Report Writing: Steps, Tips & Tools!

Let’s admit it – no one likes writing reports. After all, you didn’t get into business to write reports, right?

So…is there a way out of this dreadful task of writing reports? 🤔

No, Nope. Nada. Reports are an imminent part of every professional’s life, and things would probably stay the same till the end of time. 🙂

But, is there a way to make report writing EASIER? Yes! Of course!

All you need to do is learn some steps and follow a few tips, and you’ll be on your way to writing great reports. As they say, knowledge is power.

In this blog, we’re going to tell you what exactly a report is and how you can write excellent reports in five easy steps. We’ll also share some powerful tips that will help you write awesome reports. Ready? Let’s go!

What is a Report?

First things first, let’s understand what a report exactly is. A report is a systematic and well-organized document that elaborates on a topic using facts, findings, charts, and graphs.

Every report has a particular purpose and is meant for a specific target audience – whether it is one describing a fundraiser or the number of sales made in the quarter.

A lady reading a report

People often get confused between the terms ‘reports’ and ‘essay’. However, the major difference between the two is that an essay presents arguments and reasoning, whereas a report focuses on FACTS.

In the business world, a solid, comprehensive, and well-thought-out report help in making business decisions and solving problems! Here are some of the elements that a report contains:

A concise and sharp description of a situation or an event.
An interpretation or analysis of the event or situation.
A comprehensive evaluation of the facts or the results of your research.
Recommendations and future course of action.
Conclusion

Well, now that you know what a report is, let’s get to what you came for – how to write the perfect reports!

How to Write Solid Reports in 5 Easy Steps?

Step 1. Research, Research & Research

This is the first and the most crucial step in the report writing process. Even if you’re the master of report writing, you can’t write a good report without doing thorough research on the topic first.

So, dig deep into the topic, scour the depths of the internet, and research as much as you can before starting the report. This might seem like a daunting task, but it would really make the next steps much easier.

Step 2. Prepare the Outline

Now, before actually writing the report, prepare an outline. Basically, write down the headings and subheadings first. These outlines will guide you when you start writing the report.

For example, if your report is on ‘Global Warming’, you can first divide it into four headings: “What is global warming, what are its causes, what are the effects, and what are the solutions.”

Step 3. Work on the First Draft

It is always, always better to create a draft first. Write down everything that comes to your mind based on the headings and subheadings you have created.

Your draft doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should not be dull and vague either. Remember, this step is supposed to make your report writing process easier, not harder.

Step 4. Write the Final Report

This is the step where you need to spend the MOST effort and time. Go through your draft and start writing your final report – one that’s well structured, organized, and informative.

An employee proofreading his project report

Discuss the findings, recommend the course of action, and write the conclusion in an accurate and professional manner. If you show your expertise on the topic well enough, the reader will trust what you’ve said in the report.

Step 5. Edit, Proofread, Do It Again

Here comes the final step – proofreading. Like we said earlier, a report is a FORMAL document. You can’t risk making stupid spelling mistakes and punctuation errors in a formal document.

No matter how exceptional the content of your report is, if you’ve made silly errors, it would leave a really bad impression on the reader. So, proofread your report as many times as you can before submitting it!

3 Tips That Will Help You Write Good Reports

1. Know Your Purpose

Why are you writing the report? What do you aim to achieve with the report? Who is your target audience? You need to know the answers to all these questions before writing your report.

For instance, if you know that your target audience is the shareholders of the company, you can include a few jargon in the report. But, if the reader is the general public, it’s better to avoid jargon and complex words.

2. Keep it Concise

This is probably the golden rule of report writing – keep it concise. If your report is too long, the reader would bail out on it. But, if you try to keep it too short, you might not be able to get all the information across.

The key is to find the balance. Keep reviewing your report again and again before submitting it, and cut down on all the unnecessary, arbitrary, and fruitless details.

3. Organize your Ideas Clearly

When you’re writing a report, chances are, there are a lot of ideas and thoughts that you need to put forward. That’s a good thing, but just make sure that you organize all these ideas in a clear fashion.

Here’s what you can do: First off, jot down all your ideas on a piece of paper. Then, start organizing these ideas in a way that makes the MOST sense.

A team in a meeting

Good job! You’re now almost a pro at report writing. But, there’s still something left for you to learn: the best tool for creating reports.

You are probably wondering, “Oh, I can just type things out in a Word document or Notepad, and create a report.” Well yes, but would that report be the best it could be? No!

Reports are super important in the business world as well as the academic world, so you need to make sure that you create them using the best tool out there, which is…*drumroll*…Bit.ai.

Bit.ai – The Coolest Platform For Creating Reports & Other Documents

Bit.ai: Tool for creating reports Bit.ai is the easiest, most convenient way to create reports and every other kind of document that exists on Earth. With Bit, you can create reports in no time. Just focus on the content because Bit is going to handle every other aspect of your report – from designing to formatting.

Want to know more reasons why you should use Bit for creating your reports? Let’s go!

1. Stunning, Fully Responsive Templates: Whether you want to create a sales report or an annual report- there’s a beautiful template for that on Bit. With over 90 pre-built and fully responsive templates, Bit has turned the painful task of creating reports a walk in the park.

2. Design Automation: Writing reports isn’t easy. It takes so much effort that you end up having no energy to make the report look appealing. Luckily, Bit solves that problem for you with its design automation feature. With just one click, you can change the look of your entire document, its layout, and color too!

3. Interactive Documents: Bit lets you add PDFs, charts, videos, maps, surveys/polls, charts – basically all kinds of rich media in your document. Right now, there are over 100 rich media embed integrations on Bit! So, why give someone a boring, static report they’ll never open when you could turn it into something much more engaging?

4. Real-Time Collaboration: Reports are important documents, and creating one on your own is a little difficult. That’s why this feature of Bit is the best. Using Bit, you and your team can collaborate on the reports in real-time, no matter where everyone is located. You can co-edit, make inline comments, access version history, chat via document chat, @mentions, and much more!

5. Smart Workspaces: Organizing and managing all your reports can be a pain, but Bit is here to take the pain away. Bit lets you create as many workspaces as you want around different teams and departments, invite guests into the workspace, and manage everything much more efficiently!

6. Tables: It’s better to show all the data and figures in your reports via tables. This way, everyone who reads your report would be able to grasp the complex figures in a quick glance. On Bit, you can create wonderfully designed and fully responsive tables with the click of a button. The colors of these tables automatically change according to the colors of your document’s theme!

Wrapping Up

Report writing is an inevitable part of many disciplines – be it academics or business. You can’t run away from writing reports, so it’s better to master the art and make your lives easier. 🙂

No matter what type of report you’re writing, always keep three things in mind: organize your ideas well, keep them concise, and do not go overboard with technical and complex language.

By the way, if you’ve any questions or concerns about report writing, then get in touch with us on Twitter @bit_docs. We would be more than happy to help you out.

Report Writing: Steps, Tips & Tools!

What is a Report?