Classification of Technical

Reports 9
In the workplace, the report plays an important role,
whether you are preparing one for your supervisor, the
executive staff, board of directors, or clients.

It may be short and simple, in the form of a

memorandum or email, or it may be more several
pages long.
Whatever its length, content, or destination, the end result is
the same: a report must be informative, factual,
understandable, and neatly presented.
Business report is broad in scope and covers
numerous written documents necessary in doing
business such as incident report, accomplishment
report, recommendation report, financial report, and
so on.
Article Report 1
It is a simple report which aims to inform the
masses. This report focuses on any general interest.

This is like the magazine article we read on

regular days.
Laboratory Report 2
Is a comprehensive report written to communicate
laboratory works and observations to the
management.

It also focuses on the question, “How did we

do it?”
The following are the common parts of a laboratory
report:

a.Abstract. This part shows the outline of the entire experiment.

b.Introduction. This part presents the objectives and importance
of the experiment. Sometimes, the background of the report
often includes theoretical predictions for what the results
should be.
c. Procedures. This part is sometimes called methods or steps
for it presents the step-by-step methods on how the experiment
is done.
Cont’d.
d. Results and Discussion. This part presents the discussion of the
experiment as well as the results which are composed of tables and
figures.
e. References. This part includes the sources and references used in
conducting the experiment.
f. Conclusions. This part summarizes the results of the experiment.
i. Appendices. This part is composed of raw data, calculations, graphs,
figures, pictures, communication and so on that you have not included in
the report itself.
Information Report 3
The main function of this report is based from the
title itself, to inform.

This report includes periodic and annual

report.
a. Periodic Report

Is a type of information report written by the

employees or subordinates which they submit daily,
weekly or monthly to their superiors to note
information of interest to the organization to show
comparison and tendencies.
b. Annual Report

Is a type of information report which includes the

listing of activities, projects, and events of an
organization during whole year round to show
progress, financial status, and general state of affairs.
This can be classified as public or private.
Special Information
Report 4
Is composed of three subcategories which are
preliminary report, progress report, and final report.
a. Preliminary Report

Is a type of special information report that collects

information about a proposed project which includes
the costing, designs, and other elements.
b. Progress Report

Is a type of special information report that records the

history of an activity from the time it has started up to
the present date of writing.
c. Final Report

Is a type of special information report that report

submitted after completing a project to show how
plans were delivered.
Research Report 5
Is a common report which generates data either in a
laboratory or in the field.

The contents and organization of this type of report

have a basic logic: you present your data and
conclusions, but also present information on how you
went about the experiment or survey.
The following are the contents of a research report:

a.Introduction. This part of a research report provides the

reader a background of the report as well as the purpose of the
report.
b.Problem. This includes essential inquiries and situations that
led to the writing of the report.
c. Purpose, Objectives, and Scope. This section tells the reader
what the researcher intends to do. also, the aims of the
research as well as the limits to be covered are included in this
part.
Cont’d.
d. Review of Literature. This part of report includes related
readings from different literatures such as books, journals,
articles, magazines, encyclopedia, and the likes.
e. Materials, Equipment, and Facilities. These include the
supplies, resources and facilities that were utilized in the report.
Cont’d.
f. Theory, Methods, Procedures. These tell the reader how the
report writer conducted the research. These include the processes
involved in the completion of the report.
g. Results, Findings, and Data. These present the outcome of
the research with the use of tables, figures, and charts. The
tables, figures, and charts are interpreted and explained by the
researcher.
Cont’d.
h. Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. This
includes the conclusions based from the findings and the
recommendations are in turn based on the conclusions.
i. Bibliography. This is the list of all the sources and references
used by the report writer in accomplishing the research report.
The general format of a research report commonly
includes the following:

o Transmittal Letter
o Title Page
o Table of Contents
o List of Figures
o List of Tables
o Abstract
o Introduction
o Problem, Background
Cont’d.
o Purpose, Objectives, and Scope
o Review of Literature
o Materials, Equipment, and Facilities
o Theory, Methods, and Procedures
o Results, Findings, Data
o Discussions, Conclusions, and Recommendations
o Bibliography
Field Report 6
Is intended to improve student understanding of key
theoretical concepts of a course through observation and
reflection of real-life practice.

In addition, this type of report facilitates the

development of data collection and observation skills
and allows students to see how theory applies to real
world practice.
When writing a field report, you need to consider two
things:

a. Systematically observe and accurately record the details and

information of a certain aspect of a situation; constantly
analyze your observation for meaning.
b. Keep the report’s aims in mind while you are observing;
consciously observe, record, and analyze what you hear and
see in the context of a theoretical framework (Glesne &
Peshkin, 1992).
Recommendation Report 7
Is written to answer questions which are somehow critical
to decide on. It shows options or choices so that a good
decision can be drafted.
The following elements are the typical contents of a
recommendation report:

a. Introduction
b. Technical Background
c. Make Comparisons
d. Critical Requirements
e. Conclusions
f. Recommendations
Incidental Report 8
Is written to narrate incidents prior to, during, and after a
situation suddenly occurred. We should bear in mind that
incident report is different from narrative type of essay.
The presentation of ideas in an incident report is
systematically arranged and organized using
appropriate language. This kind of report uses simple
and clear words and avoids using jargons and
technical terms.
There are things to consider in writing an incident report:

a. The context of the incident

b. Details of the incident
c. Thoughts, feelings, and concerns about the incident
d. Demands of the incident
e. Impact of the incident
Accomplishment Report 9
Is written for the purpose of presenting the company,
organization, or institution’s activities and achievements
and to monitor and check if the plans were successfully
carried out.
Every organization or business entity provides a
format of an accomplishment report.
The following are some steps in writing an
accomplishment report:

a. Use the prescribed template of your company;

b. Create tables or charts with the following columns: number,
action or activity, initiator, person responsible, remarks
(target time, comments);
c. Add risk factor if needed; and
d. Include a list of who will be receiving this report.
Cont’d.
There are more common types of reports such as feasibility
reports, inventory reports, staff utilization reports, travel reports,
study reports, justification reports, and so on.