REPORT

 It is any informational work made with an intention to relay information or recounting certain
events in a presentable manner.
 Reports are often conveyed in writing, speech, television, or film.
 Report is an administrative necessity.
 Most official form of information or work are completed via report.
 Report is always written in a sequential manner in order of occurrence.

REPORT WRITING

Report writing is an essential skill in many disciplines. Master it now at university and writing
reports in the workplace will be easier. A report aims to inform and sometimes to persuade.
They should be written as clearly and succinctly as possible, with evidence about a topic,
problem or situation.

TYPES OF REPORT

There are two types of report writing:

1) FORMAL REPORT 2) INFORMAL REPORT

INFORMAL REPORT

The informal report functions to inform, analyze, and recommend. It usually takes the form of a
memo, letter or a very short international document like a monthly financial report, monthly
activities report, research and development report, etc.This report differs from the formal
report in length and formality. It is written according to organization style and rules, but usually
does not include the preliminary (front) and supplemental (back) material. The informal report
is usually more controversial in tone and typically deals with everyday problems and issues
addressed to a narrow readership inside the organization.

TYPES OF INFORMAL REPORT

There are many ideas and qualities of the informal report:

1) Progress report 2) Sales activity report 3) Personnel evaluation 4) Financial report

5) Feasibility report 6) Literature review 7) Credit report

FORMAL REPORT
The formal report is the collection and interpretation of data and information.The formal report is
complex and used at an official level. It is often a written account of a major project. Examples of subject
matter include new technologies, the advisability of launching a new project line, results of a study or
experiment, an annual report, or a year old review of developments in the field.

TYPES OF FORMAL REPORT

They can be categorized as:

1) Informational reports 2) Analytical reports 3) Recommendation reports

1)INFORMATIONAL REPORTS

Informational reports present results so readers can understand a particular problem or

situation. Example: Manager of a city’s website might prepare an informational report for the
city council; the report would provide statistics on the number of people who pay their city
water and sewage bills online etc.Informational reports might: A. Present information on the
status of current research or of a project. B. Present an update of the operation in your division.
C. Explain how your organization or division does something. D. Present the results of a
questionnaire or research.

2) ANALYTICAL REPORTS

This type goes a step beyond presenting results. Analytical reports present results, analyze those
results, and draw conclusions based on those results. These reports attempt to describe why or how
something happened and then to explain what it means. Like informational reports, analytical reports
can be formal or informal. Explain what cause a problem or situation – Present the results of a traffic
study showing accidents at an intersection – the report explains what it means.Explain the potential
results of a particular course of action. Suggest which option, action, or procedure is best.

3) RECOMMENDATION REPORTS

This type advocate a particular course of action. This usually present the results and conclusions
that support the recommendations. This type is identical to analytical report. For example, your
analytical report suggests using treatment X is more efficient than treatments Y and Z. However,
that does not mean that you will use treatment X as cost and other considerations might
recommend treatment Y. What should we do about a problem? Should we or can we do
something? Should we change the method or technology we use to do something?

FORMAT OF A REPORT
Although, there is no set report writing format, however, there are general sections that should
be included. Unlike essays, reports are written in sections with headings and sub-headings,
which are usually numbered. There are numerous possible formats available for writing a
report, and it mostly depends on the context of topic. Below given are the components of a
report in which they would occur:
1. Title page: It should include the title, your name and the name of the tutor to whom it is being
submitted, date of submission, your course/department. The logo of the organisation should
also be printed.
2. Acknowledgements: A list of people and organisations who have helped you in the
compilation of report and other related work.

3. Contents page: A clear, well-formatted list of all the sections and sub-sections of the report.
Page numbers should be marked correctly.

4. Abstract: A summary of the major points, conclusions, and recommendations should be

written to give a general overview of report.

5. Introduction: The first page of the report needs to have an introduction. You will explain the
problem and show the reader why the report is being made.

6. Body: This is the main section of the report. There needs to be several sections, with each
having a subtitle. The various sections include Review of Literature, Materials and Methods and
Results. A discussion section can also be included at the end of the body to go over by findings
and their significance.
7. Conclusion: A conclusion should draw out the implications of your findings, with deductions
based on the facts described in your main body. The significance and relevance of study is
discussed in this section. 8. References: This is a list giving the full details of all the sources to
which you have made reference within your text.