Report writing- how to write a good report? Prof D V Deshapnde

Report writing suggestions and formats of good samples from reports in the public domain. Tips and use of common tools.

1. Report writing
D V Deshpande
Professor at VAMNICOM, Pune
[email protected]
(M) [phone]

2. What kind of reports we are familiar
with?
Memorandum/ Memo
Note
Circular
Medical report?
Weather report?
Daily sales report?
Study report?
Investigation report?
From a neutral party- why CBI / Judicial enquiry is instituted?
Tour report?- “Back to Office Report”- BTOR
Report on the meeting- “Minutes of the Meeting”- “MOM”
Annual Report/ Quarterly report
Performance Report/ Confidential Report
Any other?

3. What is a report?
“A report is a statement of the result of an
investigation or of any matter on which
definitive information is required”
Oxford English Dictionary
Another definition- An account given of a
particular matter, especially in the form of an
official document, after thorough investigation
or consideration by an appointed person or body

4. Why writing is important? Leave aside
report writing
Creates a permanent document – or proof- if
preserved
Written document is worth more than spoken
words
“I am ready to give in writing”
All decisions are taken on written documents (oral
decisions are not given that weightage)

5. We will focus on formal
business report & report writing

6. Challenges of writing
Writing needs much more effort!
Articulation of thoughts
Writing effort
Hand writing?
Typing?
Whether technology is helping or disempowering?
Side effect- we find it easy to write in English than in our own mother tongue
Now a days writing is becoming a increasingly rare skill!! “r” “u” with me?

7. Let us discuss how to write report
 Is the physical report and digital
report different?

8. Planning to write a study report
What is the reason for writing this report?
Some study ?/ Tour/ case
Government has made a committee & your boss is a member – it lands on you!!?
What is the purpose of the business report?
To assist in decision making-
What decision is to be made and
The role the report plays in this decision
Consider the purpose in this way: As a result of this report, ...
For example- “Dairy farmers will learn techniques to get better
price for milk” or “Govt will plan dairy project in X district”,
etc.

9. Who are the readers of this report
Main target group- e.g.- your MD or NDDB
Secondary audience- all staff of NCDFI /
all stakeholders of dairy business- IF it is
put in public domain
Now a days sometimes the report is placed
in public domain and public’s (all
stakeholders’) opinions and suggestions are
sought…
Maintain “reader centricity”

10. What are the report’s main messages ?
What are the main messages (Findings / recommendations) you need to
convey
What data/information needed ?

11. How will the report be structured?- A typical
structure of the report
LOGICAL FLOW
A covering letter or memorandum
Cover page
Inside cover with some more details
Acknowledgements
Preface/ Foreword
List of abbreviations
Executive summary

12. How will the report be structured?
Contd…
Contents
List of tables
List of Figures
List of Boxes
 Main text - Chapters (some times with sub chapters) with
page numbers
Conclusions/ recommendations
Annexures/ Appendices
References

13. Covering letter/memorandum
The letter is attached to a report to officially introduce
the report to the recipient
System of “letter of transmittal”
It is Formal letter- If the recipient is external
For insiders (colleagues) – it is memorandum/memo
It should include:
Acknowledge the help/ support/ guidance
 indicate any action if required- ask for confirming the receipt

14. Letter of
Transmittal
(an
example)

15. Title Page/ Cover Page
Should be brief but descriptive of the report
Should include
Title
Submitted to
Name of the authors & their organisation
Logo
Date of completion/submission of the report
Should not be cluttered

16. How is this
report cover?

17. How is this
report cover?

But before
concluding go
to next page

18. How is this
report
cover?

19. Executive Summary
It is after the title page
It should make sense on its own
Meant for “executives with no time for full report”!
Helps the reader quickly grasp the report’s purpose,
conclusions & recommendations
The executive summary should be no longer than – ideally
one page but 2-3 pages ok
Executive summary differs from an “abstract” in that it
provides the key recommendations and conclusions,
rather than a summary of the document

20. Table of Contents
It is a list of all the headings and sub-headings in the report
Whether sub headings & sub-sub headings should be included?
The contents should not be too long/ detailed

21. NCDFI ANNUAL
REPORT
CONTENTS

22. •Show NABARD Annual Report contents
table- It shows more details-
Chapters
sub-chapters
NABARD At a glance
Photographs of Board members & top
officials
List of abbreviations
List of tables
List of Figures
List of boxes
List of Show cases

HOW MANY DETAILS ARE THE BEST?
THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT/
WRONG – You have to decide

23. Introduction
The introduction should:
Briefly describe the context
Identify the general subject matter
Describe the issue or problem to be reported
State the specific questions the report answers
Outline the scope of the report (extent of
investigation)
Preview the report structure
State the limitations of the report & any assumptions
made

24. Foreword, Preface and Prologue
A foreword is written by someone other than the author
(some “opinion maker” - important person/ specialist)
and tells the readers why they should read the book
Typically written in books rather than reports
A preface is written by the author and tells readers the
context / reason for writing the book and what is covered
in it
A Prologue is opening to a story that establishes the
setting and gives background to the book/ literary work

25. Findings and discussion- The main
chapters
The discussion is the main part of your report and
should present and discuss your findings
should follow a logical and systematic flow
Organize it as per “TORs” (Terms of Reference) if
any
If the report is recommending the best solution
to a problem, show clear analysis of all options
& why you recommend a particular option

26. Structure of the paragraphs

Under each heading / subheading, create paragraphs which are
logically arranged
Paragraphs should be ordered in a logical sequence beginning with the
most important point first
Typically a paragraph has 100- 200 words
Paragraph structure
Topic sentence (states main idea of paragraph)
Explanation sentence (explains or expands on the topic sentence)
Support sentences (give evidence for the idea in the topic sentence
and include statistics, examples, and citations)
Concluding sentence (optional final sentence)

27. Some tips for good writing
Write small sentences and small paragrahs with clear
message
After writing first review yourself and then give to some
one else to read- does it make sense to him/ her?
Test - Can a 10 year old or an 80 year old understand it?
“A good paper / report needs 7 revisions!!”- an experienced old
time researcher
 Always give title to table and figures and give reference
in the text

28. Typical problems of our writing
Verbose- use of too many words
Beating around the bush & not coming to the point?
Use of Indian words / local words which may not be known to the target
audience
Use of abbreviations which are not standard – and not defining them in the
report
Unable to use features in the MS Office- e.g. foot notes
Quotations from other sources not acknowledged & not given reference
properly
Problems with font size (standard 12 size) / spacing (standard 1.5)

29. An example of clumsy sentence- can you
make it simple?
“One of the most attractive things about India is the fact
that it has such a wide variety of vastly different scenery”

Now read this:
“One of the most attractive things about India is the
variety of its scenery”

Is it better? Or no?

30. Some facilities / tips for writing reports
Speech to text – is it useful? Have you tried?
Spell check- typo errors
Formatting
Spacing- 1.5 spacing generally acceptable
Font size – 12 is standard
Use of Colour combination
Be careful with colour graphs
Margins
Page numbering
Borders , etc

31. Conclusion
You can improve your
report writing as well as
writing skill !!

32. Any questions?

THANK YOU!
Dr D V Deshpande
[email protected]
(M)9919225539

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