Introduction to Report Writing

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Introduction to Report Writing
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Part I Informal reports

• Can be a few paragraphs to a few pages
• Provide information on small-scale projects (i.e.
  projects taking a few hours to a few days to
  complete)
• Include only the essential elements of a report

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which are

• An introduction
• A body
• Conclusions
• Recommendations (if necessary)

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Introduction

• States the subject and purpose
• Provides background on who assisted with the
  report
• Summarizes your conclusions and recommendations
• Concise introductions are useful because they
  provide essential information at a glance.

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Body

• Presents an organized account of the reports
  subject
• Should be carefully detailed
• Amount of detail depends on the objective, the
  complexity of the subject, and the readers
  familiarity with the subject

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Conclusion

• Summarizes findings
• Tells readers what you think the significance of
  those findings may be

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Recommendations

• Not always included in reports
• Sometimes combined with conclusions section
• Gives a recommendation for a course of action you
  believe is warranted by your findings

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Types of informal reports

• Trouble reports
• Identify precise details of an incident
• List injuries or property damage
• State a cause of the accident
• Specify recurrence prevention
• Investigative reports
• Begin with a statement of the information the
  writer has sought
• Define the extent of the investigation
• Present the findings, interpretations,
  conclusions, and recommendations

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continued

• Progress and periodic reports
• Inform the reader of the status of an ongoing
  project
• Alert readers to adjustments in scheduling,
  budgeting, and work assignments
• Trip reports
• Include the destination and dates of the trip
• Explain the who, what, and why of the trip
• State findings and recommendations based on the
  purpose of the trip
• Test reports
• State the purpose of the test and procedures used
  to conduct the test
• Indicate the results of the test and
  interpretations

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Part II Formal reports

• Written accounts of major projects
• Can be several hundred pages
• May also be called feasibility studies, annual
  reports, research reports, analytical reports
• Organized to address the needs of more than one
  audience
• Contain three parts

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the front matter, which includes

• Title page
• Abstracts
• Table of contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Foreword (optional)
• Preface (optional)
• List of abbreviations and symbols

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the body, which includes

• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Text (including headings, tables, illustrations,
  and references)
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Explanatory footnotes (when needed)
• Works cited/references

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and the back matter, which includes

• Appendixes
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index