SummaryIn the second workshop we look at the planning stage of report writing. We plan the sections and headings of a report and discuss the issues involved in organising data at the global level.
We also look at the role of introductions in reports.
At the Planning Stage
When planning a report it is important to keep your thinking as fluid as possible. Instead of trying to draft sentences at the local level (for example, the first sentence) it is usually better to get a rough sense of the whole text first.
The shape of a report emerges from the brief and the data. You may also know some of the conclusions in advance, or even the recommendations that the report wil make; but when planning it is wise to keep an open mind and let the sections of the report gradually emerge from the brief and the data.
The aim should be to produce a draft outline of the report in response to focus questions such as those used in the first workshop. Such an outline makes writing in detail - introduction, summary, findings - easier to do.
Brainstorming and mind-mapping might be useful techniques at this stage. For an example outline in which a report structure is gradually emerging, see page 12 in the course book.
Tips on Planning and Outlining1. Get a Feel for the Whole
In order to get the feel of a whole report, it is sometimes helpful to plan in three stages:
ORIENTATION what is the problem, situation or need?
ANALYSIS what are the main findings, data or evidence to be presented?
OUTCOMES what conclusions or recommendations are to be drawn?
These three stages do NOT yet represent report categories or headings; but they can give you an organising principle to get the basic shape of a report. They give you an overview.
2. Use - and Adapt - Classic Report Categories
As we saw in the first workshop, there are eleven classic report writing categories. By adding some of these to the three-part structure above we can start to envisage the sections of a report. The plan becomes more detailed as we assign information to particular sections.
In the childcare report, for example, it is clear that some kind of 'Background' section and also a section on 'Method' are needed. They will make the survey results more convincing and accessible to the reader.
However, the classic categories (except for Summary and Introduction) need to be adapted in practice. The word 'Background' does not make a useful heading, especially for readers using headings to get the 'gist' of a report.
Headings need to be adapted to suit the report writing situation. For example:
Overview of Current Childcare Provision
would be a more dynamic heading than mere 'Background'. And we could use sub-headings to go further:
Heading Overview of Current Childcare Provision
Sub-heading i. Local Market Situation
Sub-heading ii. Current Provision for XYZ Staff
Headings and sub-headings can be useful tools at the planning stage as they help to tell the emerging 'story' of a report. They can, of course, be revised as the drafting process goes forward.
See page 27 for an example of a heading sequence which uses and adapts the classic report categories.
3. Group Similar Pieces of Information Together
When planning a report it is easy to get overwhelmed by data. If this problem is not solved at the planning stage there is a good chance that communication in the final report will be affected - by over-long introductions, by confusion between background and findings, or by unclear conclusions.
When organising data, it is helpful to group together types of information. This may be a matter of content. But it may also be a matter of the type of language used. In the childcare report, for example, the organisation of data into different groups - and ultimately report sections - may be something like this:
Statements about the market > Background
Statistics from the survey > Findings
Open questions > Discussion
Demands > Discussion/Conclusions?
These may be mixed up together in the original data (eg as questionnaire results); but they can be separated into groups as types of information. These groups may help you, as the report writer, to organise the report's sections.
4. Write Summary and Introduction Last!
Summarising data is very difficult when you don't have an overview of the material. These elements of a report are best left to last in the planning stage - even though readers will see them first!
TitlesThe title can play a major role in an effective report, especially if it has multiple readers. The title is the doorway to a report's topic and gives readers hints about how a report should be read.
When planning, it is worth drafting and redrafting your title as it helps to focus the topic and the purpose of the report. It can always be changed, and probably will be - until you send the report!
There is more on titles in the next post. But compare these possible titles for the childcare report:
1. Improvement Plan for Childcare Facilities in XYZ
2.Towards Improved Childcare Facilities for XYZ Staff
3.XYZ Staff Needs Regarding Childcare Facilities
4.Survey Results: Childcare Facilities for XYZ Staff
5.Survey to Define Childcare Requirements of XYZ Staff
6.Childcare Facilities for XYZ Staff: Report on a Survey of Staff Requirements
Each title gives a slightly different tone to the report. Titles 1 and 2 emphasise the future through words like 'plan', 'towards' and 'improvement'. Titles 4, 5 and 6 emphasise the present through words like 'survey', 'define' and 'results'. Title 3 emphasises 'needs', a word which has both present and future implications, but is different in tone to 'requirements'.
These wordings do matter. They give messages to readers. Titles 1 and 2, for example, will suggest reports based on recommendations (strategy-based reports - see workshop one). Titles 4, 5 and 6 will suggest reports based on findings (survey-based reports). However, title 6 will more likely have some recommendations than title 5.
IntroductionsIn the workshop we also look at the role of introductions in reports. We compare three approaches to introductions (pages 15 - 18) and look closely at model introductions (recommended are examples 2 and 3).
Overdoing the introduction is one of the commonest problems in report writing. A good introduction is not a historical account, a detailed background to a problem, or a summary. An introduction gives the reader a map of the report. It indicates the terms of reference, orientates the reader to the topic and purpose, previews the report's structure, and outlines the report's scope.
A good introduction is businesslike and usually neutral in tone, using 'This report..' or 'The present report...' as a subject for sentences.
The example (left, click to enlarge) is from a report on training discussed in the first workshop. Here we can see how each paragraph is doing a specific job in mapping the report for the reader.Paragraph One: the terms of reference, how the report came about
Paragraph Two: the purpose of the report, why it has been written
Paragraph Three: the shape of the report, how it is organised
Paragraph Four: the scope of the report, what it does not deal with
Anticipate
Note that this introduction is not only about mapping the report. It is also being used to anticipate findings and recommendations. A key budget statistic is mentioned and also the key recommendation - 'a re-orientation of the training strategy'.
These brief details do not disrupt the mapping of the report, but they plant in the reader's mind seeds of interest that will grow into statements later in the report.
But the details are kept brief at this point. The purpose of the introduction remains to orientate the reader to the terms of reference, purpose, structure and scope of the report.
