Business Report Writing
Workshop
Assignment 2
Short Management Report
BUSN1012
Format of a business report
• A business report normally consists of the
following sections:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Title page
Executive summary
Table of contents
Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
Reference list and
Appendices (where relevant)
The good……
• This report is an excellent example of the style and
content that we are looking for.
• Note that this assignment has the following sections:
–
–
–
–
–
Title page
Table of contents
Main body – split into meaningful sections
Conclusion
Reference list
This report used nine references from a variety of
sources – journals, press, internet and books.
The bad……
• This report follows some of the template that we
would expect of a business style report – such as a title
page, a table of contents and a conclusion….
• HOWEVER there are sections that would not normally
be included such as scope (which would more likely be
found in a project document) and the methodology
section (which would be more appropriate in a
research paper).
• Note that this report only had four references and one
of these was the text for the unit. Peer reviewed
journal articles are viewed more favourably.
The very very ugly…..
• This report failed to follow the template that is
expected for a business report. There was no table of
contents and the contents were not split into sections.
• Whilst there was a reference list, both the end text and
in-text referencing has been done incorrectly. For
example the first reference on the list is actually an
article from the New York times. It should have been
listed as follows:
Fackler, M and Belson, K. (2006). ‘PlayStation 3 Pushed
Back For Delivery In November’. New York Times, Late
Edition (East Coast) [New York, N.Y] 16 Mar 2006: C.1.
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.flinders.edu.au/docvi
ew/433308664?accountid=10910
The very very ugly continued ….
• There was not a wide range of references
used.
• The in text referencing was also done
incorrectly.
Generic Report Structure
SECTION
FUNCTION
WRITING STRATEGIES
Title page / cover page
Indicate topic/main finding to reader
Concise formulation of topic
Executive summary /abstract
1.
2.
Summarise, present main data, conclude, recommend
Table of contents, list of figures/tables
Make information easy to find
Categorise, order
Introduction
1.
2.
3.
Describes, arouses interest, constraints, proposal, claim
The message of your report
Outline of your:
•
methods,
•
findings,
•
conclusions,
•
implications,
•
recommendations.
Aim, scope and limitations
Set context
Outline of report structure
Background/literature survey (optional – may be included Gives relevant context of problem and previous findings
in the introduction)
Describe, define, summarise, explain
Body
1.
2.
3.
4.
Provides justification for recommendation(s)
Presents methods and findings
Is based on evidence
Keeps the discussion concise
Describe, report, refer to tables and figures, analyse,
interpret, synthesise, argue, infer, evaluate, predict,
conclude
Conclusion
1.
2.
Restates position/key message
Presents and evaluates possible solutions
Conclude
Recommendations (optional)
Suggests appropriate policy/actions
References (or Bibliography)
Provides justification for information, enables follow up and Accuracy, consistency, academic integrity
further study, acknowledges intellectual property of others
Appendices (optional)
Contains detailed or bulky information on background,
methods, or data
Source: https://academicskills.anu.edu.au/node/89
Recommends
Clarity
Use of appropriate references
When you write an assignment, you create an argument for your point of
view, giving evidence for that view. The evidence that you give will come
from the sources you have read. Hence, the quality of your argument will
partly depend on the quality of your sources.
• If you use a source that is not accurate or well-informed, you do not look
like a good student. Your lecturers may suspect that you used the first
sources you found and will assume that you do not have a good
understanding of ideas related to your topic.
• Choosing good sources means paying attention to who wrote the
information, why and how they wrote it.
•
• Can I reference Wikipedia? Wikipedia is useful for finding simple
definitions and may be useful for directing you to relevant references and
sources. However, as Wikipedia can be updated by anyone, there is some
question about its credibility.
What kind of sources should I
reference?
• You should predominantly reference published
materials (e.g. books, journal articles (including
electronic journals), newspapers, reports).
• You can reference electronic sources, but you
should ensure they are reputable and provide
information about who wrote them and when
they were published on the web. Web pages with
no date or author are not reputable.
Where to find references
As students of Flinders University, you have free access to a
number of databases for journals, articles, conference papers,
newspaper articles, textbooks, reference books etc.
You can access databases online at:
- Go to www.Flinders.edu.au (or http://multisearch.flinders.edu.au:8331/V/?func=find-db-1)
- Click on the Library tab.
- Click on Databases
- Choose your database you want to search from. For
example, ProQuest, Business Periodicals Index
Retrospective, AEM (Informit), ABS, Econlit, Factiva, Wiley
Interscience
- You can then start your search once you are in the
database.
Finding journal articles in the library
http://www.flinders.edu.au/library/
Harvard Referencing
Why are there referencing systems?
– Referencing is a standardised way of informing
readers of the sources of information, ideas,
graphics etc. that are used in any given work.
– It also acknowledges other people’s work and
ideas.
– It is integral to academic integrity and writing.
– Accurate referencing enables readers to locate
your sources if they are interested in following up
on the topic.
There are two parts to the Harvard Referencing
system:
1. In-text Referencing
2. The reference list
Refer to handout on Harvard Referencing
System
http://www.flinders.edu.au/slc_files/Documents/Blue%20Guides/Harvard%20Referencing.pdf
What is plagiarism?
• Plagiarism is when you use someone else's
ideas, thoughts or material and do not
acknowledge that these belong to someone
else. For example – if you copy a section of a
book and put it in your essay without
changing any of it and you don’t reference it,
this is plagiarism. It is important that you
acknowledge all the sources from where you
have got your information……
How can I check that I have not
plagiarised?
Using TURNITIN
• TURNITIN is a computer program that enables
you to electronically upload your assignment
and check whether or not any of your
assignment match ….
A) other peoples’ essays from your class
(collusion)
B) whether or not there are any areas of your
essay that constitute plagiarism.
Academic writing style
Formal academic writing is quite different from
informal spoken English. The differences can
best be seen from a number of examples:
CONTRACTIONS
HESITATION FILLERS
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Informal / Imprecise Words
Abbreviated Forms
INCORRECT
CORRECT
it didn’t
they’ve
it’s
they’re
it did not
they have
it is
they are
er, um, well…
I think this is an effective plan.
You put the chemicals in the test tube.
We used two different methods of research.
This could be an effective plan.
The chemicals are put in the test tube.
There were two different methods of research.
lots of, nice, big, things, like
many, excellent, pleasant, large, reasons, problems, such
as
e.g, i.e, etc
For example, that is, and so on
Source: http://www.flinders.edu.au/slc_files/Documents/Yellow%20Guides/Formal%20&%20Informal%20Language.pdf
What is Paraphrasing?
• Paraphrasing is using someone else's ideas but
expressing them in your own words.
• Paraphrasing is ok to do as long as you still
reference the original source.
• Quoting is when you use someone else’s idea and
you included it word for word. Quoting involves
the use of the quotation marks to enable the
reader to identify quoted work. This also needs
to be referenced using the accepted referencing
method (Harvard).
Useful on-line resource for Academic
Writing
http://www.flinders.edu.au/currentstudents/slc/study-resources/studyresources.cfm
Contact details
• If you would like any further information or
have any questions from today please contact
• Heather Dawson-Howard
(heather.dawsonhoward@flinders.com.au)
• Oliver Yeo (oliver.yeo@flinders.com.au)