17 Writing Reports “Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed,...

17

Writing Reports

“Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.”

― William Pollard, Minister and Scholar

Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

After completing the chapter, you will be able to:

• Explain what a report is.• Develop plans for informal and formal

reports.• Write an informal report using standard

guidelines for formatting. • Research information for formal reports using

primary and secondary research.• Write a formal report using standard

guidelines for formatting. • Describe the parts of a formal report.



Reports

• Reports are documents used to present information in a structured format.

• Progress reports are written in a specified format and periodically submitted (monthly, quarterly, annually).



Reports1.What is a report?

2.Describe a progress report.



Planning Reports

• First step is to identify the purpose and audience– Focus and organize the topic.– Develop an outline.– Select an approach.



• Focus and organize your topic (planning stage).– Identify and name the topic.– Plan the introduction.– Outline the main ideas.– Think ahead to the closing.

Planning Reports



• Develop an outline– chronological/

sequential – order of importance– cause and effect– problem-solution

Planning Reports



• Select an approach– direct

• start with a general statement of purpose• follow with supporting details• works best if message is positive or neutral.

– indirect • list supporting details to prepare the reader• works best for tough arguments or if the

message is negative

Planning Reports



Planning Reports1. What is the first step in writing a report?

2.List four steps in the planning stage of a report.

3.What are the four basic types of organization?



Writing Informal Reports

• Informal reports are documents that do not require formal research or documentation.– short, no more

than a few pages long

– may be first person



• Parts of an informal report:– introduction states the purpose – body contains the information – conclusion states a brief summary of main

points

• Types of informal reports:– periodic reports– informal study reports– idea and suggestion reports




• Periodic reports– written according to a specified schedule:

daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.• provide status of a project• report facts and figures over a specified period• summarize an ongoing activity




• Periodic report in body of e-mail




• Periodic report as e-mail with attachment




• Informal study reports– information gathered by:

• reading related documents• conducting informal interviews• reviewing competitive products• making observations after a site visit or meeting

– sections of report:• method (describing the method used to obtain

the data) • findings and conclusions (including the

procedure used)• recommendations




• Example of informal study report




• Idea and suggestion reports– be assertive in offering your opinion– begin with positive remarks, then tactfully

make suggestions for change– be specific– group your ideas by subject




• Idea and suggestion report in memo




Writing Informal Reports1.What are the three basic parts of an

informal report?

2.List three types of informal reports.



Researching Formal Reports

• Formal reports focus on a main topic that can be divided into subtopics for complete and clear coverage.

• Research includes– primary research (conducting your own

research)– secondary research (using someone else’s

research)



• Primary research– interviews

• effective method of gathering qualitative data• may be conducted individually or as a focus

group




• Interviewing to obtain information is a skill that requires preparation and practice. These guidelines will help you conduct successful interviews.– Identify the topic of the interview and the

information needed.– Develop objective questions and maintain your

objectivity during the interview.– Explain the purpose of the interview when

setting up the appointment.– Establish the time, place, and duration of the

interview.

(continued)

Preparing for Personal Interviews



– Indicate how long the interview will take.– Choose a comfortable setting where you will not

be interrupted.– Explain the purpose again at the beginning of

the interview and ask the interviewee if there are any questions before getting started.

– If you are going to record the interview, ask for permission to do so in advance.

– If you take notes, use abbreviations and record key phrases. Do not attempt to create a word-for-word record. If necessary, stop at the end of each answer to summarize and confirm what you have written.

– Follow up the interview with a thank-you note.

Preparing for Personal Interviews



• Primary research– surveys

• effective method of gathering quantitative data

• use representative sampling

– experiments




• Make the questions easy to answer.– Write questions that have a choice of answers,

such as yes/no, multiple choice, or agree/disagree/strongly agree/strongly disagree. These are known as closed-ended questions and make it easy for the responder to give an answer. Open-ended questions, those that are subjective, take more time to answer and tally.

• Write objective questions.– Write questions that do not lead respondents to a

particular answer. Biased questions produce biased data.

(continued)

Creating a Survey



• Put the questions in a logical sequence.– Group items and, when possible, give them

headings.

• Keep the survey short.– If you ask too many questions, the respondent

may not want to take the time to complete the survey.

• Include space for comments.– Often the best information comes from

unstructured responses.

Creating a Survey



• Sample survey




• Secondary research– information assembled and recorded by

someone else– consider reliability and credibility of sources

• What are the author’s credentials?• What is the reputation of the publication in

which the source material appears?• Is the source a mainstream publication or an

unknown?• Is the information current?• What is the copyright date?• Are more current sources available?




• Researching online– Much misinformation on the Internet, so verify

everything– Reliable sources

• government• trade

organizations• educational

institutions• news outlets




• Crediting sources– Plagiarism is the use of another’s work

without permission and is illegal.– Copyright legally protects the material’s

owner from the distribution of his or her work without permission.• automatic as soon as a creative work is in

tangible form

– Materials published by the US government are usually in the public domain.

– Footnote to cite a source and follow the format in an appropriate style guide.




Researching Formal Reports1.What is the difference between primary

research and secondary research?

2.List three types of primary research.



• You can avoid plagiarism when referencing the work of others by using the following guidelines.

• Keep in mind, there is a difference between referencing and copying the work of others.

• Referencing the work by paraphrasing it or even making a direct quotation from it is acceptable if the source is credited.

• However, copying the work of others is illegal, unless the owner has given you permission to do so.

(continued)

Avoiding Plagiarism



– Place material that is directly quoted inside of quotation marks.

– When quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing information from any source, use a consistent system for crediting these sources. Depending on the number and types of sources, you may choose to use footnotes, a bibliography, or text references to a works-cited list.

– Consult a style manual, such as The Chicago Manual of Style or the Modern Language Association (MLA) handbook, for guidance and examples of various styles for footnotes, bibliographies, and other methods of listing sources. (continued)

Avoiding Plagiarism



– Always look for copyright information on sources you use.

– If you plan to rely on or quote an extensive amount of the source material, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder to do so.

– Never cut and paste material from any electronic source, such as the Internet or electronic books. This is a bad habit that can easily lead to accidental plagiarism (it is still plagiarism whether or not you intended to plagiarize).

(continued)

Avoiding Plagiarism



– Most information on the Internet is copyrighted and, therefore, you cannot use the material without permission. You may, however, reference the material.

– Be aware that material does not have to bear a copyright notice to be copyrighted. Any material is automatically copyrighted as soon as it is in tangible form.

Avoiding Plagiarism



Avoiding Plagiarism1.What is plagiarism?

2.When is material copyrighted?



Writing Formal Reports

• Know the readers• Make the purpose clear• Make the report believable• Make the report readable

– graphics can improve readability• tables• illustrations• charts• graphs• photographs



Writing Formal Reports1.List the four basic guidelines that pertain

to all narrative business reports.

2.Identify three graphic elements that may make a report more readable.



Standard Parts of Formal Reports

• Title page• Table of contents• Executive summary• Introduction• Body• Conclusions and

recommendations

• Citations• List of illustrations

or tables• Glossary• Appendix



• Title page– name of report– name of person or

group for whom report was written

– name of author of report

– date report is distributed




• Table of contents– necessary to show

what is in report– may be labeled

Table of Contents or Contents

– lists the major sections and subsections with page numbers




• Executive summary– summarizes

main points– provides

overview for entire report

– appears before introduction




• Introduction– history or

background– purpose or

justification for report

– tells method of gathering information

– scope of the report– defines terms




• Body– subject

information – presentation is

influenced by:• subject of the

report• your place in the

organization• reader bias• reader knowledge• readability




• Conclusions are the summary of what reader should take away from report.

• Recommendations are actions the writer believes the reader should take from the report.




• Other elements– citations– list of

illustrations or tables

– glossary– appendix




Standard Parts of Formal Reports1.What four elements appear on the title

page?2.What does the table of contents list?3.What is an executive summary?4.In which section is all of the information,

data, and statistics presented?



• Reports are documents that communicate important information to individuals within or outside of the organization.

• Planning a report is the most important stage of writing a report.

• Informal reports cover routine matters, are typically short, and generally do not require formal research.



• Formal reports require gathering data and information through primary research (that you do) or secondary research (research by someone else).

• When writing a formal report, know your readers, make the purpose clear, make the report believable, and make the report readable.

• The parts of a formal report vary according to the purpose and topic.

17 Writing Reports “Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed,...

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