Classification of

Technical Reports
LESSON 2

Alimpos, Valerie
Branzuela, Cherry Rose
 In the workplace, the report plays an important role, whether you are
preparing one for your supervisor, the executive staff, board of directors, or
clients. It may be short and simple, in the form of a memorandum or email, or
it may be more several pages long. Whatever its length, content, or destination,
is the end result is the same: a report must be informative, factual,
understandable, and neatly presented (Oxford Dictionary).
 Business report is broad in scope and covers numerous written documents
necessary in doing business such as incident report, accomplishment report,
recommendation report, financial report, and so on.
Even though there are several types of business reports, having a standard
business report format, according to Custodio et al. (2013), allows the reader to
easily locate the important information presented. It also enables the writer to
organize the report effectively and logically. Knowing how to write a business
report is necessary in the business world.
There are 9 classifications of written report:
1. Article Report
2. Laboratory Report
3. Information Report
4. Special Information Report
5. Research Report
6. Field Report
7. Recommendation Report
8. Incidental Report
9. Accomplishment Report
1. Article Report is a simple report which aims to inform the masses. This
report focuses on any general interest. This is like the magazine article we read on
regular days.
2. Laboratory Report is a comprehensive report written to communicate laboratory
works and observations to the management. It also focuses on the question, “How
did we do it?”
The following are the common parts of a laboratory report:
a. Abstract – This part shows the outline of the entire experiment.
b. Introduction – This part presents the objectives and importance of the experiment.
Sometimes, the background of the report often includes theoretical predictions for what
the results should be.
c. Procedures – This part is sometimes called methods or steps for it presents the step-
by-step methods on how the experiment is done.
d. Results and Discussion – This part presents the discussion of the experiment as well
as the results which are composed of tables and figures.
e. References – This part includes the sources and references used in conducting the
experiment.
f. Conclusions – This part summarizes the results of the experiment.
i. Appendices – This part is composed of raw data, calculations, graphs, figures,
pictures, communication and so on that you have not included in the report itself.
3. Information Report – The main function of this report is based from the
title itself, to inform. This report includes periodic and annual reports.
a. Periodic Report – is a type of information report written by the employees
or subordinates which they submit daily, weekly ог monthly to their superiors
to note information of interest to the organization to show comparison and
tendencies.
b. Annual Report – is a type of information report which includes the listing
of activities, projects, and events of an organization during the whole year
round to show progress, financial status, and general state of affairs. This
report can be classified as public or private.
4. Special Information Report is composed of three subcategories which are
preliminary report, progress report, and final report.
a. Preliminary Report – is a type of special information report that collects
information about a proposed project which includes the costing, designs, and
other elements.
b. Progress Report – is a type of special information report that records the
history of an activity from the time it has started up to the present date of
writing.
c. Final Report – is a type of special information report submitted after
completing a project to show how plans were delivered.
5. Research Report is a common report which generates data either in a
laboratory or in the field. The contents and organization of this type of report
have a basic logic: you present your data and conclusions, but also present
information on how you went about the experiment or survey.
The following are the contents of a research report:
a. Introduction – This part of a research report provides the reader a background
of the report as well as the purpose of the report.
b. Problem – This includes essential inquiries and situations that led to the writing
of the report.
c. Purpose, Objectives, and Scope – This section tells the reader what the
researcher intends to do. Also, the aims of the research as well as the limits to be
covered are included in this part.
d. Review of Literature – This part of report includes related readings from
different literatures such as books, journals, articles, magazines, encyclopedia, and
the likes.
e. Materials, Equipment, and Facilities – These include the supplies, resources
and facilities that were utilized in the report.
f. Theory, Methods, Procedures – These tell the reader how the report writer
conducted the research. These include the processes involved in the completion of
the report.
i. Results, Findings, and Data – These present the outcome of the research with
the use of tables, figures, and charts. The tables, figures, and charts are interpreted
and explained by the researcher.
j. Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations – This section is the last part
of a research report. This includes the conclusions based from the findings and the
recommendations are in turn based on the conclusions.
k. Bibliography – This is the list of all the sources and references used by the report
writer in accomplishing the research report.
The general format of a research report commonly includes the following:
•Transmittal Letter
•Title Page
•Table of Contents
•List of Figures
•List of Tables
•Abstract
•Introduction Problem, Background
•Purpose, Objectives, and Scope
•Review of Literature
•Materials, Equipment, and Facilities
•Theory, Methods, and Procedures
•Results, Findings, Data
•Discussions, Conclusions, and Recommendations
•Bibliography
6. Field report is intended to improve student understanding of key theoretical
concepts of a course through observation and reflection of real life practice. In
addition, this type of report facilitates the development of data collection and
observation skills and allows students to see how theory applies to real world
practice.
When writing a field report, you need to consider two things:
a. systematically observe and accurately record the details and information of a
certain aspect of a situation; constantly analyze your observation for meaning.
b. keep the report’s aims in mind while you are observing: consciously observe,
record and analyze what you hear and see in the context of a theoretical
framework (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992).
Therefore, field report is linking theory and practice. It also involves both
description and analysis. It is necessary to avoid some common student errors
when writing a field report such as presenting description without any analysis of
what has been described or observed.
7. Recommendation Report is written to answer questions which are somehow
critical to decide on. It shows options or choices so that a good decision can be
drafted.
The following elements are the typical contents of a recommendation report:
a. Introduction
b. Technical Background
c. Make Comparisons
d. Critical Requirements.
e. Conclusions
f. Recommendations
8. Incidental Report is written to narrate incidents prior to, during, and after a
situation suddenly occurred. We should bear in mind that incident report is definitely
different from narrative type of essay. The presentation of ideas in an incident report
is systematically arranged and organized using appropriate language. This kind of
report uses simple and clear words and avoids using jargons and technical terms.
There are things to consider in writing an incident report:
a. The context of the incident
b. Details of the incident
c. Thoughts, feelings, and concerns about the incident
d. Demands of the incident
e. Impact of the incident
9. Accomplishment Report is written for the purpose of presenting the company,
organization, or institution’s activities and achievements and to monitor and check
if the plans were successfully carried out. Every organization or business entity
provides a format of an accomplishment report.
The following are some steps in writing an accomplishment report:
a. Use the prescribed template of your company,
b. Create tables or charts with the following columns: number, action or
activity, initiator, person responsible, remarks (target time. Comments);
c. Add risk factor if needed; and
THANK YOU!