MC-3 MODULE

8/2/2019 MC-3 MODULE

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REPORT

WRITING


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REPORTS AND FORMATS

A report is a logical presentation of facts andinformation.

The information is needed for reviewing andevaluating progress, for planning future courseof action and for taking decisions.

Reports provide feedback to managers onvarious aspects of the organization.

Special reports may be written by an individualor by a group of persons to whom the task hasbeen assigned.

Reports are written for various purposes. They may be required to review performance,

keep a check on a continuing activity, plan forthe future needs of the organization, survey themarket, submit standardized information, etc.


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DEFINITIONAccording to Raymond v Lesikar

A business report is an orderly,objective communication of factual informationthat serves some business purpose.

PURPOSE OF BUSINESS REPORTS

To give information about a companys activities,progress, plans and problems.

To record events for future reference in decision

making. To recommend specific action.

To justify and persuade readers about the need foraction in controversial situations.

To present facts to the management to help decidethe direction the business should choose.


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OBJECTIVES OF REPORT WRITING

Measuring Executive performance

Help in combating changes

Information

Controlling Help in coordinating

Contact

Recommends Action


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STEPSFOR REPORTWRITING

INVESTIGATING THE SOURCE OF

INFORMATION

TAKING NOTES

ANALYZING THE DATA

MAKING AN OUTLINE

WRITING THE REPORT


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TYPES OF REPORT

Reports may be routine or special .

Routine reports are periodical and are usuallyprepared by filling in printed/cyclostyled formsto convey information about the progress orstatus of work/tasks.

They are submitted at regular intervals or soonafter the completion of the task.

Special reports are required when a situation orproblem arises.

An individual or a committee of persons who

have knowledge and understanding in thefield/subject,is appointed to investigate andstudy a specific problem, collect informationrelated to it and make suggestions to help themanagement to take a decision.


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DIFFERENTTYPESOFREPORTS

TYPES OF REPORTS

I ROUTINE II SPECIAL

I Routine reports:-These reports are usually

forms in which blanks have to be filled in or

multiple choice statements are to be ticked.

Reports forms must be prepared carefully toensure that the management gets complete

information.


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I Routine Reports: The following are routine

reports-

a. Progress Report: It gives information about

the progress of a project or a task which is in

the process of being completed, such as

construction of building or manufacture of

products or implementation of scheme. This

report is also prepared by filling in a

standard form periodically.


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b. Inspection reports:- It is submitted as soon

as an inspection is carried out. It is necessary

for detecting any irregularities or deviations

from standard practice, in day-to-day work; for

e.g:- internal audit reports.

c. Performance Appraisal reports:- It is

periodical and is usually prepared by filling in

a form. It is meant for assessing and recording

the performance of an employee. On the basisof these reports, decisions about promotions

and other benefits are taken.


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d.Periodical Reports:- It is prepared at regular

intervals on the working of a section or a

department. The information required is of a

routine nature and can be easily tabulated,

hence it is prepared by filling in a form.


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II. Special Reports:

a. First Investigation Reports(F.I.R):-

It is required when there is a disaster like fire,

building collapse, robbery or accident in an

organization.

It is prepared by a responsible person on-the-

spot or the person in charge, for submission to

Regional Office or Head Office.

This report has to give all information which isavailable immediately after the incident occurs.

It must state what happened, about what time,

who first noticed it and what steps were taken

immediately.


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b. Investigation Report:- It is written after

making a thorough study and inquiry. An

investigation is made when there is a problem

and the management needs to find out the

causes of the problem and needs suggestionsfor solving it.

For example:- Falling sales,

declining deposits in a bank, many customer

complaints, losses in a branch, etc.


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c.Feasibility or survey report:-It is required

when an organization intends to launch a

new product in the market, introduce a new

service, or make any major changes that may

affect the companys customers.

d.Project Report:- It is written after a proposal

takes shape and after the preliminary survey

has been completed .It describes the proposalas projected into the future, showing the cash

flow and expected results.


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REPORTS BY INDIVIDUALS

A Report may be assigned to one person. A

report written by an individual follows the

same logical presentation as the committee

report.

If the report is short, say two or three pages, it

is written in letter form with numbered and

sub-titled paragraphs.

It does not need complete inside address as it

is internal communication and is typed on theorganization's letterhead.

It is dated on the day of submission or a day

earlier.


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REPORTSBYCOMMITTEE

A report by a committee is prepared by themembers of the committee assigned the task.

It is actually written by one person, usuallythe secretary or the Convener, with inputs

from the others members.The style is formal and it may be written in the

passive voice. The word we or our are notused; the committee is used when necessary.

A report by a committee is never written in theform of a letter, it must always be presented inthe schematic form with sub-headings.

The report is typed on plain paper andsubmitted with a letter of transmittal.


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LETTEROFTRANSMITTAL

It is typed on the organization's letterhead.

It is addressed to the appointing authority

and has the date of submission of the report.

It is signed by the convener/chairperson of thecommittee.

The letter states that work was assigned, that

the work has been completed and the report is

being submitted.

It ends with a courteous message, offering to

undertake further study, if required.


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FORMATS

LETTER FORMAT: if the report has been assigned

by one person to an individual, and the material is

not too much, it can be presented in the form of a

letter.

The content is organized in the same logical formrequired for all the reports, but the layout is like a

letter.

It is addressed with an appropriate salutation to

the person who assigned it.

The subject line indicates the subject of the report.

The paragraphs may be numbered and sub-titled.

It is signed by the person who has prepared the

report.


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MEMORANDUM

Memorandum or memoranda also called

memo, is used for short periods if the intended

audience is several persons who all need the

information.

New schemes,ideas,situations or new

processes emerge from time to time and have

to be reported to the management for decision.

A memorandum does not have any inside

address,saluation or complimentary close, ithas only the heading and the body.

Many organizations use pre-designed memo

format pads.


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Scan diagram


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Date:The month must be spelled out in full;

that is, not in numerals and without

abbreviations.

To: Use the addressees full name and title, and

department if required. If there are several

recipients, list them in hierarchical order.

From: Write your own name without courtesy

title, if necessary add your job title or

department to ensure identification.

Subject: Statement of subject should be

accurate and concise.


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Organizing the content: A memo must be

informative and concise. Clarify the objective

by stating it in a single sentence.

Book Report:This is used when the amount of

information to be presented in large, and the

subject or topic is of long term interest and

important to a large number of people.


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STRUCTURE OF A REPORT

A Report is divided into sections with headings

so that the collected information can be

presented in form that is easy to read and

refer to.

Reports are read by different persons for

different purposes. Some are interested only in

the findings and/or conclusions; some may

want to know only the recommendations; yet

others may want to check the procedurefollowed for data collection.


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The report may be written by an individual or

by a committee.

Both are formal and must follow a logical

order.

A report by an individual may be a little more

personal in tone, while a committee report is

impersonal in tone.


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PARTSOFA REPORT

A Report has several sections which enable the

writer(s) to lay out all the complex information

in an easy-to-read form.

All reports do not require all the sections but

long reports need to include all the parts.

A Report generally sections marked with an

asterisk(*);the other sections may be included

depending on the type, length and purpose of

the report.


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Letter of transmittal

Title page*

Table of contents

List of abbreviations and /or glossary

Executive summary/abstract

Introduction*

Body*

Conclusion*

Recommendations

Bibliography

Appendices


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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

It is typed on the organization's letterhead. This is a letteraddressed to the person who commissioned the report.

In this letter, you effectively hand over your report to thatperson. The letter includes:

A Salutation(e.g; Dear Ms Bhatia)

The purpose of the letter(e.g; Here is the final versionof the report on Underwater welding which wascommissioned by your company.)

The main findings of the report

Any important considerations

An acknowledgement of any significant help

An expression of pleasure or thanks(e.g., Thank youfor giving us the opportunity to work on this report.)


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EXAMPLE


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TITLE PAGE

This must include:

Report title which clearly states the purpose of thereport.

Full details of the person(s) for whom the report

was prepared. Full details of the person(s) who prepared the

report.

The date of the presentation of the report.

A short report of two to three pages does not need alittle page, but is must indicate the subject of thestudy and the purpose of the study. The titleappears at the top of the first page, before the textof the report as follows:


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Example


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TABLEOF CONTENTS

Is given after the little page. It is used only if the

report is long, say ten pages. It is a list of the

headings and appendices of the report with

the page number on which each begins.

If the report is long and complex, you can give a

list of the tables, and a list of illustrations(or

figures),separately. The correct page numbers

must be shown opposite the contents. Wordprocessing packages can generate a table of

contents.


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ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY

If the report includes abbreviations which may

not be known to all readers of the report, an

alphabetical list of them is provided.

If there are many technical terms, a glossary is

also provided.

A glossary is an alphabetical list of the terms,

with brief explanations of their meanings.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This is a list of names of persons who helped

the writer of the report with information,

collection of data,references,discussion and

so on. It can be written in one paragraph or a

few short paragraphs.


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ABSTRACT OR SUMMARY OR

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An abstract is a summary used for a scholarly, academicwork and an executive summary is used for a businessreport.

An executive summary is written for an executive whomust likely does not have the time to read the original.

An executive summary:

Gives readers the essential contents of the reportdocument in 1-10 pages depending on the length of thereport.

Previews the main points of the report enabling readersto build a mental framework for organizing andunderstanding the detailed information in the report.

Helps readers determine the key results andrecommendations reported in your document.


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The summary includes one or two sentences forevery main section of the report. For example, itmay include:

The context of the research

The purpose of the reportThe major findings(you may need several

sentences for this )

The conclusions

The main recommendations

The summary is written after the report is completed.It is should be the last thing you write eventhough it is usually the first thing read by others.


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TERMS OF REFERENCEOR

INTRODUCTION

It is first section of the report. It gives (I)details

of the assignment and (II)the purpose and

scope of the study.

Example:-


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PROCEDURE

This is the second section of the body of the

report and may be numbered II. Methods used

for collecting information are stated in this

section. It begins with the meetings held by

the committee, for example:


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FINDINGS

This is the most important section. It may be

numbered III in a report that numbers the

sections. The collected facts and information

have to be organized into a presentable form

with headings and sub-headings.

The mass of collected information is analyzed

and divided for easy and readable

presentation. The units are joined by anumbering system.


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USEOFILLUSTRATIONANDGRAPHICS

A Report becomes much more readable, clear

and effective if the findings are explained with

Relevant illustrative data like

diagrams,graphs,charts,plans or maps. There

are several advantages in using illustrations.

They clarify and support the verbal analysis.

They can present a large amount of complex

data in a compact form and with precision.

Comparisons of data can be seen at a glance

in a graph or chart.

Pictorial representation is more attractive and

interesting to most people.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

This is the last section of the body of the report.

Recommendations are proposals for action

suggested by the report writer(s) to the

appointing authority.


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SIGNATURE, PLACEANDDATE

A committee report must be signed by all

members of the committee. The signatures are

on the right. The place and date are on the

left. The date is the day of submission of the

report.

Place: Kolkata R.B.Das Gupta,Convener

Date:23 May 2003 C.K.Puranik

J.J.Mitra


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APPENDIX

It is supplementary material given at the end of

the report. This may be a copy of a

questionnaire used, or the plans of buildings,

maps or other material which is referred to in

the body of the report.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

It is the list of books and articles used by the

report writer. It is arranged in alphabetical

order of the surnames of the authors.


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PRINCIPLES OF WRITING REPORTS

PREPARATORY STEPS:- A Report can be no

better than the research that has gone before

it. Accuracy is absolutely essential and the

only way to ensure it is to be meticulous and

painstaking in collecting and recording factsand, of course, to be honest in handling them.


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ELEMENTS OF STYLE

The English Language is capable of many

different styles. There is a style for the

boardroom meeting an a style for a report.

WORDS:- English may be described as a double

language which has a set of strong, direct

words and another set of charming and subtle

words.


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PHARSES:- A Phrase is a cluster of words which is a unit of meaning like inthe first place", "take into consideration.

SENTENCES:- Short sentences are easier to understand, it is less likely thatthe reader or the writer will lose his way in a short sentence.

PHARAGRAPHS:- A Paragraphs is a group of associates sentences definingand developing an aspect of a subject. It is used for :

Introduction

Developing

Defining

Explaining

ClassifyingDescribing

Comparing

Summarizing

Concluding


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CHAPTERS

A Chapter is the main division. The length

depends on several factors such as,

Length of the report

The number of aspects investigated

The Layout

Style of Presentation

The modern trend is towards short chapters

which are easy to assimilate.


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WRITING THE REPORT

Writing imposes the hardest mental work that

we have to do .In order to do a good job of

report writing, we must understand what the

difficulties are and find ways of overcoming

them.

Expression:- A Persons writing skills are

influenced by several things like

education,background,vocabulary,mentalalertness, personality experience and

enthusiasm for the task in hand.


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PRINCIPLESOFWORK

Working principles to be followed are:

1. Always keep the reader and his needs in mind.

2. Choose simple words, short sentences, shortparagraphs.

3. Avoid adverbs and adjectives unless necessary.4. Avoid emphatic words like very,extremely,highly

5. Be specific and precise

6. Never exaggerate

7. Write to inform, not to impress

8. Observe the three-Fys

Simplify

Justify

Qunatify


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Order of Writing:- Many report writers find it the

best practice to write the main body of the report

first.

The writing may be taken up in the following order:

1. Main body2. Conclusions

3. Recommendations

4. Introduction

5. Ancillary parts-Table ofcontents,acknowledgements,references,appendice

s,bibliography,etc.

6. Summary or synopsis.


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Considering the Readers Response:- No

matter how well the report is written, it will

succeed only if it gets the intended or desired

response from the readers. The impact of the

presented facts on members of theorganization must be cosidered.


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THANK YOU

MC-3 MODULE

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