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1. Chapter 18. Writing Formal Reports © 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1
• informational report: presents results
• analytical report: presents results and draws
conclusions
• recommendation report: presents results, draws
conclusions, and makes recommendations
Understanding Types of Formal Reports

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Analytical Reports Address Questions
• What is the best way to do Function X?
• What causes Situation X?
• What are the results of Situation X?
• Could we do Function X?

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Recommendation Reports
Address Questions
• What should we do about Problem X?
• Should we do Function X?
• Should we use Technology A or Technology B to do
Function X?
• We currently use Method A to do Function X. Should we
be using Method B?

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Using a Problem-Solving Model for
Preparing Formal Reports
• Analyze your audience.
• Analyze your purpose.
• Identify questions that need to be answered.
• Carry out appropriate research.
• Draw conclusions from the research.
• Formulate recommendations based on conclusions.

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Feasibility Reports Answer
Three Kinds of Questions
• questions of possibility
• questions of economic wisdom
• questions of perception

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• Identify the problem or opportunity.
• Establish criteria for responding to the problem or
opportunity.
• Determine the options.
• Study each option according to the criteria.
• Draw conclusions about each option.
• Formulate recommendations based on the
conclusions.
Steps in Preparing a Feasibility Report

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Bias Can Creep In at Three Stages
• determining which criteria to examine
• deciding the range of values for each criterion
• assigning values to criteria

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Ways to Present Your Conclusions
• Rank all the options.
• Classify all the options in two categories: acceptable and
unacceptable.
• Present a compound conclusion.

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Steps in Writing Formal Reports
• writing the body of the report
• writing the front matter
• writing the back matter

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Typical Body Elements
• introduction
• methods
• results
• conclusions
• recommendations

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Questions to Consider in Writing Your
Introduction
• What is the subject of the report?
• What is the purpose of the report?
• What is the background of the report?
• What are your sources of information?
• What is the scope of the report?

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Questions to Consider in Writing Your
Introduction (cont.)
• What are the most significant findings?
• What are your recommendations?
• What is the organization of the report?
• What key terms are you using in the report?

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Questions to Consider in Writing
the Body of Your Report
• Methods. What did you do?
• Results. What did you see?
• Conclusions. What does it mean?
• Recommendations. What should we do?

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Factors to Consider in Writing
Recommendations
• content
• tone
• form
• location

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Elements of the Front Matter
• letter of transmittal
• cover
• title page
• abstract
• table of contents
• list of illustrations
• executive summary

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Types of Abstracts
• A descriptive abstract describes the kinds of information
contained in the document.
• An informative abstract presents the major findings.

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Guidelines for Writing an
Executive Summary
• Use specific evidence in describing the background.
• Be specific in describing the research.
• Describe the methods briefly.
• Describe the findings according to your readers’ needs.
• Ask an outside reader to review your draft.

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Elements of the Back Matter
• glossary and list of symbols
• references
• appendices