Structure / Layout of a Report (Unit four)
On Demand Reports
An on demand report is prepared on an out of the routine situation or subject. The examples of such reports are: - Survey Report, (e.g. A Report on the Causes of Decline in the Sale of a Product) Report on technical problem, Feasibility Report, Report on an accident, etc.
An on demand report always has an author and a recipient of the report. Author is the person who writes the report and recipient is the authorized person who formally asks / appoints the author to write the report and whom the report is finally submitted after the completion of the report. The recipient supplies terms of reference for the author for his guidelines to write the report. The terms of reference clearly outline the scope, purpose and limitation of your work. Sometimes, the recipient of the report may be different and the audience may be a different person or a group of person.
You may note here that these reports are prepared on manuscript format. A manuscript format has overall nineteen elements as you will come to know later.
Preparation of this report is not an easy task because apart from professional and technical knowledge, there are some conventional elements also that a report writer has to bear in his mind. In fact before writing this report we must know all its elements which make it up.
Structure / Lay Out of a Report
As I have already mentioned about the format of routine reports that every organization decides the format according the custom and convenience of the company. Similarly, the order of the elements of the report too have been standardized as per the convention of the world of work although variations too are welcome depending upon their suitability. The format of this report is also known as manuscript format.
The sequence of all the elements is given below.
The first ten are called Prefatory Elements or Front Matter because they appear before the main body. The next four elements are called Main Body Elements or Main Body because the main body of the report is divided into these elements. The last five are known as Supplemental Elements or Back Matter because they appear at the end of the report.
Prefatory Elements or Front Matter
1. Cover
2. Frontispiece
3. Title Page
4. Copyright Notice
5. Forwarding Letter (letter of transmittal)
6. Preface
7. Acknowledgements
8. Table of Contents
9. List of illustrations
10. Abstract and Summary
Main Body Elements or Main Body
11. Introduction
12. Discussion or Description
13. Conclusions
14. Recommendations
Supplemental Elements or Back Matter
15. Appendices
16. List of References
17. Bibliography
18. Glossary
19. Index
Of the above elements, only the title page, the introduction, the description or discussion and the conclusions are obligatory. You can include another element recommendations only when you are required to put forward your recommendations also.
Prefatory Elements or Front Matter
1. Cover
A cover is usually made of card board or plastic card board. It protects the manuscript from damage and gives it a neat appearance. Some organizations have already prepared covers having all the essential information. All one has to do is to type some more information and get it ready. Generally a cover has only the following information.
(i) Name and address of the organization.
(ii) Classification e.g. secret, top secret or any other.
(iii) Its number if any.
(iv) Title of the Report.
(v) Date
Inside of the cover and the back side are generally left blank. If the number of the recipients is big, it is called circulation list and it is printed on the inside of the cover. Generally the name of the author and the recipient for whom report is written are mentioned on the cover.
2. Frontispiece
A frontispiece is like a window display igniting the curiosity of the readers. It may contain artistic drawings, photographs or maps which give boost to curiosity.
3. Title Page
It is the first right hand page of the report. It contains the following information.
(i) Name and address of the organization.
(ii) Classification e.g. secret, top secret or any other
(iii) Its number if any
(iv) Title of the Report
(v) Subtitle
(vi) Name of the author
(vii) Name of the recipient for whom the was written
(viii) Contact, Project or Job Number
(ix) Approvals
(x) Date
4. Copyright Notice
The next page after the title page is meant for copyright notice. It may be as:-
@ 2001 Ravi Kumar Agrawal
or
All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.
Or
© Publisher
5. Forwarding Letter
There are two types of forwarding letters, (i) covering and (ii) introductory.
Covering forwarding letter serves simply as a record of transmission of the report and it does not contain any important information. Thus it is not bound with the report.
Introductory forwarding letter performs almost the same function which a preface or an introduction does for a book. It has all the qualities of a good business letter. It is bound with the report.
6. Preface
A preface is the author’s own opinion about the report. Preface introduces the report (not the subject matter of the report) and offers it to the readers. It contains almost all the information that is given in the introductory type of a letter transmittal.
7. Acknowledgements
It is, in fact, thanks giving section dedicated to the people who extended their support in preparation of the report. All the names of the organizations and people whose help the author has taken for the preparation of his report are printed here with note of thanks. It is customary, necessary as well as encouraging for those who have extended their support. If a copy right material has been reproduced, it is clearly indicated in this section with thanks.
8. Table of Contents
Like the table of contents of a book, a report too has a table of contents. It contains the names of chapters and subchapters and the number of pages against them. It is essential for long reports which have more than ten pages. It gives an overall view of the report. It helps the reader in locating a particular topic/chapter or sub topic by displaying its page number against it. For small reports, less than 12 pages, it is useless therefore not necessary.
9. List of Illustrations
It is very much like list of content but it is a list of content for figures, drawings and photographs. If there are a large number of illustrations, say more than twelve, a separate list of illustration is given immediately after the table of contents. Like a table of contents, it displays the page number of each illustration. If the number of illustrations is very large it can be divided into two parts i.e. List of Tables and List of Figures.
10. Abstract and summary
In general small reports contain abstract only and big reports contain both abstract and summary. Although both are very much similar yet there is a difference between the two.
An abstract tells in concentrated form what the report is about where as a summary gives the substance of the report.
By nature an abstract is shorter than a summary. There is no fixed rule about its length. It is however agreed that the length of the abstract should be about two to five percent of the original whereas that of the summary between five and ten percent.
The purpose of both these elements is to enable the busy reader to gather important information quickly without having to go through the whole report. Inclusion of both these elements depends upon (i) the length of the report and (ii) the requirement of the recipient.
Main Body Elements or Main Body
11. Introduction
An introduction of a report may start from the background why the report was prepared because it is always a better start. Though the reader has already got some information about the report from the abstract and/or summary, an introduction is often the first important element to be read, an introduction brings everything in light why the report is being prepared. The main function of the introduction is to say what the report is about, what work has already been done on the subject and what new grounds are covered in the present study. In specific terms the items of information that may be included in it are the following:
∙ Historical and technical background.
∙ Scope of study, specifying its limitations and qualifications.
∙ Methods of collecting data and their sources.
∙ Authorization for the report and terms of reference.
∙ Organization of the material.
∙ Definitions of special terms and symbols, if their number is small.
Since the introduction sets the scene and prepares the reader for what is to follow, take utmost care in writing it. The introduction of a report is, however, different from that of an essay or a popular article in which you are expected to quickly arrest the reader’s attention and gradually lead him on to the subject matter. The introduction to a report states in a forthright manner what you are going to discuss and does not admit of any vagueness.
12. Discussion or Description
This section is in fact the real piece of report. It discusses or describes the main business of the report. It naturally occupies a major portion of the report and contains almost all the illustrations. Usually, it has several sections grouped under different headings and sub-headings It is not necessary that it must be named discussion or description only. You can give any other title to this section and you can divide it in different chapters according to your convenience and give them separate names..
The main function of this part is to present data in an organized form, discuss their significance and analysis and the results that flow there from.
There is no set procedure for writing the discussion. Many report writers, however, see an advantage in using what has been called the ‘backward order’ that is, first stating the results and then describing how they were arrived at. This view is based on the observation of the psychology of the reader who is more interested in knowing what finally happened than in wanting to know how something happened.
13. Conclusions
After discussion, it is expected that the author of the report would reach a conclusion or a set of conclusions. The element conclusion is meant for the result of the collection of the data, examination of such data and drawing some conclusion/s thereof. You write the conclusion/s here. The function of such a conclusion is to bring the discussion or description to a close and indicate to the reader that he has reached the end. But as an element of the report, this term refers to the body of logical inferences drawn and the judgments formed on the basis of analysis of data presented in the report or to the findings of the investigation made.
All conclusions must be supported by what has gone before; nothing new should be included at this stage. If their number is large, they may be itemized in the descending order of their importance.
14. Recommendations
Your report may have a room for recommendation, especially if you are dealing with an investigation to find the root cause of a problem. In such cases, when the reader has come to know the root cause of a problem that caused some damage, he would also like to know how this problem may be prevented that it doesn’t take place again in future. The reader would expect that some set of recommendations must be prescribed that the problem doesn’t take place in future again. Thus, you get a room for recommendation in your report but you must know here that you should not provide unsolicited recommendation. You have to provide recommendations only when you have been asked to do so otherwise you must end your main body in conclusion and omit recommendation. In such case, it is possible that your recipient would take recommendation from a person other than you. In some reports conclusions and recommendations are combined on the plea that they are closely associated. You should not do so unless your report is very short or you are required to combine them. Thus conclusions embody the inferences and findings whereas the function of recommendations is to suggest the future course of action. The busy executive may sometimes read only this part of the report and take decisions. And that is why recommendations should be formulated after considering all aspects of the question examined in the report.
The terms of reference would usually indicate whether recommendations are required. In real life situations you will often be asked to investigate a problem, discuss the results and report your conclusions and on the basis of these materials. Action will be recommended by someone else. It is not wise to make recommendations if you have not been asked to do so. The reader for whom you prepare the report may think that you have assumed the authority which rightly belongs to him. And this may affect your relationship with him.
Supplemental Elements or Back Matter
15. Appendices
An appendix contains material which is needed to support the main body of the report but is too detailed / voluminous to be included in the text. It should be such that the reader can safely omit reading it without any loss of understanding of the contents of the report. But if he wishes to examine in detail the supporting or related evidence and documents he should be able to find it in the appendix. Thus in deciding which material should be relegated to the appendix, bear in mind the following two factors:
1. The material must be an essential and integral part of the report,
2. If it is included in the main body it would interrupt the train of the reader’s thought and he may stop reading because it is essential but dry data.
All such data may be shifted to appendices but you must mention the number and page number of appendix where the reader can go and read it like Appendix A, Appendix B and so on.
Generally, the kind of material included in the appendix is questionnaires, statistical data, samples of forms or data sheets used in the investigation, detailed calculations, derivations of questions, illustrative materials, worked – out examples, sample documents, specimens, tables of definitions and symbols, correspondence, summaries of results achieved by other organizations, views of others on similar topics, and other materials which must be included for record.
16. List of References
If you have used or quoted from any published or unpublished works in your report, you must give credit to them. It is in fact traditional activity and it is essential as well. This is done by citing such works in the text and listing them in alphabetical order at the end of the report. If their number is small, they may be mentioned in the footnotes at the bottom of the page on which they are cited. The attention of the reader is drawn to the footnotes either by putting a printer’s mark (a star or an asterisk, for example) or by writing a number at suitable places in the text. Remember that footnotes are intended to be helpful and not ornamental.
In the footnotes the name of the author is given in the natural order and commas are used to separate the details of the notation as shown below:
Warner Alan, A short Guide to English Style, Oxford University Press, London, ELBS Edition, 1964, PP. 40-42
17. Bibliography
A bibliography is a serially numbered list of published and unpublished works which are consulted before or during the preparation of a report but you have not quoted them in your report. You are indebted to them because you have got the idea or concept from them. Thus, you have to give credit to them by mentioning those works / authors in this element of bibliography. It is distinct from the list of References in the following respects:
1. The bibliography lists the works which the author has read and to which he is indebted for ideas or information in general terms, whereas, the purpose of the list of references is to point out the specific location of an idea or a piece of information in the original source.
2. The bibliography may contain works recommended for further study, whereas, the reference does not perform any such function.
18. Glossary
A glossary is a list of technical words used in the report and their explanations. If, however, the number of such words is small, they are generally explained in the footnotes.
Whether you should include a glossary in your report will depend upon who is going to read your report. If the reader’s field of expertise is the one to which your report relates, there is no need for a glossary. But if the audience is drawn from other areas, it is advisable to give a glossary.
19. Index
The index is intended to serve as a quick guide to the material in the report. It enables the reader to locate easily any topic, sub-topic or important aspect of the contents e.g. special terminology or some proper names. There is a need for giving an index only in bulky reports where the Table of contents cannot do this job.
Entries in the index are made in alphabetical order and cross-referenced. All page numbers where that entry is discussed are mentioned against them.
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Report Definition and Importance
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