WHAT IS A REPORT?

A document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and
purpose is known as report. The special business report can be classified into two
categories. The short report and long report, also called the INFORA! R"#ORT and
T$" FORA! R"#ORT.
. Reports can fulfill four different and sometimes related functions, as follows%
To pro&ide an anal'sis.
To gi&e information.
To persuade others to act
PREPARATION BEFORE WRITING REPORTS
(efine the #roblem, #urpose, and )cope.
*onsider who will recei&e the Report.
(etermine Ideas to Include.
*ollect Needed aterial +)econdar',
TYPES OF REPORT
!ong - Formal Reports.
)hort - Informal Reports
Long & Formal Reports
!ong problems and formal conte.ts re/uire a more comple. structure, so long -
formal reports are written.
Short & Inormal Reports
)hort problems and informal conte.ts need a simpler structure, so short - informal
reports are written.
FOR!S OF SHORT REPORTS
!E!ORAN"#! REPORT
A memorandum +memo0 is an informal report used to con&e' information about a sub1ect.
"ngineers and technologists must often write memos to their super&isors.
!EETING !IN#TES
inutes are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. The' often gi&e an
o&er&iew of the structure of the meeting, starting with a list of those present, a statement
A#"IT REPORT
The report is subse/uentl' pro&ided to a 2user3 +such as an indi&idual, a group of
persons, a compan', a go&ernment, or e&en the general public, among others0
PROPOSALS
A $%s&ness proposal is a written offer from a seller to a prospecti&e bu'er. 4usiness
proposals are often a ke' step in the comple. sales process. For e'ample(
Inormal B%s&ness Proposal A description of the seller5s capabilities or
products
A discussion of ke' issues
A description of the bu'er5s specifications and how the' will be met
)HARA)TERISITI)S OF SHORT REPORT
L&ttle Nee* For Intro*%+tor, Inormat&on
)hort reports are usuall' direct in nature so the' don6t need an' background or
introduction. e.g. audit report.
!ore Personal Wr&t&ng St,le
)hort reports are written in a personal writing st'le because it5s informal in nature and it
should be simple and straight forward.

)hort reports are written without ha&ing wide distribution it means that whate&er
written in the short report is for a limited audience for e.ample "O reports.
emo reports are for the people within the organization The Reports Wh&+h
W&ll Not Be P%$l&she*
Reports like proposal reports, memo reports, minutes of meetings etc are not published
for general public the' are for concerned indi&iduals and group of indi&iduals.
Short-Reports Are Shorter Than ./ Pages Long
It is /uite clear that these t'pes of reports are to the point and hence doesn6t take much of
the length.
Ha0e Stan*ar* Form That )an Be A*apte* For !an, Inst&t%t&ons
)hort reports ha&e fle.ible structure and personal st'le of writing is used hence we can
write reports on an' situation without much trouble.
STR#)T#RE OF SHORT REPORTS
T'pical *omponents of the structure of short reports are%
Title #age
Abstract or )ummar'
Introduction
4ackground
(iscussion
*onclusion
Recommendations
Attachments
TITLE PAGE
The essential information here is 'our name, the title of the pro1ect, and the date. 4e
aware of an' other information 'our instructor re/uires. The title of a report can be a
statement of the sub1ect. An effecti&e title is informati&e but reasonabl' short. isleading
titles ma' anno' readers.
ABSTRA)T OR S#!!ARY
This section states the report in miniature. It summarizes the whole report in one, concise
paragraph of about 7889:88 words. It might be useful to think in terms of writing one
sentence to summarize each of the traditional report di&isions% ob1ecti&e, method,
discussion, conclusions. "mphasize the ob1ecti&e +which states the problem0 and the
anal'sis of the results +including recommendations0. A&oid the temptation to cop' a
whole paragraph from elsewhere in 'our report and make it do double dut'. )ince the
abstract condenses and emphasizes the most important elements of the whole report, 'ou
cannot write it until after 'ou ha&e completed the report. Remember, the abstract should
be a precise and specific summar' ; gi&e details. A technical document is not a m'ster'
no&el 99 gi&e 'our conclusion right awa'. )upport it later.
INTRO"#)TION
<hereas the abstract summarizes the whole report, the introduction of a technical report
identifies the sub1ect, the purpose +or ob1ecti&e0, and the plan of de&elopment of the
report. The sub1ect is the =what=, the purpose is the =wh'=, and the plan is the =how.=
Together these ac/uaint the reader with the problem 'ou are setting out to sol&e.
)tate the sub1ect and purpose as clearl' and concisel' as possible, usuall' in one
sentence called the thesis or purpose statement. >se the introduction to pro&ide the reader
with an' background information which the reader will need before 'ou can launch into
the bod' of 'our paper. ?ou ma' ha&e to define the terms used in stating the sub1ect and
pro&ide background such as theor' or histor' of the sub1ect. A&oid the tendenc' to use
the introduction merel' to fill space with sweeping statements that are unrelated to the
specific purpose of 'our report +=Throughout the ages, human beings ha&e looked up at
the stars and wondered about @'our topic hereA.=0.
BA)1GRO#N"
If the introduction re/uires a large amount of supporting information, such as a re&iew of
literature or a description of a process, then the background material should form its own
section. This section ma' include a re&iew of pre&ious research, or formulas the reader
needs to understand the problem. In an academic report, it is also the point where 'ou can
show 'our comprehension of the problem.
"IS)#SSION
This section is the most important part of 'our report. It takes man' forms and ma' ha&e
subheadings of its own. Its basic components are methods, findings +or results0, and
e&aluation +or anal'sis0.
In a progress report, the methods and findings ma' dominateB a final report should
emphasize e&aluation. ost academic assignments should also focus on 'our e&aluation
of the sub1ect. 4efore 'ou begin writing, ask the 1ournalist5s /uestions% whoC whenC
whereC whatC wh'C howC The last three in particular will help 'ou focus anal'sis.
4e'ond asking these simple /uestions, 'ou also need to make decisions such as% $ow do
'ou interpret the dataC <hat is the significance of 'our findingsC
)ON)L#SION
<hat knowledge comes out of the reportC As 'ou draw a conclusion, 'ou need to e.plain
it in terms of the preceding discussion. )ome repetition of the most important ideas 'ou
presented there is e.pected, but 'ou should a&oid cop'ing.
RE)O!!EN"ATIONS
<hat actions does the report call forC The recommendations should be clearl' connected
to the results of the rest of the report. ?ou ma' need to make those connections e.plicit at
this point99'our reader should not ha&e to guess at what 'ou mean. This section ma' also
include plans for how further research should proceed. In professional writing, this
section often comes immediatel' after the introduction.
ATTA)H!ENTS
These will include references and ma' include appendices. An' research that 'ou refer to
in the report must also appear in a list of references at the end of the work so that an
interested reader can follow up 'our work. )ince the format for references &aries across
engineering, consult 'our instructor, or check a st'le manual for the field.
Appendices ma' include raw data, calculations, graphs, and other /uantitati&e materials
that were part of the research, but would be distracting to the report itself. Refer to each
appendi. at the appropriate point +or points0 in 'our report. In industr', a compan' profile
and profile of the professionals in&ol&ed in a pro1ect might also appear as appendices.
INSTR#)TIONS
7. 4egin 'our short report with an Introduction heading. Include a statement about
the report5s sub1ect, an e.planation of wh' the report was written and a summar'
of its contents. Also mention the intention of the report, which is usuall' to help
the reader make a decision about something.
:. #resent the facts about the sub1ect clearl' and concisel', but compose a complete
report, gi&ing the reader all the information necessar' to make an informed
decision. #resent the most important information first, keeping in mind the
decision that needs to be made.
D. >se appropriate first9le&el headings +for e.ample, Facts, (iscussion, Findings,
*osts, !imitations, Ad&antages, *onclusions, and so on0. >nder these, use more
specific second9le&el headings +for e.ample, )'stem Temperature Re/uirements,
*urrent )elf9)er&ice Options, or Factor'5s ".terior *ondition0.
E. 4e ob1ecti&e in 'our report, presenting both sides of an issue when possible and
clearl' separating fact from opinion. If, for e.ample, 'ou are writing about the
condition of a factor'5s e.terior condition, be sure to present both the positi&e
things and the negati&e things.
F. *ite 'our sources to persuade the reader of 'our information9gathering reliabilit'.
These ma' include inter&iews, articles, compan' records, sur&e's, 'our own
obser&ation, and so on.
G. )hare 'our recommendations if asked to do so, using an appropriate first9le&el
heading such as Recommendations or )uggestions, followed again b' more
specific second9le&el headings. >se a numbered or bulleted list if presenting more
than two. <hen persuading 'our reader, alwa's gi&e 'our strongest argument
first.
H. #roofread 'our short report carefull' before sending it to the reader.
)ON)L#SION
<hen 'ou ha&e completed writing 'our technical report, refer to the following checklist.%
Are the purpose and aims clearC
Are readers needs taken into accountC
Are the main points includedC
Are the points supported b' e&idenceC
Is all the information rele&ant to the purposeC
Is there an' +unnecessar'0 repetitionC
Is the order logicalC
Are the headings and numbering clearC
Is the information presented clearl'C
(o figures add upC
Is there a good use of graphicsC
Is the language clear and eas' to understandC
Is the st'le formalC
Is the tone suited to purposeC
Is the grammar and punctuation correctC