COM12 Business Communication Assessment 3: Business Report

COM12 Report Writing Guide What is a report?

• It is a written, factual account • It objectively communicates information • It may be persuasive • It analyses information in a structured way • It is divided into key sections with headings and sub-headings

What are reports used for?

• As the basis for making decisions: • To describe or inform about routine events, e.g. Annual reports • To describe or inform about non-routine events, e.g. an industrial accident • To provide a permanent record of findings, recommendations and conclusions

Who are you writing for? Who is your audience?

• Reports are written in response to a set of specific objectives. The task is to provide well-argued recommendations.

• In this case, your audience is your marker, however you should write for a business audience.

Consider the reader

• Consider the reader’s viewpoint and understanding of technical terms. • In this report, you need to demonstrate your understanding of key concepts

and ideas presented in the unit. You need to demonstrate your ability to select the most appropriate and relevant concepts and ideas to apply to the organisation you have analysed.

Identify the issues within your organisation

• These will provide you with a rough structure and a list of headings.

Identify types of data to use Considering your audience’s needs will help you to determine:

• How much to research? • What ideas, theories and concepts to include? • How much to write? • How much information to balance with informed opinion, advice or

judgement? • How much your authority or expertise is being accepted? • How much evidence is needed to enhance your argument? • The appropriate language, style and formality required.

Five stage process of report writing

1. Planning 2. Gathering – Analysing – Organising 3. Decision Making 4. Drafting & Writing 5. Editing & Polishing

Stage 1 – Planning Objectives Who wants it?

What do they want?

Scope or Limits Why do they want it?

Audience Who will read it?

Timeline When do they want it? Methods How will I do it?

What information will I use? Where will that information come from?

Stage 2 - Gathering In a real report you could include information such as:

§ organisation records: files, records, archives § written notes: facts, dates, records of meetings § library research § review of literature § statistical records or reports (Industry benchmarks, ABS, other relevant

data collection systems)

In this report, you must determine what evidence is required and appropriate to demonstrate your analysis and support your argument. You are not required to carry out primary research (that means you don’t need to carry out interviews/survey work colleagues etc.)

Researching the literature, consider:-

• The broad context of your field • Where does your project focus ‘fit’? • Why is your approach to the problem/issue significant? • What other approaches could you have taken? • Have other solutions already been tested? • Are your conclusions/decisions credible?

Organise your material into themes or sections Theme Authors Discussion

Workplace relations

• Brown, Ted 2001, Workplace relations in the small business, Angus and Robertson, Melbourne

• Main Argument • Key points • Agenda/bias/Method

Are there any similarities between the two authors? What are the differences in their arguments? What relationships are there between the key points being made? Do they disagree or agree on any key points? Any other interesting aspects between the two?

• Smith, James 2005, “Managing Stress in the Workplace” in Journal of Management and Practice, Melbourne, pp. 21-33

• Main Argument • Key points • Agenda/bias/method

Training • James, Susan 2004, “Managing workplace stress, how training can help”, Industrial and Commercial Training. Guilsborough: 2004. Vol. 36, Iss. 2/3; p. 61

• Main argument • Key points • Agenda/bias/method etc.

Analysing and interpreting the data

• Research and analyse - at the same time?

What is the purpose of interpreting?

• To determine a cause of a problem or make a recommendation for action

What recommendations?

§ establish several possible lines of action? § compare project results for effectiveness, advantages/disadvantages? § establish a range of possible priorities?

Begin to plan your assignment

Analyse and refine your plan

Draft: § Identify section headings, subjects, topics or issues to be covered in

report § Clarify main ideas, link supporting evidence & references § Compare your outline with the terms of reference.

Stage 3 – Decision making Recommendations:

• What do the findings tell me? • Which findings are relevant? (objectives)

• Where do the findings lead me? • What recommendations? (solutions)

Re-visit the literature you’ve read (your study guide, textbook, additional reading) Justification Why is my argument relevant and valid? Rationale How does the literature support my argument? Who are the key

authors/researchers?

Develop your argument

Use the following to help you:

• Clearly & concisely state your argument • State your key points or components • State evidence you have to support each key point or component • Consider how the points/components are linked or related

Stage 4 – Drafting and writing Reports are broken into three major parts: Preliminary section – all the initial information

Report body – begins with the introduction, follows with the discussion and ends with the conclusion and recommendations.

Supplementary information – material that supports the discussion and is referred to in the body.

What does each section include? Preliminary section Body Table of Contents Introduction Acknowledgements Discussion Statement of Originality Conclusions Executive summary or abstract Recommendations Table of contents List of tables and figures Supplementary parts References

Milestones Debrief Appendices

Title page Should include the following information:

• The title of the report (15 words max for your task) • Your name • The name of the organisation you have analysed/evaluated • Your tutor’s name • The unit name and code • The submission date

Table of contents (TOC)

• gives the structure of the report • shows the logical approach taken to break down & analyse the problem • indicates the specific chapter or section headings for the main body of the

report • sections should be numbered and match the page numbers on contents page • The preliminary sections – page numbers in Roman numerals. • Headings should then all be numbered sequentially

Table of Contents List of tables and figures ii Acknowledgements iii A statement of originality iv Executive Summary/Abstract v 1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 What was accomplished 2 1.2 Problem solutions 7 2.0 Professional context 15 1. Issues addressed

2. Project requirements 3. Project restrictions

16 17 18

3.0 Outcomes 19 1. Milestones

2. Costs 3. Test configurations

21 25 35

4.0 Discussion 37 1. Implications for practice

2. Practical applications 38 40

5.0 Recommendations 42 1. Milestone 1

2. Milestone 2 43 44

Reference List Appendices – User manual (5 pages max)

Lists of tables and figures NB. Information included in tables and figures should be discussed in the text.

• Figures include graphs, illustrations, photographs and diagrams. • Label (number) each table and figure. • Give each figure or table a title that indicates what the figure illustrates. • Indicate the page number for the figure

Acknowledgements • Who contributed to your project? • Does your work build on other people’s work? • Which industry people helped with your work? • Did other students help you? • Did your academic supervisor contribute to the success of your project? • Library and research staff? • Did family, friends assist you?

Statement of originality A separate page including this statement.

“The material presented in this report contains all my own work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the report itself. Signed……………………………………………… Dated ………...................................................... IAP partner……………………………………….

Executive summary or abstract Conveys the main findings of the report Condenses all the main points:

§ aims & objectives (introduction) § the problem (introduction) § the research methods (introduction) § what was found (main body) § what action is required (conclusions/recommendations)

Summarises the main points of your report. It may contain:

Ø A statement of the problem Ø Background information Ø Main recommendations and conclusions

• Should be no more than a page long. • Should be placed at the beginning of the report. • Except perhaps the recommendations/conclusion,

the Executive Summary is the most important part of the report.

Example executive summary Sydney Central Railway Station is used by thousands of travellers each day. These travellers may be international visitors or have disabilities such as vision or hearing impairment. The aim of this report was to investigate of the effectiveness of communication systems used in the station. The research design involved investigating the signage, lighting, architectural detail, recorded messages and obstacles to specific populations in each quadrant of the station. This investigation found the Upper Station, the Country Trains, was ‘user friendly’; while the Lower Station, Suburban Trains, was ‘user-hostile’.

This report recommends both sections of the stations would benefit from a greater use of symbols and icons on all signs to cater to the international travellers and the multicultural nature of Sydney. Many signs also need to be simplified and have visual obstructions removed.

The body of the report includes:-

• Introduction • Background information • Aims/objectives • Scope • Assumptions (possible inclusion) • Discussion (60% of report) • Conclusion • Recommendations

This is where the facts or evidence are presented: Sections arranged with similar material

§ sections should follow a logical order § provide headings for each section to indicate the content

Sub-divide sections as necessary

§ ensure all related ideas are grouped together and supported with relevant visual material

Do not have sections with only one or two sentences.

The introduction The introduction primarily has three parts. It outlines:

§ The Background to the report § The aim or purpose of the report § The scope of the report

It will also:

• Introduces the topic / problem /context • Outlines the argument or thesis statement • Signals structure or overall plan • Defines key terms

Assumes reader is not expert but has general level of intelligence

Paragraph structure Each paragraph has a similar structure… Topic sentence: states key point of the paragraph around which the paragraph is organised; it is usually the first sentence Evidence or examples to support the key points, workplace examples, business theory. Concluding sentences link the main idea of the paragraph back to the question

The conclusion

• No new ideas, information or quotes • Last chance to convey the significance of your research to the reader • Summarise your key points, briefly • Relate key points directly back to the question/argument • This is the place to discuss questions that remain • Also discuss any ambiguous data in this section. • This is not the place to suggest future action. • You may not actually have a specific section called “Conclusion”. • Your conclusions can follow on from the discussion section • Once you have set down your conclusions, explain the implications of these

conclusions. § This research suggests… § This research implies ... § Under the circumstances

• Your conclusions should be distinct from your implications

Recommendations

• Whether you need a section for recommendations will depend on the type of report you are writing.

• If you do need this section, it is a key section of your report. • This section could be presented as a bullet-point list • This section should not introduce new information • Your recommendations should suggest ways the research could be developed

further. • Or it might be recommendations for action based on the conclusions drawn in

your report.

Reference list

• Include a list of all sources cited in your report. • Choose a referencing style (eg. Harvard, APA)

and use it consistently

Appendices The following items may be included:

§ additional test results § computer program listings § company feedback on the project § full circuit diagrams § maps, drift designs, data sheets, configuration diagrams, additional

photos, data tables, etc. § Milestone Reports (without appendices) § Planning Report (without appendices) § User Manual

Remember your marker does not have to read the material included here. Do not place information that is essential for the marker to understand your report here.

General writing tips

• Write clearly and concisely • Keep it simple – no jargon • Define key terms – never assume the reader knows what you do. Your job is to

show you understand key concepts and terms and can explain them. • Don’t try to cover every concept or theory discussed in the unit. Use the most

relevant to your organisation. • As a general rule write numbers from one to nine in words, 10 up in numerals

Stage 5 – Editing and polishing

• Revisit your first plan & terms of reference • Read the assignment task again • Sequence the main issues

Read rapidly, check:

§ supporting evidence & referencing § introduction, body and summary match § recommendations flow logically from conclusions

Ask yourself… • Have I made myself clear? • Do all the sentences make sense? • Have I avoided unnecessary repetition of ideas, words and phrases? • Have I achieved an orderly, coherent and unified presentation of my ideas? • Could I further improve the structure, logic or presentation?

Checklists CONTENT, ANALYSIS & CONCEPTUAL CLARITY

• Did you follow and fulfil the assessment criteria? • Do you understand what you are reading or writing about? • Did you tell the reader your argument, position, thesis in the

introduction? • Do each of your paragraphs have a main idea that is connected to

your position or the question? Did you describe or report exactly what you read and/or found instead of applying it to the question you are answering (ideas are unrelated to the question and answer)? Does your report have little substance and/or repeat the same idea several times?

STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT

• Have you used the academic structure of introduction, body, conclusion and bibliography/ reference list?

• Have you written in paragraphs (single isolated sentences = single isolated ideas– not connected)

• Does each paragraph have a main idea related to your position (with clarification, examples and support or evidence)

• Are paragraphs linked to each other? • Did you explain the point made by direct quotations used – the implications of

the information and how it contributes to answering the question?

RESEARCH BASE

• Did you think about what you were reading or what you had to write about? • Did you use other sources of information other than the textbook or your

own head? • Did you use the most recently available material to get the most recent

information (references)? • Did you tell the reader/lecturer where you got your ideas, statistics,

information from (references) either in your paragraphs or in a reference list at the end? Did you tell the lecturer the source of information and follow the rules of referencing (e.g. Harvard)?

PRESENTATION

• Did you check your spelling and grammar? • Are the headings you have used sentences rather than titles? E.g.

The features of hospitality industry decide professional skill and knowledge

• Do you have a title page? • Have you used spoken language or informal language e.g. “ let’s talk

about it” - “and so on” - “etcetera” - “don’t/can’t/isn’t” rather than formal language.

• Have you used personal pronouns such as I, me, my, we, our, us? • Did you ask questions? • Did you use correct font size (12) spacing (1.5 or double)

More specific editing… • Is your document word processed in 1.5 or double line spacing? • Is your report free from spelling and grammatical errors? • Are all pages numbered and do you have a Table of Contents? • Is your written expression appropriate for your report’s audience? • Do all your tables have a title (Fig. 1) and a written description? Is the content

of tables/figures discussed in the text? • Does your title have no more than 15 words and does it clearly describe your

project. • Is your title included on all project documents?