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REPORT WRITING SKILLS AND PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

A TOPIC DISCUSSED IN THE WAIFEM WORKSHOP HELD IN GHANA (April 7-16

2014)

PRESENTED BYMATILDA ZAINAB KAMARA

18/7/2014 1National Revenue Authority

STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

FEATURES OF TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING Introduction Types Of Technical Reports Process of Producing Report Basic Structure of a Technical Report Title Page Table of Content REFERENCES

GUIDLINE FOR PREPARING FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC REPORTS Characteristics of a Good Report Guidelines for Report Writing Report Drafting Final Report Preparation Pitfalls in Report Writing Overcoming the Pitfalls Author’s Checklist


STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION CONT’

PRESENTATION SKILLS What’s presentation? Helpers Dress for success but don’t forget to put some confidence Structuring the presentation Effective Delivery Handling Questions


FEATURES OF TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING

INTRODUCTION A Technical Report is a formal presentation of the results or findings

obtained from: a research, analysis, investigation or survey conducted for a specified

period of time;

Purpose: to inform, convince or persuade the audience or reader, analyze and solve problems present the findings of an investigation or project record progress make proposal or recommendations for change aid policy makers and other relevant stakeholders in decision

making,


Types Of Technical Reports They could be Economic or Financial Reports, or Annual Report Research Papers, Business report, Audit report Narrative or descriptive, Memos, etc


Process of Producing Report

Identification of Research Issue

Data Generation and Processing

Report Writing

Presentation of Report

Dissemination ofReport Findings

6National Revenue Authority

Basic Structure of a Technical Report;

Title Page The name(s) of the researcher(s): Name and address of the recipient institution where applicable. Date of presentation to the Agency. Table of Content, List of Tables, Figures and Acronyms defined Executive Summary/Abstract Introduction Literature review Methodology, Data sources Analysis of results Recommendations Bibliography/References Appendix


References List of relevant studies and citations made in the report

Serves as evidence of the researcher's knowledge of existing materials on the subject of current investigation.

Enables researchers to comply with demand of intellectual property to avert embarrassment associated with plagiarism.

Assists in the verification and validation of sources of materials.

Bibliography is the list of all materials or publications referred to in the course of your study (whether cited or not).


Referencing stylesI. Harvard Style (American Psychological Association – APA)

II. Chicago Style (Turabian Style)

III. Vancouver Style

IV. Modern Language Association (MLA)

V. Numbered Style


Harvard (APA) Style :

The bibliography/reference list is presented at the end of the report using single line-spacing.

If there are two or more references to the same author

in the same year, they should be distinguished by adding a, b, c, etc. after the year of publication.

Style of presenting a bibliographic reference varies according to the type of reference (e.g. book, journal article, film, web site etc.).


Harvard (APA) Style (Cont’d) Books Name of author/s or editor/s using last name, plus initial/s. (Type

Ed. or Eds. - short for editor/s here if referring to a whole edited book). (Year of publication). Title of Book (Edition number goes here if later than first e.g. 2nd ed.). Place of publication: Publisher.

Official publications Name of author/s. (Year of publication). Title of Official Publication

(Official publication’s reference number). Place of publication: Publisher.

Examples: National Revenue Authority. (2014). Impact of revenue Collection

(IRC 4310). Sierra Leone. Government Print. 18/7/2014 11National Revenue Authority

Havard- Bibliography/Referencing (Cont’d)

Magazine articles Name of author/s. (Year of publication, Date of publication –

month/s or month plus day if weekly). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Page number/s of article.

Example: John, E. (1998, November/December). The death of neo-

liberalism. Marxism Today, 4-8.

Newspaper articles Name of author/s. (Year of publication, Date of publication –

month plus day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, Page number/s of article.

Example: Kamara, R. (2014, July 1st ). EBOLA Disaster. Awoko p. 1. 12National Revenue Authority

GUIDLINES FOR PREPARING FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC REPORTS

Planning

Gathering, sorting, analyzing and interpreting the Data

Drafting the Report

Writing the Report


PLANNING Plan the structure of the report for coherency by doing the

following: The purpose of the report is it to supply information, act or react to a subject, report the proceedings of a conference, persuade somebody, record progress?

Carry out an audience analysis Determine the analytical tools that would facilitate the

understanding of the goals of the report. 14National Revenue Authority

Gathering, sorting, analyzing and interpreting the Data

A report must be based on verifiable data. There are 2 types: Primary & Secondary. Collating the data; Grouping the findings into sections and decide on

the best order of presentation; Ensuring that the recommendations derive from the

findings and can be implemented.


Drafting the Report Draw up appropriate outline by arranging in an orderly manner the problem or issues to be discussed.

Get a good and clear title for the report to avoid ambiguity, name(s) of author(s) – the first page for identity.

Structure the report into chapters or sections which should be logically linked.

Write brief notes indicating what you intend to say under each of the headings.


Drafting the Report Cont

Your first draft should be a preliminary write-up to establish a ‘flow’.

Concentrate on what you want to say rather than how to say it.

Review this version - only for its technical content.

Are all of the ideas you want to express included?

Have you included irrelevant ideas?

Link sentences to ensure continuity and flow of thought. 18/8/2014 17National Revenue Authority

Drafting the Report Cont’In the second version of the rough draft, writing style becomes

important. Now concentrate on how to say what you want to say.

To make sure your readers understand your report, you must transmit your information clearly, logically, concisely, honestly, and tactfully.

Also, note accuracy in the use of language by dotting your i’s, crossing your t’s, inserting full stops, commas, semi-colons, and question marks in the appropriate positions.


writing the final report Evaluate the draft and re-examine the choices of materials,

expressions and structure.

Ensure unity and coherence among sentences.

Ensure appropriate formatting of headings and subheadings.

Get a colleague or a neutral party to read, assess and make suggestions for improvement.

The final copy will emerge as a product of a continuous process of planning, drafting, re-drafting and editing.


Formatting and layout When you format your document you'll need to

consider: font (type and size) line spacing margins the amount of white space around and within the

text the fonts of headings and sub-headings types of graphics.


PIT FALLS IN REPORT WRITING

Ignoring the audience

Unstructured report

Failure to define the aim(s) of the report

Bad introduction

Numerous spelling errors - poor editing and proofreading

Wrong titles and numbering of tables, graphs, etc

Inappropriate positioning of tables, graphs, charts etc

Findings not derived from the observations in the report, and

recommendations not arising from the findings; and

Conclusion is out of context. 21National Revenue Authority

OVER COMING THE PIT FALLS

Report the facts as they are

Do not draw illogical cause-effect conclusion

Be consistent

Build your report from your findings

Make the aims and objectives clear

Place your tables and figures in the appropriate

position

Note: A good report is not written once18/7/2014 22National Revenue Authority

OVER COMING THE PIT FALLS

Ensure:

recommendations are derived from the findings;

conclusion is based on the issues arising from the main body;

references are complete and presented in

alphabetical order; all terms such as acronyms, abbreviations and

mathematical symbols are well defined; and executive summary is included. 18/7/2014 23National Revenue Authority

Author’s Checklist Is the title 120 characters or fewer including spaces?

Are the Abstract, Introduction, and Summary of Results or Conclusions included?

Are report headings of equal weight written in the same form (font size)?

Is the Abstract more than 200 words?

Are the summary of results and conclusions properly done?

Are the tables, figures, references, and appendices numbered in the order cited? 24National Revenue Authority

Author’s Checklist

Are the references complete?

Are all the mathematical symbols defined in the symbol list?

Are all acronyms, initials, and abbreviations defined?

Is the report complete and ready for submission?

Are the original graphs intact?


PRESENTATION SKILLS

What’s presentation?

…………..a method of communicating your thought or an idea… Preparation is the Key


Presentation Skills

Preparation/ Planning is the first step on the ladder to success

Aspects in the development of a good presentation Subject Centered (Material) Audience Centered (Audience) Self Centered (Self) HelpersWho is your audience?What do you want to present (content)?Why do you want to present (purpose)?Where will you be presenting (place)?How do you want to present (words to be used or not, slides to be

used) 28National Revenue Authority

Presentation Skills Structure the content in line with the audience’s needs

What do you want to tell the audience?

What is your objective?

Prepare keeping in mind the time allotted

Anticipate the questions and prepare

Collect material from a variety of sources

Arrange points logically and sequentially

Prepare handouts as well29National Revenue Authority

Dress for success but don’t forget to put some confidence

If you have no knowledge of what you have to present then you will have no confidence to present.

If you are not confident within yourself then you cannot be confident outside yourself.


Presentation Skills Structuring the presentation2 to 2.5 mins--- opening/beginning20 to 21 mins--- middle section2 to 3 mins --- closing/end5 mins --- questions


Presentation Skills Effective Delivery

Breath in and out

Self Introduction

Value of visual aids-flip charts, handouts etc.

Be active - move

controlled gestures

vocal (pitch, volume, rate)

Be natural18/7/2014 32National Revenue Authority

Presentation Skills Effective delivery cont’

Be direct – don’t just talk in front of the audience

talk to them

Don’t Speaking too fast

Using jargon

Tone and content

Complicated or ambiguous language

Not questioning18/7/2014 33National Revenue Authority

Presentation Skills

Handling Questions; Do not get confused

You are not supposed to know everything

Anticipate and keep answers ready

Sometime questions themselves give you a lead to

highlight your point of view


Presentation Skills

to conclude :

Always prepare

Channelize you fear

Interact with your audience


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