Report Writing

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Report Writing

• Andy Dawson
• Department of Information Studies, UCL

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Whats in this session

• Some basic thoughts about communication
• What do we mean by a report?
• What makes a good one?
• How might we go about writing one?
• What academics particularly look for
• Research methodology
• Referencing and sources

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Why do people communicate?

• Many reasons! Amongst them
• To inform, advise or explain
• To ask or request
• To direct, persuade or motivate
• To promise or make a commitment
• But does it always work?

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Barriers to communication

• Personality
• Motivation
• Emotion
• Differing levels of expertise
• Difficulties with (self-)expression
• Presumption - jumping to conclusions

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Types of communication

• Many different kinds of communication
• Different forms
• Different media
• Different mechanisms
• Some better suited than others to particular
  needs?

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A quick exercise!

• If I want to communicate with someone else, at
  work or in my personal life, what types of
  communication are there?
• Group yourselves into twos/threes
• Make a list of as many as you can think of (and
  at least 6!)

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Written communication vs Spoken communication

• Better at conveying facts/opinions (vs
  feelings/emotions)?
• Better for complex communications
• Easier to plan ahead
• Can correct mistakes before use
• Provides a record of what was communicated

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BUT not without drawbacks

• More time-consuming (usually)
• Feedback/response is delayed (or nonexistent)
• Impersonal, lacking individuality?
• May be ignored altogether
• Lacks non-textual clues to meaning

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Non-textual c(l)ues

• Tone and intonation
• Gestures (kinesics)
• Facial expression
• Eye contact (or lack thereof)
• Nodding
• Physical orientation (proxemics)
• Posture
• Proximity

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Written communication is Harder?

• The words have to work harder!
• They carry the whole message without other
  cues
• Reader has less information to judge, esp things
  like tone, humour
• So clarity and careful choice of words and
  expression is critical!

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A report is

• A communication of information or advice
• From someone who has collected and studied the
  facts
• To someone who needs the report for a specific
  purpose
• Reports often provide a basis for decisions and
  future action

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Kinds of report

• Formal reports in the world of work, e.g.
• Consultancy/management reports
• Feasibility studies
• Executive reports/summaries
• Sometimes part of the above!
• Academic reports/essays
• Be aware of whats required and format
  accordingly
• Dissertation!

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A good report should be

• unified
• complete
• accurate
• clear
• concise
• readily intelligible

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Basic structure of a report

• Introductory material
• Body of report
• Concluding sections
• ( tell em what youre going to tell em, tell
  em, and tell em what you told em)

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Introductory material

• Abstract (executive summary?)
• Terms of reference
• Background information/introduction
• Choice of methodology

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Body of report

• What you did
• What you found
• What it means
• Laying out the data/finding/facts, and analysis
  of these
• The majority of the report, normally several
  chapters/sections

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Concluding sections

• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Bibliography
• Appendices

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Structure and section numbering

• Do you need it?
• Useful but not prescribed
• Some structure vital, whether report is short or
  long
• Decimal hierarchies can be useful, i.e.
• 1 Section heading
• 1.1 first subsection
• 1.2 second subsection
• 1.2.1, 1.2.2 (etc)

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Where do I start?

• What works for you?
• Collect information in some form of notes
• (may initially be brainstorming or fairly random)
• Group materials under headings
• Within each heading, arrange your ideas in a
  logical sequence
• Mindmapping tools like Mind Genius can help here

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How shall I arrange material ?

• Again, its not prescriptive!
• Be guided by
• What works for you
• The audience
• The subject matter
• You can always change it later!

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Possible first arrangement considerations

• Chronological
• Geographical
• Literal subject matter
• Order of importance
• Ascending order of complexity
• (simple ideas first)
• Descending order of familiarity
• (known gt unknown)
• Cause and effect (because X then Y)

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Producing the report

• BE CLEAR OF PURPOSE!
• Once more, what works for you!
• Write a plan or skeleton outline
• Write first draft (possibly in sections)
• Read it through and edit as necessary

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What to watch for when reading through

• Are the ideas and arguments clear?
• Would examples or figures help?
• Is there any waffle you could cut out?
• Is there any unnecessary repetition?
• Then read it again and do further editing if
  required until satisfied (within time
  constraints!)

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Finishing off

• Then
• Write (or finish) the conclusion
• Write (or finish) the introduction and title?
• Check figures/tables and ref numbering
• Check spelling and grammar CLOSELY
• Check printed page layout and presentation
• (and hand in on time ? )

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Some special considerations for academic writing
in particular

• What do academics look for
• (what gains you marks? ? )
• Research methodology
• Data collection (and analysis)
• Referencing and sources
• Citation and plagiarism

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What do academics look for?

• All of the above ?
• PARTICULARLY
• Analytical rather than just descriptive material
• Statements supported by data/argument, not just
  assertion or presumption
• DO give YOUR opinion, but JUSTIFY it!
• Clear, concise, cogent, logical structure
• Answering the question asked!

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Research methodology

• What is methodology?
• Picking an appropriate methodology
• Think it through!
• A few words about data collection instruments
• Questionnaires, interviews and analysis
• Designing the instruments

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Referencing and sources

• Why do we cite (1)?
• So people know whose ideas (and words!) are whose
• Plagiarism, self-plagiarism and collusion
• Why do we cite (2)?
• So people can find the materials we used
• What and how should we cite?
• Styles of citation

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Thats it for today!

• Any questions?
• Happy report writing! ?