Report Writing: Style and Structure: Module I4 Session 06

Module I4 Session 06
Report Writing: Style and Structure

Summary
Writing a report can seem daunting at frst, but with a solid
understanding of the fundamental structure and style used in
constructing clear and concise reports, it can be achieved. The
standard report format is as follows: Title, Summary, Introduction,
Body, onclusions, !ecommendations, "ppendi#, !eferences and
Table of ontents. We will frst loo$ at how to prepare a report
before the writing begins.
Learning objectives
"t the end of the session, students will be able to:
Write with a specifc purpose and audience in mind
Structure sentences, paragraphs and reports
Write clearly and concisely
Purpose and audience
Before writing a report you should frst identify some $ey factors,
which will help you plan your approach and write with clarity. The
frst %uestion you should as$ yourself is, &what is the purpose of the
report'(
)urpose
SADC Course in Statistics Module I4 Session 06 Page 1
What is it about, and what is it for?
It is benefcial to establish the purpose of your report before you
start writing, so that you can thin$ clearly on the sub*ect, and
produce a report styled to ft the needs of your purpose.
!ecogni+e what your report is for, ,informing, instructing,
guiding- and focus your writing on e#plaining the details. If for
e#ample, you want to write an instructional report for a team of
colleagues, you $now that you must focus your writing on
providing clear concise instructions, which will allow your reader
to comprehend the processes that you are describing.

"udience
Who are you writing for?
The second %uestion you should as$ yourself is, who is going to
read this report and why? .nowing your audience will help you
determine how long your report should be, how it should be
presented, and what level of terminology you should use to best
attract and maintain the interest of your reader. If for e#ample, you
are writing a report to inform policy ma$ers, you would want to focus
on presenting your evidence clearly and concisely.
We will now try an e#ercise on identifying audience and purpose:
Exercise one
/alaria )revention
0ou are a 1ealth wor$er at the /inistry 2f 1ealth and have been
as$ed to write a report on /alaria. 0ou have access to the fgures on
/alaria incidents in the ountry over the last fve years, as well as
access to the latest info on drugs and other barriers to prevent
/alaria.
3. 4escribe the purpose of your report, and identify your audience.
The sentence
5ow that we $now how to identify our audience and defne a
purpose, we will loo$ at how to write clearly and succinctly.
6nderstanding how to structure a sentence is essential to conveying
meaning clearly. 7ollowing are a few rules of thumb to help avoid
ambiguous sentences:
Keep it short and to the point. /any people have trouble with
run8on sentences, creating ambiguity by attaching many ideas
together with large combinations of commas, semicolons and
dashes. omplete one thought and close out your sentence
with end punctuation.
Words for words sake. "void e#traneous words, and
parentheses that do not add to your point.
Dont leave it hanging. Sentence fragments can be *ust as
confusing as run8on sentences. /a$e sure that you have
completed your sentence and that it ma$es sense, before
closing it out.
7or a comprehensive e#planation of the inner wor$ings of sentences
and grammar, you can visit the lin$s below.
Sentence help:
http:99www:.actden.com9writ;den9tips9sentence9inde#.htm
<rammar help:
http:99www.spea$spea$.com9html9d3=;english;grammar.htm
We will now loo$ over some common errors that can convolute
sentences and obscure meaning.
Sentene !rag"ent
&/ar$ has fnished his wor$ on time. Since he started planning
ahead.(
The second sentence is a fragment here, because it does not contain
enough information to complete a thought. /ost sentence fragments
are phrases that belong to the previous thought. To correct the
problem in this instance, we simply remove the period.
#orret
&/ar$ has fnished his wor$ on time since he started planning
ahead.(
$un%on sentene
&>ane loves Tom he is a good friend.(
" run8on sentence occurs when you have two complete sentences
that are not separated by correct punctuation. In this case we can
correct it with a comma and a lin$ing word, or by using a period.
#orret
&>ane loves Tom, because he is a good friend.(
&>ane loves Tom. 1e is a good friend.(
Exercise 2
orrect the following sentence fragments and run8on sentences.
We will play ric$et tomorrow. If it doesn?t rain.
In our survey we contacted :3: members of government 33=
members of government responded.
In order to obtain funding. 0ou have to write clear concise reports.
/ichael loves to write reports he is talented at it and his wife?s name
is Shelly.
Structuring Sentences, Paragraphs and Reports

&ell the" what youre going to tell the", tell the", and
then tell the" what you told the".
The diagram below is an e#cellent e#ample on how to write clearly
and logically. We will now loo$ at each part of this &map( and then
see how the pieces come together.
Introduction
Introductory paragraph
The introduction should e#plain the general ideas to come, as well as
your thesis statement, which tells the reader what to e#pect from the
rest of the report. The rest of the report should gather evidence and
organi+e a case around your thesis statement.
Topic sentences
" topic sentence is li$e a mini introduction to the body of your
paragraph. 0our topic sentence should e#plain what the body of the
paragraph will cover, ,*ust li$e your introduction e#plains what to
e#pect in the report-. It is a good idea to &map( out your report, by
frst writing topic sentences for each of the di@erent paragraphs or
sections of your report.
2. Body
Support sentences
Support sentences are the body of paragraphs. This is the section of
your report that serves to provide evidence and e#amples that
reinforce your thesis statement. Support sentences are also used to
clearly e#plain and underpin main ideas.
3. Conclusion
Concluding sentences
The concluding sentence is used to reiterate the main points
developed by the support sentences, and signal the end of a
paragraph. They are also useful for adding emphasis to certain $ey
points, through repetition.
We will now loo$ at how to create the di@erent parts of a report
outside of the general writing, which are: Title, Summary,
!ecommendations, "ppendi#, !eferences, and Table of ontents.
Title
The title is your frst contact with the reader, and should inform them
succinctly about what they are about to read.
Summary
The purpose of a summary is to provide an overview of the report. It
is not necessary to give detailed information in the summary, but
rather to provide an indication of the type of information that the
report contains. "verage summaries are between 3==83A= words,
and are generally written after the report has been completed, so
that you $now e#actly what you are summari+ing.
!ecommendations
!ecommendations are not an essential part of a reportB however, if
you are including one, it should follow from your conclusion. " brief
statement clearly declaring your recommendations will su@ice.
ppendix
"n appendi# contains materials that are peripheral, but relevant to
your report.
SADC Course in Statistics Module I4 Session 06 Page
7or e#ample you may wish to include a glossary of terms in your
appendi# if you are writing a technical report for those who are not
e#perts on the sub*ect. 0ou may also include copies of research tools
such as %uestionnaires and manuals, as well as tables and diagrams
that you feel would disrupt the Cow of your report by brea$ing it up.
If your appendi# does contain tables, diagrams etc., ma$e sure to
label them properly, so that the can easily be found when referenced.
!e"erences
If you have consulted or %uoted any media sources, ,print or
otherwise- to help you compile your report, they "ust be
ac$nowledged here, as well as in the te#t. iting your resources not
only avoids running into plagiarism issues, but strengthens your
wor$ by bac$ing up your report with evidence from the wor$ of
others. If you are %uoting directly from someone else, the %uote must
be followed by the author?s surname and date of publication in round
brac$ets, e.g. alvino ,3DEF-. " standard bibliography is an
alphabeti+ed list ordered by "uthor?s surnames. 7or a boo$ you must
include: the author?s surname and full name, or initialsB the full title
of the boo$B the edition ,if other than the frst-B the place of
publicationB the publisher, and the date of publication, e.g. alvino,
Italo. )alomar. Torino: S.)."., 3DEF.
7or a complete guide to correct citation, visit:
http:99www.liu.edu9cwis9W)9library9wor$shop9citmla.htm
Ta#le o" Contents
" table of contents is a page containing numbers that correspond to
di@erent parts of your report, allowing readers to *ump between
sections %uic$ly. 5umber and title the di@erent portions of your
report, ,such as &3.: /edical advancements in treating /alaria( &3.F
<overnment funding for treating /alaria( &:.3 !eferences( etc.- and
then create a corresponding list of contents that lists the page
number as well as the reference number, which should be se%uential,
starting from the summary. " good starting point for mapping out
your table of contents is to do it corresponding to your topic
sentences.
Below is an e#ample of a &mapped( chec$list that puts all of the
steps we have learned together followed by a table of contents. It is
a good guidance tool to use when preparing to write a report. The
&mapped( chec$list is modeled on the /alaria prevention e#ercise
we completed earlier.
Mapped Checklist for Malaria Prevention
1. Who is it for?
1ealth wor$ers in district o@ices.
2. What is it about?
/alaria prevention 8 success stories over the last fve years.
3. Title
Get?s Win the Battle "gainst /alaria
. !u""ar#
This report attempts to e#amine the benefts and drawbac$s
between di@erent methods of combating malaria in Southern "frica,
including rate of success, time, cost, and other socio8economic
factors.
$. %ntroduction
H#ploring the methods for evaluating available options for
combating malaria, and the relative successes of di@erent
options over the past fve years.
&. Topic sentences
3. Insecticide treated nets have been proven to protect people
from malaria, by both preventing physical contact, and $illing
the mos%uito.
:. ommunity based wor$ pro*ects to reduce mos%uito breeding
grounds have been successful.
F. Indoor residual spraying remains one of the most widely used
methods of vector control.
I. "ll of the discussed methods for the prevention of malaria
wor$ to some
degree, but is it more benefcial to ta$e a proactive or reactive
stance'
A. What is the most successful and cost e@ective way to combat
malaria, and how can we implement these measures'
J. With community wor$ and ade%uate resources, malaria could be
greatly reduced over the ne#t decade.
'. Conclusion
1aving e#amined the di@erent malaria prevention methods, and
weighing their pros and cons, there are many possible solutions.
(. )eco""endations
*. +ppendi,
1-. )eferences
Table of ontents for /alaria )revention
Contents
Pa.e no
SummaryKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.
:
ontentsKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK..
F
3.
IntroductionKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.I
:. )revention
methodsKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.A
:.3 Insecticide treated
netsKKK.........................................................................A
:.: ommunity based wor$
pro*ectsKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.J
:.F Indoor residual
sprayingKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK..L
F. Success and
ostKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKE
F.3 )roactive and reactive
approachesKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK..E
F.: Stri$ing a medium between cost and
successKKKKKKKKKKKK.D
F.F 7uture
successKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.D
I.
onclusionsKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK..D
A. !ecommendaionsKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
3=
J.
"ppendi#KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.3=
L.
!eferencesKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK...33
Exercise 3
Bringing it all toget$er
5ow that you have an understanding of the content and structure of
a report, it is time to put that $nowledge to use.
1. /sin. one of the reports that 0e read last session1 "ap out
the topic sentences1 then construct a table of contents.
Tips for writing a report
Write in plain Hnglish
Select an appropriate title
6se your spell chec$er
Start writing
6se your !eport /ap
Sleep on it
0ou don?t need to start at the beginning
Be engaging
6se language the will be comprehensible by your intended
audience

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Report Writing: Style and Structure

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