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-
โข Title
โข The kind of report, whether it should be an investigation or examination report or a progress report.
โข Table of contents
โข List of charts, diagrams, and illustrations
โข Preface
โข Acknowledgements
โข Abstract/summary
Body of the Report: This includes-
โข Introduction
โข Investigation and its outcome
โข Conclusion and recommendations
Appendices: This includes-
โข Endnotes
โข Bibliography
โข Supplementary material, such as extra figures and facts
โข 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-
โข Reporting an event
โข Reporting a meeting
โข Reporting a speech
โข Reporting an interview
โข 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 brigadeโs nighttime efforts got the blaze under complete control at approximately 4:00 a.m. The fire that broke out in the buildingโs 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, โAny official found guilty of approving the building without sufficient inspection will face the consequences.โ
The investigation will also determine whether proper firefighting provisions were established during the construction of the mail.