module acadamic report

8/13/2019 MODULE Acadamic Report

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Report writing is an important part of many professional and academic subjects. Reports playan increasingly important role in the workplace, where they are a crucial instrument in all

business processes. They are also widely used in government, technology, health care, social

services, and many other areas.

Whatisaformalreport?

A formal report is a document that is written following a fixed procedure and is used todescribe an investigation and give results and recommendations based on the investigation.

Whatisthepurposeofaformalreport?

The purpose of a formal report is to investigate a problem or a need, find workable solutions,

and make recommendations.

What

are

the

differences

between

different

types

of

reports?

Different types of reports are intended for different audiences and have different purposes.

They may deal with different kinds of topics, and therefore use different types of vocabulary.They may vary greatly in length. However, the general form of most reports is similar.

Whatarethepartsofaformalreport?

TitleSummary

IntroductionFindings and Discussion

Conclusions

Recommendations

Please continue to the next page...

Formal Report Writing


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Mini-Quiz

Aformalreportrequiresveryclear,conciseandaccurateuseoflanguagetoconveyvery

specificinformationtoitsaudience.Therefore,asapre-test,selectthemostappropriate

formalexpressionforuseinaformalreportfromtheoptionsgivenundereachitem:

1. I_________

the

inspector

to

perform

athorough

check

on

the

functioning

of

companymachineryandworkstations.

a. asked

b. talked to

c. requested

d. spoke to

2. Extensivesuppliesofspecimens__________________fortestingatthelaboratoriesfor

furtherresearch.

a. were requiredb. were wanted

c. were neededd. were booked

3. Theobjectiveoftheformalreportis______________problemsandtobringout

suitablesolutionsandrecommendations.

a. to search forb. to investigatec. to identifyd. to find

4. TheCEO___________shortlytodiscussgeneralissuesonimprovingefficiencyin

manufacturing.

a. comes,b.will sitc. will arrived.goes

5. Themotiontoreduceworkinghours_______________bythecompanyboard,dueto

thefearofadropintherequiredproductionoutput.

a. was not allowedb. was dismissedc. was passedd. was accepted


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ExampleofaReport

A report has a welldefined structure. In the following report, as in most reports, all the

parts are named. Sections and subsections are numbered.

To the left of each section is an explanation of the type of information and language used in

that section.

Begin with a specific title. The

title should convey useful

information about the content ofthe report

Survey of Overseas Students at Festina Lente

University: 19851999

This is followed by the name(s)of the author(s), along with the

date when the report was

finished.

University Marketing and Survey Committee,June 10, 2000

Number each section.

The summary is optional. To

write a summary:

1. Briefly state the aim of the

report.2. Briefly describe the

methodology followed.

3. Group the conclusions of the

investigation into categories.

1 Summary

A report on overseas students at Festina Lente

University was undertaken to determine what (if

any) problems these students face. Students

were surveyed on several matters. In general,students expressed satisfaction with the

university; however, a few areas of concern were

identified.

The following parts are found inthe introduction of a report:

What is to be investigated /

aim (A) Who requested the report (R)

When it was requested (D)

What methodology is to beused (M)

These are known as the terms ofreference of the report. (A), (R),

and (D) may appear in any order.(M) is always last. In the sample

report on the right, the order ofthe terms of reference is (R), (D),

(A), (M).

2 Introduction

This report was requested by the president of

Festina Lente University on November 5, 1999. AUniversity Marketing and Survey Committee was

formed, consisting of the president; the bursar;

the registrar; the deans of arts, science, andbusiness. The committee was asked to submit its

findings by June 15, 2000.


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Some expressions commonly

found in (A):the aim of...is to ...., will outline,

was to determine..., determine

the feasibility of ..., the purpose

of is to..., to investigate

The main purpose of the study is to explore ways

of attracting more overseas students to study atFestina Lente. An additional purpose is to help to

make the existing environment more conducive

to study for these students.

Some expressions commonlyfound in (R):

was requested by, as requested

by, was instructed, was asked,

make appropriaterecommendations, ...was asked to

submit...


found in (D):by (date), on or before (date)


found in (M):was collected, with discussions,

was used, obtain, carry out (atask, etc.), was undertaken,

findings, were surveyed, the

scale was used to measure...,

responses were identified,

questionnaires, tabulate, noted

Tense: Usually past. Use presenttense only to describe

aims/goals.

Our major source of information about the needsand wishes of overseas students at Festina Lente

is the students themselves. Therefore, the

committee decided to construct a questionnaire,

aimed at eliciting relevant information fromoverseas students who have studied at Festina

Lente since 1985. Copies of the questionnaireare on file with the Student Union and the

Faculty Office, and they are available for public

viewing. A total of 242 responses were received,233 of which were usable. Three hundred and

sixty nine overseas students had been enrolled

at Festina Lente during the period in question.

The responses, therefore, can be taken to reflectthe views of a significant majority of these

students. The questionnaire included 24variables, grouped into five categories:

a. Information received about Festina Lente

before the students arrival here;

b. The students reception into the country anduniversity;

c. The students courses at Festina Lente;d. Interaction with academic and administrative

staff;e. Learning resources.


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Findings are the facts that were

discovered by using the

methodology described in the

introduction. For example, if asurvey was used, the findings are

the responses to the survey. The

findings are grouped, presentedin tabular form, or reduced to

statistics for easy understanding.

An example of a finding is, Eightpercent of all respondents

considered their courses on the

whole to be unsatisfactorybecause they were unable to

understand their instructors.

3 Findings

3.1 Before arrival at Festina Lente:

Students were asked if they had received

thorough, partial or no information about the

university, their chosen program of study, localculture, and travel and visa matters. Results

suggest that insufficient information on local

culture and traditions was provided to studentsbefore they arrived here. In addition, some

departments apparently sent out flyers and

other information sheets that were insufficient,incomplete, or unclear.

Divide complex informationlogically into parts and numbereach part as shown.

3.2 Arrival at Festina Lente:

The past tense is often used in

this section of the report, and the

passive voice is common.

Using a scale of dissatisfied, satisfied, or verysatisfied, students were asked to rate five

different aspects of their arrival in the country

and at the university. Mean responses suggestthat local food and campus orientation seem to

require improvement.

This section is sometimes called

Discussion and Conclusions.

Conclusions are statements of

fact derived from the findings.

They are answers to the

question: What is the problem?An example of a conclusion is,

There are not enough

computers in the head office.Usually the present simple tense

or the present perfect tense is

used.

4 Conclusions

This survey of overseas students at FestinaLente over the last 15 years shows why Festina

Lente continues to be a soughtafter place of

study for students from many countries.

However, two main concerns have beenhighlighted by the survey:


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4.1

4.2

In some cases, inadequate or erroneous

information has been sent to overseas studentsprior to their arrival at Festina Lente.

Problems with housing and cuisine have been

noted.

Recommendations aresuggestions about how to solve

the problems. They often containthe word should. They answer

the question, What should we

do to solve the problem(s)? Anexample of a recommendation is

the following: Management

should install eight new

computers in the head office.

Verbs with should appear in theactive voice (The universityshould provide information)

or the passive voice (The Student

Union should be asked).

5

5.1

5.2

Recommendations

Based on the survey results, the committeemakes the following recommendations:

The university should provide information onlocal culture and traditions as part of the mailing

to overseas applicants.

It should identify departments whose

departmental brochures and flyers are in need ofupdating or expansion.

FormalReport

Language

Formal reports should be written using formal language. Can you replace the underlinedwords in the following short text with more appropriate business language?

On June 20th, 2004, I had to have a look at complaints about the timekeeping of the guys inthe general office. To get some information I had a chat with each of the 12 workers

concerned, and watched out for their time of arrival over a twoweek period.

(Suggested answers: investigated, punctuality, staff, obtain, conducted interviews,

employees, noted)


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PractisingWhatYouHaveLearned

Nowpractisewhatyouhavelearnedaboutreportwritingandthelanguageofformalreportsbyselectingthebestoptionfromeachsetofwordscontainedinsquarebracketsin

thefollowingshortreport.

[Notethat

this

report

does

not

have

aSummary,

so

the

numbering

begins

with

the

Introduction.]

ComplaintsaboutthePoorServiceOfferedbytheLibraryofthe

UniversityofBilgewater

The University of Bilgewater Library Committee, September 20, 1995

1 Introduction

The objective of this report was to [address, receive, answer] complaints aboutpoor service provided by the library and to make appropriate

recommendations, as [demanded, requested, recommended] by S. I.

Pennington, President, on 25 March 1995. An interview [conducted, wasconducted, held] with Mr. Vernon English, Chief Librarian, on 15 March.

Questionnaires [were distributed, distributed, sent out] to a crosssection of

staff who used the library between 15 and 20 March.

2 Findings

2.1 Interview with Chief Librarian

2.1.1 Staffing:

Mr. English has 13 fulltime assistants. Five of these [at the, work the, areemployed by the] college on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. They

[work, stay, duties] from 25 p.m. on those days.

2.1.2 Equipment:

A schedule of current items of equipment and their year of purchase

[examined, was examined, is examining.] No problems with this equipment

[noted, were noted, can be noted]. However, he requested purchase ofadditional equipment as follows:

1 photocopier

3 trolleys to transport books around the library


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2.2 Views of the academic staff

22 staff [asked, asking, were asked] to fill in a questionnaire, 20 responded. The

problems identified are shown below:

2.2.1 75% of the respondents thought the photocopying facilities were inadequate.

2.2.2 100% [has, reported, found] difficulty in recalling books.

2.2.3 50% reported difficulty in communicating in English with some library staff.

3 Conclusions

3.1 There [are, were, should be] not enough library assistants to cope with the day

today running of the library in the morning.

3.2 The present photocopying equipment is insufficient.

3.3 The standard of English of some library assistants is not sufficient to enable

effective communication to take place between the library staff and the academicstaff.

3.4 There [was, could be, is] no system in place for recalling books.

4 Recommendations

4.1 Five new library assistants should be [made, recruited, brought in] to work from

09001400 hours Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

4.2 A new photocopier and three new trolleys [shall be, will be, should be] bought.

4.3 The front line staff [should give, should be given, should be taken] Englishclasses wherever needed.

4.4 The Chief Librarian [should be asked, should ask, is asking] to devise and

implement a recall system.

Based on: Henry, Alex, & Roseberry, Robert L. (2001). HelpYourselftoEnglishintheBusinessSchool.

(2nded.). Ashhurst, N.Z.: One2One Training and Consultancy, by permission of the authors.

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