Chapter 10

Basics of Report
Writing
 Learning Objectives
 You will be able to prepare well-organized, objective
reports.
 State a problem clearly in writing.
 List the factors involved in a problem.
 Explain the common errors in interpreting and develop
attitudes and practices conductive to good interpreting.
 Organize information on outline form, using time, place,
quantity, factor, or a combination of these as bases for
division.
 Turn an outline into a table of contents whose format and
wording are logical and meaningful.
 Write reports that are focused, objective, consistent in time
veiwpoint, smoothly connected, and interesting.
 Introduction
 Reports are vital to larger organizations
 The nature of the business also determines how
many and what kinds of reports are needed.
 Report writing is likely to be important in your
career.
DEFINING REPORTS
 What is a Report?
 An orderly and objective communication of factual
information that serves a business purpose.
 Key words;
 Orderly

 Objective

 Communication

 Factualinformation
 Serves a business purpose.
 THE SEQUENCE OF A REPORT

Determining the report purpose

Determining the factors

Gathering the information needed

Interpreting the findings

Organizing the report information

 DETRMINING THE REPORT PURPOSE

 Work on a report begins with a business need

(problem).
 Your first task is to get the problem clearly in mind.
 To do this, you should begin by gathering all the
information you need to understand the problem.
 The preliminary investigation
 Then you should express the problem clearly,
preferably in writing.
 Need for a clear statement of the problem
 The Problem Statement
8

 The problem statement may be;

 An infinite phrase – “To determine the causes of decreasing
sales at Store X”
 A question - “What are the causes of decreasing sales in
Store X?” or
 A declarative statement – “Store X sales are decreasing, and
management wants to know why.”
 What ever forms you use, the meaning should be same.
 You may need to revise your problem statement as you
continue your research.
 DETERMINING THE FACTORS
 Next you should determine the factors of the
problem.
 The factors may be;
 Subtopics of the overall topic,
 Hypothesis that must be tested, or

 Bases for comparison.

 Subtopics are the factors in information reports.

Use Subtopics in Information Report
 Problem statement: “To review operations of
Company X from January 1 through March 31.”
 Subtopics:
1. Production
2. Sales and promotion
3. Financial status
4. Computer systems
5. Product management
6. Human resources
 Hypothesis for Problems Requiring Solution

 Problem statement: “Sales at the Springfield store have

declined, and management wants to know why.”
 Hypothesis:
1. Activities of the competition have caused the decline.
2. Changes in the economy of the area have caused the
decline.
3. Merchandising deficiencies have caused the decline.
4. Changes in the environment (population, political
actions, etc.) have caused the decline.
 Bases of Comparison in Evaluation
Studies
 Problem statement: “To determine whether Y
Company’s new location should be built in City A,
City B, or City C.”
 Comparison basis:
1. Availability of skilled workers
2. Tax structure
3. Community attitude
4. Transport facilities
5. Nearness to markets
 GATHERING THE INFORMATION NEEDED

 The next step is to conduct the research  Experiment

needed. A personal investigation is usually and surveys
are
needed. sometimes
 E.g. A sales problem might require collecting needed.
information through discussions with customers  Library
and sales personnel. research is
 A production problem, might require gathering also used.
and reviewing the company’s production records.  The internet
gives you
 A computer problem might require talking to both access to
end-users and programmers. many
 A purchasing problem might require getting information
product information, finding prices, compiling sources.
performance statistics, and so on. Quality
may very
 INTERPRETING THE FINDINGS
 Next, interpret the information in light of your problem and
your reader’s needs.
 Avoid human error by remembering these fundamentals;
1. Report the facts as they are.
2. Do not think that conclusions are always necessary.
3. Do not interpret a lack of evidence as proof to the contrary.
4. Do not compare non-comparable data.
5. Do not draw illogical cause-effect conclusions.
6. Beware of unreliable and unrepresentative data.
7. Do not oversimplify.
8. Make only those claims that your evidence can support.
Appropriate Attitudes and Practices
Appropriate Attitudes and Practices
 Adopt the following attitudes and practices;
1. Maintain a judicial attitudes – play the role of a
judge.
2. Consult with others.
3. Test your interpretations.
1. Use the test of experience – reason. “Does this
appear reasonable in light of all I know or have
experienced?”
2. Use the negative test – question your interpretations.
 Statistical Tools in Interpretation
 Descriptive statistics
should help the most.
 Do not allow statistical
calculations to confuse;
they should help the
reader interpret.
 ORGANIZING THE REPORT INFORMATION

 After you know what your findings mean, you are

ready to construct an outline.
 The Nature and Benefits of Outline;
 An outline helps you group and order the information
and distinguish main from supporting points.
 When you reach the main organizing stage, you will
probably have already done some of the work.
 Your outline should usually be written. It can later
provide your headings and table of contents.
 Organization by Division
 Conventional System:
I. First-level heading
A. Second-level, first part
B. Second-level, second part
1. Third-level, first part
2. Third-level, second part
a. Fourth-level, first part
(1) Fifth-level, first part
(a) Sixth-level, first part
 Organization by Division
 Decimal System:
1.0 First-level heading
1.1 Second-level, first part
1.2 Second-level, second part
1.2.1 Third-level, first part
1.2.2 Third-level, second part
1.2.2.1 Fourth-level, first part
1.2.2.1.1 Fifth-level, first part
1.2.2.1.1.1 Sixth-level, first part
 Outline as Tool
 Use it any way that will help you write a good report.
 Fist you divide the whole report into parts.
 Then you divide the parts into subparts. You may subdivide
further.
 Time, place, quantity, and factor are the process of division.
 When the information has a time basis, division by time is
possible.
 When the information is related to geographic location, a place
division is possible.
 Division based on quantity is possible when the information has a
number base.
 Factors are a fourth basis for dividing information.
 Division by Conventional Relationship

 Time based: A report on the progress of a research

committee illustrates this possibility. The period
covered by this report might be broken down into
the following comparable sub-periods:
 The period of orientation, May – July
 Planning the project, August

 Implementation of the research plan, Septamber-

Novemeber
 Division by Conventional Relationship

 Division by Place: a report on the U.S. sales program

of a national manufacturer illustrates a division by
place. The information in this problem might be broken
down by these major geographical areas;
 New England
 Atlantic Seaboard

 South southwest

 Midwest

 Rocky mountains

 Pacific Coast
 Division by Conventional Relationship

 Division by Age Groups: for a shoe manufacturer-

for a survey report on men’s preference for shoes;
 Youths, under 18
 Young adults, 18-30

 Adults, 31-50

 Senior adults, 51-70

 Elder adults, over 70

 Division by Conventional Relationship

 Quantity division: buying habits of potential

customers on income level;
 Under$30,000
 $30,000 to under $45,000

 $45,000 to under $85,000

 $85,000 to under $100,000

 $100,000 and over

 Combination of Multiple Division Possibilities

 Please see the book

From Outline to Table of Contents
 It requires rigorous attention to detail.
 Formatting Decisions: Make your format instructive, readable,
and appropriate.
 Topic or Talking Headings: You may use topic or talking
headings .
 Topic headings give only the subject of discussion.
 Talking heading identify and tell what is said about it.
 Parallelism of Construction: Should parallel grammatically.
 Conciseness in Wording: Make the talking heading concise.
 Variety of Expression: Avoid repeating words
Procedure for Constructing an Outline by Process
of Division

l. Introduction
 Divide the whole
into comparable
parts.
ll.

lll.

lV.

Step 1
V. Summary, conclusion. Recommendation
Procedure for Constructing an Outline by Process
of Division

 Divide each main

(l, ll, lll) section.
 This gives you the
second-level (A,
B, C) headings.
WRITING THE REPORT
 WRITING THE REPORT
 Beginning and Ending
 Requirement of Objectivity
 Objectivity as a Basis for Believability
 Objectivity and the Questions of Impersonal versus Personal
Writing
 Consistency in Time Viewpoint
 Need for Transition
 Sentence Transitions
 Transitional Words

 Maintaining Interest
 WRITING THE REPORT
 Draft to get the right information in the right order; then revise for
perfection.
 Make your beginning and ending reader centered.
 Write a beginning that tells what problem you studied, how you studied
it, and what you found out.
 Write an ending that summarizes the main findings and their significance
to the readers.
 Maintain Objective (no bias).
 An impersonal writing style (third person) has long been associated with
objectivity.
 But some authorities question this style, saying that a personal style is
more interesting.
 The argument continues, although most formal reports are written in the
impersonal style.
WRITING THE REPORT
WRITING THE REPORT
WRITING THE REPORT