Developing the Main Elements of Reports
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this chapter are to
1. Remind students of the importance of remembering readers when developing reports.
2. Explain how to use the report elements effectively to meet the needs of multiple readers
who are busy, who need to access the information quickly, and who will not read the
entire report.
3. Identify the report elements and discuss their purposes and structures.
4. Explain the relationships between the various prefatory elements and between the
prefatory elements and the body of the report.
5. Discuss how online reports often differ from standard paper reports.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
This chapter is best used in conjunction with Chapters 13–15, which discuss the various
types of reports that require the elements discussed in Chapter 10. In addition, the most
effective way to help students master the report elements is to have them create reports that
use the elements, especially the standard prefatory elements on which this chapter focuses.
As discussed in the “Teaching Strategies” sections for Chapters 14 and 15, you should
consider incorporating a lengthy report assignment with its attendant prefatory elements as a
major component of the course; you may even think about building your entire course around
such an assignment.
The prefatory report elements that Chapter 10 focuses on seem deceptively simple, and your
students will be surprised at how challenging they are to create. It is amazing how long it
takes to condense a 50-page report into a two-paragraph abstract, how easy it is to invalidate
a table of contents because of pagination errors, and how easy it is to leave a table or figure
off of the list of illustrations. Therefore, when you discuss this chapter, you will want to
focus on the necessity of addressing audience needs when creating the report elements and on
carefully revising, editing, and proofreading the prefatory elements, especially to make sure
that they function effectively as guides to the body of the report. Your students will be
predisposed to spend a great deal of time working on the report itself thinking that they can
knock off the prefatory elements an hour before the report is due. You will want to encourage
them not to do this!
If your course does not allow time for students to actually produce a lengthy report with
prefatory elements, consider giving the students a report that is missing its prefatory elements
and having the students create them. As a substitute for writing the report, you may wish to at
least take the students through the planning stages for a lengthy report. Have them plan a
research methodology, draft an outline, and plan argument strategies and graphics. Taking
165
the students up to the point of writing the report can at least give them the benefit of
understanding how the planning process works.
WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
Here are some ideas for exploring the main elements of reports covered in Chapter 10.
Traditional Classroom
1. Compare several reports. For an in-class workshop, complete Exercise 1 in Chapter 10.
You might wish to select two or three reports and have students look them over and make
brief notes the night before the in-class discussion. If you do the exercise entirely in class,
you will need to pre-select two or three reports that you want the class to consider. The
exercise will probably be more fun if you choose reports that are very different from each
other. You may wish to consider breaking the class into teams to discuss the reports
before the class discusses them; this sometimes helps to give the discussion a jump start.
2. Create selected front matter for a report. Locate a report and remove the table of
contents, list of illustrations, glossary (if there is one), and list of symbols (if there is
one). Give the class a copy of the report (or have them read it online) the night before the
class discussion. During class, break the class into teams and have each team create one
of the missing prefatory elements. Then have the teams exchange elements and let each
team review and edit one of the elements created by another team. After the teams have
finished, have the class draft as many of the missing elements as you can on the board or
using your word processing software if you have a projector-equipped computer at your
teaching station. For fun, you may wish to now provide the original prefatory elements
that you have removed from the report; it can be fun to compare the class drafts with the
original documents.
3. Discuss a sampling of tables of contents from a variety of reports. Bring a sampling
of tables of contents (TOC’s) from a variety of reports (or other documents) that are
designed for a variety of readers and that follow a variety of formats. Have the class
discuss who they think the audiences are for the various TOC’s, the formats chosen and
why they were chosen, and the strengths or weaknesses of the TOC’s.
166
Computer Classroom
1. Compare several online reports. This is an online version of Exercise 1 in Chapter 10.
You might wish to select two or three reports and have students look them over and make
brief notes the night before the in-class discussion. If you do the exercise entirely in class,
you will need to pre-select two or three reports that you want the class to consider. The
exercise will probably be more fun if you choose reports that are very different from each
other. You may wish to consider breaking the class into teams to discuss the reports
before the class discusses them; this sometimes helps to give the discussion a jump start.
2. Create the front matter for a report. The goal of this activity is to draft appropriate
prefatory elements for a report. Locate a brief report, and remove any prefatory elements,
abstracts, or summaries. Give the class a copy of the report (or have them read it online)
the night before the class discussion. During class, break the class into teams and have
each team create one of the more challenging prefatory elements: letter of transmittal,
table of contents, abstract, or summary. Then have the teams exchange elements and let
each team review and edit one of the prefatory elements created by another team using
the comment tool in the class word processing software. Once this is done, show each
element to the class on a projector or on the computer screens, and have the entire class
critique each element. For fun, you may wish to now provide the original prefatory
elements that you removed from the report; it can be fun to compare the class drafts with
the original documents.
WRITING PROJECTS
Traditional Assignments
1. Write a lengthy report. Many technical/business writing courses require a lengthy
report as a major semester grade. This is the best way to allow students to learn the skills
needed to develop the report elements.
2. Write the prefatory elements for an existing report. If your course does not require a
lengthy student report, you can provide the students with a report and have them draft the
various prefatory elements. Although this doesn’t allow the students to write the body of
the document, it will give them practice creating the challenging front matter documents.
167
Distance Learning Assignments
1. Write a lengthy report. Many technical/business writing courses require a lengthy
report as a major semester grade. This is the best way to allow students to learn the skills
needed to develop the report elements. You may wish to have the students design their
reports specifically for an online environment, or you may simply wish to have them
submit an electronic copy of a traditional report.
2. Write the prefatory elements for an existing report. If your course does not require a
lengthy student report, you can provide the students with a report (online or traditional)
and have them draft the various prefatory elements (again, as typical for an online
environment or for a traditional one). Although this doesn’t allow the students to write
the body of the document, it will give them practice creating the challenging front matter
documents.
RELEVANT LINKS








Organizing Information in Written Reports
(http://www.mapnp.org/library/writing/organzng.htm)
Plain English Campaign: Plain English Guide to Writing Reports
(http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/reportguide.html)
University of Canberra, Australia: Academic Skills Online: Report Writing
(http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/reports.html)
The University of Dayton, Technical Writing in the School of Engineering: Summaries,
Abstracts, Executive Summaries
(http://www.engr.udayton.edu/Special/Writing/summary/default.htm)
Online Writing Lab at Purdue: Understanding the Sections of Your Report
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/reportW/understanding.html)
Natasha Artemeva, Carleton University: Abstracts and Executive Summaries
(http://www.carleton.ca/~nartemev/23100abstracts.html)
Arizona State University Writing Center: Developing Abstracts
(http://www.asu.edu/duas/wcenter/abstracts.html)
John Stenzel and Eric Schroeder, Writing in the Disciplines, UCDavis: Informative
Abstracts vs. Executive Summaries (http://wid.ucdavis.edu/handouts/execsum.htm)
WORKSHEETS
You may wish to reproduce the following worksheets for use in class or as homework.
168
Abstract Revision Checklist
Do All the Abstracts

Match the TOC topic for topic?

Avoid 1st person?

Avoid references to visuals or sources?
Does the Informative Abstract

Identify the topics of the report and briefly summarize what the report says about
them (should be a miniature version of the full report)?

Include the following as necessary:
o Research objectives?
o Research methods?
o Findings of the report?
o Principal results and conclusions?
o Recommendations (if made)?

Serve as a substitute for the report?

Use/list keywords if appropriate?

Range from 50–500 words, depending on the length of the report and/or the
requirements of the organization disseminating the report?
Does the Descriptive Abstract

Identify the topics of the report but not discuss what the report says about them
(should be the table of contents version of the report)?

Include the purpose and the major topics?

Not include results, conclusions, or recommendations?

Not serve as a substitute for the report?

Use/list keywords if appropriate?

Meet the typical length: fewer than 100 words?
Note: Today, the differences between the two types of abstracts are tending to
disappear, with many abstracts having characteristics of both types.
169
Table of Contents Revision Checklist
Does/Is the table of contents:

Indicate the page on which each major topic begins but not provide ending page numbers
for a topic (e.g., 1–15)?

Forecast the extent and nature of the topical coverage?

Suggest the logic of the arrangement and the relationship among the report parts?

Reflect the rhetorical purpose of the report?

Contain all of the major headings used in the report?

Designed with the appropriate level of detail for the way your audience will use it?

Include appendixes listed by title and designation (e.g., Appendix A: Survey Questions)?

Carefully proofread? This is the prefatory element on which the most pointless errors
occur, and errors on a TOC are serious because they compromise the usefulness of the
TOC and make it nearly impossible for a reader to use.

Exactly match the headings and subheadings in the body of the report?

Contain only headings that actually appear in the body of the text?
170
Summary (Executive Summary) Revision Checklist
Does/Is the summary:

Target decision makers or readers who do not have time to read the full report?

Target a nontechnical audience, if necessary?

Provide a more in-depth discussion of the report than an abstract?

Longer than an abstract, sometimes several pages in length?

Focus on conclusions, recommendations, and financial implications of the report?
When planning the summary, did you consider the following:

Subject and purpose of the project?

Research approach used?

Topics covered?

Essential background?

Results?

Conclusions?

Cost?

Anticipated implementation problems?
171
OVERHEADS
The figures on the following pages may be reproduced as overhead transparencies or simply
shown on a computer. The following set of discussion questions associated with each of the
figures may be used to elicit student reflections on the concepts.
Discussion Question for Figure 10-1

Think about the prefatory elements in documents that you have encountered. How have
you used them? How have they helped you use the document to which they were
attached?
Discussion Question for Figure 10-2

Think about research papers that you have written in college. Have you ever wished you
could attach a letter of transmittal to them? If you could write one, which of these
elements would you include? Why?
Discussion Question for Figure 10-3

Examine the title pages in some of your textbooks. Which of these elements do they
include? What seems to be standard in title pages to textbooks? Why? How might these
compare to title pages in business/technical reports?
Discussion Questions for Figure 10-4


Have you ever come across a table of contents that had errors? How did this affect its
usefulness to you?
Look at the TOC’s in some of your textbooks. How are they formatted? How detailed are
they? Is there more than one in some of your books? Why do you think each is designed
as it is?
Discussion Questions for Figure 10-5


Have you ever used informative abstracts as you searched for sources in the research
process? Why? What purpose did they serve for you as a researcher?
How might an informative abstract be useful in a business context?
172
Discussion Questions for Figure 10-6


Have you ever used informative abstracts as you searched for sources in the research
process? Why? What purpose did they serve for you as a researcher?
How might an informative abstract be useful in a business context?
Discussion Question for Figure 10-7

Summaries and abstracts are very similar. Why do you think it has become common
practice to use both in report contexts? Can you see benefits one might have over the
other? In what contexts?
Discussion Question for Figure 10-8

If a report contains all of the prefatory elements discussed in Chapter 10, why is an
introduction necessary in a report? Isn’t it simply redundant?
173
Main Elements of Reports
 Prefatory Elements
 Letter of Transmittal
 Title Page
 Submission Page
 Table of Contents
 List of Illustrations
 Glossary and List of Symbols
 Abstracts and Summaries
 Informative Abstract
 Descriptive Abstract
 Summary
 Discussion or body of the report, including
conclusions and recommendations
 Appendixes
Figure 10-1: Main Elements of Reports
Letter of Transmittal
 Addressed to the individual who will initially
receive the report
 Should include the following:
 Statement of transmittal
 Reason for the report
 Statement of subject and purpose of the report
 May include the following:
 Background material
 Mention of earlier reports
 Information that may be of special significance
to the reader
 Specific conclusions/recommendations that
might be of special interest
 Financial implications
 Acknowledgments
Figure 10-2: Letter of Transmittal
Title Page
 Provides critical identifying matter about the
report
 The following often appear:
 Name of the company or individual(s)
preparing the report
 Name of the company for which the report is
prepared
 Title and subtitle of the report
 Date of submission
 Code number of the report
 Contract numbers under which the work was
performed
 Company or agency logo
 Proprietary and security notices
 Names of contacts/responsible individuals
 Descriptive abstract
Figure 10-3: Title Page
Table of Contents
The Table of Contents should:
 Indicate the page on which each major topic
begins but not the page on which it ends
 Contain all of the report’s major headings
 Be designed with the appropriate level of detail
for the way your audience will use it
 Include appendixes listed by title and
designation (e.g., Appendix A: Survey
Questions)
 Be carefully proofread. This is the prefatory
element on which the most pointless errors
occur, and errors on a TOC are serious because
they compromise the usefulness of the TOC and
make it nearly impossible for a reader to use
 Exactly match the headings and subheadings
in the body of the report
 Contain only headings that actually appear in
the body of the text
Figure 10-4: Table of Contents
The Informative Abstract
The informative abstract should:
 Identify the topics of the report and briefly
summarize what the report says about them (a
miniature version of the full report)
 Include the following as necessary:
 Research objectives
 Research methods
 Findings of the report
 Principal results and conclusions
 Recommendations (if made)
 Serve as a substitute for the report
 Use/list keywords if appropriate
 Range from 50–500 words, depending on the
length of the report and/or the requirements of
the organization disseminating the report
Note: Today, the differences between the types of
abstracts are tending to disappear, with many
abstracts having characteristics of both types
Figure 10-5: The Informative Abstract
Descriptive Abstract
The descriptive abstract should:
 Identify the topics of the report but not discuss
what the report says about them (the table of
contents version of the report)
 Include the purpose and the major topics
 Not include results, conclusions, or
recommendations
 Not serve as a substitute for the report
 Use/list keywords if appropriate
 Typically be fewer than 100 words
Note: Today, the differences between the types of
abstracts are tending to disappear, with many
abstracts having characteristics of both types
Figure 10-6: The Descriptive Abstract
The Summary (Executive Summary)
The summary should:
 Target decision makers or readers who do not
have time to read the full report
 Target a nontechnical audience, if necessary
 Provide a more in-depth discussion of the report
than an abstract
 Be longer than an abstract, sometimes several
pages in length
 Focus on conclusions, recommendations, and
financial implications of the report
When planning the summary, consider the
following:








Subject and purpose of the project
Research approach used
Topics covered
Essential background
Results
Conclusions
Cost
Anticipated implementation problems
Figure 10-7: The Summary (Executive Summary)
The Introduction
 Anticipate your readers as you plan the
introduction
 Include the report’s subject, purpose, and plan
of development in the introduction
 If readers expect the report, you may use a short
introduction
 If the report will be archived, provide a longer,
more informative introduction
 If your introduction is long, consider the following
sections:
 Subject
 Purpose
 Scope*
 Background*
 Plan of development
* Some reports place the scope and background in
separate sections that follow the introduction
Figure 10-8: The Introduction