Report Writing

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION & ETHICS (HS -304)

(WEEK-13, LECTURE-30)
BY MS. NIDA AFTAB
 What does report mean?
• ‘Report is a general term that may suggest a wide range of formats.
• If you give someone a verbal account, or write them a message in a letter or
memorandum informing them of facts, events, actions you have taken,
suggestions you wish to make as a result of an investigation and so on, you
are reporting’
 Advantages of Report
- People can study the material in their own time
- Saves time
- Helps avoid conflicts and emotional reactions
Reports are meant to be useful. The information contained in a business report might
be useful in several ways.
1. To assist management
2. Permanent record and source of reference.
3. To provide information to interested parties
4. To make your own views known
 Organizational Patterns
• Like letters and memo, reports may be organized directly or indirectly. The reader,
expectations, and the content of a report determine its pattern or development. For
longer reports, some parts may be developed directly while other parts are arranged
indirectly.
There are certain stylistic requirements in the writing of reports, formal or informal.
1. Objectivity and impersonality
2. Ease of understanding
3. Precision
 Display Techniques
Various display techniques may be used to make the content of a report easy to
identify and digest.
1. Headings
2. References
3. Spacing
 Format of a report
Large-scale formal reports may run to hundreds of pages and will therefore
require:
1. A list of contents and index
2. Summary of findings
3. Strict sections and referencing
4. Supporting appendices and list of sources.
 Short Formal Report Structure
The short-formal report is used in contexts such as middle management
reporting to senior management. It should be laid out according to certain
basic guidelines. It will be split into logical sections, each referenced and headed
appropriately.
The short informal report is used for less complex and lower-level information.
You might be asked to prepare such a report for your manager.
 Short Formal Report Structure
i. Title (Ask yourself)
ii. Terms of reference/Introduction (What have I been
asked to do?)
iii. Procedure/Method (How do I go about it?)
iv. Findings
1. Section heading
Sub heading
Sub point
v. Conclusion (What is the gist of the result?)
vi. Recommendations (What particular recommendations do I
wish to make?)
 Thank you for watching!
• For any question, write a comment on Google classroom or ask me in the
next live session.