Formal Reports
A formal report isn't a certain type of report. For example, a formal report isn't necessarily an investigation report or feasibility study. In fact, almost any type of report you write could be either an informal, semi-formal, or formal report. It all depends on the length, purpose, and audience. Instead, a formal report is a type of document. It's a bound document with a jacket, and it looks as important as the information inside is to the audience. In this lesson, we're going to learn about formal reports.The Report Parts
There are six main compartments in a formal report, as shown below in the report pyramid.
- The Summary is a synopsis of the purpose, main findings, and outcome.
- The Discussion – or Background compartment tells the background to the situation. It also includes the scope and purpose of the project. It answers the questions who, why, where, and when.
- The Discussion compartment gives a detailed, comprehensive description of the project. It begins with the initial approach, goes through a detailed analysis of the findings, and onto the results. It answers the questions what and how.
- The Outcome compartment is composed of Conclusions and Recommendations. Conclusions summarize the main findings and results. Recommendations tell what actions need to be taken.
- Appendixes is the Evidence compartment. It contains data that supports the Discussion compartment and any other detailed data.
In a formal report, there are also other parts to the report. These parts support the main compartments. These parts are listed below in the order they appear in a formal report. We've also included the compartments listed above and have boldfaced them.
- Cover Letter
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Summary
- Table of Contents Page
- Introduction (Background)
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- References or Bibliography
- Appendix
- Back Cover
Throughout the rest of this lesson, we will discuss and learn how to put together the different parts of a formal report.
The Cover Letter
The cover letter is paper-clipped to the report's front cover. It serves as a transmittal document that conveys the report from one company to another. That said, a cover letter can be a simple statement that says something similar to:I enclose our report [Title of Report], which has been prepared in response to your request from April 16, 2016.
However, it can also comment on parts of the report that will interest the company's executives. This is also known as an Executive Summary. An executive summary contains information that's directed to the executives of a company. This information usually deals with special factors or political and financial considerations that are unsuitable for non-executives.
To summarize, any information that is intended only for executives of the company is pointed out in the executive summary. These parts of your report will be pulled out before the report is circulated to non-executives, or anyone who shouldn't see that information.
This is the type of executive summary that you paper-clip to the front cover of the report. There is also another type of executive summary that is bound with the report and comes after the title page. It will have the words "Executive Summary" centered at the top of the page, then it will summarize the key aspects of the report. This type of executive summary may range anywhere from one to three pages – or even longer depending on the report. However, since it's bound with the report, it doesn't contain special factors or considerations.
Pictured below is an example of how to format a cover letter or executive summary that's paper-clipped to the front page of a report.
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