading. This is the time to think about how sections link together, what arguments you will make, and what points you will emphasise. If you need to add diagrams or graphs to make the information clearer you should ensure that these can be drawn and produced in time for the final draft.

Drafting - Once you have a structure you need to begin writing. The best way is just to write and not to worry about style, grammar, punctuation, etc. Get the ideas on paper and you can correct the rest later.

The second draft is the time to think about how sections link together, how arguments are presented, and adjust the tone or emphasis. It is better to write in the third person, i.e. 'they, he, she' rather than in the first person i.e. 'I or we', but where it is appropriate to do so use the first person to convey something of your personality.

Wherever possible, express yourself in a positive rather than negative way. State what you did, not what you didn't do. Use factual language, don't embellish the facts, and avoid using superlatives or extravagant expressions.

Conclusions and recommendations - Once you have presented the material you must draw it together for the reader, along with your recommendations if required. First summarise the main points to come out of the research. Secondly, indicate what can be deduced from these findings, and then list your recommendations if they are required.

Introduction - The introduction sets the scene for the report, it may state why the report was commissioned and who commissioned it. It should usually be no longer than one paragraph, however a research report may use the introduction to provide some background to the research, e.g. what studies have been carried out previously and what they revealed.

Presentation - A longer report will require the following:

/ Title page
/ Terms of reference - state the objectives you were given, and a brief account of how you obtained the information
/ Table of contents
/ Acknowledgements - an opportunity to thank the people who helped to compile the report.
/ Supplementary material (if appropriate)