TYPES AND FORMS OF REPORTS

LONG AND SHORT REPORTS

FEASIBILITY REPORT
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
PROGRESS REPORT
AUDIT REPORT
STAFF REPORT
CONFIDENTIAL REPORT
TECHNICAL REPORT
EVALUATION REPORT
NEWS PAPER REPORT
BLANK FORMAT REPORT
LETTER REPORT
MEMORANDUM
 LONG AND SHORT REPORTS
• A short report being more a part of the
routine official work , it can be sometimes a
little more personal in tone, while longer
report preserves an impersonal tone.
 FEASIBILITY REPORTS
• When a firm or a business establishment intends to
start a new venture or to open a new branch as to effect
any other change to avoid losses and increase profit , a
feasibility report in written. A feasibility report helps us
• To determine whether a proposed scheme would be
practicable and profitable or not. Feasibility report
consists of these parts: introduction , body , conclusion
and recommendation. The introduction describes the
condition which have necessitated the proposed change
or improvement. It also defines the scope of a report.
 FEASIBILITY REPORTS
• The body forms an answer to the problem stated in
the introduction. It also discusses all the alternatives ,
out of which the best solution is to be chosen. It
evaluates each of the answers in accordance with its
merits and demerits. The conclusion contains the
opinion of the author of the report on the worth of
the alternatives available. It tries to compare the
degree of feasibilities of different plans, and gives
them a proper order. The recommendation is the last
sentence that recommends the best alternatives.
 Below are the seven elements of a feasibility report:

• Introduction – You need to persuade the decision maker to even consider

any sort of alternative. You need to convince them to even read your
report first. Tell them what they will gain personally or as an organization
by considering your work.
• Criteria/Constraints – You must specifically map out the criteria of what
the ideal outcomes are. This will allow you to make practical and logical
decisions. You can present the criteria in your feasibility report in one of
two ways. First, you can separate the criteria into its own section. This is
best when you have a extensive report and you need to go in-depth with
the explanation. Second, you can incorporate the criteria throughout your
report as the criteria become relevant. However, it is important to realize
that whichever strategy you chose make sure that the criteria is
introduced early in the report. It is also very important to map out the
constraints of your suggested solutions. This will show the audience that
you understand and acknowledge the fact that no solution is perfect. This
will also make sure that the audience makes the decision in their best
interest.
• Method – It is very important to present facts that are accurate and
relevant. You should state the reliable sources you used and what
method they came from (internet, interview, book, etc.). Without a
credible research method or credible sources your document itself will
lack credibility.
• Overview of Alternative Options – You must underline the key features
of each possible option. Make sure they are easy to understand and
presented in a friendly layout. Keep in mind that the goal is to allow
your audience to make the best decision.
• Evaluation – This should be the bulk of your report, you must evaluate
the options using the criteria you created. Add graphs, charts, etc. to
show that you have studied your options, and have come up with
statistics that back up your reasons as to why your alternative beats the
competition.
• Conclusions – You need to state the conclusion you have came up
with. How did you evaluate the alternatives? And then from there,
which alternative best fit your organization.
• Recommendations – You need to use your experience and
knowledge in order to state which option you think should be
adopted.
• Note: All seven element outlined do not need to be included in the
feasibility report depending on audience, circumstance, mission,
etc. Also the elements do not need to be in the exact order outlined
above. Specifically the conclusion should be mentioned more than
just at the end of the report. It should also be summarized in the
beginning of the report and in the case the the feasibility report is
long, it can be mentioned in the middle as well.
 Executive Summary

• An executive summary should be included at the

beginning of the report. In 2-3 pages, the main points
of the feasibility study are summarized for a quick
review by busy administrators and school board
members. The executive summary provides the reader
with an overview of the feasibility study and will help
them see the entire picture before they read the
details. Some decision-makers may only read the
executive summary. Thus, the executive summary
should be concise and include the major findings of the
study followed by a recommendation.
 Introduction

• The purpose of the introduction of a feasibility

report is two-fold:
• To answer the readers’ question: “Why do we need to
look into these alternatives-do they matter?”
• In order to answer this question, it is necessary to
identify the problem that your report will help resolve
or what your report is aimed at accomplishing.
• To talk about the other options that you have looked
at and analyzed, as well as to tell how you went about
researching and analyzing them.
 Criteria/Constraints

• What to consider in your feasibility

study/report. As you begin formulating what
you would like to consider you should realize
that usually criteria works around one or more
of the following questions.
• Will your plan or course of action really do
what is desired?
• What will it take to implement your course of action?
• Even though your plan of action may seem correct and
efficient on paper, it may not be practical towards your
line of work. You must take into account the
circumstances that arise in every aspect of a professional
setting. What you may find is that in one field your plan
may be extremely successful, but in another may be a
bust. This can also take place from company to company.
As you work at different companies along the same field,
you will begin to understand what can be successful in
one workplace that may not work in another.
 Cost of Implementation
• This may become the biggest factor in any business decision.
How much will it cost? In not only business, but any
professional field, the benefits must outweigh the costs in
any decision. This is even the case when deciding to work on
one aspect of a project compared to the other. When forming
criteria for a feasibility report, you must understand the costs
if all went as planned. Then you might even want to find out
what the cost would be if you had minor or major setbacks. It
is important to understand the costs because unless the
benefits outweigh the costs, a company will most likely not
go through with your proposed plan of action. Also it is
important to look into the future of the company.
 Is your idea/product desirable?

• This is as simple as is your plan going to sell. Will people

want to overextend themselves for change, or will they
reject what you are trying to do? Sometimes a change
or solution must be more than just effective and
affordable. You must consider the consumers and
people that will be changing. Sometimes many feasible
courses of action do not succeed simply because they
create effects that drive the consumers away. Because
of this, the product or plan does not sell. These
undesirable side effects can be as simple as tearing
away employee morale.
 Method

• Things to keep in mind:

• This section of your feasibility report is one of substantial
magnitude and importance. This part of your paper
demonstrates to the reader what you discovered, through
your research, actually matters and has reliability. By
telling your audience how you came to know what you
have found out and know now, you are demonstrating to
them that your results are trustworthy and that they truly
hold significance in meaning. With strong methods for
finding out your facts, your readers will then feel
comfortable and confident to make the necessary changes.
 Revision Checklist

• Once your feasibility study is complete analyze

the checklist to ensure every topic has been
addressed.
 Investigative Report
• An investigative report is prepared to find out
certain facts in a specific context . It might be
an analysis of the things actually happened or
an enquiry into the cause behind the situation.
An investigative report would begin with an
introduction to the background of the report.
Its body consists of the listening of the
findings.
 PROGRESS REPORT
• A progress report is written to communicate the state of
a project or scheme already in progress. Some of the
business or technical activities are of such nature as to
require a long period of time before they reach
competition. The directors or the managers, who has
assigned that work to any company etc., would like to be
periodically informed, be it weekly, fortnightly, monthly
or annually , about the developments. They may as well
ask an employees or a team of the employees, to access
and report the state of work-how much work has been
done, how much is yet to be done.
 AUDIT REPORT
• An audit report is a comment on the financial
records or accounts etc. of an organization.

While short –form audit reports consist of

conventional, standardized statements, long
form audit reports can be presented in several
forms.
 STAFF REPORT
• It begins with the information regarding the
person by whom and for whom the report is
being written and the data etc. An executive
summary is often placed first, as perusal of the
entire report is generally not possible for the
busy authorities. The rest of the report is
conventionally structured, having a discussion
of the problems and conclusions and
recommendations.
 CONFIDENTIAL REPORT
• These reports are secret documents in which
the higher authorities express their opinions
on the performance of the employees working
under them.
 TECHNICAL REPORT
• As the name suggests, a technical report
contains a discussion of the method and
processes relevant to that problem. It would
give details of the suitable opinions, facts
about their comparative worth, and a
statement of preference for the best solution.
 EVALUATION REPORT
• An evaluation report evaluates the process of
the project. It is an exercise to study the
performance of a plan. Such reports must
define the standard by which the working of a
project is to be tested and its achievements
are to be measured. It should see how far the
plan has been responsive to the projected
goal, and why it has fallen short of it , if it
happens to be so.
 NEWSPAPER REPORT
• A newspaper report is a major part of the
journalistic writing .Newspaper reports are
written for public consumption.
Therefore ,these must be written in a language
and style suitable for the awareness which
such reports are expected to create among
the readers. A newspaper report would be
justified only when its subject is of some
general interest.
 BLANK FORM REPORT
• A blank form report is so called for it is in the
form of a prescribed form. It is routine report,
periodically presented by simply filling the
form.
 LETTER REPORT
• A letter report resembles a business letter to
some extent , for it is in the form of letter. It is
often a little more personal in tone than a
formal report. We can make a letter report
more readable by presenting the facts clearly
and systematically . Using points to list the
findings and the suggestions is one of the
ways to make letter reports more effective.
 MEMORANDUM
• A memorandum report , commonly known as
memo report , is mainly used for internal
communication , that in within the organization . It
is used to handle routine business matters like
passing information from one department to
another, making changes , alerting employees ,
solving a problem etc. It helps the administration
in making decisions as solving certain problems.
Generally, a memo report is shorter than a letter
report and adopts a matter-of-fact style.
 FORMAT OF REPORT
NAME OF ORGANISATION/INSTITUTION
TO: REF. :
FROM: DATE:
SUBJECT:
POINTS DISCUSSED/STUDIED/OBSERVED/WORK DONE
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RECOMMENDATIONS:
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Sample News Paper Report