2. The most regularly written documents
in many different occurrence on the
job.
A report is written for a clear purpose
and to a particular audience.
Specific information and evidence are
presented, analyzed and applied to a
particular problem or issue.
In every field, business correspondence
and writing reports are present for it is
used merely to transact business.
WHAT IS A REPORT?
3. WHAT IS A REPORT?
A report is a systematic, well organized document
which defines and analyses a subject or problem, and
which may include:
the record of a sequence of events
interpretation of the significance of these events or
facts
evaluation of the facts or results of research presented
discussion of the outcomes of a decision or course of
action
conclusions
recommendations
4. Reports must always be:
accurate
concise
clear
well structured
WHAT IS A REPORT?
5. Various courses require you to write reports (as
opposed to essays), notably business and scientific or
technical subjects. There are, however, different
interpretations of what a report should look like, so it is
important that you check with your course tutors and
course documentation as to the report format and
content expected. In addition, there is at times some
blurring between what “essays” are “reports” are, so
again check within your department.
6. According to Lopez(2005):
Report is commonly
regarded as a record of past or
present conditions, activities or
accomplishments.
According to Gonzales et
al(2006):
Business reports are
written to communicate facts and
ideas to others.
WHAT IS A REPORT?
7. GENERAL PURPOSE WHY REPORTS
ARE WRITTEN
To monitor and control operations
To document work performed for a
client
To guide decisions on particular
issue and problems
To help implement policies and
procedures
To comply with legal or regulatory
requirements
To obtain new business or funding
8. The scope and style of reports varies widely. It
depends on three key factors:
the report's intended audience;
the report's purpose;
the type of information to be
communicated.
for example, technical reports communicate
technical information, so the degree of
technicality in the report will depend on the
reader's familiarity and understanding of
technical concepts.
9. At university, you may be required to write several different
types of reports.
Technical and Business disciplines with an applied
focus such as Engineering, Information Technology,
Commerce, Accounting and Finance, will set report
writing assignments that simulate the process of report
writing in industry. Assignments are set in the form of a
problem or a case study.
10. Field reports are common in disciplines such as Law,
Industrial Relations, Psychology, Nursing, History and
Education. These types of reports require the student to
analyze his or her observations of phenomena or events
in the real world in light of theories studied in the
course.
11. Scientific reports (also called laboratory reports)
are another kind of report. They are common in all
the Sciences and Social Sciences. These reports use a
standard scientific report format describing methods,
results and conclusions to report upon an empirical
investigation.
12. FEATURES OF A REPORT
1) Report may vary in length
from one page to several
hundred and they may be
informal, formal bound
manuscripts, rigidly defined
form reports.
2) Reports may have only one
reader, or more frequently,
multiple readers with very
different purposes.