1.

Formalreportwritinginprofessional,technicalandbusinesscontextshasevolvedcertainconventions regardingformat,style,referencingandothercharacteristics.Thesewillvaryindetailbetween organisations,sotheinformationgivenbelowshouldbetreatedasgeneralguidelineswhichholdgood intheabsenceofanymorespecific`housestyles'.

1.1Format
Theformatwilldependuponthetypeandpurposeofthereport,itsintendedreaders,andthe conventionsofpresentationandlayoutprescribedbytheorganisationinwhichyouareoperating.In general,therearetwobroadtypesofformatwhicharedifferentiatedbywhetherthesummaryand/or recommendationsareplacedafterthemainbodyofthereport,orareplacedearlier,beforethemain body.Theeventualformatchosenmightbeacombinationoracondensedversionofthesetwoformats. 1.1.1Aformatwherethefindings/recommendationsfollowthemainbody

Coversheet Titlepage Abstract Tableofcontents Introduction Thebodyofthereport Conclusion(andrecommendationsifapplicable) References/Bibliography Glossary(ifneeded) Appendices Letteroftransmittal Titlepage Tableofcontents Summaryand/orrecommendations Bodyofreport Conclusions Appendices Bibliography

1.1.2Aformatwherethefindings/recommendationsprecedethemainbody

1.2Reportchecklist
Herearesomeaspectswhichmaybefoundineachsectionofareportandwhichmaybeofusein organisingandcheckingthedetailsinyourownreports.Section1.3providesmoreinformationonthe contentandsettingoutofsomeofthese. 1.2.1Titlepage

title writer organisation date person/groupwhocommissionedthereport accurate,clearlayout sectionnumberingsystemandindentation complete pagenumbers listofillustrationsifapplicable appropriatelength completesummaryofkeyinformation informative,notdescriptive,inform impersonaltone connectedprose relatingtopictowiderfield necessarybackgroundinformation purposeofreport scopeofreport explanationofarrangementofreport sections mainheadingsindicatingequallevelofimportance allsubheadingsrelatingtosectionheading choiceoflevelsindicatinghierarchyofimportance hierarchyofimportanceshownbycarefulandconsistentuseoffeaturessuchascapitals, differentfonts,underlining,bold,italics indenting

1.2.2Tableofcontents

1.2.3Abstract

1.2.4Introduction

1.2.5Bodyformat

numbering/lettersystem spacebetweensectionstoenhancereadabilityandlayout whenusingcharts,statisticsandillustrationscheckforsuitability,captions,referenceintext andpositioning acknowledgementofallsources,includingmaterialreferredtoindirectly,directquotations, copieddiagrams,tables,statistics ensureasystematiclinkbetweenreferencesinthetextandthereferencelistandbibliography correct ownwords concise cleartointendedreader formalandfactual logicaldevelopmentofideasfromonesectiontoanother,andwithineachsection citingevidence relevant objective specific arisingoutofthefacts convincing asubstantialbasisfortherecommendations basedontheconclusions practical specific wellorganised,withthemostimportantfirst sourcesinthetextlistedbytheHarvardsystem textsconsultedbutnotreferredtodirectlyinthereport arrangedalphabetically

1.2.6Expression

1.2.7Content

1.2.8Conclusion(s)

1.2.9Recommendations(ifapplicable)

1.2.10Listofreferences

1.2.11Bibliography

1.2.12Glossary(ifincluded)

1.2.13Appendix(appendices)

placedatendofareportifincluded arrangedintheorderreferredtointhereport

1.3Reportsections
1.3.1Introductions Introductionstoformalreportsdealwiththefollowingaspectsofthetext: (a)Topicorsubjectmatter:howthereportrelatestoafield,disciplineorareaofknowledge (referencetoexternalframework).Thisisnormallyexpressedintermsofwhythetopicisofsufficient importanceorsignificancetodeservedetailedcoverageinareport. (b)Purpose:whatisthecommunicativeintentionincompilingthereport(todescribe,explain, examine,review,discussetc.). (c)Scope:whichaspectsof(a)doesthereportseektohighlightinfulfillingthispurpose;oftentakes theformofanoverviewoftheorganizationandstructureofthereport,iethefocusofthemajor sections;maymentionaspectsofthetopicwhichhavebeenintentionallyomitted. Theaboveformofintroductiondiffersfromthatofintroductionstoshorterscientificreports,inwhich abriefstatementoftheaimoftheexperimentorthehypothesistobetestedisallthatisnormally found. Theabovethreepartstructurealsodistinguishesformalreportintroductionsfromessayintroductions; thelatternormallyplacemoreemphasisonthetopic/fieldrelationshipthroughtakingupaposition(the thesisoftheessay)inrelationtotheaspectofthetopichighlightedinthetitle(oftenintheformofan arrestingstatementorthoughtprovokingquotation). Reportintroductionsmayespeciallyinthecaseoflongerormoreformalreportsreferinadditionto thesourcesoftheinformationincorporatedwithinthedocument;thisisdoneintermsofcategoriesof sources(iegeneralstatementsabouthowandwhereyougatheredyourinformation:frombooks, articles,statistics,otherreports,interviewsandsoforth). Afinalpointtonote:inthisformofintroductionthefocusshouldbeontheparticularreportwhichis beingintroduced,ratherthanonthewiderfieldorareatowhichitrelates. Thelengthoftheintroductionwillvaryinproportiontothatofthereport. 1.3.2Conclusions Reportconclusions,unlikeintroductions,cannotreadilybeanalysedintermsofcharacteristic structuralfeatures.Conclusionsaredistinguishedmorebyfunctionthanbyform.Ingeneralterms,the principalfunctionofconclusionsistorelatetothepurposeandscopeofthereport,asstatedinthe Introduction.Inotherwords,theconclusionshouldconfirmforthereaderthatthecommunicative intentionhasbeenachieved,andthatthepreviewedaspectsofthetopichavebeencovered. Thisgeneralfunctioncanbemorespecificallyexpressedinanumberofways,including

torestatepurposeandscope torevieworsynthesisethemainsectionsorunitsofthediscussion toreiteratetheprincipalpointsorfindings toaffirmthevalidityofargumentorjudgement Toasserttheviabilityofapproachorinterpretation Thoughnormallyandsubstantiallyretrospective,conclusionscanextendoradvancethetopic, forinstancebydisclosingafurtherperspective(tobepursuedelsewhere)orbymakingan additional,finaljudgment.Thusitisnotstrictlytruetosaythatconclusionsnevercontain anything`new'. Inreports,theconclusionsectioncantaketheformofaseriesofseparatelystatedpointsandfor thesethepluralterm`conclusions'maybeused.Subsequentrecommendationswouldthenbe intendedtoaddressthesepoints.

Twofurtherpointstonote:

1.3.3Abstracts 1.3.3.1Theformandfunctionoftheabstractofareportincludethefollowing:

definition,providingtheessenceofthereportinafewwords informativeform,or descriptiveform impersonaltone connectedwriting length150250words(forlongerreports,1/21pagesinglespaced)

1.3.3.2AmericanacademicKennethK.Landes,irritatedbywhatheperceivedtobetheinadequacies ofmanyabstractsinprofessionaljournals,wrotein`Ascrutinyoftheabstract'(1966): Theabstractisofutmostimportance,foritisreadby10to500timesmorepeoplethan hearorreadtheentirearticle.Itshouldnotbeamererecitalofthesubjectscovered. Expressionssuchasisdiscussedandisdescribedshouldneverbeincluded!The abstractshouldbeacondensationandconcentrationoftheessentialinformationinthe paper. (BulletinoftheAmericanAssociationofPetroleumGeologistsvol50,no9) 1.3.3.3Informativeabstract Aninformativeabstractisusuallywrittenbytheauthor(s)ofareport.Itappearsinthesamedocument aspartofthecompletetext.Thisabstractdescribestheresearchorprojectandpresentsthemainideas ofthereportinasummarisedform.Informativeabstractsdonotduplicatereferencesortablesof results.Toachieveeconomyofexpression,thestyleofinformativeabstractsoftenomitstermswhich identifytheparticularreport(suchas`thispaper'or`thisreport'). Lawson,J.(1990)`Theeducationofthefutureseniorhealthmanager'.AustralianHealthReviewvol

13no3pp1848 Primarilyduetoeconomicforces,healthservicesarebeingforcedintoatightorganisational frameworkofhospitals,clinicsandserviceswhichneedtobemanagedbyeducatedprofessional managers.Thesemanagersneedtobecompetentgeneralandfinancialmanagers,competentplanners, knowledgeableabouthealthstatus,healthissues,theAustralianhealthcaresystemsandknowledgeable aboutsociety,lawandethics.Assumptionsthatrecruitmentofpeoplewithsuchaformidablearrayof talentswouldbedifficultareincorrectasjudgedbycurrentexperiences.Verytalentedandexperienced candidatesarebeingattractedtograduateeducationprogramsinhealthservicemanagementinmany Australianuniversities.AccordinglythefuturemanagementofAustralianhealthservicesshouldbein goodhands. 1.3.3.4Descriptiveabstract Adescriptiveabstractiscompiledbysomeoneotherthantheauthorofthereporttoappearinanother source,suchasadatabankorlibrarycatalogue.Adescriptiveabstractdescribesthecontentsofa reportbutdoesnotincludeinterpretivestatements,conclusionsorrecommendations.Itispossibleto baseadescriptiveabstractonthetableofcontentsofareport.Itisusuallymuchbrieferthanan informativeabstract. Edwards,P.&Gould,W.(1988)Newdirectionsinapprenticeselection:selfperceived`Onthejob' literacy(reading)demandsofapprentices.VictorianTAFEPapers8,1417 Thisarticleisbasedonaninvestigationoftheselfperceived,onthejobliteracytasksofelectrical mechanicapprentices.Amongotherthingsitindicatesthenatureofthereadingtheycommonly undertakeandsuggestsimplicationsforthekindsofreadingexperiencesprovidedforthemintrade courses.

1.4Section/pointidentificationsystems
Animportantdifferencebetweenanessayandareportisthelayout.Thisaspectofareportisnot merelyasurfacefeatureofthepresentation.Itrepresentsimportantchoicesmadebythewriter regardingtherangeofthematerialcovered,therelativeimportanceofthesectionsinthereport,and therelatednessofinformationwithinsections.Assuch,itplaysaveryimportantrolein communicatingmeaningtothereader.Thereportpresentsmeaningandinformationintwo complementaryandequivalentways:

themeaningrepresentedbythewords,thought,research,information themeaningrepresentedbythelayout

Awriterusuallychoosesoneofthefollowingtwolayoutsystems:decimalnumberingornumber letter.Onceasystemischosen,thewritermustpresentthissystemconsistentlythroughoutthereport. 1.4.1Decimalnumbering

Firstlevel 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

(ofimportance/generality) (alsotermedtheAheading) Secondlevel (alsotermedtheBheading) Thirdlevel (alsotermedtheCheading) Fourthlevel (alsotermedtheDheading)

N.B.The`pointzero'isnotalwaysusedindecimal numberingsystems 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.1.1 2.1 2.1.1 2.1.1.1 3.1 3.1.1 3.1.1.1 4.1 4.1.1 4.1.1.1 5.1 5.1.1 5.1.1.1

Thisisgenerallyusedwithindentingtostructurethetextinthefollowingway. Itispossibleforareadertogainastrongindicationoftherelatedness,andrelativeimportanceofthe partsofthetextasaresultofthislayout,eventhoughnomeaningfromthecontentisprovided. 1.0______________________________________ 1.1_______________________________ 1.2_______________________________ 1.2.1________________________ 1.2.2________________________ 1.2.2.1_______________ 1.2.2.2_______________ 2.0________________________________________ 2.1_________________________________ etc. 1.4.2Numberletter(stillencountered,butbecominglesscommonlyused)
Firstlevel(ofimportance/generality) (Aheading) Secondlevel (Bheading) Thirdlevel (Cheading) Fourthlevel (Dheading) Fifthlevel (Eheading) I A 1 (a) (i) II B 2 (b) (ii) III C 3 (c) (iii) IV D 4 (d) (iv) V E 5 (e) (v) VI F 6 (f) (vi) VII G 7 (g) (vii)

I________________________________________ A________________________________

B________________________________ 1__________________________ 2__________________________ (a)___________________ (b)___________________ II________________________________________ A________________________________

1.5Tableofcontents
Thetableofcontentsisassembledfromtheheadingsandsubheadingsofthereport'ssections,and includestheappropriateidentificationnumbers/lettersaswellasthepagenumbers.Herearetwo examplesofsettingout,althoughtherearemanyvariations. 1.5.1ExampleA 5.5.2ExampleB

5.6Referencing
TheHarvard(authordate)systemistheoneusuallyencounteredinthesciencesandsocialsciences, andisthesystempromotedinProfessionalWriting&CommunicationsubjectsandtheUniversityof SouthAustraliagenerally.Alltheexamplesbelowrelatetotheauthordatesystemofreferencing. 5.6.1Citations Whenyouwriteanassignmentyoumustciteinyourtextreferencestoallmaterialyouhaveusedas sourcesforthecontentofyourwork.Thesecitationsmustbemadewhereverandwheneveryouquote, paraphraseorsummarisesomeoneelse'sopinions,theoriesordata(inyourtext).Yourreferences maybetobooks,periodicals,articles,newspapers,reportsorpersonalcommunications.Alistof references,inalphabeticalorderofauthors'surnames,mustbeattachedtotheendofyourreport, givingcompletedetailsofallreferencesactuallyusedinthereport(see5.6.2). 5.6.1.1Forthecitationsinyourtext,onlytheauthor'ssurname,yearofpublicationforthematerial cited,andpagenumbers,ifrequired,shouldbelisted.Pagenumbersforyourreferencesarenecessary onlywhenyouquoteorparaphraseparticularpassages,listsorfiguresfromyoursources: Smith(1971,p.45)hasarguedthat'therelativeseriousnessofthetwokindsoferrorsdiffersfrom situationtosituation.'

5.6.1.2Ifyouparaphrasematerialfromyoursourcesyoumustmakeitclearfromyourreferencethat youaregivingamodifiedversionofsomeoneelse'sworkinyourownwords: Arecentstudy(JonesandSmith,1974)hasshown... 5.6.1.3Referencetomaterialwrittenbymorethantwoauthorsshouldincludethesurnamesofall authorsthefirsttimethecitationappears.Inlatercitationsofthesamereference,includeonlythe surnameofthefirstauthorandtheabbreviationetal.(meaning'andtheothers'): Arecentstudy(Jones,Smith,BrownandWhite,1973)hasshown... Theresearchpreviouslycited(Jones,etal.,1973) 5.6.1.4Referencetodifferentauthorswiththesamesurnameshouldbedistinguishedbyuseinthe authors'initials: Arecentstudy(C.L.Jones,1974)hasshown...butA.G.Jones(1956)hassuggested... 5.6.1.5Whenyouhavereadanaccountoforiginalworkbyoneauthor(primaryreference)inanother bookorarticle(secondaryreference),bothsourcesmustbeacknowledgedinyourreference: Smith(Jones,1961)statesthat... or Smith'sexperimentin1952(citedinJones,1961)states... or Jones(1961),inreportingSmith's1952study,statesthat... Smithistheprimaryreference,Jonesisthesecondaryreference. 5.6.1.6Ifyouneedtociteseveralreferencesatthesamepoint,separatetheauthors'namesbysemi colons,withsurnamesinalphabeticalorder: Recentstudies(Brown,1971;MillerandSmith,1972;Jones,1966)show... 5.6.1.7Referencestotwoormorepublicationsinthesameyearbyagivenauthorshouldbe distinguishedbyaddinga,b,andsoon: Arecentstudy(Jones,1974b)hasshown... Recentstudies(Jones,1972,1973aandb)haveshown... 5.6.1.8Referencestopersonalcommunicationsshouldincludeinitials,name,pers.comm.anddate: theyprobablyrepresentdistalturbidities(K.A.W.Crook,pers.comm.,1971)... 5.6.2References Thereferencelistisplacedattheendofthereport.Itisarrangedinalphabeticalorderofauthors' surnamesandchronologicallyforeachauthor.Thereferencelistincludesonlyreferencescitedinthe text.Theauthor'ssurnameisplacedfirst,immediatelyfollowedbytheyearofpublication.Thisdateis

oftenplacedinbrackets.Thetitleofthepublicationappearsafterthedatefollowedbyplaceof publication,thenpublisher(somesourcessaypublisherfirst,thenplaceofpublication).Thereare manyotherminordifferencesinsettingoutreferences(eguseofcommas,colons,fullstops) dependinguponpersonalpreferencesorhousestyles.Theimportantthingistocheckforanyspecial requirementsor,iftherearenone,tobeconsistent. Somelecturersrequireonlyareferencelist.Othersrequire,inaddition,abibliography.Whilethe referencelistincludesonlythosetextscitedinthebodyofyourpaper,abibliographyincludesall materialconsultedinthepreparationofyourreport. Noticethatthetitlesofbooks,journalsandothermajorworksappearinitalics(orareunderlinedwhen handwritten),whilethetitlesofarticlesandsmallerworkswhicharefoundinlargerworksareplaced in(usuallysingle)quotationmarks. REFERENCES Beasley,V.(1964),Eureka!orhowtobeasuccessfulstudent,FlindersUniversity,BedfordPark, SouthAustralia. Betts,K.andSeitz,A.(1986),Writingessaysinthesocialsciences,Melbourne,ThomasNelson. Clanchy,J.andBallard,B.(1981),Essaywritingforstudents,Melbourne,LongmanCheshire. Marshall,B.R.(1985),'CommonWritingProblemsinTertiaryEducation'AustralianEducators Journal,Vol7,No.3,pp.5664. White,R.V.(1979a),FunctionalEnglish,SunburyonThames,Nelson. White,R.V.(1979b),EnglishforAcademicPurposes,SunburyonThames,Nelson. 5.6.3Quotations Whentheexactwordsofawriterarequoted,theymustbereproducedexactlyinallrespects:wording, spelling,punctuation,capitalisationandparagraphing.Quotationsshouldbecarefullyselectedand sparinglyused,astoomanyquotationscanleadtoapoorlyintegratedargument.Useofadirect quotationisjustifiedwhen:

changes,throughparaphrasing,maycausemisinterpretation theoriginalwordsaresoconciselyandconvincinglyexpressedthattheycannotbeimproved upon amajorargumentneedstobedocumentedasevidence thestudentwishestocommentupon,refuteoranalysetheideasexpressedinanothersource.

Unlessitisclearlystatedotherwise,thecitationofanother'sopinionsorconclusionsoftensignifies youracceptanceofthepointofviewasyourown.Theintentionoftheoriginaltextmustnotbealtered. 5.6.3.1Shortquotations(upto4lines) Incorporatethequotationintothesentenceorparagraph,withoutdisruptingtheflowofthetext,using thesamespacingasintherestofthetext.Thesourceofthequotationiseitheracknowledgedina

footnoteorinthetext.Usesinglequotationmarksatthebeginningandendofthequotation: TheStyleManual(1978,p.46)statesthat'themoderntendencytousesinglequotationmarksrather thandoubleisrecommended.' 5.6.3.2Longquotations(morethanthirtywords) Donotusequotationmarks.Indentthequotationfromtheremainderofthetext.Somewriters recommendtheuseofsmallertypeoritalicstosetoffindentedquotations.Introducethequotation appropriately,andcitethesourceattheendofthequotationasyouwouldinyourtext. 5.6.3.3Interpolations Thesemaybeusedinquotationswhenwordsintheoriginaltextneedtobechanged(eg,intense)or addedtofitinwiththeessay,thematerialmaybeintroducedintothequotationbyenclosingitin squarebrackets[].Acommoninterpolationistheuseofthetermsicinsquarebrackets.ThisisLatin for`thus'or`so',andindicatesthattheoriginalhasbeenreproducedexactly,eventhoughitappearsto haveanerror. 5.6.3.4Ellipsis Irrelevancieswithinverylongquotationscanbeomittedbytheuseofanellipsiswhichisindicatedby threespaceddots(...).Nowadaysitisnotusualtoplaceanellipsisatthebeginningortheendofa quotationwhichisintendedtostandaloneorformspartofoneofyourownsentences. 5.6.4Referencingpractice Howwouldthefollowingcitationsbeenteredinyourtext,andrecordedinyourreferencelistor bibliography,usingtheHarvardsystem? 1. AreferencetoJamesElliot'sarticle'Nursingcitizenshipaneglectedissue',whichappearedin 1985onpages5361ofissuenumber4ofthesecondvolumeofTheAustralianJournalof AdvancedEducation. 2. Aquotationfrompage15ofthebookSocializationafterchildhood,whichwaswrittenby OliverGrahamBrimandSharonWheeler,andwhichwaspublishedbyJohnWileyandSonsin NewYorkin1966. 3. Areferencetothe1983publicationDevelopmentsindesignandmaterialsinEngineering,a bookresultingfromthejointauthorshipofJuliaElaineMillerandGrantMcGrath,and publishedinSydneybyScienceandDesignPress. 4. Areferencetoanissueraisedin1986bySusanEisleyinherarticleinTheAustralianPodiatry Journal(vol.16,no.3,pages4851)entitled:'Regulationofpodiatry:anemerging responsibilityfortheprofession'. 5. Aquotationfromoneofthecontributionstoa1978collectionofpapers/articleseditedby LouiseNormanunderthetitleofErgonomicsandcomputersandpublishedbyMcGrawHillin NewYork.Thelinesaretakenfromthefirstparagraphof'Psychologicalfactorsinstress relatedfatigue'byAlessandroJacox,foundonpages3642ofthebook. 6. Areferencetoanarticlecalled'Ethicalissuesforthesurveyor'onpages4047ofthe

InternationalSurveyingReview.ThearticlewaswrittenbyJuliaClaireMcCloskyin1981,and appearedinaneditionofthejournalpublishedinthatyear(vol.28,no.2). 7. AreferencetothesecondvolumeofthejournalPhysiotherapytoday,toBrianK.Miller's1985 article'Justwhatisaprofessional?',foundinissuenumber4onpages2127.