CHAPTER 11 – ANALYTICAL REPORTS
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: The standard components of the typical analytical report
are discussed in this chapter, including preliminary choices, audience and
purpose considerations, common sections of reports, and format. As you read
and use these guidelines, remember that these are “guidelines,” not
commandments. Different companies, professions, and organizations have their
own varied guidelines for reports – you will need to adapt your practice to those
as well as the ones presented here. In addition to the content and style of a
standard report, the end of the chapter includes details on two specific subgenres
of reports that you may need to write during your education and beyond –
Progress Reports and Internship and Co-op Reports.
11.1 – INTRODUCTION: Analytical reports have specifications as do any other
kind of project. Specifications for reports involve layout, organization and
content, format of headings and lists, design of the graphics, and so on. The
advantage of a required structure and format for reports is that you or anyone
else can expect them to be designed in a familiar way – you know what to look
for and where to look for it. Reports are usually read in a hurry. People want to
get to the information they need – key facts, conclusions, and other essentials –
as quickly as possible. For example, you might find reading a journal article
none too stimulating. Nevertheless, journal articles and reports are important
and carefully crafted. The rigid format and objective style lend them a universal
utility so readers from various disciplines can readily access and use the complex
information. Your professors will confirm that busy academics rarely read reports
and articles linearly – many readers cut right to Results and Discussion or look
over the tables and figures before reading anything, then jump around to those
bits of the report that are most relevant to their needs. Often, their goal is to
rapidly exclude information they do not want or need. The same can be said for
any type of report. It is especially important for you to write reports in a fashion
acceptable for your audience and topic, where they can easily locate the desired
information. As you prepare technical reports for your classes, you have a built-
in template in which to put your information, and you can plug in to a tried and
proven template that has evolved over many years. Understanding and
conforming to this template will help you to organize complex information as well
as meet your reader’s specific needs. When you write technical reports, notice
how repetitive some sections are. This duplication has to do with how people
read reports. They may start with the executive summary, skip around, and
probably not read every page. Your challenge is to design reports so that
readers encounter your key facts and conclusions, no matter how much of the
report they read or in what order they read it.
11.2 – TYPES OF REPORTS: Reports are a common and important part of
communication in the working world. They can update readers about progress
on a project, inform of some activity, show research on an item, make
recommendations to the reader, document a problem, request funding, or submit
, a call to action. These are only some examples of what a report can do. There
are several types of reports you may encounter in your classes or in the
workforce, including:
o Scientific reports record and explain information found through scientific
inquiry; proposes a hypothesis that is often proved right or wrong.
o Informational reports carry information from one part of the company to
another; such as finances, employee statistics, etc.
o Project-completion reports resolve an issue, and are often used to
evaluate the success of a project; created at the end of a project.
o Research reports condense and highlight research completed on a topic.
o Recommendation reports present research to recommend specific
action(s) to resolve a problem.
o Feasibility reports assess and discuss the viability of a specific action or
change.
The purpose of all report types is the same – to clearly and accurately describe
something that has happened or is happening.
11.3 – REPORT PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE: In a technical writing course, the
report assignment serves several purposes: a) it gives you some experience in
writing a report; b) it displays your research on a topic; and c) it shows how you
came to your conclusion on that topic. The report is often the conclusion of a
weeks-long research and writing process that goes through many stages until it
gets to the end point. Another point to keep in mind relates to the audience for
different kinds of reports. Consider the example of a report written to a
supervisor at a solar power company over the effectiveness of the solar panels
currently used at a location. The report’s primary audience may be an executive,
whose knowledge of the technicalities is very broad. The executive will read the
report and understand the profits and losses, but will need to consult a technician
to understand the technical aspects of panel usage. The content and language
used for these two different audiences will need to be adjusted to fit the writing
situation. (See chapter 10 for details on revising for multiple audiences.)
o To help write for the specific document’s audience, it is a good idea to
define your reader and sketch out some qualities about them before you
begin drafting. This information will help you persuade the reader to
accept your research and conclusions, as well as help keep your own
writing on task. It can also help you decide what research to include in or
eliminate from the report, how best to visually display your data, and other
considerations to get your conclusion and/or recommendations accepted.
Ask yourself:
1. Who is your reader? Your reader should be someone with
decision-making authority over your topic. They could implement
recommended changes or just need the information you provide.
They are action-takers in a corporation, organization, business, or
agency. In some situations, the reader of a report may also be a
client – a person who hired you to compile the research and write
the report.
, 2. What type of reader are they? An expert, technician, executive,
gatekeeper, or non-specialist?
3. What is their background and knowledge level on the topic?
What are their needs, interests, and culture and values? What will
likely persuade them to implement your idea? For example,
imagine you researched the merits of four-day versus five-day
workweeks for maximum productivity. Your research led to the
conclusion that four-day workweeks would increase company
revenue and employee satisfaction in several areas. You will want
to frame your ideas for improvement in terms that management will
be interested in, such as productivity, savings in building upkeep
and utilities, and performance. Otherwise, they may be
unconvinced that your solution will alleviate the burden of the
problem.
The type of report you create will depend on the purpose of the document and
who will read it. For example, you may wish to create a report to persuade them
to make recommended changes, or perhaps you were asked to compile a report
over current events or statuses at a company. The level of formality will also be a
factor in your decisions over content and format.
o There are several aspects you need to determine before drafting.
Identifying these factors is vital to create a report that will be accepted by
the reader – whether the report is written for internal or external readers,
and if the report is solicited or unsolicited. (See chapter 9 for more details
on internal vs external and solicited vs unsolicited documents. Below is a
brief synopsis.)
INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL
Internal: A report to someone within your organization (a
business, a government agency, etc.). For example, if you
submit a report to your supervisor that recommends
improvements to more effectively reply to customer inquiries,
you would create an internal report.
External: A report that is written from one separate,
independent organization or individual to another such entity.
With an external report, you will need to not only persuade
the reader to accept your conclusions on the topic, but also
establish credibility. The typical example is an independent
consultant writing a report on company productivity for
another firm.
SOLICITED OR UNSOLICITED
Solicited: The recipient has requested the report. The
solicitation may come in the form of a direct verbal or written
request, but it is not uncommon for solicitations to be an
indirect, open-bid to the public, and formally published for
everyone to see. For example, a city government will
advertise for an independent contractor to reinforce the
structural integrity of several local bridges. The city may
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: The standard components of the typical analytical report
are discussed in this chapter, including preliminary choices, audience and
purpose considerations, common sections of reports, and format. As you read
and use these guidelines, remember that these are “guidelines,” not
commandments. Different companies, professions, and organizations have their
own varied guidelines for reports – you will need to adapt your practice to those
as well as the ones presented here. In addition to the content and style of a
standard report, the end of the chapter includes details on two specific subgenres
of reports that you may need to write during your education and beyond –
Progress Reports and Internship and Co-op Reports.
11.1 – INTRODUCTION: Analytical reports have specifications as do any other
kind of project. Specifications for reports involve layout, organization and
content, format of headings and lists, design of the graphics, and so on. The
advantage of a required structure and format for reports is that you or anyone
else can expect them to be designed in a familiar way – you know what to look
for and where to look for it. Reports are usually read in a hurry. People want to
get to the information they need – key facts, conclusions, and other essentials –
as quickly as possible. For example, you might find reading a journal article
none too stimulating. Nevertheless, journal articles and reports are important
and carefully crafted. The rigid format and objective style lend them a universal
utility so readers from various disciplines can readily access and use the complex
information. Your professors will confirm that busy academics rarely read reports
and articles linearly – many readers cut right to Results and Discussion or look
over the tables and figures before reading anything, then jump around to those
bits of the report that are most relevant to their needs. Often, their goal is to
rapidly exclude information they do not want or need. The same can be said for
any type of report. It is especially important for you to write reports in a fashion
acceptable for your audience and topic, where they can easily locate the desired
information. As you prepare technical reports for your classes, you have a built-
in template in which to put your information, and you can plug in to a tried and
proven template that has evolved over many years. Understanding and
conforming to this template will help you to organize complex information as well
as meet your reader’s specific needs. When you write technical reports, notice
how repetitive some sections are. This duplication has to do with how people
read reports. They may start with the executive summary, skip around, and
probably not read every page. Your challenge is to design reports so that
readers encounter your key facts and conclusions, no matter how much of the
report they read or in what order they read it.
11.2 – TYPES OF REPORTS: Reports are a common and important part of
communication in the working world. They can update readers about progress
on a project, inform of some activity, show research on an item, make
recommendations to the reader, document a problem, request funding, or submit
, a call to action. These are only some examples of what a report can do. There
are several types of reports you may encounter in your classes or in the
workforce, including:
o Scientific reports record and explain information found through scientific
inquiry; proposes a hypothesis that is often proved right or wrong.
o Informational reports carry information from one part of the company to
another; such as finances, employee statistics, etc.
o Project-completion reports resolve an issue, and are often used to
evaluate the success of a project; created at the end of a project.
o Research reports condense and highlight research completed on a topic.
o Recommendation reports present research to recommend specific
action(s) to resolve a problem.
o Feasibility reports assess and discuss the viability of a specific action or
change.
The purpose of all report types is the same – to clearly and accurately describe
something that has happened or is happening.
11.3 – REPORT PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE: In a technical writing course, the
report assignment serves several purposes: a) it gives you some experience in
writing a report; b) it displays your research on a topic; and c) it shows how you
came to your conclusion on that topic. The report is often the conclusion of a
weeks-long research and writing process that goes through many stages until it
gets to the end point. Another point to keep in mind relates to the audience for
different kinds of reports. Consider the example of a report written to a
supervisor at a solar power company over the effectiveness of the solar panels
currently used at a location. The report’s primary audience may be an executive,
whose knowledge of the technicalities is very broad. The executive will read the
report and understand the profits and losses, but will need to consult a technician
to understand the technical aspects of panel usage. The content and language
used for these two different audiences will need to be adjusted to fit the writing
situation. (See chapter 10 for details on revising for multiple audiences.)
o To help write for the specific document’s audience, it is a good idea to
define your reader and sketch out some qualities about them before you
begin drafting. This information will help you persuade the reader to
accept your research and conclusions, as well as help keep your own
writing on task. It can also help you decide what research to include in or
eliminate from the report, how best to visually display your data, and other
considerations to get your conclusion and/or recommendations accepted.
Ask yourself:
1. Who is your reader? Your reader should be someone with
decision-making authority over your topic. They could implement
recommended changes or just need the information you provide.
They are action-takers in a corporation, organization, business, or
agency. In some situations, the reader of a report may also be a
client – a person who hired you to compile the research and write
the report.
, 2. What type of reader are they? An expert, technician, executive,
gatekeeper, or non-specialist?
3. What is their background and knowledge level on the topic?
What are their needs, interests, and culture and values? What will
likely persuade them to implement your idea? For example,
imagine you researched the merits of four-day versus five-day
workweeks for maximum productivity. Your research led to the
conclusion that four-day workweeks would increase company
revenue and employee satisfaction in several areas. You will want
to frame your ideas for improvement in terms that management will
be interested in, such as productivity, savings in building upkeep
and utilities, and performance. Otherwise, they may be
unconvinced that your solution will alleviate the burden of the
problem.
The type of report you create will depend on the purpose of the document and
who will read it. For example, you may wish to create a report to persuade them
to make recommended changes, or perhaps you were asked to compile a report
over current events or statuses at a company. The level of formality will also be a
factor in your decisions over content and format.
o There are several aspects you need to determine before drafting.
Identifying these factors is vital to create a report that will be accepted by
the reader – whether the report is written for internal or external readers,
and if the report is solicited or unsolicited. (See chapter 9 for more details
on internal vs external and solicited vs unsolicited documents. Below is a
brief synopsis.)
INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL
Internal: A report to someone within your organization (a
business, a government agency, etc.). For example, if you
submit a report to your supervisor that recommends
improvements to more effectively reply to customer inquiries,
you would create an internal report.
External: A report that is written from one separate,
independent organization or individual to another such entity.
With an external report, you will need to not only persuade
the reader to accept your conclusions on the topic, but also
establish credibility. The typical example is an independent
consultant writing a report on company productivity for
another firm.
SOLICITED OR UNSOLICITED
Solicited: The recipient has requested the report. The
solicitation may come in the form of a direct verbal or written
request, but it is not uncommon for solicitations to be an
indirect, open-bid to the public, and formally published for
everyone to see. For example, a city government will
advertise for an independent contractor to reinforce the
structural integrity of several local bridges. The city may
