2. Objectives
In this chapter, you will Learn:
Types of reports.
To specify the reader of the report.
To use supporting materials (tables, figures, ..).
To make the report grammatically sound and
free of errors.
To avoid common language errors when writing
To make the format of the report consistent.
3. What is a report?
A report is an objective, planned presentation of facts.
A report should be :
skillfully planned and organized,
logically sequenced,
objective,
accurate,
reliable
easy to read.
The report sections differ in the kinds of information
which they contain, and in their depth of coverage.
The aim of reports is to communicate your work to others
in writing.
4. Types of reports
Short reports
(example: in communication between departments)
Issue reports
(latest information on particular issues)
Informational reports
(operations, policies, procedures, compliance,
progress)
Regular reports
(monthly activity, cost reports)
5. Types of reports (cont)
Justification reports
(expenses, funding)
Statistical reports
(usage, frequency)
Annual reports
(background, major departments, major
achievements, financial information)
6. Who will read your Report
If you write an internal company report:
Your immediate supervisor.
Your colleagues working on similar problems.
The department head will read the Abstract, the
Introduction, and the Conclusions and Results.
The Vice-President will read the Abstract.
At the end of the year, the title will be listed in the
Annual Progress Report.
7. Who will read your Report
If you write a paper published in a technical
journal
Subscribers to the journal, who also work in your field,
will read it all.
Subscribers to the journal, who wish to keep in touch
with your field, will read the abstract only.
The Title and Abstract may be reprinted by an
abstracting service for wider circulation.
Most of the Engineering world will either never hear of
your paper, or will see its title only.
8. Clarity of Writing
Make each sentence follows from the previous one,
building an argument piece by piece.
Group related sentences into paragraphs, Group
paragraphs into sections.
Create a flow from beginning to end.
9. Consistency of Format
Establish a template and stick to it
For example,
if you indent paragraphs, be sure to indent them all;
use a consistent style of headings throughout (e.g.,
major headings in bold with initial capitals, minor
headings in italics, etc.);
write "%" or "percent" but do not mix them, and so on.
10. Supporting Material
Use figures, tables, data, equations, … to clear your ideas.
Refer to them directly in the text.
Number figures and tables sequentially as they are
introduced.
(e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, …)
(e.g., Table 1, Table 2, …).
Provide captions with complete information and not just a
simple title.
Label all axes and include units.
Insert a figure or table after the paragraph in which it is first
mentioned, or, gather all supporting material together after
the reference section (before any appendices).
11. Report Language
The report should be grammatically sound, with correct
spelling, and generally free of errors.
Avoid jargon , slang.
Define any abbreviations not used as standard measurement
units.
Most of the report describes what you did, and thus it should
be in the past tense
(e.g., "values were averaged"),
but use present or future tense as appropriate
(e.g., "x is bigger than y“ ).
Employ the active rather than passive:
e.g., "the software calculated average values"
is better than
"average values were calculated by the software").
12. Opinion
The author uses his words to provide information
about facts and events that have happened.
Adding opinions, personal observations, and other
extraneous material can cloud the communication
between the author and reader.
The author typically does not provide opinions, except
in the cases where an unexplained event or phenomena
has occurred.
