Writing a report

Recommendations on writing reports:

1. A report should be well organized with information presented in a logical order. There is no set layout for a report. The layout will depend on:

a) The type of report (for example, it may the result of an investigation or a progress report; it may be short or long, formal or informal, etc.)

b) The particular style that a company uses for its reports.

2. The format used for this example is common for many formal reports:

· Title

· Terms of reference

· Procedure

· Findings

· Conclusions

· Recommendations

3. Another common structure for a short report is:

· Title

· Introduction

· Main body (Findings)

· Conclusions

· Recommendations

4. Formal reports normally contain:

· Sections and subsections

· Headings and subheadings

· A numbering system

· Indented information

All these help to make the report easy to read.

5. Terms of reference/introduction usually includes:

· Who asked for the report

· Why the report is being written

· The purpose/ subject of the report

· When it should be submitted by

The introduction to the report sometimes contains the Procedure (also called Proceedings) – where/how you got the information.

6. Findings are the fact you discovered.

7. Conclusions are what you think about the facts and how you interpret them.

8. Recommendations are practical suggestions as to what should be done to solve the problem, remedy the situation, etc.

A report sample

Report on staff lateness Terms of reference Louise Dawson, Personnel Manager has requested this report on staff lateness at the new London office. The report was to be submitted to her by 20 April. Procedure Out of 24 members of staff, 23 were surveyed about: 1. Their method of transport. 2. Time taken to get to work. 3. Problems encountered. Findings 1. All staff are late at least once every two weeks. 2. Fifteen members of staff use the underground, two use the bus and six travel by car. 3. Travelling time varies between 20 minutes and one hour. 4. All staff experienced problems. (i)All members of staff experienced delays on the Underground (Circle, Central, Northern and District lines) due to: 1. Signal problems 2. Engineering work 3. Overcrowding 4. Poor train frequency on some lines (ii) Members of staff who use the bus experienced delays due to traffic jams. (iii) Members of staff who travel by car also experienced delays due to traffic jams and two had problems parking, particularly on Mondays and Tuesdays. Conclusions 1. All staff using public transport are late because the Underground and bus services are unreliable. 2. A minority of members of staff who travel by car experienced problems with parking. 3. The office opens at 9.00 am and so staff are forced to travel during the rush hour. 4. Members of staff are leaving sufficient time for their journeys which are extended due to delays. Recommendations 1. Members of staff should leave longer for their journeys in order to allow for delays. 2. Staff should investigate alternative routes and means of transport. 3. It is recommended that staff who travel by car and experience parking problems use the new car park in Commercial Road, which opens next week. 4. It is recommended that the Personnel Director investigates the possibility of introducing a flexitime system so staff do not have to travel during the rush hour. John Atkinson Office Manager   18 April

Дата добавления: 2015-08-27