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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