REPORT WRITING

Guidance for

Business Professionals

Dr S C Chapman
January 2021

1
 CONTENTS

Introduction

1 The Purpose of this Booklet

2 Defining Business Writing

3 Why Write in Business?

4 Winning the Argument and Creating Trust

Basic Skills
1 Spelling and Grammar

2 Corporate Style

3 Labelling

4 Useful Writing Techniques

Reports
1 Planning

2 Research

3 Writing

Annexes

A Cover Page “Smith PLC’

B Index from Business Plan

2
 Introduction

1. The Purpose of this Booklet

This has been written to help students learning business skills write any reports which
are required as coursework. It serves, however, a more important purpose: it begins
the lifelong practice of communicating effectively at work. There are very few
substantial actions that a businessperson can achieve without making their case in
writing – for example getting a better job, pitching for new business, asking for more
resources. Learning how to do so in the first year at business school will give the
student a significant edge in other modules’ coursework too.

2. Defining Business Writing

A report is only one example of business writing (BW), so it is worth defining BW

before focusing on reports.

BW is the skill used to prepare written documents in business.

Apart from the usual rules of grammar and spelling, the needs of business have
created conventions that are different to social correspondence or academic
papers. BW is therefore a specific skill mastered by business professionals.

Unlike verbal communication, a written report may be seen by people who were not
in your mind when you prepared it and therefore special care must be taken to
ensure it makes sense when read on its own. These conventions have developed
over many years and work in practice. They are accepted by the business
community and any aspiring businessperson needs to master them if their work is to
be influential.

Whenever we write in business, we do so to achieve a specific purpose whether

routine (e.g. a monthly sales return) or strategic (e.g. an investment proposal).
Therefore we tailor every piece of writing - including reports - to fit our purpose and
its intended audience. Because businesspeople are busy and orientated towards
making a decision, good writing is brief, accurate and clear (particularly about what
you want the reader to do). It is easy to read and as short as possible without
omitting anything relevant.

3. Why Write in Business?

Why bother putting ideas on a screen or paper at all? There are 3 reasons to write in
business:

 To record information, e.g. the minutes of a meeting or status of

a project. Corporate information is widely read and its author as
well as the content will be judged on how well it is presented and
how easily it is understood.

 To influence people, e.g. requesting resources, allocating budgets or

3
 applying for a job. Almost all big decisions are based on documentary
evidence; the better you are at presenting your arguments, the more likely
you are to get what you want.

 To clarify and develop your own ideas. Constructing a written argument

often identifies new factors and improves your understanding.

In the long run, perhaps the most important ( and unspoken) reason is that of
personal reputation. Many senior decision makers believe that people who can’t
write clearly can’t think clearly. Your reports are your shop window; it is worth the
effort to dress it well.

4. Winning the Argument and Creating Trust

No one will act on your reports unless they believe you and trust your opinion. To
write convincingly enough for others to trust your opinion, you must always:

 be accurate and separate fact from opinion. Not only could guessing lead
to a mistaken argument but you will probably be found out sooner or later
and your future recommendations taken less seriously as a result.

 occupy as little of the readers’ time as necessary for you to make all
the arguments they need to understand. You must be good at sticking
to the point and excluding irrelevant material, no matter how
interesting.

 write so clearly that you cannot be misunderstood.

In the short term you will get a result. In the longer term, you will gain a
reputation for thinking thoroughly, developing g o o d ideas and communicating
effectively – the basis of any successful business professional.

Remember that written material, particularly reports, always travels further than the
author thinks. Writing well offers great opportunities for you to show your value to a
wider audience than you know; in many large firms, it is one of the informal criteria
for promotion.

Basic Skills

These skills and knowledge are essential for a successful report.

1. Spelling and Grammar

There is no escape: you must be able to spell and to use grammar correctly.
Spelling mistakes or grammatical errors make it harder for readers to understand
you, which may prejudice them against your arguments or lead to
misunderstanding. It also suggests that you are poorly educated or that you don’t
value their time enough to check your work before expecting them to read it. In the
age of spellcheckers, they may consider it inexcusable. A reader encountering
these errors will discount the value of your arguments.

4
2. Corporate Style

Most firms have a specific way in which reports are presented, often stated in a
brand or style manual. Make sure you find out what the rules are and stick to
them.

If the readers’ first impression is that you don’t know something they take for
granted, they may wonder how carefully you researched your arguments. It is also
harder for a busy reader to follow an unfamiliar format.

You were given the rules we are using in this module in Weeks 1 and 2. The font must
be Arial size 11; do not be tempted to reduce the size to fit a page.

3. Labeling

All reports are not only clearly titled but also dated to avoid confusion between
versions. You, as the author, should also be clearly identified. Since you don’t
know who will read a document after the first recipient, include how you can be
contacted.

All reports longer than two pages must have page numbers; longer documents a r e
often printed even in the ‘paperless office’ and will be handled by people unfamiliar
with their content. Readers will be confused and then irritated if the pages are stapled
or bound in the wrong order.

4. Useful Writing Techniques

These techniques will help you to write better reports: easier to read and therefore
more likely to be acted upon in the way you want.

4.1 One Idea per Paragraph. Each paragraph s h o u l d contain only one argument.
If the subject matter changes, so does the paragraph. Use as many paragraphs as
you need. If you have a complicated idea, describe it in stages using one paragraph
for each stage, rather than risk losing readers in a paragraph that is too long to hold
their attention.

4.2 Sequence the Ideas. Place the arguments (and therefore paragraphs) in a
logical sequence. Don’t confuse the reader by jumping backwards and forwards or
by introducing a new argument before finishing the present one.

4.3 Short Words in Short Sentences in Short Paragraphs. Your reader will follow
you more easily if you use short words, short sentences (generally no more than 20
words) and short paragraphs. Use your judgement: sometimes a long word will be
briefer or more precise than several short ones, but there are no prizes for using two
syllables when one will do! Always keep your audience in mind and avoid
overcomplicating the argument: the simpler, the better.

4.4 Explain Abbreviations. If you use abbreviations, always spell fully (followed by
the abbreviation in brackets) the first time you use them. The readers will understand
it subsequently without having to spend time looking it up or asking you. If you use a
lot of abbreviations, create an index where they can all be found in one place such as
a glossary.

5
4.5 Avoid the Irrelevant. If a fact is not helpful to the reader, then save their time
and avoid confusion by excluding it. Remember that you are writing for effect, not to
impress.

We will now look at how to use these rules when writing reports.

Reports
Reports are written for these reasons:

• to record decisions or data, e.g. sales reports, monthly management

reports.
• to influence decisions or make recommendations, e.g. business
plans, investment advice.

Reports are usually much longer than correspondence and readers need an easily
understood, formal structure to lead them through the arguments and to find
information. This requires an obvious sequence and extensive use of numbers and
headings.

Reports are usually read without any covering correspondence to explain them,
so they must make sense on their own. Don’t assume that readers have read
anything else and give references to any critical information you use in case they
want to read it for themselves.

Many companies have a corporate style for report writing that saves time
in preparation. Whereas the content of your report is up to you, its layout,
labeling, font etc must conform to any house rules.

There are three phases to preparing a report:

• Planning to ensure that it is delivered on time.

• Researching to ensure that all relevant data and arguments are included.
• Writing to ensure that your arguments can be easily understood.

1. Planning

1.1 Time Management. When must it be received? Reports often require research
and contributions from several people or departments and you will need a plan to
ensure that each contribution reaches you early enough for inclusion. Work back
from the dispatch date, allowing two working days immediately before it for any
unexpected problems; ideally the time will remain free for your final read after
completion.

1.2 Clarify the Aim. Who are you writing for and why? What do you want to happen
as a result? The answers affect your writing style and the arguments you will use to
achieve your aim.

6
2. Research

2.1 Consider the Recipient. How do the recipients benefit by reading what you have
written? What do they need to know to gain that benefit? Don’t assume any prior
knowledge: reports are often read widely by people unfamiliar with the subject.

2.2 Collate all Relevant Information. Research the data and keep careful notes of
where you found the information as you will need to record your sources in the report.
Your aim is to know the subject well enough to write about it with authority so don’t
waste time researching interesting facts which you won’t need.

2.3 Organise the Material. Record all the arguments and then group them under
common themes before placing them in the right order. Now plan how to present
your arguments so that they are easy to understand. Would a picture or graph help?
Which arguments fit together as a separate section? Which data are best placed in
an annex?

Don’t be surprised if organising the material may raise new questions for you to
answer through more research.

3. Writing

3.1 Sequence the Ideas. There is some overlap with the research phase. Ensure
that your arguments are in a logical sequence before creating provisional headings
for each group of ideas: these will be the chapter headings in the report. Most of
these ideas will belong in the discussion o r m i d d l e o f t h e r e p o r t but sometimes
you will find good ideas for the introduction or conclusion, remembering that you
never introduce new ideas in a conclusion.

3.2 Write the First Draft. You are now ready to start writing. You will correct the
draft later so don’t waste time setting things out neatly or looking for the exactly right
phrase at this stage: note the idea and move on. Similarly don’t worry about the
layout, headings and numbering as you are likely to change them as the report
develops. Follow these rules and you will quickly have a first draft:

3.2.1 Use the third person. Reports are formal so write in the third
person, even if the recipient is well known to you. Remember: you don’t
know who will read it later on.

3.2.2 Don’t start at the beginning. Start with the discussion and then
write the conclusion. Only write the introduction when you are sure the
discussion is complete and it is clear in the conclusion what you expect
from the reader.

3.2.3 Structure the conclusion. The conclusion makes deductions from

the previous arguments and tells the reader how they are important in the
context of the report. Everything stated in the conclusion must be taken
from the main body of the report, although summarised rather than

7
 repeated. You are reminding the reader of the most important arguments
before making your recommendation based on them.

3.2.4 Make your recommendations. Specific recommendations should

be placed in a separate chapter after your conclusions for ease of
reference. Recommendations are based on the conclusions in the same
way as the conclusions are based on the main body’s arguments.

3.3 The Second Draft. Leave the first draft overnight if possible before reading it
again; much that is difficult today will be easy after a night’s sleep. Incorporate fresh
research done to cover any data missing from the first draft. Reading it as a whole
helps you judge its intelligibility better than reading parts in separate sittings.

3.4 The Final Draft. If the document is very long or complicated, you may need more
than three drafts to finalise the document. Wait until this stage before checking the
layout meets the corporate style and adding headings and a contents page. If you are
writing an Executive Summary, do it now. Then read the document as a whole,
preferably a day later, for the last time before dispatch.

3.5 Executive Summary. An Executive Summary is usual for reports longer than
three pages, placed immediately after the contents page (if you have one). It does
not include anything not in the report or replace the introduction but stands alone,
summarising the main arguments and specifying what is required from the recipient.
It should be no longer than one page, less for short reports. Someone who is too
busy to read the report should understand its message after reading the executive
summary on its own.

3.6 Cover Page. A well laid out cover page looks professional and creates
anticipation, encouraging the reader to open the report. Above all, it should be easy
to read quickly, so be careful about using images that confuse the reader or make the
title difficult to see.

A cover page should show the report’s title, the author’s details and the date it
was written. Other information such as the recipient can be included but not at
the expense of the essential data. Annex A is an example from a consulting
project.

3.7 Contents Page. Any report with more than one section in the discussion needs
an index at the front to guide the reader. The contents should be listed on a separate
page called Contents immediately behind the cover page and laid out clearly so that
the reader can see the outline of the report at a glance and can look up specific
subjects easily.

The chapter headings should use exactly the same words as in the report. Avoid
bold type unless you are including section headings in which case put the chapters
in bold to aid understanding.

Page numbers should be placed at the right margin in a single vertical line. Any
annexes or appendices should also be indexed. Annex B is taken from a recent
investment proposal.

8
Remember that this is the first page the readers will see and therefore your first
chance to create a good impression and start the process of convincing them to
accept your arguments. It must be clear, give the reader a picture of what
comes later and easy to use for finding something.

3.8 Headings. The principle of headings is simple: the bigger or bolder, the more
important. Use the same hierarchy of headings throughout the report to avoid
confusing the reader. A central heading is more important than one in the left margin
and an underlined one is more important than one that isn’t. Headings are usually in
bold, without punctuation and do not have a full stop unless part of the first line of a
paragraph.

Most large organisations will dictate how reports are to be set out and you should
follow your company’s system for headings. The system used in this paper works
reflects current business practice and is summarised below. Headings are
always in bold type, the font type is Arial and the size 11 unless stated otherwise.
The different types of heading are listed with the most important first:

• Document heading: centred, capitals, font size 14

• Chapter heading: centred, title case, two lines clear of last text, font size 14
• Section heading: left margin, title case, two lines clear, font size 12
• Paragraph heading: left margin, title case, one line clear, on first line of
text with a full stop.
• Sub-paragraph heading: indented margin, title case, on first line of text
with a full stop.

A clear line between the document, chapter and section headings and the text below
further emphasises their importance compared to paragraphs and sub-paragraphs
which do not have a clear line before the text starts again.

3.9 Numbering. Headings are numbered in long documents or where there are so
many headings that numbers help the reader to follow your arguments a n d to refer
someone else to them. The commonest system nowadays uses numbers separated
by full stops, as shown in this paper. If your organisation doesn’t have guidelines and
you have to invent them, the most important principle is to be consistent. Avoid
brackets as they require more keystrokes with more chance of error.

3.10 Figures. Include pictures and diagrams where they will help your reader to
understand an argument more quickly but don’t include one just to impress; it is more
likely to distract. Apply the same scrutiny to figures as you do to text: is it relevant
and does it help the reader?

Pictures or diagrams are called figures and should be labelled numerically in the
order in which they appear in the report. Each figure is labelled in bold, title case
font of the same size as the text, centred immediately under the figure. Allow a line
between the figure and the text above and below it. Figure 1 is a real example from a
recent board paper.

9
 Act Observe

Decide Orientate

Figure 1: The OODA Loop

3.11 Tables. Numbers are often placed in tables, being easier to understand when
read like that. Show numbers in a t able where this will help your reader and apply
the same rules for labeling them. If importing a table from somewhere else, remove
any data that may distract the reader. Use the table to make the point you want to.

It is usual to use a smaller font size in tables; we use Size 10. Keep the same
size in all the tables and avoid fonts smaller than 9 as they can be hard to read.
The title row in the table should be centred in bold. The rules for labelling and
spacing are the same as for figures. Here is a real example from a board paper.

Region Number of Predicted Fee Invoiced Fee

Projects £000 £000
East 108 557 108
West 102 682 232
North 3 3 1
Not site specific 12 52 11
Total 225 1,294 352
Table 1: Location of Scottish Projects

It is not necessary to index figures and tables at the end of a report but they
should be numbered for ease of reference. When reading the final draft, check that
no tables or figures have been split over two pages because that makes them hard
to read.

3.12 Acknowledgements. Where you have used somebody else’s work,

acknowledge their contribution. Businesspeople are not usually concerned with
plagiarism but need to know what weight to apply to the data. For example, statistics
about the same subject from your team’s calculations, a competitor’s web site or
official sources will have different levels of credibility.

From a personal perspective, it is worth being known as someone who

always acknowledges other people’s help as they are more likely to
help you in future.

3.13 Annexes and Appendices. In the British Civil Service, annexes are divided into
appendices but most business documents don’t differentiate between them, both
Annex and Appendix are used. I use Annex because it is shorter.

10
Use an annex to record data that are:
• too complicated to present as a table or so lengthy that the thread of
your argument would be lost if all the detail was included in the main
text.
• interesting but not essential to understanding the argument.

Don’t use them to dump tables etc that you cannot fit into the page limit for a piece
of coursework. A report should still be complete, even if it lost its annexes.

Annexes are given a title and labelled alphabetically in the order in which they
are referenced in the text. An annex is referenced b y i t s l e t t e r in the text
immediately after the information is described and placed in brackets, e.g. (Annex
A), enabling readers to turn to the back of the report and find more information if
they wish.

Annexes are all titled and indexed on the Contents page after the chapter and
section headings. If they are not listed at the start, list them at the end of the
document. By convention, numbers identify appendices when they complement
annexes.

11
 ANNEX A

AN EXAMPLE OF A REPORT’S COVER PAGE

SMITH PLC STRATEGIC

DEVELOPMENT

A Short Report for the Directors

By Dr S C Chapman

26 October 2018

Chapman Ltd
15 Westminster Square London
SW1A 2BC scc@chapman.com
020 7234 5678
 ANNEX B

EXAMPLE OF A CONTENTS PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Management Aim.............................................................................................5
Investment Summary.......................................................................................5

The Company
Operating Activities..........................................................................................6
The Market.......................................................................................................7
Current Status..................................................................................................7
Management Team..........................................................................................8
Business Architecture....................................................................................10
Management and Employees........................................................................11

The Business Idea

Payroll Card Overview...................................................................................12
Market Overview............................................................................................13
Competitive Landscape.................................................................................14
Distribution Network......................................................................................16
Payroll Service Model....................................................................................17
Sales Cycle....................................................................................................18
Value Pricing..................................................................................................18
Barriers to Competition..................................................................................18

Finances
Financial Summary........................................................................................18
Forecasts.......................................................................................................19
Forecast Payroll Card Financials (£’000s).....................................................19
Profitability per Card......................................................................................19

Investment Considerations
Valuation........................................................................................................21
Key Risk Factors............................................................................................21
Exit Route.......................................................................................................22
EIS Tax Relief................................................................................................22

Annexes
A. UK Market Share......................................................................................23
B. Financial Institution – Agent Model...........................................................25
C. UK Prepaid Card Product Comparison.....................................................27
D. US Early Adopters....................................................................................32

13