CANKAYA UNIVERSITY
FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNIT
CHAPTER IV
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
OUTLINE
1. Prefatory Parts (Front Matter)
2. Body
- Introduction
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
• Formal reports are generally organized into three major divisions:
1. Prefatory Parts (Front Matter)
2. Body
3. Supplementary Parts (Back Matter)
• Formal reports are longer and have more parts than informal reports.
• Reports have standardized components. They include:
 Letter of transmittal
 Abstract
 Executive Summary
 Acknowledgements
 Title Page
 Table of Contents
 References or works cited
 Glossary
 Appendices
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
• Prefatory parts come before the text of the report.
• They identify the contents and give credit to the people who created it.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Letter of Transmittal (Memo of Transmittal/Cover Letter)
• Letter of transmittal is not a part of report itself but often accompanies it.
• It is attached as a separate piece of paper.
• It announces what the attached document is and what project it is related to.
• It is usually less formal than the report itself.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Letter of Transmittal (Memo of Transmittal/Cover Letter)
• The transmittal letter typically
1. announces the topic of the report and tells how it was authorized;
2. briefly describes the project;
3. highlights the report’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations, if the
reader is expected to be supportive;
4. Closes with appreciation for the assignment, instructions for the reader’s
follow-up actions, acknowledgment of help from others, or offers of
assistance in answering questions.
• See page 64 for a sample letter of transmittal.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Title Page
• Title page is at the front of a text.
• It identifies the subject of a report and its recipient, author, and date.
• The title page identifies :
 the subject of the report,
 its recipient,
 author,
 date.
• See page 66 for a sample title page.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Title Page
How To Write Titles
• Place the title about one-third from the top of the page followed by the name
of the recipient, author, and date.
• Use a type size bigger than text size, perhaps 14-point type or larger.
• You should pay attention to two points about titles:
 should be short, preferably on one line only
 should specify exactly what the paper is talking about, not simply name a
whole subject.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Title Page
How To Write Titles
Example:
Construction of an Experimental Concrete Road on the Trunk Road D7 Upbridge
Bypass to Determine the Effect of Omitting Expansion Joints.
Which one is more
effective?
Effect of Omitting Expansion Joints in Concrete Roads:
Construction of an Experiment on the D7
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Abstract
• An abstract is a summary of the entire report short enough to be read in only
a few minutes.
• It enables readers to digest important information without having to read the
whole report .
• In fact, it helps the readers decide whether the report is worth reading.
• Abstracts should be less than a single page long, single-spaced.
• There are 2 basic types of abstracts: indicative and informative.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Abstract
The indicative abstract
• It indicates the kind of information included in the report.
• It is a description rather than exposition.
• It outlines what is covered in the report but does not attempt to provide a lot
of information .
• It usually includes these points:
Purpose
Method
Conclusion
Recommendation
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Abstract
The informative abstract
• It condenses the information in the report into a brief statement.
• It makes the reading of the entire document optional.
• It provides in condensed form all of the essential information in the report:
 Purpose
 Method
 Scope
 Key sections of the text ( findings, problems, possible solutions, etc.)
 Conclusions
 Recommendations
• See page 68 for the abstract task.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Executive Summary
• An executive summary summarizes a long report.
• It summarizes a longer report for people who may not have time to read the
entire document.
• This timesaving device summarizes
the purpose
key points
findings
conclusions
• An executive summary is usually no longer than 10 percent of the original
document. Therefore, a 20-page report might require a 2-page executive
summary.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Executive Summary
• An abstract is shorter and after reading, the reader decides if the report is
worth reading.
• An executive summary is longer and is written for people who don’t have
time to read the whole report.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Executive Summary
• General Guidelines:
 Present the goal or purpose of the document being summarized. Why
was it written?
 Highlight the research methods (if appropriate), findings, conclusions,
and recommendations.
 Omit illustrations, examples, and references.
 Organize for readability by including headings and bulleted or
enumerated lists.
 Include your reactions or an overall evaluation of the document if asked
to do so.
• See page 69 for a sample executive summary.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Acknowledgements
• An acknowledgement is a statement of credit given to a person or people
who have assisted the writer of the report.
• It names the person credited, the contributions s/he has made, and the effect
of his/ her contribution.
• An acknowledgement is placed on a separate piece of paper and follows the
abstract of the report.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Table of Contents
• The table of contents shows the headings in a report and their page numbers.
• It lets the readers find specific information easily.
• It also gives the readers an overview of the content and structure of your
report.
• You should wait to prepare the table of contents until after you have
completed the report.
• The first item in the contents will most probably be the abstract or executive
summary.
• Do not mix table of contents with the” list of tables and figures”.
• The visuals are not included in table of contents page.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
Table of Contents
• Suggestions For Writing Table of Contents:
 Include sub-headings as well as main headings
 Write full and informative headings
 Use decimal numbering system, indentation, and varying weight of type
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
1. PREFATORY PARTS
List of Tables and Figures
• You may list tables and figures (visual display of data) on a page following the
contents page.
• This list is most useful when there are many visuals and your report is long.
• There is less need for this page in a 10-page report because readers can easily
skim to locate the visuals.
• If you include the list, format it in the same way you formatted the table of
contents page. Include:
1. The label and number ( Figure 1)
2. The title of the visual
3. The page number
• See page 74 for a sample table of contents and list of figures.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
2. BODY OF REPORT
• The main section of a report is the body.
1. Beginning (introduction)
 introduces the issue
2. Middle (discussion of findings)
 presents the results of investigation
3. Ending (summary & recommendations)
 applies the results to the problem to show whether and how the
problem is solved.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
2. BODY OF REPORT
Introduction
• It describes the problem or purpose that has occasioned the report.
• It answers the questions of
who
what
where
when
why
how
in order to establish the context for the problem and its significance.
• It also forecasts the rest of the report by showing how the report will develop
and what its major sections are.
• A literature review may be a part of the introduction as a way of establishing
the problem.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
2. BODY OF REPORT
Introduction
• A good report introduction typically covers the following elements:
Background
Problem or purpose
Significance
Scope
Sources and methods
Summary
Organization
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
2. BODY OF REPORT
Introduction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Background: Describe the events leading up to the problem or need.
Problem or purpose: Explain the report topic and specify the problem or need
that motivated the report.
Significance: Tell why the topic is important. You may wish to quote experts or
cite secondary sources to establish the importance of the topic.
Scope: Clarify the boundaries of the report, what will be included or excluded.
Sources and methods: Describe your secondary sources. Also explain how you
collected primary data.
Summary: Include a summary of findings, if the report is written directly.
Organization: Preview the major sections of the report to follow, thus
providing coherence and transition for the reader.
COMPONENTS OF A REPORT
Introduction
Rating Scale for Introduction - Page 7
Sample Student Portfolio - Outline - Page 117
Topic:
• Choosing the Best Franchising Opportunity: Comparisons Between Starbucks
and Kahve Dünyası
Are there any problems with the sample ?
• Numbering & Heading:
• Problem
• Significance
• Scope & Organization
• Sources & Methods
• Summary
NEXT WEEK
PORTFOLIO TASK 3: INTRODUCTION (in-class)
• Bring a copy of the assignment sheet on page 10.