Weekly reports are commonly used in many businesses and in retail sales environments, or in research projects and internships. Write short, concise weekly reports so your boss has a clear picture of the progress you've made.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Organizing Information
Step 1. Identify the purpose of the report
Although you must submit weekly reports as part of the assignment, the purpose of the report itself is not to keep the job. Knowing the reasons why your boss asks for a weekly report will help you determine exactly what information should be included in the report and what is most important.
- Usually, reports are written to keep managers up-to-date on the status of the project you are working on or to assist them in making decisions.
- For example, if you are a retail store manager, you may be asked to submit a weekly report summarizing the week's sales. Employers use these reports to evaluate the store's performance, price levels, and orders received.
- If you submit a weekly report for an internship or research project, the purpose of the report is to show your boss or instructor how much you are progressing and share any major breakthroughs and discoveries.
Step 2. Decide who will read the report
Knowing who your audience is is essential for planning a report. If you don't know who will be reading the report (and why), you have no way of knowing what information is most important.
- Identifying your audience will also help you understand how the report should be structured and what language to use. For example, you might write a true report if the audience is a group of five-year-olds than if you were writing it for executives of a large corporation.
- You'll also get a clearer picture of what your audience already knows and what you need to explain in more detail or need to provide additional sources of reference. For example, if you are writing a weekly report on a legal issue and it will be read by a group of lawyers, there is no need to provide a detailed summary of the law. However, such a summary may be necessary if you are writing a report on the matter for executives or administrators who have no legal knowledge.
- If the report is required for an internship, research project, or other academic activity, keep in mind that the audience is not your lecturer or instructor, although the report will be submitted to them. To find an audience in this context, focus on the nature of your project and your discipline as a whole.
Step 3. Give priority to the main points of the report
While you should try to keep your report as concise as possible, it's possible that your audience won't read it all. To respond to this, you should place the most important information, or final result, at the beginning of the report.
- For example, if the report aims to compare and contrast three different brands of equipment and recommend the one that you think is most appropriate for the company's needs, the conclusion should be written at the beginning. Then, you can provide an explanation of why.
- In general, the first page of the report should contain a summary of the results, recommendations, or conclusions. Use the rest of the report to dig deeper and readers will read further if they feel the need or want to broaden their understanding of your findings.
Step 4. Be aware of the “destiny” that a report usually experiences
In most cases, weekly reports are generated for data retention requirements and will be filed in the appropriate archives. Weekly reports are rarely read in their entirety in most contexts and you shouldn't expect otherwise.
- However, don't use this fact as an excuse to falsify reports or work on them so that they are of low quality. Reports must reflect yourself and your work ethic. A sloppily crafted report is likely to get noticed and saying “I knew you wouldn't read it” is no excuse for producing a sub-standard work product.
- While the report as a whole should be of high quality and well written, focus on the parts of the report that are most likely to be read by the audience. This section is usually an executive summary or recommendation. You should write it without the slightest error.
- Keep in mind that superiors do not read the entire contents of the report not because they are not interested or because they are not important. People in senior management or executive positions are very busy and they are skilled at gathering the information needed for efficient decision making. They won't read the entire report unless it's absolutely necessary, but will save it just in case they want to read it again later.
Part 2 of 3: Formatting Reports
Step 1. Ask for a sample
Many companies have a standard format for weekly reports and managers or executives may be accustomed to receiving information in this way. Using different formats can lead to frustration and confusion.
- This is very important in the preparation of sales reports. Managers are used to looking at reports at a glance and knowing where on the page they will find certain numbers or information. The use of different formats becomes an ineffective measure because they are forced to read the entire report to find the information they need.
- Check with the administrative assistant to see if there is a template you can use to write a report. That way, you don't have to create it from scratch with a word processing app. Many companies have document templates with the right settings, including margins, tables, paragraph styles, and fonts.
Step 2. Consider shipping methods
If you submit the report as a printed document or as an e-mail attachment, the format will be different than if you wrote it as part of the text of the e-mail.
- For example, if you're sending the report as an e-mail attachment, you'll need to include an executive summary in the text of the e-mail. This way, readers don't have to open the appendix to understand the main aspects of your report.
- If you submit your report as a physical document, you will most likely need to include a cover letter or title page so that the report can be identified and filed properly.
- Regardless of how you submit your report, make sure your name is included on all pages, and that all pages are numbered in the format “X of Y” (read: page X out of Y total). Sheets of reports can easily be scattered and with a quick glance one should be able to tell if the report is complete and who made it.
- You can easily include the required information as a header (header) on each page. For example, the header could read as follows “Sarita Hakim Sales Report, Sunday 23, p. 3 of 7".
Step 3. Include an executive summary
The executive summary is a brief summary of the entire report, usually just a paragraph or two, with a few sentences for each section of the report. The general idea is that an executive can read this summary, and as long as it aligns with his initial expectations of the issue at hand, he can take action without reading further.
- When creating an executive summary, it is very important to use clear and concise language so that it is easy to understand. Avoid jargon or specific terms that require explanation, even if you know that your audience is very familiar with those terms.
- Write the executive summary at the end, after you have completed all the other sections of the report. However, you can't summarize something that hasn't been written yet. Even if you already have a detailed outline of what to write in your report, things can change during the writing process.
Step 4. Create a structure for the paragraphs and sections of the report
Once you understand the format that will be used to write the report, create an outline for the sections of the report that are appropriate for the purpose of the report.
- Check the outline to make sure everything flows logically from one section to another and make sure the outline is designed to fit the audience that has been identified for the report.
- In general, the report will include an executive summary, introduction, conclusions and recommendations, findings and discussion, and a list of references. You can include attachments containing relevant data, as well as a table of contents for longer reports. However, weekly reports are usually not that long.
- Each section of the report addresses a specific topic. In that section, each paragraph addresses one idea. For example, if one section of the report has the title “Kids Popular Brands,” you could write a separate paragraph for each brand. If you're making a distinction between boys' and girls' clothing, create a subsection (with proper subtitles) for each brand, then one paragraph discussing the boys' clothing that the brand offers and another paragraph for girls' clothing.
Step 5. Create a title page or cover letter if necessary
Shorter reports may not require a separate title page, but longer reports should include a dedicated page that identifies you as the author of the report and briefly explains the purpose of the report.
- The title page is different from the executive summary and in essence includes the information needed to fulfill administrative purposes so that the report can be filed properly.
- Employers may have a special introductory page needed for weekly reports. If so, make sure you're using the right format.
- At a minimum, the title page should include the title or description of the report (e.g. “Weekly Sales Report”), your name and the names of other contributing contributors, the name of the company, and the date you completed or submitted the report.
Part 3 of 3: Using Strong Language
Step 1. Create effective titles and subtitles
Headings and subheadings allow readers to quickly find specific sections of the report that interest them or what they want to read to get more supporting information about your conclusions or recommendations.
- Make sure the title and subtitle describe the content in the section or subsection directly and accurately.
- For example, when you are drafting your weekly sales report, you might include sections discussing “Women's Clothing Trends”, “Men's Fashion Trends”, and “Popular Kids Brands”. Within those sections, you can place subtitles to highlight certain trends or popular brands.
- Use the same grammatical construction for all headings so that reports sound logical and consistent. For example, if the first title reads “Building a Foothold in Men's Clothing”, the second title should be “Leading the Women's Clothing Trend” not something like “Women's Clothing Sales Figures”.
Step 2. Write a report using clear and simple sentences
Concise writing with sentences structured in a standard “subject-verb-object” order provides clarity of thought and lends credibility to your recommendations and conclusions.
- After writing the first version of the report, read it carefully and eliminate all unnecessary language. Find the action for each sentence and place who performed the action next to the verb. Think of each sentence as if it were saying “who did what”.
- Remove unnecessary sentences and use pause phrases such as “apart from”, “with a purpose”, or “in order”.
- You may think that this style of writing is boring, but the purpose of writing weekly reports is not to entertain. This style is most effective for getting your point across and conveying information to the reader.
Step 3. Make sure your writing is objective and impartial
Your recommendations should be based on concrete evidence, not opinions or feelings. Convince the reader with strong, clearly written facts.
- Avoid unnecessary adjectives and other words, and phrases that have negative or positive connotations. Instead, focus on writing arguments based on facts.
- For example, let's say you recommend a promotion for one of the salespeople in your weekly report. Support the recommendation with facts that show that the employee is worthy, rather than writing down subjective or emotional details. The phrase “Sari has consistently high sales in our store, even though she only works 15 hours a week” would be better than “Sari is my friendliest employee and always tries her best, even though she has to limit her hours to care for her sick mother.”
Step 4. Use strong words
When writing in the active voice, you use the one word that tells the reader what action is taking place in the sentence, namely the verb. Use short, strong verbs that clearly describe the action that is taking place.
- Choose simple verbs. For example, "use" is better than "use".
- Verbs describing processes, such as thinking, knowing, understanding, and believing, are sometimes necessary, but are generally less powerful than verbs describing action. You may have to dig deeper into a statement and turn it into action. For example, you might write “I believe our sales will increase in the next few months.” Modify the statement and find out why you believe it. Then, you can write a sentence that leads to action like, “Historically, sales increase during the holiday season. I predict sales will increase in November and December.”
- To maintain action-oriented writing, check the report and try to remove prepositions and replace them with stronger verbs. For example, “general consensus” can be simplified to “consensus”, and if someone is “providing protection”, the impression is made even stronger by saying he is “protecting”.
Step 5. Avoid the passive voice
When you write in the passive voice, you put less stress on the person doing it and place more emphasis on the object of the action. Although in some cases it is necessary for political or diplomatic reasons, the use of the passive voice often results in unclear and confusing writing.
- The active voice rewards the person who took the action and shows the reader of the report who is responsible for the action. To understand why this is important, imagine that you read an article about a fire that says, “Fortunately, all the children were saved.” The identity of the person (or persons) who saved the children is important. If the sentence reads “The local priest, Father Johan, went back and forth through the fire that surrounded the orphanage and saved all the children”, now you know who deserves credit for being a hero in that situation.
- Active sentences are also important for taking responsibility for actions that may have negative consequences. If you write, “An error has occurred” in your report, your boss will want to know who made the mistake so that he or she can give the appropriate penalty. If you make a mistake then admitting and taking responsibility for the act will really help you.
- To find and eliminate passive sentences in writing, look for verbs that start with "di-". When you find it, identify the action in the sentence, find out who did it, and move it to the beginning and middle of the sentence.
Step 6. Convey information using visual elements
Tables and graphs are much easier to read and follow than paragraphs that provide the same information, especially if the information to be conveyed consists of many numbers.
- Choose the right visual elements to convey information to readers in a way that is useful to them and reflects the purpose of the report.
- For example, you can choose a line graph to show the trend of increasing sales of wool jackets. This way of presenting information will be more effective at showing the increase than a table with the number of wool jackets sold each month because the table requires the reader to look at all the numbers, compare them and recognize that there is an increase. All that can be done by simply displaying a simple line graph.
- Keep in mind that the eye is drawn to visual elements. Make sure these elements look neat and organized, and are placed in the proper position at the top of the page. You simply present the visual elements that are important to your recommendation or conclusion.
Step 7. Eliminate jargon
Every industry or academic discipline has certain unavoidable terms, as well as buzzwords that gain popularity from well-known books or articles. While sometimes helpful, these words usually don't add value or fail to convey the message effectively.
- Writing a list of common industry keywords so you don't overuse them in your reports can be useful. When the report is complete, you can search for these words in the document and replace them if necessary.
- Keep in mind that to the reader, overuse of trendy keywords doesn't mean you're “well-informed” in the field, but rather creates the opposite impression. In general, executives and managers are older and have seen hundreds of such words come and go. If you use it too much, they'll think you're lazy and don't know what you're talking about, or are just trying to impress them.
- You should also avoid using overly complex terms. For example, if you're writing a report summarizing a legal issue, that doesn't mean you have to pepper it with a lot of legal jargon.
Step 8. Perform a careful character check
Reports full of typographical and grammatical errors can be uncomfortable for readers and reflect a negative image of you. Draft the report well in advance of the deadline so that you have enough time to do a proper character check.
- Run a grammar and spell check program on the word processing application you are using. This program will miss a lot of errors, especially typos that result in homophonic errors (e.g. typing “laden”, when you want to write “condition”).
- Doing careful character checking in reverse (back to front) is a good way to make sure you don't miss mistakes. Moreover, if you are familiar with what you want to write, you will pass errors such as missing words because the brain automatically completes them. This will not happen if you check it from back to front.
- Reading reports aloud is another effective way to detect errors and edit writing style. If you find it difficult to read a certain sentence or paragraph, chances are that that part is difficult to understand because readers will also have the same difficulty. Correct the difficult parts so they flow better.
