REPORT WRITING

INTRODUCTION
 THE PURPOSE....
▪ The report exists to provide the reader with useful
information
• Should this drug be licensed?
• How do we fit non-linear regressions?
▪ It succeeds if it effectively communicates the
information to the intended audience
▪ It fails otherwise!!
 TO SUCCEED...
The report must be
Clear
• Well structured, clear, concise, suitable for the intended
audience.
Professional
• Statistically correct, correctly spelled, produced with a
decent word processor.
Well illustrated
• Illustrations that aid understanding, integrated with text.
 THE AUDIENCE
Often 3 Different Audiences:
▪ The casual reader/big boss who wants the main message
as painlessly as possible

▪ The interested reader who wants more detail but doesn’t

want to grapple with all the gory technical details

▪ The guru who wants the whole story

 WHAT TO DO?
To address all 3 audiences effectively,
▪ Include an abstract for the big boss
▪ A main body for the interested non-specialist
▪ A technical appendix for the guru

Thus, a structure emerges!

 STRUCTURE
• Good structure enhances and encourages clarity
• Gives signposts
• Implements the vital principle
▪ tell them what you are going to say
▪ Say it!
▪ tell them what you have said
 Structure: Details
A good report has the following parts :
• Title
• Table of Contents
• Abstract/executive summary
• Introduction
• Main sections
• Conclusions
• References
• Technical appendix
 Title
Should be informative, “punchy”, can include puns, humour

Good
▪ The perfidious polynomial (punchy, alliterative)
▪ Diagnosing diabetes mellitus: how to test, who to test, when to test
(dramatic, informative)
Bad
▪ Some bounds on the distribution of certain quadratic forms in normal
random variables (boring, vague)
▪ Performing roundoff analyses of statistical algorithms (boring, vague)
 Table of Contents

• Shows the structure of the document and lets the

reader navigate through the sections
• Include for documents more than a few pages
long.
 Abstract / Executive Summary

Describes the problem and the solution in a few

sentences. It will be all the big boss reads!

Remember the 2 rules

▪ Keep it short
▪ State problem and solution
 The Introduction
▪ State the question, background the problem
▪ Describe similar work
▪ Outline the approach
▪ Describe the contents of the rest of the paper
• in Section 2 we ...
• in Section 3 we ...
 Further Sections
▪ Describe
• Data
• Methods
• Analyses
• Findings
▪ Don’t include too much technical detail
▪ Divide up into sections, subsections
 Conclusions/summary
• Summarize what has been discovered
• Repeat the question
• Give the answer
 Appendix
• This is where the technical details go
• Be as technical as you like
• Document your analysis so it can be reproduced
by others
• Include the data set if feasible
 References

• Always cite (i.e. give a reference) to other related

work or facts/opinions that you quote

• Never pass off the work of others as your own –

this is plagiarism and is a very big academic
crime!!
 How to cite
• A Report Written and Published by a Corporate Entity
Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America. National
Endowment for the Arts, June 2004.
• A Report Written and Published by Different Corporate Entities
Hart Research Associates. It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities
for College Learning and Student Success. Association of American Colleges
and Universities, 2013, www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/it-
takes-more-major-employer-priorities-college-learning-and.
• A Report with One or More Authors
Powell, Catherine, and Ann Mei Chang. Women in Tech as a Driver for
Growth in Emerging Economies. Council on Foreign Relations Press, July
2016, www.cfr.org/technology-and-science/women-tech-driver-growth-
emerging-economies/p38097.
• An Untitled Report
Annual report. Market Analytics International, 2015.
 WRITING CLEARLY
▪ Structure alone is not enough for clarity – you must
also write clear sentences.

▪ Rules:
• Write complete short sentences
• Avoid jargon and cliché, strive for simplicity
• One theme per paragraph
• If a sentence contains maths, it still must make sense!
 Useful Phrases
Expressing fact and opinion
▪ In my opinion…
▪ In my view…
▪ It seems to me…
▪ I feel that…
▪ It’s the case that…
▪ It’s not the case that…
Making Comparison
1. …is more (adjective) than ….
2. …is less (adjective) than…
3. …is (adjective) +er than…

Cause and Effect Words

1. Due to…
2. In order to…
3. Because of…
4. Resulted from / Were caused by
 Practice!
Write the first paragraph of the report which
states the purpose of the report.
 REPORT WRITING
USING GRAPHS AND STATISTICS
Do you think numbers in report writing
is important? Why?
Give examples!
 Good
From the equation y = ax + b it follows that
MATHS x = ( y − b) / a.
Bad
y = ax + b x = ( y − b) / a
 Figures and Tables (Floats)

Golden Rules for Figures and Tables:

• Describe float in text (integration), make sure it matches
description
• Place after the first mention in the text
• Make sure float conveys the desired message clearly: keep it
simple!
• Provide informative captions
• Each figure, graph and table should have:
A number following the order it appears in the text (e.g. chart
1, chart 2, figure 1, figure 2, table 1, table 2).
• A meaningful title so your reader understands straightaway
what the data is about.
• Titles should be located above tables and below figures and
charts
• A reference When presenting data produced by someone else
(this example uses UWE Harvard.
 Figures
▪ Always label and give a caption under the figure
▪ Be aware of good graphics principles: avoid
• chart junk
• low data/ink ratio
• unlabelled axes
• broken axes
• Misleading scales
▪ Using a good graphics package (R!) helps enforce good
practice
 Tables
▪ Always label and give a caption over the table

▪ Be aware of rules for good tables:

• avoid vertical lines
• don’t have too many decimal places
• compare columns not rows
 Using appendices to present charts,
figures and tables
• You can also add your charts, figures and tables in your
appendices and refer to them within your text.
(e.g.: As shown in Appendix 1, students use the library in
different ways. According to Mr X (see Appendix 2), defining
success varies across the board.)
• Make sure that it doesn’t break the reading flow for your
reader.
• If the data is highly relevant to the point you are making in
your writing, then consider inserting the data within your text.
Describing change: Referencing Graphs:
1. …Stood at… 1. As shown in…
2. …Rose by / An increase of … 2. As can be seen in…
3. Rose from _____ to ______ 3. The figure above/below/etc.
4. …leveled off…
5. …reached a plateau…
6. …decreased… / …fell…

Change words:
1. Rapid / Dramatic Sharp Steady / Moderate /
Gradual Small / Slight / Steady Sudden / Abrupt
2. Countable and Uncountable:
3. Many/Few vs. Much/Little
Make a paragraph describing this figure!
 REPORT WRITING
SELECTING AND ORGANIZING MATERIALS
 WRITE YOUR BUSINESS REPORT

To achieve good readability, you should:

• Use Effective Headings And Subheadings
• Structure Your Paragraphs Well
• Write Clear Sentences With Plain Language
• Keep Your Writing Professional
• Use White Space And Well Chosen Fonts Also Number Your Pages
• Use Footnotes, Tables, Figures, And Appendices Appropriately.
 USE EFFECTIVE HEADINGS
AND SUBHEADINGS
Ineffective headings with non Effective headings with parallel
parallel construction construction
Establishing formal sales Establish formal sales
organization organization
Production department Define responsibilities within the
responsibilities production department
Improve cost-accounting Improve cost accounting
(Adapted from Munter, 1997, p. 53)
 STRUCTURE YOUR PARAGRAPH WELL
Typically a paragraph will have between 100 and 200 words and will
have the following structure.
• Topic sentence (states main idea of paragraph)
• Explanation sentence (explains or expands on the topic sentence)
• Support sentences (give evidence for the idea in the topic sentence
and include statistics, examples, and citations)
• Concluding sentence (optional final sentence that answers the
question ‘so what?’; this is your opportunity to show your critical
thinking ability)
 WRITE CLEAR SENTENCES WITH
PLAIN LANGUAGE
Look at the following example:
Now, look at the plainer version
You will notice some of the sophisticated words have changed to plainer ones.
You will also notice that the sentence are shorter and easier to understand.
Another change relates to ‘active voice’. You will notice that the first example
uses some ‘passive voice’: which was utilised. Passive voice enables writers to
omit the people (or doers) from their sentences. However, readers often
appreciate knowing ‘who’ does something. You will notice in the second
example, the writer adds a doer team. This means the writer can now use the
active voice:

In 2011, the team completed... All of these technique

(short sentences, plainer language, and active Voice)
will help your reader understand your message in one reading. This is
especially important in business writing where readers have busy working days.
 KEEP YOUR WRITING PROFESSIONAL

• Ensure you use an appropriate tone for your readers.

Where possible, use personal pronouns we and you:

• We recommend you check the building’s foundations.

 USE WHITE SPACE AND WELL
CHOSEN FONTS
Create white space by:
• Using Lots Of Headings And Subheadings
• Creating Large Margins Along All Edges (Usually 2.5-3cm)
• Breaking Up Your Page With Tables, Charts, And Graphs
Where Possible
• Using Bulleted Lists.
USE FOOTNOTES, TABLES, FIGURES AND
APPENDICES APPROPRIATELY
 USEFUL PHRASES
Noun Phrases: Sequencing words:
• Retirement age • Is headed
• Career development • Consists of
• In addition to
• Job agency advertising
• Not only But also
• Internal staff training • Besides
• Newspaper advertising • And then
• Management recommendations • Next
• Material collection • After that
• Material selection • End
Use the flow chart provided to write A
paragraph explaining the chart using
sequencing words.
REPORT WRITING
PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS
Present the outcome of your research in a succinct
and logical way, making sure that you include
enough information to demonstrate that you have
investigated the matter thoroughly.
Some techniques to differentiate your own
research from previous research in your writing
(these are suggestions, not rules, and your best guide is
to see how other writers in your discipline do this):
• Use the first person to describe your • My data shows
findings.
• This Study…
• Consistently use ‘this’ to refer to your The Findings of this research…
own research and refer to previous Smith and Geva found that…
research by name, place or time A previous study in Belgrade…

• Make reference to similarities or • Similar research carried out in the 1980’s

differences in approach or findings. showed that…

• Use the present perfect tense to • This study has shown a prevalence rate
highlight the recent relevance of your of 2.5 which is greater than that found
research in comparison with earlier by Smith and Geva in their Belgrade
Research, referring to it in the simple study
past.
PERSONAL AND IMPERSONAL PASSIVE

Active :
They say women live longer than men.
Impersonal Passive:
It is said that women live longer than men.
Personal Passive:
Women are said to live longer than men.
How to change from active to passive
persona and impersonal ?

“People claim that The Monalisa

is the most famous painting in
the world”
 “People claim that The Monalisa is the
most famous painting in the world”

PERSONAL
The Monalisa is claimed to be the most famous painting in the world.

IMPERSONAL
It is claimed that The Monalisa is the most famous painting in the
world.
 Practice!
Change these active sentences into both personal and impersonal passive

1. People know that she is a good swimmer.

2. They say that Francis is in hospital..
3. They think that the children are in bed.
4. People believe that the robber has worked in the bank
5. People believe that nuclear power stations are
dangerous
 USEFUL PHRASES
Impersonal Reporting:
• X was discussed about…
• X was considered • It was suggested that…
• It was felt that • It was recommended that…
• Opinions varied about • It was concluded that…
• Different opinions were • No conclusions were reached
expressed about… about…
• It was agreed that… • It was decided that…
• There was no agreement
 Practice Makes Perfect!
Read the paragraphs of some reports given by someone
else and write the paragraph to report what was said
either in Personal or Impersonal Style.
• We have reanalyzed your figures in order to determine the range
of error. We will announce the results when the time is right.
• With the price of housing at such inflated levels, homeowners
cannot pay off those loans in any shorter period of time.
• However, 5.25-inch diskettes are losing market share as the
graph in Figure 2 shows.
• For many years, government officials have ignored federal
regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping. Only recently has
the federal government imposed tighter restrictions on the
circumstances that warrant it.
 REPORT WRITING
Concluding, Recommending, and Summarizing
 TIPS FOR WRITING CONCLUSIONS

• Interpret and summarize the findings. Tell what your

findings (collected data) mean.
• Relate the conclusions to the research questions. Focus
only on conclusions that help solve the original
challenge.
• Justify the conclusions with highlights from the findings.
 TIPS FOR WRITING CONCLUSIONS

• Limit the conclusions to the data presented (do not

introduce new material)
• Be objective.
Avoid exaggerating or manipulating
data to prove your point
• Use consistent criteria for evaluating alternatives
 WRITING RECOMMENDATIONS
• Suggest actions. What specific procedures can help
solve client concern?
• Focus on the practical/agreeable. Suggest feasible
actions acceptable to this audience
• If requested, describe how the recommendations
may be implemented
Although the conclusions and recommendations are
presented before the discussion, they need to logically flow
from the discussion. Taking a deductive approach allows the
reader insight into your conclusions/recommendations early
on. When your reader reads the discussion afterwards, they
will follow it more easily. Here are some examples of
conclusions and recommendations:
 Conclusions Recommendations
Home and family responsibilities directly Provide managers with training in
affect job attendance and performance. working with personal and family
matters.

Time is the crucial issue to balancing Institute a flexitime policy that allows
work and family income. employees to adapt their work schedule
to home responsibilities.

A manager supportive of family and Publish a quarterly employee newsletter

personal concerns is central to a good devoted to family and child-care issues.
work environment.

(Adapted from Guffey, et al. 2001, p. 391-392)

 IT’S YOUR TIME!!
Make your own reports based from your own
department!!
(it can be on sales, marketing, human resource, accounting, etc)
 THANK
REPORT WRITING
PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS