How To Write A Business Report
How To Write A Business Report
Adapted from: (This handbook has been written in collaboration with the School of
Marketing and International Business, and Student Learning,
Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved form
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/vbs/teaching/resources/VBS
-Report-Writing-Guide-2016.pdf (Accessed on
16/02/2017)
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Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1
2.7Conclusions/recommendations.......................................................................... 8
2.8 References........................................................................................................ 8
References............................................................................................................ 18
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Introduction
Report writing uses some of the writing skills you have already acquired. You will
structure your paragraphs and reference your ideas just as you have been doing in
your essays and other assignments within your degree. Report writing sometimes
differs in structure and style. This handbook will help you plan, structure, and write a
basic report. Remember, though, that reports will vary according to their purpose and
the needs of their reader/s. Throughout your university career, different courses
and/or different lecturers may have slightly different requirements for reports. Please
always check the requirements for each assignment.
As in all writing, planning is vitally important. The key questions to ask yourself
when planning a business report are:
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For example:
Consider the main reader/s, but also secondary readers. The main reader for
the recycling report referred to above is the director of the recycling
programme. Secondary readers might be the facilities management team on
campus, the finance team, etc.
Try to understand what the readers already know, what they need to know,
and how they will use this report. You will need to give enough information
to satisfy all these potential readers. You will need to use headings carefully
so that different readers can use the report in different ways.
Taking into account the information above, think carefully about the main
message/s you need to convey, and therefore what information is required.
Ask yourself: What are the required pieces of information I need to include?
It should be noted, however, that there is sometimes a place for the indirect
(inductive) approach. This approach leads the reader through the
discussion first and reveals the conclusions and recommendations at the
end of the report. This approach might be used if the recommendations are
likely to be controversial or unpopular (Emerson, 1995).
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The next step is to construct an outline, or structure, for your report. Check
for a logical flow, and check your outline against your purpose, your
reader/s, and the report’s relevant information requirements.
a title page
an executive summary
a table of contents
an introduction
a list of references
Appendices.
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The title page should be brief but descriptive of the project. It should also
include the date of completion/submission of the report, the author/s, and
their association/organisation.
The executive summary follows the title page, and should make sense on its
own. The executive summary helps the reader quickly grasp the report’s
purpose, conclusions, and key recommendations. You may think of this as
something the busy executive might read to get a feel for your report and its
final conclusions. The executive summary should be no longer than one
page.
The table of contents follows the executive summary on a new page. It states
the pages for various sections. The reader receives a clear orientation to the
report as the table of contents lists all the headings and sub-headings in the
report. These headings and sub-headings should be descriptive of the
content they relate to (see section 3 of this handbook).
2.5 Introduction
The introduction sets the stage for the reader. It gives the context for the
report and generates the reader’s interest. It orients the reader to the
purpose
of the report and gives them a clear indication of what they can expect.
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The discussion is the main part of your report and should present and
discuss your findings. It should give enough information, analysis, and
evidence to support your conclusions, and it should provide justification for
your recommendations. Its organisation will depend on your purpose, scope,
and requirements, but it should follow a logical and systematic organisation.
The discussion should be subdivided into logical sections, each with
informative, descriptive headings and a number.
2.7 Conclusions/recommendations
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Conclusions Recommendations
Home and family responsibilities directly Provide managers with training in working
affect job attendance and performance. with personal and family matters.
Time is the crucial issue to balancing Institute a flexi time policy that allows
work and family income. employees to adapt their work schedule
to home responsibilities.
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2.8 References
2.9 Appendices
Appendices should:
provide detailed explanation serving the needs of
specific readers
be clearly and neatly set out
be numbered/lettered
be given a descriptive title
be arranged in the order they are mentioned in the text
be related to the report’s purpose—not just ‘tacked on’.
(Adapted from Emerson, 1995, p. 41)
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Now that you have organised your thoughts, you need to put them into
writing. Ensure your writing demonstrates clarity and logic. You should think
constantly about your readers and make your report easy for them to read. To
achieve good readability, you should:
Headings and subheadings are useful tools in business writing. Ensure they
are descriptive of the content to follow. In other words, rather than labelling a
section Section 2.5, it would be better to describe it as 2.5 Justification for
the high risk scenario. It is also essential that the hierarchy of headings and
subheadings is clear. Use formatting (font size, bold, etc.) to show headings
versus subheadings. Headings/subheadings at the same level should use
parallel form (the same grammatical construction). The following examples
illustrate this principle.
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Use sentence case for headings. This means that your first word should
have a capital letter, but subsequent words have small letters, unless, of
course, they are proper nouns (Write Limited, 2013). Remember to ensure
that all material placed underneath a heading serves that heading. It is easy
to go off on a digression that does not relate to a heading. Remember also
that all content must relate to your purpose. Every time you write a new
section of your report, check that it fulfills the purpose of the report.
Your headings will help create logical flow for your reader, but under each
heading, you should create a series of paragraphs that are also logically
ordered and structured. Paragraphs should be ordered in a logical
sequence beginning with the most important material first. Within your
paragraphs you should also use a structure that helps your reader. Each
paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea or
topic of the paragraph. Typically a paragraph will have between 100 and
200 words and will have the following structure.
Support sentences (give evidence for the idea in the topic sentence and
include statistics, examples, and citations)
Remember to link your paragraphs well. The first sentence (usually the topic
sentence) is a good place to make a link between paragraphs. One of the
most common ways to link paragraphs is to use the principle, ‘something old,
something new’. This means you will include a word or phrase that contrasts
the topic of the previous paragraph with the topic of your new paragraph.
Take a look at the topic sentence at the beginning of this section 3.2. You
will see that this topic sentence links to the material before it. For an
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example showing how to link ideas in a paragraph using the ‘something old,
something new’ principle, see Appendix B.
Phase one of the project included the collection of a range of data and
research material completed during 2011, which was utilised in the creation
of a range of soon to be finalised analyst ‘personas’, and input into the
planning of a new enhanced information architecture for the business’s online
channel, particularly resources for current analysts.
In 2011, the team undertook phase one of the project. They collected a range
of data and research material. Using this collected material, they created
analyst ‘personas’. They also began to plan an enhanced information
architecture for the business’s online channel. Current analysts can use
some of the resources the team has created.
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You will notice some of the sophisticated words have changed to plainer
ones. You will also notice that the sentences are shorter and easier to
understand. Another change relates to ‘active voice’. You will notice that the
first example uses some ‘passive voice’: which was utilised. Passive voice
enables writers
to omit the people (or doers) from their sentences. However, readers often
appreciate knowing ‘who’ does something. You will notice in the second
example, the writer adds a doer: team. This means the writer can now use
the active voice: In 2011, the team completed…All of these techniques—short
sentences, plainer language, and active voice—will help your reader
understand your message in one reading. This is especially important in
business writing where readers have busy working days.
Ensure you use an appropriate tone for your readers. Where possible, use
personal pronouns we and you: We recommend you check the building’s
foundations. Personal pronouns create a friendly tone that is appropriate
for some contexts. They also help the writer avoid the passive voice. And,
as stated above, readers like to know ‘who’ will do something. However,
sometimes you might want a more formal tone where personal pronouns
are not appropriate. In these cases, you can use words like research or
report as your sentence subject: This report discusses…, This research
has found that… . Another way of ensuring appropriate tone is to avoid
terms that may be interpreted as offensive to ethnic or other groups. Be
careful to use gender-neutral terms. For example, use plural pronouns
(they when referring to clients) rather than gender-specific pronouns (he or
he/she). Another aspect of tone relates to the use of contractions.
Contractions are words like we’ve or it’s. They are informal. For many
business reports and for all academic reports, you will need to avoid them
and write we have or it is.
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allows you to detach yourself from your writing and put yourself in your
reader’s shoes. When editing, check for:
illogical structure
missing headings
unnecessary content
grammar
punctuation
spelling
formatting
consistency.
Remember to leave enough time for these last two stages. Thorough editing
and proofreading will make a big difference to the readability of your report
(as well as to your marks!), and it is a courtesy to the reader.
White space refers to the empty space on the page. Business reports
which have a more balanced use of white space and text are easier to read
and more effectively communicate main points and subordinate ideas.
Create white space by:
breaking up your page with tables, charts, and graphs where possible
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Your title page has no number. Use Roman numerals for the executive
summary and table of contents (i, ii, iii), and Arabic numbers for the
remainder of the report (1, 2, 3 …).
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Points that are important can usually be
integrated into the text. Footnotes or endnotes should not be used for
referencing (see References above).
In business reports, tables and figures are often used to represent data,
processes, etc. Tables and figures should be inserted in the text of the
document, close to the discussion of the table/figure. If the information is
something which the reader could refer to rather than should refer to, then it
may go in the appendices. Tables and figures have different purposes. A table
contains an array of numbers or text (such as a SWOT table). A figure is
something that contains graphical content, such as graphs created in Excel,
organisational charts, or flow charts.
Insert each table/figure one-and-a-half or two lines below the text. The
table/figure should be identified with a label and title which describes the
content, for example, Table 1. GDP of New Zealand, 1988–2002.
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4 Concluding Remarks
Now that you have the tools to develop your report, your communication
should be more efficient and effective. Individual schools may have specific
requirements for your report, so check with your course coordinators in
case they have specific requirements. For example, the School of Marketing
and International Business provides the guide attached in Appendix C. A
sample report for general business writing is provided in Appendix D.
References
Write Limited, (2013). The Write Style Guide for New Zealanders: A
manual for business editing. Wellington, New Zealand: Write Limited.
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The report has been edited for section cohesiveness and good
paragraph structure
Appendices are used to support the discussion, but tables / figures which
are essential to the discussion are included within the text
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Place the material you want to emphasize at the stress position in the
sentence. In a short sentence, the stress position is usually at the end of the
sentence. You want to emphasize new material. For example, assuming you
have already introduced the PLC, and the point you want to make next is that it is
important, you would write, The PLC is important, rather than, An important
concept is the PLC.
In the above illustration, when you start the paragraph with the sentence,
The PLC is important, you have accomplished two things. First, you have made
the point that the purpose of the paragraph is to argue that the PLC is important.
Second, the notion that it is important is no longer new information. Subsequent
sentences should provide new information that supports that point.
Note that the stressed part of the previous sentence is no longer new and has
been moved to the front of the current sentence. The new information in the
current sentence is a reason why the PLC is important. The reason is placed in
the stress position.
The same pattern applies to the following sentences: The PLC is important.
It is important because it explains why firms must develop new products. New
products must be developed because competitors enter the firm’s markets,
offerings become more homogeneous, prices decrease, and margins are
reduced.
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For all reports, be sure that you adhere to the requirements of your particular
organisation. These requirements will usually be stated in your organisation’s
style guide. A style guide is a handbook telling writers which conventions of
grammar, punctuation, and tone to follow. It also tells writers how to format
their documents.
table of contents
[Tutor’s Name]
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Use:
12-point font
2.5 centimetre (one inch) margins at the top, bottom, and both sides of
the document
While the content follows Guffey et al (2001), the formatting has been changed to
match the style described in the VBS report writing guide, including APA
referencing rather than MLA. Formatting has also been updated in line with
current usage, and section numbering added. The commentary provided in side
annotations are in the main taken from Guffey et al (2001), and further
annotations can be found in the original.
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Memorandum
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Cover Page
Include all
relevant details.
Check
requirements.
Presented to
Cheryl Bryant
Recycling Director
Office of Associated Students
West Coast College
Prepared by
Alan Christopher
Business Senator
Office of Associated Students
19 January, 2010
No page
number
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Executive summary
Purpose and method of this report
West Coast’s recycling programme was created to fulfil the College’s social
responsibility as an educational institution as well as to meet the demand of
legislation requiring individuals and organisations to recycle. The purposes of
this report are to:
determine the amount of awareness of the campus
recycling programme
recommend ways to increase participation in the programme.
Tell purpose of the
We conducted a questionnaire survey to learn about the campus community’s report and briefly
recycling habits and to assess participation in the current recycling programme. A describe the research
total of 220 individuals responded to the survey. Since West Coast College’s
recycling programme includes only aluminium, glass, paper, and plastic, these
were the only materials considered in this study.
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Table of Contents
2 Conclusions ................................................. 4
3 Recommendations........................................ 5
References ................................................................ 10
Appendix
West Coast Recycling Programme Survey ............................................ 11
ii
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1 Introduction
North American society is often criticised as being a “throw away” society,
and perhaps that criticism is accurate (Cahan, 2008). We discard 11 to
14 billion tons of waste each year, according to the US Environmental
Protection Agency. Of this sum, 180 million tons comes from households
and businesses, areas where recycling efforts could make a difference
Give context and general subject matter
(Hollusha, 2010). According to a survey conducted by Decima Research, 73
percent of North American companies have waste reduction programmes
(Schneider, 2008). Although some progress has been made, there is still a Use APA
problem. For example, the annual volume of discarded plastic packaging in referencing style
North America is eight billion tons—enough to produce 118 million plastic
park benches yearly (Joldine, 2009). Despite many recycling programmes
and initiatives, most of our rubbish finds its way to landfill sites. With an
ever- increasing volume of waste, estimates show that 80 percent of North
America’s landfills will be full by the year 2015 (de Blanc, 2009).
To combat the growing waste disposal problem, some states and provinces
are trying to pass legislation aimed at increasing recycling. Many North
American communities have enacted regulations requiring residents to
separate bottles, cans, and newspapers so that they may be recycled
(Schneider, 1999). Other means considered to reduce waste include tax
incentives, packaging mandates, and outright product bans (Hollusha,
2010). All levels of government are trying both voluntary and mandatory
means of reducing rubbish sent to landfills.
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The OAS had projected higher levels of participation in the recycling programme
than those achieved to date. Experts say that recycling programmes generally
Describe the
must operate at least a year before results become apparent (de Blanc, 2009).
issue to be
The OAS programme has been in operation one year, yet gains are disappointing. reported on
Therefore, the OAS authorised this study to determine the campus community’s
awareness and use of the programme. Recommendations for increasing State the
participation in the campus recycling programme will be made to the OAS based specific
on the results of this study. questions the
report answers
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Faculty, 23%
Staff, 10%
Students, 60%
Administrators, 7%
Note:
If you use figures or tables, be sure to introduce them in the text. Although it is not
always possible, try to place them close to the spot where they are first mentioned.
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2 Conclusions
Based on the findings of the recycling survey of members of the West Coast
College campus community, we draw the following conclusions.
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3 Recommendations
After considering the findings and conclusions of this study, we offer the
following recommendations in an effort to improve the operations and
success of the West Coast recycling programme.
Note:
Report recommendations are most helpful to readers when they not only
make suggestions to solve the original research problem but also describe
specific actions to be taken. Notice that this report goes beyond merely listing
ideas. Instead, it makes practical suggestions for ways to implement the
recommendations.
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A major finding of the survey reveals that most respondents are willing to
recycle even when not required to do so. Data tabulation shows that 72 percent
of the respondents live in an area where neither the city nor the region requires
separation of rubbish. Yet 80 percent of these individuals indicated that they
recycle aluminium on a regular basis. Although the percentages are somewhat
smaller, many of the respondents also regularly recycle glass (46 percent) and
plastic (45 percent). These results, summarised in Figure 2, clearly show that
campus respondents are accustomed to recycling the four major materials
targeted in the West Coast recycling programme. Use tables and
graphs where
possible to
Figure 2. Respondents who regularly recycle at home or at work present/
summarise
Material Percentages findings
Aluminium 80%
Paper 55%
Glass 46%
Plastic 45%
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70%
60%
50%
Extremely important
40%
Somew hat important
30% Somew hat
unimportant Extremely
20%
unimportant
10%
0%
Aluminium Paper Glass Plastic
When asked how likely they would be to go out of their way to deposit an
item in a recycling bin, 29 percent of the respondents said “very likely”, and
55 percent said “somewhat likely”. Thus, respondents showed willingness—
at least on paper—to recycle even if it means making a special effort to
locate a recycling bin.
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Awareness of
Location Use of bins at
bins at this
location
location
Cafeteria 38% 21%
Bookstore 29% 12%
Administration building 28% 12%
Computer Labs 16% 11%
Library 15% 7%
Student union 9% 5%
Classrooms 8% 6%
Department and 6% 3%
Administrative offices
Athletic centre 5% 3%
Unaware of any bins;
have not used any bins 20% 7%
Figure 4 shows that only 38 percent of the respondents were aware of the
bins located outside the cafeteria. Even fewer were aware of the bins
outside the bookstore (29 percent) and outside the administration building Clearly interpret your
findings so that your
(28 percent). Equally dissatisfying, only 21 percent of the respondents
reader can see the
had used the most visible recycling bins outside the cafeteria. basis for your
conclusions and
Other recycling bin locations were even less familiar to the survey recommendations
respondents and, of course, were little used. These responses plainly
show that the majority of the respondents in the West Coast campus
community have a low awareness of the recycling programme and an even
lower record of participation.
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When asked specifically how they would rate the location of the bins
currently in use, only 13 percent of the respondents felt that the bins were
extremely convenient. Another 36 percent rated the bins as somewhat
convenient. Over half the respondents felt that the locations of the bins
were either somewhat inconvenient or extremely inconvenient. Recycling
bins are currently located outside nearly all the major campus rooms or
buildings, but respondents clearly considered these locations inconvenient
or inadequate.
In indicating where they would like recycling bins placed (see Figure 5), 42
percent of the respondents felt that the most convenient locations would
be inside the cafeteria. Placing more recycling bins near the student union
seemed most convenient to another 33 percent of those questioned, while
15 percent stated that they would like to see the bins placed near the
vending machines. Ten percent of the individuals responding to the
survey did not seem to think that the locations of bins would matter to
them.
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5 References
Cahan, V. (2008, July 17). Waste not, want not? Not necessarily. magazine
Business Week, p.116.
10
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Appendices can
Appendix include
questionnaires and
West Coast College recycling programme survey other material used in
assembling the
West Coast College recently implemented a recycling programme on campus. report.
Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions so that we can
make
this programme as convenient as possible for you to use.
4. How likely would it be for you to go out of your way to put something
in a recycling bin?
Very Likely Somewhat Likely Somewhat Very Unlikely
Unlikely
5. Which of the following items do you recycle most often? (Choose one
item only.)
Aluminium
Glass
Paper
Plastic
Other
11
Note:
The appendix continues the report’s page numbering.
Adapted from: (This handbook has been written in collaboration with the School of
Marketing and International Business, and Student Learning,
Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved form
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/vbs/teaching/resources/VBS
38
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-Report-Writing-Guide-2016.pdf (Accessed on
16/02/2017)
39