This post begins a 25-part series on business and technical report writing. Whether for government or nongovernment organizations, nonprofit or for-profit businesses—in fact, for any work-related activity—reports fall into three general types: descriptive, analytical, and persuasive.
Descriptive Reports – Answers questions like:
- What does it look/sound/smell/taste/feel like?
- How does it work?
- How is it done?
- What happened?
- What did you do about it?
- What is the current condition?
Analytical Reports – Besides answering questions of descriptive reports, it also answers questions like:
- How did you determine the cause and solution?
- Why did it happen?
- How can it be changed/perpetuated/terminated?
- What can we do to prevent/induce its recurrence?
- What resources will be necessary?
Persuasive Reports – Besides answering questions of descriptive and analytical reports, it also answers questions like:
- What are the available options?
- Which is the best option?
- Why is it the best option?
- What are the benefits of pursuing the recommendation?
- What can go wrong in pursuing the recommendation?
- How will we mitigate/prevent problems during implementation?
