Table of content

1.Points 1-3...............................................................Page1
2.Points 4-5................................................................Page 4
3.Points 6-7................................................................Page 8
4. Points 8-10............................................................Page 12

Points 1-3
1)Use informal reports for routine issues
Characteristics of informal reports:
Short: An informal report should range from a couple paragraphs to 10
pages in length
Memo/letter format: Informal reports are most likely internally
distributed, thus memo or letter format is used
Casual language: Informal reports are distributed internally, thus
casual language as well as the use of contractions is accepted.
Less structure then formal reports: Because informal reports are
short and distributed internally, they require less structure then formal
reports. In informal reports, there is
o No table of content
o No heading for introduction
o A title in the subject line

1) Include only pertinent information

The content included in informal reports should always possess these
qualities with regards to
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 Content
The report should only contain information that is pertinent to the issue at
hand. Eliminate all information that is not pertinent to the recipient of the
report. Thus, do not include banalities. If needed, include background
information so the reader can understand the context for the report.
Clarity
In order to produce a clear report, it is important to use proper grammar and
syntax throughout the report. Also, visual aids can be used in order to clarify
values or statistics presented in the report. Finally, in order for the reader to
understand the report, it is important that the information contained be
presented in a chronological fashion.
Skimmability
Skimmability, with reference to a report, is the ability to quickly extract the
main ideas of a report. This can be done through the use of headings as well
as emphasis on the main idea. This should allow the reader to easily locate
the information they need without having to read the entire report.
2) Distinguish reports by purpose, frequency and format
Reports can be distinguished in three different ways. These are:
Purpose
o Informational: report that presents gathered data
o Analytical: report that presents gathered data as well as an
unbiased analysis of that data
o Recommendation: report that presents data as well as its analysis,
then provides recommendations.
Frequency of submission
o Periodic: routine reports that are transmitted at regular intervals.
Periodic reports are used for ongoing activities that need to be
monitored at equal intervals.
o One-time: These are used for reports on case-by-case situations.
Format
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o Memorandum: Report that will be circulated inside an

organization, using memo format
o Prepared form: Reports prepared using a template with
standardized headings
o Letter: Report used when a company needs to send information to
another company
o Power-point: Used to deliver short written reports with a small
amount of detail

Common categories of informal reports:

Informational report

Analytical/recommendation report

Incident
Investigative
Progress
Activity

Recommendation
Justification
Feasibility
Comparison

Job completion
Incident
Summary
Trip

From Point 4~5

Direct approach
A Deductive argument
When:
This format is often used in short reports and when recommendations
are more-or-less straightforward. You sound sure of yourself when you state
your conclusions confidently at the outset.
Structure:
When you use the direct approach, the main idea (such as a
recommendation, conclusion, or request) comes in the "top" of the
document, followed by the evidence. In the formal report, the direct
approach usually mandates that you lead off with a summary of your key
findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Advantage:
This "up-front" arrangement is by far the most popular and convenient for
business reports. It saves time and makes the rest of the report easier to
follow. For those who have questions or want more information, later parts of
the report provide complete findings and supporting detail the direct
approach also produces a more forceful report. You sound sure of yourself
when you state your conclusions confidently at the outset.
Limit
In other forms of writing, such as government or business presentations,
when an audience may be skeptical, hostile or resist the recommendations,
the indirect approach to reporting can be ineffective in gradually overcoming
reservations

Indirect
an inductive argument
When
This approach is best if your audience may be displeased about or may resist
what you have to say. the indirect approach to report writing is most
appropriately used in scientific writing. In scientific writing, the passive
voice properly puts the emphasis on the experiment or process being
described, not on the researcher.
At times, especially if you are a junior member of an organization or if you
are an outsider, writing with an extremely confident stance may be regarded
as arrogant.. In such cases, or if your audience will be skeptical or hostile,
you may want to use the indirect approach
Structure:
the evidence is presented first, leading therefore to the main idea.Introduce
your complete findings and discuss all supporting details before presenting
your conclusions and recommendations. The indirect approach gives you a
chance to prove your points and gradually overcome your audience
reservations
Advantage:
By deferring the conclusions and recommendations, you imply that you are
weighed the evidence objectively without prejudging the facts. You also
imply that you are subordinating your judgment to the audience, whose
members are capable of drawing their own conclusions when they have
access to all the facts.
Disadvantage:
1. Harder to follow lengthy complex sentence structure
Indirect writing can be awkward and result in lengthy, complex sentence
structures that are harder to follow. Generally written in the passive voice,
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indirect objects of transitive verbs are used to tell to whom or for whom
something was done. Passive voice speaks of the person or thing indirectly
affected by the actions of verbs which leads to the use of more words to
complete the sentence. Similar long descriptions are required for indirect
questions and quotations that report a question or quotation without asking it
or directly quoting it word for word, thus using more words in the sentence
structure.

2. Lacking confidence
Indirect writing can imply a lack of confidence in the results of the report.
When a writer is certain of the conclusions and recommendations, it is better
to present those conclusions first, then the supporting evidence. Positive,
straightforward presentations of conclusions, then supporting evidence,
convince audiences of the conclusions discovered by the research.

3. Lack of judgment
Writing indirectly with the recommendations at the end of the report may
indicate a submissive attitude in a reporter. Although indirect writing can be
used to allow the audience to come to their own conclusions, it can also
imply lack of judgment by the reporter. The direct approach when writing
reports implies the reporter has strength of character, is confidant of himself
and his research, and adds a less formal tone to the presentation.

Indirect versus Direct

Features: Direct report are employed to convey neutral or positive
information to recipients. Indirect emails are typically composed to
communicate negative information.
Therefore, consider length and your purpose before choosing the direct
or indirect approach.
Tips on Writing Direct & Indirect report :
When drafting report for business purposes, you must determine how you can
best communicate your words.
1. Use Opening Statements
Use the opening statement of a direct report similarly to a headline, to save
readers valuable time. Help your readers ascertain the report without reading
the entire content. They can easily skim through to find supporting details
that pertain to them.
2. Soften Negative Information
An employment rejection email does not typically begin with the sentence,
You have not been hired for the job. Etiquette dictates that the blow of bad
news be softened by setting up a series of logical points that lead to it.
For example, begin an employment rejection email by thanking the candidate
for applying. Go on to state that more than 25 candidates interviewed for the
role, making the competition fierce. Continue by informing the applicant that
based upon her lack of relevant professional experience, she did not make the
cut. Although this may be bitter news to the recipient, the facts as presented
are hard to refute.
Stick to the Point
Whether writing a direct or indirect , be clear and concise.

From point 6~7

Headings:

Headings are keywords or sentences that gives an overview of the content of

a lengthy text.
When skimming through the text, readers notice the headings and
subheadings the most because it gives them an overview of the content, the
greatest example being the title, which catches the greatest amount of interest
among readers.
Headings give readers a direction, it allows them to find information faster,
and it narrows down the quest for information and saves a lot of time.

There 3 types of headings:

Question heading
Statement heading: sentence or expression
Topic Heading: one or few word

Tip:
Make sure heading represents well the text
Make it visually appealing because that is what most readers notice while
skimming through
Make it nice, clean, neat an parallel in order to give a more organized and
formal appearance to it

3 Step process:

1. Planning
Setting a time length
Estimating a budget
Distributing resources
Creating a setup
Separating the task

2. Researching/ analyzing data and information

Finding key points
Searching up main points
Extend knowledge
Understand the concept better
Finding arguments

Look for valid sources

Find information from reliable sources
Check the reliability of each source
Check its accuracy and date to make sure it is still valid to this day
Cite the sites

3. Composing and revising

Gather you plan and information and compose arguments
Know how to argue in the most effective way
Bring out the information in a way that it has great impact
Regroup similar ideas
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Use headings
Be as accurate
Cut down extra information

For revision, take a break and revise and improve your work
Revise after few days
Ask a colleague to skim through it
Auto-correct it
Less mistake more effective report

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From point 8~10

Visual Aids: The Dos and Donts

When using a Visual Aid such as graphs, tables and charts, there are some
key things to remember. Its easy to create a visual aid, but it has to be
carefully designed and placed.
Dos:
Use striking fonts and colors, to emphasize the evidence being
demonstrated. Graphics make concepts easier to understand, and
a variety of notable visual cues will help to reinforce and
strengthen the ideas being presented.
When picking a font, consider clarity, the available space, the
purpose of the document as well as the tone of the document.
When using colors, one should consider using colors from the
companys logo, avoid dark backgrounds which dampen the
overall look of the aid, and be sure to test all colors to see how
they will appear on the final document.
Donts:
Dont misuse the bar-chart. Be sure that the height of the lines
corresponds to actual increases and decreases.
Dont place data in a confusing sequence; make sure theres a
logical flow to the visual aid.
In a pie chart, never omit percentages, never move counter
clockwise, and dont include too many Slices in the pie.

Informational Reports

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As the name suggests, this type of report collects data related to a routine
activity, with the goal of informing someone (usually an executive) of ones
findings.
To begin, find out who wants the report & why. Be aware of who
your audience is, and how they will want the information
presented.
Gather data on the topic. Use authoritative sources, and cite
everything that you use appropriately. For any data you collect
yourself, explain, early on, how you did it.
Now, you create! The informal informational report is to be
presented in three sections; Introduction, Findings, and a
conclusion section that also summarizes the findings.
The majority of the intro should be used to capture the audiences
attention with key facts, stats and perhaps even pertinent
anecdotes. End the introduction by clearly stating the purpose of
the report.
Now, demonstrate your findings. Try to use only one short
paragraph per key point and use quotations, starts, examples and
summaries to demonstrate your findings.
Conclude by stressing the main findings of the report, after
giving a brief summary of the findings, one last time.

This type of report offers no judgement- no firm conclusion. In other words,

there is no Analysis. For that, you need...

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Analytical Reports

...you guessed it! You need an Analytical Report. Where the informational
report merely presents findings, this type of report interprets and analyzes the
information, ultimately offering recommendations based on the findings.
This type of report usually requires more work. You have to actually
come up with your own content and ideas to write one of these. To write an
analytical report, you should mostly stick to an indirect method of writing.
You dont want to dump too much on the reader, too fast. As we learned last
week, persuading someone requires a delicate finess. And in the end, the
analytical reports goal is to convince the reader of a particular course of
action.
So; determine the who, what, where, when, why and how of the
problem that your analysis will attempt to solve, and then describe the who,
what, where, when , whey and how of the solution! Introduce the plan, argue
the need for action, explain the benefits of following the recommendations
youve made, elaborate on the plan, then summarize and conclude.

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