UNIT –3

REPORT
WRITING
 • Reports are documents designed to record and
convey information to the reader. Reports are part of
any business or organization; they serve to
REPORT  document specific information for specific
audiences, goals, or functions. 
• A report is a formal communication written for a
specific purpose. A business report is an orderly
presentation of facts about specific activity.
• Report writing is often a very professional form of writing that is based primarily
on research and facts. Other types of writing can often be more creative, such as
fiction and poetry.
• When it comes to sections, a report usually contains different sections, with
catchy headings which may attract the attention of the audience. As against, an
essay does not have any section, its flow is continuous. However, it is divided into
cohesive paragraphs.
Purpose of a report:
To help decision-
To carry business To help planning by
To analyze data for making by providing
information to the providing factual
interpretation  necessary information
relevant parties  information
and evidence 

To help to bring
To help establish To help reduce and
effective coordination To find out the reason
effective control resolve organizational
between and among behind a problem 
systems  disputes 
departments 

To present the
To recommend
findings of an
specific action to
investigation or
solve a problem
inquiry 
TYPES OF
BUSINESS
REPORTS
 1.Based on legal formalities

A) Formal-A formal report is one which is prepared in a prescribed form and is presented
according to an established procedure to a prescribed authority.
 • Statutory: A report prepared according to the form & procedure laid down by law is called
statutory report.
 • Non-statutory: Formal reports which are not required under any law, but which are prepared to
help management in framing policies or taking other important decision are called non-statutory
report.
B) Informal-It is written in the form of a letter from one person to another. Informal reports
typically do not follow any prescribed form or procedure. They do not have any uniform
structure. They are prepared according to the convenience and requirements of the organization.
These reports may be informative or recommendatory
 2.Based on the frequency of issue

a) Periodic-They are prepared and presented at regular prescribed

intervals in the usual routine of business. They may be submitted daily.
Branch Manager of banks submits periodic reports to the Head office
on the quantum of business transacted during a period.
b) Special-They are related to a single occasion or situation. Reports on
the desirability of opening a new branch or on the unrest among staff
in a branch are special reports. Special reports deal with non- recurrent
problems.
3.Based on functions 

a) Analytical-if it analyses the facts, draw conclusions and

make recommendations, it may be described as analytical
or interpretative or investigative
b) Informative-If a report merely presents facts pertinent to an issue
or a situation, it is informative.
 4.Based on the nature of the subject

a)  Problem-determining report 
b)  Fact-finding report 
c)  Performance report 
d)  Technical report
5.Based on the number of persons

a) Reports by individuals 
b) Reports by committees or sub-committees.
 Writing Formal Reports
• A formal report is an official report that contains detailed
information, research, and data necessary to make business
decisions.
• There are two categories of formal reports: informational and
analytical reports. 
• The informational report gathers data and facts used to draw
conclusions. 
• The analytical report contains the same information as the
informational report, but it also offers recommendations to solve a
problem.
• Some examples of formal reports include: Inspection Report, Safety
Report, Compliance Report, Audit, Incident Report, Annual Report,
Situational Report.
 A Business Report May Contain: 
• A Covering Letter Or Memorandum 
• A Title Page
• An Executive Summary 
Structuring • A Table Of Contents 
Your Business • An Introduction 
Report • Findings And Discussion 
• Recommendations 
• Conclusions 
• A List Of References 
• Appendices
 • Often a letter is attached to a report to
officially introduce the report to the
recipient. 
1.Covering • If the recipient is outside the organization, a
letter/memorandum  letter format is appropriate; if the recipient
is inside the organization, a
memorandum/memo is appropriate.
• The covering letter or memorandum should:
remind the reader of their request for the
report 
state the purpose of the report
acknowledge any assistance 
indicate future actions to be taken.
2.Title Page • The title page should be brief but
descriptive of the project. 
• It should also include the date of
completion/submission of the report,
the author/s, and their
association/organization.
 • The executive summary follows the title page and
should make sense on its own.
•  The executive summary helps the reader quickly
grasp the report’s purpose, conclusions, and key
recommendations.
•  You may think of this as something the busy
3.Executive executive might read to get a feel for your report and
Summary its final conclusions.
•  The executive summary should be no longer than
one page. 
• The executive summary differs from an abstract in
that it provides the key recommendations and
conclusions, rather than a summary of the document.
 • The table of contents follows the executive
summary on a new page. 
• It states the pages for various sections.

4. Table of Contents • The reader receives a clear orientation to the

report as the table of contents lists all the
headings and sub-headings in the report. 
• These headings and sub-headings should be
descriptive of the content they relate to.
5. Introduction

• The introduction sets the stage for the reader. 

• It gives the context for the report and generates the reader’s
interest. 
• It orients the reader to the purpose of the report and gives them a
clear indication of what they can expect.
 The introduction should: 

briefly describe the context 

identify the general subject matter 

describe the issue or problem to be reported on 

5. Introduction state the specific questions the report answers 

outline the scope of the report (extent of investigation) 

preview the report structure 

comment on the limitations of the report and any assumptions made.

 6. Conclusions/recommendations 
• A business report usually needs both conclusions and recommendations. 
• The difference between conclusions and recommendations in a report lies in the
orientation to time. 
• Conclusions typically relate to the present or past situation. 
• Recommendations are oriented to the future: what changes are recommended, or what
actions are recommended for the future? They are specific, action-oriented suggestions
to solve the report problem
• Although the conclusions and recommendations are presented before the discussion,
they need to logically flow from the discussion
 • When writing conclusions:
 interpret and summarize the findings; say
what they mean relate the conclusions to
the report issue/problem
7. Conclusions/  limit the conclusions to the data presented;
recommendations  do not introduce new material 
 number the conclusions and present them in
parallel form 
 be objective: avoid exaggerating or
manipulating the data.
 • When writing recommendations: 
make specific suggestions for actions to
solve the report problem 
avoid conditional words such as maybe and
perhaps 
present each suggestion separately and begin
7. Conclusions/ with a verb
recommendations  number the recommendations 
describe how the recommendations may be
implemented (if you were requested to do
this) 
arrange the recommendations in an
announced order, such as most important to
least important.
  Examples of conclusions and recommendations:

Conclusions  Recommendations
Home and family responsibilities
directly affect job attendance and
performance.
Time is the crucial issue to balancing
work and family income.
A manager supportive of family and
personal concerns is central to a good
work environment.
 
Provide managers with training in
working with personal and family
matters.
Institute a flexitime policy that allows
employees to adapt their work schedule
to home responsibilities.
Publish a quarterly employee
newsletter devoted to family and child-
care issues.
 6. Findings and discussion
• The discussion is the main part of your report and should present and discuss your findings. 
• It should give enough information, analysis, and evidence to support your conclusions, and it
should provide justification for your recommendations. 
• Its organization will depend on your purpose, scope, and requirements, but it should follow a
logical and systematic organization.
•  The discussion should be subdivided into logical sections, each with informative, descriptive
headings and a number. 
• Where your report’s purpose is to recommend the best solution to a problem, you should show
clear analysis of all options. 
• You should explain any analytical framework you used, such as SWOT or cost benefit analysis. 
• This analysis of options can often be presented effectively in tables. 
 • Whenever you use information from
other sources, references must be
8.References provided in-text and in a list of
references. 
 9. Appendices

•  If material is important to your discussion and is directly referred to, then it should be included
in your discussion proper.
•  However, you might want to use appendices to include supplementary material that enhances
understanding for the reader.
•  You might use appendices to provide details on the process or analysis you underwent.
• When you choose to include information in appendices, you should refer to it clearly in your
text (refer Appendix A). 
• A single appendix should be titled APPENDIX. 
• Multiple appendices are titled APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, etc.
•  Appendices appear in the order that they are mentioned in the text of the report. 
 Appendices should:

provide detailed explanation serving the needs of specific

readers 

be clearly and neatly set out

9. Appendices be numbered/lettered 

be given a descriptive title 

be arranged in the order they are mentioned in the text 

be related to the report’s purpose—not just ‘tacked on’.

An example of a finished report 
PART B-The process of
Investigation

UNIT-3
 DEFINITION OF RESEARCH

• Longman Dictionary of contemporary English (1997) Research as a serious study

of a subject that is intended to discover new facts or test ideas.
• According to Payton (1979) Research is the process of looking for a specific
question in an organized, objective, reliable way.
• According to Waltz and Bansell (1981) Research is a systematic, formal, rigorous
and precise process employed to gain solutions to problems or to discover and
interpret new facts and relationships.
 What do organizations or businesses
really want to find out?

Research is What are the processes that need to be

followed to chase the idea?
conducted with
a purpose to What are the arguments that need to be
understand: built around a concept?

What is the evidence that will be required

for people to believe in the idea or
concept?
• One should remember that the various steps involved in a research
process are not mutually exclusive; nor they are separate and
distinct.
•  They do not necessarily follow each other in any specific order and
the researcher must be constantly anticipating at each step in the
research process the requirements of the subsequent steps
 (1) formulating the research problem 
(2) extensive literature survey 
(3) developing the hypothesis
(4) preparing the research design
(5) determining sample design
A FULL-FLEDGED (6) collecting the data
RESEARCH (7) execution of the project
PROCESS (8) analysis of data
(9) hypothesis testing
(10)generalizations and interpretation
(11) preparation of the report or presentation
of the results, i.e., formal write-up of
conclusions reached.
 DEFINING THE NARROWING DOWN
PROBLEM THE PROBLEM

RESEARCH
PROCESS
WHILE CONCEPTUALIZATION
STATEMENT OF THE

WRITING A
PROBLEM

BUSINESS
REPORT
SELECTING A SUITABLE
METHOD OF SOLUTION
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEuul8hBip8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b3iteSyg1I