Principles of Report Writing

Reports writing  may  involve the followings principles .

a.Easy to Follow : The body of the  report should  be written in a self evident and easy  form. Every  subject  should  be presented under  different heads. There may be  different  sub topic  and sub  headings  under  one  heading. The  statement  may be  made in  short  and relevant  paragraphs.

b.Adhere to the Study   Objectives : A good  report  seeks  to achieve certain results  consisting  primarily  of answering  the questions  that derive from  the statement  of objectives. Merely  to report  the finding  without  reference to the objectives is to  produce a sterile piece of writing. This  requires researchers to be on intimate terms with the  problem. If  the management group has not  permitted the researchers to participate in formulating the  problem  and has either handed down  the problem  or worse still  merely demanded certain  information  then  there  can be no definite  goal  for the  report  and it will suffer. Under such  conditions it will  be difficult if not impossible  for  report  writers to draw  conclusions and make  recommendations.

c.Be Selective :  The research  report  should  be comprehensive  as well as concise. The report  should be long  enough  to cover all the  components and objectives of the  research  project. But  this  does  not mean  that it should  be too  detailed and wide. It should  not be  detailed  unless  it is  really required  to be extensive. The  researcher  should  not try  to impress  the reader with all the information at his  disposal. He  should try to eliminate all unnecessary  information and also such  information which  is commonly  known  to people. Conciseness can also  obtained by the style  of writing. Duplication of  words use of unnecessary phrases poor expression and on sentences should be  avoided. The researcher should  express his  findings in as few  words  as possible.

d.Be Objective: Writers  must at all  times retain their  objectives. Often  researchers will become so  enamored of a study that they overlook their scientific role. This  is a natural temptation since much  marketing  research is done  within  a sales environment. It is  one  thing to sell  objective results and quite  another  to present  results  that have been  slanted  to make  them salable. Writers  do neither themselves  nor the  their  company  any favours if they lose  their  objectivity .

e.Have a Purposeful Organizations: Mere recording  of facts  without  purpose  or organization inevitably results in confusion  which  leads  to loos  of interest. The  objective of the report is to  give  the reader the overall  picture in the shortest possible time. Therefore each  paragraph  should  be written with  the thought  of its  position in the entire report in mind. Readers should  be so conscious  of the organization that at any  time  they know  where  they are in  the report  and where they  are going. A working  outline  helps  readers comprehend  the organization  and helps  the writer  make  certain  that every  point  is covered without  duplication.

f.Write Clearly : It is  easy  write  clearly  but this  difficult for most  people  to accomplish. Clarity has many facets and is highly  subjective. Despite this subjectivity some  basic  principles  can be  itemized  that if  followed  help  t produce  better  reports.

a.Use short  to the point  sentences structures that  are too elaborate.

b.Use words  the reader will be  familiar  with  but that will  provide  variety and change  in pace  to the report. Avoid  too many difficult words.

c.Make certain the words express precisely what the  writer  wants  to say.

d.Avoid  mechanical  flaws such  as incorrect  grammar.

e.Be sure that the  report  has uniform  style  and format.