Writing reports

Reports are a two-edged sword - they can be used to get a message through to the recipient (manager) or be a means whereby the recipient finds things out about what is going on. 

Points to be kept in mind when preparing a report  

Remember the recipient of the report is a busy person and to keep his/her attention follow the KISS principle - Keep It Short and Simple. 

There are three main aims to the writing of reports and they are all about communication. A report should aim to  

Communication starts with trying to get into the mind of the reader, imagining what would most effectively catch the attention, what would be most likely to convince, what will make this report stand out among others. 

A vital part of this is presentation so while a handwritten report is better than nothing if time is short, a well-organized, typed report is very much clearer. To the reader of the report, who may well be very busy with a great deal of written information to wade through, a clear, well-presented report will produce a positive attitude from the outset, with instant benefit to the writer. Five factors which help to make reports effective are  

The structure of a report is the key to its professionalism. Good structuring wiii  

The foiiowing iist shows a frequentiy used method of producing a report, but aiways bear in mind that different organizations use different formats. It is important to check with the organization requesting the report in case their in-house format differs  

In Task 10.3, we are concerned with issues of both form and layout. We ask you to think about these because they can tell us a lot about the purpose of the text and the context in which we might expect to find it. Some kinds of writing that you are asked to do at university have very formulaic structures. That is, the way in which they are laid out and the ways in which things are written are quite clearly determined by specific conventions, which should be described and explained by the guidance you receive from your tutor. You will need to check out the guidance that you receive about writing for any particular course. This is because, as we have said before, writing conventions may differ as you move between different disciplines and professions. 

Look at the kind of vocabulary that you have been using. Are similar words and phrases being repeated in the different examples  

Do you use any other kinds of visuals (e.g. photographs, downloaded Internet pages)  

Do you use the passive voice (e.g. different layers were laid down in different ways )  

One thing that makes a report distinctive is that it breaks things up into manageable sections and these are immediately obvious to the reader. This means that the reader can find what she is looking for very easily. This is also why a contents list is important because it tells the reader where to look for particular information. 

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SAS Guide to Report Writing, Second Edition by Michele M. Burlew... 

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Written and oral expression with emphasis on technieal report writing. 

This book is easily marked, thorough, and provides dozens of examples for every possible grammatical question that you may have. It also has a wonderful section on essay and report writing. The lively writing and excellent visual charts make this book a comprehensive companion. 

The true professional will make this look effortless, but of course it is not. Unfortunately, there are no short-cuts. Good report writing takes time. Toxicologists are under increasing pressure to improve their efficiency and certainly improvements in efficiency can usually be found. Nonetheless, report writing cannot be rushed without compromising quality. 

English language—Rhetoric. 2. Report writing. 3. Business writing. 1. Title. 

The preparation for physical chemistry laboratory is a little harder to judge. Today s students seem less experienced in working with their hands than students of a few decades ago, except in the area of video games. I have used an initial experiment in which the students were required to carry out three simple measurements after assembling simple apparatuses, a technique that I learned from Ed Bair at Indiana University. Close observation of the students as they carry out such an experiment gives some information about their aptitude. This experiment also provided the opportunity to discuss data reduction, error analysis and report writing at the beginning of the course. 

How long does it take to validate a chamber for use It takes approximately two months to validate a chamber for routine use. Preparation of the validation protocol and subsequent review and approval takes the bulk of the time, or approximately one month. Actual testing will take about 2 weeks, and data analysis, report writing, and approval will take another 2 weeks. 

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Foundation subjects chemistry, mathematics, languages, report-writing, etc. 

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In addition to the listed reasons for preparing written reports there is a benefit in report writing that cannot be overestimated the preparation of the report clears the researcher s mind, clears up inconsistencies, and focuses thoughts on the essential issues. Thus, preparing reports is an integral part of the scientific thinking process. 

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