1.
Report Writing
What is a Report?
According to Bruce Cooper, a
report is “an account of something……………… an answer to a
question or a demand from another person for information”.
Atkinson and Reynolds say that a report “presents in organised form the information that has been
requested by an authorised person.”
C. A. Brown defines it as “a communication from
someone who has information to someone who wants to use that information”.
The most elaborate definition of a report has been given by John Mitchel: “A technical report is a written statement of the facts of a situation, project, process or test;
how these facts
were ascertained;
their significance;
the conclusions
that have been drawn from them; the recommendations that are being made.”
According to these definitions, a report is
1. A formal statement of facts or
information or an account of something.
2. Is presented in a conventional form.
3. Is written for a specific audience.
4. Includes information about the
procedure of collecting data and the significance of such data.
5. Contains conclusions drawn from that
data.
6. Often includes recommendations.
Importance of Reports
All decisions in a business, industry or the government these
days are taken on the basis of information provided and the recommendations
made in reports. People in higher positions who are responsible for decision
making spend most of their time either preparing reports or reading them. An
executive who cannot write a good report or get one written is a useless one.
Reports help executives to perform their functions and discharge their duties
in an efficient way.
Certain developments in the business world have increased the
importance of reports in modern times.
1.
Modern
businesses have grown extremely in size. They
cover hundreds of locations and employ thousands of people. It is not possible
for the people at the top to know everything about
what is going on where. They have to depend on the
reports submitted to them by their subordinates.
2.
Modern
businesses have become very competitive as well.
It is impossible for any business to survive
without continuously evaluating its processes and
procedures and keep improving them to enhance quality or cut costs. For
doing so, they have to depend on reports prepared by
experts in their respective fields.
3.
Businesses
and industries have to update their knowledge of
markets for the sale of their products and the procurement of raw
materials. They have to get surveys conducted
and get reports regarding the latest conditions
prevailing and the developments taking place in the markets.
4.
To
obtain information about the changing trends and tastes
of the public, they have to depend on reports produced by market
specialists.
Qualities of a Good
Report: A report
must have the following qualities to be useful to any business:
1.
It
should be based on verified factual information and
valid proofs.
2.
It
should be clear and easy to understand. The
language used should be simple and unambiguous.
3.
It
should be unbiased and impartial. A report which
deliberately tries to distort the facts this way or that is of no value.
4.
There
should be no linguistic or factual errors in it
5.
No duplication of information.
6.
It
should be concise and to the point and should
not contain any irrelevant information which does not have a bearing on the
issue.
7.
It
should have adequate information to enable the
decision makers to take decisions that can benefit their organisation.
8.
It
should not lose focus and be oriented towards producing the best results. There should be
no beating about the bush. No irrelevant information should be included in it.
9.
It
should be well organised and structured so that
it is possible to locate the required information
without much effort and any delay.
10.
It
should conform to the ethical standards of
report writing.
11.
It
should be written in a language which is reader
oriented. A report which the targeted audience is unable to understand
has no value at all.
Types of Reports:
Reports may be
i.
Oral
– Face to face, ephemeral, Save reporter’s time, Take more time of the
receiver
ii.
Written – Permanent, Record, Skimming possible. Time saving. Only relevant parts
may be read.
Written reports may further be divided into two categories:
i.
Formal ii. Informal – Brief,
written like a memorandum
Formal reports can further be divided into three categories:
i.
Informational ii. Interpretive iii. Routine – Progress Report, Lab
Report, Inspection Report, Inventory Report, ACR,
1. Informational – Reports which only provide the required
information and do not include
analysis of the collected data and any conclusions drawn from it are known as
informational reports.
2. Interpretive –
Interpretive reports are reports which include not only the information collected but also an analysis of the data so collected and the conclusions arrived at after the analysis. They may
also include recommendations.
3. Routine – There
are some reports which have to be submitted regularly
and periodically as a part of the conduct of business of an
organisation. Generally, these are submitted on printed forms available for the purpose and are periodical in nature.
Elements of a Report
A long formal report normally consists
of the following elements:
A. Front Matter:
1. Cover – The
cover protects the report from damage. The outside page of the front part of
the cover carries the following information: i. Title of the report ii. Its number if
any iii.
Date iv. Classification
Sometimes,
the name of the author and the authority for whom the report has been written is also given on the cover.
2. Frontispiece –
It is generally found in bound reports meant for wide
circulation. It is like a display window meant
to arouse the curiosity of the reader. It is generally a map, photograph, drawing etc.
3. Title page –
It is generally the first right hand page of the
report. It carries all the information given on the
cover. In addition to it, the following information is found on the
title page:
i.
Sub-title
ii.
Name
of the author
iii.
Name
of the authority for whom the report has been written
iv.
Contract,
project or job number
v.
The
name and designation of the approving authority if approval is required.
vi.
Distribution
list if copies of the report are sent to any other persons than the primary
recipient of the report
4. Copyright Notice:- This is a notice given generally at the back of the title page informing
the people that the rights regarding the reproduction of the material in the
report are reserved by the author or the publisher or both and nobody else can
reproduce any part of the matter contained in the report in any form without
the prior written permission of the holder of these rights. Any infringement of these rights is punishable by law and
the person or agency that does so can be sued in a court of law and damages can be claimed for this kind of infringement.
5. Forwarding letter: The forwarding letter may be of one of the following two types:
i.
Covering letter – If the forwarding letter is a
simple covering letter, it only serves as a record of
the fact that the report is being submitted by the author to the
receiving authority. A forwarding letter of this type is not included in the report and remains with the
receiving authority.
ii.
Introductory – If the forwarding letter is of the
introductory type, it contains all the information
given in the introduction in addition to the
fact of submitting the report. When the forwarding letter is of the
introductory type, there is no need for a separate
introduction as it contains all the information to be given in the
introduction.
6. Preface – The
preface introduces the report and offers it to the
reader. But it does not say anything about the
subject matter of the report. It is written by the author himself.
7. Foreword – The
foreword is a kind of introduction to the report
written by someone other than the author, who is
an expert in the field which the report is
related to. It may be called an assessment of
the value of the report by a person who is regarded as
an authority on the subject.
8. Acknowledgements – It is that part of the report in which the author expresses his sense
of gratitude to all the people who have helped
him in any way in preparing the report. The people who have provided the
information required, the authors whose works he has referred to or cited in
the report, the people who have assisted him in collecting the information, in
typing its contents, in printing it or in any other way are thanked in this
section.
9. Table of Contents – The table of contents gives the names of the chapters of the report
and their page numbers. Sometimes, only the first page is given and sometimes,
the first and the last page both are given.
10.
List of Illustrations – A separate list of illustrations
(tables, charts, graphs, maps etc.) is given if there is a large number of
them. It gives the number, the title and the page reference of the
illustrations.
11.
Abstract and Summary – Most reports contain a brief
account of the contents of the report in the form of a summary or abstract.
The summary gives the substance of
the report without the illustrations. It
contains in a nutshell the important findings,
the method of analysis, the important conclusions and the major
recommendations.
The abstract is a condensed summary of the contents of the report. It is shorter than the summary. It is
approximately two to five percent of the original
or five to ten percent of
the summary.
Some reports
contain only the summary and some only the abstract. There are some which contain both. Whether a report should have both or only one of
the two depends on the requirements of the primary
recipient of the report.
B.
Main Body of the Report
The main
body of the report is divided into four parts, three of which are always there
in every report and the fourth is included only if the authorising authority
wants it.
1.
Introduction - The introduction is the starting
point of the report. It includes the following types of information:
i.
Why the report is being written.
Authorisation for writing the report and the terms of reference. What
the author has been asked to do.
ii.
Topic of the report.
iii.
Historical and technical background – A very brief account of the work that
has already been done on the topic.
iv.
Scope and limitations of the study -What new ground the present report
is going to cover and what it does not propose to do.
v.
Methods of collecting data used for the study and the sources of information
vi.
How the material has been organised.
vii.
Definition of special terms and symbols.
2.
Discussion or Description
This is the major part of the report. It may be
divided into sections and sub-sections.
It presents
the data collected in an organised form, discusses the significance of the
data, analyses the data and gives the results.
3. Conclusions – This
part states the logical inferences drawn and judgements formed on the basis of
the analyses of the data. In other words, it gives the findings of the report.
The conclusions must be supported by what has gone before. If their number is
large, they may be itemised and numbered in the decreasing order of importance.
4. Recommendations – Recommendations are not found in every report. They are given only if the
authorising authority has asked for them. Sometimes, the authority may reserve
the right to decide what action has to be taken and the recommendations, if
given without having been asked, may be taken as an insult to the authority.
C. Back Matter
1, Appendices – During the course of the report, the author may refer to several
documentary sources. It is not always possible to include their full text in
the report. Besides, there may be many readers who are not interested in
reading them. But some readers may want to read them. These documents are given
in this part for the benefit of such readers.
2. List of references – In this part, the author lists all the works which he has
referred to in the report. It includes the name(s) of the author(s), the year
of publication of the book or the article, the name of the publisher or the
journal along with its number, and the page(s) where the referenced information
is to be found. It may be noted that this list is given in an alphabetic order
and includes only the sources which have actually been accessed by the author
and referred to in the report.
3. Bibliography - Bibliography is the
alphabetically arranged list of the books or other written sources which
contain information on the topic. Bibliography differs from the list of
references in one important respect and that is that it may contain even those
titles which have not been actually accessed by the author and referred to in
the report but which deal with the topic of the report. Another important
difference is that it does not give the page or pages where the relevant
information is to be found.
4. Glossary – The glossary lists the
technical terms and other difficult words used by the author which the reader
may not be familiar with and explains their meanings. What should or should not
be included in the glossary depends on who is going to read the report.
5. Index – The index is a quick guide to
the material and its purpose is to help the reader to locate the information he
wants easily and quickly. All the topics and sub-topics dealt with in the
report are listed here alphabetically and the page number or numbers where they
occur are given.
6. Addenda – If after the printing of the
report, it is found that something which should have been included in it but
has, somehow, been left out is inserted at the end under the head of addenda
which means an item which has been added afterwards.
7. Corrigenda – Corrigenda means a list of corrections. Even after the most careful proof
reading, some typographical errors may be left in the report. A list of these
errors may be given at the end along with the page number and the corrected
version under this head.
Writing a Short Report
A short report is not written like a long and exhaustive report. It does not contain all the elements that are found in a long report.
A short report makes use of either the letter format or the memo format.
The body of the report is, however, divided into the same four parts – the introduction, the discussion or description, the conclusions and the recommendations. The recommendations are given only when they have been sought by the authorising official. Most of the time, the authorising authority reserves the right to decide what sort of remedial action needs to be taken. Giving recommendations without having been asked may be taken as an affront by the authority.
Advice to students: - In the examination, sometimes the paper setter clearly specifies which of the two formats is to be used – the letter format or the memo format. In that case, students have to follow the direction and use the format that has been specified. At other times, the paper setter may not specify the format to be used and leaves the choice to the student. If that is the case, students are free to use either of the two formats.
2.
Memorandum
(Memo or Office Memo)
Memorandum
also known as office memo or simply memo is a short written document used for
exchange of information in a business organisation. The word memo actually
means a note to help memory.
1. It is used for internal communication only and never used for
communication with any person outside the organisation.
2. It can be used for exchange of
information within a department or between different departments of the organisation.
3. Moreover, it can move in any direction – upward, downward, horizontal or
diagonal.
4. It is brief.
It contains only the necessary information and nothing besides that. You have to be to the point and
not include anything else.
5. The language
is simple, direct and easy to understand. Normally, the language is informal,
even conversational. However, it depends on the direction of the communication. One has to use formal
language if one is communicating with a senior. There is no attempt to use ornamental language.
6. Personal feelings are not
included in a memo. Emotional appeals are
never made. Only the information required is given or asked for.
7. A memo is used normally for the
following purposes:
I.
To
convey routine information.
II.
To
submit periodical reports.
III.
To
communicate change of rules in the organisation.
IV.
To
issue instructions to the staff.
V.
To
confirm a decision taken on the telephone.
VI.
To
call explanation of an employee for any act of misconduct or indiscipline.
VII.
To
give or withdraw permission to do something.
VIII.
To
give or ask for some information.
8. Format of the memo:
A memo is generally written in the
following format. Business organisations generally use a printed proforma for
this purpose.
Name of the organisation
Reference No………………..
Date ………….…
To:
From:
Subject:
Body (It contains the information to
be supplied). If there are many different pieces of information, they are given
in different paragraphs which are numbered.
Signature
Designation
Enclosures:
Copy to:
(If any documents are attached with
the memo, they are listed under the heading enclosures.)
Similarly, if copies of the memo are
sent to any people other than the person it is addressed to, their names are
given under the heading copy to.
Advantages:
i.
It
is inexpensive. It is delivered by hand.
ii.
It
is convenient to use.
iii.
It
is quick. There is no delay.
iv.
It
helps to keep a record of the information
exchanged between the people in the organisation.
v.
It
can help the organisation to fix responsibility in
case of anything going wrong.
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