PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

-REPORT WRITING

SYED.SOPHIYA
19COM65
REPORT WRITING :
Reports are factual accounts recorded objectively about significant aspects of business
transactions.

A report trains you to write in planned and orderly manner to deal with procedure and
logical presentation of ideas and information. Report writing develops the power of
discrimination ,judgement and communication.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNICAL REPORTS:

A report thus is a description that carries back to someone who was not present on the
scene. For eg. Your friend hasn’t come to college, you’ll be curious to know what has
happened . And the next day your friend will describe the entire event.

Many memorandums,letters,news,analysis of election can also be considered in a broad

sense as reports.Technical reports emanate from careful investigation, some investigation
,sound thinking,organization,clear and formal writing.

A report writer should examine and present objectively the data collected.His conclusions
and recommendations are strictly based on the facts included in the report.

TYPES OF REPORTS:

Reports are either oral or written form. Oral reports involves face to face communication.

Advantage of oral communication is that you can observe the nonverbal part of
communication and evaluate the actual message. But the disadvantage is that unless it is
recorded,it cannot be reproduced.A written report is more accurate and permanent.The
reader can refer back to it.Formal reports ,are further classified as
informational,interpretive,and routine.

STRUCTURE OF REPORTS:

A good formal report contains seventeen elements, which are grouped into three
categories,namely, preliminary parts,main text, and supplementary parts. Preliminary parts
are the matter which will come in the front.Preliminary parts consists of the cover,title
page,copyright notice,acknowledgement,authorization letter,table of contents,list of
illustrations and synopsis or executive summary. The main text is the body. It consists of
introduction,body,conclusions,recommendations. The main text is followed by the
supplementary parts. The supplementary parts consists of
appendixes,references,bibiliography,glossary,index.

PRELIMINARY PARTS:
COVER PAGE:

The basic purpose of a cover is to prevent the manuscript from regular wear and any kind of
damage.it carries the title with writers name,the submission date, classification, and
number if required.The inside and back of the cover is left blank.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

You need to acknowledge who helped you write the report. You should include the libraries
you consulted,researchers who shared their materials and so on.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS:

It details about all the images,figures,pictures,graphic design,photographs,tables.

MAIN TEXT

INTRODUCTION:

It offers a good starting point by telling the reader what the report is about.It sets the scene
and prepares the reader to follow and comprehend the information.

BODY:

The major component of the main text of report is the body,which contains the discussion
part of the report.The body presents the data in an organized for,discusses and analyzes
results.

CONCLUSION:

The main text ends with concluding remarks by the author,which will actually summarize
the main idea and highlight the recommendations.The conclusion will also suggest the
course of action for the reader to take.

SUPPPLEMENTARY PARTS:

GLOSSARY:

Glossary is a list of technical words used in the report and their explanations.

INDEX:

Index is intended to serve as a quick guide to the material of the report.It enables the reader
to locate easily any topic,sub-topic or important aspects of the contents.