Report Writing Essentials

Producing reports that are clear, accurate,
and create an impact

with Jolynn Chow

In today's ever-changing business world, it's often important to sell your ideas by writing reports. When you are faced with this challenge, you will need to be eloquent and influential, yet still clear, concise and convincing. This workshop equips you with the essential skills you need to put together an effective report that will create an impact and inspire your readers to take action.

There are many reasons why you must write reports. Maybe you need to document an investigation and its findings, or record an incident. Or maybe you need to offer your analysis of a situation, or propose your solutions for a problem your company is facing.

Whatever the writing purpose, Jolynn will take you step by step through planning, structuring, writing and checking your reports. You will consider the purpose, style and language requirements of different reports, and the importance of visual appearance. Using a systematic process, you will be able to write clear, accurate and relevant reports more quickly than you ever imagined.

Equip yourself with all the essentials you need to build your confidence in writing effective reports.

Planning Your Report

• Knowing the main components of formal and informal reports
• Defining the problem or purpose
• Crafting a perfect purpose statement
• Planning your report to include critical and necessary information
• Structuring your report for maximum impact
• Making your writing relevant and persuasive by understanding your reader

Energising Your Writing Style

• Using language correctly when writing the introduction, findings, conclusion and recommendations
• Structuring sentences clearly to convey your message accurately and objectively
• Choosing between the active and passive voice in reports
• Clarifying your writing through the effective use of paragraphs
• Creating logical flow in your writing
• Observing writing etiquette when using jargon and technical terms
• Guidelines to observe when writing numbers

Making a Visual Impact

• Enhancing your report with visually appealing layouts
• The designer's toolkit: white space, headings, lists, highlighting, illustrations
• Critical factors to consider when choosing your illustrations
• How to label and refer to your illustrations to maximise their impact

About Jolynn Chow

Jolynn has over 25 years of operational experience in industries including banking and finance, publication and distribution, packaging products marketing, and training and education.

She specialises in areas like business communication, interpersonal skills and customer service. She has designed and delivered many training workshops for organisations like Canon Marketing, Jebsen & Jessen Group of Companies, Keppel Land, Lend Lease, Pfizer Asia Pacific, Schering-Plough, SAP Asia, Visa International, Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, HDB, and TransitLink.

Jolynn has an in-depth understanding of the language problems of bilingual users of English, as well as the common communication problems faced by business language users in Singapore and the region.