How To Write a

Report?
 an orderly and
objective
communication of
factual information
that serves some
business purpose”.

Raymond Lesikar and John Pettit

 Definition
• Orderly- carefully prepared
• Objective- unbiased
• Communication- mostly writing
• Factual information-emphasis on
events, records, data.
• Purpose-example; solve a problem and
to present information.
 which a given problem is
examined for the purpose
of conveying information,
reporting findings, putting
forward ideas and
sometimes making
recommendations”

The British Association of Commercial and

Industrial Education
 Types of Report
1. Formality ( relationship of writer
and reader) and legality;
• Formal
• Informal
2. Function;
• Informational
• interpretative
3. Time interval;
• Periodic
• Special
4. Physical factors/form;
• Memorandum
• Letter
• Short
• Long
5. Nature of subject;
• Problem determining report
• Fact finding report
• Performance report
• Technical report
 Format
• Title
• Terms of reference
3. By whom has the report been
requested/directed
4. The precise area to be covered
5. Intended outcome of the report
6. Establishing the limits of the
report
 Table of contents
• List headings as they appear in the
body of the report, along with page
numbers.
 Format
• Procedure (methods of investigation)
2. Experiment
3. Observation
4. Survey
5. Consultation
6. Research
• Findings
• Recommendations (listed in conclusion)
• signature
 Basics of Technical Writing
Main documentation priorities
Use simple sentence structure (subject-verb-object)
this method terminates communication
Minimize adjectives and adverbs
Write predictably
Use graphics

“A picture is worth 1,000 words”

Apply seven ‘C’s
 Problems that beginner writers
have
 Thinking that writing is easy
 Writing in English
 Understanding how to get started
 Understanding how the software works
 Organizing material
“Every journey begins with a
step”
Write Clear Sentences
 Write clear sentences
 Write active
sentences
 Write present tense
 Write positive
sentences
 Use short, familiar
words
 Write short
sentences
 Use lists
 Active sentences
 Are clearer; they tell the user who or
what does the action
Passive; A mail message is sent to the main service.
Active; The handler sends a mail message to the main service
 Are more concise
 Help you write from user’s view
 Passive Vs Active
 Actor is unknown
 Actor is unknown

2. The file is opened by • Ralph opens the file

Ralph

Uses “to be” Uses strong verbs

5. The file is printed • I print the file
6. Lunch is eaten • I eat lunch
 Use passive sentences in
certain situations
The actor is unknown or unimportant
• To make any kind of connection to the internet, you must
determine how your computer is connected to the internet
The action or object is more important
• To set up XYZ component, a sample application is provided in
the Samples directory of your program
Transitions need to be strengthened
• To print the file. Press Print. The file is printed by your printer
 Present tense
• Helps users read the material quickly
• Tells users when to do something
• You will be able to select all display options
• Click the button. A submenu will appear

Correct:
• You can select all display options
• Click the button. A submenu appears

Acceptable use of future tense;

Write down these steps. You will use these later.
Write positive sentences
• Do not turn off your computer
without saving your work.
Correct;
• Save you work, and then turn off
your computer.
Acceptable use of negatives;
Caution. Do not put your coffee up on the CD-ROM drive
 Use short familial words
• Cigarette smoking is causally related to lung
cancer in men; the magnitude of the effect
of cigarette smoking far outweighs all other
factors. The data for women, though less
extensive, point in the same direction.

Correct
• Cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung
cancer in men, and probably in women too.
 Write short sentences
• We hereby wish to let you know that
our company is pleased with the
confidence you have reposed in us.
• We appreciate your confidence

Write a long sentence if separate

sentence is too complex
 Use lists

• Use bulleted lists for similar but

unordered ideas
• Use numbered lists for a sequence of
events or steps
 The Seven ‘C’s of
effective communication
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration
4. Concreteness
5. Clarity
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness
 Graphics
• Tables
• Fonts
• Flowcharts and process charts
• Pie chart
• Line chart
• Statistical Maps
• Illustrations
 Acknowledgment
• Paraphrase
Logan Wilson (201) criticized academicians
for being scientific in their approach to
every area…
• Key phrase quotation
Logan Wilson (201) characterizes as a
“curious paradox” what he sees as the
failure of academics to be scientific….
 Acknowledgment
• Verbatim
• Partial quotation
According to Logan Wilson(201), “…
academics display a scientific attitude
toward every universe except that which
comprises their own profession”
• Extended quotation
 Acknowledgement
• Use MLA ( Modern Language
Association) style sheet
Methods;
3. Footnote method
Cindy Burford, Aline Culberson, and Peter
Dykus, Writing for Results, 4th ed.,New
York: Charles Storm Publishing Company,
1994, 17-18.
 Methods of compiling
data
• Library research
• Sampling theory
• Face to face interview
 Library research
• Encyclopedias
• Government publications
• International sources
• Searching Databases
• Internet
 Sampling theory as a basis
for surveying
• Random sampling
• Systematic sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Convenience sampling
• Judgment sampling
• Quota sampling
• Snowball sampling
 Sampling methods
• Probability
2. Random
3. Systematic
4. Stratified
• Non probability
• convenient
• Judgment
• Quota
• Snowball
 Random
• Random sampling is the purest form
of probability sampling. Each member
of the population has an equal and
known chance of being selected
 Systematic
• Systematic sampling is often used
instead of random sampling. It is also
called an Nth name selection
technique. After the required sample
size has been calculated, every Nth
record is selected from a list of
population members.
• Systematic sampling is frequently used to
select a specified number of records from
a computer file.
 Stratified
• Stratified sampling is commonly used probability method
that is superior to random sampling because it reduces
sampling error. A stratum is a subset of the population that
share at least one common characteristic. Examples of
stratums might be males and females, or managers and non-
managers.

• Random sampling is then used to select a sufficient number

of subjects from each stratum. "Sufficient" refers to a
sample size large enough for us to be reasonably confident
that the stratum represents the population. Stratified
sampling is often used when one or more of the stratums in
the population have a low incidence relative to the other
stratums.
 Convenience
• This non probability method is often used
during preliminary research efforts to get
a gross estimate of the results, without
incurring the cost or time required to
select a random sample.
• In convenience sampling, the selection of
units from the population is based on easy
availability and/or accessibility.
 Judgment
• usually an extension of convenience
sampling
• a researcher may decide to draw the
entire sample from one "representative"
city, even though the population includes
all cities. When using this method, the
researcher must be confident that the
chosen sample is truly representative of
the entire population.
 Quota
• the non probability equivalent of stratified
sampling
• Like stratified sampling, the researcher
first identifies the stratums and their
proportions as they are represented in the
population. Then convenience or judgment
sampling is used to select the required
number of subjects from each stratum.
This differs from stratified sampling,
where the stratums are filled by random
sampling.
 Snowball
• used when the desired sample
characteristic is rare
• Snowball sampling relies on referrals
from initial subjects to generate
additional subjects.
• Chances of bias as it may be less
representative
Questionnaires
 Why Questionnaires?
• To maximize the proportion of
subjects answering our questionnaire
- that is, the response rate.
• To obtain accurate relevant
information for our survey.
Types of questionnaires

• Open

• Closed
 Open format
• Advantages of open format
• Allows exploration of the range of
possible themes arising from an issue
• Can be used even if a comprehensive
range of alternative choices cannot
be compiled
 Open format
• Numeric open end
How much did you spend on groceries this
week?_______
• Text open end
• How can our company improve its working
conditions?______________________
 Closed format
• Closed-that is, forced choice-format
• Easy and quick to fill in
• Minimize discrimination against the less
literate (in self administered
questionnaire) or the less articulate (in
interview questionnaire)
• Easy to code, record, and analyse results
quantitatively
• Easy to report results
Testing
 Types of closed format
• Choice of categories
• Likert style
• Checklists
• Differential
• Ranking
 Types of closed format
• Choice of categories
For example( what is your marital
status)
Single []
Divorced []
Married []
Widowed []
 Likert style scale
• Statistics is an important subject
Strongly disagree
disagree
Cannot decide
Agree
Strongly agree
 Checklists
“Circle the clinical specialties you are
particularly interested in”

• General medicine
• General surgery
• Pediatrics
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Accident and emergency
• General practice
 Differential scale

• How would you rate the puppet show?

Extremely interesting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 extremely dull

How would you rate this product?

Excellent ___
Good ___
Fair ___
Poor ___
 Ranking
Please rank your interests in the following
specialties
• General medicine
• General practice
• Orthopedics
• Ophthalmology
• Pediatrics
• General surgery
 Wording of individual questions
• Use short and simple sentences
• Ask for only one piece of information at a
time
• Avoid negatives if possible
Small group teaching should not be abolished
Small group teaching should continue

• Ask precise questions

How often did you borrow books from your library?
How many books have you borrowed from the library within the past six
months altogether?
• Ensure those you ask have the
necessary knowledge
• Level of details
• Sensitive issues
• Minimize bias
• Must be non-threatening
• accommodate all possible answers
What brand of computer do you own? __ A. IBM PC B.
Apple ( possible other choice)

Do you own an IBM PC? (circle: Yes or No)

• What brand of computer do you own?

(Check all that apply)
__ Do not own a computer
__ IBM PC
__ Apple
__ Other
• There should be only one correct or
appropriate choice for the
respondent to make. An obvious
example is:
Where did you grow up? __
C. Country
D. farm
E. city
• Does not presuppose a certain state of affairs

Are you satisfied with your current auto insurance? (Yes or No)
This question will present a problem for someone who does not
currently have auto insurance. Write your questions so they
apply to everyone. This often means simply adding an additional
response category.

• Are you satisfied with your current auto insurance?

___ Yes
___ No
___ Don't have auto insurance
• Does not use unfamiliar words or
abbreviations.
• Remember who are your audience.
• Do not use uncommon words or
compound sentences.
• Write short sentences.
• Abbreviations are okay if you are
absolutely certain that every single
respondent will understand their
meanings
 Length of questionnaire
• There are no universal agreements
about the optimal length of
questionnaires. However, short simple
questionnaires usually attract higher
response rates than long complex ones.
 Arranging the questions
The order of the questions is also
important. Some general rules are:

• Go from general to particular.

• Go from easy to difficult.
• Go from factual to abstract.
• Start with closed format questions.
• Start with questions relevant to the main subject.
• Do not start with demographic and personal questions
 Introduction, personalized
letter, and ending
• It seems a good idea to have either a
personalized covering letter or at least an
introduction explaining briefly the purpose of
the survey, the importance of the
respondents' participation, who is responsible
for the survey, and a statement guaranteeing
confidentiality. A personalized letter can be
easily generated using mail-merge on a word
processor. It is also important to thank the
respondent at the end of the questionnaire.
 Cover letter
1. Describe why the study is being done (briefly)
and identify the sponsors.
2. Mention the incentive. (A good incentive is a copy
of the results).
3. Mention inclusion of a stamped, self-addressed
return envelope.
4. Encourage prompt response without using
deadlines.
5. Describe your "confidentiality/anonymity" policy.
6. Give the name and phone number of someone
they can call with questions.
Face to face interview
 Don’t forget
the most important
thing!!!!
Have loads of fun
and enjoy what
you do !!!