LO6 WRITE FORMAL AND

INFORMAL REPORT
 Outline
• Mechanics Of Formal Reports
– Write Formal & Informal Reports
• Cover Or Title Page
• Margins
• Spacing
• Headings
• Source Citations
• Page Numbers
 Mechanics Of Formal Reports
• The mechanics of written report :-
– Format
– Spacing
– Headings
• The readers first impression of the report will
be based on its appearances.
• A negative first impression may increase the
time it takes for a reader to gain confidence in
the report writer’s credibility.
 Write Formal & Informal Reports
Formal reports
• Are normally written in the
third person
• May contain visual aids and
material from secondary
sources
• Have a detailed structure
Informal reports
• Are normally written in the
first person
• Generally do not contain
visual aids or material from
secondary sources
• Are less structured
• May be formatted as letters
or memos
 Cover Or Title Page
• The cover protects the contents of the report, thus it should
be attractive .
• Normally used only on long, formal reports.
• Items displayed on cover/title page:
– Report title, name and title of person or organization for
whom the report was prepared, and the date report was
submitted.
• All information centred horizontally, title is keyed in uppercase
letters two inches from the top of the page, the bottom
margin is also set into two inches. spaced equally between
the top and margins, and major words are capitalized.
 Margins
• Margins are important because they create the
white space that makes the report visually
appealing to the reader.
• As a rule, reports have left and right margins of 1
or 1.25 inches(an extra 0.25 added when the
report is bound at the left.
• Preliminary parts, supplementary parts and the
openings page of major sections typically have
larger( 2 inch, 2.25 for top bound) top margins.
 Spacing
• Reports may be keyed with text on every line
(single spaced) or on every other line (double
spaced).
• In double-spaced reports, use paragraph
indentions that are one-half inch from the left
margins, no space is added between paragraphs.
• Single spaced reports have one blank line
between paragraphs, indenting the first line of
the paragraph is optional.
 Headings
• Headings may be either:-
– Informative: It indicates the content of a
section and orients readers so that they
can more easily understand the material.
(example- CUSTOMERS’ ATTITUDES
TOWARD WEB POP-UP ADS)
– Structural: emphasizes the functional
sections within the report. (example-
FINDINGS)
 Headings
• The way headings presented vary according to the style manual used by
the organization and the consistency is vital.
– Main headings: Used on first page of report and first page of each
major sections, centered, uppercased, and multiple line heading
contains no blank lines.
– Secondary headings: Explains or elaborate on main headings, placed
one blank line under main heading, centered, upper and lowercased,
and two blank lines after each secondary heading.
– Text headings: Signal the content of the report, are classified as:-
• First-degree heading
• Second-degree heading
• Third-degree heading
Headings
Source Citations
Page Numbers