Report Writing: Style and Structure

typography Writing Style and Structure stocky Writing a get over can seem daunting at first, but with a solid understanding of the fundamental expression and style use in constructing clear and concise reports, it can be achieved. The standard report set up is as follows Title, Summary, mental home, Body, Conclusions, Recommendations, Appendix, References and dodge of Contents. We exit first look at how to prepargon a report forwards the committal to writing begins. Learning objectives At the end of the session, students will be able to Write with a circumstantial purpose and auditory sense in mind Structure decrys, paragraphs and reports Write clearly and concisely Purpose and auditory modality Before writing a report you should first identify some key factors, which will military service you plan your approach and write with clarity. The first question you should ask yourself is, what is the purpose of the report? Purpose What is it more or less, and what is it f or? It is upright to establish the purpose of your report before you start writing, so that you can think clearly on the subject, and produce a report styled to fit the needs of your purpose. Recognize what your report is for, (informing, instructing, guiding) and focus your writing on explaining the details.If for example, you call for to write an instructional report for a team of colleagues, you k like a shot that you must focus your writing on providing clear concise instructions, which will allow your ref to comprehend the processes that you are describing. Audience Who are you writing for? The second question you should ask yourself is, who is going to read this report and why? Knowing your consultation will second you determine how long your report should be, how it should be presented, and what level of terminology you should use to trump out attract and primary(prenominal)tain the interest of your reader.If for example, you are writing a report to inform policy mak ers, you would want to focus on presenting your yard clearly and concisely. We will now try an exercise on identifying sense of hearing and purpose Exercise one Malaria Prevention You are a wellness former at the Ministry Of Health and have been asked to write a report on Malaria. You have access to the figures on Malaria incidents in the republic over the last five years, as well as access to the latest info on drugs and other barriers to prevent Malaria. 1. Describe the purpose of your report, and identify your audience.The sentence Now that we know how to identify our audience and define a purpose, we will look at how to write clearly and succinctly. Understanding how to structure a sentence is essential to conveying meaning clearly. Following are a few rules of thumb to help avoid ambiguous sentences Keep it short and to the point. Many people have trouble with talk sentences, creating equivocalness by attaching many ideas together with large combinations of commas, semicol ons and dashes. Complete one thought and close out your sentence with end punctuation. Words for words sake.Avoid extraneous words, and parentheses that do not add to your point. Dont collapse it hanging. Sentence fragments can be just as confusing as run-on sentences. Make sealed that you have completed your sentence and that it makes sense, before closing it out. For a comprehensive explanation of the inner industrial plant of sentences and grammar, you can chaffer the links below. Sentence help http//www2. actden. com/writ_den/tips/sentence/index. htm Grammar help http//www. speakspeak. com/html/d10_english_grammar. htm We will now look over some common errors that can convolute sentences and obscure meaning.Sentence Fragment Mark has unblemished his work on judgment of conviction. Since he started planning ahead. The second sentence is a fragment here, because it does not endure enough information to complete a thought. Most sentence fragments are phrases that belong t o the previous thought. To typeset the problem in this instance, we simply remove the period. right(a) Mark has finished his work on duration since he started planning ahead. Run-on sentence Jane loves Tom he is a good friend. A run-on sentence occurs when you have two complete sentences that are not separated by correct punctuation.In this courtship we can correct it with a comma and a linking word, or by using a period. Correct Jane loves Tom, because he is a good friend. Jane loves Tom. He is a good friend. Exercise 2 Correct the chase sentence fragments and run-on sentences. We will play Cricket tomorrow. If it doesnt rain. In our survey we contacted 212 members of government one hundred ten members of government responded. In order to obtain funding. You have to write clear concise reports. Michael loves to write reports he is talented at it and his wifes name is Shelly. Structuring Sentences, Paragraphs and Reports Tell them what youre going to fall apart them, tell t hem, and and so tell them what you told them. The diagram below is an excellent example on how to write clearly and logically. We will now look at each part of this map and then see how the pieces come together. pic Introduction Introductory paragraph The introduction should explain the general ideas to come, as well as your thesis statement, which tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the report. The rest of the report should gather evidence and organize a case near your thesis statement. Topic sentencesA stem sentence is like a mini introduction to the body of your paragraph. Your topic sentence should explain what the body of the paragraph will cover, (just like your introduction explains what to expect in the report). It is a good idea to map out your report, by first writing topic sentences for each of the distinct paragraphs or sections of your report. 2. Body Support sentences Support sentences are the body of paragraphs. This is the section of your report tha t serves to provide evidence and examples that reinforce your thesis statement. Support sentences are also used to clearly explain and underpin main ideas. . Conclusion Concluding sentences The concluding sentence is used to reiterate the main points developed by the stand-in sentences, and signal the end of a paragraph. They are also useful for adding emphasis to certain key points, through with(predicate) repetition. We will now look at how to create the different parts of a report out-of-door of the general writing, which are Title, Summary, Recommendations, Appendix, References, and Table of Contents. Title The title is your first contact with the reader, and should inform them succinctly about what they are about to read. SummaryThe purpose of a summary is to provide an overview of the report. It is not necessary to give comminuted information in the summary, but rather to provide an indication of the type of information that the report contains. reasonable summaries are b etween 100-150 words, and are generally written after the report has been completed, so that you know incisively what you are summarizing. Recommendations Recommendations are not an essential part of a report however, if you are including one, it should follow from your conclusion. A brief statement clearly declaring your recommendations will suffice.Appendix An appendix contains materials that are peripheral, but relevant to your report. For example you may wish to include a glossary of terms in your appendix if you are writing a technical report for those who are not experts on the subject. You may also include copies of research tools such as questionnaires and manuals, as well as tables and diagrams that you feel would disrupt the flow of your report by open frame it up. If your appendix does contain tables, diagrams etc. , make sure to label them properly, so that the can easily be found when referenced.References If you have consulted or mentiond any media sources, (print or otherwise) to help you compile your report, they must be adjudge here, as well as in the text. Citing your resources not only avoids running into plagiarism issues, but strengthens your work by backing up your report with evidence from the work of others. If you are quoting directly from someone else, the quote must be followed by the authors surname and date of publication in fat brackets, e. g. Calvino (1983). A standard bibliography is an alphabetized list ordered by Authors surnames.For a rule arrest you must include the authors surname and full name, or initials the full title of the book the edition (if other than the first) the place of publication the publisher, and the date of publication, e. g. Calvino, Italo. Palomar. Torino S. P. A. , 1983. For a complete guide to correct citation, visit http//www. liu. edu/cwis/CWP/library/workshop/citmla. htm Table of Contents A table of contents is a page containing metrical composition that correspond to different parts of y our report, allowing readers to jump between sections quickly.Number and title the different portions of your report, (such as 1. 2 medical examination advancements in treating Malaria 1. 3 Government funding for treating Malaria 2. 1 References etc. ) and then create a correspond list of contents that lists the page number as well as the reference number, which should be sequential, first from the summary. A good starting point for mapping out your table of contents is to do it identical to your topic sentences. Below is an example of a mapped checklist that puts all of the steps we have learned together followed by a table of contents.It is a good guidance tool to use when preparing to write a report. The mapped checklist is sculpturesque on the Malaria barroom exercise we completed earlier. Mapped Checklist for Malaria Prevention 1. Who is it for? Health workers in district offices. 2. What is it about? Malaria prevention success stories over the last five years. 3. Title L ets Win the Battle Against Malaria 4. Summary This report attempts to examine the benefits and drawbacks between different methods of besiegeing malaria in Southern Africa, including rate of success, time, cost, and other socio-economic factors. 5. IntroductionExploring the methods for evaluating available options for combating malaria, and the sexual relation successes of different options over the past five years. 6. Topic sentences 1. Insecticide treated nets have been proven to cheer people from malaria, by both preventing physical contact, and killing the mosquito. 2. Community based work projects to reduce mosquito life grounds have been successful. 3. Indoor residual spraying remains one of the most widely used methods of vector control. 4. All of the discussed methods for the prevention of malaria work to some degree, but is it more beneficial to take a proactive or labile stance? . What is the most successful and cost effective way to combat malaria, and how can we impl ement these measures? 6. With community work and adequate resources, malaria could be greatly reduced over the succeeding(prenominal) decade. 7. Conclusion Having examined the different malaria prevention methods, and weighing their pros and cons, there are many possible solutions. 8. Recommendations 9. Appendix 10. References Table of Contents for Malaria Prevention ContentsPage no Summary. 2 Contents.. 3 1. Introduction. 4 2.Prevention methods. 5 2. 1 Insecticide treated nets. 5 2. 2 Community based work projects. 6 2. 3 Indoor residual spraying.. 7 3. Success and Cost8 3. 1 Proactive and reactive approaches.. 8 3. 2 Striking a medium between cost and success. 9 3. 3 Future success. 9 4. Conclusions.. 9 5. Recommendaions10 6. Appendix. 0 7. References 11 Exercise 3 Bringing it all together Now that you have an understanding of the content and structure of a report, it is time to put that knowledge to use. 1. Using one of the reports that we read last session, map out the topic se ntences, then construct a table of contents. Tips for writing a report Write in plain side of meat Select an appropriate title Use your spell checker Start writing Use your Report Map Sleep on it You dont need to start at the beginning Be engaging Use language the will be comprehensible by your intended audience