REPORT WRITING

Eng. Bassel Saab

Syrian Virtual University
BIT

Purpose of Writing Reports

Before we start talking about how to
write a report, let's talk about why.
Well introduce the Business Report,
but we can extend that to all kind of
reports by using some specification.

Purpose of Business Reports

Simply stated, a business report conveys
information to assist in decision-making.
The report is the means to present this
information.
Some reports might present the actual
solution to solve a business problem;
other reports might record historical
information that will be useful to assist in
future decision making.
Either way, information is being "reported"
that will useful in making decisions.

Steps in Writing a
Routine Business Report

Determine the Scope of the Report

Consider Your Audience
Gather Your Information
Analyze Your Information
Determine the Solution
Organize Your Report

Determine the Scope of

the Report
Dont make the report too general or too
vague.
The scope of the report is defined by
determining the factors which you will
study. You need to limit the amount of
information you will gather to the most
needed and most important factors.

Consider Your Audience

Each audience has unique needs. Some audience
consideration include:
Need (from your report)
Education level
Position in the organization
Knowledge of your topic or area
Responsibility to act
Age
Biases
Preferences
Attitudes

Consider Your Audience

Additional questions to ask regarding your audience
are:
How much background will the audience need?
Do you need to define any terms you are using?
What language level will be most appropriate for
your readers?
How many and what kind of visual aids should you
use?
What will the audience expect from your report?
Does the reader prefer everything given in detail
or merely a brief presentation that touches upon
the highlights?

Gather Your Information

Information you gather can be of two types:
Primary: Questionnaires, surveys, observation,
experiments, historical information, and raw data.
Information must be gathered carefully to
ensure it is accurate and bias free.

Secondary: Books, internet, reports,

newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and journals.

Information may be inaccurate, out of date, or
biased.

Gather Your Information

Think WHERE you are going to find your
information.
As you are gathering your information,
create a way to manage your information.
Massive information is difficult to sort
through if it is not organized.

Analyze Your Information

The purpose of the analysis is to make
sense, objectively, out of the information
you have gathered. You will NOT want
personal bias of any kind to enter into the
analysis.
Information is compared and contrasted in
an effort to try to find new ideas or the
best ideas. Separate facts and figures
need to be interpreted by explaining what
they mean--what significance they have.

Determine the Solution

Based on your analysis, you will be then be ready
to offer a solution (or solutions) to the problem
you have been studying.
Make sure, however, that a solution is even
requested. Depending on your position in the
organization and the particular business study, a
solution may NOT be requested in the report.
Your purpose would then be to present the
objective facts. These facts would be used by
someone else to determine the best solution.

Determine the Solution

A word of caution:
The gathered information should be the
basis for making this decision. A tendency
in business report writing is to "slant"
information in the report to lead the
reader to the decision the writer want.
Make sure you report all pertinent
information--good and bad.
The credibility of the report (and
credibility of you) is at stake.

Organize Your Report

Before actually writing, organize your
information into an outline form. You can
formulate an outline for your report by
choosing the major and supporting ideas,
developing the details, and eliminating the
unnecessary ideas you've gathered. This
outline becomes the basic "structure" of
your report.

Organize Your Report

Create a "skeleton" outline by jotting down
the information from your gathered
material that would fall into each category.
Based on your outline you are NOW ready
to begin the actual writing of your report.

Write a rough draft. Don't be overly

concerned about proofreading and editing
at this point. Just get your thoughts done.

Organize Your Report

Headings and subheadings are used
as organizational tools in writing to
identify major parts of a report.
Remember, don't think about editing
when writing the first draft.

Elements of Effective
Business Report Writing

Elements of Effective
Business Report Writing
Accurate
Objective

Accurate
Accuracy in a report includes
accuracy of information and
accuracy of writing.

The accuracy of any report depends upon the

correctness of the data that was gathered to
prepare it. Use reliable sources and be accurate in
reporting all information.
The accuracy of writing depends on accuracy in
writing mechanics (spelling, punctuation, and
grammar) and accuracy in writing style.

Objective
In writing, objectivity means presenting
material free from personal feelings or
prejudice--a sometimes difficult balancing
act.
Make a distinction between facts and
opinions.
Reporting all pertinent information.
Using bias-free language.
Using impersonal style.

Use of Graphics in
Business Reports

Use of Graphics in
Business Reports
Why use graphics?
What types of graphics could I use?
How do I relate the graphic to the written
text?

Why use graphics?

A graphic does the following:
Presents a message in an economical manner
using less space than would be needed to
provide the same information in the text.
Saves your readers time.
Focuses the readers attention on specific
information.
Adds interest.
Shows relationships.
Presents facts and figures in a condensed
manner.

What types of graphics could I use?

That answer depends upon the type of
information you want to present. Like:
Tables
Pie Charts
Line Charts
Bar Charts
Organizational Charts
Others (pictograms, maps, photographs,
time lines, flow charts, etc.)

How do I relate the graphics

to the written text?
Place the graphic within the text
immediately after the paragraph in which
the graphic is first mentioned.
Refer to each graphic by its figure number.
Interpret the information found in the
graphic within the text material. Textual
material should not merely repeat what can
be seen in the graph or table.

You're now ready to

start writing your report.