writing Report Writing

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Report Writing

Bradford University School of Management

Report Writing

REPORT WRITING

A report is a form of communication in one or more of the following ways: Written form Verbal form Audio-visual form

A report is a form of communication that will do one or more of the following: describes analyses summarises criticises or praises makes predictions about … a subject and is based on an analysis of current or past events or identifiable phenomena. If you are studying on an undergraduate or postgraduate course you will be expected to write reports and to present findings in both written and verbal and/or audio/visual forms. You will, for example, write reports: • • • • for module assignments, e.g. case study reports presenting the results of an individual research project summarising the result of a group project and presentation reflecting on a work experience or other placement you were involved in

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Bradford University School of Management

Report Writing

What’s the difference between a report and an essay?

There are two main differences: aim and presentation. Aim Essays give you more opportunity to expand on possibilities, ideas or concepts. Reports deal with describing and/or analysing actual past events. Reports can be written that make predictions or recommendations for the future, but these are usually the result of an analysis of past events or of current or past social, cultural or economic phenomena. The English statesman, Sir Thomas More, wrote an essay titled Utopia, which visualised an ideal state or ‘perfect world’. He couldn’t have written a report on the same topic!

Presentation Reports are also usually broken up into sections, each section with a relevant sub-heading. Bullet points, illustrations, diagrams, charts, tables can also be