1. Writing Business Reports: 8 Steps to Success by Lynne Presley Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections Training Administration Unit August 2001 Oracle Course Code SUPI235100 Training Credit: One Hour

2. Course Objectives Define the purpose of a business report and its place in the communication process Identify the 8 steps to create an effective business report Define a report’s intended audience, plan for the report, and organize research data Prepare and produce a written outline, rough draft, and final report Identify the steps to proofread and correct errors in spelling and grammar At the end of this course, participants will be able to

3. What’s the Purpose of a Business Report? The basic purpose of any business report is delivery of information to help people make decisions. Reports may also include research regarding a problem, solution to a problem, or recommendations to help solve a problem.

4. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #1: Define Your Purpose Define your purpose. Do you want to... Present research? Discuss a problem? Present a solution to a problem? Make a proposal? Before you start your report, it will help to do a little planning. Start by thinking about why you’re writing a report:

5. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #2: Define Your Audience Will they perform an action or decide to do something based on your report? Will they evaluate your report, then advise other people of the contents? Will they read your report for informational purposes only? Before you write your report, think about your intended audience, and what action(s) you expect from them:

6. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #3: Perform Your Research Gather the information you’ll need and write it down Check the information to make sure it’s accurate and unbiased Refine and analyze your information to meet your intended audience’s needs and the purpose of your report Now that you’ve defined your report’s purpose and audience, it’s time to perform your research:

7. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #4: Organize Your Information Prepare an outline of your information Refine your outline so that it contains the main topics you want to include in your report. Remember that each paragraph should have a main topic. Now that you’ve defined your report’s purpose and intended audience, and finished your research, it’s time to organize your information so you can start your report.

8. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #5: Write a Rough Draft It’s time to start writing your report. You can write in longhand, or compose it on a computer. Don’t worry about editing your words at this point – just write. If the outline you prepared is logically organized, and you follow your outline, your rough draft will be organized, too. Remember that your report should have an introduction, separate paragraphs for each main topic, and a conclusion.

9. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #6: Edit Your Rough Draft Are the subject and purpose clearly stated? Is the report unbiased and technically accurate? Have you supported your opinions and assertions? Is the material honest and fair to all involved parties? Have you avoided the use of jargon and excess words? Is the information logically arranged and well-reasoned? Is the report understandable on first reading? Have you used a level of formality appropriate to your intended audience? Now that you’ve written your rough draft, edit it using this checklist: If you can answer “yes” to all the checklist items, you’re ready to write your final report.

10. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #7: Write Your Report Is your report professional-looking? Is the text readable and arranged neatly on each page? Have you used correct spelling, punctuation and grammar? Be sure and proofread your report several times! It always helps to have another set of eyes catch what you didn’t. If you’ve added graphics, graphs or other visuals, are they free of visual distortion and appropriately sized? Does your report meet your intended audience’s need for information? Using your rough draft, write your final report. Use these reminders to check your work:

11. Steps to Produce a Business Report: Step #8: The Final Check Will the information in your report fulfill the needs of your intended audience? Will your report accomplish your intended purpose? Is your report accurate and unbiased? Now that you’ve finished your report, check it one last time. If you can answer “yes” to the above questions, congratulations! If not, remember that report writing is like any other skill – practice will help to improve your writing and editing skills!

12. Self-Test Page 1 Research regarding a problem A business report may include: Recommendations to solve a problem Both A and B Click here for answerThe answer is "C"

13. Self-Test Page 2 Because you may be the wrong gender to write an effective report Why should you define your audience before writing a report? Because you may be the wrong age to write the report Because you should tailor your report to your intended audience, so that they will respond with the action(s) you expect (make a decision, gain information, etc.) Click here for answerThe answer is "C"

14. Self-Test Page 3 A reflection of the author’s point of view and personal biases Information included in a report should be: Accurate and unbiased A mixture of fact and fabrication, as long as it will meet the audience’s need for information Click here for answerThe answer is "B"

15. Self-Test Page 4 True Preparing an outline before writing your report will help you to organize your information and main topics. False Click here for answerThe answer is "A"

16. Self-Test Page 5 True A rough draft of your report should be typed rather than written by hand. False Click here for answerThe answer is "B"

17. Self-Test Page 6 That the report’s subject and purpose are clearly stated When editing the rough draft of your intended report, which of the following items should you consider least important? That the material is honest and fair to all involved parties That the rough draft is no more than three pages long Click here for answerThe answer is "C"

18. Self-Test Page 7 Proofread the report several times Before you distribute your report, what should you do? Make sure your spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct Both A and B Click here for answerThe answer is "C"

19. Exit Page Thank you for taking this course.