Formal Report Organization Engl 3365 Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Organization some things to CONSIDER including  Letter of transmittal  Title page  Abstract or Executive Summary  Table of Contents  List of Illustrations / Abbreviations  Forward / Preface / Introduction  Methods  Results  Analysis  Conclusion or Recommendation  Qualifications or Experience  Glossary  References / Bibliography / Works Cited  Appendix Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Examples & Explanation Chapter 11 is a GREAT resource Explains “front matter, body, back matter” Gives detailed info for:  deciding if specific sections would be useful  deciding what to include in specific sections  deciding how to format specific sections Provides an example with lots of explanation Remember that there is NO SINGLE “CORRECT” report template for format, content, etc, but looking at even a generic example with explanation can be helpful! Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Organization & Format you will need TO THINK Your group’s report WILL NOT EXACTLY follow the example in Ch11 (formal reports) or Ch13 (proposals) The specific organization strategy you use will match the SPECIFIC AUDIENCE AND GOAL of your unique project The specific sections you decide to include (and what you call each section) WILL VARY based on audience & goal Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Letter of Transmittal Fancy name for a cover letter  Gives quick context for this thing that just fell out of an envelope onto someone’s desk  Reminds the audience who you are, what this is, and why they should read it  Think of it as a “polite formal handshake intro” for the report Appeal to the audience Answer their questions (who you are, what this is, what it can do for them) Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Title Page Use a format that makes sense FOR THE AUDIENCE Answer basic questions like:  Who are you (don’t just list names – describe WHAT you are)  What is the report about (use a descriptive title)  When was it written  Who is it written for Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Abstract / Executive Summary A short or very short ( word) summary of the entire report Don’t try to cram in everything Just use a few sentences to describe:  The problem or issue the report is about  The recommendation that the report gives  What the rest of the report can do for the audience Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Table of Contents, Illustrations, etc DO NOT make typos in these sections DO use these sections to show the document organization Think about:  Subsection levels (complicated or simple?)  Descriptive headings (what makes sense for audience?)  Clear and attractive fonts and layouts  Is a TOC really necessary for a ~15pg report, especially if each major section starts on a new page? Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Introduction This MIGHT include lots of different things:  Background on the problem or issue  Summary of your research or recommendations  Description of what the report contains  Explanation for how the report is organized  Maybe ALL or JUST SOME of the above  Maybe one short or long section, or maybe lots of subsections The bottom line? Provide only the information that your audience wants or needs, and give them this information in a format they can understand and use. Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Methods Sometimes it’s useful to describe how your group did things like:  Research  Investigation  Thinking and Planning  Organizing and Writing Sometimes it’s useful to describe how your group or THE AUDIENCE could do things like:  Research or Investigate a solution or course of action  Plan or Organize a solution or course of action Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Results and Analysis These sections are useful for a chronologically-organized report  What you did  How you did it  What you found (RESULTS)  What this means (ANALYSIS) Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Conclusion or Recommendation What should the audience DO? Often the MOST IMPORTANT section of a proposal  People are most likely to act on CLEAR, SPECIFIC, and REALISTIC things  Whether a recommendation is REALISTIC depends on how you define it  Even wild ideas might be “realistic” if your clear and specific recommendation is “you should THINK ABOUT this option” Successful reports emphasize BENEFITS FOR THE AUDIENCE ! Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Qualifications or Experience Remember that a recommendation, proposal, or feasibility report is a sales job -- need to convince the audience that your ideas are valuable and that they should take you seriously If you don’t have formal credentials that lend weight to your ideas, think about describing the amount of work you put into researching the report, etc Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Glossary A section like this can be very useful if your report contains a lot of specialized terminology that isn’t familiar to your audience Think of this as a mini-dictionary for your report Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

References If you use “in-text” citations, then this is a necessary section (contains complete reference information) If you use “citation-sequence” citations (numbered footnotes or endnotes), then this is an optional section  Your audience might appreciate one page that summarizes all the sources you used, but this isn’t necessary if your footnotes are complete citations Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

Appendix This section can contain anything “extra” This might include:  Information that is useful for the audience, but would interrupt the flow of the report  Information that helps to establish your credibility (like show how much work you did)  Examples or other things for the audience to use Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke

other possible report elements Schedules Procedures Budgets Graphics, Tables, or other Visuals Copyright 2012 by Art Fricke