UNIT 6: WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: REPORTS (Business Communication)

6.1. Short reports
6.1.1. Suggestion for short reports
6.1.2. Informational memorandum reports
6.1.3. Analytical memorandum reports
6.1.4. Letter reports
6.2. Long (formal) reports
6.2.1. Prefatory sections
6.2.2. Supplemental section
6.2.3. Presentation of the long reports
6.3. Proposals
6.3.1. Purpose of proposal
6.3.2. Kinds of proposals
6.3.3. Parts of proposals
6.3.4. Short proposals
6.3.5. Long formal proposals
6.3.6. Writing style and appearance

1. Business Communications (3456)
•BSCS Semester 3
•Business Communications notes by Awais Javed Satti

2. UNIT 6: WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: REPORTS
•6.1Short reports
•Suggestion for short reports
•Informational memorandum reports
•Analytical memorandum reports
•Letter reports
•6.2Long (formal) reports
•Prefatory sections
•Supplemental section
•Presentation of the long reports
•6.3Proposals
•Purpose of proposal
•Kinds of proposals
•Parts of proposals
•Short proposals
•Long formal proposals
•Writing style and appearance
•Business Communications notes by Awais Javed Satti

3. What are Reports?
Areportisadocumentthatpresentsinformation
inanorganizedformatforaspecificaudienceand
purpose.Althoughsummariesofreportsmaybe
deliveredorally,completereportsarealmost
alwaysintheformofwrittendocuments.
•Business Communications notes by Awais Javed Satti

4. What is a report? (Cont.)
Areportisapresentationoffactsandfindings,usuallyasabasisfor
recommendations;writtenforaspecificreadership,andprobablyintendedto
bekeptasarecord.
❑Itispurelybasedonobservationandanalysis.
❑Areportgivesanexplanationofanycircumstance.
❑Areportdiscussesaparticularproblemindetail.
❑Reportsarerequiredforjudgingtheperformancesofvariousdepartmentsinan
organization.
❑Agoodreportisalwaysfactfindingandnotfaultfinding.Itshouldbepreparedinan
impartialmanner.Thewritersofthereportshouldbeimpartialintheiroutlookand
approach.

5. Types of reports
Formal1
Non-statutory4
Special5
Interpretative8
Informal2
Statutory3
Routine6
Informative7

6. Types of reports (cont.)
FormalReports:Aformalreportisonewhichispreparedinaprescribedformandispresented
accordingtoanestablishedproceduretoaprescribedauthority.
InformalReports:Aninformalreportisusuallyintheformofaperson-to-person
communication.Itmayrangefromashort,almostfragmentarystatementoffactsonasingle
page,toamoredevelopedpresentationtakingseveralpages.
PeriodicorRoutineReports:arepreparedandpresentedatregular,prescribedintervals.They
maybesubmittedannually,semi-annually,quarterly,monthly,fortnightly,weeklyorevendaily.
SpecialReports:Theyarerelatedtoasingleoccasionorsituation.Suchastechnicalreportofa
particularproduct.

7. Types of reports (cont.)
Onthebasisofformalorganization:
Statutoryreport:Areportpreparedandpresentedaccordingtotheformandprocedurelaiddownby
lawiscalledastatutoryreport.Ex:auditreport
Non-statutoryreport:Formalreportswhicharenotrequiredunderanylawbutwhicharepreparedto
helpthemanagementinframingthepoliciesiscallednonstatutoryreport.Ex:forpolicy
formulations
Onthebasisoffunction:
InformativeReports:Thesereportspresentfactsaboutcertaingivenactivityindetailwithoutany
noteorsuggestions.Ex:Avice-chancelloraskingaboutthenumberofcandidatesappearingata
particularexamination.
InterpretativeReports:Itanalyzesthefacts,drawsconclusionsandmakesrecommendations.Ex:A
companychairmanmayaskforareportonfallingtrendsinsaleinaparticulararea.Hewillinthis
casebenaturallyinterestedinknowingallthedetailsincludingthatofopinionofanyofthe
investigator.

8. Difference Between Formal and Informal Reports
Often Internal
Usually short several sections personal
Personal
Appears as subject line in memo heading
Optional
None
Often external or distant within
organization
Usually long sections and subsections
More impersonal
Appears on separate title page
Covering letter on memo
Useful if report is over five page
Reader
Length
Tone
Title
Transmittal
Page
Contents
Page
Informal Reports Forma; Reports

9. Advantages of Report Writing
Updated information
Solves current problems
Internal Communication
Decision making and planning
Discloses unknown information
Reliable permanent information

10. Reports Format
1. Title
2. Introduction
3. Discussion
4. Summary and
conclusions
5. Recommendations
6. (appendix)
1. Title or title page
2. (contents list )
3. (abstract )
4. Introduction
5. Summary and
conclusions
6. Recommendations
7. Discussion
8. (appendix)
Short Reports Long Reports

11. Suggestions for Report Writing
Fivestepsaresuggestedtowriteareport:—
Investigatingthesourceofinformation:Itisdonerightinthebeginning.Majorsourcesof
informationare-Companyfiles,personalobservation,interviews,letters,questionnaires,library
research.
Takingnotes:Duringtheinvestigationphase,thewriterkeepsontakingnotesofanythingthat
appearstoberelatedtothesubject.
Analyzingthedata:Aftertakingnotesitisthenthedataisanalyzed.
Makinganoutline:Inthisstage,theproblemisstated,thefactsarerecorded,theyarebriefly
analyzedandthelogicalconclusionisarrivedat.
Writingthereport:Thelaststageisthatofwritingthereport.Itwillneedconstantshuttling
betweentheoutlineandthenotes.

12. Suggestions For Short Reports
1-Developingthemainsections
Shortreportsinformandanalyze.
Oftenpresentedinmemorandumform.
TheFIVEplanningstepsareallthesame
forallkindsofwriting
❑Identifyyourpurpose
❑Analyzeyouraudience
❑Chooseyourideas
❑Collectyourdata
❑Organizeyourmessage
Short reports need LESS;
❑Detailed introductions
❑Numerous transitions
❑Abundant visuals
❑Elaborate headings
❑Micro subdivisions
❑Excessive formality

13. Main sections
1-Introduction
•Purpose,sources,scope,definitions,background,limits&listoftopics
•Ashortintroduction(usuallywithoutthetitle“introduction”)
2.Body(discussion)
•Presentallaccuratefacts
•Emphasizeimportantideas
•Includevisualsaids
•Useheadings
•Usetop-downmethodforparagraphs
3.TerminalSection
•Summary,conclusions&recommendations
Suggestions For Short Reports (Cont.)

14. 2-Outlining the major sections
•Topic headings (history, background etc.)
•Complete sentence headings
•Imperative sentence headings
•Variant headings (e.g. preparing before
presenting)
•Formats of outlines (numerals and letters)
•First degree
•Second degree
•Third degree
•Fourth degree
•Fifth degree
Suggestions For Short Reports (Cont.)
Parallelism in headings
All headings of the same degree within any part of
an outline should be parallel to one another.
Including other desirable sections
Many short reports are in memorandum format,
the most used format in internal business
communication.
They are originally parts of a long report;
however, it’s a good idea;
❑Subject line
❑Prefatory section
❑Visual aids
❑Transmittal letter or memo

15. Types of Short Reports
Memorandum reports
❑Informational
❑Conference reports
❑Progress reports
❑Periodic reports
Analytical
❑Analytical personnel report
❑Recommendation-Justification report (just like a proposal)
Letter reports
❑Informational
❑Analytical

16. Informational Memorandum Reports
b- Progressreport
Asimpliedbythename,itshows“progress”,
accomplishmentsoractivityovertimeoratagiven
stageofamajorassignment.Theorganizationalplan
isasfollows;
❑Introduction
❑Descriptionofaccomplishmentsduring
reportingperiod
❑Unanticipatedproblems(ifany)
❑Plansforthenextreportingperiod
❑Summary(overallappraisalofprogressto
date)
a- Conference report
Anyemployeeorexecutivemayberequiredtowriteareportafteraconferencewithanyindividualor
committee.
❑E.g.personalsalescalls,minutesofthemeetingattendedbymanypeople
❑Thepurposeistorecordalldecisionsanddiscussions
c- Periodicreports
Theyareasmanyasorganizations.Solearning
“whattheydo”ismoreimportantthan“whatthey
arecalled”.◦Periodisdependentuponthe
departmentandtheassignment;
❑Yearly
❑Monthly
❑Bimonthly
❑Weekly
❑Biweekly
❑Daily

17. ❑A pure analytical report has one central purpose
❑“To analyze a situation or issue”
❑Data and evidence
❑A good example is Analytical Personnel Report
•Ahmad, Rahim and Nabila to be analyzed for potential replacement to new office
•Introduction
•a paragraph about the purpose & sources
•Body
•Probable permanency
•Education and skills
•Personal qualifications
•Conclusions
Analytical Memorandum Reports

18. Formal Reports
•Prefatory parts
•Body or text of a report
•Supplementary parts
Aformalreportisanofficialreportthatcontainsdetailedinformation,research,and
datanecessarytomakebusinessdecisions.Thisreportisgenerallywrittenforthe
purposeofsolvingaproblem.Someexamplesofformalreportsinclude:
InspectionReport.SafetyReport.
Formal Report Sections

19. Prefatory parts of Formal Reports
❖The cover
❖Title fly
❖Title page
❖Letter of authorization
❖Letter of acceptance
❖Letter of transmittal
❖Table of content
❖List of illustration
❖Synopsis or Executive summary (Abstract)

20. Prefatory parts of Formal Reports (Cont.)
The cover
Gives report a professional appearance.
Includes title and subtitle (author’s name and date are optional)
Title fly
Contains only the report title and is optional, follows cover page
Title page
oA title page is the front page of report.
oContains title and subtitle
o“prepared for” name, title, address of person for whom report is intended
o“prepared by” author’s name, title, company, dept., address, phone, fax
oDate of submission

21. Prefatory parts of Formal Reports (Cont.)
Title Page Template

22. Prefatory parts of Formal Reports (Cont.)
Letter of Authorization
•A document requesting for preparation of report
•Specifies problems scope and time, money special instruction and due date.
Letter of Acceptance
It confirms time, money, restrictions and other detail.
Letter of transmittal
•It explain the report directly to the reader
•It present an over view to reader.
•Written in informal tone.
•Generally close with goodwill messages
Letter of Authorization
•A document requesting for preparation of report.
•Specifies problems, scope and time, some special instruction and due date.

23. Prefatory parts of Formal Reports (Cont.)
Transmittal Page
Template

24. Prefatory parts of Formal Reports (Cont.)
TableofContents
•Numberandlistofallsectionandsub
section
•Itincludeheadingandsubheadingalong
withpagenumber.
•Itrevealsoverallstructureofreport.

25. Listofillustration
❑Appearsonaseparatepageimmediatelyfollowingthetableof
contents
❑Titleandpagenumberofeveryillustrationmustbeincluded
❑Listsallfiguresandpictures.
SynopsisorExecutivesummary
❑Itisacondensedversionofthereport
❑Itincludeimportantfeature,resultsandconclusion
Prefatory parts of Formal Reports (Cont.)

26. Body or text of Formal report
❖Introduction
❖Discussion/body
❖Conclusion
❖Recommendations

27. Introduction
❑ItpreparethereaderfordiscussionItcontain
❑Explanationsofhowthereportorganized
❑Descriptionoftheproblem
❑Purposeofthereport
❑Scope(boundary)andLimitationofthereport
❑Sourcesandmethodsofcollectionofinformation.
Body or text of Formal report (cont.)

28. Discussion/body
❑Itisthelargestpartofthereport
❑Itcontainallthedatathatreaderneed
❑Itcontaininformationthatsupportconclusionandrecommendation
Conclusion
❑Itisdrawfrommainbodyofthereport
❑Newidesarenotpresented
❑Logicalresultsoftheevidencepresentedinthereport
❑Mustbelinkedtopurposeandmethodsdescribedintheintroduction
Recommendations
❑Specificactionsyousuggestasaresultoftheinformationyouhave
presentedinthereport.
Body or text of Formal report (cont.)

29. ❑ Bibliography
❑ Appendices
❑ Glossary
❑ Index
Supplementary parts of Formal Report

30. Bibliography
❑Itislistofsourcese.g.books,thatareconsultedduringthepreparationofreport
❑Alistofreferencesusedinresearchingthereport
Appendixes
❑Itcontainanyfurthermaterialforunderstanding
❑e.g.charts,pictures,tablesetc.
Glossary
❑Analphabetizedlistofwordswithdefinitionsorexplanationsthatareunfamiliar
ortechnicalinnature.
Index
❑Aalphabetizedlistofreporttopicsthatincludesthepageonwhichthetopic
appears
❑Usuallyreservedforlong,complexreports.
Supplementary parts of Formal Report

31. Proposals
•Propose:AnActofmakingaproposition(suggestion),adeclaration,aplan,
orasuggestion.Forexample,anindividualmayproposeorsuggestadifferent
courseofactionthanwhatwasinitiallyplanned.
•ItPersuadethereadertodosomething,toacceptyourwrittenplanfor
completingatask.Itmatterslittlewhetheryourproposalisamemoorafull
document.
•Proposals:Arereportswrittentogetproducts,plans,orprojectsaccepted
byoutsidebusinessorgovernmentclients.
Itisawrittenoffertoundertakeaprojectfordesigning,creatingsomethingnewor
forchangingormodifyinganexistingprocedure,method,systemorstructurewithin
aspecifiedperiodoftime.

32. Anyproposaloffersaplantofillaneed,andyourreaderwillevaluateyourplanaccording
tohowwellyourwrittenpresentationanswersquestionsabout
❖WHATyouareproposing,
❖HOWyouplantodoit,
❖WHENyouplantodoit,and
❖HOWMUCHitisgoingtocost.
Proposalsareinformativeandpersuasivewritingbecausetheyattempttoeducatethereader
andtoconvincethatreadertodosomething.
Thegoalofthewriterisnotonlytopersuadethereadertodowhatisbeingrequested,but
alsotomakethereaderbelievethatthesolutionispracticalandappropriate.Inpersuasive
proposalwriting,thecaseisbuiltbythedemonstrationoflogicandreasonintheapproach
takeninthesolution.
Purpose of Proposals

33. Kinds of Proposals
There are two kinds of proposals in Classification.
1) Research Proposals:
Simply put, a research proposal is usually academic in nature.
2) Business Proposals:
A businessproposalsis a written proposal presented from a vendor that
is intended to elicit business from a prospective buyer.

34. Types of Proposals
•Internalproposal:Ifyouwriteaproposaltosomeonewithinyourorganization,itis
aninternalproposal.Withinternalproposals,youmaynothavetoincludecertain
sections(suchasqualifications),oryoumaynothavetoincludeasmuchinformationin
them.
•Externalproposal:isonewrittenfromoneseparate,independentorganizationor
individualtoanothersuchentity.
•Solicitedproposal:Ifaproposalissolicited,therecipientoftheproposalinsome
wayrequestedtheproposal.Typically,acompanywillsendoutrequestsforproposals
(publicannouncementsrequestingproposalsforaspecificproject)throughthemailor
publishtheminsomenewssource.
•Unsolicitedproposals:arethoseinwhichtherecipienthasnotrequestedproposals.
Withunsolicitedproposals,yousometimesmustconvincetherecipientthataproblemor
needexistsbeforeyoucanbeginthemainpartoftheproposal.

35. Proposals (cont.)
Short Proposal
Comprise of 11 or less than 11 pages.
Long proposal
It comprises of more than 11 pages.

36. Proposal Includes
❑Title page
❑Abstract
❑Table of contents
❑Introduction
❑Background
❑Benefits and feasibility of the proposed project
❑Description of the proposed work
❑Schedule
❑Costs, resources required
❑Conclusion
❑Appendices

37. Title page (Proposal)
Specific formats for title pages vary from one proposal to another but
most include the following:
•The title of the proposal ( as short as informative as possible)
•A reference number for the proposal
•The name of the potential funder ( the recipient of the proposal)
•The proposal's date of submission
•The signature of the project director and responsible
administrator(s ) in the proposer`s institution or company

38. ❑TheAbstractisaveryimportantpartoftheproposalbecauseitprovidesashort
overviewandsummaryoftheentireproposal.
❑TheAbstractoftheproposalisshort,often200wordsorless.
❑Inashortproposaladdressedtosomeonewithinthewriter'sinstitution,the
Abstractmaybelocatedonthetitlepage.
❑Inalongproposal,theAbstractwillusuallyoccupyapagebyitselffollowingthe
Titlepage.
❑TheAbstractshouldbrieflydefinetheproblemanditsimportance,theobjectives
oftheproject,themethodofevaluation,andthepotentialimpactoftheproject.
Abstract (Proposal)
Table on contents (Proposal)
❑The table of contents lists the sections and subsections of the proposal and their
page numbers.

39. Plantheintroductiontoyourproposalcarefully.Makesureitdoesallof
thefollowingthings(butnotnecessarilyinthisorder)thatapplytoyour
particularproposal:
❑Indicatethatthedocumenttofollowisaproposal.
❑Refertosomepreviouscontactwiththerecipientoftheproposalor
toyoursourceofinformationabouttheproject.
❑Findonebriefmotivatingstatementthatwillencouragetherecipient
toreadonandtoconsiderdoingtheproject.
❑Giveanoverviewofthecontentsoftheproposal.
Introduction (Proposal)

40. Background (Proposal)
Oftenoccurringjustaftertheintroduction.Thebackgroundsection
discusseswhathasbroughtabouttheneedfortheproject—whatproblem,
whatopportunitythereisforimprovingthings,whatthebasicsituationis.
It'struethattheaudienceoftheproposalmayknowtheproblemvery
well,inwhichcasethissectionmightnotbeneeded.Writingthe
backgroundsectionstillmightbeuseful,however,indemonstratingyour
particularviewoftheproblem.And,iftheproposalisunsolicited,a
backgroundsectionisalmostarequirement—youwillprobablyneedto
convincetheaudiencethattheproblemoropportunityexistsandthatit
shouldbeaddressed.

41. Benefits and feasibility of the proposed project
Mostproposalsdiscusstheadvantagesorbenefitsofdoingtheproposed
project.Thisactsasanargumentinfavorofapprovingtheproject.Also,
someproposalsdiscussthelikelihoodoftheproject'ssuccess.Inthe
unsolicitedproposal,thissectionisparticularlyimportant.
Descriptionof the proposed work (results of the project):
Mostproposalsmustdescribethefinishedproductoftheproposedproject.
Inthiscourse,thatmeansdescribingthewrittendocumentyouproposeto
write,itsaudienceandpurpose;providinganoutline;anddiscussingsuch
thingsasitslength,graphics,andsoon.

42. Schedule (Proposal)
Mostproposalscontainasectionthatshowsnotonlytheprojectedcompletiondatebut
alsokeymilestonesfortheproject.Ifyouaredoingalargeprojectspreadingover
manymonths,thetimelinewouldalsoshowdatesonwhichyouwoulddeliverprogress
reports.Andifyoucan'tcitespecificdates,citeamountsoftimeortimespansforeach
phaseoftheproject.
Costs, resources required (Proposal)
Mostproposalsalsocontainasectiondetailingthecostsoftheproject,whetherinternal
orexternal.Withexternalprojects,youmayneedtolistyourhourlyrates,projected
hours,costsofequipmentandsupplies,andsoforth,andthencalculatethetotalcostof
thecompleteproject.Withinternalprojects,thereprobablywon'tbeafee,butyou
shouldstilllisttheprojectcosts:forexample,hoursyouwillneedtocompletethe
project,equipmentandsuppliesyou'llbeusing,assistancefromotherpeopleinthe
organization,andsoon.

43. Appendices(Proposal)
Appendices(supplementarymaterialthatiscollectedandappendedattheendofa
proposal)shouldbedevotedtothoseaspectsofyourprojectthatareofsecondary
interesttothereader.Beginbyassumingthatthereaderwillonlyhaveashorttimeto
readyourproposalanditwillonlybethemainbodyofyourproposal(notthe
Appendices).Then,assumethatyouhavegottentheattentionofthereaderwhowould
nowlikesomeadditionalinformation.ThisisthepurposeoftheAppendices.
Conclusions (Proposal)
Thefinalparagraphorsectionoftheproposalshouldbringreadersbacktoafocuson
thepositiveaspectsoftheproject(you'vejustshowedthemthecosts).Inthefinal
section,youcanendbyurgingthemtogetintouchtoworkoutthedetailsofthe
project,toremindthemofthebenefitsofdoingtheproject,andmaybetoputinone
lastplugforyouoryourorganizationastherightchoicefortheproject.

44. Qualities of a good proposal
❑Anumberoffactorsplayaroleinconvertingthissellingtoolintoa
contractualcommitment
❑Understandcustomersneedaswellastheproductsandservices.
❑Specifythescopeclearly
❑Berealisticinyourestimateoftime,money,materialandpersonnel
required.
❑Establishyourcredentialsforaccomplishingthetask
❑Highlightthebenefitsthatwouldaccruetothecustomer.
❑Keeptheproposalshortandsimple
❑Useplainlanguage.
❑Mentiontherisksandbenefitsthatarelikelytooccur.