Table of Contents
How to write a business report
Introduction
Writing a good business report is an essential skill for effectively presenting ideas in the workplace. Reports are frequently commissioned when a choice needs to be taken and usually target a specific issue or problem. They summarize the author’s findings in regard to the issue or problem, and then make a recommendation for the organization’s next steps. In-depth analysis is necessary for a solid report. Good writers demonstrate how they interpreted their findings to their audience. The reader will comprehend the reasoning behind the conclusions and recommendations.
Make a business report plan
Planning is critical in any type of writing. When preparing a business report, ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the aim of this report?
- Who will be reading this report?
- What are the key takeaways from the report?
- What format will the report take?
What is the aim of this report?
Remember that the goal of a business report is to help you make better decisions. Make sure you understand what decision you’ll be making and what part the report will play in it. Consider the following as a method to think about the goal.
Who will be reading this report?
Take into account not only the primary readers, but also the secondary readers. The above-mentioned director of the recycling program is the report’s primary reader. The campus facilities management team, the finance team, and so forth could be secondary readers.
Consider what the readers already know, what they need to know, and how they want to use this report. To satisfy all of these possible readers, you will need to provide enough information. You’ll need to use headings carefully so that various readers can make different uses of the report.
What are the key takeaways from the report?
• Considering the preceding facts, consider the major message you need to express and, as a result, the information needed. Consider the following question: What are the essential bits of information that I must include?
• What information do I need to supply in addition to the above?
What format will the report take?
The current business strategy is straightforward. The findings or suggestions are presented near the opening of the study, and the report then justifies the recommendations.
Creating a business report
The following items may be found in a business report:
- Cover Letter
- Page for the title
- Summary
- Table of contents (to make it easier to find what you’re looking for
- Brief introduction
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- Conclusions and discussion
- List of citations
- Appendices.
Cover Letter
A letter is frequently added to a report in order to formally introduce it to the recipient. A letter format is appropriate if the recipient is from outside the company; a memo format is appropriate if the recipient is from within the company.
Page for the title
The project’s title page should be brief but descriptive. It should also mention the date the report was completed, the author, and their organization.
Summary
Following the title page, the executive summary should make sense on its own. The summary allows the reader to rapidly grasp the goal, conclusions, and major recommendations of the study. Consider it something a busy CEO might read to gain a sense of your report’s final conclusions. One page is the maximum length for the summary. Instead of providing an overview of the paper, the executive summary presents the essential suggestions and conclusions.
Table of contents
On a fresh page, the executive summary is followed by the table of contents. The pages for different sections are listed. The table of contents provides the reader with a clear overview of the report by listing all of the headings and subheadings. These headings and subheadings should be descriptive of the text.
Brief introduction
The reader is introduced in the first paragraph. It establishes the report’s context and piques the reader’s curiosity. It introduces the reader to the report’s aim and offers them a clear idea of what to expect.
Conclusions and discussion
Conclusions and recommendations are frequently required in a business report. In a report, the distinction between conclusions and recommendations is the time orientation. Conclusions are usually related to a current or previous circumstance. The future is the focus of recommendations: what adjustments or activities are suggested for the future? They are clear, actionable recommendations for resolving the issue with the report. Despite the fact that the conclusions and recommendations are offered prior to the debate, they must logically flow from it. Using a logical method gives the reader an early glimpse into your conclusions. Your reader will be able to follow the debate more easily if they read it subsequently.
Discussion
The primary component of your report, the discussion, should present and discuss your findings. It should contain sufficient data, analysis, and evidence to back up your conclusions, as well as rationale for your recommendations. Your goal, scope, and requirements will determine how it is organized, but it should be logical and systematic. The debate should be organized into logical sections, each with a number and useful, descriptive headings.
If the goal of your report is to offer the best solution to an issue, you should include a thorough examination of all choices. Any analytical framework you utilized, such as SWOT or cost-benefit analysis, should be explained. Tables are frequently used to display this type of option analysis.
List of citations
References must be supplied in-text and in a bibliography if you use information from other sources. Your institution’s or faculty’s referencing style may be imposed on you.
Appendices.
If content is relevant to your debate and is mentioned directly, it should be included in the main body of the discussion. However, you might want to offer supplementary material in appendices to help the reader understand. Appendices can be used to provide more information on the procedure or analysis you performed.
You should clearly refer to content in appendices if you choose to include it in your text (refer Appendix A). APPENDIX should be the name of only one appendix. APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, and so on are the names of several appendices.
Making a business report
After you’ve organised your thoughts, it’s time to write them down. Check for clarity and logic in your writing. Always keep your readers in mind when writing your report, and make it as simple to read as possible. You make your writing more readable, be sure to do the following:
- make good use of headers and subheadings
- Make sure your paragraphs are well-structured.
- Use simple language to write clear phrases
- Write in a professional manner.
- Make liberal use of white space and well-chosen fonts
- make a page numbering system
- Make appropriate use of footnotes, tables, figures, and appendices.
Make good use of headers and subheadings
In business writing, headings and subheadings are helpful tools. Ascertain that they are descriptive of the content to come. Headings should be in sentence case. This indicates that your initial word should be capitalised, but subsequent words should be written in tiny characters, unless they are proper nouns, of course . Always make sure that every content beneath a heading is relevant to that heading. It’s all too easy to get off track and go off on a tangent that has nothing to do with the heading.
Use a good paragraph structure.
Your headings will assist your reader in creating a logical flow, but you should also produce a succession of logically arranged and structured paragraphs beneath each heading. Manner the paragraphs in a sensible order, starting with the most relevant information. You should utilise a structure that aids your reader within your paragraphs as well. A topic sentence should start each paragraph.
Use simple language to write clear statements.
The clarity of academic and business writing is essential. You want to make sure that your audience understands the topic and that your argument is strong. Keep your phrases brief and simple where possible to accomplish this (Write Limited, 2013). It’s tough to understand sentences that are excessively long and convoluted. 15–20 words is a nice length (roughly 1.5 lines). Attempt to avoid going overboard.
