Fundamental

Concepts of
REPORT
WRITING
LANGUAGE plays a vital role in writing a
report.

Should be…

Concise
Coherent
Precise
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
WRITING
1. K-I-S-S Concept

2. Quoting, Paraphrasing
and Summarizing

3. Use of Graphic
Organizers

4. Documentation and
Citation
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
1. K-I-S-S WRITING
Concept
Keep It Short and Simple

- highlights the use of simple but concise words rather than the use of
jargons and complex words
- emphasizes expressing rather than impressing
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
1. K-I-S-S WRITING
Concept
EXAMPLE
• A marketer works to find a simple message for promoting toothpaste and comes up with 'For a
cleaner, brighter, happier life’.

• A politician who wants to reform both tax and local services, uses the message 'You pay less,
we do more’.

• A consultant writes detailed reports, but always with a straightforward executive summary that
gets the key message across
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
WRITING
2. Quoting, Paraphrasing and
Summarizing
Quoting- exact copying of a portion of an original text
- In doing this, punctuations must be observed

EXAMPLE
Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research
since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in
emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
WRITING
2. Quoting, Paraphrasing and
Summarizing
Paraphrasing- to use your own words in restating author’s ideas or words
- In doing this, same number of words like the original is observed

EXAMPLE
Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change for women as they gained more rights than ever
before.
Paraphrase: She lived through the exciting era of women's liberation.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
WRITING
2. Quoting, Paraphrasing and
Summarizing
Summarizing- recapitulating authors ideas or words
- Shorter restatement of the original text in your own words.

For instance,…

…if you were asked to summarize the story of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet,' you might say: It's the story of a
young prince of Denmark who discovers that his uncle and his mother have killed his father, the former
king.

These three needs to-be properly documented.

 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
3. Use of Graphic WRITING
Organizers
Classified as tables or figures
TABLES- compact summary of data or information which is systematically presented
in columns

FIGURES - includes graphs and charts in presenting the data or information

 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
3. Use of Graphic
Organizers WRITING
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
Citation WRITING
The proper acknowledgement of references or resources

Ethical practices used in developing report

Composed of author’s last name and date of publication placed

within parenthesis.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
The two most commonly used citation styles…

1. American Psychological Association (APA) Style

General Rule: (Author’s last name, year, p. #)

• If the author’s name is mentioned in the paragraph, you only list the date in
parentheses after the author’s name (APA Manual p. 174).

• A work by two authors: Cite the names of both authors every time their work is
referenced in the text.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
The two most commonly used citation styles…

1. American Psychological Association (APA) Style

General Rule: (Author’s last name, year, p. #)

• Three to five authors: The first time that you cite the work use the last name of
all the authors; for subsequent citations, use first author’s name followed by “et al.”,
which stands for “and others.”

• For more than five authors, use the first author’s name, followed by “et al.”
(APA Manual p. 175).
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
Example
• “Taboo language, then, enters into a startling array of human concerns, from capital
crimes in the Bible to the future of electronic media” (Pinker, 2007, p. 325).

• Pinker (2007) has argued that the study of swear words provides a glimpse of human
nature.

• Kramer, Higgins, Maxwell, and Todd (2010) studied monkeys who had all been given
typewriters…

• Kramer et al. (2010) later concluded that monkeys given typewriters could not
produce master works on par with playwrights like William Shakespeare
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
List of References
Books
General rule: Author’s last name, Initial(s). (year). Book title. City, state of publication:
Publishing Co. (APA manual p. 202)
Example

• A book with a single author: ( APA manual p. 203)

Pinker, S. (2007). The stuff of thought: Language as a window into human nature. New
York, NY: Viking.
• A book by two or more (but fewer than eight) authors: (APA manual p. )
Graves, R. M., & Cornish, G. S. (1998). Golf course design. New York, NY: Wiley.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
List of References
Periodical articles
General rule: Author’s last name, Initial(s). (Date). Article title. Periodical Title, volume
(issue), inclusive pages. Example

A journal article: (APA manual p. 198)

Millot, J. L., & Filiatre, J. C. (1986). The behavioural sequences in the communication
system between the child and his pet dog. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 16(4), 383-
390.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
The two most commonly used citation styles…

2. Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

General Format
• Use 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Use a legible font (e.g., Times New Roman) with a 12-point font size.
• Double-space the entire document.
• Include a header with your last name and page number in the top right corner
of each page.
• Use a separate title page for the paper, unless instructed otherwise.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
In-Text Citations
- used to give credit to sources within the body of the paper
Example

• When referring to a direct quote, include the author's last name and the page number.
For example: (Smith 45)

• When referring to the author's name in the sentence, only include the page number in
parentheses.
For example: According to Smith, "..." (45)
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
In-Text Citations
- used to give credit to sources within the body of the paper
Example

• When citing a source with multiple authors, include all the authors' last names.
For example: Smith, Johnson, and Davis 23)

• When citing an online source without page numbers, use the author's last name or a
shortened title.
For example: (Smith) or ("Shortened Title")
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT
4. Documentation and
WRITING
Citation
Works Cited Page
- a list of all the sources cited in your paper
Example
(how to format different types of sources)

• Book: Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

• Journal Article: Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol.
XX, no. XX, Year, pp. XX-XX.

• Website: Author's Last Name, First Name (if available). "Title of Webpage." Title of
Website, Publisher or Sponsor, Date of Publication or Update, URL.
 Fundamental Concepts of REPORT

1. K-I-S-S
WRITING
Concept
2. Quoting,
Paraphrasing and
Summarizing
3. Use of Graphic
Organizers

4. Documentation and
Citation
Ten Steps in Writing a Technical Report

Determine Identify what

Identify who
the your audience is
you need to
problem. learn

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

●
Gather
Show it to family Summarize
● Make a future
necessary
and friends map
● Get feedback
information
your
● Look out for
from them
and data findings
publishers

Step 44
Step Step 55
Step
Ten Steps in Writing a Technical Report

Design, organize, Draw possible Cite your

and write your conclusions and references if
report recommendations applicable

Step 6 Step 7 Step 8

● Review
Show it to and
family ● Present or
Make a future
and friends map
● revise your
Get feedback submit
● Look outyour
for
report
from them report
publishers

Step 94
Step Step10
Step 5
 Four Basic Components of Report

HEADI
NG INTRODUC
TION

DISCUSSIO
N CONCLUSION /
RECOMMEND
ATION
 CATEGORIES OF REPORT

A report should be…

• Well-planned
• Organized
• Logically sequenced
• Easy to read
 Two main categories of report (Roberts, 1999)

1. Informal Report
- Range from a few paragraphs to several pages

- Whether it is written as a letter, memo, or email

message
 Two main categories of report (Roberts, 1999)

1. Informal Report
Includes:
Introduction
- Elaborates the subjects and procedures of the report
Body
- presents the findings from thorough researches. The findings are arranged in
order of priority
Conclusions/Recommendations
- tells what the diagnosis is all about. It also gives the possible actions,
solutions, or recommendations about the findings of the study.
Two main categories of report (Roberts, 1999)

1. Informal Report
Functions:

inform
sell
direct
clarify
recommend
 Two main categories of report (Roberts, 1999)

2. Formal Report
- Generally lengthy

Includes:  Body
 Title page  Conclusions/
 Executive summary recommendations
 Table of contents  Appendixes
 List of figures and  Index and more
tables
 List of abbreviations
and symbols
 Two main categories of report (Roberts, 1999)

2. Formal Report
 A report should be long enough to be thorough (cover all key issues) and
short enough to be concise (K-I-S-S).

 Reports can be called….

• information report if they collect data for reader
• analytical report if they interpret data but do not recommend action
• recommendation report if they recommend action or solution
Two main categories of report (Roberts, 1999)

2. Formal Report
Functions:

Inform
Document
Direct
Clarify
Examine
Analyze
Propose
Recommend
 Three Levels of Reports
Feasibility reports(evaluate Sales reports(sales Quarterly reports(figures
two or more alternatives and figures for the week showing a plant's productivity and
recommend which alternative or month). profits for the quarter)
the organisation should
choose) 1Information
2 Only
Information plus Annual reports (financial data and an
organisation's accomplishments during the past
analysis 3 year)
Justification
Problem-solving
reports(justify the
Information + Analysis Audit
reports(identify the reports(interpretations
causes of an need for a purchase, + A Recommendation of the facts revealed
organizational an investment, a new during an audit)
problem and personnel line, or a
recommend a change in procedure)
solution) Make-good or pay-back reports(calculations of the point at
which a new capital investment will pay for itself)
 REINFORCE
MENT
For you, which among the fundamental
concepts in writing a report is the most
important? Why?

Why do you think skills in report writing are

important? Explain your answer.
THANK YOU!