Report Writing

ELTIS, Symbiosis
 Ice Breaker
• Narrate the experience of your project report/ a report which recently
you wrote at office.
• What was the topic?
• How did you get the information?
• How did you organise it?
• What were the findings?
• What were the recommendations?
• Conclusion
• What are reports?
• What purpose do they serve at the workplace?
• How should reports be?
• Is there a prescribed format for reports?
• Is there an appropriate style for reports?
 Report: Introduction
• Report is a basic management tool used in decision-making.
• Reports are documents designed to record and convey information to
the reader.
• Reports provide information to analyse, recommend or both.
• Reports help us plan, organise, manage and evaluate business activities
• Reports serve us the repository of information and enables the
authorities to take timely decisions.
• Reports reveal the gap between employees and resources and help to
complete the project.
 Group Presentation: Report
Your college/office cannot meet the online teaching/meeting needs of staff and
students/employees.

Discuss the following points while presenting:

• Introduction
• Current Facilities
• Strengths and limitations
• Recommendations
• Conclusion

The other groups are supposed to ask them questions based on their presentation.
 Types of Reports
Informational
Interpretive
Routine/Periodic
Situational
Analytical
Progress
Annual reports
Inspection
Confidential
 Report: Think before you Write
.

• What kind of report is requested or expected?

• How much time has been allowed to prepare the report?
• What is the purpose of the report?
• What exactly is to be examined?
• What facts are to be furnished?
• For whom is the report meant?
 Basic characteristics
• ACCURACY
• CLARITY
• CONCISENESS
• OBJECTIVITY
 Characteristics of a good report
• Precision
• Accuracy of facts
• Relevance
• Reader orientation
• Objectivity of recommendations
• Simple and unambiguous
• Clarity
• Brevity
• Grammatical accuracy
 Writing: Major Phases
• Planning-Understanding the readers
• Outlining and defining the plan of work
• Gathering the data and providing analysis
• Drafting- Giving a structure to the report- Completing the other
sections with relevant points
• Finalizing
• Documentation
• Revising, Formatting and Proofreading
 Formal Business Format
• Title

• Introduction

• Mode of survey/findings/research

• Findings / Analysis

• Conclusions

• Recommendations
 Use the right Tense
• Use Past tense to report
✓ What happened
✓ What you did
✓ What someone reported
Use the Present tense to express
✓ General truths
✓ Conclusions drawn
Use the Future tense
✓ for perspectives(what you will do)
 Think before you submit
• How did you conduct the survey?
• When did the subject study occur?
• Why was the report written (function), including under what
authority, for what reason, or by whose request
• What was done, what problems were addressed, and the results,
including conclusions and/or recommendations
 Checklist
1. Report considers the audience’s needs
2. Format follows function of report
3. Format reflects organizational norms and expectations
4. Information is accurate, complete, and documented
5. Information is easy to read
6. Terms are clearly defined
7. Figures, tables, and art support written content
8. Figures, tables, and art are clear and correctly labeled
9. Figures, tables, and art are easily understood without text support
10. Words are easy to read (font, arrangement, organization)
11. Results are clear and concise
12. Recommendations are reasonable and well-supported
13. Report represents your best effort
14. Report speaks for itself without your clarification or explanation
 Exercise
1. Find an annual report of a company you like. Review it with all the points you
learned and provide examples that you learned to your classmates. (Speaking)

2. Prepare a report on efficiency of Working From Home (WFH). Include the main
points
• Introduction
• Present scenario
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Recommendations or suggestions
• Conclusion
 Practice
• You have just completed a six-week training in a company. The head of your
department has asked you to prepare a report evaluating the importance
of the training.
Write a report including the following points:
• Introduction
• Learning outcome
• The benefits and drawbacks of the training
• Suggestions/ recommendations for such trainings
• Conclusion