REPORT WRITING

 A report is a narrative document that

serves to:
 Inform
 Entertain
 Educate
 Persuade
 Under what circumstances do
managers write reports
 This is usually after an investigation
of any matter on which definite
information is required.
 This investigation is usually made by
an individual or a team instructed or
required to do so.
 To what intents are reports
used?
 Provide information
 Advise on an issue
 Argue a case
 Persuade
 Initiate action
 Decision making
 To what intents are reports
used?
 It is therefore clear that effective
reports are those in which the
communication is effective.
 Failure to observe the principles of
effective communication will result in
a poorly written report
 The Components of a report
 A subject- the matter being
addressed
 A writer- the person or body
producing the report
 A reader- the person or body whose
need is being addressed by the
report
 Components of a report
 A structure- the arrangement and
organization of the information
 A purpose-what the report should

achieve practically
It is important to bear all these in
mind when writing a report in order
to be able to communicate
effectively.
 TYPES OF REPORTS
 Categorization can be on a number
of basis such as:
 Structure/ Format e.g. pyramid and
traditional
 Level of complexity- e.g. free form
and schematic
 Types of reports
 How often they are written- e.g.
routine, non-routine
 Who is writing the report e.g. Audit
Committee Report
 Stages in report writing
 When writing reports we need to go
through several stages. There are
FOUR basic stages which are:
 Data gathering
 Preparation/Planning
 Writing
 Editing
 DATA GATHERING
 Depending on your terms of
reference and resources (including
time) at your disposal, gather data
by:
 Interview
 Questionnaire
 Observation
 Document analysis
 Archives
 Preparation
 There are a number of stages
involved in preparation. These
include:
 Self-analysis by the writer
 Subject/Content analysis
 Determining the character of the
report-is it persuasive, informative,
educative etc
 SELF-ANALYSIS
 The writer must engage in self-
evaluation. He/she must ask
themselves the following questions?
 Why am I the one who has been
asked to compile this report?
 Do I have all the necessary
information?
 SELF ANALYSIS
 Do I have the requisite expertise?
 Do I have the necessary resources?
 Do I have the necessary support?
 Given all the answers to the above
questions, am I equal to the task?
 SUBJECT/CONTENT
ANALYSIS
The writer should be clear about:
 Their terms of reference

 Satisfy him/herself that they have

gathered all the data that satisfies the

terms of reference
 Satisfy him/herself that they will be able

to handle the presentation and analysis of

the data e.g.- Statistical or Accounting
presentations
Determining the character of the
report
 This is normally determined by the
purpose. It in turn determines:
 Choice of language
 Tone
 Final conclusions and
recommendations
 PURPOSE
 The other factor to be considered
during preparation is the purpose for
which the the report is being written.
For example, is the report being
written to prevent further loss of
customers, workplace accidents or
internal fraud, to establish liability
or to consider and assess
compensation due to an employee or
customer?
 PURPOSE
 At this stage the writer should also
be very clear about which facts are
going to be distinctly clear and which
are ones are going to be just part of
background information.
There should be no loose ends
relating to the important points.
 PURPOSE
 In the final analysis, the writer
should bear in mind that he or she is
just an agent-his or her interests
should therefore not override those
of the other stakeholders such as the
person who mandated him/her to
write the report or the employees
who are supposed to benefit from
decisions emanating from the report.
 AUDIENCE/READER
ANALYSIS
 At this stage the reader needs to
think about who is going to read the
report. This should be done in terms
of:
 The reader’s ability to understand
the report
 The attitude they are likely to have
of it.
 AUDIENCE/READER
ANALYSIS
 The decisions they are going to make
out after going through the report.
All this means that the writer needs
to adapt their report to the reader’s
needs, interests, experience,
expectations and knowledge
 FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN
READER ANALYSIS
 Demographics e.g. age, gender, level
of education, language etc
 Psychographics-attitudes, beliefs,
values
 Socio-graphics- group affiliations,
social disposition, racial,ethnic,
cultural, religious, occupational,
political backgrounds etc
 WRITING THE REPORT
 Having gathered the information and
decided on the structure of the
report and with the purpose and
audience in mind, one then sets out
to write the report.
 While simple, routine reports can be
written in one sitting, schematic
reports often take more time and
sittings-bear the deadline in mind
 STRUCTURE OF A REPORT
 When writing a report one can follow
a variety of structural patterns such
as:
 Time/chronological order
 Spatial order
 Topical order
 STRUCTURE
 Causal order
 Refutative order
 Problem-solution order
 THE TRADITIONAL FORMAT
• Title page
 Acknowledgements
 Executive summary
 Contents page
 Introduction- This is made up of
problem statement, background and
objectives
 •FORMAT
 Methodology- This explains the
methods used to gather and analyze
data
 Findings
 Conclusion and recommendations
 FORMAT
 Glossary
 Appendices
 References
 Some useful tips on writing
 Language should be accurate
 Content should also be accurate
 Be as brief as possible
 Be clear
 Some useful tips on writing
 Be simple
 Use active voice
 Do not be personal
 Be concrete and not abstract to
facilitate decision-making
 Some useful tips on writing
 Avoid clichés
 Use simple and short sentences- the
KISS principle
 Paragraphs-the same principle
applies
 Punctuation should be accurate
 Some useful tips on writing
 Spelling should be accurate
 Presentation-neither too simple nor
too complicated
 Layout-wide margins, double
spacing, headings which stand out
clearly from the space around
 EDITING
 This is done to correct typographical,
linguistic and content errors. You
may have to produce several drafts
before the final one.
 If not confidential, seek a second or
even a third opinion
 CONCLUSION
 Always bear in mind that a report
reports its writer to the reader.
 Be the first to be impressed by the
quality of your own work in terms of
structure, language and content
 If you are not, chances are no one
else will be and you will have failed
to communicate.