REPORT WRITING
A report is a feedback of an investigation or any issue that needed definite information (Eunson, 2012). Reports have a well laid down structure, it stresses more on research methods and findings.
Types of Reports
There are different types of reports, depending 0n the field of specialisation. These reports may be; laboratory report, business reports, technical reports, reports of work placement, industrial visit, reports of field trip or field work (Watson,2000).
Although reports are written for different reasons they all follow a highly structured format.
Stages in Report Writing
A report has a well structured format and it involves several stages (Eunison,2012). This stages includes:
Report Structure
Although there are different types of reports there are some common element s found in there format. A report has the following parts (Eunson,2012)
· Title Page- On this page we find the title of report , the author’s name, name of the institution, course and the date.
· Acknowledgements-In this part you acknowledge the people who assisted you in collection and organising of your report. This may be typist, editor, personal assistants, fellow staff and boss.
· Contents- All main main sections of report are listed here in sequence with page number. All charts, diagram, tables are listed together in list of illustration.
· Abstract or Summary –This is a summary of the main task, methods used, conclusion reached and any recommendations. This part should be written last
· Introduction-Should state what your researching on and why, the goals and objective of your report, state the limits of the report and methods of enquiry.
· Methodology-Here you explain how you collected your data; was it through the use of interview, questionnaires and why you chose that method. This method should be presented logically and concisely.
· Results or Findings-After the research the results should be presented using the simplest way possible for easy understanding and interpretation. The results can be presented in;-Tables, graphs, pie charts, bar charts, diagram. All illustrations should be well labelled, have titles, there should be a link between the theory and the diagram, axes should be well labelled, tables should be easy to interprete(Watson,2000).
· Discussion-In this section you analyse and interpret your findings,you show the the outcomes and its significance. If there was any problem encounterd during research should be explained here.
· Conclusions and Recommendations-This section puts together all main issues in report, its a summary of the whole report. New ideas should not be introduced in this part.
· References-all information used from other writers should be cited or referenced.The reference should include-author’s name and initials, date of publication, title of the book,paper or journal, publisher , place of publication,page numbers, details of the journal volume in which the article has appeared. They should be listed in alphabetical order of the authors’ names(Eunson,2012)
Elder,B. (1994) communication Skills: Australia, Macmillan education Australia pty ltd.
Eunson,B.(2012).Communicating in the 21st century 3rd edition.Australia:John Wiley & sons.
A report is a feedback of an investigation or any issue that needed definite information (Eunson, 2012). Reports have a well laid down structure, it stresses more on research methods and findings.
Types of Reports
There are different types of reports, depending 0n the field of specialisation. These reports may be; laboratory report, business reports, technical reports, reports of work placement, industrial visit, reports of field trip or field work (Watson,2000).
Although reports are written for different reasons they all follow a highly structured format.
Stages in Report Writing
A report has a well structured format and it involves several stages (Eunison,2012). This stages includes:
- Terms of Reference-this is clearly understanding and stating the purpose of your report. This will assist you in using the correct method to collecting the right information.
- Planning your Report-a report has many stages and each stage involves different activities. For you to write a good report you must allocate enough time to every stage depending on available time and activities involved. Its advisable to write a time table.
- Collecting information-Different reports require different information, there are reports which will need intense research where else some does not require a lot of back up information. Depending on the report someone may use different methods to obtain information from; university library, interviews, questionnaires and literature review. Its important to make a list of what information you want, where and how you will find it(Elder,1994)
- Organising information- All collected information should be organised in a logic way by linking all related ideas together to make sense.
Report Structure
Although there are different types of reports there are some common element s found in there format. A report has the following parts (Eunson,2012)
· Title Page- On this page we find the title of report , the author’s name, name of the institution, course and the date.
· Acknowledgements-In this part you acknowledge the people who assisted you in collection and organising of your report. This may be typist, editor, personal assistants, fellow staff and boss.
· Contents- All main main sections of report are listed here in sequence with page number. All charts, diagram, tables are listed together in list of illustration.
· Abstract or Summary –This is a summary of the main task, methods used, conclusion reached and any recommendations. This part should be written last
· Introduction-Should state what your researching on and why, the goals and objective of your report, state the limits of the report and methods of enquiry.
· Methodology-Here you explain how you collected your data; was it through the use of interview, questionnaires and why you chose that method. This method should be presented logically and concisely.
· Results or Findings-After the research the results should be presented using the simplest way possible for easy understanding and interpretation. The results can be presented in;-Tables, graphs, pie charts, bar charts, diagram. All illustrations should be well labelled, have titles, there should be a link between the theory and the diagram, axes should be well labelled, tables should be easy to interprete(Watson,2000).
· Discussion-In this section you analyse and interpret your findings,you show the the outcomes and its significance. If there was any problem encounterd during research should be explained here.
· Conclusions and Recommendations-This section puts together all main issues in report, its a summary of the whole report. New ideas should not be introduced in this part.
· References-all information used from other writers should be cited or referenced.The reference should include-author’s name and initials, date of publication, title of the book,paper or journal, publisher , place of publication,page numbers, details of the journal volume in which the article has appeared. They should be listed in alphabetical order of the authors’ names(Eunson,2012)
Elder,B. (1994) communication Skills: Australia, Macmillan education Australia pty ltd.
Eunson,B.(2012).Communicating in the 21st century 3rd edition.Australia:John Wiley & sons.