What is Report Writing? Steps, Essentials, Kinds

What is Report Writing?

A report can be defined as a testimonial or account of some happening. It is purely based on observation and analysis. It is basically used to convey some information.

Table of Content

1 What is Report Writing?
2 Steps in Writing a Report
3 Essentials of a Good Report
4 Kinds of Reports in Inter-Departmental Communication

Therefore, in today’s corporate world, reports play a crucial role. They form the basis of future planning and also for solving the problems various problems, as the management cannot always be present everywhere, to examine the situation. A report analyses a difficult situation.

It brings significant and reliable information to the limelight of top management in an organization. Hence, on the basis of such information, the management can make strong decisions. The efficiency of different departments can be evaluated with the help of are port.

Steps in Writing a Report

An effective report can be written using the following steps:-

Determine the objective of the report, i.e., identify the problem.
Collect the required material (facts) for the report.
Study and examine the facts gathered.
Plan the facts for the report.
Prepare an outline for the report, i.e., draft the report.
Edit the drafted report.
Distribute the draft report to the advisory team and ask for feedback and recommendations.

Essentials of a Good Report

The essentials of good/effective report writing are as follows:-

Know your objective, i.e. be focused.
Make the report according to those who will read the report, what sort of data they are looking for, what impact need to be created and soon.
Decide the length of report.
Disclose correct and true information in report.
Discuss all sides of the problem reasonably and impartially. Include all relevant facts in a report.
Pay attention to the structure and the main issue of the report. Predecide the report writing style. Use vivid structure of sentences.
The report should be neatly presented and should be carefully documented.
The important parts should be highlighted and summarized.
Encourage feedback on the report from the critics. The feedback, if negative, might be useful if properly supported with reasons by the critics. The report can be modified based on such feed back.
Use graphs, pie-charts, etc to show the numerical data records over years.
Decide on the margins on a report. Ideally, the top and the side margins should be the same (minimum 1 inch broad), but the lower/bottom margins can be one and a half times as broad as others.
The report should attract the attention of the reader. For this, the matter can be divided into small paragraphs, the main point of the paragraph should be highlighted; bullets and points must be used wherever possible.

Kinds of Reports in Inter-Departmental Communication

There are various kind of reports used in day-to-day business and routine functions of departments. Some of them are as follows:

Progress Reports

When a long-term project or work is under taken, the administration keeps itself informed through progress reports. The project may be the construction of a bride or a building, the layout of a residential colony, the installation of equipment in a factory or the investigation of some problem.

These reports also help the officers and workers immediately responsible for the job to take stock of what as already been done and to relate it to the total amount of time and money available. The frequency of progress reports depend upon the practice followed in an organization.

They be written and circulated at the end of each phase or a specified period or completion of the stage of work. If they are prepared at regular intervals, they are sometimes called periodical reports.

The Performa for preparation of such reports is specified by each organization, but generally speaking, they contain the following information.

Name of the work or project
Total work to be completed
Date
Work completed to date
Work to be completed
Possible date for completion
Remarks, if any
Signature and designation of the reporting officer.

Laboratory Reports

A laboratory report is an account of various steps, findings and conclusions put together in a logic order. In fact, no scientific experiment can be considered valid unless it is presented in terms intelligible to other scientists. Thus, writing laboratory reports is considered an essential part of scientific investigation and experimentation. These reports contain the following elements:

Heading
Experiment No.
Date
Statement of objects
Apparatus used
Method or produce followed
Observations
Conclusions
Signature

Inspection Reports

Inspection reports are of two types:

The report that incorporates the result of the inspection of a piece of equipment to ascertain whether it is functioning properly or requires any repairs or replacement. This may be done as a matter of routine or on receipt of a complaint.
The report that indicates the result of inspection of a product as a part of quality control. Most manufacturing organizations have a quality control section or department whose duty is to inspect every product with a view to ensure that it fulfills the required specifications.
The report that indicates the result of inspection of a product as a part of quality control. Most manufacturing organizations have a quality control section or department whose duty is to inspect every product with a view to ensure that it fulfills the required specifications.

Inventory Reports:

It is customary for every organization to take stock of equipment, furniture, stationery, etc. at regular intervals. The person who checks the stock fills in his findings in a prescribed form.
Annual Confidential Report son Employees: Most organizations make a periodic evaluation of the performance and general conduct of the employees. The assessment thus made is used at appropriate times for rewards such as increments, promotion and transfer to more responsible job. 199 Inter- Departmental Communication.