How to Write a Report - Essay Example

Writing a report is a serious responsibility that should be done correctly in form and essence – “accurate, concise, clear, well structured” (Sikazwe 2003: 2). To achieve this is both hard and time-consuming (‘Project Proposal Reports’ 2007: 1).

Writing reports generally goes through three stages: preparation/planning, actual writing stage, and finalizing. The preparation/planning stage goes through three steps: prepare by identifying and defining the problem and analyzing the target reader; research by determining the methodology and collecting the information of the report; and analyze by organizing and evaluating gathered information, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations (‘Business Communication’ n.d: 8). Remember to gather as much information available because it is easier to discard useless information than recreate or recall data that are not gathered (Gaffney 2001: 1).

When everything needed is prepared, actual writing can commence. Writing usually undergoes drafting, revising, and editing (‘Business Communication’ n.d: 8). In writing a report, always remember to: use credible sources only and cite sources accurately following the required style; use good standard English attending to its peculiarities -- spelling, meaning, prepositions, linking words, punctuations (Airola, et al. 2000: 4); focus on fulfilling the purpose of the report; be concise, coherent, direct, logical, and objective; use headings and sub-headings for easier reading; and follow a standard format required by the writing style used – one of the most defining characteristics of written reports, be they long or short (Airola, et al. 2000: 3). To avoid confusion in referencing right after citing a source, list down its reference immediately. Before finalizing the report, review it by considering the following: “context, organization, presentation, content, style, conclusions, and recommendations” (BNET Editorial 2007: 4). Also, the abstract or for some reports the executive summary is the last written as they summarize the whole report.

Satisfying everything sets the final stage – all parts of the report – generally composed of three major parts – preliminary pages, main text, and end matters (‘Report Development and Writing’ 2008: 8-11) – are legibly printed on standard white bond papers neatly compiled in a folder arranged as follows in separate sheets: the title page – contains the report title, author, to whom to submit the report, submission date, and organization; the abstract or executive summary for some; table of contents and list of figures – these three specific parts compose the preliminary pages; the main body of the report, which parts are the introduction (page one starts here), methodology, analysis and findings, conclusion and recommendation, and the reference list in separate sheet; and at the last part of the report are all appendices relevant to the report (Airola, et al. 2000: 6 and ‘Report Development and Writing’ 2008: 8-11). To submit, put it in an addressed envelope. Read More