Writing Monthly Reports and Yearly
Self-Assessments
Part 3 in the series “Effective Written Communication in
the Workplace”
Suzanne Bombard
University of Virginia Library
Workshop Objectives
In this workshop we will
 Discuss how to use language effectively in writing reports.
 Discuss the supervisor’s (or audience’s) role in planning and
designing the report.
 Discuss the importance of using the design of the report to
write the report.
 Practice writing a report.
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What is Expository Writing?
The preferred writing style for reports is exposition.
 Expository writing contains, or relates to, exposition.
Exposition is “discourse … designed to convey information or
explain what is difficult to understand.”
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary [Tenth Edition]
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Reports: Expository Writing Elevated to an Art
 Expository writing is non-descriptive, non-emotive writing.
• Expository writing is “just the facts, ma’am.”
 While creative writing depends on adjectives and adverbs to
elicit emotion and create mental images in order to persuade or
influence, expository writing depends on nouns and verbs to
convey information accurately with little or no ambiguity.
When writing reports, nouns identify, and verbs—not
adjectives—are used as descriptors.
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Beginning at the Beginning
 Develop an overall plan, or roadmap, for the report.
– Involve the supervisor (or audience) from the beginning.
• Ask the question, “How is this report going to be used?”
– Knowing what your audience wants, needs, or
expects from the report is crucial in the planning
stage.
 Design a “template,” or outline, that defines the categories to
be included in the report.
– Seek input from your supervisor or audience. Let them
advise you in developing the overall design or structure.
• Structuring your report will structure your thinking.
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Designing the Report: Form Follows Function
 Determine what information should be included in each
category.
– Make sure you understand how the report will be used—and how
it fits into supporting departmental, organizational, or
committee goals.
• This will help you make the appropriate inclusions
and maintain the proper focus in your report.
– Once you and your supervisor (or readers) have
determined what your categories are, then it is a
matter of inserting the appropriate information
into the appropriate category.
– Think of your report as a tool for your supervisor and/or
those reading it.
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Writing the Report: Including the Right Amount of
Information
 Trim the fat. Few people have the time to read a report the
length of a novella.
– Provide only the salient details (the statistics, the jobs
completed, etc.)—in other words, the highlights—unless
instructed to do otherwise.
• Write the report from the bottom line.
– Distill information for readability.
– Provide an executive summary, if appropriate.
• Use Microsoft Word’s AutoSummarize utility.
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Writing the Report: Including the Right Amount of
Information in the Right Way
 A report should be exposition, not description.
– Exposition communicates information clearly, objectively, and
unambiguously.
– Exposition is unadorned by extraneous figures of speech.
• Exposition relies on verbs and nouns to convey
information objectively.
– Adjectives and adverbs are subjective and
communicate (as well as elicit) emotion.
– Exposition is commentary without opinion.
Just the facts!
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Bad Example/Good Example
For example, a “bad” account of a water leak might be written liked this:
• When staff discovered a devastating water leak in the fifth floor stacks area
four days after Christmas, we responded in an exemplary manner and
mobilized the Wet Book Recovery Team. Under my supervision, the first
thing we did was to drag the waterlogged, ruined materials out of harm’s
way. Because it took so long for the stacks staff to detect the leak, we lost a
huge number of books. Facilities Management was called.
A “better” account of the water leak might be written like this:
• At approximately 3:00 p.m. on December 29, staff shelving in the fifth
floor stacks area reported a large water leak that damaged approximately
three hundred books and journals. At 3:10 p.m., as the staff member on
duty, I notified Facilities Management and the Wet Book Recovery Team,
and we removed the affected materials from the area of the leak by 5:45
p.m. that day [December 29].
 Notice the subjective use of language in the first example. The second
example communicates information; the first example communicates
emotion (and opinion). Little substantive information is communicated in the
first example.
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To Conclude …
 If you incorporate reports (contributions) from others into
your report, set the ground rules from the beginning as to how that
will be handled.
– Decide together if you will paraphrase what they have
written, summarize it in your own words, re-write where
necessary, or quote complete phrases and/or sentences
from their individual reports.
• What is the preference of those reading the report?
 Remember that the essential component in writing a good
report is involving the appropriate people in the planning
and design stages.
– Keep in mind that you are writing the report for those reading it,
not for yourself!
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Yearly Self-Assessments: Let the Performance
Expectations be Your Guide
Annual self-assessments should be based on an employee’s performance
expectations. The performance expectations provide the structure—and
the focus.
 The performance expectation is a statement indicating the
acceptable level of performance for each job element.
 Expectations should be expressed as quality, quantity, and
timeliness (if appropriate).
 Expectations should also be reasonable, attainable, and
specific.
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More About Performance Expectations
In determining an employee’s job expectations, the supervisor should ask three questions:
 What duty or objective is performed? [Job element]
 Why is the duty or objective performed? [Desired result]
 What is the acceptable level of performance? [Expectation]
– “Acceptable performance” should be written for the position, not
for the person.
Analyzing the instrument used to measure your performance will help
you approach the task of self-assessment more objectively and
more strategically.
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How Do You Write a Self-Assessment?
Think of the annual self-assessment as a [personal] report.
 Use your performance expectations as your template.
 Consult with your supervisor early in the self-assessment process.
– Ask if he/she has a preference as to the style or format of the selfassessment.
– Discuss how detailed it should be.
 Record your accomplishments in a style that is comfortable for you.
– Be judicious in the use of the personal pronoun “I.”
• Rely on verbs to describe what you have done in the past year.
 Break down large tasks into individual elements, if these elements are
particularly complex, difficult, or time-consuming. Let the information speak for
itself.
 Think of the self-assessment process as a tool to improve how you do
your job. Remember, this is an assessment of the job you were hired to do, not an
assessment of you as a person!
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