Here at Business Training we find that one thing that worries many students is how to put together a professional and impressive report. When they’re asked by their boss to provide information in report form they start to panic!
And two things that we are frequently asked are:
“How long should my report be?”
There is really no answer to the question of how long a report should be. It all depends on
the purpose and the aims. Each report is different and so varies in length.
You may receive a weekly sales report which is only 100 words long, or the report of an
aeroplane crash which is the size of a book. It all depends on circumstances.
Ideally, a report should be long enough to contain all the facts, but still as short as possible.
This means that the style of writing should be direct and simple, and all superfluous
material must be cut out ruthlessly. Sir Winston Churchill always insisted that reports sent
to him should be no longer than one page. This had to contain a summary of the situation,
the conclusions and the recommendations. He could then see the whole picture very
quickly. This was important to him, because he was too busy to spend time reading long
reports. Full supporting information was, of course, available if required.
I’m not suggesting that reports should be restricted to one page. Many managers would
not accept this. Your reports should be as long as circumstances demand, but also as short as possible, consistent with including all the facts.
When I say ‘be concise’ I don’t necessarily mean brief. Remember, even a long report can still be concise.
“I find the ‘Conclusions’ section very difficult to write – it often simply repeats my
‘Findings’ or anticipates my ‘Recommendations’.”
This is a very common problem and one to which there is no easy answer except reading
other peoples’ reports to see how they handle Conclusions. Also, you must practise.
However, it might be helpful to bear in mind that nothing new should be introduced at this
stage in a report.
The conclusions should simply be an unbiased comment on what has gone before. They
should unify the report by reminding the reader of its purpose, summing up the main
points and then directing them forward to the recommendations.
Look upon them as either:
(1) A summing up of facts at the end of the report if no recommendations are required
or
(2) A tool to help you formulate recommendations if they are needed.
These are only a couple of tips to help you write a better report, but if you feel you need more help with this aspect of your writing then you could consider Business Training’s Report Writing Course – and next week, for one week only, there’s £25 off the normal price of the course!
