Chapter 23

Structure of a Report

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A report is divided into sections with headings. A

covering letter usually accompanies the report

It may be written by an individual or by a committee

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A report generally includes letter of transmittal, title page, table of contents,

list of abbreviations and/or glossary, executive summary/abstract,

introduction, body, conclusion, recommendation, bibliography and

appendices.

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It is typed on the organization’s letterhead. It is addressed to the person who

commissioned the report. It includes a salutation, the purpose of the letter, the

main findings of the report, any important considerations, an acknowledgement of any significant help, and expression of pleasure

or thanks.

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It includes report title, full details of the person(s) for whom the report was

prepared, full details of the person(s) who prepared the report and the date of the

presentation of the report. In an individual letter form repot, the title is in the form of

subject line, indicating the topic

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If it is a short report of 2 or 3 pages doesn’t need

a title page

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It is given after the title page; used if the report is long, say 10 pages; contains list of the headings and

appendices of the repot with the page number on which it begins.

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If the report includes abbreviations which may not be know to all readers of the report, an alphabetical lit of them is provided. A glossary is also provided if

there are many technical terms

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A Glossary is an alphabetical lit of the

terms with their meanings

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It’s a list of names of persons who helped the writer of the

report with information, collection of data, references,

discussion and so on.

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An abstract is a summary used for a scholarly, academic work and a executive

summary. It is written for an executive who most likely does not have the time to

read the original. It is not longer than 10% of the full report

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The summary gives readers the essentials contents of the repot documents in 1-10 pages; previews the main points of the

report; helps reader determine the key result and recommendations. The summary

includes the content of the research; the purpose for the report, the major findings, the conclusions, and the main recommendations.

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Bing the first section of the report, it gives details of the assignment and the purpose

and scope of the study

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Details of the assignment includes who assigned the report, on what date and how

the appointment was made, the name of committee members, the date of

submission and whether the report is expected to make recommendations

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If the assignment is made by letter by the CEO or any other authority, the

terms of reference must give the number and date of the letter, the name and title of the appointing

authority, the purpose of the repot and the time allowed

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An individual writing a letter form repot includes the authorization in the first paragraph of the

letter. Purpose and scope includes: information about the area surveyed or the problem

explained, and the limitation imposed on the study by constraints like time, finance, or non-

availability of data.

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This is the second section. Methods used for collecting information are stated in this section. It begins with the meeting held by the committee. A report must indicate the methods

used for collecting information

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•Records of the organization can provide dataon production, ale recruitment, marketing,expenditure etc.

•Observation consists of watching certainphenomena involved in a problem, andrecording what is systematically observed.

•Interrogation is the method of askingquestions

There are several methods like:

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•Reference to books, dictionaries, standardpublications

•Visits and personal inspection arenecessary when suitable sites are beingsurveyed

•Experimentation is done by various kinds oftests for different kinds of inquiries

There are several methods like:

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This comes third and is the main part of the report. The collected facts and

information have to be organized into presentable form, with headings and sub-headings. The mass of collected

information is analyzed and divided for easy and readable presentation.

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The units are joined by a numbering system. The basis for division into units may be time periods, or geographical location, or cause-and-effect or any

factors which enable classifications of the data.

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Explanation of the findings with relevant illustrative data like

diagrams, graphs, charts plans or maps make the report more readable, clear and effective.

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•They clarify and support the verbal analysis•Present a large amount of complex data in acompact form and with precision

•Comparisons of data can be seen at a glancein a graph or chart

•Pictorial representation is more attractiveand interesting to meet people.

Advantages:

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All diagrams, graphs, charts maps, etc must have proper labels, the

scale, key to color/shading/symbols used, the date of the information it

contains

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These are the proposals for action suggested by the report writer(s) to the

appointing authority. It should be written in the same order as the problems are

stated in the findings, as far as possible. They may be numbered and must be in

the same grammatical form

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A committee report must be signed by all members of the committee with the date and

place on the left and the signatures on the right

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It is supplementary material given at the end of the report, This may be a copy of

questionnaire used, or plans of buildings, maps or other materials which is

referred to in the body of the report

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It is the list of books and articles used by the report writer. It is arranged in alphabetical order of the surnames of the authors.