Different kinds of reports

Reports come in many different shapes and sizes. Their primary function is to:

inform

persuade

recommend

and by so doing, influence the decision making process.

Reports may also be used to advise,

encourage and to warn. Listed below are a number of different kinds of report.

A report for a single decision maker such as a line manager

A major report for a number of decision makers

A report for a committee

A working party report

A proposal for funding / investment.

Basic Principles
The basic principle of report writing is simple. Reports should be accessible brief and clear:
A= Accessible

A report should easy to read, not just in terms the technical content,
but also in terms of the structure, the headings, paragraph numbering,
the indexing, referencing and so forth. It has to be written from the
point of view of the reader and NOT the author. At first glance this is
obvious but unfortunately not always easy to achieve. Report writing
is a skill and like any skill competency is achieved through practice.

B= Brevity

A report should be to the point.

It should contain all the relevant

information presented in a user friendly accessible format. Writers

must work on the assumption that they will not be available to answer
queries in the event of the reader being confused or uncertain on an

issue or point raised in the document.

If the reader is confused for

any reason, it is the writer who has failed. In such an event the writer
will have ignored the first rule of report writing, namely, to write so
that the reader will understand.

It is for this reason that wherever

possible technical jargon should be avoided unless the writer is

absolutely confident that the reader will understand the
technical terms that are used. The more words which are used, the
longer it will take to read and the greater the probability that some
important issues will not be understood. Be brief and to the point, but
ensure that all the information is contained in the document. Consider
queries as a clear indication of inadequacy.
C= Clarity

A report should be presented in such a way that the reader is left in no

doubt about what the issues are and what the implications of a
particular course of action will be.

In short, the principles of accessibility, brevity and clarity represent the ABC of report writing.

A short report will be approximately 500-1500 words

A report of ,medium length will consist of 1500-5000 words

A long report will exceed 5000 words.

Geoffrey C Lloyd
23 October 2011

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Management Matters, volume 1, number 4, pps. 37-42.