work based project session 3

8/12/2019 Work Based Project Session 3

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WORK BASED PROJECT



SESSION 3



Report Writing Guide This document was first produced as part of

the University of Salford Study Skills Pack

(September, 2006 )



Examples of different reports could be • A report on research you have carried out • An appraisal report •

A report on internal situations that could beimprove • A report to help make a decision e.g. comparingtwo rival products



Terms of reference These are specific instructions that

you may be given to carry out yourreport. They may act as limits to yourwork. E.g. timescale, audience, scope.It is vital that you follow closely andobserve your set limitsFailure to do so can severely reducethe effectiveness of the report



Who is the report for? You must remember that the first duty of your

report is to the reader.

You must think about and answer in the writing

of the report Who is the reader?What do they want?What do they already know?What language will the reader understand?



Planning your report The writing of your report is not just a simple process at the end ofyour research. It is an essential part of the task and therefore needscareful planning. 1.Plan the various stages of the whole task (see suggested stages

below) 2.Is the work you are producing relevant – are you wasting time?Are there elements in the report you have not had time to fullycomplete? This is a sign of bad planning.



Make sure you are answeringthe questions you are set; refer tothe terms of reference.Check your findings as you goalong, looking for mistakes andirrelevant data.Have progress meetings with tutorsand colleagues if you are in a group.This will help you stay on track.Submit draft copies of the report totest initial reactions (to tutors andcolleagues)



The Schedule (Suggested Stages) Divide the report process into states and allot timefor those stagesTry to stick to the timetable you have set foryourself. If you fall behind re-allocate your time.Trying to make up time and producing a hurriedreport is a recipe for disasterSetting deadlines for yourself is a good way ofstaying on track. Leave yourself enough time aftereach deadline for contingencies and final revisionsor changes

By using a methodical approach it is possible toavoid a ‘rush job’ and therefore making mistake andproducing a poor piece of work



The Skeleton Report Stage One) ◦ One of the first things to do is to draw up your

chapter headings and the subjects to be coveredin the skeleton report

◦ Check to see if your skeleton relates to yourterms of references and that you are notincluding interesting but irrelevant material.

◦ If you feel there is a problem with the terms ofreference see if they can be amended (ask yourtutor)



Assembling Raw Material As you proceed with your plan be aware that youwill be constantly collating material for yourreport and thus you need to work out how thematerial can be incorporated into the skeletonstructure. Your notes will need to contain ideas

about this as you are collecting data.All notes, calculations, graphs, interviews etc arepotentially material that can be included in yourreport

Try to keep your notes neat, up-to-date and insections, It is hard to write a report with scruffy orpoorly organised notes.



Drafting

It is normal to write one or two drafts of a reportbefore the final version If you are having problems try this two stepprocess

1.Write down all the essential material and leaveout all the useless information without worryingabout presentation 2.Rewrite the material paying attention to

structure, grammar, syntax, clarity and layout.



TimingLeave enough time at the end of your planfor ensuring for ensuring goodpresentation

Remember to allow time for checking,correcting layout problems and producingcomplex information like charts anddiagrams



The Format Reports are structured documents that contain discretesections and subheadings in each section the structure is

based on the following format.A title page The title of the report Your name as the author

Who the report is for The date



A contents page Detail the different sections of the reportDetail the subsections of the reportDon ’t forget the page numbers

An executive summary This should state the main points raised in the reportand the main findings and recommendations.Some reports may have an ABSTRACT as an alternativeto an executive summary



An introduction containing (in brief)

Terms of reference Aims and objectives of the report Procedures adopted

How the information was obtainedWhy the information was obtained Topics covered in the reportThis should be a BROAD overview



The main CONTENT of the report

1.Break this down into separate sections and subsections 2.Each section / subsection should have a title and be

numbered 3.The main content of the report needs to be written in anobjective manner and should analyse strengths andweaknesses of a situation before arriving at a judgement.

4.The report will be much enhanced if visuals are included.These can be pictures, photos, illustrations, charts, graphs,maps etc. These should have a caption that shows which‘figure ’ they are. In reports this is abbreviated as ‘ fig. ’



ConclusionThis will indicate what the report has foundIt should also show how the findings relate tothe original objectives

RecommendationsNot all reports contain this section.All recommendations should be short, clearand concise



Appendices

These include information that is too long to b in the main reportsuch asA copy of questionnaires used

Transcripts of interviews Each appendix should be numbered and referred to in the mainCONTENT of the report



Referencing The source of all data included in the reportshould be written after the data (thatincludes material that you have collected)The originator / authorDate of publication (or collection)Title of publication (if relevant)

Page numbers (if relevant)



All written texts used or referred to in the writing of thereport MUST be referenced in the main report and in abibliography whether they are from

Online sources Articles Books

Newspapers This must include Author Date of publication

Title of publication Page number



Bibliography This is an essential element and failure to include this in

the correct format will result in loss of marks. A missingbibliography could lead to an investigation for academicmalpractice and lead to a mark of zero.



Organising your Material Write down your purpose in one sentence to test your ownunderstanding of the task and material Choose a title that makes your purpose clear (Unless alreadygiven one) Divide your main text, with its numbered headings, intofurther subheadings, so that you can identify which materialbelongs with which heading.Write each subject heading onto a separate piece of paperand list the selected items in brief note form under the

headings to check suitability.Decide how best to order your subheadings in order to assistthe development of your main text

Arrange your ea ings an su ea ings in an or er t at



Arrange your ea ings an su ea ings in an or er t atreaders will be able to follow easily and logically.Note down under each of your headings and sub headingswhich visuals will go in the section.

Place any large tables, calculations or other substantialsupporting material in the appendix and refer to them in the

main text if they will distract from the flow of the report.

Double check your conclusions and recommendations tomake sure they are logical in the light of the main body of

your report.



Six Rules of Report Writing Put the objective in writing

Who wants the report? Why so they want it?

What are they going to do with it? What exactly will they want the report to cover? What will the report not cover? What should happen as a result of the report?



Organise your points into related groups Where will you get your information form?

Gather all the raw materials (background information,data, analysis, supporting information)Work through all the materialSort into the individual section headings Discard material which repeats something alreadyincluded or that does not fit the brief.



Structure the argument Outline the position

Describe the problem Examine the possibilities Put forward a proposal (s)



Use plain English Use language the reader will understand

Do not use jargon A glossary at the end of the report may be useful for non-specialist readers

Use short sentences and paragraphs



Make it look readable

Double line spacing Generous margins Headings and sub headings Indentations

Different fonts Bold , italicised or underlining ’s

work based project session 3

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