Contents of a Formal Report
Parts of a Formal Report:
A formal report’s manuscript format and impersonal tone convey an impression of professionalism. A formal report can be either short (fewer than 10 pages) or long (10 pages or more). It is informational or analytical, direct or indirect. It may be targeted to readers inside or outside the organization.
There are three basic divisions of a formal report:
1. Prefatory Parts
2. Text Parts
3. Supplementary Parts
1. Prefatory Parts are:
i. Cover
ii. Title fly
iii. Letter of authorization
iv. Letter of acceptance
v. Letter of transmittal
vi. Table of contents
vii. List of illustrations
viii. Synopsis or executive summery
2. Text Parts
i. Introduction
ii. Body
iii. Summary
iv. Conclusions
v. Recommendations
vi. Notes
3. Supplementary Parts
i. Appendixes
ii. Bibliography
iii. Index
Prefatory Parts
Cover: Use a cover only for long reports. Use a sturdy, plain, light cardboard with good page fasteners. With the cover on, the open pages should remain flat. Center the report title and your name four or five inches from the upper edge.
Title Fly: It is a plain sheet of paper with the title of the report on it.
Title Page: 1. The title of the report
2. The name, title and address of the person group etc that authorized the report prepared for submitted to
3. The name, title and address of the person, group etc that prepared the report, prepared by, submitted by
4. The date on which the report was submitted.
The title page signals the readers by giving the report title, author’s name, name of person or organization to whom the report is addressed, and date of submission. Choose title information but not long, A Report of, A Study of, or A Survey of etc.
Your title promises what your report will deliver by stating the report’s purpose and content. A title in order to be effective must be clear, accurate, comprehensive, specific, concise and appropriately phrases.
Place of Title Page Items: Do not number your title page, but count it as page (I) of your prefatory pages. Centre the title horizontally on the page, three to four inches below the upper edge, using all capital letters. If the title is longer than six or eight words, centre it on two or more lines.
Letter of Authorization and Letter of Acceptance: If you received written authorization (a litter or memo) you may want to include. It usually has direct request plan. Letter of Acceptance (or memo of acceptance) acknowledges the assignment. It follows goodnews plan confirming time and money restriction and other pertinent detail. This letter is rarely included in report.
Letter of Transmittal (or memo of transmittal): It conveys your report to the audience. It says what you’d say if you were handing the report to the person who authorized you. It has less formal tone. Depending on the situation, your letter might:
• Acknowledge those who helped with the report
• Refer readers to sections of special interest
• Discuss the need and approaches for follow-up investigations
• Suggest some special uses of the information
• Urge the reader to take immediate action
• Use good news plan
Table of Contents: This table outlines the text and list Prefatory Parts
1. List preliminary items (transmittal letter, abstract) in your table of contents, numbering the pages with small roman numerals. (List items that appear at the end of the report, such as glossary, appendix, notes and bibliography section; number these pages with Arabic numerals, continuing the page sequence of the report). List the first page of your report text.
2. Include no heading in the table of contents not listed as headings or subheadings in the report; your report text may, however, contain certain sub-headings.
3. Use different types of styles and indentations to show the various levels of heads.
List of Illustrations: For simplicity sake, some reports prefer to include all visual aid as illustration or exhibits. Put the list of figures and table on separate page if they won’t fit on one page with the table of content.
Synopsis or Executive Summary: A synopsis is a brief overview (one page or less) of report’s most important point. It is also called abstract. Executive summary is a fully developed mini version of the report and is comprehensive.
1. Make your summary able to stand alone in meaning – a mini-report
2. Make it intelligible to the general reader. Readers of summaries will vary widely in expertise, perhaps much more than those who read the report itself. So translate all technical data into plain English.
3. Add no new information. Simply summarize the report
4. Stick to the order of your report
5. Emphasize only major points.
Text of the Report
Introduction: It has a number of functions and covers a wide variety of topics and helps the reader follow and understands information.
Body: The section contains information that supports conclusion and recommendation as well as analysis, logic, interpretation of the information.
Closing: You summarize the main idea of your report highlighting your conclusion or recommendation and list any course of action. In long report this section may be labeled Summary, Conclusion & Recommendation.
Supplementary Parts
Appendix/Appendixes: They contain materials related to the report but not included in the text because they were lengthy or not directly relevant. They include:
1. Statistics or measurements
2. Maps
3. Complex formulas
4. Long quotations
5. Photographs
6. Related correspondence (letters of inquiry etc.)
7. Texts of law, regulations etc.
Bibliography: A bibliography is a list of source materials on a particular subject. In a formal report it shows what books and other library materials were consulted and it includes all the works mentioned in the footnotes. As part of the reference matter, it follows the appendix or appendices.
Index: An index is an alphabetical list of names, places and subjects mentioned in the report, along with the page on which they occur. They are rarely included in unpublished reports.
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