To: Nancy Myers

From: Trent Tesch

Date: May 14, 2021

Subject: APLED 121-Chapter 17 Summary

CHAPTER 17
SHORT, INFORMAL REPORT

Report Definition

Reports come in different lengths and levels of formality, serve different and often overlapping purposes,
and can be conveyed to an audience using different communication channels.

Online Reports

Many organizations have created opportunities for online and on-the-go report writing. Online report
writing provides numerous benefits to both the organization and the individual like speed and
convenience from a laptop or smartphone and financial savings (no postage or paper).

Type of Report

There are many types of reports for example, Incident Reports, Trip Reports, Research Reports, and
Proposals to list a few.

Criteria for Writing Report

➢ Organization – Should contain five basic units: Identification Lines, Headings and Talking
Headings, Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion/Recommendations.
➢ Development – Develop your report by answering the reporter’s questions, Who, When, Why,
Where, and What. Second don’t be vague or imprecise and specify to the best of your abilities.
➢ Audience – Know your audience before writing your report, so that the tone and the information
you are reporting will be clear and precise to the reader.
➢ Style – Includes conciseness and highlighting techniques. For example write the date instead of
saying present time, and graphics can be used to help communication also.
Incident Report

➢ Purpose and Examples – If a problem occurs within your work environment you might be
required to prepare an incident report. For example, an oven in a restaurant caught fire and
injured an employee you would explain what happened and request a new stove and better fire
resistant equipment.
➢ Criteria – The following components are required.
• Purpose- when and were
• Personnel-who was involved and what role did they play.
• Make or model of equipment involved
• Police departments or hospitals contacted
• Name of witnesses
• Witness testimonies
• Extent of damage
• Graphics
• Follow-up action taken to solve the problem.

Investigative Reports

➢ Purpose and Examples – This type of report focuses more on why the event occurred for
example. A bridge is buckling, and one lane is two inches higher than the other, so you need to
go out and investigate the reason for this and write a report up.
➢ Criteria – here are some examples of what might be in the report.
• Purpose. Date, why you are there and what you hope to achieve.
• Location. Where the incident accrued.
• Personnel. Who was involved in the incident?
• Authorization. Who recommended that you investigate the problem?
• Discussion. A major part of the investigation.
• A review of your observations.
• Contacts – people interviewed.
• Difficulties encountered.
• Techniques, equipment, or tools used.
• Test procedures followed and organized chronologically.
• Conclusion what did you accomplish and Recommendations what do you suggest next.
Trip Reports

➢ Purpose and Examples – To document where you went how many miles and how long it took
and for what reason. For example, you are sent to a different state to work on several cell towers
and are required to write down milage drove a day from where to where and time taken and any
expenses like gas, hotel, and food.
➢ Criteria – What could be required in a trip report.
• Purpose. What was the objective of the trip?
• Personnel. Who were you traveling with?
• Authorization. Who recommended the trip?
• Discussion document your activities.
• Conclusion, what did you accomplish? Recommendations, what do you suggest next?

Progress Reports

➢ Purpose and Examples – Supervisors want to know what progress you are making on a progress.
For example, Your supervisor wants to know when a home renovation will be done so you need
to write up a progress report on what work has been done and what is still remaining and the
time you expect to be done.
➢ Criteria – What would be included in a Progress Report.
• Objectives. Why are you working on project, what problems motivated the project,
What do you hope to achieve, and Who initiated the activity.
• Personal. Who are you working with?
• Previous activities. Bring them up to date with previous work done.
• Work Accomplished. Organized according to importance.
• Problems Encountered. Record any difficulties encountered.
• Work Remaining. Tell reader what work remains to be done.
• Conclusion. Sum up what you have achieved.
• Recommendation. Recommend changes if problems were present.

Lab Reports (also referred to as test reports)

➢ Purpose and Examples – helps you share your findings. For example, a pathology study was
done on a blood draw, you write up a lab report to provide help to the nurses and doctors to
provide best patient care.
➢ Criteria – components of a lab report.
• Introduction. Why is the report being written to answer this use, Rationale, Objectives,
and Authorization.
• Discussion. How was the test performed to answer this use, Apparatus, and Procedure.
• Conclusion. Present your findings.
• Recommendations. What follow up actions (if any) should be taken.
Feasibility/Recommendation Reports

➢ Purpose and Examples – Is one way a company determines the viability of a project. For
example, your company is considering purchasing new equipment but want to make sure it will
perform the tasks required.
➢ Criteria – The following are components of an effective feasibility report.
• Introduction. Objectives are what is the purpose, what problems motivated the study,
and Who initiated the study.
• Personal. Names of your project team members.
• Discussion. Use criteria of your recommendations, and Analysis compare your findings.
• Conclusion. State the significance of your findings.
• Recommendations. Recommend a course of action.

The Writing Process at Work

➢ Prewriting – Gather data and determine the objectives.

➢ Writing – Write up a rough draft and have it reviewed by colleagues.
➢ Rewriting – After reviewing the suggestions write up the final report to sent to the production
staff for final review.