4．Writing Suggestions

(1)Steps in Writing Reports

Before the actual writing of any report is undertaken，there are many things that must be done first．These things have been discussed:the purpose of the report must be known and the problem defined;all the necessary information must be accumulated;and the data have to beorganized and conclusions determined．After completing these preliminary tasks，you are ready to begin the actual writing of the report．

a．The first step in writing either a short or a long report is to make an outline．

b．After preparing an outline from information that you gathered，you are ready to begin the first draft of the report．

c．Write the entire report before you do any revising．You will have to do a rewriting of the first draft before the report is ready for its final typing．It is in the second writing that you concern yourself with style，clarity，and conciseness．Check mechanics—spelling，punctuation，grammar—and detail．

(2)Writing Headings and Subheadings

Headings and subheadings are important communication tools—especially in reports．They form an outline for your report，improve your organization，prepare your readers for the next topic，and help readers to keep on track．Remember the principle of balanced structure when using headings and subheadings．Within a chapter，the wording of headings should be balanced;the wording of the subheadings below each heading should be balanced;and so on．

(3)Choosing the Right Tone

Shorter reports—those submitted on memo forms—are witten in a conversational tone．Longer analytical reports generally adopt a formal tone．Contractions and the personal pronoun I are avoided，although they may be used correctly in other kinds of writing．Avoid I，which gives the report a certain objectivity．For example，“I gathered the following evidence as I conducted a survey of．．．”sounds too much as if the report is based on the writer's personal feelings．Instead，“the evidence gathered during the survey proved that．．．”makes the report objective—based on facts，not on personal opinions．

(4)Using Visual Aids

Statistical information should be presented as visual aids—tables，charts，graphs，trend lines19，and so on．Statistical data is much easier for the reader to comprehend when presented in visual form rather than in paragraph form．Since visual aids are usually grouped in the appendix，they should be mentioned in the body of the report．However，do not repeat all the data in the body;emphasize only the most significant points．

When developing the kinds of visual aids listed above，be sure to follow these guidelines:

a．Use a title that is clear and complete．The title of each visual aid should identify it precisely．The visual aid should be able to stand alone—away from the report—and still be understandable．See，for example，the table below．

b．Identify the original source of the data．Give the full source for each visual aid:author，name，place of publication，date of publication，volume number，and page numbers for magazines，books，and periodicals;dates，locations，and names for interviews;and so on．

c．Explain the meaning of any graphic devices．Graphic devices such as colors，shaded areas，and stick figures must be explained．If a graphic device has a specific purpose，be sure to let the reader know that purpose．