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Report Writing

Report Types and Characteristics

Formal Reports

Informal Reports

Formal Reports
May contain a title page, transmittal message, table of contents, list of illustrations, abstract, body, glossary, appendix, and reference list. Are written in the third person. Use headings.

Informal Reports
May be written with or without a title page. May be formatted as a letter or a memo. Are written in the first person. Use headings.

Informal Written Report Types

Progress informs readers of the status of a project Periodic provides managers with updated information at regular intervals Technical conveys specialized information

Formal Written Reports

Preliminary section Body Supplementary section

Preliminary Section (contains all the parts

of a report that precede the body)

Title page Letter or memo of transmittal Table of contents List of illustrations Executive summary

Body
Introduction Procedures Findings Analysis Conclusions Recommendations

Supplementary Section

Glossary Appendix Bibliography or reference list

PRELIMINARY SECTION

Title Page
Title of the report Writers name, title and department Date of submission Name of person/company receiving the report is used when reports are prepared for clients outside the organization Title should indicate the purpose and content

Letter or Memo of Transmittal

Letter or Memorandum of Transmittal-Five parts: Authorization (refer to group or individual who requested the report) Transmittal details (use conversational language) Background, Methodology Highlights (conclusions) Courteous Ending (acknowledging those who assisted; verifying that the effort in completing the report was worthwhile; suggesting a personal willingness to respond to further qs; including your contact details) *some foreign subsidiaries include the cover letter or memorandum both in the native language and in English..\..\Letter of transmittal.docx

Table of Contents
Lists all major sections that follow it and page on which it begins Aids the reader in quickly locating specific information in the report. Normally not used in reports of fewer than five pages Leave 1 margin on the left, right, top and bottom Write the phrase TABLE OF CONTENTS on the top in CAPITALS Numbering of elements up to abstract/summary done in small roman numerals and from introduction onwards in Arabic numerals Leave two spaces between main headings and one space between sub headings

List of Illustrations
Visual Aids are identified in list of illustrations Layout is same as table of contents and gives information about the number, title and page reference of each illustration. If the list of illustrations is very large, divide it into two parts, namely List of Tables and List of Figures

Executive Summary
Executive Summary/Abstract/ overview/Synopsis Place it right after the transmittal letter or memorandum Approx 10% of the length of report organized deductively or inductively Dominant Headings: background, data analysis, causes, possible solutions , conclusions, recommendations..\..\Executive Summary.docx

Body
Introduction includes: Statement of the problem Purpose of study Specify scope of research Summarize available literature on the topic Define unfamiliar terms

Body
Procedures/methodology- describes steps taken in conducting the study Findings-should be presented in a factual and objective manner without personal opinions/interpretations Analysis-contains writers interpretation of the qualitative or quantitative assessment of the findings

Body
Conclusions-statement of reasoning made by a researcher after a thorough investigation. Findings and analysis should substantiate the conclusions Recommendations-writers suggestion to the reader as to the action that should be taken to solve the problem. It should develop logically from the findings, analysis and conclusions of study

SUPPLEMENTARY SECTION

Glossary
Alphabetic list of terms used in the report with a brief definition of each. List of technical words used in the report and their explanation. However if the list of such words is limited, they are generally explained in the footnotes Can be placed before the appendices or after the table of contents Whether to Include the glossary depends upon readers understanding List of symbols is structured like a glossary. It defines the symbols/abbreviations used in the report

Appendix
Used to give variety of information separately, as its inclusion in the main body could interfere with the smooth reading of the report. Appendix title page to be placed between last page of body and first page of appendix Refer the reader to every entry in appendix in the report body

Bibliography
Alphabetical list of all references used as sources of information in the study including those that dont appear in footnotes or text citations Can present entries in a single alphabetic list or under various headings (books/periodicals/newspapers, government reports)

References

Includes only those sources cited in the text of the reports.

Guidelines for Bibliography Entries

Reference to a book by one author-Mention authors name, Book Title (in italics, hence
to be underlined), city of publication, publishers name, date of publication.

Reference to a particular chapter in a book written by two authors:

Authors names (name of the main author entered with surname first and those of other authors written with given names or initials, first), Chapter Title in quotes, book title, city of publication, publishers name, date of publication magazine name, volume and issue numbers, date of issue, relevant page numbers

Magazine Article: Authors name, title of article,

Guidelines for Bibliography Entries (contd..)

Report or Technical Paper: Authors name, title of report,
A second edition of a book by more than two authors: Enter only primary authors name and publishers name References to Internet Resources:
Author, title of item location (e.g. web site) and date of posting and /or date accessed in brackets ex: http://www.videocon.com/marketing (January 2005)
report no, name of company or organization publishing the report, date of report

Note: et al means and others

Mechanics of Formal Reports

Cover Margins Spacing Headings Footnotes or Citations Pagination

Cover
Protects the contents of the report Information can be printed on the cover or displayed through a cutout section May contain an appropriate picture or drawing Items generally displayed are: title, name of the author, date the report was submitted

Margins
Create white space that makes the report visually appealing to the reader. Report margins should be 1 on all sides Reports bound at left should have a 1 left margin Reports bound at the top have 2 inch top margin Preliminary, supplementary parts and opening page of major sections have 2 top margin

Spacing
May be single spaced or double spaced Single spacing is preferred to reduce the number of sheets of paper that have to be handled In double spaced reports, use paragraph indentions that are 1 from left margin. No space is added between paragraphs. Single spaced reports should be double spaced between paragraphs; indenting first line is optional.

Heading
Help the reader follow the report organization and enable to refer to specific sections. May be either informative or structural Eg: CUSTOMERS ATTITUDE TOWARD WEB POPUP ADS (Informative Heading) FINDINGS (Structural Heading) First level headings/second level headings/third level headings Parallelism

Footnotes or Citations

Used to give credit to the source of quoted or paraphrased material.

Page Numbers
Reports of 1-2 pages are not required to be numbered In long reports preliminary pages should be numbered in small Roman Numerals at the center of page 1 from bottom beginning with second page. The title page is considered page i, even though no page is displayed. The body of the report should begin as page 1. For each section or chapter that starts on a separate page, the page number should be centered 1 from the bottom. On the remaining pages of unbound or left bound reports, number should be placed on 4th line from top of the page in the right margin. On top bound reports the page number should be centered and one inch from the bottom edge of the edge

END