A lot of us would associate this word with progress, business, school reports, daily reports, and even police reports. For students, the word report would immediately make them think of topics that they need to discuss in class. Of course, there are some types that are hardly associated with it like weather reports, research reports, and incident reports. When you come to think of it, there are so many types and each type has its own purpose or use. What we also know is that these kinds of reports that are mentioned are only just a few types.
Reports are oral or written information provided in order to extract details given in any situation.
A report is a form of writing that people in various fields and sectors use in order to attain general to specific information while documenting a certain matter. It is a clear, and well-structured document that states fundamental information about a person, a topic, a place, or a situation. Ranging from simple and comprehensive to scholarly and technical styles, reports outline the crucial points that need to be conveyed to the target audience. Reports can be done orally or in written form. They are considered essential documents because they act as communication tools in numerous areas such as for analysis, investigation, evaluation and many others.
The main purpose of reports is to relay important information to the party that needs it. The type of information will depend on numerous factors, which include the nature of the report and the needs of the recipient party. In receiving a report, the recipient will become better informed about the progress of a project, for example, or even the results of the project itself, enabling them to improve or make changes where they are necessary.
The main purpose of reports is to guide individuals like students, teachers, project managers, accountants, financial analysts, corporate professionals, and other people to make intelligent and logical decisions from the enormous information presented in the reports. There are wide-array uses of reports that exist around us. One of the general uses of reports is for project management and other management-related aspects such as coordinating, organizing, planning and controlling. For example, a specific person, a particular group, and/or committee conduct an in-depth analysis or investigation concerning an issue and demonstrate their findings with their recommendation in a written report. Several people in academic and business settings also use reports in measuring a person’s intellectual ability and assist in their professional development.
An informational report is a type of report that brings integral information like data, facts, and feedback to assist anyone who needs it to formulate worthwhile decisions. The main objective of an informational report is to bring information in a simple and systematic way, without giving analysis or recommendations. Simply, this type of report outlines the facts. A good informational report showcases notable characteristics such as accuracy, clarity, brevity, and simplicity. When writing an informational report, it is essential to classify your topic and describe the aspects, and features of the subject matter.
An analytical report is a type of report which aims on analyzing, and evaluating a specific set of circumstances, specifically when assessing a problem, setting a cause and effect relationships, or developing recommendations to the target readers. It is a document that provides a clear and well-integrated analysis of a particular matter, typically in business settings. Managers and other business professionals write analytical reports to present a thorough evaluation of a company’s performance and effectively determine the next course of action that should be performed. Some other uses of analytical reports in business are market analysis, trend analysis, and financial analysis. When you create an analytical report, you need to provide comprehensive evaluations, assessments, recommendations and solutions by defining the problem, explaining methods, and analyzing data.
Featuring day-to-day organizational operations which includes the ins and outs of a company’s operational procedures is the main objective of an operational report. The details of an operational report consists of graphs, statistics, and procedures. It is an effective communication tool which is very crucial for tracking, measuring and analyzing the regular deliverables and metrics of a company or an organization. Managers use this report so that they are able to make reasonable and quick decisions, save time and money by improving their operational efficiency, detect rising trends and brainstorm initiatives for facilitating improvement in day-to-day business operations, and promote internal cohesion. Operational reports vary from daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, short term and long term.
Product reports demonstrate the fundamental data on the products that a company sells to their target consumers. Data found in product reports may vary depending on the company’s objectives and selling needs. High-level executives and key department managers use product reports to observe and determine the unique features and marketability of a certain product through business team collaborations and extensive product research. These reports keep track of any improvement or a lack of improvement in production by displaying the specific number of sales and the amount of revenue each particular product is bringing forth during any time period. Plus, they can be utilized to inform consumers about the core function and purpose of the item.
Work from home reports usually provide information based on the day to day progress of an employee who opt to work from home rather than on site. These reports are also considered as attendance for the working day of an employee to their employer. A work from home outlines the completed primary activities and tasks of a remote worker which is beneficial for department managers in assessing and monitoring the progress of work outputs performed at home and showcasing their efficiency and productivity rate while working at home.
These reports give out general overviews of the industry, the sector, the field or an area. Industry report focuses mainly on observing and analyzing the kinds of business trends, general financial statistics like operating costs, revenue, consumer spending, as well as details about the leading companies and organizations, market share and summary of supply and demand. Business and corporate professionals use industry reports to understand the current economic trends, challenges, opportunities, and important concerns, especially providing financial benchmarks for industry market comparison.
A school report is a type of report written by a teacher, professor, trainer, or any educational professional to address the student’s progress to their parents or guardians through highlighting the student’s strengths and developmental needs. An individual school report consists of the summary and assessment of the academic progress, the performance and behavior of the student. All teaching professionals use a school report to inform the students and their parents or guardians about the current academic performance of the students, helping them to know which subject areas the students need to continue striving for improvement.
One of the most common types of reports is a progress report. It is a report that can be used for updating information concerning certain projects, research, budget updates, schedules and business, specifically in listing down the progress you made no matter how miniscule or massive it may be. Project managers, supervisors, and their clients use progress reports to gain fundamental knowledge about a project so that they can change or adjust assignments, budgets, and schedules accordingly through project evaluation. These reports also allow them to discuss problems in the project and to forewarn the clients when it comes to necessary changes or improvements.
This is a type of report written by the students in middle school, and high school about a variety of topics and subject areas at school. Usually, teachers require students to write student reports for their science projects, book summaries, research work, and other academic outputs they need to accomplish in order to help them improve their comprehension and writing skills. Students outline the basic information from the given topic and elaborate the concepts and ideas in the report. Thus, a student report enables students to have an opportunity to learn and harness their potential in discovery and writing.
Sales reports give out the overall summary of active sales for a business or a company. The information made for this report consists of the following: the summary of costs, time period, volume sales and the correct statistics. Some sales reports display charts and graphs of the sales volume, new accounts, leads, revenue and costs for a certain period. There are different types and uses of sales reports such as conversion rate, average sales cycle length, average deal size, sales call, revenue by salesperson, loss rate by sales phase, marketing collateral usage, and lead aging.
Annual reports are essential corporate documents that often begin with written letters to inform the shareholders of the company. They contain summaries of the company’s progress and process during that preceding year. It also consists of income statements, balance sheets, financial statements and cash flow statements. Thus, an annual report showcases corporate performance highlights, major financial details, business objectives and goals for the future endeavors. Outlining the company’s core mission and history, and summary of their achievements in the past year is crucial for marketing purposes, creating an appeal to potential investors and customers.
This report contains the raw financial statements, this means that they have not been audited compared to the annual report. It also contains the balance sheet, cash flow statements all of which are unaudited. A quarterly progress report is necessary in order for the company to check for any difference in gross revenue, net profit, operational expenses, cash flow and other financial statements every quarter or three months. It also outlines year-to-date and comparative results like for last year’s quarter to this year’s quarter.
Monthly reports like any other type of report is an important document that serves as proof or evidence of the things that have been done during a given month. It consists of the status of a project or an assignment, any updates that are important are also placed in the report. A monthly project report is mostly done after the completion of the previous month, around a week after the month is over. Project managers use this report to inform clients about the project scope creep, risks to the schedule, budget, or resources and other concerns.
A weekly report is a brief and concise written document which provides a clear and cohesive summary of the projects, the assignments, or the activities that you have done within a week. This report consists of the progress, the updates and the general outline of your progress for the upcoming weeks. Also, it outlines the major points of the week’s projects and tasks which include the team and individual accomplishments, completed projects and future work overviews. Many professionals use a weekly summary report to record a review of their workweek and structure their workflow for the next week, providing insight into key aspects of the work completed throughout the week.
A daily report is a type of report that you write on a daily basis. This report consists of the summary of the day’s activities or work. The daily report can be used by businesses, companies, organizations or even individuals who may want to keep in mind what they have accomplished throughout the day. It also provides details on possible challenges that they encountered on their work days. When a project management team works on a specific project that is under way, the daily report is an effective communication tool to update the boss or project leader on the latest status and condition of the project. Plus, it outlines the plans for the next work day.
A business report is a cohesive and well-detailed document composed of the data collected and analyzed by the managers and other professionals involved in the business firm. This document can be a formal or informal report as it can be written according to the needs and requirements of the management. Often, it provides day to day information and it highlights the project accomplishments and future endeavors of an organization, allowing managers, investors and stakeholders to make informed decisions, forecast future business outcomes and drive improvements. Developing business reports are essential for future references of the company.
An activity report is a kind of report that caters to the overview of a student, a teacher, a nurse or an employee or a professional ’s activity at a given period of time. This report outlines the tasks, projects, and activities that were assigned to them and to bring the latest update concerning their condition or status. It provides an executive summary, introduction, discussion, conclusions, recommendations and references about the specific activity or assignment being undertaken. For example, an activity report for management presents crucial information such as the initial sales target, percentage of attained sales target, new customers acquired, number of customers visited, etc.
A student activity report is the type of report that you write about the activities of your students in full detail. The contents of the report only show which activities the student has attended and participated in. Educators, teachers, professors and other academic professionals use this report with the intention of assessing student progress to guide both faculty and students in identifying certain areas of achievement and areas which need improvement. They also indicate any information that they would like to bring to the attention of the faculty about the academic program while addressing any aspect of the program like classes, research, interpersonal relations and many others that involve student activities.
A nurse incident report is a document which contains a comprehensive record of the specific details of the patient’s injuries, accidents and other things which affected the patient staying in a healthcare facility like a hospital, nursing home or assisted living. Typically, health care professionals and nurses provided a detailed description of the incident with events listed in a chronological order, the statements of the witnesses or the injured person, type of injuries sustained by the person as a result of the incident, actions performed immediately after the incident, and the administered medical treatments.
Commonly used for business and academic purposes, a research report is a kind of report that gives in-depth and reliable information about a conducted research study while bringing a valid testimony of all the tasks and activities completed to accumulate specificities of the research work. It contains a cohesive summary, background or introduction, and other implemented methods. Corporate managers, and academic professionals in various fields and industries use a research progress report to clearly present specific research processes and findings, review of literature and interpretation of data with the inclusion of graphs and tables.
Medical case reports are mostly commonly known as medical progress reports. Just like any type of report, they provide fundamental information in a medical setting ranging from the symptoms, diagnosis, status, treatment and follow up of a patient. Additionally, these types of reports cater to explaining about unfamiliar types of illnesses and seeking out answers or the progress of the research about the illness. In this report, the doctors and other medical professionals describe the current medical condition and medical history in a chronological order, including details of the clinical presentation and examinations.
Police reports are important documents done by the citizens and/or security professionals to file police reports to their city police department office. Writing or filling up these forms can only be used to report a limited number or specific set of crimes which include theft, criminal mischief, property damage etc., and only under certain conditions. It provides crucial information such as the personal details of the person making the report, and the major details about the incident like the nature of complaint, specific complaint against the person, specific date and time of the incident, location of the incident and description of the incident.
Project reports are the type of documents that are mainly used for department teams or organizations who are given an assignment or an activity by the company that should be completed. This report helps members of the team to stay on track of their work, keep the company or the business updated and to report about the latest developments and any roadblocks that they may have come across. It contains the main objectives, and total budget of the project while illustrating the productivity data of employees and the highlights of the project. Generally, project managers and stakeholders use a project activity report to closely monitor the current progress and measure against the original project schedule, and to predict possible threats and make proper steps to recover.
Financial reports are the kinds of reports that business firms and corporations use in order to provide an extensive view of their general financial status and performance. A financial report not only shows the general financial situation but it also presents the current financial position and condition, costs and revenues, assets and liabilities and other commitments and responsibilities of the company or organization. This type of report is crucial for investors, market analysts and creditors when it comes to evaluating the financial health and earnings potential of a company. Balance sheet, and income statement are some examples of financial reports.
If a person needs to capture a particular incident or what is happening on site, he or she needs to write a safety report. A safety report is a type of report that provides clear and comprehensive information concerning a specific safety incident, process or outcome. It is a very significant report for engineers, project supervisors, safety teams and the management to clearly understand what is happening and develop proper decisions about effective measures and other aspects to improve safety, as well as monitoring potential issues and root causes as they recur.
Commonly used in almost every industry, assessment reports are often used by many professionals such as teachers, supervisors, instructors, doctors, managers, evaluators and others to assess a person, a team, or an organization using a series of questions and tests. The answers are then used in the assessment to make some calculations, categorizations or other types of outcome that bring value to the respondent. Using assessment reports guide respondents to gain clear insights into their profile, company, or status and give key recommendations. The outcomes of the assessment are depicted in these reports in the form of text, numbers, charts, graphs and other visual representations.
An evaluation report from the name in itself is a documented report that evaluates a product, program, methodology, process or service. It comes with a short introduction, the data, an executive summary of the performance evaluation, and the conclusion, based on a set of standards or a set of rubrics. This is an essential report in order to develop logical judgments about a specific product or service, to improve its effectiveness, and to inform well-defined decisions to the management. Plus, it provides a transparent basis for accountability for outcomes, and for improvement.
A narrative report is a compelling document which clearly illustrates an event that has happened in a chronological order by telling a vivid story coming from a person’s perspective. Narrative reports are often written by students in order to explain a topic or a project they are tasked to do, and/or to outline a book while describing the main characters, their actions, the plot and some major scenes. It gives a clear picture of a specific event with characters, conflicts and settings.
If you need to file or report any workplace illnesses, injuries, near misses, accidents, risks or issues, you should write an incident report. An incident/property damage report is a communication tool that provides information concerning any event that may or may not have caused injuries to a person or damage to a business firm asset. The incidents that can be reported may have happened either in the office, out of the office, or any place that is open to such accidents or issues. The document contains facts that would help understand the nature of the incident.
Event organizers use an event report to learn and understand more about the events according to all of the success metrics and other data that demonstrate the performance of the events. Also known as a post-event report or summary, it is considered as the follow-up to the discussion of what would happen in the event, what is happening in the event and any other issues or information that can be filled out for the report. This events report highlights the success or failure of the event in question. This is very important in order to fully assess whether the major goals and objectives of the events were achieved. Plus, using this report can help in detecting certain areas for future fine tuning and improvement of the event.
A survey report is a document which records fundamental information based entirely on a specific type of survey. Online surveys, in-person interviews, focus groups, telephone surveys, mail-i surveys and kiosk surveys are some different types of survey methods conducted to research and analyze the opinions and views of the targeted individuals in the public concerning a particular matter. This report is significant in communicating the findings and results of the survey, as well as providing a formal report of the conducted survey research and a foundation for future survey research endeavors.
Internship reports are documents that are written by student interns during their student internship program. The report consists of the summary of their personal experiences, what they have learned so far and the skills they have acquired during the internship. Using this report enables the internship manager to dig deeper about the insights and professionalism level of the interns during their stay at a company or organization. It is important for the improvement of internship opportunities or lessons for incoming students.
Confidentiality reports are kinds of reports that are meant for the sole and exclusive private use of the client. These types of reports are mostly shared only within those who the report is meant for. Any information that may be considered confidential are written in the report, and kept from prying eyes. Individuals and teams who write this type of document need to make sure that their confidentiality report should not be copied or disseminated to any other party without the express written permission of the inspector of the key intended recipients.
Investigation reports are documents that give out the details of the conducted investigation after a formal complaint is filed or an incident happens. Investigators use an investigation summary report to outline various pieces of evidence such as interviews, video, audio, photo, tape, e-mail and many others, and the name of the person who presented the evidence and their role in the investigation. It is a significant report to maintain a comprehensive record of the issues related to the matter, develop a clear analysis of the evidence and make a proper conclusion.
An acknowledgement report from the term itself, is a kind of report that gives acknowledgement to the person who the report is for. It is the kind of report that a person writes in order to thank those who have supported or motivated them in their professional work, personal project, and/or other aspects of their accomplishments. Developing an enticing acknowledgement report is essential in order to strengthen various people such as managers, supervisors, employees and the overall high performing teams, helping them to feel appreciated and valued in their worthwhile contributions in the organization.
A weather report is a kind of documented report that meteorologists use while gathering accurate information about the latest weather and the states of the atmosphere in order to predict or to describe the weather in a particular area, region, or country. Weather forecasters and meteorologists present this report to inform the public concerning the weather observations of the atmosphere which include the rate of temperature, humidity, precipitation, air pressure, wind direction and wind speed based on the collected weather data across the globe.
Writing a report involves several factors: 1) knowing why a report is needed, 2) knowing what kind of report to write, and 3)knowing how to write that report. The first factor is the most dire one since without knowing its purpose, there can be no moving on to factors two and three. The second factor will depend on the need and the nature of the event or program that requires the report. Lastly, we have factor three, which will depend greatly on one’s circumstance. Despite that, there are always commonalities between the different types of reports, which is crucial to learn about.
The type you pick will depend on your need and the type of information you want to convey.
Having a proper title will ensure that whoever reads the report will be informed straight away of what it’s about.
This is where the problem reported is addressed, along with a list of necessary items such as a glossary of terms and the arrangement of the report itself.
This part makes up the bulk of the report.
Having a conclusion will end your report on a high note since this is where everything that came before comes together.
Should there be any need for revisions, go through the report again and make the necessary changes before submitting it.
Title page: One of the most important elements of a report is the title page. It contains the title and theme of your report. In this part, you need to maintain simplicity while catching the attention of your readers, moving them to check and read your overall report with great interest. Your title should be in a size larger than other remaining text elements in the page.
Overview/Executive Summary: As an integral part of your report, it provides a brief and systematic summary of the primary points of your report. For example, you need to outline the completed activities, strategies, and tasks of your project by summarizing them in a report. Include your main goals and objectives, and the purpose in this part as well. Simply, write the most essential features of your report such as the background, discussion, and conclusion and condensing them in several sentences.
Background: Introduce the subject of your report to the reader. Explain the reason why you are writing this report in detail. This section should help your reader understand the overall picture of your report before he or she considers reading your findings and conclusions. Try to answer the questions like Who? What? Why? Where? and When?
Discussion: You need to conduct a comprehensive research so that you have as much evidence such as facts, arguments, data and other results that you will present in this section to help your reader understand the subject. Keep your findings in this section logical and organized. Make sure to use headings and subheadings if you are explaining different aspects of the subject. Each heading or subheading should be a clear, informative, short title as it simply summarizes the content covered in the paragraphs.