What is Report?
According to an Oxford Dictionary
“an account given on a particular matter, especially in the
form of an official document, after thorough investigation
or consideration by an appointed person or body”
Report Writing is a tool of Communication which basically falls under the category of Written Communication. A Report can be simply defined as an official or formal document which provides authentic, factual, database or evidence based information which can be further used for varied purposes.
For example: To Remain Updated about day to activities, Decision Making, Analysing progress, Making Recommendations, Problem Solving etc….
Types Of Reports
On the basis of Legal formalities to be complied with…
- Formal Report
- Informal Report
On the basis of the Frequency of issues….
- Periodic Report
- Routine Report
- Special Report
On the basis of Functions…
- Informative Report
- Interpretative Report
On the basis of the subject of Report…
- Problem-Determining Report
- Fact-finding Report
- Performance Report
- Technical Report
- Academic Report
- Business Report
- Scientific Report
On the basis of the number of people involved in drafting a Report…
- Report by Individual
- Report by Committee or Subcommittee
Structure of a Press Report
A report is a communication from someone who has some information to someone who wants to use this information. Reports may be short or long, formal or informal, special or routine. Press Reports are a kind of mass communication through which news, information, incidents etc. are narrated and published for the common man. Though each newspaper has its own unique style of writing, influence of political party or special ideology, there are a few common elements found in every press report which are given below. In all there are five parts of a press report. They are as under:
(1) The Headline
(2) The Source
(3) The Place and the Date
(4) The lead
(5) The Body(Story)
Structural Elements of Press Report
Headline
Headline of any press report should be short and attractive. Use of exciting words, alliteration or rhymes can be helpful to catch the reader's attention. Headline needs to tell the reader what kind of story it's going to be.
Rules for Writing the Headline:
- The headline suggests the most remarkable aspect of the event. Base the headline on the news and feature in the lead.
- The headline gives a gist of the lead in the fewest possible words. Use a telegraphic script.
- Keep the verbs in the present tense, unless the future is required.
- Do not use the articles a, an and the or the conjunction and in a headline.
- Never make a comment or express an opinion in a headline unless the person making the comment or expression of opinion is named.
- Do not use words that are unnecessary or are not of vital importance.
- Use punctuation when demanded. Never make use of a full-stop.
- Exact Figures are preferred
Source of Information
It should also provide identification and authority. This means that the news- story should mention who the important or central person is in the news and what he is. This should also include the source of information. It means that the news comes from an authoritative source of information.
For Example: Very often we see words 'By a Staff Reporter' or a name of Reporter or Editor are mentioned above the lead of the news.
Date, Time and Place
Beneath the heading the Date and Time on which the event occurred should be mentioned along with the place of the event.
The Lead (Introductory Paragraph)
The Lead is a distinctive introductory first paragraph. It is an outline of the entire story. Also it is a bulletin, a summary, climax, a wrapping in one small package of the gist or sum total of the news announcement.
The Lead is useful to those hasty and busy readers who have no time to go through the entire story. That's why quite often the Lead is printed in big or black letters, while the body is printed in small ones. The Lead tells the reader the main points of the news in a single paragraph. Because the lead sums up the main events of the story, it should answer questions such as…
Subheading
The news in the newspaper report is split into paragraphs to help the reader clearly understand the information on the story. Each new paragraph should be given a subheading. This is a very short title that tells the reader a little about what the paragraph will be about.
The Body
Now we shall consider how the body of the news should be reported. According to Richard Critchfield, the lead of the news-story is 'a synopsis of the body,' and the body itself is an elaboration of the lead. Because the lead stresses only one or two of the five W's, the body supplies the remaining necessary additional information. Thus, the body deals with the why and how of the events given in the lead.
Past tense
All the newspaper stories/news reports need to be written in the past tense because reports are prepared on something that has already happened.
Third person
Newspaper reports are written in the 'third person' because you are writing about somebody else. Therefore, the names of the people who are involved in the story, or 'he', 'she', 'it' or 'they' are used to narrate the incident. The reporters are similar to a narrator who are retelling events without being involved in the story.
Use of Quotations
Reports can be made more interesting by adding quotations. They tell the story from the point of view of the people involved. Quotations are written between 'inverted commas' or 'speech marks.'
Photos and Captions
Using a photo/picture in a press report makes it more eye-catching because visual information is more impactful compared to written text. Caption informs the reader about a picture or photo of the story. It is rightly said…
'A perfect picture worth a thousand words'.
Facts and Opinions
Newspaper reports are filled in with both facts and opinions. Facts provide the readers all the information s/he requires. Opinions give the point of view of the writer or of people involved in the story. With all this information, the reader can then make up his/her own point of view.
The report must be detached, the report must not take sides. Let the reader form his own opinions after reading the objective facts.
Summing up:
The final paragraph of a news report sums up the story. Writer or author of the article usually puts their opinion in the concluding paragraph.
Characteristics of Good Press Reports
Report provides factual information depending on which decisions are made. So every care should be taken to ensure that a report has all the essential qualities. A good report must have the following qualities…
Precision
In modern busy life we have, indeed, hardly any time to stand and stare. Most people seem always to be in great hurry. Such busy people like to read news items which are short and sweet. And, since the newspapers are meant to communicate information as quickly as possible, a reporter cannot afford to write ambiguous and lengthy news stories. If he does, readers will soon get bored of the newspaper. Hence, an experienced and sensible reporter writes precisely.
"Journalism is Literature in Hurry."
In a good report, the writer is very clear about the exact and definite purpose of writing the report. His investigation, analysis and recommendation are directed by this central purpose. Precision provides unity to the report and makes it a document.
Accuracy of facts
The duty of a reporter is to give accurate, complete, impartial and timely information about what has happened or is likely to happen. The reporter reports the news skilfully and makes sure that the news consists of all important and essential facts. This is known as veracity.
Information contained in a report must be based on fact. Since decisions are taken on the basis of report information, any inaccurate information will lead to wrong decisions.
Relevance
The facts presented in a report should not only be accurate but also relevant. Irrelevant facts make a report confusing and likely to be misleading.
Hundreds of incidents and events take place around us. From these innumerable events Reporters have to pick up the event carrying an extremely great news-value to the reading public. He must have a nose for news. It is rightly said…
"When a dog bites a man there is no news,
but when a man bites a dog that is news."
(John Bogart)
Conciseness
"A newspaper writer fights for space all his life. Never does he
have room enough to say all that wishes to say."
A good report should be concise but it does not mean that a report can never be long. Rather it means that a good report is one that transmits maximum information with minimum words. It avoids unnecessary detail and includes everything significant.
Reader - Oriented
A good report is always reader oriented. While drafting any report, it is necessary to keep in mind the person who is going to read it. Readers' knowledge and level of understanding should be considered by the writer of the report.
(The universal topic of the newspaper is "people")
The goal should be to inject human interest into every article. It need not be done artificially, it means merely to realize that every article primarily concerns human beings; it tries to translate all facts into human terms.
Simple Language
A good report is written in a simple language avoiding vague words. The language of the report should not be influenced by the writer's emotion. The message of a good report is self-explanatory.
A newspaper reporter should be aware of the fact that he is not writing for the learned peoples only. People with 'a little knowledge' and 'a little education' also devote some of their time to reading. Hence, there is the need for a simple and lucid style. News reporter should always remember this:
"Never underestimate the intelligence of your reader
(never overestimate his vocabulary)
Grammatical Accuracy
A good report is free from errors. Any faulty construction of a sentence makes its meaning different to the reader and sometimes becomes confusing or ambiguous.
In order to achieve a clear, simple, effective, lucid and easily understandable style, A news-reporter should always try to avoid errors of spelling, grammar, sentence-structure.
Unbiased Recommendation
If recommendation are made at the end of a report, they must be impartial and objective. They should come to a logical conclusion for investigation and analysis.
He must try to reach the truth as far as possible. His first obligation is to the people and his duty is to report all sides of a particular story he is covering without any prejudice. This is known as objectivity. They must be aware of their responsibility to the public and state. As Thomas Carlyle coined the term "Media: As a fourth pillar of Democracy."
"The Press is a very powerful instrument of
moulding public opinion in a democracy"
Clarity
A good report is absolutely clear. Clarity depends on proper arrangement of facts Reporter should make his purpose clear, define his sources, state his findings and finally make necessary recommendations.
"Clearness is hampered by any language obstacles that stop and puzzle the reader."
Attractive Presentation
A good report provides a catchy look and creates attention of the reader. Structure, content, language, typing and presentation style of a good report should be attractive to make a clear impression in the mind of a reader.
The qualities that would seem most important in newspaper writing-the goals that a reporter should seek can be rather easily defined. If he attains nothing else, his writing will be good and usable and interesting. These outstanding goals are:
Variety
Efforts to attain simplicity and clearness often result only in monotony of style. Such drabness may be fought by conscious effort for a variety of expressions. Three simple rules will aid
- No successive sentences should begin with the same word except for a balanced effect.
- No successive sentences should have the same grammatical construction, except for contrast
- Not many sentences should be built on the same patterns.
This kind of awareness of the essentials of style helps the reporter to write news-stories that are clear, correct, objective (and not subjective), fair, and legally safe.
Process of Writing a Report
- Investigating the sources of Information
- Taking Notes
- Analysis the Data
- Making an Outline
- Writing the Report
Points to be included for writing a good press report / news report:
1. Casualty (dead or injured)
2. Place and Cause of Occurrence
3. Rescue and Relief Operations
4. Amount of damage in terms of property
5. Description of the incident by the eye-witness and survivors
6. People who miraculously survived the fateful accident
7. Official compensation for the victims
8. Condolence message by president/Prime Minister/ Govt. Officials
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