Technical Communication
Reference 2: Guide to effective report writing

The Guide to Effective Report Writing outlines a practical method for IT professionals to develop and maintain reports which address the needs of the reader and which are expressed in language easily understood by the reader.

Contents

1. The design of effective reports.
2. Understanding the business communication context.
3. How to organize business communication.
4. Presenting information visually.
5. Effective style.

Designing effective reports is done in three stage process:

1. Planning.
2. Writing, evaluating and revising.
3. Editing.

Planning is the most critical stage for the success of the document. Planning means thinking about the following:

1. Who will be your audience? Describe the responsibilities, job level(s) and attitudes of all primary readers. Who will act on what you write? Who else might read what you write? What was the situation that led to the need for this document?
2. What is your purpose in writing the document? Why are you writing? What do you want to achieve with your writing? Do you need to restate your purpose to fit the reader's perspective? What kind of image do you want to project of yourself/ISS.
3. How will you organize your message for greatest effectiveness? What main ideas do you want to include? Which ones to exclude? Considering your reader(s) attitudes, needs and perspectives, in what order do you think these ideas should be presented?
4. Visual aids. What visual aids can you use to make the message as concise and clear as possible?
5. Writing style. What writing style will be most effective? Based on your analysis of who will read your document, what language are they most likely to understand.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 1. Design of effective reports.

Applies the results of your analysis in stage 1 to the development of your document (which could be a report, proposal, procedure, policy or even an article for publication). As you write, you need to constantly evaluate what you have written against the decisions made in stage 1. You will revise what you write. For important documents, you need to set time aside to evaluate and revise what you have written.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 1. Design of effective reports.

Editing focuses on the mechanics of your writing to ensure technical accuracy and general clarity.

While a three stage process may seem to be a burden at first, with practice you'll find that it becomes an efficient, reliable guide to developing any document - telling you what you need to say and not say.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 1. Design of effective reports.

For many people, their formal writing style is derived, or is at least influenced, by the kind of writing they did at school and university. There are a number of important distinctions that need to be made between university writing and writing in a professional context.

In understanding the context of business writing and the distinction between academic and business writing, the following points need to be addressed:

1. Writing at work achieves job goals.
2. Writing at work addresses a variety of readers
3. Writing at work addresses readers with different perspectives
4. Writing at work creates excessive paperwork
5. Writing at work may be read by readers unknown to the writer
6. Writing at work has an indefinite lifespan
7. Writing at work can create legal liability for the writer and the reader

Your work writing helps the organization achieve its corporate goals and allows you to do your job - its a prerequisite for job effectiveness. It not a vehicle to convince anyone that you know a subject and deserve at least a passing grade.

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The reader for whom you write is no longer a single reader (a lecturer, tutor etc.). Surveys have found that business writings are addressed to many readers with varying educational backgrounds, but most often to people who know less about the subject area than the writer themself. You will often need to write for people in other parts of the organization. They will read what you write based on their own jobs, backgrounds, education and technical expertise. Unlike the people you were at school or university with, those with whom you work will probably not have the same educational and technical background as you. Your success at communicating with them will depend largely on how well you gauge the unique background of your reader(s).

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Your reader, unlike your teacher, will feel no obligation to read what you have written. They have their own jobs and will seldom bother to read something unless they see it as being helpful to them personally.

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We live in the age of infoglut where the quantity of information available to us increases exponentially. People have more to read than they'll ever have time to read. Few documents are read completely - most are skimmed. So when a reader picks up your document, they will be asking themselves; What is this? Why should I read it? How does it affect me? What am I going to have to do? They will want to find the main points straight away. They will become impatient if they can't find them by glancing down the pages. In short, your reader is not a captive audience - you have to make your message clear and easy to read. You also need to make your message as interesting an relevant as possible. Correct writing that cannot be read quickly and easily is not likely to be read. Few readers will be impressed with verbose, disorganized writing, even if each sentence is technically correct.

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Your writing will be read by two categories of people: the primary readers for whom it was intended, and secondary readers who will perhaps receive copies because the information is relevant to their jobs. Whoever your primary readers are, you should always anticipate the secondary readers. Its important not to underestimate the problem presented by unknown readers. Copies of your reports will often be placed in files that can be accessed by people who know little or nothing about the situation you are writing about. Yet these same reports can be used in assessing your performance and determining your promotion potential. Its often the case that readers who know little about you will make decisions about your competence based on how well you write. In other words, what you write at work is much more than a knowledge indicator that helps a teacher to determine a grade.

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Much of what is written in organizations will remain in the organization's files for years. Because known and unknown readers may use your documents for an indefinite period, the problem of trying to identify the reader is further complicated by the length of time that the document is accessible. Academic writing, on the other hand, applies to a specific semester and lecturer.

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Unlike academic writing, professional writing has the potential for being used against you in court. Both the writer and the person approving the document become responsible for the content. You need to keep in mind the indefinite lifespan of the material and the difficulty of knowing just who will read the document. In addition to this, you need to also remember that people may use your writing for reasons you never considered. Its possible that people might take sentences and even paragraphs out of context for use in situations unrelated to your original intent. They can then use what you say to support claims against you and your organization. Because we live in an increasingly litigious society, its important to consider these legal aspects.

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1. Use clearly worded titles.
2. Use a summarising opening.
3. Use headings to indicate partitioning of ideas.
4. Use topic sentences to announce the content of paragraphs to help the reader move quickly through.

By following the above guidelines, you enable the reader to quickly answer the four basic questions: What is this? Why am I receiving it? How does this document affect me? What am I supposed to do? The guidelines allow a busy reader to navigate easily and grasp the essential content without needing to read the whole document.

The following specific guidelines can be used to achieve the above:

1. Structure the content to help the reader find key points
2. Begin with the most important information
3. Design clear titles
4. Design the summary
5. Design the introduction
6. Consider using overviews
7. Design the discussion
8. Design the conclusion
9. Design attachments
10. Structure paragraphs for easy reading

As indicated in the introduction above, when the average reader picks up a document, they have four basic questions in mind: What is this? Why am I receiving it? How does this document affect me? What am I supposed to do?

The structure and internal organization must help readers find the answers to these questions quickly. The ease with which the reader can grasp the essential meaning of the document determines how much of the document they decide to read.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

Once you know what you want your document to accomplish and what your readers need from the document, place that information at the beginning in a paragraph for medium length reports and in an introduction or summary for long report or reports that will be read by a number of readers who have different levels of familiarity with the subject.

Discussion, development or support of the main information follows in the body of the document. The conclusion follows the body. The following structure is appropriate when the reader is mainly interested in the conclusion, recommendation or result being reported upon.

1. Main ideas - paragraph summary or introduction plus paragraph summary.
2. Development - explanation, support for each idea given in the summary.
3. Conclusion - restatement of main ideas, what the reader needs to do in response to the main information.
4. Attachments - supporting data for ideas in the development section.

When your report focuses on analysis as the heart of the report, or you need to emphasize the discussion in order to justify the conclusion, or if the reader is likely to be hostile to your conclusion and you need to change the reader's attitude to the subject before presenting the conclusion, then the following structure is appropriate.

1. Main ideas - abstracts, summary, foreword.
2. Development - discussion, main body of report.
3. Evaluation, Conclusions, Recommendations - results of the discussion.
4. Appendix, Attachments - supporting data for ideas in the discussion.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

Formal reports should use titles that are both concise and descriptive of content. Research backs up what common sense suggests, that readers comprehend documents more quickly if they know what the document is going to discuss.

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While the summary is placed first in a document, it is usually the last item you write. You are best able to encapsulate a topic after you have become thoroughly familiar with it during the development of the discussion.

A summary may consist of one sentence, one paragraph or several paragraphs for long reports. The summary should address the four questions alluded to previously: What is this? Why am I receiving it? How does this document affect me? What am I supposed to do? How long the summary is depends on the size and complexity of the report.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

Whereas summaries give the reader the main ideas presented in the document, introductions provide the setting in which writer prepares the reader for what is to follow in the discussion. Whether or not you provide an introduction depends on the readers familiarity with the subject. If the reader is familiar with the problem or situation that led to the document, you can open with a summary and omit the introduction.

If however you anticipate that some readers will not readily understand what the document is about and why it was written, an introduction will give them the background necessary to answer the four questions (see previous section). The introduction enables any reader, even one months or years in the future to understand why it was written. So if in doubt, include an introduction.

Like summaries, introductions vary in length and development, depending on the length and complexity of the document. As a general guide, the introduction should contain the following elements:

1. Subject of the document.
2. Purpose of the document.
3. Background - what led to the document.
4. Major points discussed.
5. Scope of document - topics covered and not covered.
6. Procedure for developing the content.

Research shows that readers understand content more quickly when they are prepared for that information, that is, if they are told up front what they are going to read. Introductions therefore improve the accessibility and readability of documents because they tell the reader what to expect.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

Like introductions, overviews state the topic, the purpose of the information that follows, and how it is organized. Overviews frequently precede major sections, particularly major parts of the discussion of the report.

Like the introduction, the overview improves the readability of that section. Overviews are generally shorter than introductions because they deal only with the section that follows and helps the reader know how to approach that content. Overviews are particularly useful in long reports made up of several long sections.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

The main discussion section represents the bulk of the document. The discussion gives full development , explanation and support for the main ideas presented. But studies show that the discussion is the least read part of the report. This is basically because readers are busy and are only interested in the part(s) of the report that affects them, and read the parts that give them the information they need. For that reason, the discussion must be structured to enable the reader to find what they need without having to search through pages of information. In deciding how much to say in the discussion, keep your reader's knowledge level in mind.

When designing the discussion, be sure that the main points given in the summary are easy to locate in the discussion itself. Place the most important concepts first, unless your ideas follow a chronological or sequential order.

In developing the discussion, you will need to use the same development methods you have used previously at university - division and classification, description, illustration, comparison/contrast and causal analysis.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

The final section, the conclusion, may include an evaluation, summary, and/or any recommendations based on ideas you have stated in your discussion. In the conclusion, you may reiterate your main points, elaborate any point that seems particularly important, and (if necessary) state any recommendations you believe are necessary.

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Many times, you will include figures, data, calculations, or other information that support assertions made in the discussion. Including this supporting detail in the main part of the report is not appropriate since excessive detail hinders the reader's ability to follow your ideas.

If you do provide supporting material, you need to draw the reader's attention to it and indicate when it is relevant.

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Readability research indicates that paragraphs are easier to understand when they begin with a topic sentence, rather than place the topic sentence in the middle or leave it out altogether.

The same principle applies to paragraph development as to document development generally - place the most important information at the beginning. When developing paragraphs, begin with a topic sentence that summarises the idea that will be discussed in the paragraph. Just as the report summary and introduction prepare the reader how to read the report, so the topic sentence prepares the reader for the information that follows.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 3. How to organize business communication.

Presenting information visually comprises the following:

1. The value of graphics
2. Thinking visually
3. Guidelines for writing visually

Considering using graphics increases the time it takes to produce a document, you might be tempted to ask: "why do I need to bother?" Graphics can increase the efficiency with which your reader extracts meaning from your document, intensifies the impact of the message, and improves the retention of information.

Ours is a visual society. We live in an age of too much information, an age when people have more to read than they can possible manage, where work has become increasingly abstract and data-defined, where pictures are as important as words, and where documents compete with other documents for the reader's attention. Graphics help the reader access meaning quickly and improves the chances that your document will be read and acted upon.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 4. Presenting information visually.

Software packages like Excel, Powerpoint, and the Corel suite offer a great deal of flexibility with the production of graphics. Now that producing graphics has been made easy, the most frequent problem is selecting a graphic that fits the information and meets the needs of the reader. For example, when showing comparative quantities, pie charts or bar graphs can be effective. But if a great deal of segmentation is required, a table may be the only choice (i.e. if there are 15 or more categories to display). Tables are however less effective than graphs at showing similarities and differences among quantities. One option is to use a combination of table and bar graph. Used together, the table gives the figures credibility, while the graph helps the reader see the relationships among the figures and gives them meaning. Where space is limited, the graph should be omitted in favour of the table.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 4. Presenting information visually.

The following guidelines will help you to decide when to use graphics:

1. If your writing includes extensive data.
2. If the document requires your reader's immediate attention, you can provide encouragement by helping the reader see your ideas rather than having to read them.
3. If you consider the reader will not be motivated to read, visual aids will encourage them because seeing is easier than reading.
4. If the reader is not familiar with the topic, visual aids can enhance understanding, stimulate interest, and even improve retention of information.
5. The distracting the reader's environment, the more a visual display will help the reader to process your message.
6. Use tables if the reader understands the material; flowcharts if the material is complex; and short sentences (listed) if you want the reader to memorize and retain the list.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 4. Presenting information visually.

An analysis of your readership, the purpose of the document, and the context in which it will be read will help you decide the content, organization, format and very importantly the best writing style to use. In making each decision, your purpose is to enable the reader to grasp the content quickly and easily, to elicit the response you want and to ensure that the reader has a positive attitude towards you.

Style includes the words and phrases you choose, the sentence structure you use and the way you express ideas. Style can obviously vary widely and a good writer adjusts the style to the reader.

In determining the best style, consider the following:

1. Determine the reader(s) knowledge of the subject.
2. Determine the reader(s) expectations about style based on the kind of writing you are doing.
3. Determine the reader(s) probable reading level, based on the context in which the document will be read.
4. Determine your relationship to the the reader and your identity as a writer.

Summary:

1. Know your reader's background and level of expertise on the topic. Use words commensurate with that level.
2. Anticipate the context in which the reader will read the document. Find out if a particular style is expected.
3. For routine writing, use a conversational style: write as you speak.
4. Remember the reader is human and will respond emotionally as well as intellectually to what you write. Be sure that your writing conveys a positive attitude to the material and respect for the reader.
5. Write as simply as possible. Most readers want information that is easy to read and understand. They are not impressed with pompous language that obscures, rather than clarifies meaning.

The reader's familiarity with the subject will determine how many specialized terms you can safely use without baffling the reader. If they are thoroughly familiar with he subject, you can use acronyms, jargon and other specialized terms. If the reader is not thoroughly familiar with the the subject, you should limit the use of specialized words or phrases to those you are sure the reader will understand. If you are in doubt about your reader's knowledge on a subject, eliminate specialist language, define it, or substitute words or phrases that will clearly express your meaning.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 5. Effective style.

Many times, the person for whom you write - your manager, for example - will want you to write in a certain way, that is, to use specific phrases. In many organizations, documentation standards dictate the format and to some extent the content of documents (i.e. what information must be included on the front cover). Beyond adhering to the prescribed documentation standards, there is still scope to adapt your writing style to the reader. For example, the kind of style used for a report which will be read primarily by a high-level decision-making committee will be less technical than that used in a report primarily for consumption by technical people.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 5. Effective style.

Reading comprehension also determines your choice of writing style. Reading comprehension level refers to the degree of difficulty in written material that a reader can accommodate without misunderstanding the content.

Return to Contents List. | Return to Section 5. Effective style.

In analyzing the reader, you need to determine the kind of image that you must project based on your position in the organization and your relationship to the reader.

In selecting the appropriate image to project, the language you choose can sound formal, informal, neutral, effusive, rude, dictatorial, or respectful. Your style can project a whole range on emotions upon the reader. So, when choosing a style, you need to be sure that it is appropriate to your position in the organization, to the content of the report, and to the readers.