WHAT IS A FORMAL REPORT?

An

orderly and objective communication of factual information that serves a business purpose

3 PARTS OF A REPORT
1.

Prefatory pages

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Title fly Title page Authorization message Transmittal message Table of contents List of illustrations Executive summary

2.

Report story

1. 2. 3. 4.

Introduction Report findings Conclusions Recommendations

3.

Appended parts
Questionnaire, additional references, bibliography

TITLE FLY
Contains only report title. This page is a mere formality Title construction should be done carefully taking into consideration 2 aspects completeness & conciseness Complete: build your title around the 5 Ws & 1H Concise: seek the most economical word pattern

TITLE PAGE

1. 2. 3.

3 spot arrangement:
Report title Recipients address Writers address date of submission

AUTHORIZATION LETTER
Not mandatory Reqd. only if report is authorized in writing The letter confers authority on the individual/agency to do the research , outlines the problem, explains what info. Is solicited, defines time & money limitations & any other specific instructions like due date of report.

TRANSMITTAL LETTER

It transmits the report to the reader. If report is written for a group of readers, a preface or foreword is preferred instead It should directly lead to the subject, reinforce details regarding the goal of the study, include info. that may help readers understand the value of the report, make suggestions about follow up studies, emphasize limitations & any relevant comments

Transmittal message and acknowledgment

SAMPLES AVAILABLE

TABLE OF CONTENTS & LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

This

is your report outline with page

no.s
Only

those parts that follow this page are listed here. ( includes executive summary, report proper & appended parts)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Report in miniature Also called synopsis, abstract, prcis, digest or epitome All major items of information included ES is less than an eighth of the report Includes all major analyses of info. presented, as also conclusions & recommendations. ES can be arranged in the direct or indirect order

DIRECT ORDER
Gives the main message first Begins with the summary of facts, conclusions and recommendations. The introductory info. and other major highlights come later Direct order is more popular in recent times

INDIRECT ORDER

Follows

the traditional pattern of intro. , body & conclusion

BODY OF A REPORT
Introduction Objectives Review of Literature / Theoretical Background Methodology Analyses and Findings/Findings and discussions Conclusion including the limitations of study

Things to remember

WRITING THE REPORT

Objectivity Impersonal writing Consistency in Time viewpoint Past / present Need for Transition (bridging across) Eg: At first glance the data appear convincing, but a closer observation reveals a number of discrepancies. On the contrary, likewise, thus, for instance

Readability

FONT AND SIZE

SERIF

Serif Fonts are characterized by small feet' or caps' Eg: TIMES NEW ROMAN classical, old-fashioned and or traditional fonts. more difficult to read than Sans Serif fonts.

SANS SERIF

Sans Serif fonts are clean-lined and contemporary. Eg: ARIAL. easy to read requiring less visual concentration

GRAPHICS

General Mechanics of Construction

SHOWING INFORMATION POORLY

A visual aid is a tool to display information to an audience. This implies that there should be some information shown in a visual aid. Though the information may be physically present on the visual aid, there are still ways of "losing" it. A visual aid with no information is bad, but one with very little information is also bad.

Sometimes a chart can have an appropriate amount of data, but portray the data in such a way that it appears to have little information. Here, for example, the data of the chart is concentrated in one small area of the visual aid. This example is similar, though here the information (or lack of it) is obscured with unnecessary graphics or "chart junk."

TABLES

Tables use rows and columns to give data or descriptions. They are useful when you want to compare many data points or represent a large amount of information. Dependent variables (what you want to compare) are usually placed as column headings. Independent variables (categories that do not change) are then listed as the rows.

An effective table supplements the text and other figures. Finding yourself making tedious lists in your text is a good indication that you should consider making a table.

TYPES OF FIGURES

Figures are graphs, charts, or illustrations that emphasize data trends or specific technical aspects of an object or process. Figures should reveal information that might not be obvious in a table.

There are several types of figures that are commonly used. Line graphs are great for emphasizing relationships or trends of data. Scatter graphs allow you to illustrate correlations between variables. Bar graphs are best for comparing amounts (usually for whole numbers).

Pie charts allow you to compare parts (often percentages) of a whole.

Organization charts are used to show hierarchies in an organization. Flow charts describe a process. Gantt charts allow you to show a schedule.

Illustrations are commonly used to show realistic aspects of events or processes.

Photographs give a lifelike perspective the reader will easily remember. Drawings allow you to control what aspects are emphasized, as well as the amount of detail you present.

THE RIGHT THING!

Size determination- quarter page/ full Layout arrangements- tall+narrow rectangle (portrait), wide rectangle (landscape). Type- style (bold/italics), font (serif/sans serif) and size.

Background- colours, photos and art of graphics.

Numbering- tables and figures.table 1, 2,3. Figure 1, 2, 3

Titles and Captions- oral presentations top. Captions- tables have above and all other types of graphics have below.

THANK YOU