Better English Writing - Geddes Grosset Webster’s Word Power 2014
Reports
Writing for work or business
The thought of having to write a business report can be very intimidating to some people. But don’t worry - it’s not difficult. Half of the battle is remembering and applying the principles of plain English, and we’ve already covered that.
What we are going to focus on here is the process involved in writing a report, and the way it is organised and structured.
The process of writing a report
Like all types of writing, there is a process for writing a report. And, as with other types of writing, you can repeat parts of this process until you are happy with your report. It will help you to focus your thoughts and give you somewhere to start.
Here’s the suggested process:
✵ Define the purpose of your report. Why are you writing it and who are your readers?
✵ Research the information you need. This will depend on the type of report you are writing. You might need to devise a questionnaire, interview people, use the internet or look in company records or accounts. Ask the person who has asked you to do the report for help, if you need it.
✵ Plan and structure. This will help you to make sense of all the information you have gathered, and help you to produce an organised, clear and concise report.
✵ Write your first draft. Do a rough draft - don’t worry too much about how it looks at this stage - and it will give you a good idea of how your report is shaping up.
✵ Revise and edit. Refer back to Chapter 2 for advice.
✵ Identify any missing information. Revising and editing your writing usually reveals any gaps that need to be filled.
✵ Cut out what you don’t need. The editing process also reveals what you don’t need.
✵ Write the final draft. Give it to a critical friend to look over.
Planning your report
You need to plan your report if you want it to be well-organised, clear and concise.
Imagine that you work for your local government education department. Your boss has asked you to write a report about the impact of music projects on junior
and senior schools in Goldenvalley. This is to inform senior management about whether to continue funding music in local schools.
You have defined the purpose of the report, and you have gathered the information you need by devising different questionnaires and interviewing different groups of people. You have also read music guidelines and policy documents.
Now it’s time to plan it. Here’s a suggestion for how you can do this.
You’ll probably have gathered a lot of information, so mind mapping can help you to empty your head of that information, then sort it out.
✵ Get a piece of paper and write down all your ideas - don’t worry about perfect writing at this point - just get the content down.
✵ Get a clean piece of paper. Put the topic box in the middle of the page.
✵ Now think about the main ideas of your report - what are they?
✵ Draw lines from the topic box to these main ideas.
✵ Now add information where you think it sits within these main ideas.
✵ Make links between the main ideas.
There is an example of a mind map on the next page.
Structuring your report
Once you’ve got your plan worked out, it’s time to structure the report. Here’s an example of a structure you could use - most reports follow this model.
✵ Title/title page
✵ Contents
✵ Executive summary
✵ Introduction
✵ Findings
✵ Summary and conclusions
✵ Recommendations
✵ Appendix
Sections within the structure
Let’s look at what each of these sections involves in more detail.
Title page
A short report only needs a title. A long report needs a title page. On the next page there is an example of a title page.
Contents page
A long report needs a contents page. A short report doesn’t.
Here’s an example of a contents page:
Contents
Executive summary
Introduction
Purpose
Outcomes
Data collection
Method of analysis
Findings
Class teachers
Pupils in junior schools
Pupils in senior schools
Specialist staff
Report
The impact of music on junior and senior schools in goldenvalley
Anne Other
Education advisor
Goldenvalley Education Department
JANUARY 2013
Summary and conclusions
Emerging themes
Issues
Recommendations
Sustainability
Funding
Appendices
Appendix 1 Questionnaires
Appendix 2 Timetable for collection of data
Appendix 3 Copy of Music Strategy for 2000-2012
Appendix 4 Curriculum Guidance Goldenvalley Education Department
Executive summary
This is a summarised version of the summary, conclusions and recommendations of the report. It means that people can get the overall picture without having to plough through the whole report. The executive summary is often circulated as a separate document because it saves people time and money.
Here’s an example of an executive summary:
Executive summary
A number of conclusions, issues and recommendations have emerged from this report.
Conclusions
✵ All music projects have a very positive impact on the pupils and staff involved.
✵ The music projects all support the Goldenvalley Curriculum Guidance.
✵ Access to music is as wide as possible within age constraints, and all projects are inclusive.
✵ Teachers are more confident about taking up professional development in music and trying out new music activities themselves in the classroom.
✵ The music specialist team is strong and provides a valuable service.
✵ Many of the music projects have given pupils access to musical experiences that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Issues
✵ Should funding be continued?
✵ Long term sustainability needs to be discussed.
Recommendations
✵ Set up a new fund for music projects - there is evidence to prove that music benefits all of the stakeholders in junior and senior schools.
✵ Solve the issue of long-term sustainability by funding a programme of professional development for classroom teachers, supported by the music specialist team and learning and teaching packs.
Introduction
The introduction should be clear and concise. It should answer the following questions:
✵ What is the report about?
✵ Who asked for the report and why?
✵ What is the background to the report?
✵ What was your method of working and collecting data?
Here is an example of an introduction:
Introduction
This report was requested by the Senior Management Team of Goldenvalley Education Department. The aim of this report is to:
✵ evaluate the impact of music projects on junior and senior schools in Goldenvalley
✵ recommend whether or not to continue funding these projects.
The music projects were previously funded by education department money. However, cuts have to be made in local government spending, and each curriculum area is being evaluated to assess how essential it is for pupils’ education.
Data for the report was collected by the following metho ds:
✵ questionnaires, followed up by interview
✵ observation
✵ reading reports.
Four different questionnaires were devised (for junior pupils, senior pupils, teachers and music specialists) and used to gather data.
The questionnaires asked for qualitative responses only. In most cases, respondents were asked to fill out the form before the interview. If they had any questions or were unclear about any of the questions, they could bring this up during the interview.
The main part of this report - the section on ’Findings’ - records and analyses r espondents’ views of music projects in junior and senior schools. All interviews were carried out face-to-face using the questionnaires in Appendix 1.
All other sources used for this report are also in the Appendices section.
Findings
This is the main body of the report. It will be the longest section, because it will expand on your Executive Summary, and it will contain all the detailed information that you have gathered and analysed.
Remember to write concisely and clearly, and apply plain English principles. Organise your work under headings and subheadings.
The findings for Goldenvalley Education Department will be organised as follows:
Findings
Class teacher s
This section will explore the impact that the music projects have had on classroom teachers.
[The report will then go on to cite, analyse and interpret the qualitative and quantitative evidence for this group of respondents.]
Pupils in junior schools
This section will explore the impact that the music projects have had on pupils in junior schools.
[The report will then go on to cite, analyse and interpret the qualitative and quantitative evidence for this group of respondents.]
Pupils in senior schools
This section will explore the impact that the music projects have had on pupils in senior schools.
[The report will then go on to cite, analyse and interpret the qualitative and quantitative evidence for this group of respondents.]
Specialist staff
This section will explore the impact that the music projects have had on
specialist staff who teach music.
[The report will then go on to cite, analyse and interpret the qualitative and quantitative evidence for this group of respondents.]
Summary and conclusions
The summary and conclusions section describes the purpose of the report, what your conclusions are and how you reached them. Again, keep this section clear and concise.
Here is an example:
Summary and conclusions
A number of points have emerged from this report.
All the music projects have had a very positive impact on the pupils and staff involved. They have, without exception, developed pupils’ confidence and self-esteem, and have developed their overall performance. The projects are about achievement as well as attainment.
The in-school projects have managed to get over the ’If I can’t play a musical instrument, I can’t teach music’ syndrome amongst classroom teachers. Teachers are more confident about taking up opportunities in music and trying out new activities themselves. This has been largely due to support from either music specialists or from learning and teaching support packs.
The music specialist team is strong, and provides a musical service.
Many of the projects have given pupils the opportunity to have musical experiences that they would not otherwise have had. These pupils will take these experiences with them throughout their lives.
The main issue that has emerged is the sustainability of funding. The music projects were previously funded by education department money. However, cuts have to be made in local government spending, and each curriculum area is being evaluated to assess how essential it is for pupils’ education. The question is how essential is music to pupils’ overall education and personal development compared to other subjects?
Recommendations
Your main findings or conclusions will lead to your recommendations. What issues do you think have emerged from your findings and what actions or options do you recommend to address them?
Again, keep this section brief and to the point. Many people reading the report will go straight to this section, because it’s the one that really matters.
Recommendations
The findings from the report suggest that music has had a beneficial impact on both pupils and staff. Music has helped to develop pupils’ learning as well as their personal and social development, and this report therefore recommends that music should continue to be taught in junior and senior schools in Goldenvalley.
However, the major issue is that music has always been funded centrally, and that savings must be made in this central budget. The following two suggestions could help to resolve these issues:
✵ Divert some of the culture and heritage lottery funding to schools with the justification that they are educating the concert- and theatre-goers of tomorrow - if there are no audiences to play to, there will be no concerts.
✵ Solve the issue of long-term sustainability by using some of these funds to develop a programme of professional development for classroom teachers, supported by the music specialist team and learning and teaching packs.
Appendix
If you have generated a lot of research material, such as charts, tables, questionnaires or statistics, then put these in an appendix/appendices, or they will disrupt the flow of the report.
Here is an example of what the appendices could contain:
Appendices
Appendix 1: Questionnaires
Appendix 2: Timetable for data collection
Appendix 3: Copy of Music Strategy 2000-2012
Appendix 4: Curriculum Guidance for junior and senior schools in Goldenvalley
Staying relevant, objective and factual
As with all writing, when you are writing a long report, it is very important that you stay relevant throughout or you will lose the reader ’s concentration and understanding (and goodwill). A good, well-planned structure will help you to stay on track and develop a logical, concise and clear argument.
When you are writing a report, you also need to be obj ective and factual. You are not writing a personal note or a letter to the local newspaper - you have been
asked to review all the facts objectively, assess the evidence and come up with recommendations based on this.
Remember to keep your tone formal and neutral, with no inappropriate jokes or asides. Apply the principles of plain English and keep in mind the purpose of the report all the time you are researching and writing it.