Writing for Business

9-4b. Progress, or Interim, Reports

Continuing projects often require progress, or interim, reports to give status updates on the project.

These reports may be external (advising customers regarding the headway of their projects) or

internal (informing management of the status of activities). Follow this pattern when writing a

:

Specify the purpose and nature of the project in the opening.

Provide background information if it gives the reader a better perspective.

Describe the work completed so far.

Explain the work currently in progress, including names, activities, methods used, and

locations.

Describe current and anticipated problems. If possible, include possible remedies.

Discuss future plans and completion dates in the closing.

As a location manager for her company, Victoria Van Wijk frequently writes progress reports, such

as the one shown in Figure 9.8. Producers want to know what she is doing, and a phone call does

not provide a permanent record. She provides background information to inform the director of

location instructions she is following. She then includes information about what she is currently

doing and what she plans to do next. Victoria is up front about possible complications and

concludes by giving a completion date. She chose to use bold paragraph headings to make the

report’s sequence easy to follow. She also chose to follow the headings with a colon rather than a

period.

Book Title: eTextbook: Essentials of Business Communication 9-4. Preparing Short Informational Reports 9-4b. Progress, or Interim, Reports

progress report

Figure 9.8.

Progress Report