Maybe you thought that once you finished school, you’d be free of writing topics for expression.Well, that may be true, but in reality, you will enter a broader world of writing. You will be required to write articles, reports, conference papers, and other forms of academic or professional writing, which makes it a duty. School expression is an easy task. But what exactly is the report? What are their types? What are the steps for writing a report? This is what we will discuss in today’s article.
What is the report?
At its core, a report is a short, concise, and straightforward document, usually written for a specific purpose and audience. The report often deals with the analysis of a specific situation or problem and provides recommendations for future decision-making. It is known to be a fact sheet, so it should be clear and well organized.
What are the types of reports?
There is not, in fact, a unified international classification that categorizes the forms of reports, but the following classification categories are commonly used and usually helpful in the process of studying and using reports.
1: Official and unofficial reports
Official reports are highly organized and focus heavily on impartiality and order. They also include many details and adhere to a specific writing format in which some elements, such as first-person pronouns, are removed. Informal reports are short messages written in the normal, everyday language used in everyday life.
2- Long or short reports
This classification formula can be a bit confusing. A one-page report is undoubtedly a short report, and a 20-page report is a long report, but what makes a short report long? It’s hard to categorize reports by length, but keep in mind that the longer the report, the more formal it is.
3- Media or analytical reports
Informational reports such as annual reports and financial reports usually contain important and clear information and convey it from one part of the company or organization to another part of it. As for analytical reports, they aim primarily at studying a specific problem and trying to find solutions to it.
4- Proposal reports
Proposal reports are a type of report that aims to solve a specific problem. as it usually includes a specific company’s plan to meet the needs of another company or organization. Most government agencies announce their needs by issuing a “call for proposals,” after which various companies submit reports explaining how they will solve and address the problem.
5- Vertical or side reports
This type of classification depends on the direction of the movement of reports within the same organization. The reports that move from top to bottom or vice versa in the company’s career ladder (from managers to employees or vice versa) are called “vertical reports.” As for those that move between the same employees in the same department in the company or between different departments at the same job level, they are called “side reports.”
6- Internal or external reports
As the name implies, internal reports are those that are exchanged within the same company or institution, while external reports are those that are transmitted between multiple companies, such as annual or financial reports for companies.
7- Periodic reports
Periodic reports are issued at regularly scheduled dates. as it is usually sent vertically (from employees to managers) and mainly serves administrative control. Here, pre-printed forms and computer-generated data standardize periodic reports.
8- Functional reports
This classification includes a wide range of different reports that take their name from the primary goal behind them, so we find there:
- financial reports.
- Marketing reports.
- Accounting reports.
In addition to many other reports. Here it is worth mentioning, however, that functional reports may fall under any of the types of reports mentioned above, as they may be internal or external, they may be vertical or lateral, and so on.
How to write the report
Now that you know the different forms of reports, you may be wondering how to write a report, and you may be wondering if writing a financial report differs from writing a proposal, for example. Well, despite its many forms and uses, the method of writing the report and the basic steps for its preparation are the same, and they apply to all types, as they include the following:
- Determine the terms of reference.
- Define writing actions.
- Find information.
- Determine the overall structure of the report.
- Preparing the initial draft.
- Analyze the information found and prepare the conclusion.
- Provide recommendations.
- Preparing the executive summary and index of contents.
- Compile a list of references.
- Final review and audit.
Let’s talk about each of these steps in more detail:
Step One: Determine Terms of Reference
In order to determine the terms of reference for the report, start by reading the instructions given to you for the report and any additional information you were given on how to write it. Then start thinking about the purpose of the report by asking yourself the following questions:
- What is the report about?
- What do we need from this report?
- Why do we need this?
- When do we need this report (or the information in it)?
- Who is it directed at? Who is the target audience for reading the report?
When you have answered these questions and gathered the information presented to you about the report, you will have a general idea of what the report should include.
Step Two: Define Writing Actions
In this step, you will plan how to search for information and write the appropriate report. To do so, answer the following questions:
- What information do I need to write the report?
- Do I need any additional readings before I start?
- What articles or documents do I need?
- Do I need to contact the libraries or any specific entities to complete the report?
- Does the report need to interview specific people or control a sample?
- Do I need to register certain data?
- How will I obtain all of the information listed above?(interviewing people, finding articles, etc.).
Once you have answered these questions, you will have identified the path that you need to take and the steps that you must follow in order to write the report.
Step three: find information.
The next step is to find the information needed for your report. In order to do so, you may need to read various references and sources, interview or observe individuals, or otherwise gather information.
In this step, make sure that the information you find is relevant and relevant to the topic of the report. Always check the report evaluation criteria and the instructions given to you, as well as the implementation schedule, to ensure that you are on the right track.
The fourth step: is to define the general structure of the report.
Reports generally have one general structure, but they may differ depending on one or more of the following:
- Type of report: whether it is scientific, laboratory, functional, or otherwise.
- Formal score report.
- Report length.
Accordingly, the structure of the report may include the following elements:
- Title page.
- Executive summary.
- Table of contents.
- Introduction.
- Terms of reference.
- Steps to solve the problem (discussed in the report).
- The results (solutions) found.
- Conclusion.
- Recommendations.
- References/ Bibliography.
- supplements.
Make sure that each part of the report includes a main heading and a group of sub-headings, which are often numbered to ensure better understanding.
Step Five: Preparing the Initial Draft
Once you have built the structure of the general report, immediately start writing the main headlines and then filling in below them with the necessary information you have gathered so far.
When you’re done, you’ll likely have written a rough draft of each of the Terms of Reference, Steps to Solve the Problem, and Findings. You should now start working on the report extensions or the appendix. In order to know exactly which information you should put in the results section and which comes as part of the appendices, here is the difference between the two:
Results
It is, as the name expresses it, the results of your observations, interviews, and all your readings during the research phase. All of them form the basis of the report. In addition to some other elements, the presence or absence of which depends on the type of report, such as images or graphs.
Supplement
While preparing the first draft, you need to decide which information should be placed in the appendices section at the end of the report, as this information is often:
– It is too long to add to the main report.
– Secondary or supplementary to the main information in the report, such as handouts, tables, or spreadsheets.
Step Six: Analyze the information found and prepare the conclusion.
The epilogue is where you analyze and translate the information you found. To do so, read everything you find carefully, and then ask yourself:
- What information did I find?
- How important is this information? What’s it worth?
- What does this information or data mean?
For example, you could describe how the information you gathered can explain why the issue you’re describing in the report occurred, its importance to the company, or its future implications if the situation continues. Be careful not to add any new information in the conclusion.
Step Seven: Submit recommendations
Recommendations are what you think is the solution to the problem that you address in the report or suggestions that you think should be taken into account in the future. To help you write recommendations, follow these steps:
- Read your conclusion and conclusion again.
- Think about what the person or entity who asked you to write the report should do or not do. What actions must be taken?
- Make sure your recommendations are practical and logically based on the conclusion.
- Make sure you write the recommendations in appropriate detail so that the reader knows what to do.
Eighth Step: Preparing the executive summary and the table of contents
Some reports need an executive summary and/or a table of contents, and although these two sections come at the beginning of the report, you will not be able to write them until you finish writing the report itself and complete the general structure and recommendations. An executive summary is a summary of approximately 100 words that tells readers what the report is about and summarizes its most important recommendations.
Step Nine: Write a list of references.
It is a list of all the sources and references that I used in writing the report. The APA system is often used to document references. However, you may need to use other authentication systems.
Step Ten: Final Review and Audit
It is the last step in any writing process, as you must review what you have written before submitting the final copy. Here, be sure to make sure of the following:
- That the report fully complies with what was asked of you. Review the initial instructions to ensure you’ve followed them to the letter.
- That all essential parts of the report are present and written in the correct order.
- The information included in the report is correct and logical, and there are no gaps between them.
- That the underlying case makes sense and that the information you have provided supports the conclusion and recommendations at the end of the article.
- That all terms, symbols, and abbreviations have been clarified and explained in the report.
- That all diagrams and drawings have been numbered and an appropriate description written underneath.
- The general format of the report is correct, including numbering, headings, and subheadings.
- The language of the report is legible and grammatically correct.
Your report is then ready to be submitted. Sometimes you may need to prepare more than one rough draft before you are satisfied with the final report. As you have seen, the process of writing reports is not a difficult or impossible task, as is the case with any academic or official document that requires you to plan well and prepare before starting. Once you have a proper outline, the writing process will become easier.
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