How-to-write-a-report

HowtowriteareportOUTLINEDefinition:WhatisareportStructure:ThestructureofareportGoodReport:HowtowriteagoodreportDEFINITIONAreportisastructuredwrittenpresentationdirectedtointerestedreadersinresponsetosomespecificpurpose,aimorrequest.Therearemanyvarietiesofreports,butgenerallytheirfunctionistogiveanaccountofsomething,toansweraquestion,ortoofferasolutiontoaproblem.DEFINITIONOneimportantadvantagethatareporthasoverotherwrittencommunicationisthatitfollowsastandardizedformat.Thisenablesreaderstofindandfocusonspecificpiecesofinformation.STRUCTUREBaseonthesubjectwhatyouwrite,therearemanykindsofreport.Butalmosteveryreportgenerallyfollowamoreorlesssimilarstructureandcanbedividedintothefollowingparts.•Coversheet——fulltitleofthereport;yourname;thenameoftheunitofwhichtheprojectisapart;thenameoftheinstitution;thedate•Titlepage——fulltitleofthereport;yourname•Acknowledgements——tothankthepeoplewhohelpyouSTRUCTURE•Contentsortableofcontents——allsectionnumbersandtitles,usingexactlyThesamewordingasinthereport•Abstract——briefsummaryofthereport;task,summaryofconclusionsandrecommendations•Introduction——backgroundinformation,purpose/aim,scopeofthereport•Mainbodyofthereport——findings,description,facts,options,etc•Conclusion——summaryofresults•Recommendations——usuallyintheformofalistSTRUCTURE•Appendices(notalwaysnecessary)——additionaldetails,tables,graphs,detailedanalysis.Thesemustbenumberedandcross-referencedinthetext•Glossary(notalwaysnecessary)——explanationofanyspecialterms•Bibliography——referencestoanybooks,journals,etc.whichwereusedeitherforback-groundreadingordirectlyquotedinthereport.Theyshouldbearrangedalphabeticallybytheauthor’snameGOODREPORTAgoodreportneedtobeclear,conciseandwellstructured.Thekeytowritinganeffectivereportistoallocatetimeforplanningandpreparation.Withcarefulplanning,thewritingofareportwillbemademucheasier.Theessentialstagesofsuccessfulreportwritingaredescribedbelow.Considerhowlongeachstageislikelytotakeanddividethetimebeforethedeadlinebetweenthedifferentstages.Besuretoleavetimeforfinalproofreadingandchecking.GOODREPORT•StageOne:Understandingthereportbrief.Thisfirststageisthemostimportant.Youneedtobeconfidentthatyouunderstandthepurposeofyourreportasdescribedinyourreportbrieforinstructions.Considerwhothereportisforandwhyitisbeingwritten.Checkthatyouunderstandalltheinstructionsorrequirements,andaskyourtutorifanythingisunclear.•StageTwo:GatheringandselectinginformationOnceyouareclearaboutthepurposeofyourreport,youneedtobegintogatherrelevantinformation.Yourinformationmaycomefromavarietyofsources,buthowmuchinformationyouwillneedwilldependonhowmuchdetailisrequiredinthereport.Asyoureadandgatherinformationyouneedtoassessitsrelevancetoyourreportandselectaccordingly.Keepreferringtoyourreportbrieftohelpyoudecidewhatisrelevantinformation.GOODREPORT•StageThree:OrganizingyourmaterialOnceyouhavegatheredinformationyouneedtodecidewhatwillbeincludedandinwhatsequenceitshouldbepresented.Beginbygroupingtogetherpointsthatarerelated.Thesemayformsectionsorchapters.Remembertokeepreferringtothereportbriefandbepreparedtocutanyinformationthatisnotdirectlyrelevanttothereport.Chooseanorderforyourmaterialthatislogicalandeasytofollow.•StageFour:AnalyzingyourmaterialBeforeyoubegintowriteyourfirstdraftofthereport,taketimetoconsiderandmakenotesonthepointsyouwillmakeusingthefactsandevidenceyouhavegathered.Whatconclusionscanbedrawnfromthematerial?Itisnotenoughtosimplypresenttheinformationyouhavegathered;youmustrelateittotheproblemorissuedescribedinthereportbrief.GOODREPORT•StageFive:WritingthereportHavingorganizedyourmaterialintoappropriatesectionsandheadingsyoucanbegintowritethefirstdraftofyourreport.•StageSix:ReviewingandredraftingIdeally,youshouldleavetimetotakeabreakbeforeyoureviewyourfirstdraft.Bepreparedtorearrangeorrewritesectionsinthelightofyourreview.•StageSeven:PresentationOnceyouaresatisfiedwiththecontentandstructureofyourredraftedreport,youcanturnyourattentiontothepresentation.Checkthatthewordingofeachchapter/section/subheadingisclearandaccurate.GOODREPORTPurposeofareport:writingtobereadAkeythingtokeepinmindrightthroughyourreportwritingprocessisthatareportiswrittentoberead,bysomeoneelse.Thisisthecentralgoalofreport-writing.Areportwhichiswrittenforthesakeofbeingwrittenhasverylittlevalue.