3. WRITING A REPORT
A report is a document written on a subject, to convey information and ideas. Sometimes it also makes recommendations.
A report is intended to communicate. It is therefore essential that ideas are clearly expressed, and that the report is structured so that its readers may easily find their way about it.
You should keep in mind the 'documentation triangle' when writing a report. This shows that the purpose, audience and content of a report are all important but are each influenced by each other (see figure 1).
Reports can be very important documents. In organisations they often provide the basis for important decisions; they are often the sole way that ideas and proposals are communicated. If they do not communicate effectively then opportunities can be lost and gross errors can be made in business decisions.
Individuals who write poor reports - reports that are incomplete, or inaccurate, or too long, or biased - will harm both the organisation for which they work, and their own careers. It is therefore very important for both organisations and individuals that all reports are good reports.
This document identifies the qualities of good reports, and shows how they can be created.
3.3 The process of writing a report
The process of writing a report usually fits into a number of stages:
Stage 1 Write the report's objectives
Stage 2 Investigation - collect your facts
Stage 3 Organisation and selection of information
Stage 4 Structure the argument
Stage 5 Draft the report - making it look readable
References see: S. Cox (1994); T. Warner (1996)
3.4 Stage 1 Write the report's objectives
Objectives describe the report's purpose. The objectives should be as specific as possible. Wide-ranging, woolly objectives will often lead to a woolly report. If the report documents some project then the objectives of that project will, effectively, be the objectives of the report.
No report can succeed unless its objectives have been clarified at the outset. To state the objectives correctly, you must know: the report's subject and scope, its purpose and its audience. To clarify the objectives you should review each aspect of the Documentation Triangle (see para 3.1) and consider a number of issues:
Purpose:
Content:
Audience:
Use your answers to these questions to help you write your objectives.
3.5 Stage 2 Investigation - collect your facts
This stage forms the foundation for the report. This is when facts are obtained, problems and opinions are uncovered and a full understanding of the subject is developed. In some cases the facts are already known; in others it will be necessary to undertake a full investigation.
All information uncovered should be noted even if some of it may prove not to be relevant.
Sift through the information and note each point on a separate piece of paper. Work from your notes and organise the information. Discard unwanted, irrelevant and unnecessary material.
The prime rule in organising information is to ensure that you leave out nothing important and include nothing that is unimportant.
It is often helpful to write out the main headings that are likely to be used in the report and to place information under the appropriate heading.
3.7 Stage 4 Structure the argument and ordering material
Material in each section of the report must flow logically - you should look for a shape - a logical progression. This order could be chronological, from past to present to future, but many other orderings are possible. The report should be divided into sections which reflect that order. What matters is that the order is appropriate to the 'story' of the report.
Possible structures to consider:
For example, where a survey leads to the identification of specific requirements for which procedures are designed and implemented, the resulting report might contain the following main sections:
Be sure that if one section relies on information in others, that it does not precede them. Get your sections into a logical order. Think of this as climbing a mountain. You should
3.8 Stage 5 Draft the report - making it look readable
Having prepared thoroughly in the earlier stages and made many decisions about both structure and content, the actual writing of the report itself is usually easy. The aim should be to tell 'the story'; it should read easily and comfortably. Advice concerning preparation, layout and language is offered in sections 3.12 - 3.13 and appendices A, B and G.
|
* Write it. * Get it right. |
3.9 Stage 6 Package the report
The draft report needs to 'packaged' so that it forms a complete, useable document. Several extra items can be included. Not all are needed for all reports.
Every report must be headed by a title page giving the title of the report, the system to which it refers (if any) and the author. The names of any collaborators (including the project manager or supervisor where relevant), and the date issued should also be included. With the permission of the organisation, it may contain a logo but should not include substantial graphics.
If a document is likely to have several versions, issues or updates the inclusion of a control page helps to document the associated changes and circulations. A control page will include:
A list of contents should be given to enable a reader to find the information required quickly. This might include page numbers.
Every report has a story to tell. As with a book, the reader will first want to know whether the story is worth reading and so the report should include one or more introductory sections that detail the contents of the report. A number of possible introductory sections can be included:
Background - the circumstances which led to the need for the report
Purpose - what the report is actually for
Objectives and/or Terms of Reference and/or Scope - not common in academic reports
Status - on whose authority the report is being issued, and on whose initiative the work that led to it was carried out.
Declaration of Originality
Acknowledgements
Abstract - a brief summary of the report; if an Executive Summary (see para 3.9.10) is not provided it is usually useful to provide an Abstract instead.
3.9.5 Conclusion/Recommendation section
Some reports are merely descriptive. However reports that require the author to make recommendations or to come to specific conclusions should contain a clear section at the end of the report covering these points.
3.9.6 References and/or Bibliography section
A reference section lists all items used to write the report. All source material used in the writing of the report must always be listed. In addition, ideas and quotes taken from elsewhere must be acknowledged as such where these ideas are introduced in the body of the report. A bibliography section can be included which lists items read which give background but were not used directly in writing the report. It is often acceptable to include referenced items into a single Bibliography section.
Both reference and bibliography sections should list all relevant items. Obviously this includes published books and journal articles but should include any other sources used as well. This could include conference presentations, even particularly significant conversations, and increasingly will include internet-based materials.
For further information on how to use and write references and quotes see Appendix C.
Any material that is not a necessary part of the 'story' should be put into an appendix. For example, this could be detailed normalised tables or a full 'Statement of Requirements'. The aim should be to make the body of the report easily readable with the appendices for use when the reader wants extra details or background.
Most reports will not need an index but some are large and designed for reference. An index should therefore be considered. Many wordprocessing programs provide support for the automatic generation of an index.
This is a dictionary of terms used which the reader may not know.
This is a separate document of one page or less which may be bound in at the start of the report. It should give the gist of the report and be independent of it. It should stand alone and tell the whole story. Most reports would include either an abstract or an executive summary - but not both.
People who will never read your complete report will read the summary. Also readers will use it later, to refresh their memory. As it is the first part of the report it will be read first and so it must be impressive.
Key reference documents can be bound as appendices to the report. In order that documents can be identified a standard numbering scheme should be adopted for all documents in a project (see 3.11).
For academic reports it is often necessary to reflect on the work done and to provide an appraisal.
3.10 Stage 7 Check the report - re-read it and use a checksheet
When a report is finished, it is often tempting to submit it immediately. However, this can be a serious mistake. The main value of revision comes from standing back and reviewing the report as a whole. If possible leave the report before reviewing it for at least a day, but a week is even better.
Be sure you are really saying what you mean. Get your word order right -otherwise you might create incomprehensible gobbledegook. For example, compare the following:
When you have completed the report to your satisfaction, consider it against the criteria in a checksheet such as that in Appendix E. You must be satisfied that your report meets them all. Then, before you finally hand it over, get someone to check your English.
A formal document numbering system should be used to log every document you issue or receive in the course of a project. A numbering system such as that given below could be used:
SSS-III-VV
where
SSS = series prefix ie product or project code
III = identification - break into ranges for different types of documents
VV = version number, starting from 1 for the initial issue of the document
Reference: V. King (1996)
Standards may be specified for the preparation and layout of reports. If no such standards are specified then those given in Appendix A provide useful guidance.
For reports where a 'modern' image is required the Arial font is appropriate. It is a sans serif font that has a tidy appearance. For reports that aim to be 'more serious' and, especially if there is a lot of text, then a serif font, like this Times New Roman, is often preferred. This is because the little lines at the end of the letter strokes, the serifs, reduce strain for the reader .
There are two fundamental styles of paragraphs. Either paragraphs are 'blocked' with a blank line between them (see fig 3a) or the first line of each paragraph is indented by one tab stop with no blank line between paragraphs (fig 3b). The first style is being used increasingly in reports - it tends to be seen as being 'modern' - but the second is normal in books. The standards presented in Appendix A use the first layout.
Bold, underlining and italics should only be used for highlighting where essential (see Appendix A). To make your report more readable, it should not look 'dense'. Leave plenty of white space: margins, borders, gaps. You will use very little extra paper but will make your report much easier to read.
Appendix A gives the rules for the use of spaces but be sure you never leave a space before punctuation marks such as full stops. If you don't then your work looks very messy and your wordprocessor may put the full stop at the beginning of the next line!
Printouts should be produced on a laser or inkjet printer. Dot matrix or lineprinter output is not normally suitable.
Some form of cover or binding should be used. However the nature of this cover will vary with circumstances. Sometimes a set of pages in a plastic folder will suffice; on others a professional, hard cover, binding will be essential.
3.13 Style of writing and language
Any report should be written in language that is grammatically correct and appropriate to the subject matter and the purpose of the document. Appendices B and G provide some important guidelines on this matter. Fundamentally the author must simply write a report that is clear, simple and correct - but that is easier said than done.
3.14 Types of Technical Document
You should be conscious of the essential differences between a technical report, a business report, a working document, a procedure manual and an essay.
A report is a record of a piece of work that has been undertaken, and outlines, in the past tense, the work that was carried out. It may also report on conclusions and may make recommendations. For example
"... it was found that such and such is unsatisfactory. Such and such should be done to overcome this problem..."
Business reports are usually structured as in figure 2b, whilst figure 2c is quite often appropriate for a technical report.
A working document may serve only as a means to an end or an aide memoire and may be written in less formal language.
A procedure manual (operating manual, user instructions, user guide, etc) should be written in the form of very direct and imperative instructions - commands. It may include a commentary on some or all steps. For example
"...You should see a dialogue box.
9. Click on 'Next'
10. In the dialogue box called Run installation program, type A:\NET9503
11. Click on 'Finish'
The order in which you install the software is very important: please follow the disk numbering during installation. "
from Open University Internet Access Guide (1998)
An essay is a discussion of a topic and an argument should be made. Usually it takes the form of figure 2a, but their writing is outside the scope of these guidelines.
