Report writing

MEMBERS NAME: JASPREET KAUR PRIYANK JAIN SUNEET SHUKLA SONALI DAYAL FIZA ISLAM SUDHAKAR YADAV ANUBHUTI SHARMA

Report writing

A report is a statement of the results of an investigation or of any matter on which definite information is required. (Oxford English Dictionary) Reports are a highly structured form of writing often following conventions that have been laid down to produce a common format. Structure and convention in written reports stress the process by which the information was gathered as much as the information itself.

Purposes of reports
Gather information Analyze information Make recommendations Wait on decision-maker for feedback to enable us to keep records to tell about failures and successes for ourselves, to keep on knowing what we are doing to communicate to donors and funders (how the project progresses) so donors could be encouraged knowing what happened with their donations

Cont.
to

let other people know about the developments of a project, so other people can be encouraged to do their own projects; so community members would be encouraged and informed; so other people can learn what we did to help researchers to do their work to determine further actions to use for evaluation and for the Government.

vSTAGES IN REPORT WRITING

The following stages are involved in writing a report: clarifying your terms of reference planning your work collecting your information organising and structuring your information writing the first draft checking and re-drafting.

1.TERMS OF REFeReNCE
The terms of reference of a report are a guiding statement used to define the scope of your investigation. You must be clear from the start what you are being asked to do. You will probably have been given an assignment from your tutor but you may need to discuss this further to find out the precise subject and purpose of the report. Why have you been asked to write it ?

Knowing your purpose will help you to communicate your information more clearly and will help you to be more selective when collecting your information.

2.PLANNING YOUR REPORTS

Careful

planning will help you to write a clear, concise and effective report, giving adequate time to each of the developmental stages prior to submission. Consider the report as a whole Break down the task of writing the report into various parts. How much time do you have to write the report? How can this be divided up into the various planning stages? Set yourself deadlines for the various stages.

3.COLLECTING THE INFORMATION

There are a number of questions you need to ask yourself at this stage :What is the information you need ? Where do you find it ? How much do you need ? How shall you collect it ? In what order will you arrange it ?

4.ORGANISING INFORMATION
One

helpful way of organising your information into topics is to brainstorm your ideas into a spider diagram. the main theme in the centre of a piece of paper.

Write Write

down all the ideas and keywords related to your topic starting from the centre and branching out along lines of connecting ideas.

vClassification of report
Formal

Reports Informal Reports Information Reports Analytical Reports Recommendation Reports

qFORMAL REPORT

A formal report is used to document the results of an experiment, a design, or to pass on any type of information in a formal style. When writing a formal report it is important to ensure good English use and to follow the correct format. A formal report that has been done correctly will leave the reader understanding what has been done, why it was done, and the conclusion on what was done.

TYPES OF FORMAL REPORTS

(A)Statutory (B)Non-statutory

(A) Statutory reports are those which are required to be prepared by the directors or the Secretary of a Company for submission to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies under the provision of the Indian Companies Act. Some of the important reports of this type are: (1)Statutory Report submitted at the Statutory Meeting of the Company, (2)Directors' Report to the Annual General Meeting, (3)Annual Returns. (4)Auditor's Report (5)Reports by Inspectors appointed to investigate the affairs of the company

CONT.

(B) Non-statutory reports are those which are not required under the provisions of any law, but a have to be prepared to help the directors arrive at proper decisions for the efficient control and organisation of the business. They are prepared, whenever the exigencies of business demand it by the Secretary or by the Directors or their committees of submission to the shareholders, directors, employers or committees and sub-committees.

Some of the important FORMAL reports of this type are:

Periodic

Reports Proposals Reports Policies & procedures Reports Situational Reports Financial reports Annual report Audit report

1.Periodic reports

Routine management reports

Recurs Knowledge

base for decision-making Accounting/financial/ sales updates, etc

Compliance
Required

reports

by regulating bodies (govt, etc) To show complying with regulations Affirmative Action, business w/ foreign firms/ labor regulations/ occupational safety, etc

cont.
Progress
IPR

reports & final report

(interim progress reports) Communicate status of long-term projects

Purpose:
What

has been accomplished since last report How well project is adhering to timeline & budget Describe problems & solutions Outline future plans

2. PROPOSALS

Written report that seeks to persuade reader to accept a suggested plan of action

Two types: 1. Research proposals 2. Project proposals

Cont.
Legally

binding contract Uses techniques of persuasion

Credible

evidence Dont exaggerate Examples/testimony/facts & figures Direct approach Simple language (Plain English) Stress Benefits

a. Project proposals
Solicited

(RFP)
to submit proposal

Invitation

Failure to follow guidelines = rejection

Unsolicited
Requires

more background & persuasion Reader would be unfamiliar with information

FORMAT
Letter/manuscript/form

reports

Cont.
Sections

used

Background Objectives Procedures Qualifications Approval

request Supporting data

b. Research proposal
Costly
Personnel

time & monetary expense

Benefits

to superiors
as part of persuasion

Required

Structured
plan

presentation

of what to do tells why it needs to be done how to accomplish it

Reader

evaluates proposals

Research Proposals - format

Heading
Title/Headings

Scope

subheadings

&

Narrow How

it

Introduction
1

Procedures

paragraph introducing topic

you collected information/data

Problem
Statement Review

Findings Conclusion

of literature

& recommendation
Interpretation

of data

references

3.Policy reports
Broad

operating guidelines

that

govern the general direction & activities of an organization

Justification All

details covered in policy Benefits

4.Procedural reports
The

recommended methods or sequential steps to follow

when

performing a specific activity

For

example: See Model 10 p. 360

5.Situational reports
One-time

only reports Unique problems Unique situations Deals with opportunities

qRECOMMENDATION REPORT
Recommendation

Reports are among the most important types of job-related writing. A Recommendation Report is a detailed report submitted to a reader or a group of readers who are usually in a position of authority -supervisors, managers, department heads, company buyers, elected officials, civic leaders -- to endorse or reject the writers plan or choose from among their recommendations.

qAnalytical reports
Analytical

Reports is a formal response to a research question. An analytical report typically Identifies a research methodology,presents results and discusses those results and makes recommendations An analytical report involves a combination of managing information empirical research. Present information clearly and concisely

Analytical reports

Basic Features Of Analytical Reports : Introduction Methodology or research plan Results Discussion of the results Conclusions or recommendations (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion)

Types Of Analytical Reports :

Research reports Empirical research reports Completion reports Recommendation reports Feasibility reports

qINFORMAL REPORTS
An

Informal Report is based on facts and only facts. Do not give your own opinion, unless referring to it as your own opinion. When deciding which report-writing format to use, it is important to note that an Informal Report should be used for short, structured informal writing. An Informal Report does not use bibliographical references.Whereas in comparison,aFormal Report should be writtenfor longer more detailed explanations, and this should be written along with references. An informal report can be used inside the organization or outside it.

there are different kinds of informal reports for different purposes

INFORMATION

REPORTS they collect and organize information or investigate. PROGRESS REPORTS monitor the headway of unusual or non routine activities. JUSTIFICATION/ RECOMMENDATION reports are similar to information reports except they offer analysis in addition to data. FEASIBILITY REPORTS are used when a company must decide to proceed with a plan of action. MINUTES OF MEETINGS are a record of the proceedings of a meeting. SUMMARIES condense the primary ideas, conclusions, and recommendations of a longer report or publication.

qINFORMATIONAL REPORTS
An

information report is a factual text, which means it provides information about something. An information report is used as a way to gain a better understanding about a living or non-living subject. An information report: uses facts to explain something gives details about a topic does not contain personal views is usually written, but can also be presented orally (spoken).

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
A

great variety of informational reports simply present information in an objective, organized way. People often need informative reports that gather and present information on a subject in one neat package. These people don't have time to do an exhaustive library search nor time to read stacks of books and articles looking for their information. Instead, they find individuals or groups to do the information gathering and report writing for them

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
Examples of information reports Topics, or subjects, found in information reports can be about one specific thing or a group of things. Some examples of topics might include: cars ocean animals rainforests pollution computers

How to Prepare & Write an Informational Report

Informational reports do not have an argumentative slant. Their goal is to give people the facts so that the reader can make a decision, not the writer. The writer should maintain a neutral attitude when presenting the facts, but spare no energy when it comes to researching in depth and writing clearly. Since a thesis statement presents an argument, an informative paper does not really need one, but it does need a clear focus stated in one sentence.

Instructions:

1. Find out who wants the report and why. Without performing this audience analysis, it is difficult to start writing. When you talk to the reader, ask what motivated the request for the report, what topic should be covered, and the format that it should be in. A lab report will look very different from a book report, for example, but all informational reports need certain basic things. 2. Gather data related to the topic. Use authoritative sources like scholarly, peer reviewed articles, scholarly books, web pages associated with governments or universities, scientific studies, or interviews. If you collect the data yourself, explain, near the start of the paper, the methods used to create questionnaires and surveys. 3. State the focus of your report in the last sentence of the first paragraph, and use the rest of the introduction to capture the audience's attention. Cite some key statistics, quote an expert, or tell an anecdote related to the focus. By stating the focus, you give the reader and yourself a guide. The reader knows what to expect, and you know what to include in the report and what to exclude. Exclude anything that does not relate to the focus.

CONT.

4. List to yourself five to ten main points, depending on the length of the report, that are essential and that relate to the focus. Dedicate one paragraph, or even one section of the report, to each point. Develop each point, using quotations, statistics, examples, summaries and your own analysis and reflection. 5. Document your sources. If you quote or summarize, use one of the major documentation styles, Modern Language Association, American Psychological Association, or Chicago, to give credit to the source. Save all source information, including titles, names, publishers, page numbers and dates, as they are necessary in most documentation styles. Different editors, teachers or managers prefer different styles, so know which one is required for this particular report. 6. Conclude by stressing the main point of the report, stating, in different words than in the introduction, why it is important.

Who Should Receive Reports?

Before

deciding who should receive any report, it would be useful to review who benefits from those reports. Let us look at the benefits to each of these: These include: The community engaged in the project; Any other community; Donors and contributors (including community members); Researchers and Government: central, district, local.

Who Receive Reports?

Consider the actors that should receive reports. (When writing reports, always remember who will read them). All can use reports for the same benefits as listed above. These can include the CBO (community based organization or the executive of the community project), LC (Local Council), CAO (District's Chief Executive Officer), DPC (District Programme Coordinator), the agency or project national headquarters (which might in turn report to UN, the government, home headquarters, and the donors). When objectives, strategies and activities are modified (based on reports) the project can be fine tuned and improved; then the target communities benefit from those reports.

STRUCTURING OF REPORT WRITING

We

discussed earlier that there are different types of report such as informational reports or analytical reports . Always check with the person commissioning the report (your tutor, your placement supervisor) to find out precisely what your report should include and how it should be presented.

ELEMENTS OF REPORT WRITTING

The following common elements can be found in many different reports:

Title page
Acknowledgements Contents Abstract or summary Introduction Methodology Results or findings Discussion Conclusion and recommendations References Appendices

We shall now look at each of these in turn.

Title page This should include the title of the report (which should give a precise indication of the subject matter),the authors name, module, course and the date. Acknowledgements You should acknowledge any help you have received in collecting the information for the report. This may be from librarians, technicians or computer centre staff, for example.

Cont.

Contents You should list all the main sections of the report in sequence with the page numbers they begin on. If there are charts, diagrams or tables included in your report, these should be listed separately under a title such as List of Illustrations together with the page numbers on which they appear. Abstract or summary This should be a short paragraph summarising the main contents of the report. It should include a short statement of the main task, the methods used, conclusions reached and any recommendations to be made. The abstract or summary should be concise,informative and independent of the report. Write this section after you have written the report.

Cont.

Introduction This should give the context and scope of the report and should include your terms of reference. State your objectives clearly, define the limits of the report, outline the method of enquiry, give a brief general background to the subject of the report and indicate the proposed development. Methodology In this section you should state how you carried out your enquiry. What form did your enquiry take ? Did you carry out interviews or questionnaires, how did you collect your data ? What measurements did you make ? How did you choose the subjects for your interviews ? Present this information logically and concisely.

 Results

or findings

Present your findings in as simple a way as possible. The more complicated the information looks, the more difficult it will be to interpret. There are a number of ways in which results can be presented. Here are a few : Tables Graphs Pie charts Bar charts Diagrams

 Illustration

checklist Are all your diagrams / illustrations clearly labelled? Do they all have titles? Is the link between the text and the diagram clear? Are the headings precise? Are the axes of graphs clearly labelled? Can tables be easily interpreted? Have you abided by any copyright laws when including illustrations/tables from published documents?

DISCUSSIONS

This

is the section where you can analyse and interpret your results drawing from the information which you have collected, explaining its significance. Identify important issues and suggest explanations for your findings. Outline any problems encountered and try and present a balanced view.

Conclusions AND recommendations

This

is the section of the report which draws together the main issues. It should be expressed clearly and should not present any new information. You may wish to list your recommendations in separate section or include them with the conclusions.

References
It is important that you give precise details of all the work by other authors which has been referred to within the report. Details should include : authors name and initials date of publication title of the book, paper or journal publisher place of publication page numbers details of the journal volume in which the article has appeared. References should be listed in alphabetical order of the authors' names. Make sure that your references are accurate and comprehensive.

Appendices
An

appendix contains additional information related to the report but which is not essential to the main findings. This can be consulted if the reader wishes but the report should not depend on this. You could include details of interview questions, statistical data, a glossary of terms, or other information which may be useful for the reader.

What Makes a Report Good?

Attractive Straight

lies) Interesting illustrations, designs. (colour if possible) Brief, short Neat and readable (good handwriting) To the point Simple English (or whatever language) Well spaced Has title and sub titles Organized or structured.

forward, honest, no deception (no

Style of writing
There are several points that you will need to consider when you are writing your report: Active or passive? Your tutor will be able to advise whether the report should be written in the active or passive voice. The active voice reads as follows: I recommend ... The passive voice reads: It is recommended that ... The active voice allows you to write short, punchy sentences. The passive appears more formal and considered. Be aware of these differences and avoid mixing the two voices.

Simplicity
Most written reports should avoid using overly complicated language. If a report is to persuade, brief or justify, it's message must be clear. Further more,the factual presentation of data should not be swamped with sophisticated, lengthy sentences. Avoid using unnecessary jargon. This confuses even the most informed reader. Ensure that your abbreviations are standardised. All too often authors invent their own jargon to ease the pressure on writing things in full. Be cautious of confusing your reader.

Use of language

Most reports should avoid the use of subjective language. For example, to report on a change in colouration from a "stunning green to a beautiful blue" is to project your own values onto measurable outcome. What does the term "beautiful" mean to you? What will it mean to your reader? Such subjective, or personal language commonly has no place in the more objective field of report writing.

layout

Most reports have a progressive numbering system. The most common system is the decimal notation system. The main sections are given single arabic numbers -1, 2, 3 and so on. Sub-sections are given a decimal number - 1.1, 1.2,1.3 and so on. Sub-sections can be further divided into - 1.11, 1.12,1.13 and so on.

An example structure would look as follows; 1. Introduction 1.1 1.11 1.2 1.21 2. Methodology 2.1 2.11 2.12

presentation
The following suggestions will help you to produce an easily read report: Leave wide margins for binding and feedback comments from your tutor. Paragraphs should be short and concise. Headings should be clear - highlighted in bold or underlined. All diagrams and illustrations should be labelled and numbered. All standard units, measurements and technical terminology should be listed in a glossary of terms at the back of your report.

Redrafting and checking

Once you have written the first draft of your report you will need to check it through. It is probably sensible to leave it on your desk for a day or so if you have the time. This will make a clear break from the intensive writing period, allowing you to view your work more objectively. Assess your work in the following areas: Structure Content Style Look at the clarity and precision of your work. Use the report writing checklist at the end of this section to check your report.

Summary
The

skills involved in writing a report will help you to condense and focus information, drawing objective findings from detailed data. The ability to express yourself clearly and succinctly is an important skill and is one that can be greatly enhanced by approaching each report in a planned and focused way.

Checklist
Overall: What are the main points for consideration? What have you done well? What needs fine tuning?

Conclusion:
Remember that writing reports need not be boring, look upon the task as a challenge. Emphasize results over activities. Go beyond description; be analytical. Know your audience and the needs of your readers. Write in easy to read, simple language. Avoid the passive voice. Write concisely (briefly but completely). Organize your reports by using an outline and by using subtitles. Write several drafts before the final one. By using these tips and guidelines, you can teach yourself and your community clients to improve your report writing. Remember, it is not necessary to be bad to get better.