Report Writing

Report writing entails the accurate reporting of an event or incident by someone who was a witness to it. A report provides comprehensive information regarding the event/incident in question, as well as all of its specifics. A report may include opinions that are substantiated by factual evidence. Written reports are documents that deliver relevant, concentrated content to a specific audience. In government, business, education, and other professions, reports are utilised.

Clarity, precision, brevity, readability, and objectivity are characteristics of a well-written report. While reporting an event, complete objectivity must be maintained.

A formal report may contain:

Opening sections: this briefs the reader about what the report is. This will include-
• Title
• The kind of report, whether it should be an investigation or examination report or a progress report.
• Table of contents
• List of charts, diagrams, and illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abstract/summary

Body of the Report: This includes-
• Introduction
• Investigation and its outcome
• Conclusion and recommendations

Appendices: This includes-
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Supplementary material, such as extra figures and facts
• Index

Types of reports:-
1) Assessment reports aim at evaluating the positive and negative features of a person, place, plan etc.
2) Informative reports present information about a meeting, progress made on a project, etc.
3) Survey reports present the findings from door-to-door surveys/ questionnaires concerning reactions to products and plans.

In a nutshell, there are some major areas related to reporting field-
• Reporting an event
• Reporting a meeting
• Reporting a speech
• Reporting an interview
• Reporting a survey

Example

Fire Incident at a Meerut Shopping Mall
On August 5, a massive fire broke out at the PVS Mall in the Shastri Nagar neighbourhood of the city. As a result of a big fire that overtook the building, thirty to forty per cent of the furnishings in the market locale has been severely damaged. The fire brigade’s nighttime efforts got the blaze under complete control at approximately 4:00 a.m. The fire that broke out in the building’s basement owing to a suspected short circuit caused no injuries. Approximately 25 people were transported to a neighbouring hospital for medical care.
Additional District Magistrate has been instructed to investigate with Superintendent Engineers PWD and POWER. The District Magistrate stated, “Any official found guilty of approving the building without sufficient inspection will face the consequences.”

The investigation will also determine whether proper firefighting provisions were established during the construction of the mail.