T215B

Communication and
information technologies (II)

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Session 8
Block 4
Protecting and prying 1
Session Outline
• Part 8: Writing longer reports
• Introduction
• The executive summary

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• The appendices
• The bibliography
• Issues of complexity
• A multi-stage approach to planning and
writing a report 2
1. Introduction [1/3]
• Remember: you were introduced to many of the important
principles of writing reports in T215A.
• You looked at why reports are written.
• You learned about:
•

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Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion
• Supplementary material structure
• Section numbering
• style of reports is usually formal
• use of tables and diagrams in reports.
3
1. Introduction [2/3]
• In outline, the structure of a longer report is normally:
• Title page – with a title that unambiguously states what the
report is about
• Executive summary – giving the essential facts about what was
done plus the conclusion(s)

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• Contents list (sometimes this comes before the executive
summary)
• Introduction – similar to the one in a short report, but rather
longer as the ‘scene’ to be ‘set’ is bigger
• Body – the major portion of the report, divided into several
sections and subsections as needed in order to chart a clear path
through the topics being discussed
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1. Introduction [3/3]
• In outline, the structure of a longer report is normally
(Cont.):
• Conclusion – similar to the one in a short report, but rather
longer as there is more to draw together
• Glossary –need for clear definitions of terms and for an

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alphabetical order, if required
• Appendices – as necessary
• Acknowledgements – as necessary
• Reference list
• Bibliography

5
Session Outline
• Part 8: Writing longer reports
• Introduction
• The executive summary

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• The appendices
• The bibliography
• Issues of complexity
• A multi-stage approach to planning and
writing a report 6
2. The executive summary
• Executive Summary:
• “A non-technical summary statement designed to provide a quick
overview of the full-length report on which it is based.”
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2007)
• “A brief synopsis at the beginning of a business plan or business

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document that highlights key facts, issues, and conclusions.”
The Small Business Town Network (2007)
• It is a synopsis – that is, a summary – of the key facts, issues
and conclusions of a report that gives a quick overview in a
non-technical way.
• It is normally written after the report is otherwise complete.
7
3. The appendices
• The appendices: “An extra section of a book or document
usually found at the end of the main text. Appendices (plural of
appendix) often contain more in depth explanations of the
topic than the main text, and often contain tables, graphs,
statistics etc.”

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Chisholm Institute of Technical and Further Education (2008)
• So appendices are for more in-depth explanations, tables,
graphs and so on.
• Mathematics or scientific or technological principles might appear
in appendices in technological reports; detailed costings and how
they were derived might appear in appendices in business reports,
and so on.
8
4. The bibliography [1/2]
• A bibliography is simply an alphabetical list of all the
published material – whether in print or on the Web –
that you have used to help you to prepare your report.
• It has much in common with a reference list.

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• A bibliography takes exactly the same format as a
reference list, except in one small detail.
• This small detail relates to books that are not compilations
of chapters by various authors and is that in a bibliography
you would not include a page number at the end.

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4. The bibliography [2/2]
• The main difference between a reference list and a
bibliography is in what items they include.
• The reference list includes only documents and web pages which
you have explicitly cited or from which you have explicitly quoted.
• A complete bibliography includes all of these plus all of the other

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documents and web pages from which you took information
(however little) that helped you to prepare your report.
• You are strongly urged to keep complete records as you go
along, and to do so in a systematic way in a single, safe place.
• You should also note whether you quote from or cite the
resource, and if it’s a book, the relevant page number, as this
will help you to compile your reference list.
10
5. Issues of complexity

• One technique that can help with handling complexity

is the identification and separation of concerns.
• Dividing up the subject matter of the report.

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• The value of having the concerns well identified and
separated is that you can usually find out what you need to
know about each of them separately.

11
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [1/11]
• Stage 1: high-level planning
• Write down the topics your brief tells you that you
must include.
• Add in any other topics your own experience or

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knowledge tells you that you are likely to need to
include.
• You might want to do some reading at this stage, but
don’t let yourself get drawn into the detail yet.

12
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [2/11]
• Stage 2: mid-level planning
• This next stage in writing a report is yet more planning,
but this time in more detail.
• Take each of the concerns in turn and find out a little

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more about it.
• Then list each of the sub-concerns you will need to
address under that concern.
• Examine your lists for overlap.

13
6. A multi-stage approach to planning and writing a
report [3/11]
• Stage 3: investigation for the contents of the report
• How are you going to store and organize the material
you find for your report?
• One suggestion would be to create separate files for

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each of the top-level concerns you identified in Stage 1.
• Keep complete details of all the sources you use.
• This stage of your preparation is a good place to
identify any figures – diagrams or photographs – that
you will probably want to use, and also any data that
you will probably want to present in tables.
14
 6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [4/11]
• Stage 4: write the first draft of the body and the conclusion
• After writing the body, go straight on to write the conclusion.
• If you chose to place your recommendation in a separate section then
ensure that the conclusion briefly repeats the recommendation and
summarizes the major arguments underlying it.

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• Otherwise, place the recommendation and its justification here.
• Alternatively, if you were asked to supply the facts on which others will
make a decision, then ensure all the facts you have amassed in the
report are summarized in the conclusion.
• If you were asked to lay out some options, without recommending any
of them, then make sure the conclusion mentions them clearly and
unambiguously, and that any relevant data pertaining to them is
summarized as well. 15
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [5/11]
• Stage 4: write the first draft of the body and the
conclusion (Cont.)
• If you did not give your proposed sections and subsections
numbers and titles while you were carrying out Stage 2, do so
now.

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• If you did, check that they are still appropriate and amend them
as necessary.
• You now have a first draft of the most important parts of your
report: the body and the conclusion.
• They should conform approximately to your estimated word
counts for these parts of the report.
• The major part of your work is complete, but you haven’t yet
finished.
• Your next stage is critical evaluation and improvement. 16
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [6/11]
• Stage 5: critical evaluation and improvement of
the body and conclusion
• You should use the list of questions you met in T215A for critically
evaluating :
• Does the report meet the brief – exactly?

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• Is the content factually accurate?
• Is the structure appropriate for the audience, purpose and medium?
• Is the style appropriate for the audience, purpose and medium?
• Is the technical level appropriate for the audience, purpose and
medium?
• Is the English correct?
• At this point you should also bring in any deficiencies in the body you
noted while you were writing the conclusion and any necessary
changes you noted.
• When you have critically evaluated both the body and the 17
conclusion, go on to improve them ➔ This will produce a second
draft.
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [7/11]
• Stage 6: the other components of the report
• Now is the time to write:
• the introduction
• any acknowledgements

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• any glossary, appendices, etc.
• the reference list and bibliography.
• If some of your appendices are long, then you may
well need to critically evaluate and polish them.
• You also need to check the overall word count if you
have been given a limit.
• This may cause you to do some pruning – or perhaps
to add some additional material. 18
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [8/11]
• Stage 7: polishing, appearance and executive
summary
• At last you can move to a final polishing of your report.
• Does it read well as a whole?

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• Is it coherent?
• Does it still meet its brief, including any length stipulation?
• Make any changes necessary until you are satisfied with your
answers to the foregoing questions.
• Next you should turn your attention to the appearance of the
report.
• If you are working to a house style, have you adhered to it in
every detail? 19
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [9/11]
• Stage 7: polishing, appearance and executive
summary (Cont.)

• Have you indicated where each paragraph starts and ends,

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ideally by leaving a space between paragraphs?
• Have you left at least 2.5 cm margins all round your pages?
• Have you numbered the pages?
• Are any tables and diagrams you have used well placed on
the page, or do you need to rearrange some page layouts
slightly?
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6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [10/11]
• Stage 7: polishing, appearance and executive
summary (Cont.)
• Now write, critically evaluate and polish your
executive summary.

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• Place it on a separate page right at the start.
• Finally, write the contents list and check carefully that
it is complete and accurate.
• Place it after the executive summary, unless you are
working to a house style that asks for the contents
page before the executive summary.
21
6. A multi-stage approach to
planning and writing a report [11/11]
• Numbered paragraphs in a report
• In some lengthy reports every paragraph in the report is
numbered.
• Usually these paragraph numbers reflect the section number.
• Thus the first paragraph in Section 1 would be numbered 1.1, the

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next would be numbered 1.2; the first paragraph in Section 2
would be numbered 2.1, the next 2.2; and so on.
• Occasionally the paragraphs are numbered consecutively right
through the report.
• When paragraphs are numbered, the number is placed at the
start of the paragraph, sometimes out in the left-hand margin but
sometimes simply as part of the paragraph.
• If you are asked to write a report for an organisation where the
house style is to number the paragraphs then you should do so, 22
following their style for how to number and where to place the
numbers.