In academic writing, conveying factual information is critical to effectively communicating about a particular subject. Whether high school or college, you must stay informed and make critical decisions with the correct information. Understanding how to write an informational report will help you tackle any informational report assignment you will be given either in school or the corporate world.
The following guide will delve into what an informational report is, its structure, components, and techniques for writing compelling pieces.
An informational report, informational text, or informative writing is a document that provides factual information about a particular subject without an in-depth analysis.
In general, informational reports are written to provide a factual summary of research findings and survey results or provide updates about a living or non-living thing. It can be an individual thing or a group of things. For instance, you could have an informational report about lions and another about video games.
Informational reports can be found in technical texts, science books, encyclopedias, reference books, magazines, and websites.
A well-written informational report has the following characteristics:
Overall, an information report provides facts, feedback, and data to help management make informed decisions; thus, the information must be specific, complete, and relevant.
Please note that they don’t provide analysis or interpretation of facts or deeper recommendations. A good example is a police accident report that provides facts about the accident. This report will contain the date, time, place, and contributing factors like weather conditions on the particular day the vent occurred.
The following are reasons why you need an informational report.
There are several types of informational reports that you must understand as they will help in communicating crucial information. These reports serve different purposes and cater to different audiences. Here are the most common types of informational reports:
Also called a financial statement, this type of report provides a record of the business activity of an organization. It typically includes financial information structured in an easy-to-read manner for a business to make informed financial decisions.
A lab report is a type of informational report that provides enough information for readers to replicate the experiment and come to the same conclusion.
Case study reports on specific cases within a real-world context. The main aim is to help relevant parties understand the different aspects of a complex subject.
Also called a scientific report, this report highlights the processes and results of a scientific report that occurred at a specific point. Technical reports can be an essential source of information for those involved in the research.
A compliance report shows how an organization has adhered to rules, regulations, and operations standards. Those who write this type of report must be experts in company matters.
These types of reports provide information about the progress of projects. It lets the management team know how the project is progressing and informs them of any changes. Progress reports are typically produced regularly depending on the demands of the management. For instance, you could have a daily, weekly, or monthly report.
These reports are meant to be read by employees within the organization. They inform employees about relevant information going on in each department. Since they keep information flowing within departments, the subjects of these reports could range from human resources to finances or sales.
This type of report shows the direction in which they travel. Vertical reports are meant for those above or below an individual in an organization. On the other hand, lateral reports are shared among individuals of the same level or rank within the organization.
These reports examine the market trends, customer behavior, and competitiveness in the business environment. The aim is to offer insights about the target audience and performance on campaign strategies, among other things.
This report provides critical information about a company’s sales performance, revenue, and customer behavior. It could include metrics such as customer acquisition costs and sales volume.
These provide an all-inclusive review of an organization's performance, activities, and financial standing. It includes critical information about the company over the years.
This report focuses on comprehensively describing the appearance and behavior of a particular subject.
Please distinguish information reports from analytical reports. While these two have similarities, such as providing information to readers, they differ in the following ways.
While informational reports offer information such as data, feedback, and facts without any analysis or interpretation, analytical reports provide an interpretation and analysis of the gathered data and feedback.
Informational reports aid decision-making, while analytical reports provide the pros and cons of a particular course of action.
Informational reports help communicate policies and guidelines in a given organization, while analytical reports analyze issues to offer solutions.
Informational reports help demonstrate compliance for regularity bodies, while analytical reports examine the value and consequence of an organization's decisions.
The main difference between these two types of reports is the analysis and interpretation level. Informational reports objectively present factual data, while analytical reports provide insights and recommendations based on a deeper data analysis.
An informational report comprises six distinct parts: Title, table of contents, introduction, subheading, conclusion, and glossary.
The title or topic provides an overview of what you will discuss in the document. Remember, an informational report aims to inform about a particular subject. Thus, the title is a descriptive summary of the paper's content.
This should be on the first page of your informational report. The table of contents aims to help readers easily navigate the report and find the information they seek.
This is a more detailed explanation of the title. It gives readers a deeper understanding of the title and what will come in the body part. It also includes background information that readers might need to understand the topic.
Subheadings are smaller titles for different sections of your report. They will help organize your information and make it easier for readers to digest. These subheadings contain the information you present to the readers and address different subjects. For instance, one section could outline the facts, data, and evidence of the subject you are reporting on.
This is where you provide a summary of your main findings. It is also where you provide limited recommendations of the findings.
This is where you suggest some actions or resolutions based on the findings. Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, please don’t include this section.
Please include a reference section if your work is based on external sources. Provide a list of citations used in the paper to give credit to the authors.
This is the last part of your informational report, which lists all the technical terms used in the paper along with their definitions.
Now that you know what goes into an informational report, it's time to write it. The following are the steps for writing a good informational report.
What do you want to do with the report? Do you want to inform readers about a particular thing so that they can take action? With this in mind, you can select the most appropriate topic for your paper.
If you are unsure about this, start by brainstorming topics you are interested in if you don't already have one in mind. Once you develop a list of topics that interest you, do background research about them. This will help you narrow the topics to one you can work on.
Next, do in-depth research on the chosen topic. This will help you see if there is sufficient information to help you write the report. Through this research, you will also develop the main focus of your paper.
Once you have narrowed down the research topic, do in-depth research to gather information that will help your informational report writing easier. Begin by locating the right materials for your report and evaluating them to ensure they can provide reliable information for the chosen topic.
Remember, you should only use credible sources to provide readers with facts about a particular subject. Ensure every piece of information is accurate and trustworthy because that's the foundation of a good informational report.
As you review these sources, write down important notes and ideas to include in your report. Organize these ideas logically to have a good flow of information in writing.
An introduction of an informational report should begin with a thought-provoking statement or question that grabs readers' attention immediately. State what you are reporting on and its aims and objectives. If your report concerns a specific statistic, begin with an enticing statement and place them in direct quotes.
This is where you go into detail about the main agenda of the report. Show you facts, data, and other relevant information that readers need to understand the topic. Be careful not to use too many quotes, which could leave your report like a summary of quotes. You want to summarize the quotes and ensure your paper retains all the major information.
Include visual elements such as graphs, tables, figures, and images for readers to understand the topic. This will also ensure that your report is more engaging and easier for readers to follow.
Remember not to provide any interpretation of your data or any action steps because that’s not the point of an informational report.
Since the main focus of your report was to display factual information, finalize by reemphasizing the topic concerning the facts presented. Give readers a sense of closure by bringing everything together. Emphasize the importance and relevance of your findings.
Use the right formatting style within your paper and follow up with proper references at the end of the report. The most common styles include the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychology Association (APA), or Chicago. You can use any style if your instructor hasn't specified otherwise. Note that these styles require you to include critical details such as titles, names, page numbers, dates, and publishers.
Follow these tips to ensure your informational report is flawless.
Who is the main target of the report? This is important as it will help you use a language they can understand even if they don't share the same technical language or background. If this is a class assignment, explain why your instructor has given it out.
Keywords are an important part of your report and help emphasize its content. So, generating the right keywords is essential before you begin writing. The right keywords will also help with the research process and ensure you get the right information.
Since the body section is the main part of the paper, this is where your focus should be. Provide all the relevant data and figures that can help explain your points. When introducing new points, use topic sentences to ensure a good flow of information.
Since an informational report aims to communicate facts, use clear and concise language throughout the paper. Avoid emotive words and only focus on those that can convey accurate information.
A good way to ensure this is possible is to put yourself in the reader's shoes. Think of what words would help you fully understand the report's content.
Go through the paper as often as possible to ensure that every information is factual and relevant to the topic. Ensure the report is free from any personal opinions and that it is objective.
Additionally, check for grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors that could make it harder for readers to read and understand the point of your paper. Use online editing tools like Grammarly to correct this for you.
Use specific terms that will accurately convey the information. Ensure you avoid jargon and slang, making the text difficult to understand.
If you want to write a good informational report, there are certain things you need to avoid to ensure your piece meets all the required standards.
Ensure you understand the main purpose of an informational report: to write good content. Ensure you answer the following: Who is the target of the report? Why do they want it? What do they want to see in the report?
An informational report is a critical document that provides readers with relevant information about a particular subject. While there are different types of informational reports, writing them can be daunting. However, following the above guide, you can write a compelling report fulfilling its purpose. Remember to follow the above tips, including using the correct language and avoiding technical terms to avoid making your content cumbersome to read.
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