REPORT WRITING IN TOURISM

1. REPORTS

REPORT

A report is a written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated. It is a systematic and well organised presentation of facts and findings of an event that has already taken place somewhere. Reports are used as a form of written assessment to find out what you have learned from your reading, research or experience and to give you experience of an important skill that is widely used in the work place.

A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents.

REPORT WRITING

Report writing is the creation of a structured document that precisely describes, and examines an event or occurrence. A report is a document that is short, sharp and specially written for a particular audience and purpose.

USES OF REPORT

In modern business scenario, reports play a major role in the progress of business. Reports are the backbone to the thinking process of the establishment and they are responsible, to a great extent, in evolving an efficient or inefficient work environment.

The significance of the reports includes:

• Reports present adequate information on various aspects of the business.
• All the skills and the knowledge of the professionals are communicated through reports.
• Reports help the top line in decision making.
• A rule and balanced report also helps in problem solving.
• Reports communicate the planning, policies and other matters regarding an organization to the masses. News reports play the role of ombudsman and levy checks and balances on the establishment.

STANDARD ELEMENTS OF REPORT

Reports use features such as tables, graphics, images, voice, or specialized vocabulary in order to persuade a specific audience to undertake an action or inform the reader of the subject at hand. Some common elements of written reports include headings to indicate topics and help the reader locate relevant information quickly, and visual elements such as charts, tables and figures, which are useful for breaking up large sections of text and making complex issues more accessible. Lengthy written reports will almost always contain a table of contents, appendices, footnotes, and references. A bibliography or list of references will appear at the end of any credible report and citations are often included within the text itself. Complex terms are explained within the body of the report or listed as footnotes in order to make the report easier to follow. A short summary of the report’s contents, called an abstract, may appear in the beginning so that the audience knows what the report will cover. Online reports often contain hyperlinks to internal or external sources as well.

Verbal reports differ from written reports in the minutiae of their format, but they still educate or advocate for a course of action. Quality reports will be well researched and the speaker will list their sources if at all possible.

TYPES

Some examples of reports are:

1. Annual reports
2. Auditor‘s reports
3. Book reports
4. Bound report
5. Retail report
6. Census reports
7. Credit reports
8. Demographic reports
9. Expense report
10. Experience report
11. Inspection reports
12. Military reports
13. Police reports
14. Policy reports
15. Informal reports
16. Progress reports
17. Investigative reports
18. Technical or scientific reports
19. Trip reports
20. White papers
21. Appraisal reports
22. Workplace reports

Kinds of Reports

Report writing is a formal style of writing elaborately on a topic. The tone of a report is always formal. The important section to focus on is the target audience. For example – report writing about a school event, report writing about a business case, etc. Let us briefly discuss the different Kinds of reports

Long Report and Short Reports: These kinds of reports are quite clear, as the name suggests. A two-page report or sometimes referred to as a memorandum is short, and a thirty-page report is absolutely long. But what makes a clear division of short reports or long reports? Well, usually, notice that longer reports are generally written in a formal manner.

Internal and External Reports:As the name suggests, an internal report stays within a certain organization or group of people. In the case of office settings, internal reports are for within the organization.

We prepare external reports, such as a news report in the newspaper about an incident or the annual reports of companies for distribution outside the organization. We call these as public reports.

Vertical and Lateral Reports: This is about the hierarchy of the reports’ ultimate target. If the report is for your management or for your mentees, it’s a vertical report. Wherever a direction of upwards or downwards comes into motion, we call it a vertical report.

Lateral reports, on the other hand, assist in coordination in the organization.  A report travelling between units of the same organization level (for example, a report among the administration and finance departments) is lateral.

Periodic Reports: Periodic reports are sent out on regularly pre-scheduled dates. In most cases, their direction is upward and serves as management control. Some, like annual reports, is not vertical but is a Government mandate to be periodic in nature.

That is why we have annual or quarterly or half-yearly reports. If they are this frequent, it only makes sense to pre-set the structure of these reports and just fill in the data every period. That’s exactly what happens in most cases too.

Furthermore,

Formal and Informal Reports: Formal reports are meticulously structured. They focus on objectivity and organization, contain deeper detail, and the writer must write them in a style that eliminates factors like personal pronouns.

Informal reports are usually short messages with free-flowing, casual use of language. We generally describe the internal report/memorandum as an informal report. For example, a report among your peers, or a report for your small group of team, etc.

Informational and Analytical Reports: Informational reports (attendance reports, annual budget reports, monthly financial reports, and such) carry objective information from one area of an organization to maybe a larger system.

Analytical reports (scientific research, feasibility reports, and employee appraisals) show attempts to solve actual problems. These analytical reports usually require suggestions at the end.

Proposal Reports: These kinds of reports are like an extension to the analytical/problem-solving reports. A proposal is a document one prepares to describe how one organization can provide a solution to a problem they are facing.

There’s usually always a need to prepare a report in a business set-up. The end goal is usually very solution-oriented. We call such kinds of reports as proposal reports.

Functional Reports: These kinds of reports include marketing reports, financial reports, accounting reports, and a spectrum of other reports that provide a function specifically. By and large, we can include almost all reports in most of these categories. Furthermore, we can include a single report in several kinds of reports.

Routine reports- Routine reports are written on daily basis for daily process and goal achievement at regular interval.

Research reports- These reports are written for a specific research and topic and provides a conclusion to the findings.

Technical reports- These reports are written for IT and technical purposes which conduct technical experiments and analysis.

FEATURES OF A REPORT

Being that reports provide factual information based on decisions that were made, various guidelines are followed to ensure that a report has the essentials of an effective report. Here are the features of a satisfying report:

• Has an abstract or summary that provides a brief synopsis of the contents.

• Has a specific purpose and target audience.

• Has clearly labeled sections and headings.

• May contain data presented in for example graphs or tables.

• Often the text is broken up-bullet points, lists: is not always continuous prose.

• Written concisely and to the point.

• Written formally and objectively.

Why write a report?

There are various reasons behind writing a report. It may be assignments at school, work or personal reasons. They include:

• To communicate a research process clearly and in a simple manner.

• To give a logical structure to the methods, results, and findings of research.

• To inform the target audience of the findings and viable recommendations of the research.

• To provide a document that would be easy to read and navigate for the reader.

Common problems with reports

When writing a report, there are various mistakes during the writing process that you should be careful not to make. A good report should be free of:

• A weak or confusing structure of your work.

• Use of inappropriate writing style.

• Poor grammar and punctuation.

• Incorrect or inadequate referencing.

• Use of irrelevant information.

• Unnecessary use of jargon.

Five ways to make your report more effective

A simple arrangement should be followed to ensure you write an effective report. Below are five useful stages of report writing:

1. Read the brief or terms of reference carefully; maintaining the focus on the brief will help you keep the content of your report relevant throughout.

2. Plan; planning each section should be considered before you begin writing your work.

3. Relate your findings to the background research conducted which will help you place the results in a broader context.

4. Put yourself in the position of the reader by asking yourself if what you have written will make sense to someone else.

5. Edit and proofread your work thoroughly.

Whatever the type of report you are writing, it should be clearly structured and well written. An organized report saves your audience time as they can navigate through it with ease.

To make a good report follow these instructions-

• Understand the purpose of the report
• Gather, evaluate and analyze relevant information
• Structure material in a logical order
• Present your report according to the instructions in a particular manner
• Make appropriate conclusion
• Make thoughtful and practical recommendations where required.

Part1

Describing the Site Visited

1Look over the requirements of your visit report. There is no 1 way to write a visit report. If you’re a student, check the assignment from your instructor. If you’re a consultant or professional working for a company, look at other visit reports from your company to use as a model.^[1]

• Reports are usually only 2-3 pages long, but in some cases, these reports may be much longer.
• In some cases, you may be asked to give recommendations or opinions about the site. In other cases, you will be asked only to describe the site.
• Ask your boss or instructor for models of other visit reports. If you can’t get a model, look up samples online.

2 Start the paper with general information about the visit. This will serve as your introduction. In a paragraph, tell your audience when you visited the site and where the site is located. State who your contact was at the site. If extensive travel was needed, you may also briefly state how you arrived at the site.

3 Define the purpose of the site. In 1-2 paragraphs, describe what type of site it is. Is it a factory, construction site, business, or school? Include details about the size, layout, and equipment used at the site. State how many people work at the site or who owns the site.

• If you visited a factory, explain what it is producing and what equipment it uses.
• If you visited a construction site, describe what is being constructed and how far along the construction is. You should also describe the terrain of the site and the layout.
• If you’re visiting a business, describe what the business does. State which department or part of the business you visited.
• If you’re visiting a school, identify which grades they teach. Note how many students attend the school. Name the teachers whose classes you observed.

4 Explain what happened during the visit in chronological order. Start at the beginning of your visit. What did you do? Who did you meet? Describe the events of the day going until you left the site. This may be anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages long. Make sure to include:^[4]

• Who did you talk to? What did they tell you?
• What did you see at the site?
• What events took place? Did you attend a seminar, Q&A session, or interview?
• Did you see any demonstrations of equipment or techniques?

5 Summarize the operations at the site. In as much detail as possible, describe the processes and procedures at the site. If they use any special techniques, state how these techniques are performed. If they manufacture something in a particular way, give a step-by-step account of this process.

• For example, at a car factory, describe whether the cars are made by robots or humans. Describe each step of the assembly line.
• If you’re visiting a business, talk about different departments within the business. Describe their corporate structure and identify what programs they use to conduct their business.

• Part2

Reflecting on Your Visit

1 Describe what you learned at the site if you’re a student. Draw connections between what you learned at the site and what you learned in class. State how seeing the site helped you understand what you are learning in class. You might ask yourself:

• Is there something you didn’t realize before that you learned while at the site?
• Who at the site provided helpful information?
• What was your favorite part of the visit and why?

2 Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the site. Note which processes, policies, and practices work well at the site. If you notice any flaws, describe these as well. Try to be as specific as possible. Name the exact machine, equipment, process, or policy that could be fixed.

• For example, you might state that the factory uses the latest technology but point out that employees need more training to work with the new equipment.
• If there was anything important left out of the visit, state what it was. For example, maybe you were hoping to see the main factory floor or to talk to the manager.

3 Provide recommendations for improvement if required. If you’re asked to provide recommendations, take a few paragraphs to share your thoughts and observations. Identify problematic areas in the site and provide specific, actionable recommendations to improve them.

• Tailor your recommendations to the organization or institution that owns the site. What is practical and reasonable for them to do to improve their site?
• Be specific. Don’t just say they need to improve infrastructure. State what type of equipment they need or give advice on how to improve employee morale.

• Part3

Formatting Your Report

1Add a title page to the beginning of your report. The title should be the name of the visit and site, such as “Visit to Airplane Factory” or “Corporate Headquarters Visit Report.” Under the title, include your name, your institution, and the date of the visit. Do not put any other information on this page.

• If you are following a certain style guideline, like APA or Chicago style, make sure to format the title page according to the rules of the handbook.

2 Write in clear and objective language. Keep your sentences short and concise. Avoid writing with too many adjectives or flowery language. This will make your report clear and direct.

• Don’t just say “the visit was interesting” or “I was bored.” Be specific when describing what you learned or saw.

3 Include any relevant pictures if desired. While pictures are usually not required, they may be helpful in some visit reports. Group photographs, images of machinery, or graphics demonstrating the layout of the site might be helpful.

4 Proofread your report carefully. Check for any grammatical errors or typos. Ask someone else to read over it for you to make sure it sounds good. If you’re a student, check your professor’s guidelines to make sure that you have all of the required parts.

Examples of Reports