A blind boy sat on the steps of a

building with a hat by his feet. He

held up a sign which said: "I am
blind, please help." There were only
a few coins in the hat.
  A man was walking by. He took a few coins
from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.
He then took the sign, turned it around, and
wrote some words. He put the sign back so
that everyone who walked by would see the
new words.
 Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more
people were giving money to the blind
boy. That afternoon the man who had
changed the sign came to see how
things were. The boy recognized his
footsteps and asked, "Were you the one
who changed my sign this morning?
What did you write?"
The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you
said but in a different way."


What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day
and I cannot see it."
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were
saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But
the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second
sign told people they were so lucky that they were not
blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was
more effective?
REPORT WRITING

How to Write a
Business Report
 “A Business Report is an orderly,
objectively communication of factual
information that serves some business
purpose.”
 Business reports are required in
disciplines such as accounting, finance,
management, marketing and commerce
Proposals are:
 Special category of reports that combine-
 Information delivery
 Persuasive communication
Three basic categories of
Reports:
 1. Informational reports: offer data, facts
feedback,& other type of information
without analysis or recommendations
 2. Analytical reports: offers Information +
analysis, includes recommendations
 3. Proposals: offers structured
persuasion for internal or external
audience
 Itis important, to be clear what the
overall purpose of your report is:
 is it to inform,
 to make a proposal, or
 to solve a problem?
Three basic parts of a Formal
Report
 Three basic parts of a Formal Report
Prefatory Part, Text Part,
Supplementary Part

 Prefatory Part:
Prefatory Part
 Cover
 Title fly
 Title page
 Letter of authorization
 Letter of acceptance
 Letter of Transmittal
 Table of Contents
 List of Illustrations
 Synopsis or Executive summary
2
 Text Parts:
• Introduction
• Body
• Summary
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Notes
3
 Supplementary Parts:
• Appendixes
• Bibliography
• Index
The Parts of a Formal Report:

 Cover
 Title fly • Appendixes


Title page
Letter of authorization
• Bibliography
 Letter of acceptance • Index
 Letter of Transmittal
 Table of Contents
 List of Illustrations
 Synopsis or Executive summary
 Introduction
 Body
 Summary
 Conclusions
 Recommendations
 Notes
Letter of Transmittal
 The transmittal may be the last item you write,
but it is the first item most readers see. So
make it perfect. Verify the spelling of names.
Scrutinize your wording and tact. Recheck
your numerical accuracy, grammar, and
punctuation. Consider the overall tone of the
letter, the connotations of its words, and the
degree of its egocentricity.
A letter of transmittal
 A letter of transmittal introduces a document
such as a report to the reader, typically with
less formality than the report itself
 Although it accompanies a report, it is separate
from the document; therefore, do not include it
in the report table of contents and do not bind
it with the report. Place it on top of the report
instead. A letter of transmittal typically includes
the following:

A letter of transmittal typically
includes the following
1. name and address of recipient of report in the inside
address
2. information about what is being sent
3. follow-up action expected of the reader
4. offer of continued communication or clarification
 As with the memo, the letter's appearance is important.
Use standard stationery (the return address may be
omitted--but not the date--if you are using letterhead)
with vertical and horizontal margins of at least one inch.
A number of acceptable business letter forms exist. This
letter illustrates a standard block form.
Street Address
City,
Month Date, Year

Name of recipient
Title Company Street
Address City,
Dear Dr. Name:
Why was the report written? When was it assigned? What is its title and
additional identifying information? What is the scope of the report? Its
purpose? Limitations? What are your conclusions? Recommendations?
(The letter of transmittal is the appropriate place to discuss matters of
concern that need to be raised but not circulated with the report.) What
action or input is requested?

Sincerely,
Your Signature Your typed name
Your title Encl. [List any enclosures]
May 16, 2005
H. E. Dr. Ishrat Husain
Chairman, ACU Board of Directors
State Bank of Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan

Dear Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to present to the Board of Directors, the Annual Report of the
ACU for the year 2004, duly signed by me, in accordance with chapter III, Article
VIII, section 3(c) of the Agreement Establishing the Asian Clearing Union.

Yours sincerely,

Bahereh Mirzaei-Tehrani

Secretary General, ACU

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 Overview of subject matter

 methods of analysis

 findings
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 list
of numbered sections in report and
their page numbers
INTRODUCTION
 terms of reference
outline of report’s structure
 Develop one paragraph for each idea or topic. Write a strong
opening sentence for each paragraph, which will indicate the
conclusions you made at the case analysis stage.
 When presenting more than three facts or numbers at one time,
consider whether a table or chart might communicate the
information better in fewer words.
 Avoid redundant or overblown words.
 Be concise! When 6 words will replace 14 words, let them do
so!
 Check grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
 Number the pages.
 At the final state, put your recommendations. After working
so hard to identify the problems, do not neglect your role of
providing recommendations. Explain them in simple terms
and in order of their priority.

 The report ends with the appendices. Here, you must stock
all the information needed by specialists. Include all the
details that support your argumentations, but only if they are
not already included in the main body of the report.
Bibliography/ References
 Very important aspect
 The four most common format styles are
those of the Modern Language Association of
America (MLA or Bibliography in MLA style),
the American Psychological Association
(APA), the Chicago Manual of Style, and the
Council of Science Editors, formerly known as
the Council of Biology Editors (CBE) and still
referred to as CBE style
 For example: (APA Style)
Books:
Ellington, W., Jr., & Henrickson, E.B. (1995). The elements of
dance (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Journals:
 Bauzá, R.H. (1982). Manitoba nematodes. Journal of Cool
Nematodes, 10, 252-264
Website:
 Summers, M. (2007) Cool scenes. Retrieved August 27,
2007, from http://coolscenesilove.edu/
Remember-
 Inorder to avoid your report ending in
the trash can, make use of the generally
accepted format
 Report writing is a time consuming
business so it is a great shame if, having
devoted all that time to writing your
report, the quality is such that hardly
anyone can be bothered to read it.
Good luck with your report
writing