Report Writing

 A report concentrates on information, which you have gathered and may give recommendations for further action.
 In a report, you have to describe and summarize information.
 It is very important to identify in the question who you are writing to. Is it your manager, the board of directors, a
customer or your colleagues?
 This will decide the register and tone of your writing.
 When you are writing, a good technique is to imagine that you are playing the role and to imagine the actual
manager or customer who you are writing for.

The register you use will depend on:

 The subject you are writing about

 Who you are writing to

For example, if you are writing to a senior manager, the register will be quite formal, but if you are writing to a close
colleague, you may use quite an informal register.

Headings for reports

For a report investigating an existing situation or something that has happened, the following are common headings.
Match each of the headings to one of the topics below.

1. Terms of reference a. What the reader should do

2. Methodology b. Why the report was written
c. How the writer found out what had happened
3. Background
d. What the writer has discovered
4. Findings e. History or description of the situation being
5. Conclusions reported on
f. Summary of information or arguments, and the
6. Recommendations
case for further action

Layout of a report

1-4 Standard headings to begin a short report

4 Subject should be concise and helpful.

5 Headings make it clear what each section is about, and reflect (in the same order) the 4 bullet points giving
details of what you are required to cover.

6 Nowadays the active form (I have asked, I led) is often used, particularly in reports written for known readers.

6-7 The 3 main elements of the method (questionnaire, focus group and records) are referred to later.

9-10 Several phrases are used to show knowledge of standard vocabulary concerned with the topic.

12-14 Note the use of complex sentence to relate two points.

15-17 This paragraph goes into some detail about the poor management mentioned in 16.

19 Shows the writer has weighed up both the pros and cons of what they are going to propose.

22-24 Bullet points are used to draw attention to each recommendation.

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 Note:

 Use headings to structure the report. They reflect the four bullet points listing what should be included, so Symptoms and
Possible causes are more appropriate than Findings.
 Writer’s personal opinion is expressed only in the Recommendations section.

Sample Question - Write 200-250 words

 The Managing Director of your organization is concerned about the poor level of staff motivation in your organization and has
asked you to write a report on the situation.
 Write your report for the Managing Director,
 outlining how you carried out your research
 describing the symptoms of the poor motivation
 suggesting possible causes
 proposing how to improve the level of motivation.
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1 To: Shelly Howells

2 From: Jerry Thomas

3 Date: 3 October

4 Subject: Staff motivation

5 Method

6 I have asked all staff to fill in a questionnaire, and 45 percent of them did so. I led a focus group

7 discussion with six of those who returned the questionnaire, and examined staff absence records.

8 Symptoms

9 The main symptoms of poor motivation that I found are rising rates of absenteeism and staff turnover, poor

10 time keeping and the loss of several long- term customers.

11 Possible causes

12 Although in the questionnaire most people identified the level of pay and benefits as their main area of

13 dissatisfaction, the in-depth focus group discussion concluded that this is less important than poor

14 management and the ‘blame culture’.

15 Many perceive management as being carried out by a combination of threats and criticism, with an almost

16 total absence of encouragement and praise. Several people claimed that their treatment by managers

17 means that they dread coming in to work, and makes them unwilling to ask for help of to admit mistakes.

18 Recommendations

19 Despite the difficulty of radically changing management style, this is the most pressing requirement if the

20 loss of customers is to be stemmed. Other changes are also required, to give staff greater ‘ownership’ of

21 their work. I therefore recommend:

 Managers should attend training by an external body, such as a consultancy.

 Team work should be introduced wherever possible, to give staff at all levels greater responsibility for
organizing their work and checking its quality.
 Increased opportunities for training and job rotation should be created.

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