Report Writing

1. Nimra Pervez
5306

2.  A report is a short, sharp, concise document which is written for
a particular purpose and audience. It generally sets outs and
analyses a situation or problem, often making recommendations
for future action. It is designed to lead people through the
information in a structured way, but also to enable them to find
the information that they want quickly and easily.
 It is a factual paper, and needs to be clear and well-structured.
Reports usually, therefore, have numbered sections and
subsections, and a clear and full contents page listing each
heading.
 When writing a report, the aim should be to be absolutely clear.
Jargons should be avoided. Audience has to be considered.

3. Reports may contain some or all of the following elements:
 A description of a sequence of events or a situation;
 Some interpretation of the significance of these events or
situation, whether solely your own analysis or informed by the
views of others, always carefully referenced of course
 An evaluation of the facts or the results of your research;
 Discussion of the likely outcomes of future courses of action;
 Your recommendations as to a course of action; and
 Conclusions.

4. Prior preparation and planning
 Step 1: Know your brief
 Step 2: Keep your brief in mind at all times
The Structure of a Report
 Introduction: The introduction sets out what you plan to say and provides a
brief summary of the problem under discussion. It should also touch briefly
on your conclusions.
 Report Main Body: The main body of the report should be carefully
structured in a way that leads the reader through the issue
 Conclusions and Recommendations: The conclusion sets out what
inferences you draw from the information, including any experimental
results. It may include recommendations, or these may be included in a
separate section. Recommendations suggest how you think the situation
could be improved, and should be specific, achievable and measurable. If
your recommendations have financial implications, you should set these out
clearly, with estimated costs if possible.

5.  Progress reports: Used to update supervisors or stakeholders on the status
of ongoing projects or initiatives. They track the project milestones and
achievements.
 Incident reports: Documenting and analyzing workplace accidents, errors,
or critical incidents.They analyze the cause and impact of accidents.
 Feasibility reports: Assessing the viability and potential risks of a proposed
project or idea.
 Financial reports: Summarizing financial data, including budgets,
expenses, and revenue. They provide a snapshot of an organization's
financial health.
 Research reports: Presenting findings and conclusions from research
studies or investigations. They present detailed findings and
recommendations.
 Executive summaries: Concise summaries that provide an overview of a
more extensive report. provide a condensed version of a report,
highlighting the most critical information.

6. Progress reports are crucial for ensuring goals are met. They show the
progress that analyzes the academic performance of student or
performance of a team that is completing a project.
Progress reports of a student give an overview to a teacher, a
principal, parents and the student himself.
In case of projects, they may give an overview to a supervisor, a
manager, a team leader, a colleague or a client on:
 The status of the project
The milestones achieved
Responsibilities of each employee or team member
The issues faced by various team members
…and other important factors that affect project completion

7.  Treat a progress report like a Q&A
 Include questions on progress, plans and problems (PPP)
 Allow meaningful completion of the progress report
 Use section headings to make reading and writing simpler
 Use simple and straightforward language
It basically shows the following:
 Participation - How many completed the progress report.
 Goals - How many participants reported their goals and progress.
 Blockers - How many participants are experiencing blockers.

8. A progress report format structure should have the following sections:
 Introduction: It helps to understand what project a report is
about. Simply ask what the members are working on to start the
progress report.
 Main body (PPP): It should give enough information on the
overall status of the project. It allows you to have an overview of
the goals and blockers reported in the status reporting process to
derive important insights from.
 Holistic Comments: This section may provide more holistic
comments on how this project is being done.

9.  An incident report form records accidents, illnesses, and injuries. It
can be used in many scenarios, such as workplace accidents, car
accidents, and for police reports. For simplicity, we’ll use the
example of a workplace accident.
Steps to write an incident report:
 Decide how you’ll collect the data.
 Determine what needs to be reported.
 Build your incident report.
 Set up methods to consolidate and analyze the data.

10.  Decide how you’ll collect the data
Traditionally, companies rely on pen and paper to collect information which
may lead to a lot of inaccuracies, lag time in reporting, and disorganization.
Using a digital solution can help solve those problems.
 Determine what needs to be reported
Ask for as much detail as possible using objective questions. Incidents can
cause strong emotions, which can lead to bias. A report should stick to the
facts. The more specific and unbiased the questions are, the easier it will be
to develop corrective actions.
This information includes
Name, job title, and department of the affected person
Location of the incident
Date of the incident
Time of the incident
Context/conditions surrounding incident (what was the employee doing,
was the floor slippery, etc.)

11.  Build your incident report
The person filling out the report needs to provide enough detail so that
anyone who reads the report can picture the incident exactly the way it
happened. That means the incident report form needs to offer an
opportunity for the filer to provide this information. One way to do this is
by including text boxes for open-ended questions.
 Set up methods to consolidate and analyze the data
After having all the necessary data about the incident, make sure it goes
to the right people and helps to prevent similar incidents from happening
in the future. When incident data automatically goes to the appropriate
parties in a way that’s actionable, your organization can put policies and
initiatives in place that reduce the likelihood of future incidents.