Importance of Reports:

•A report is a basic arrangement tool used in decision making. It i svery important for
organisations, especially for large-scale organisations. The following points discuss the
importance of reports.
•A report is the only tangible product of a professional
•All the efforts of engineers, academicians, and researchers culminate in reports that
convey to others the efficiency with which they carried out their assignments.
•Reports enable decision-maing and problem solving in organisations. Based on the
information presented, analysis discussed, or the sggestions rendered, administrators can
make important decisions and solve serious problems.
•Reports help the authorities in planning new ventures and in evaluation men and material.
If an organisation wants to open a new branch in a nearby locality, it can plan for the same
more effectively after going through the feasibility report prepared for this purpose.
•Reports are an important means of information dissemination within and outside the
organisation. Many of the routine reports such as inspection reports, inventory reports, or
annual reports, transmit information across and outside the organisation.
•Reports serve as a measure of the growth, progress, or success of an organisation. THe
success of an organisation depends on the quality and quantity of an informtaion flown
through it spersonnel in the form of oral or written reports. A manager can measure the
progress his/her department is making by going through monthly reports on the status of all
the projects.
• Reports serve as a valuable repository of information. Organisations of various kinds
preserve reports of importance and value for a long time so that they can refer to these
reports whenever needed. For example, an academic institution can refer to the
previous assessment reports it had received from some committee in order to improve
its performance.
• Reports reveal gaps in thinking
• A report can give the recipient an idea about whether the writer had thought and
proceeded logically and whether he/shr had conducted an in-depth study of the topic.
• Reports develop certain skills in the writer
• Reports not only help organisations but also help the writer to develop certain skills,
such as the ability to organize, evaluate, and communicate with greater accuracy.
OBJECTIVES OF REPORT
Present a record of accomplished work
Record an experiment
Record research findings or technical specifications
Document schedules, timetables, and milestones
Document current status
Record and clarify complex information for future reference
[Link] information to alarge number of people
Present organised informtaion on a particular topic
Recommend actions that can be considered in solving certain problems
Characteristics of report
Precision: It gives unity and coherence to the report and makes it a valuable
document. Effective reports must clearly reflect their purpose. The purpose
should direct the investigation, analysis and recommendations. THe purpose
determines the format, content, sequence, and word usuage in the report.
Factual details: THe report should be very detailed and factual. It should meet the
audience's expectation. The scientific accuracy of facts is very essential to a
good report.
Relevance: THe facts presented in a report should be not only accurate but also
relevant. Irrelevant facts make a report confusing.
Reader-orientation: A good report i salways reader oriented. A report meant for
the layperson will be different from one meant for technical experts.
 Objectivity of recommendations: If recommendations are made in the
report, they must be impartial and objective. They should come as a
logical conclusion to investigation and analysis.
 Simple and unambiguous language: A good report is written in simple,
unambiguous language. As it is document of practical utility it should be
clear, brief and grammatically correct without any poetic language.
 Clarity: A good report is absolutely clear. Clarity depends on proper
arrangement of facts. A writer should proceed systematically in writing a
report. They should make their purpose clear, define their sources, state
their findings, and finally make necessary recommendations.
 Brevity: A report should be brief. All the significant points should be
included in a report in abrief way.
 Grammatical accuracy: The grammatical accuracy of language of a good
report is of fundamental importance. It is one of the basic requisites of a
good report as of any other piece of composition.
• Categories of report
• Informative, analytical (purpose)
• Periodic, special (frequency)
• Oral, written (mode of presentation)
• Long, short (length)
• Formal, informal approach
• Individual, group (target audience)

• Informative reports
• The main purpose of informational report is to present the information
in an objective, factual, and organised manner. Supporting data,
appropriate order, and good presentation style are important in
writing an informational report. Informative reports on the growth of
the company. In a report of this kind , the presentation of all details
that led to the growth of company should be listed in a chronological
order.
Analytical reports
An analytical report is also known as an interpretative or investigative report. This kind of
report analyse the fact, draws conclusions, and makes recommendations. For instance a
report presenting production figures for a particular period is informative. But if it analyses
the causes of lower production in that period, it becomes analytical, interpretative, or
investigative.
Drafting problem statement
Evolving criteria
Suggesting alternatives and evaluations
Drawing conclusion and making recommendations

The structure of an analytical report may follow any of the two patterns.
Inductive methodology
It follows a simple, logical arrangements in which on eproceedes from the sensible
singular to the universal, or simply from the known to the unknown.
It begins with known or sepcific examples in the form of statements/ statistics/testimonies
the argument moves towards the general or universal sattements.

Deductive proceedes from the unknown to the known. universal truths are taken for the
formulation point for the problem. The various alternatives are suggested, evaluated,
conclusions drawn keeping in mind the original problem stated.
Structural organisation
While in an inductive method the pattern of the report would normally follow the sequence
of introduction, text, and terminal section, in the deductive method, the structure could be
slightly different. It could begin by stating conclusions and recommendations, which are
then followed by an introduction and the text section.

Periodic and special reports

Periodic reports are either informational or analytical in their purpose. As they are
prepared and presented at a regular, prescribed intervals in the usual routine of business,
they are called routine reports. Progress reports of various kinds, inspection reports,
annual reports, and sales reports come under this category. They may be submitted
annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly, fortnightly, weekly, or even daily.
Special reports are related to a single occasion or situation. A report on the feasibility of
opening a new branch, a report on the rest among staff in a particular branch, or a report
on the causes behind the recent fire incidents in a factory are special reports. They deal
with non-recurrent problems.
Oral and written report
Depending upon the mode of presentation reports can be oral or written. When you rejoin
duty after attending an international seminar, you meet your officer and report about the
deliberations of the seminar.
An oral report is simple and easy to present. While oral reports are useful, written reports
are always preferred as they enjoy several advantages over the oral ones.
oral reports written report
immediate feedback is possible immediate feedback is not possible
do not add to the permanent records contribute to the permanent
records of the organisation
of the organisation as the information/
facts can be denied
audience needs to comprehend quickly audience can ponder over this
report and understand as its own pace
as and when these are prepared
have less professional value have more professional value
Long and shorts reports
Reports are classified based on the frequency of appearence, length,
degree of formality, and purpose. A short report usually begins with an
introduction, folllowed by the information and then conclusion. Moreover,
long reports also have a lot of emphasis on the format.
Formal and informal reports
A formal report is the result of proper survey and investigation and is
presented in a prescribed format. It is prepared as the requirement of the
organisations. These reports include annual reports, auditor’s reports,
policy reports, interpretive reports, etc.
An informal report is usually transmitted from person to person.
Individual and group reports
Based on the target audience
A report presents the information in an organised manner in the most
usuable form to the set of people. It may describe the series of event to
the to the concerned people. Report on the admission pattern in the
emgineering college can be presented to aspiring engineers and their
parents.
Formats
A report may have any one of the following formats:
Manuscript
Memo
Letter
Pre-printed form
Manuscript format
This is the most commonly used format for the report and is generally used for
formal report. Pages can range from a few pages to several hundred. It can be
used for all types of reports-- informational, analytical and routine. As this type of
reports consists of many pages so it includes more elements such as abstract,
summary, glossary, and so on. As the length increases, these reports include more
elements such as abstract, summary, appendix, glossary, and so on.
Memo report
A memo report is mainly used for internal communication, that is, within the
organisation. It is used to handle routine information from one department to
another, making changes, alerting employees, solving a problem, etc. It helps the
administration in making decisions or solving certain problems. A memo report is a
permanent record of the internal operations of an organisation and is quite similar
to a letter report. But it differes in structure and is more informal than the letter
report because of its circulation within the organisation.
It is written in the letterhead of the organisation. Inside address or salutations are
not required. The main body of the memo report includes heading appropriate to
the discussed matter. Although there is no complimentary close or signature,
sometimes the meno report is signed or initialled at the end.
Most organisations have a printed format for memos in which a memo report can
be submitted.
 Letter report
Letter reports are important business document that presents the information and
problems of technical/business matters in the format of business [Link] only
difference between business letters and letter reports is in the organisation of
content and in writing style. All parts of a business letters are used here except
the inside address, which is often omitted in form letters.
The style of writing is factual, but it does have a personal touch in the use of
pronouns and sustain readers' interest by showing them courteous consideration.
Subject headings in the main text of the letter report serve as a guide, which lets
the reader know what follows, thus conserving his or her [Link] and figures,
if any, should be numbered, titled, indented, and spaced away from th text. The
concluding parts of th letter reports are same as those of a business letter--
complimentary close, signature and the name of a sender. The following steps
are commonly used in the organisation of letter report.

authorization development of the report

statement of problem conclusions and recommendations
summary of findings
Pre-printed form
Reports containing routine matter and which are periodical
in nature may be written in a form prescribed by the
organisation. In this kind of report one needs to fill in the
blanks in a pre-printed form wherein the reporter needs to fill
in certain details against the details asked for.
prefatory parts main text supplementary parts optional ele
cover page introduction appendix/appendices frontispiece
title page discussion references/bibliography letter of
transmittal
certificate conclusions glossary copyright notice
acknowledgement recommendaions preface
table of contents summary
list of illustrations index
abstract

prefatory parts
They reveal the topic, author, contents, and also introduce the
objectives, results, significance.
Types of report
Introductory reports
These report introduce some topics but do not delve deep into any aspect.
These are short reports and do not need subsections and subdivisions.
Progress reports
These reports give regular updates about the progression of a particular
ongoing project. It help in keeping the track of the progress.
Incident reports
These reports look more like an article than a report. It is used to describe an
event or an acting without distoting the facts to a person who could not witness
the scene.
Feasibility reports
while understanding a new project or starting an establishment, the possibility
of launching it should be assessed. the pros and cons of it and the cost, gains,
glitches should be thoroughly studied. The conclusions are very important as
they indicate whether the project being considered is feasible, not feasible, or
partially feasible, and hence directly help decision-making.
Marketing reports
These reports are persuasive in nature and begin with marketing objectives,
stating the available resources, plan of action, and goals. it is similar to
feasibility reports in terms of style, length, contet.
Laboratory test reports
These reports document the various experiments conducted in the lab. the
observation, calculation, and result section must be prepared with utmost
accuracy and precision.
Aim
Theory
Apparatus
procedures
observation
calculations
results
conclusion
disscussion
possible sources of errors
precautions
Project reports
In this report at the end of project the person or the team who has accomplished
it writes a report explaining the details.

MEMO REPORT IS IMPORTANT. Give more attention to memo report