Defination of report and discuss its elements and graphical elements

1. P R E S E N T E D B Y : F A I Q A A B I D
S E C T I O N : B S - I T 3 R D S E M E S T E R
S U B J E C T : T E C H N I C A L W R I T I N G
D A T E : 1 1 - 1 2 - 2 0 1 9
Professional Report and their
elements

2. What is Report ?
A document containing information organized in a
narrative, graphic, or tabular form, prepared on ad
hoc, periodic, recurring, regular, or as required basis.
Reports may refer to specific periods, events,
occurrences, or subjects, and may be communicated
or presented in oral or written form.
Read more:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/repo
rt.html

3. What is Professional report?
A professional report is a formal document
that delivers specific information about a topic to a
particular audience. Though it may seem like a
simple task to perform, report writing is actually a
skill that requires much knowledge and practice to
carry out successfully.

4. Importance of professional reports
Report plays an important role in our life , business, commerce and
trade. Actually it helps to find out the root of a problem to solve that.
By the way, It contains its importance for its own special features.
And such importance can be understood through the following
discussion:
• Decision making tool/ Supports Purchasing Decisions
• Tracks Development Over Time
• Duty to Stakeholders
• Goal setting
• Critical Analysis

5. Writing a report
 Report writing involves research and then publishing
the outcome of that analysis. In the professional
world, the “look” or appearance of what you publish
is paramount. The eye-pleasing final result could
burnish your reputation and enhance your personal
brand.
 The steps below will handhold you through the
expert features in Microsoft Word 2016. Spend a lot
of time on a plan.

6. Start with these guidelines…

7. Step 1:
Decide the
Purpose
Reports are of many
kinds but they are either
meant to inform or
persuade. It can be meant
for describing a technical
process, sharing
background information,
or demonstrate progress
on a project.
Ask yourself –
What and Why. This
will help you distill the
purpose to the one main
point and stick to it
instead of rambling on
with unnecessary details.

8. Step 2:
Identify Your
Audience
The second important
consideration is to
evaluate your audience.
Will they be able to
understand what you
are talking about? Are
there different levels of
readers who will read
the report? The reader’s
knowledge of the
subject will greatly
influence the
information that you
need to include.

9. Step 3: Know
Your Topic
You must know what
you are talking about.
So, research the topic,
and include all the
relevant information to
prove your point. Make
sure that you come to a
conclusion based
on facts and not
personal opinion. The
information must be
correct, current, and
well-referenced.

10. Step 4: Outline
the Report
You have done the
research. There’s a ton of
information that is
waiting to be typed and
printed. But wait! Don’t
drown before you enter
the water. Prepare the
final outline of the report
which will be the chart of
waypoints to help you
navigate from start to
finish. The outline is the
blueprint. It will give you
a bird’s eye view of the
land and also show you
where you need to fill in
the details.

11. Every report should have the following
sections/elements:
 Title page.
 Table of contents.
 Executive summary.
 Introduction.
 Discussion.
 Conclusion.
 Recommendations.
 References

12. Mechanical Elements of Report
The mechanical elements of your report are largely
included to make sure your information was useful
and accessible as possible for your readers. It is
especially important to incorporate the HATS
methodology (headings, access, typography, spacing)
when designing your mechanical elements, as that
will make your documents easier to read, and it will
give your documents a professional appearance.

13. T I T L E O R C O V E R PA G E
T H E T I T L E O R C O V E R PA G E I N C LU D E S T H E T I T L E , T H E N A M E O F T H E
P E R S O N A U T H O R I Z I N G T H E R E P O R T, T H E N A M E O F T H E A U T H O R ( S ) , T H E
N A M E A N D A D D R E S S O F T H E I N S T I T U T I O N O R C O M PA N Y I S S U I N G T H E
R E P O R T, A N D T H E DAT E .
L E T T E R O F T R A N S M I T TA L
T H E L E T T E R O F T R A N S M I T TA L E X P L A I N S W H Y T H E R E P O R T WA S P R E PA R E D
A N D I T S P U R P O S E , M E N T I O N S T H E T I T L E A N D T H E P E R I O D O F WO R K , A N D
S TAT E S T H E R E S U LT S A N D R E C O M M E N DAT I O N S . T H E L E T T E R O F
T R A N S M I T TA L M AY B E S E PA R AT E F R O M T H E R E P O R T, B U T I T I S U S UA L LY
B O U N D I N TO T H E R E P O R T I M M E D I AT E LY B E F O R E T H E TA B L E O F
C O N T E N T S .
E VA LUAT I N G A L E T T E R O F T R A N S M I T TA L
•D O E S I T A C H I E V E T H E P U R P O S E O F A L E T T E R O F T R A N S M I T TA L ?
•D O E S I T O F F E R E N O U G H S P E C I F I C I N F O R M AT I O N ?
•I S I T W E L L W R I T T E N ?
Preliminaries

14. Acknowledgm
ents
The acknowledgments
section includes
material which is
irrelevant to the actual
report but is required
for the record or for
acknowledgment
purposes. The
acknowledgments may
include, for example,
the names of people
who made technical
contributions, notices
of permission to use
copyrighted materials,
and so on.

15. Table of
contents
The table of contents
also includes the page
numbers for all parts.
Use lower case roman
numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.)
for all preliminary
pages and arabic
numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.)
for all pages in the body
of the report, starting
with page 1 for the
introduction of the
body.

16. Displaying Graphical elements in reports
Graphics are all the tables and figures used in a
report as visual aids for the reader. They are useful,
important parts of a report and must be accurate.
They should also be clear so the reader can interpret
them easily. Tables are all lists of data presented in
rows and columns. Place the numbers and titles
above the tables. Figures are any other visual
presentations. Place the numbers and titles below
the figures.

17. Types of
illustrations:
Line graphs—for
representing continuous
processes
Bar graphs—for
representing absolutes
Pie graphs—for showing
percentages
Flow charts—for
illustrating stages in a
process
Schematics—the same as
flow charts, but usually
used for illustrating more
abstract concepts

18. References
References are used to
cite your sources and
give credit to the
written work of others
that you have read and
used. When you refer to
these published works
in the text of your
report, you can choose
one of several formats.
See the following
handouts on the Purdue
OWL for more
information on
references.