REPORT WRITING

• Academic and research report writing is an essential activity for

a contemporary teacher in institutes of higher education.
• It is a fact that a modern teacher has to play a variety of roles
apart from that of an academic instructor.
• Research is one of such major activities for them. Publication of
research findings is an integral part of research.
• Therefore, it is necessary for a teacher / researcher to learn
and apply principles and techniques of report writing for
effective dissemination of the academic and research findings.
• This course intends to introduce the learner to the principles,
techniques and tools of academic and research report writing.
After successful completion of this course the learner will be
able to write reports on various academic activities including
research effectively and efficiently.
 Contents
 Meaning of report.
 Classification of report.
 Steps for report writing.
 Layout of the research report.
 Mechanics of writing a research report.
 Meaning of report
A report is a presentation of facts and findings,
usually as a basis for recommendations; written for a
specific readership and probably intended to be kept
as a record.

 It is purely based on observation and

analysis.

 A report gives an explanation of

any circumstance/ happenings.

 A report discusses a particular

problem/ solution in detail.
 contd..
 Reports are required for judging the
performances of various departments in an
organization.
 A good report is always fact finding and not
fault finding.
 It should be prepared in an impartial manner
and writers of the report should be impartial in
their outlook and approach.
Classification

1 Formal

2 Informal

3 Statutory

4 Non-statutory
Contd..

1 Routine

2 Special

3 Informative

4 Interpretative
 Formal and informal
 Formal Reports: A formal report is one
which is prepared in a prescribed form and is
presented according to an established
procedure to a prescribed authority.

 Informal Reports: An informal report is

usually in the form of a person-to-person
communication. It may range from a short,
almost fragmentary statement of facts on a
single page or taking several pages.
Statutory and Non-Statutory
 Statutory report: A report prepared and
presented according to the form and
procedure laid down by law is called a
statutory report. Ex: audit report, annual
report etc.

 Non-statutory report: Formal reports which are

not required under any law but which are
prepared to help the management in framing the
policies is called non statutory report.

 Ex: for policy formulations, Profit statement
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Routine and Special

 Periodic or Routine Reports: They are
prepared and presented at regular, prescribed
intervals. They may be submitted annually, semi-
annually, quarterly, monthly, fortnightly, weekly
or even daily.

 Special Reports: They are related to a single

occasion or situation or event. Such as technical
report of a particular product or policy etc.
Informative and Interpretative
 Informative Reports:
These reports present facts about certain given
activity in detail without any note or suggestions.
Ex: A vice-chancellor asking about the number of candidates
appearing at a particular examination.

 Interpretative Reports:
It analyzes the facts, draws conclusions and makes
recommendations.
Ex: A company chairman may ask for a report on falling trends
in sale in a particular area. He will in this case be naturally
interested in knowing all the details including that of opinion
of any of the investigator.
 Advantage

Solves current problems Updated information

Discloses unknown Internal

information communication

Decision making and

Reliable permanent planning
information
 Steps for report writing
Research reports are the product of slow, careful,
accurate inductive work. The usual steps involved in
writing report are:
(a) Logical analysis of the subject-matter.
(b) Preparation of the outline.
(c) Preparation of the rough draft.
(d) Rewriting and polishing.
(c) Preparation of the final bibliography.
(f) Writing the final draft.
 A. Logical analysis of the subject matter:

It is the first step which is primarily concerned with the

development of a subject. There are two ways
(a) logically
(b) chronologically
• The logical development is made on the basis of mental
connections and associations between the one thing
and another by means of analysis. E.g. Cause & effect.
• Chronological development is based on time or
sequence in time.
b. Preparation of the outline:
• Outlines are the framework upon which long
written works are constructed. They are aids
to the logical organization of the material and
a reminder of the points to be stressed in the
report.
c. Preparation of the rough draft:
• It is utmost importance for the researcher to write
down what he has done in the context of his
research study and what yet to be done.
• Collecting the material for study along with various
limitations, the technique of analysis adopted, the
broad findings and generalizations and the various
suggestions wants to offer regarding the problem
concerned.
• Make file too.
d. Rewriting and polishing of the rough draft:
• This step happens to be most difficult part of all
formal writing.
• Usually this step requires more time than the writing
of the rough draft.
• The careful revision makes the difference between a
mediocre and a good piece of writing.
e. Preparation of the final bibliography:
The bibliography, which is generally appended to the
research report, is a list of books/journals in some
way pertinent to the research.
• The bibliography should be arranged alphabetically
and may be divided into two parts:

1. First part- contain the names of books and

pamphlets
2. Second part- contain the names of journals,
magazine and newspaper articles.
For books and pamphlets the order may be as under:
1. Name of author, last name first.
2. Title, underlined to indicate italics.
3. Place, publisher, and date of publication.
4. Number of volumes.
Example
• David, C.R., Quantitative Techniques, Pearson
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi 2018. Edition II.
For magazines, journals and newspapers the order may be as
under:
1. Name of the author, last name first.
2. Title of article, in quotation marks.
3. Name of periodical, underlined to indicate italics.
4. The volume or volume and number.
5. The date of the issue.
6. The pagination.

Example
• Robert V. Roosa, “Coping with Short-term International Money
Flows”, The Banker, London, Vol. 5, Issue II, September, 2018,
p. 995.
f. Writing the final draft:
• This constitutes the last step. The final draft should
be written in a concise and objective style and in
simple language, avoiding vague expressions such as
“it seems”, “there may be”, and the like ones.

• While writing the final draft, the researcher must

avoid abstract terminology and technical jargon.
Illustrations and examples based on common
experiences must be incorporated in the final draft.
 LAYOUT OF THE RESEARCH REPORT

• A comprehensive layout of the research report

should comprise of:
(A) Preliminary pages
(B) The main text
(C) The end matter.
 (A) Preliminary Pages

• In its preliminary pages the report should carry a title

and date, followed by acknowledgements in the form
of ‘Preface’ or ‘Foreword’.
• Then there should be a table of contents followed by
list of tables and illustrations so that the decision-
maker or anybody interested in reading the report
can easily locate the required information in the
report.
 (B) Main Text
• The main text provides the complete outline of the
research report along with all details. Title of the
research study is repeated at the top of the first page
of the main text and then follows the other details on
pages numbered consecutively, beginning with the
second page. The main text sections:
(i) Introduction, ROL, RM
(ii) Statement of findings and recommendations
(iii) The results
(iv) The implications drawn from the results
(v) The summary.
(i) Introduction:
• The purpose of introduction is to introduce the
research project to the readers.
• It should contain a clear statement of the objectives
of research i.e., enough background should be
given to make clear to the reader why the problem
was considered worth investigating.
• Scope
• limitations
(ii) Statement of findings and
recommendations:
• After introduction, the research report must contain
a statement of findings and recommendations in
non-technical language so that it can be easily
understood by all concerned.
• If the findings happen to be extensive, at this point
they should be put in the summarized form.
(iii) Results:
• A detailed presentation of the findings of the
study, with supporting data in the form of
tables and charts together with a validation of
results, is the next step in writing the main text
of the report.
• This generally comprises the main body of the
report, extending over several chapters.
• Statistical summaries.
• The conclusions at which he arrived, and the
bases for his conclusions
(iv) Implications of the results:
Implications may have three aspects as stated below:
(a) A statement of the inferences drawn from the present
study which may be expected to apply in similar
circumstances.
(b) The conditions of the present study which may limit the
extent of legitimate generalizations of the inferences
drawn from the study.
(c) The relevant questions that still remain unanswered or
new questions raised by the study along with
suggestions for the kind of research that would provide
answers for them. E.g. If present conf. paper first time better to put some
limitations.
(v) Summary:
It has become customary to conclude the research
report with a very brief summary, resting in brief the
research problem, the methodology, the major
findings and the major conclusions drawn from the
research results.
 (C) End Matter
• At the end of the report, appendices should be
enlisted in respect of all technical data such as
questionnaires, sample information, mathematical
derivations and the like ones. Bibliography of
sources consulted should also be given.
• Index (an alphabetical listing of names, places and
topics along with the numbers of the pages in a
book or report on which they are mentioned or
discussed) should invariably be given at the end of
the report.
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Format
 For short report
1. Title
2. Introduction
3. Data Analysis
4. Summary and conclusions
5. Recommendations
6. (appendix)
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Contd..
 For long reports:
1. Title or title page
2. (contents list )
3. (abstract )
4. Introduction
5. Data Analysis &
Discussion
6. Summary and conclusions
7. Recommendations
8. (appendix)
 MECHANICS OF WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT
There are very definite and set rules which should be followed
in the actual preparation of the research report or paper.

1. Size and physical design

2. Procedure
3. Layout
4. Treatment of quotations
5. The footnotes
6. Punctuation and abbreviations
7. Use of statistics, charts and graphs
8. The final draft
9. Preparation of the index
 1. Size and physical design

• Written on un-ruled paper 8 1 /2² × 11² in size.

• Margin-one and one-half inches should be allowed at
the left hand and of at least half an inch at the right
hand of the paper. There should also be one-inch
margins, top and bottom.
• Typing should be double-spaced on one side of the
page only.
 2. Procedure

• Various steps in writing the report should be

strictly adhered ( studied back)
 3. Layout

• Keeping in view the objective and nature of

the problem, the layout of the report should
be thought of and decided accordingly. (types
of reports).
 4. Treatment of quotations

• Quotations should be placed in quotation

marks and double spaced, forming an
immediate part of the text and indented at
least half an inch to the right of the normal
text margin.
 5. The footnotes

• Footnotes are meant for cross references, citation of

authorities and sources, acknowledgement and
elucidation or explanation of a point of view.
• Footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page.
• Footnotes should be numbered consecutively or
mark asterisk (*).
 6. Punctuation and abbreviations
• anon., anonymous
• ante., before
• art., article
• aug., augmented
• bk., book
• bull., bulletin
• cf., compare
• ch., chapter
• col., column
• diss., dissertation
• ed., editor, edition, edited.
• ed. cit., edition cited
• e.g., exempli gratia: for example
• eng., enlarged
• et.al., and others
Contd

• et seq., et sequens: and the following

• ex., example
• f., ff., and the following
• fig(s)., figure(s)
• fn., footnote
• ibid., ibidem: in the same place (when two or more
successive footnotes refer to the same work, it is not
necessary to repeat complete reference for the second
footnote. Ibid. may be used).
• id., idem: the same
• ill., illus., illustrated, illustration(s)
• n.d., no date
• n.p., no place
• no pub., no publisher
• no(s)., number(s)
• o.p., out of print
• p. or pp., page(s)
• passim: here and there
• post: after
• rev., revised
• tr., trans., translator, translated, translation
• vid or vide: see, refer to
• viz., namely
• vol. or vol(s)., volume(s)
• vs., versus: against
 7. Use of statistics, charts and graphs

• Good picture is often worth more than a thousand

words.
• Statistics are usually presented in the form of tables,
charts, bars and line-graphs and pictograms.
• Such presentation should be self explanatory and
complete in itself.
• Statistical presentation should be neat and attractive.
 8. The final draft

• Are the sentences written in the report clear?

• Are they grammatically correct?
• Do they say what is meant?
• Do the various points incorporated in the
report fit together logically?
 9.Preparation of the index

• An index should invariably be given, the value

of which lies in the fact that it acts as a good
guide, to the reader.
• Arranged alphabetically.