1. WRITING THE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
AND THE
NARRATIVE REPORT
Michael Bryan Z. Rayos
Course Lecturer, Technical Writing
Camarines Norte State College – Entienza Campus
2. OUTLINE
•Technical Writing in a Nutshell
•Minutes of the Meeting Defined
•Purpose of the Minutes
•Who Prepares the Minutes?
•What are the Requirements?
•Types of Minutes
•Essential Parts of the Minutes
•How to Write the Minutes
3. OUTLINE
•Narrative Report Defined
•Purpose of the Narrative Report
•Types of Narration
•Basic Parts of a Narrative Report
•Structure of a Narrative Report
•Tips/Guidelines in Writing the Narrative Report
7. Minutes of the Meeting
• official record of what happened and what was
discussed at a meeting (Egipto, 2005)
• written record of what took place at a meeting
(Taylor, 2004)
• records not only the decisions but also the flow
of discussions so that the bases for decisions
may be clear in the future (Bouing, 2006)
9. Purpose of Minutes
•The basic purpose is to provide a historical
account of official business conducted during a
meeting and supporting a group as it carries out
its responsibilities.
10. Who Prepares the Minutes of the
Meeting?
• Normally, a person is formally designated as
secretary or a recorder to prepare the minutes.
• In some groups, a secretary or clerk performs
the task of taking the minutes.
Who Prepares the Minutes?
• Normally, a person is formally designated as
secretary or a recorder to prepare the minutes.
• In some groups, a secretary or clerk performs
the task of taking the minutes.
11. Who Prepares the Minutes of the
Meeting?
• Normally, a person is formally designated as
secretary or a recorder to prepare the minutes.
• In some groups, a secretary or clerk performs
the task of taking the minutes.
What are the requirements?
Focus
Alertness
Comprehension
12. Types Minutes of the Meeting
•Verbatim Minutes
•Summary Minutes
•Action Minutes
13. Verbatim Minutes
• are usually prepared by secretaries of a
government legislature, council, or lawmaking
body
• everything transpired during the meeting shall
exactly form the minutes even if it is time-
consuming and expensive
14. Verbatim Minutes
• minutes of the annual meeting are also
transcribed in verbatim minutes to safeguard
the validity and reliability because it transpired
during a crucial meeting
15. Verbatim Minutes
• record of every single word said at a meeting
• will not always follow the agenda
• are often long and can be difficult
16.
17. Summary Minutes
• provides a record of all information not
necessarily word for word but a summary of the
discussion and action on all agenda items
• usually contains the proceedings of meetings
conducted at shorter intervals of time
18. Summary Minutes
• short and free from the complexities
• most commonly used in the office
• normally written in full sentences rather than
bullet points
19.
20. Action Minutes
• contains identifying information, brief summary
of discussions made and key information
presented
• emphasizes decisions, tasks, and actions to be
done related to the proceeding, thus making
this minutes quickly and easily prepared
21. Action Minutes
• written in the form of a list of steps required,
who should take tem and when
• purpose of this is to provide only a record of
decisions that require an action
24. • Heading
• Title of the Meeting
• Attendance
• Call to Order
• Approval of the Minute of the Previous Meeting
• Business Arising from the Previous Minutes of the
Meeting
• New Business (Agenda)
• Adjournment
• Signature
30. Present
- the complete list of names of all those who are
present at the meeting;
Regrets
- the complete list of names of those who have
contacted the chairman or presiding officer to let them
know that they will be unable to attend the scheduled
meeting;
Absent
- the complete list of those who are absent at the
meeting
31. Note on the Attendance:
Usually the attendance of the meeting is being
checked, monitored, and approved by the secretary.
The general rule in establishing the quorum of
the meeting is half plus one of the total number of
attendees.
33. Call to Order
In this part, the complete name and position
of the one who set the meeting is stated;
you may refer to the Notice of Meeting for
the details needed in this part
34. Approval of the Minutes of the
Previous Meeting
contains the motion to approve the minutes
of the previous or last meeting as circulated
to approve the minutes as amended; the
attendees of the meeting may correct or
revise the minutes of the previous meeting
35. Business Arising from the
Previous Minutes of the Meeting
includes some agenda from the previous
meeting that are needed to be reviewed and
needed to take immediate action
36. New Business
refers to the agenda of the meeting;
you may refer to the Notice of the Meeting to
follow the flow of the agenda of the
meeting;
38. New Business
the heart of every minutes of the meeting;
this should be carefully written;
every detail should be included and
specified so that nothing will be overlooked
39. Adjournment
is composed of the exact time the meeting
was adjourned or ended by the chairman or
presider
43. 1
• Take note of pertinent details regarding the
meeting:
- type of meeting - agenda
- date and time - attendance
- venue - time started
- presiding officer - time ended
44. 2
• For easy facility, prepare your attendance
sheet.
46. For example:
Agenda:
1. Participants of CNSC Community Week
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
47. 4
• Study the issues to be discussed and ask
questions ahead of time.
48. 5
• Prepare materials convenient for writing like
bond paper, note pad, laptop, tape recorder,
steno pad, or stenographic machine.
50. 1
• Be able to know the name of each attendee by
making a map or tags for seating arrangement.
• You may also request unfamiliar participants to
identify themselves.
• This will help you to keep track of who said
what.
51. 2
• Concentrate on getting the essential elements
of discussion and take enough notes to be
summarized later.
52. 3
• Ask for clarification if things are not
understood.
53. 4
• Do not fail to take note of the items discussed,
decisions reached, and action decided on.
59. What is a Narrative Report?
•It is an informational work made with the
intention of relaying information or recounting
certain events in a presentable manner.
60. What is a Narrative Report?
•It present things or events that has happened in
the past through a logical progression of the
relevant information.
61. What is a Narrative Report?
•Narrative Report is always written in a sequential
manner in order of occurrence.
62. What is a Narrative Report?
•It is most widely used.
63. What is a Narrative Report?
•Narration does not tell about the story, it tells the
story.
•It places the events before our eyes.
64. Purpose of a Narrative Report
•The main purpose of a narrative report is to
present a clear and factual depiction of what has
occurred.
66. Basic Parts of a Narrative Report
•Cover Page
•Content Page
- Heading
- Title
- Content
• Appendix / Appendices
67. How to Write the Narrative Report
•Generally, you should account all the details
while maintaining the logical sequence.
68. How to Write the Narrative Report
•A narrative report should have the following:
69. Statement of the thesis or the event
•You should state the context of the focal event of
your report, its time, place, and actors.
70. Any background information related to
this thesis
•Sometimes, you can provide information about
events that preceded the key event, in case they
are relevant.
71. Chronological account of the event or a
series of events
•It should be detailed as possible.
•Don’t forget to mention the exact time and all the
relevant numbers that can be applied.
•If there are accounts from other witnesses or
actors, your should quote them as well.
75. 1
•Be a living witness of the activity.
•You cannot write the narrative report if you are
not present during the activity / event.
76. 2
•Before/during the event, gather all the available
materials relevant to the activity or event such as
the program.
•This can be of great help in writing the report.
77. 3
•Document the proceedings of the activity.
•Take note all the activities that transpired during
the activity/event.
•Take photos and video-record the activity.
