1. Presented by
Mohammad Atique Rahman
Lecturer
Department of International Relations
University of Dhaka
Email: atique@du.ac.bd
2. What is Report?
What is the purpose of report?
Basic principles of quality report
Types of report
Different parts of report
Key issues regarding report
3. A report is 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.
4. It is a tool of communication strategy
A report aims to inform, as clearly and succinctly as possible
A report is written for a clear purpose and to a particular audience
Information and evidence are presented, analysed and applied to a
particular problem or issue.
The information is presented in a clearly structured format making use
of sections and headings so that the information is easy to locate and
follow
5. A report presents information, not an argument
is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader
uses numbered headings and sub-headings
uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points where applicable
uses graphics wherever possible (tables, graphs, illustrations)
may need an abstract (sometimes called an executive summary)
does not always need references and bibliography
is often followed by recommendations and/or appendices.
6. Accuracy :
Report factual information – e.g., “I saw.”
Make distinctions between fact and hearsay, fact and opinion, and fact and
conclusions.
Be clear about the meaning of words; avoid jargon.
Clarify all abbreviations
Proofread the report and rewrite as needed.
7. Completeness is achieved by reporting all the facts
discovered during the course of an investigation.
When in doubt, include the information.
Information that appears irrelevant to the investigator may be
relevant to the reviewer.
In most cases, the only information the reader will have will be
the information in the report.
Partially stated facts can be misleading and
misinterpreted.
Explain why certain information is lacking or
incomplete.
Provide a detailed explanation of the possible source of
additional information and undeveloped leads.
8. Avoid unrelated, extraneous, incidental, and nonessential information and
detail.
Pay attention to grammar.
Avoid adjectives, wit, sarcasm, flowery expressions, and repetition. A report
is not a literary or creative writing exercise.
Use singleness of thought and purpose.
A good report will give the reader a clear idea or picture of the investigation.
Use headings, paragraphing, sentence structure, indentations, underlining,
and capitalization to emphasize and give weight and/or visibility to
information the investigator deems more important.
9. The investigator is a fact finder. Report the material
and evidentiary facts without addition or subtraction.
Do not conceal or withhold information.
Do not assume.
Do not conclude.
Maintain an unbiased and open mind about the case.
10. Arrange the contents of the report in discrete sections to facilitate
the reader’s review and understanding of the report.
Write in chronological order.
Avoid ambiguous sentences and vague statements.
11. Organizational Report: Monthly, Quarterly and Annually
Project report: Monthly, mid term and completion report
Business Report
Market survey report
Investigation report
12.
13.
14. Stage One: Understanding the purpose of the report, your audience
Stage two: gather relevant information
Stage Three: Organising your material
Stage Four: Analysing your material
Stage Five: Writing the report
Stage Six: Reviewing and redrafting
Stage Seven: Presentation
15. Title page
Acknowledgements
Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Methodology
Results or findings
Discussion
Risk and Sustainability
16. Executive Summery:
This should be a short paragraph summarizing the
main contents of the report. It should include a short
statement of the main task, the methods used, conclusions
reached and any recommendations to be
made. The abstract or summary should be concise,
informative and independent of the report.
17. Methodology:
In this section you should state how you carried out your enquiry.
What form did your enquiry take ?
Did you carry out interviews or questionnaires, how did
you collect your data ?
What measurements did you make ?
How did you choose the subjects for your interviews ?
Present this information logically and concisely.
18. Results or findings
Present your findings in as simple a way as possible. The more
complicated the information looks, the more difficult it will be to
interpret. There are a number of ways in which results can be
presented.
Here are a few :
Log-frame
Tables
Graphs
Pie charts
Bar charts
Diagrams
19. Risk and Sustainability
At the end of the report can summarize risks
and sustainability i.e.
Environmental
Law and order situation
Price hike
Natural Disaster
Political Situation