Report Writing

You reach the office at around 9.00 AM, switch on your system, and start working. It’s a usual workday for you
until your manager comes to your desk and asks you to create a sales report. That’s the first time you’ve got
such a task, and find yourself struggling with basic questions such as, “What’s a report?” and “How do I write
one?”
What is Report Writing?
A report is a formal document that elaborates on a topic using facts, charts, and graphs to support its
arguments and findings. Any report is meant for a particular type of audience. A report is a written
presentation of factual information based on an investigation or research. Reports form the basis for solving
problems or making decisions, often in the subjects of business and the sciences. The length of reports varies;
there are short memorandum (memo) reports and long reports. Most often it is asked to write a long report.
Features and Style of Report Writing

 Report should be clear, concise, accurate as well as well organized with clear section headings.
 Appropriate and easy to read to understand. Avoid jargon and keep in mind the audience.
 It must consider the audience i.e. if written for a particular person, it is to be written in the third
person to a job role: “The chief executive may like to consider...” or “The minister is recommended to
agree...”.

Tips to Write a Good Report

 Write the body of the report before writing the introduction or conclusion.
 Use as much visualization as possible, but not “just for the sake of using visuals.” Make sure every
visual has a purpose.
 Review your writing skills to craft a well-written report. For example, use active voice and refrain from
using too many acronyms. Also, use simple language and stay away from word stuffing.
 Stick to the facts! Be clear and concise.
 Use a grammar checker like Grammarly. Even your best KPIs won’t save you from bad grammar.
 Try to keep the appendix small. Don’t make it so long that it gets burdensome.
 Pay particular attention to whether all the information included is relevant.
 For an academic assignment, make sure that you have referenced fully and correctly.

Types of Report Writing

Annual Reports
The annual report typically rounds up an institution’s year of progress and performance to let know how the it
performed. It can include anything depending on who the report is meant for.
Weekly Reports
It is based on progress in various projects and goals. This can be a simple one-pager, or a more in-depth report
with specific updates.
Project Reports
Keep clients and team members up-to-date on the status of various projects by providing them with a project
report. This can include a timeline of progress and the deadline for each segment to keep everyone on the
same page.
Sales/Marketing Reports
It's essential to keep the team updated on how sales and/or marketing strategies are going. Put together
graphs showing profit margins, increases in engagement and more. These types of reports are also a great way
to determine whether strategies are working or if they need some modification in the future.
Research Reports
Sometimes if to do some in-depth research, the best way to present that information is with a research report.
Whether it's scientific findings, data and statistics from a study, etc., a research report is a great way to share
results.
Academic Reports
An academic report is one created for a class, often in graduate or undergraduate university. This follows a
formal writing style and dives into a topic related to the student's academic studies.
Progress Reports
This gives information about the progress of student, employer or projects e.g. a bridge construction, an
employee training programme or a student progress through the year etc.
Technical Reports
A technical report (also scientific report) is a document that describes the process, progress, or results of
technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include
recommendations and conclusions of the research. Technical reports are today a major source of scientific and
technical information.
Importance of Report Writing
Before to start writing a report, it’s important to understand the significance of the report. It’s also crucial to
research independently instead of relying on data and trends available on the internet, besides structuring the
report properly. Here is why:
Decision-Making Tool
Organizations require a considerable amount of data and information on specific topics, scenarios, and
situations. Managers and decision-makers often use business reports and research papers as information
sources to make important business decisions and reach solutions.
Evaluation
Another reason that adds to the significance of report writing is that it is a collection of evaluated
information. Each department follows defined processes and protocols that require many small and large
activities on a daily basis. It is impossible for the management to keep an eye on the different activities in each
department. That’s where the reports can help the management.
Professional Improvements
During the annual appraisal cycle, managers often ask to write reports to explain position, level of work, and
performance.
Quick Source for Problem-Solving
There’s no denying that it requires accurate information on various topics to make quick decisions.
The Report Writing Format/Elements of Report Writing
Once having an idea about what a report is, the next step is to understand how to write one. Reports follow a
standardised format. This allows the reader to find the information easily and focus on specific areas. There
are different types of reports, and each has a specific structure, usually known as ‘elements of the report’
Every report starts with a title page and a table of contents, But the major part of the report will consist of the
Introduction, Findings and/or Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations.
A Report Must Have
Title Page 2) Table of Contents 3) Abstract or Executive Summary 4) Introduction (or Terms of Reference and
Procedure) 5) Findings or Discussion 6) Conclusions 7) Recommendations 8) References
A Report May Also Contain
Cover Page 2) Bibliography 3) Glossary 4) Appendices
Title Page
Gives the title of the report, the student name/number, the name of the person the report is being submitted
to, and the completion date. The title of report should be clear in its wording. It must say exactly what the
report is about.
Table of Contents
It gives the headings, subheadings and page numbers. Always leave the Table of Contents page until the end.
Because a table of contents cannot be written if all of page numbers are not known yet.
Abstract or Executive Summary
The summary of the report is best done after the report writing has been finished. It is usually written in past
tense. It outlines the report’s purpose, methodology, findings, main conclusion and recommendations. It
should be no more than half a page or a page in length. Remember the executive summary is designed to give
‘busy executives’ a quick summary of the contents of the report.
Introduction
In the introduction, state what the report is about and why it has been created. The introduction is a
paragraph to a page long. It outlines the context, background and purpose of the report as well as sets limits of
the investigation. It provides briefly the problem under discussion.
Findings or Discussion
It varies according to the type of the report. Basically it answers the questions ‘who, why, where, when, what,
how’. It includes all the facts and materials required to understand the problem. Here the methodology is
described i.e. methods and principles, method of data collection and research. The results and findings are
presented by use of tables, graphs and figures. Here the problem is analysed, discussed and results are found
by the accuracy of measurements.
Conclusion
Close the report with well crafted conclusion. It is a brief statement of the key findings of the report. It should
relate directly to the set objectives in the introduction and must be complete enough to draw
recommendations. It sets out what inferences are drawn out from the information.
Recommendations
This section is irrelevant for school reports or book reports, but is essential in a business setting. This portion
covers the opinions of the writer of the report about possible changes, or solutions to the problems, including
who should take action, what should be done, when and how it should be done.
References
Lists of sources used in the report and can be referred to in the report.
Bibliography
Lists of sources that were read for the research but were not cited in the report.
Appendices
It contains charts, diagrams, statistical tables which are needed to support the main body of the report.
Resource Person M. Mubashir Ali
FOR BS CLASSES