BSc Semester IV Communication Skills

Report Writing A report is either a news report or a project (survey) report. In both cases, the event reported about has already taken place so the report is written in the past tense. The report should be brief and precise – dates, places, numbers, names and other facts should be accurate. The report should be clear – in points and in a suitable sequence.

Sample report

A report can sometimes be addressed to a company or to a Manager of a company. Such a report is a letter. It is necessary to give a date and signature to a report as it is a document meant for record keeping.

Précis Writing A précis is a shorter version of the given paragraph. Usually it is 1/3rd in length. Its contents must convey almost everything given in the paragraph. The topical sentence and the conclusion of a paragraph is usually copied as it is in the précis. Only the examples are summarized. Avoid adding remarks or explanations. Maintain the same tense of the paragraph. In an examination, there is no need to write notes first. The main idea is to give the contents of the paragraph in short and save time. It is best to give a suitable heading to the précis/paragraph.