The Postgraduate Business School, University of Bedfordshire
The ABC rule
• In report writing, as in all functional writing, there are three basic rules (the A.B.C.)
- Accuracy
- Brevity (conciseness)
- Clarity
• Effective reports demand logical thinking and presentation, coupled with a thorough, planned investigation.
Reasoning & Style
- Every statement should be backed by official statistics/published research.
• All statements should be backed by relevant data!
- Your report should stay neutral.
- In general avoid First person. Adopt an Objective stance
- It is recommended to use the 3rd person (neutrality).
Reasoning & Style
- Don’t include information which is too broad to be useful
- Try to sustain your assertions with data. If you found this from a source try to figure out what was the reasoning behind.
- Be concise, use short sentences and clear English (‘Anglo Saxon’), with relatively short paragraphs.
- Try to provide relevant examples for each business case, including when it happened (year, month), precise location (region, country), name of brands/products involved; these would add strength to your statements.
- And again, please provide all Sources of your statements.
- Blend in any illustrations with the text as much as possible;
- it is very annoying to have to dodge from page to page and it impairs the flow and impact of an argument
- Every table or chart should have a number (e.g. Table No. 3 or Figure No. 4) and a (brief & descriptive) title (e.g. Red Bull market share evolution in the UK, 2008- 2012);
- It is recommended that the charts and tables be your own work (not copy/paste from other sources);
- All the information should be properly cited; please mention the source under the table/chart or as a footnote.
- Use headings and sub-headings to indicate to the reader where appropriate material may be located.
- These Headings are important; good descriptions of what the sections will contain.
- They need to be prominent. Readers should be able to scan headings and get a good understanding of the report.
• Look for logical flow of the argument.
- Use a Statement-Probe sequence logic
• Provide an argument followed by supporting evidence (information organised as a chart or table)
Executive Summary
- Should be written in a way that allows the executive who reads it to know what the problem is and how it is to be solved.
- Essentially, it is a summary of your problem statement, objectives and how to achieve them (i.e. how to solve the problem).
- The key findings and recommendations should also be briefly presented in this section.
Appendices/Annexes
Appendices might include detailed material
which is not essential to the argument’s flow.
Theoretical underpinning
- Do not describe or outline the theories or theoretical models in the marketing plan. The plan is addressed to marketing top executives who supposedly are familiar with them.
- Apply the theories/theoretical models (i.e. use them in the given context)
- Theories and models you can apply, including those studied in the previous units:
- Communication mix
- Brand touchpoint wheel
- Brand equity models
- Consumer behaviour models (e.g. Consumer Decision Making)
- Management frameworks (e.g. SWOT, PESTLE)
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD REPORT
S A L E T I P
Short – as possible
Accurate – state verified facts only Logical – in matter of presentation Easy – to understand
Tactful – in expressing criticism Impartial and unbiased Persuasive and Convincing
Q&A Session
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