1. REPORT WRITING

2. A business report should be... ACCURATE CONCISE CLEAR OBJECTIVE

3. A report should be... ????  true facts, precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources ????  all the important ideas in as few words as possible  avoid repetitions (KISS) ????  easy to read  clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering….  not too long sentences ????  all the relevant information included (not biased)  impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, verbs in passive?,...)

4. A report should be... ACCURATE  true facts, precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources ????  all the important ideas in as few words as possible  avoid repetitions (KISS) ????  easy to read  clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering….  not too long sentences ????  content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased)  impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)

5. A report should be... ACCURATE  true facts, precise wording, supporting data, references CONCISE  all the important ideas in as few words as possible  repetitions avoided (KISS!) ????  easy to read  clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering….  not too long sentences ????  all the relevant information included (not biased)  impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)

6. A report should be... ACCURATE  true facts, precise wording, supporting data, reference to source CONCISE  all the important ideas in as few words as possible  avoid repetitions (KISS) CLEAR  easy to read  clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering….  not too long sentences ????  content: include all the relevant information (do not be biased)  impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)

7. A report should be... ACCURATE  true facts, precise wording, supporting data, reference to sources CONCISE  all the important ideas in as few words as possible  avoid repetitions (KISS) CLEAR  easy to read  clear organisation of the text: sections, subsections, headings, subheadings, paragraphing, numbering….  not too long sentences OBJECTIVE  all the relevant information included (not biased)  impersonal style (e.g. absence of emotional words, use of passive?,...)

8. In what order should this information be presented in a report?  Where did I find the data for my report? (How were the data collected? Are they reliable?)  What can generally be concluded from all this?  What is it all about? (Purpose? For whom? Deadline?)  What do the detailed results of my analysis show?  What recommendations can I make? (Should I make any?)

9. PROPOSED STRUCTURE OF A SHORT REPORT  TITLE  INTRODUCTION (TERMS OF REFERENCE)  PROCEDURE (or METHOD)  FINDINGS  CONCLUSIONS  RECOMMENDATIONS (if required)

10. PROPOSED STRUCTURE OF A SHORT REPORT  TITLE  INTRODUCTION (TERMS OF REFERENCE) What? Purpose? Upon whose request? Deadline?  PROCEDURE (or METHOD) How were the data collected and processed?  FINDINGS Data?  CONCLUSIONS What do the data show (interpretation)?  RECOMMENDATIONS (if required) What can be recommended based on the data?

11. PROPOSED STRUCTURE OF A LONG REPORT  TITLE  CONTENTS PAGE  SUMMARY (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, ABSTRACT)  INTRODUCTION (TERMS OF REFERENCE)  PROCEDURE (or METHOD)  FINDINGS  CONCLUSIONS  RECOMMENDATIONS (if required)  SOURCES (LITERATURE, BIBLIOGRAPHY)  APPENDIX (APPENDICES)

12. Which sections of the report do the following belong to? 1.The purpose/aim of this report is to... 2.The report was requested by Mr Jasons, Sales Manager, on March 4, 2014. 3.It was concluded that... 4.The key findings are outlined below. 5.It would be advisable to.. It is essential that..., 6.The recommendations are that... should be... 7.This report has been written because.... 8.The objectives of this report are to.... 9.The main findings were that... 10.It was to be submitted to the Manager by 02 November. 11.This report examines (presents)..... 12.200 respondents, chosen by the random sample method, were surveyed. Of these, 167 were invited for interview. 13.The findings indicated that... 14.No conclusions were reached regarding... 15.The major finding of the investigation was that... 16.I recommend that... should be...

13. Rewrite the following sentences to improve objectivity and to incorporate an impersonal style.  The enormous increase of 32 percent proves the sales department has done a superb job.  The proposed procedure is bad because it would require 15% more employees.  The increase of 33 percent was a result of the amazing growth in city population of 10,000 during the past year.  The horrible effect on employees from the change in parking regulations will be one of creating massive traffic problems.  You can hardly imagine the effect of incentive pay on employee morale.  I feel certain that the new plan is better than the old method.  Most of us agree that a monthly status meeting will be helpful.

14. Blue words out, red sentences in  The enormous increase of 32 percent proves the sales department has done a superb job. The sales department has increased sales by 32 percent during the past quarter.  The proposed procedure is bad because it would require 15% more employees. The proposed procedure would require 15 percent more employee time.  The increase of 33 percent was a result of the amazing growth in city population of 10,000 during the past year. The city population increase of 10,000 during the past year represents a 33 percent growth rate  The horrible effect on employees from the change in parking regulations will be one of creating massive traffic problems. The change in parking regulations will create additional traffic congestion.  You can hardly imagine the effect of incentive pay on employee morale. Incentive pay improved employee morale in the following ways:...  I feel certain that the new plan is better than the old method. The new plan is more effective than the old method for the following reasons:...  Most of us agree that a monthly status meeting will be helpful. In the quarterly staff meeting 15 out of 18 members of staff supported having a monthly meeting.

15. RB pp.17-18 What else is to be remembered when writing business reports? E.g. Register? (p.18)

16. PHRASES TO USE

17. gathered/collected, aim/purpose/objective, findings, recommend, requested, aims, submitted, analyze/explore/present/examine  We strongly … that the company should go public with this information.  The key … are outlined below.  The … of this report is to … the possibilities for (…)  Information for this report was … from the following sources:...  This report … to identify potential problems in (…)  The report was … by Kim Jam, Finance Manager, last week. It was to be … by 15 March, 2014.

18. gathered/collected, aim/purpose/objective, findings, recommend, requested, aims, submitted, analyze/explore/present  We strongly RECOMMEND that the company should go public with this information.  The key FINDINGS are outlined below.  The AIM/OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE of this report is to EXPLORE/ANALYZE/PRESENT the possibilities for (…)  Information for this report was GATHERED/COLLECTED from the following sources:  This report AIMS to identify potential problems in (…)  The report was REQUESTED by Kim Jam, Finance Manager, last week. It was to be SUBMITTED by 15 March, 2014.

19. raises, found/established, collected, made/reached, recommended, requested, outlines/presents/identifies/analyzes  No conclusions were... regarding (…)  It is... that the following should be done:  This... a number of issues. Firstly, (…)  Contrary to our expectations, it was... that (…)  The data for this report were... from the following sources.  Mark Smith, HR Manager,... a report on incentive policies.  This report... deficiencies of the current recruitment policies in ABC company.

20. raises, found/established, collected, made/reached, recommended, requested, outlines/presents/identifies/analyzes/examines  No conclusions were MADE/REACHED regarding (…)  It is RECOMMENDED that the following should be done:  This RAISES a number of issues. Firstly, (…)  Contrary to our expectations, it was FOUND/ESTABLISHED that (…)  The data for this report were COLLECTED from the following sources.  Mark Smith, HR Manager, REQUESTED a report on incentive policies.  This report PRESENTS/IDENTIFIES/ANALYZES/OUTLINES/ EXAMINES the deficiencies of the current recruitment policies in ABC company.

21. What is missing here? 1.... that the company should go public with this information. 2.... are outlined below. 3.... of this report is to explore the possibilities for (…) 4.Information for this report was collected...: 5.This report aims to............ (…) 6.... by Kim Jam, Finance Manager, last week. 7....by 15 March, 2013. 8.... our expectations, it was established that (…)

22. Phrases to use Turn the sentences below into passive 1.Mr Jasons, Sales Manager, requested the report. 2.We concluded that... 3.We have written this report in order to examine.... 4.We should submit the report by 18 February. 5.We have surveyed 200 respondents and we shall invite 167 for interview. 6.We found two major problems in the department. 7. The following points summarize our key findings: 8.We outline the key findings below. 9.We decided/agreed/ that... (It...) 10.We reached no conclusions regarding the delivery terms. 11.We propose/suggest/recommend that... (It...) 12.We have highlighted the following areas:...

23. The same can be used in passive 1.The report was requested by Mr Jasons, Sales Manager. 2.It was concluded that... 3.This report has been written in order to examine.... 4.The report should be submitted by 18 February. 5.200 respondents have been surveyed and 167 will be invited for interview. 6.Two major problems were found in the department. 7. The key findings are summarized in the following points: 8.The key findings are outlined below. 9.It was decided/agreed/ that... 10.No conclusions were reached regarding the delivery terms. 11.It was proposed/suggested/recommended that... 12.The following areas have been highlighted:...

24. Report Writing - Assessment  Layout: title, headings, spacing, clear text organization (e.g. numbering), signature, name, position  Content: Task fulfilled? Makes sense?  Language: a) phrases typically used in a report, b) terminology, c)spell./gramm.  General features: accuracy, concision, clarity, objectivity  Each element: 2.5 points X 4 = 10 pts