To: Nancy Myers

From: Jacob Powers

CHAPTER 9
Short, Informal Reports
Report Definition – Reports can be long or short and informal or formal. They will satisfy one or more
of the following needs.
 Supply a record of work accomplished
 Record and clarify complex information for future reference
 Present information to many different people with different skill levels
 Record problems encountered
 Document schedules, timetables, and milestones
 Recommend future actions
 Document current status
 Record procedures
Online Reports – Online report filing improves speed and convenience, financial savings, and enables
fast and easy distribution.
Types of Reports
 Incident reports
 Investigative reports
 Trip reports
 Progress or status reports
 Lab or test reports
 Feasibility/recommendation reports
 Research reports
 Proposals
Criteria for Writing Reports
 Organization – Short reports should contain: Identification lines, headings and talking
headings, introduction, discussion, and conclusion/recommendations.
o Identification Lines – Subject, date, who it’s going to, and who it’s from.
o Headings and Talking headings – Headings highlight the content in a section of the
document. Example – “Discussion”. Talking headings are more informative. Example –
“human Resources Committee Reviews 2016 Benefits Packages”.
o Introduction – An overview of the report. Could include purpose, personnel, or dates.
Don’t assume that the readers know the purpose of the report.
o Discussion – Large section that summarizes topics.
 o Conclusion – Allows you to sum it up and reflect on what you’ve learned.
 Development – When deciding what to put into each section, answer who, what where, why,
and when. Use numbers and don’t be vague.
 Audience – Determine who will read your text. Use appropriate words, tone, and level of in-
depthness for the audience.
 Style – Eliminate wordy phrases. Use tables, white space, and headings to make it easier to
follow.
Incident Reports – Documents an unexpected problematic event.
 Purpose and Examples – To let other people know what happened so they can adapt and take
actions to prevent a repeat.
o Biomedical technology – A computed tomography (CT) scan in the radiology
department is not functioning correctly. This has led to the department’s inability to
read X-rays. To avoid similar problems, you need to report this incident.
o Hospitality management – An oven in your restaurant caught fire. It not only injured
one of your cooks but also damaged the oven, requiring that it be replaced with more
fire-resistant equipment.
o Retail – One of your retail locations has experienced a burglary. The police have been
contacted, but as site manager, you believe the problem could have been solved with
better in-store security. Your incident report will document the event and show you
how to avoid future problems.
 Criteria
o Introduction – When and where did the incident occur? Who was involved and what
role did you play? Why were you involved?
o Discussion – Quantify and describe what you experienced.
o Conclusion – Explain what caused the problem and suggest things that you think could
be done to prevent something similar from happening in the future.
Investigative Reports
 Purpose and Examples – Focuses on why the incident occurred. Involves investigating the
causes.
o Engineering – A historic 100-year-old bridge crossing your city’s river is buckling. The left
lane is now two inches higher than the right lane, and the expansion joints are
separating beyond acceptable specifications. You must visit the bridge site, investigate
the damage, and report on the causes of this construction flaw.
 Criteria
o Introduction – Purpose, location, and people involved with the incident. Who suggested
that you investigate it?
o Discussion – Review of your observations and what you did.
o Conclusion – What did you accomplish? What do you think the cause(s) was/were?
What do you suggest as the next thing to be done?
Trip Reports
 Purpose and Examples – A report on job-related travel. So your employers know if you were
doing what you were supposed to and if the trip was worth it.
o Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning – One of your clients is building an office
site. Your company has been hired to install their heating, ventilating, and air
conditioning (HVAC) system. You travel to your client’s home office to meet with other
contractors (engineering and architectural) so all team members can agree on
construction plans. At the conclusion of your job-related travel, you will write a trip
report about your meeting.
 Criteria
o Introduction – Where are you going? Why are you going there? Who is going with you?
Who authorized you to go on the trip?
o Discussion – Document your activities
o Conclusion – What did you accomplish? How did you benefit yourself or the company?
What would you suggest next?
Progress Reports
 Purpose and Examples – To let supervisors know what progress you are making on something
and what still needs to be done. To let them know what difficulties you may have encountered.
o Automotive Technology – Your company recently suffered negative publicity due to
product failures. As manufacturing supervisor, you have initiated new procedures for
automotive manufacturing to improve your product quality. How are these procedural
changes going? Your company CEO needs an update. To provide this information, you
must write a progress report.
 Criteria –
o Introduction – Why are you working on the project? With whom are you working on
this project? What has already been done?
o Discussion – Work accomplished, problems encountered, and work remaining.
o Conclusion – Summary of what you’ve achieved and what your estimated date of
completion is. Recommendations for changes that could help you meet the deadline.
Lab Reports (Test Reports)
 Purpose and Examples – To allow others to benefit from the discoveries you have made from
laboratory experiments or studies.
o Information technology – Customers are calling you company’s 1-800 hotline almost
daily, complaining about hard drive error readings. This is bad for business and
profitability. To solve these hard drive malfunctions, you must study units to find the
problem. Then, you will write a test report to document your discoveries.
 Criteria
o Introduction – Purpose for the report.
o Discussion – How the test was performed. What the procedure was.
 o Conclusion – What were your findings? What follow-up actions should be taken as a
result?
Feasibility/Recommendation Reports
 Purpose and Examples – To study a proposed plan. Will it work? Can we afford it? Is it worth
it?
o Accounting – Your company wants to expand and is considering new locations. The
decision makes, however, are uncertain whether the market is right for expansion. Are
interest rates good? Are local property taxes and sales taxes too high? Will the city
provide tax rebate incentives for your company’s growth? You need to study the
feasibility of expansion and report your recommendations.
 Criteria
o Introduction – What is the purpose of the study? Who initiated the study? What
problems were known prior to the study? Who is involved in the study?
o Discussion – State the criteria which you are using to compare the feasibility. Compare
your findings against the criteria.
o Conclusion – Draw a conclusion from your findings in the study. State the significance of
your findings. Recommend a course of action.
The Writing Process at Work
 Prewriting – Gather data and form topic outline.
 Writing – Write a rough draft.
 Rewriting – Review and have someone else proofread. Fix problems.