# WHY WRITE A REPORT?

When time is at a premium, reports provide an efficient and effective way to communicate with large numbers of people.
Companies, organizations and community groups all use reports to get information out to their people. It’s more economical than trying to get all interested parties together for a meeting, and it gives everyone the opportunity to skim over sections that aren’t relevant to them.
Reports direct, inform, persuade or try to initiate change. These are some examples of when you could be asked to write a report:
> To show how a task or project is progressing
> To say that a task or project is finished
> To provide routine information such as administrative procedures or sales figures
> To provide information after an accident or incident
> To provide a summary of events after a conference, meeting or presentation
> To examine a problem and make recommendations about suitable actions
> To gather information to help others reach a decision about changing some operation Many people break out in a cold sweat at the mere thought of writing a report, and for some it's second only to public speaking on the stress scale — but it needn't be this way. Like everything else in life, it's usually the fear of the unknown that causes the panic — once you sit down and familiarize yourself with what's required, it's not nearly as bad as you imagine…
Nature of a Report
There are as many different types of report as there are reasons for writing one, but they all have common elements.
A report always involves one of more of the following:
> Research and investigation
> Analysis and argument
> Organization of material in a way that’s easy to understand
A successful report should:
> Communicate information to show what has been done or to suggest what should be done
> Provide a permanent record of findings, conclusions and recommendations
> Contain accurate information
> Contain complete information that is organized in a logical way
> Contain findings that are supported by the information in the report
> Make recommendations that are based on the findings
The Information Report
This type of report keeps others up to date with events, developments and projects, so it must give information that can be used as the basis for taking action or making a decision.
The information report outlines what is right and wrong about a situation and includes the writer’s recommendations for action. Any such recommendations should state what needs to be done, who is to do it, where it should be done, in what time frame it’s to take place, and why this action has been recommended.
The Chronological Report
This report contains information about a collection of events or subjects that occurs over time, and it serves as the starting place for asking questions and finding answers. You need to look out for cause-and-effect relationships and to be aware of the difference between single causes and multiple causes. For example, at first it may seem that low morale in a company is directly related to the introduction of changed work hours because the two events were noticed at the same time. But when you investigate further, you may find there are other reasons, such as parents who are upset they can't pick their children up from childcare because they now work different hours.
You should outline the origin, history and development of the topic and clearly indicate the turning point or the key event that indicates the need for a change.
See the resources listed at the end of this ebook for more help writing this type of report.
The Research Report
This type of report gives information about the results of some form of research. The research could be designed to solve a merchandising, production or distribution problem. It might be an attempt to find ways of cutting costs in one or more sectors of a company or investigate developments within the industry, new products or markets, or progress in technology.
A research report should describe the purpose of your research, such as whether you're presenting the results of previous research, outlining a new theory or method, or offering a new interpretation of old data. You should describe the background of the research; explain what you expected to find, and offer possible reasons if your results differed from these expectations.
You also need to spend some time describing your results. In addition, it may be appropriate to include mention of the consequences of your research and how this may affect future studies related to the subject.
The Analytical Report
This report investigates the causes of a perceived problem. It involves gathering information from all sides of the issue, and then assessing this data by comparing and testing different solutions. As the writer, you’ll also be expected to make recommendations about what to do, when and how to do it, who should do it and
why.