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Formal Report

Formal Report. Formal Report. Whether you write an informal report or a formal report is determined primarily by the occasion for which you are written. Formal reports may be written for people inside the organization or for those outside.

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Formal Report

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  1. Formal Report

  2. Formal Report • Whether you write an informal report or a formal report is determined primarily by the occasion for which you are written. • Formal reports may be written for people inside the organization or for those outside. • It is likely that the business employees who write well have a distinct advantage over their peers. • It is important to make your reports thorough, concise, attractive, interesting, and easy to understand. • The written style for formal reports is about the same as that informal reports. • One different is that we do not use contractions in formal reports. • Also, we minimize the use of first-person pronouns such as I, me, and my and second-person pronouns such as you, your, and yours. • In order to avoid to use first-person and second-person pronouns, we may need to use passive voice more than we would have to.

  3. Formal Report • The primarily difference between informal reports and formal reports is physical format. • Because formal reports are usually long, pages (title page, table of contents, and so on) needed to be added for easy reading. • The pages that usually precede the report body of formal report include these; • Letter of transmittal • Title page • Table of contents • Also, the pages that follow the body of formal report include these; • List of tables and/or illustrations • Summary • List of conclusions • Reference materials • Bibliography • Appendixes

  4. Analytical Report • Title • Transmittal Letter (memorandum) • Table of Contents • Table of Graphics (if necessary) • Table of Figures (if necessary) • Executive Summary • Summary • Conclusions • Recommendations • Introduction • Statements of Purpose or Objective • Elements of the Problems • Definitions of Terms • Research Method • Scope and Limitations • The Body of Report • Reference Material • Bibliography • Appendix

  5. Analytical Report • When you write an analytical report, you will collect and present information, analyze it, and draw conclusions, and make recommendations. • Introduction Section • Write an introductory paragraph or so to attract the readers’ attention and to encourage them to continue reading. • Keep explanation short; most readers do not like to read a long introduction.

  6. Analytical Report • Statement of Purpose (Objective) • State the purpose or the objective of the report clearly so that readers will easily understand what you are attempting to convey. • One statement is ordinarily best for this subdivision. • Elements of problem • Some statements of problem may followed by a list of elements or factors. • Questions asked in this section should be answered in the body of the report in order in which they asked.

  7. Analytical Report • Definitions of Terms • When you have to use terms that have special meanings in a particular report, define those terms. • For only one to three terms, define each one in parentheses immediately after it appears the first time in the report or use footnotes. • Example The following terms are defined as they are used in this report. Full-time employee – a person who works at least thirty-two hours a week. Late shift – from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Small business – a business that has no more than eight employees and that has gross sales below $100,000 a year.

  8. Analytical Report • Research Method • The extent to which you cover the procedures used in collecting and analyzing information for a formal report should be based on the desires of the readers and the nature of the report. • In some non routine reports, you should describe the research method so clearly that if readers should question the validity of your findings, they could redo the research if they wanted to.

  9. Analytical Report • Scope and Limitations • For some formal reports, a paragraph or so may be needed to define the scope and to identify limitations. • The scope sets the boundaries and may tell what is not included in the report as well as what is included. • For some reports, the statement of the purpose or objective of the report makes the discussion of the scope and limitations unnecessary.

  10. Analytical Report • Body of Report • The body of the report may be only one major division of the report, or it may be divided into two or more sections. • In typical business reports, the main body of material is presented in a logical, psychological, or chronological plan. • Logical • In the logical plan, which is used most frequently, major ideas are presented first with details following. • The information of lesser importance follows in descending order of impotence. • Spatial (discussing certain parts of organization) and geographical can be considered as logical.

  11. Analytical Report • Psychological • For the psychological plan, the information is presented according to the effect the facts are expected to have on the readers. • The facts that will interest the readers most are presented first, and the facts the readers are likely to disagree with are placed last. • Chronological • The chronological plan is best when the readers need to know what happened in a time sequence or what events took place that resulted in a certain effects (cause to effect).

  12. Analytical Report • Preliminary Pages • After the body section of report, write a summary, draw conclusion (when applicable), and make recommendation (when appropriate). Then, prepare a title page, contents page, list of illustrations, and a letter of transmital.

  13. Analytical Report • Executive Summary • Most readers want to see an executive summary of a long formal report before they read the entire report. • In the summary, restate or paraphrase the statement of the purpose or objective of the report and mention – but do not describe in detail – the procedures used. • Include only the highlights of the report, and integrate these concisely worded statements for smooth, easy-to-understand reading.

  14. Analytical Report • Conclusion • A conclusion is a statement of what a finding or a combination of findings means. To draw a conclusion, ask yourself, “What does this finding (or these findings) mean in relation to the purpose of report? Analyze all findings thoroughly and study all possible relationships that exist among them. On the basis of this thorough study, draw conclusions that are not only logical but also valid. • Number the conclusions and single space them with a double space between them. A good idea is to draw conclusions as you analyze and present the information in the report body. • Some writers record conclusions in the body of the report and present them in the conclusions.

  15. Analytical Report • Recommendations • Base your recommendations on the conclusions and on the findings. • When you make alternative recommendations, present them in the order of feasibility according to your best judgment. • Present the summary, the conclusions, and recommendations on one page when space permit.

  16. Analytical Report • Contents Page and List of Graphic Aids • Prepare a contents page, which shows the page number for each organizational headings and each first-degree subject-matter heading, to precede the report summary. Third-degree headings are usually omitted from the table of contents. • For a long report that contains several graphics, a list of graphics should follow the table of contents. • Prepare an attractive, well-arranged title page to include the report title, the name of the person or organization for whom the report was written, your name, and the date. • Write a letter (or a memorandum) to transmit the report to the person for whom it was written. Identify the report and tell who authorized you to write.

  17. Reference • Whether you paraphrase, quote verbatim, or use a graphic aid, make sure to give credit to the source of the information. • Example of paraphrasing and of leading in to quotations are shown next; Because the average number of letters written each day by junior executive in the Southeast has risen from seven to eleven, an increase of slightly more than 57 percent, greater emphasis should be placed on dictating efficiency.1 1Talmadge A. Holtzman, “Increase Correspondence Cost,” Administrative Services, 72 (1990): 16-17

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