Writing a

Report
People have always been narrating what
they did for the day: children tell their
parents as to who picked a fight with them,
husbands and wives tell each other what
happened at home at the office, old folks
tell the young about the time when they
themselves were growing up, lovers tell
each other where they have been before
they met, students tell their teachers why
they were late, and we all want to know
the why’s and the how’s of celebrity
successes, failures, break ups,
reconciliations and so on.
In other words, every human being has
done informal reporting some time,
but once this verbal ability is used to
tell about surveys conducted; work
done out there in the field;
experiments performed inside the
laboratory; observations noted
systematically; and inventions,
inquiries and others resulting from
technological advances and research-
a structured presentation is in order.
Guidelines for Writing the Survey/
Field/Laboratory/Scientific/Technical
Report

1.VALUE COMMUNICATED
Objective
Accurate
Honest presentation of facts and
results
 2. Basic Content

May consist of eyewitness accounts or

first- hand information
May contain facts, data, figures, or
statistics on or from people, events,
phenomena, structures, experiments,
questionnaires, interview
May include materials and procedures
or methods
 3. Modes of Ordering
Chronological or time order
Geographical or space/ spatial
order
Logical- inductive and deductive
Problem-Solution
Cause and Effect
Formal
Modes of Ordering
Abstract- Introduction-
Background-Statement of the
Problem-Materials-Method or
Procedure-Results-
Discussion- Summary,
Conclusion and
Recommendations
4. Basic Qualities of a Good Report

Objective, not subjective point of

view
Accurate, not sloppy presentation
of facts, numbers, statistics and
data
Honest, not false or incomplete
details and results
Brief and direct sentences