A technical report on a tool or technology that you would like to research and review for a hypothetical organization.
Utilize Tebeaux and Dragga’s “Formal Report” format.
Cite at least six (6) sources using proper APA formatting.
Provide a clear and strong recommendation for or against the use of the tool or technology.
Be at least 1,500 words.
Formal Report Format:
Formal reports have a heavier structure than informal reports. That structure is shown below.
Prefatory Elements
Letters of Transmittal or Memo of Transmittal
Title Page
Submission Page
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Glossary and List of Symbols
Abstracts and Summaries
Informative Abstracts
Descriptive Abstracts
Executive Summary
Discussion, or Body of the Report
Conclusion(s)
Recommendation(s)
References
Appendices
The prefatory elements of a formal report are a reader’s first impression of a report. They introduce the topic as well as the approach taken with the topic of the report. The letter of transmittal is addressed to the initial recipient of the report. Though he or she might not be the primary reader, he or she would be responsible for routing the report. The title page is common to most reports we write and generally follows a set standard by the organization from which the report originates. The rest of the prefatory elements serve as auxiliary information to aid in the understanding and extraction of relevant information from a formal report.
Abstracts and summaries are generally the most important part of the beginning of a report. These generally provide the essence of the report itself. Abstracts can be informative or descriptive. Sometimes a report may contain an executive summary, which contains all of the items listed above. It allows the reader to make an informed decision without having to read and search the report.
The discussion or the body of the report takes the longest time to develop. Of course that makes sense since it envelops the majority of the report. It’s purpose is to explain in detail why the report was created, the objectives, methods, findings, results and analysis, conclusions, and recommendations (Dragga & Tebeaux 173). Often it is prepared as a group effort since the length and scope of the discussion is fairly large.
Conclusions and recommendations finish off a report with a statement of issues covered and may be preceded by a factual summary. The conclusion provides judgment based on the evidence in the discussion. Recommendations are not necessary but are suggested actions based on the conclusions (Dragga & Tebeaux 182).
Lastly the appendix contains auxiliary information crucial to the arguments and discussions presented within the report.
