Management

2010

Report Writing

REPORT WRITING

USING THIS GUIDE

The ability to write concise, accurate and logically structured reports is a core skill for managers. For this reason, many of the forms of assessment used in the Business School will ask you to ‘write a report’. This guide will help you understand these requirements. The Guide is in the format of an open learning self-teach pack to enable you to learn at your own pace, and also to be available as a source of reference throughout your studies. Report writing conventions vary between organisations. The approaches recommended in the guide, however, follow widely-recognised best practice, and should be followed when writing reports for all course assignments. You may find that occasionally, because of the nature of the subject area, the format of the assignment will vary. In these circumstances, we recommend that you seek guidance from the module tutors. As a result of completing the guide, you should be able to:

    

Plan and gather data for a report in a systematic way Set out a report in a structured manner Write a report concisely and clearly Review and evaluate a report you have written Reference accurately.

The guide is divided into the following sections: 1) An introduction to report writing

2) Report structure 3) Preparing to write the report 4) Presentation and layout 5) Writing style 6) Drafting and completing the report 7) Appendix 1 – Report writing checklist.

1

2010

Report Writing

There are a number of activities to complete in each section. It is important that you complete the activities as you work through each section of the Guide if you are to develop your skills. Consequently, it is recommended that you complete activities in the Guide over a number of sessions, perhaps one or two sections at a time, rather than trying to complete it in one long session. A number of the activities require you to review existing reports. These may be ones you have written or...