CC0006 Basics of Report Writing

What are Reports?

Reports are clearly structured documents with headed sections. They can be written for different purposes such as to inform findings, reinforce or build on existing findings or to propose an idea or an approach to solve problems and issues.

The main purpose of a research report is usually to investigate an issue and report back the findings with suggestions and recommendations to allow people to make decisions or take actions.

Before Writing a Report...

The prerequisites when writing a report are: 

• Identify the intended audience i.e., general public, government agency, senior management in an organisation, etc, 
• Clarify the objective of the report
• Consider what the reader should takeaway from the report. 

The report must address the needs of the stakeholders.

Plan the scope, conduct research, collect and analyse data, organise the information, draft the report and revise it as necessary to produce an effective piece of communication.

What should a Report look like?

• Formally structured and clearly written
• Fact based
• Written with a specific purpose
• Have headings and subheadings
• Include visuals - images, graphs and tables to explain points / reinforce textual information
• Offer recommendations for actions
• Must be accurate and concise to avoid misinterpretation

Report writing is not limited to academic work or assignment. At the workplace, graduates may be expected to write different types of reports, eg. work progress, projects, recommendations, etc.