reports
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Reports
Module 5 Lesson 4
What is a Report?
• Written communication which presents focused content to a specific audience.
• The audience can be academic or business
• The report can be bound or unbound
Business vs Academic• Business
– Market research – Technical – Financial– Analysis– Background
• Academic– Research– Essay– Position/opinion– Book Report– Case Study
Business vs Academic
• Differ in purpose
• Differ in audience
• Differ in layout
• Differ in spacing
• Differ in supporting documents
• Differ in reference documents
Business Reports
Sample 1Sample 2Sample 3
Parts of a Business Report
• Title Page (Topic 2)
• Table of Contents (Topic 2)
• Outline (Topic 2)
• Report (Now)
• Bibliography (Topic 3)
Business Reports
• Unbound--Typically short reports prepared without binders or covers. A multi-page report may be held together by paper clip or staple.
• Bound--Typically longer reports are bound with covers or binders.
Unbound vs Bound• Unbound Margins
– Top 2” first page– Top 1” second page– Bottom 1”
(depending on page break decisions)
– Left 1”– Right 1”
• Bound Margins– Top 2” first page– Top 1” second page– Bottom 1”
(depending on page break decisions)
– Left 1.5” (for binding)– Right 1”
Unbound vs Bound
Top
Right
Bottom
1” Left Margin
1.5” Left Margin
Unbound Bound
1” depending on page breaks?
When writing a report, you want to avoid widows, orphans and splitting side headings from their paragraphs. This gives your report a cleaner, more tied together appearance.
Widow—last line of a paragraph at the top of a page by itself
Orphan—first line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page by itself
Widow
Orphan
Report Body Formatting
• Center the title of the report in ALL CAPS, then quadruple space after the title before beginning the body of the report.
Report Body Formatting
• Double space the body of the report.
Report Body Formatting
• Side headings are underlined and keyed in initial caps.
Report Body Formatting
• Paragraph headings are indented .5” from the left margin and end with a period. Capitalize the 1st letter of the 1st word only.
Side vs Paragraph Heading
Underlined
initial caps
left margin
no period
1st letter of 1st word capped
indented .5”
end with a period
Side Paragraph
Report Body Formatting
• Key references/bibliography on the last page or on a separate page of the report in hanging-indent style.
• To cite sources, use textual citations within the report or key endnotes on the last page or on a separate page in hanging indent style.
Report Body Formatting
• Short Quotations—less than 4 lines, use quotation marks
Ellipsis: Used to show an omission of words from quoted material.
Report Body Formatting
• Long Quotations—4 or more lines, indented .5” on left (and right if you like) AND single spaced
Short vs Long Quote
site source
use ellipsis as
necessary
<4 lines
with paragraph
quotation marks
4 or more lines
indent .5” on left
no quotation marks
Short Long
Academic Reports also known as MLA (Modern Language Association)
Sample 1Sample 2Sample 3
Parts of a Academic Report
• Table of Contents (Topic 2)
• Outline (Topic 2)
• Report (Now)
• Works Cited (Topic 3)
Bound or Unbound?
• Like a business report, the academic report may either be bound (1.5” left margin or unbound (1” left margin.)
Margins
• Top 1”
• Left 1” if unbound or 1.5” if bound
• Right 1”
• Bottom 1” depending on page break decisions
Title Page?No title page is used for Academic style
reports. Instead, key a heading in the top left corner on the first page. Double space between lines and include the following:
• Name of Student• Name of Instructor• Course Title• Date in military style (21 November 2010)
Heading Sample
Spacing?
• Double-space the body of the report—no exceptions.
Quotations?
• Long quotes are indented 1” from the left.
Business vs Academic
Left, Right and Bottom Margins
DS body
Side & Paragraph Headings
Short Quotes
Title Page
Top margin of 1st page
is 2”
Indent long quote .5”
SS long quote
Business Academic
Heading
Top margin of 1st page is
1”
Indent long quote 1”
DS everything
