What makes a world-class report?

As a person who aspires to become an exceptional or, at least, a competent professional, one often discovers certain core skills that need to be mastered, and obstacles that must be overcome if one is to realize the dream. For many knowledge workers, one of such challenges relates to producing quality reports that provide the best representation of the professional’s work. Quite often the quality of reports is a factor that undermines the effectiveness of a professional.

While institutions in the western world have made very significant progress and do maintain high standards in the quality of their reports, sub-standard reports are still a major feature of written communication in Africa, especially in countries south of the Sahara. Despite the widespread availability of reports online from such organisations as the World Bank, the organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD), McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, General Electric and many others, the quality of many reports emanating from both private and public sector institutions in Africa still leaves much to be desired. Even a report produced by an office of a multinational professional services firm in an OECD country is way ahead of what is produced by an Africa-based office of the same firm in terms of layout, structure, content and use of language.

This raises an important question: what makes a great report? Or rather, what are those essential features of a report that can be considered to be world-class? The good news here is that producing quality reports is a skill that can be learned by anyone, from fresh graduates to experienced professional in both the public and private sector. Importantly, producing a quality report is not a talent; it is in reality a mechanical art – a series of steps that can be mastered with the right level of attention and application. From what I have observed from hundreds of reports I have been able to access via the Internet and in the course of my work as a professional adviser, there are a few guidelines that you can follow to write a report for an audience of almost any size.

In addition to the information substance and clarity of expression, the quality of a report is evaluated along three main dimensions: the appearance (layout inclusive), structure (or organization), and content (or message) of the report. We’ll take each in turn.

Appearance

The ‘look and feel’ or layout of a report can be either a bait or a turn-off for your intended audience. World-class reports have an appearance that makes it compelling for a reader to open and flip through the report. Key considerations relating to a document’s appearance include the cover page, a table of content, the page numbering, footers, headers, authorship, date, version or edition of the report etc. Other important issues include line spacing, paragraph spacing, selection of the font size and type face, and consistent use of colors and numbering schemes. Each of these items requires conscious choice and consistent usage once basic choices are made.

Structure (or Organization)

Reports that are both effective and appealing have in common a logical structure that aids the readers understanding and helps him/her follow the writer’s flow of thought. The structure of a report should help a reader allow an easy transition through various important elements of the report.

Content: (or Substance)

The content or substance of a report deals with the essence of its message. For a standard report, the content includes clearly stated objectives, an outline that shows how the content is organized. Depending on the size of the report, it may also include an executive summary in addition to the introduction, scope, description of activities or methodology, conclusions and recommendations/or action plan. This can be briefly separated into what was (i.e. your initial thesis or what you set out to do), what is (i.e. your methods and findings) and what will be (i.e. your action plan or recommendations).

As general guidance, the following should be kept in mind:

Every report requires a cover page, clear page numbers, headers and footers. A good report is written in sections and once you have more than two sections, a table of content is required. A good report should also indicate clearly, the date and author of the report. Only summary data should be included in the body of the report and the results of any extensive data analysis should be moved to an appendices section.

Font size and type faces should be selected to enhance readability and communicate professionalism. Cursive and designer-type fonts should be avoided altogether. Within the report, the content on each page should show proper alignment of text, tables, pictures and other graphics. Likewise, the body of a report should be presented in black ink over white background. It is the most readable combination and the most eye-friendly.

In addition, references to external data sources and other sources of information should be clearly stated in the footer of each table or chart, at the bottom of each page, or in a separate section dedicated to references. Also, when different persons write different sections of a report, it’s important to have a ‘copy editor’ work through the document and harmonize the language and style to ensure uniformity and consistency.

Furthermore, paragraphs should be separated from one another whether or not they have separate headings. Tightly cluttered paragraphs weaken a document’s readability. Each table, chart or other graphic must have its own title in addition to clearly labeled column headings (for tables) and axis (for graphs). Clear narratives should be used to describe the results of background analysis and communicate conclusions.

The actual use of English or expressions is a different matter and cannot be exhausted on a post as this. So I have decided to exclude that from this piece. More guidance may be useful but with this standard menu, you can produce reports that are closer to a word-class standard. A further useful step is to download a standard report from any of the institutions mentioned above or some others that you are comfortable with and adopt the structure, layout, as a guide.

David Adeoye