RESEARCH REPORT

PRO302 Public Relations Project

Seminar 4 Writing research reports

Seminar objectives

•  To discuss report writing in terms of style and structure

•  To introduce editing and proofing techniques •  To present individual projects (as a work-in-

progress) to harness feedback and engage students in the research process.

Principles of report writing

•  Accuracy •  Clarity •  Concision •  Honesty •  Logic •  Objectivity

Revising, editing & proofing

•  Revising: works with first and subsequent drafts to ensure logic and develop coherent structure

•  Editing: rewrites/tightens sentences and paragraphs to ensure clarity

•  Proofing: checks spelling, grammar, punctuation and consistency

•  Copy (or sub)editing: ensures consistency with publication style and further proofing and checking

Report structure

•  Preliminary: title, contents, abstract/executive summary

•  Body of the report: introduction, background, literature review, methodology/research design, scope and limitations, results/findings, discussion, significance/implications/ recommendations, conclusion

•  Appendices: references, data, other evidence

Questions?