Structure of a Good report
While reports are written for various purposes, all reports follow a flexible structure that may contain these main components.
The Report Title is a short line that describes the focus of the subject matter under discussion.
A summary is a brief description of information of all details that be provided in the report
The introduction is the main component to highlight a problem. It provides the background of the report to highlight its significance of the report. It also highlights some details that will appear in the next section of the report. A detailed background can help people understand the reason for writing a report.
The Body highlights the analysis part and outcomes that you have obtained from studying a particular event. It highlights the data that supports the argument given.
The recommendation suggests the changes that may improve the content. It indicates the writer’s analytical skill to access and judge the issue.
The conclusion provides conclusive and brief insights into the main point prompted from the report.
Quality Characteristics and features of a good report:
A good report comprises qualities or characteristics that make it accurate. Because a good report is a collection of simple expression and clarity, it must include some qualities such as:
Accuracy
The data you provide in a report must be accurate and precise. It is crucial to understand that accurate data is the highlight of the report. If the data is inaccurate, the analysis part of the report becomes irrelevant and thus the objective of writing a report becomes futile.
Simple Expression
Since it is difficult to be simple and when it comes to writing, the process of simple expression becomes even more challenging. But once you learn the skill of using simple expressions, your content becomes more relevant, precise, and reader-oriented. Why do you ask? A simple expression is more comprehensive and reader-friendly. People easily understand difficult information. The skill is not to write using fancy words but it is a skill to write difficult concepts in simple expressions making them understandable for readers. For this, using simple language can aid the process while avoiding unclear and vague expressions.
Unbiased recommendation:
At the end of your report, you provide recommendations. It is crucial to provide a logical conclusion because the part provides insights into your analysis. Thus, the insights need to be objective and impartial.
Approach
When you write a report, an approach determines the tone of the subject.
Personal approach refers to personal inquiry and thus it is written in the first person using direct speech.
The impersonal approach refers to a report providing information on a subject and thus uses a third-person point of view having an indirect speech.
Readability:
The readability of a report must be good. It is a crucial characteristic to focus on. If a report is not precise and clear, it would not engage the reader. It is crucial to attract the reader to read from the beginning till the end. For this, you need to make short sentences written in simple expressions. The sentence is short but provides complete information. If you use WordPress for writing blogs, the readability in Yoast SEO plugin help you improve even report content and increase readability.
Brevity
It is one of the crucial features. A good report must not be too long as it may lose readers. A good report has an ideal length that provides accurate information, relevant data, and unbiased recommendations.
Conclusion
Hence, these are some of the quality characteristics and features that help to write a good report. However, the quality of content and relevancy of data is crucial to increasing readability and engaging reader.