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Effective Report Writing

This month's Tips is designed for those who don't like to write reports, and should help you get started, organize information, and present it effectively.

Getting Started: Determine the Purpose and Use

Establishing the purpose of a document is the first step in creating any written material. Determine what you want the readers to know or do when they have finished reading. This is often called task analysis.

Be specific with your objectives. Ask yourself: "Why does the reader need this information, and what do they need to do with it?" Answering this question generally provides a detailed objective that makes the document meaningful. For example, the objective "to describe security regulations" is too general. The objective "to describe how recent changes to Federal security requirements affect daily banking operations" is a specific objective that helps define the information required.

Writing the objective precisely, in terms of what and why, helps organize the material. As a test of whether you have adequately formulated your objective, try to state it in a way that is measurable. For example: "This document provides the information required for this audience to decide on which security procedures are appropriate for their institution."

Identify the Audience and What They Need

A key to good writing is understanding the audience. The document must be directed at specific readers, and take into account their level of technical knowledge, the amount of detail they want, and their level of interest in the subject. This is often called user or needs analysis. Design the document to meet the needs of its specific readers in terms of subject matter, vocabulary, level of detail, and writing style. In general, assume that the audience is less familiar with the subject than you.

It may help to make a checklist of the members of the audience and what information they need. For example:

Determine the Level of Detail

The objective and the intended audience also dictate the level of detail required. This defines the scope of the document, what supporting information to include, what research is required, and what subject matter experts must contribute.

Determining what to leave out is as important as deciding what to include. Lay readers should not be overwhelmed by detailed research findings, rather, these should be clearly cited and summarized. Include charts and graphs if they support the objectives. Although you may have acquired a great deal of useful data in preparation to write the document, discard data that does not directly apply to the audience and purpose of the document.

Organize the Information

Next, organize the information to support the objective and the audience. Develop an outline that lists the topics to cover, the audience for that topic, key points, and the data required to support these points.

Make sure that the data directly support the logical flow of the information. Facts should enhance the key points in the report, not overwhelm them. Put supporting data, including background information, complex tables, or study results, in an appendix. Other source material that is available to readers may be referenced, but should not be included in the report itself.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a key element in any report. The executive summary serves as a stand-alone section that average, non–technical readers can use to determine if they want to read the document. The executive summary is often the only section of a document recipients read. Therefore, the information presented here is key to the value of the document as a whole. It must state the purpose–the objectives or the problems it addresses–a summary of the findings, and the major conclusions and recommendations, if there are any.

Although this section is the first one readers see, it should be the last one authors write, because it is essential to draw the content from the document itself. The summary must cover the content in enough detail to reflect the meaning of the data, but do so concisely and clearly so that those with little time or knowledge of the subject can grasp key information.

Make an effort to keep the executive summary as short as possible. The executive summary should be clear and meaningful independent of the report. Therefore, do not refer to figures, tables, or references contained elsewhere in the report. The summary itself can contain figures, tables, or footnotes, as long as the information is integral to the summary and key to supporting the recommendations.

Summary Paragraphs

Open each section with a summary paragraph. The summary paragraph provides an overview of the section in much the same way the executive summary provides an overview of the report as a whole. A good summary uses present tense, active voice, and clearly states what is in the section it summarizes.

Instead of "In this section, the advantages of the alternative selected for monitoring daily banking operations are summarized. Discussion will include an overview of the problem as we see it."

Problem: Vague and uninformative.

Use "This section details the recommendations of the Bank XYZ staff for effective monitoring of daily operating procedures at corporate headquarters and branch banks. We present the problem statement first, followed by our recommendation. The remainder of the paper presents all alternatives studied, and the methodology and supporting research used to form the conclusions that led to these recommendations."

Solution: Informs the reader exactly what is included and the order of the presentation.

Main Body of the Report

The body of the report is where the author presents detailed information. The contents should be organized as follows to present information in a logical flow:

• Introduction – Provide the background and origin of the study, the location and study limits, an overview of the problem or issues studied, and how the information is organized.
  
  
• Methodology (approach) – Discuss what the study proposes, what the investigator is trying to learn, what data is required and why. Document any assumptions or constraints.
  
  
• Data – Discuss the findings, the pertinent data gathered, the key information of the report. Put supporting or background data not critical to the flow of the main report in appendices. Reference data from other sources so readers can locate it.
  
  
• Analysis – Provide an analysis drawn from the data presented. Note any deficiencies or unexplained data.
  
  
• Conclusions – Present a professional opinion as to the meaning of the data and your analyses. Discuss options and limitations.
  
  
• Recommendations – Present a professional opinion as to the action or policy indicated.
  
  
• Appendices – Present detailed supporting information that would detract from the flow of the report but is required as supplementary information.

Each section should flow logically from the one before. That is, present the problem, the method used to explore the problem, and the findings. Then analyze the data, develop conclusions based on this analysis, and, if appropriate, present recommendations based on the conclusions.