Module 15: Writing Information Reports Flashcards
Informal reports
may be letters and memos, slide presentations, website summaries, business cases, or even computer printouts of production or sales figures
Formal reports
contain formal elements such as a title page, a letter or memo transmittal page, a table of contents, and a list of illustrations
What Do Reports Have in Common?
Reports contain an introduction, body, and conclusion.
The introduction establishes context for readers; it could include
✓A lead-in sentence: “This report describes…”
✓A purpose statement: “The purpose of this report is to…”
✓The scope of the report: “In this report I explain the need for the program, and its structure and costs.”
✓A summary of findings or results: “Employee feedback for the program was overwhelmingly positive.”
The body presents specifics (facts, figures, statistics, examples, visuals) the audience needs to understand a situation and, in some cases, to make a decision.
The conclusion summarizes the most important information covered in the body and can include
✓Recommendations, if the report’s purpose is to effect change or solve a problem
✓Supplementary material the audience may want (appendices, questionnaires)
✓References, when the report uses secondary sources of information
What Do I Do Before I Write Any Report?
Do your research. Define the situation. Draft a purpose statement.
Creating a report includes:
Analyzing and identifying the situation
Gathering and analyzing the necessary information
Organizing the information
Drafting the report
Revising and editing the report
Submitting the report
A good purpose statement defines
The situation or problem
The specific information that must be explored, or questions that must be answered, to resolve the situation or solve the problem
The report’s purpose: for example, to explain, to inform, to recommend, to propose, to prove, to request
What Types of Short Reports Will I Write?
You will write summary reports, documenting information
Information report
summarizes your work or research to date
Closure report
summarizes a project and assesses the results.
Information and closure reports include
An introduction paragraph, summarizing the report topic, purposes, and most important outcomes, from the reader’s perspective
An account of how the problem was identified plus the subsequent actions and results
A concluding paragraph assessing the success of the project or work
analytical reports
present and interpret data
Conference reports
update your supervisor on industry trends.
They also justify the organizational expenditure (in your time and travel costs) by explaining the benefits to the audience
Progress report
you report what you’ve done, why it’s important, and what you will do next.
Chronological progress reports
focus on what the writer has done and what work remains
Task Progress Reports
organize information under the various tasks you have worked on during the period
