Writing Application 6.1

Writing Plan for a Short Report

Short reports often have three parts: introduction, findings, and recommendations. If the report is purely informational, a summary may be used instead of recommendations.

Introduction. This part of a report may also be called Background. In this section you want to explain why you are writing. You may also do the following:

• Describe the methods and sources you used to gather information and why they are credible.
• Provide any special background information that may be necessary.
• Offer a preview of your findings.

In short reports the first paragraph may serve as the introduction without a heading.

Findings. The body of a short report presents your findings. This section may also be called Observations, Facts, Results, or Discussion. Important points to consider in this section are organization and display. You may wish to organize the findings in one of these ways:

• Chronologically(e.g., to describe the history of a problem)
• Alphabetically(e.g., to evaluate candidates for a position)
• Topically(e.g. to discuss sales by regions)
• From most to least important(e.g., to list criteria for evaluating equipment)

To display the findings effectively, you could apply these techniques:

• Use side headings.
• Number each finding.
• Underline or boldface the key words.
• Indent the paragraphs.

Recommendations. Informational reports, which present data without analysis or recommendations, may conclude with a summary of the findings. Analytical reports, which provide data, analysis, and conclusions, generally conclude with recommendations. These recommendations tell readers how to solve the problem and may even suggest ways to implement the necessary actions. To display recommendations, number each one and place it on a separate line.

Notice that the letter report in Model Document 6.1 includes an introduction, findings and analyses, and recommendations.