it is an excellent course on project management

1. Presented by
Mohammad Atique Rahman
Lecturer
Department of International Relations
University of Dhaka
Email: atique@du.ac.bd

2.  What is Report?
 What is the purpose of report?
 Basic principles of quality report
 Types of report
 Different parts of report
 Key issues regarding report

3.  A report is document containing information organized in a
narrative, graphic, or tabular form, prepared on ad hoc, periodic,
recurring, regular, or as required basis.
 Reports may refer to specific periods, events, occurrences, or
subjects, and may be communicated or presented in oral or written
form.

4.  It is a tool of communication strategy
 A report aims to inform, as clearly and succinctly as possible
 A report is written for a clear purpose and to a particular audience
 Information and evidence are presented, analysed and applied to a
particular problem or issue.
 The information is presented in a clearly structured format making use
of sections and headings so that the information is easy to locate and
follow

5.  A report presents information, not an argument
 is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader
 uses numbered headings and sub-headings
 uses short, concise paragraphs and dot-points where applicable
 uses graphics wherever possible (tables, graphs, illustrations)
 may need an abstract (sometimes called an executive summary)
 does not always need references and bibliography
 is often followed by recommendations and/or appendices.

6. Accuracy :
 Report factual information – e.g., “I saw.”
 Make distinctions between fact and hearsay, fact and opinion, and fact and
conclusions.
 Be clear about the meaning of words; avoid jargon.
 Clarify all abbreviations
  Proofread the report and rewrite as needed.

7.  Completeness is achieved by reporting all the facts
discovered during the course of an investigation.
 When in doubt, include the information.
 Information that appears irrelevant to the investigator may be
relevant to the reviewer.
 In most cases, the only information the reader will have will be
the information in the report.
 Partially stated facts can be misleading and
 misinterpreted.
 Explain why certain information is lacking or
 incomplete.
 Provide a detailed explanation of the possible source of
additional information and undeveloped leads.

8.  Avoid unrelated, extraneous, incidental, and nonessential information and
detail.
 Pay attention to grammar.
 Avoid adjectives, wit, sarcasm, flowery expressions, and repetition. A report
is not a literary or creative writing exercise.
 Use singleness of thought and purpose.
 A good report will give the reader a clear idea or picture of the investigation.
 Use headings, paragraphing, sentence structure, indentations, underlining,
and capitalization to emphasize and give weight and/or visibility to
information the investigator deems more important.

9.  The investigator is a fact finder. Report the material
 and evidentiary facts without addition or subtraction.
 Do not conceal or withhold information.
 Do not assume.
 Do not conclude.
 Maintain an unbiased and open mind about the case.

10.  Arrange the contents of the report in discrete sections to facilitate
the reader’s review and understanding of the report.
 Write in chronological order.
 Avoid ambiguous sentences and vague statements.

11.  Organizational Report: Monthly, Quarterly and Annually
 Project report: Monthly, mid term and completion report
 Business Report
 Market survey report
 Investigation report

14.  Stage One: Understanding the purpose of the report, your audience
 Stage two: gather relevant information
 Stage Three: Organising your material
 Stage Four: Analysing your material
 Stage Five: Writing the report
 Stage Six: Reviewing and redrafting
 Stage Seven: Presentation

15.  Title page
 Acknowledgements
 Contents
 Executive Summary
 Introduction
 Methodology
 Results or findings
 Discussion
 Risk and Sustainability

16.  Executive Summery:
 This should be a short paragraph summarizing the
 main contents of the report. It should include a short
 statement of the main task, the methods used, conclusions
 reached and any recommendations to be
 made. The abstract or summary should be concise,
 informative and independent of the report.

17.  Methodology:
 In this section you should state how you carried out your enquiry.
What form did your enquiry take ?
 Did you carry out interviews or questionnaires, how did
 you collect your data ?
 What measurements did you make ?
 How did you choose the subjects for your interviews ?
 Present this information logically and concisely.

18.  Results or findings
 Present your findings in as simple a way as possible. The more
complicated the information looks, the more difficult it will be to
interpret. There are a number of ways in which results can be
presented.
 Here are a few :
 Log-frame
 Tables
 Graphs
 Pie charts
 Bar charts
 Diagrams

19.  Risk and Sustainability
 At the end of the report can summarize risks
and sustainability i.e.
 Environmental
 Law and order situation
 Price hike
 Natural Disaster
 Political Situation