PART II

Reports
 INFORMAL REPORT

A. Definition. Some technical matters may be communicated quite simply in short

documents which have no need of the extensive structural detail of the formal report. This is
particularly true of short subjects and of interim reporting. Such information is transmitted
adequately by the informal report, which is usually in the form of a letter or memorandum.
B. General Parts of the Informal Report. Because of its brevity and simplicity, the
informal report requires fewer divisions and sections than the formal report, but it does retain the
principal parts of the formal report:

Title Introduction
Approvals Discussion
Distribution Conclusions
Summary Recommendations

It sometimes also contains an

appendix and/or bibliography and it
may be illustrated. Some parts, such
as approvals, distribution, and
recommendations, are omitted from
a particular report if they are
unnecessary.
The parts are almost never
labeled as such, but are clearly
discernible. For example, in the
sample specimen letter report,
paragraph I is the introduction,
paragraph 2 the summary and
discussion, paragraph 3 the
conclusions, and paragraph 4 the
recommendations.

Sample letter report

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 Parts of the Letter
The principal parts of a letter are (1) heading, (2) date, (3) inside address, (4) salutation, (5)
body, (6) complimentary close, (7) organization name, (8) written signature, (9) typed signature,
(10) title of signer, and (11) identification symbol. Additionally, the letter may have certain
auxiliary elements: (12) attention line, (13) reference line, (14) subject line, (15) attachment or
enclosure notice, and (16) distribution notice. These parts are labeled with the same numbers in
the sample letter report shown in sample letter. The various parts are discussed separately below.

1. Heading. This part appears at the top of the first page. It contains the sender’s name
and address and any additional information deemed necessary. The heading is printed on the
letterhead and does not have to be written except when a makeshift letterhead is improvised.
The complete address should appear in the heading (that is, street address, city name, state
name, and postal zip code number) unless the sender is so well known locally that a street address
is unnecessary. State names should be used the city is extremely well known (for example, Boston,
Chicago, New York City), and the state name should be spelled out, where practicable, for added
surety.
Some highly stratified organizations provide separate letterheads for their various units,
and the headings of such letterheads carry, in addition to name and address, the name of the unit
(for example, Department, Division, Laboratory).
2. Date. The full date on which the letter is written (for example, September 10, 1970 or 10
September 1970) is placed on a separate line and punctuated as shown here. Do not use month
abbreviations (Sept. 10, 1970) or numerical dates (9/10/70).
3. Inside Address. This address is called “inside” because it appears on the letter inside
the envelope; the same information appearing on the envelope is called the “outside address.” The
inside address contains the name of the addressee and his complete address (street number, city
name, state name, and postal zip code number). Ordinarily, a letter report is addressed to an
organization (see sample letter). But occasionally it is addressed to an individual. In that case, the
organization name is preceded by his name (with his title if it is customarily used in his
organization, or if there is more than one person by the same name there):

Mr. J. P. Jones
Eastern Computer Products, Inc.
2100 Baxter Road
White Plains, N. Y. 10604

In a large organization, delivery may be slowed unless an addressee’s location is given in

detail:

Mr. H. Brainard Fancher, General Manager

Semiconductor Products Dept.
General Electric Company
Electronics Park
Syracuse, New York 13201

Notice that no end punctuation is used in the inside address. The only end periods in the two
preceding examples are those that follow abbreviations.
4. Salutation. This part of the letter greets the addressee. Several forms are available and
all have in common the colon as end punctuation.

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 The salutation must agree in number and gender with the addressee named in the inside
address. Thus, if Consolidated Vacuum Corporation has been named as the addressee, the proper
salutation would be “Gentlemen” or “Dear Sirs”; whereas if Mr. John Smith has been named, the
proper salutation is “Dear Sir,” “Dear Mr. Smith,” or “My dear Mr. Smith.” The salutation must
also match the tone of the letter and gravity of the business; an intimate salutation, for example,
would be out of place in a letter dealing with an impersonal matter discussed with an addressee
scarcely known to the writer. The following salutations are listed in decreasing order of formality:

Sir: Madam:
My dear Sir: My dear Madam;
My dear Mr. Smith: My dear Mrs. Smith:
Dear Sir: Dear Madam:
Dear Mr. Smith: Dear Mrs. Smith:
Dear John: Dear Mary:

“Ladies” or “Mesdames” is proper when the addressed organization is known-to be

composed of women only; “Gentlemen” is used when the organization is headed by both men and
women. The masculine plural salutation “Gentlemen” is the most common in letter reports and
letters of communication.
A personal salutation (“Sir,” “My dear Mr. Smith,” and so on) is used only when a person’s
name appears in the inside address not when the letter is merely called to an individual’s attention
(as in the attention line, (12) in sample letter).
5. Body. The body is the text of the letter and is equivalent to the main text of the formal
report. The body should have clearly recognizable, though unlabeled, parts: introduction, summary,
discussion, conclusions, and recommendations. In addition to these elements, a well-structured letter
has a termination, usually a single line, which avoids leaving the reader abruptly. These parts may
be identified in the specimen letter given in sample letter: paragraph 1, introduction; paragraph 2,
summary; paragraph 3, discussion, paragraph 4, conclusions; paragraph 5, recommendations; and
paragraph 6, termination.
6. Complimentary Close. The complimentary close is a farewell phrase which, though
somewhat archaic in form and occasionally deceitful in manner, is considered a necessary courtesy
to the addressee. It precedes and introduces the signature and is always end-punctuated with a
comma.
The modern formal complimentary close is based upon the adverbs cordially, respectfully,
sincerely, or truly, and it may consist of this word only or some combination of the chosen adverb
plus the modifier most or very and/or the possessive pronoun yours, in the normal or inverted
order. There are 33 acceptable forms of the complimentary close, ranging from the almost curt
“Yours” to the pretentious and slightly suspect “Most sincerely yours.” The one chosen by a
writer must match the salutation and the subject of the letter. For instance, the friendly
complimentary close “Cordially” is inappropriate for use with the stiffly formal salutation “Sir,”
and the same is true of the formal “Respectfully” with the intimate “Dear Frank.” “Yours truly,”
“Very truly yours,” and “Yours very truly” are the most widely serviceable complimentary closes
in formal letters.
Appropriateness and sincerity should underlie the choice of any complimentary close.
“Respectfully,” for example, is appropriate for those addressees, such as authorities and
dignitaries, who merit the writer’s respect, “Sincerely” should be reserved for those situations in
which the integrity of the writer and reported material is to be assured, and “Cordially” is
permissible only when there is established friendliness between addressee and Writer.
7. Organization Name. The name of the organization issuing the letter follows
immediately the complimentary close and is typed in full capitals. This is the same name that

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appears in the heading. This element is omitted only when the signer operates a business or
practices a profession under his own name.
8. Written Signature. The written signature of the writer of the letter (or of the official
authorized to sign it) appears next after the organization name.
9. Typed Signature. The name of the signer of the letter is typewritten immediately under
the handwritten signature. This is a safeguard against the possible inability of the recipient to
decipher the handwriting.
10. Title of Signer. The signer’s official title (such as Chief Engineer, Director of Research,
President, Foreman) appears under his typed name if use of titles is customary in his organization
or is required by the addressed client. Sometimes, the signer’s department, division, section, or
group is named along with his title (for example, Design Group, Missile Section, St. Louis
Division).
11. Identification Symbol. This is a combination of the writer’s initials in full capitals and
the typist’s initials in lower-case letters. The two groups of initials are separated by means of a
colon (:) or solidus (/). When the writer does his own typing, the letters ms (abbreviation for
manuscript) are substituted for the typist’s initials.
12. Attention Line. This line calls the letter to the attention of an individual in the
addressee’s organization known by the writer to have authority over the matter dealt with by the
letter. This usually insures that the letter will be routed quickly to the responsible party. The
presence of a name in an attention line, however, does not alter the salutation; the person would
not be named in the salutation.
13. Reference Line. By naming the request, authorization, or inquiry that prompted the
letter, this line saves much searching of memory or files by the addressee
14. Subject Line. Here, state briefly and accurately the subject of the letter. The subject line
is a courtesy to the addressee and an invaluable aid to file personnel and others both in the
sending and receiving organizations: it allows any reader to determine preliminarily what the
letter contains and to decide if the matter concerns him. Thus, the subject line is comparable to
the title of a formal report.
15. Attachment or Enclosure Notice. When supplementary material is attached to, or
enclosed in, a letter, this fact should be signaled by means of the word attachment or enclosure (or
the abbreviation attach or encl). When there is more than one attachment or enclosure, each
should be listed, as is done in the specimen letter. It is safe practice to use an enclosure notice even
when the enclosed material has been mentioned earlier in the letter (as in paragraph 3 of the
specimen letter).
This notice serves to remind clerical personnel at the sending end to enclose the material, and
it alerts the addressee to the fact that supplementary material should be found in the letter.
16. Distribution Notice. It is ethical to apprise the addressee of all other recipients of the
letter. This is done by listing their names after the symbol cc: which is the abbreviation for copy
(or copies). If there is a chance that a recipient may be unknown to the addressee, his brief address
or professional affiliation (company, government agency, university) should be given with his
name (for example, Paul G. Burke, Universal Tank Co.).

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 Sample of memoranda

Sample of letter

Parts of the Memorandum

When used for informal reporting, the memorandum is usually confined to the sender’s
own organization, although it is occasionally sent to an outsider. It deals with its subject less

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formally even than the letter; consequently it needs fewer parts than any other type of report. For
example, it has no salutation, complimentary close, or typed name. The parts of the memorandum
are heading, date, reference line, “To” line, “From” line, subject line, body, signature,
identification symbol, distribution notice, and attachment or enclosure notice. (When necessary, a
bibliography or list of references is included in the memorandum.) These parts are discussed
individually below. A specimen memorandum is shown in sample memoranda, and its parts are
coded for identification with the same numbers used in this discussion.
To save writing time, many organizations supply fill-in-type blanks for memoranda. These
blanks are preprinted with a heading and the words To, From, Date, Reference, and Subject, and
the writer needs only to fill in the appropriate information. In the preprinted blank, the sharp
contrast between the printed words and the typed-in matter provides adequate visual separation
between the two, so no punctuation is required. This contrast is missing when the blank and the
matter are both typewritten, so colons and white space (see sample memoranda) must be used to
separate parts titles from typed-in matter.
1. Heading. This is similar to the heading of the letter, but generally shows organization
name without address. Some printed memorandum blanks even dispense with organization name
and simply show the term “Interoffice Memorandum” as the heading.
2. Date. The full date on which the memorandum was issued appears here. Abbreviated
dates (such as 2/7/71) are not good form.
3. Reference Line. Here is given a brief identification of the inquiry, order, or request (if
any) that prompted the writing of the memorandum.
4. To Line. This element is equivalent to the inside address of the letter. It contains the
addressee’s name and often also either his title or location. It seldom contains a detailed address
unless the organization is highly decentralized; the location usually given is the addressee’s
department.
Greater informality is permissible here than in the letter. The addressee’s name thus may
appear in familiar form (Jack Baker instead of John G. Baker) and the location may be
abbreviated (Plant Engineering instead of Department of Plant Engineering). In some instances, a
first or last name alone is sufficient.
5. From Line. This line shows the sender’s name, and it may also give his title or location.
As in the “To” line, the location is seldom given in greater detail than the name of the sender’s
department unless the organization is so highly decentralized that the full address of the sender is
needed.
As in the “To” line, greater informality is permissible here than in the letter. The sender’s
name may appear in familiar form (Hank Stewart instead of Henry J. Stewart) and his location
may be abbreviated (Test Lab instead of Test and Measurements Laboratory), in some instances,
a first or last name alone is sufficient.
6. Subject Line. Here the subject of the memorandum is stated accurately and as briefly as
practicable. This line, like the subject line of the letter, is equivalent to the title in a formal report.
It allows the addressee and file personnel to determine the contents of the memorandum
preliminarily.
7. Body. The body of the memorandum, like that of the letter, is equivalent to the main text
of the formal report. But the body of the memorandum might contain only a few of the five major
report elements (summary, introduction, discussion, conclusions, recommendations), because it
often has no need for all of them. Sometimes, for example, the memorandum merely transmits
information and is required to draw no conclusions and make no recommendations. The body of
the specimen memorandum in sample memoranda incorporates only an introduction (paragraph
1), discussion (paragraph 2), and recommendation (paragraph 3).
The discussion in the body should be as brief as practicable, and should contain only
primary data and illustrations. Secondary data, calculations, and illustrations should be placed in

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an attachment. if the discussion and other elements require many pages for complete presentation
and numerous subdivisions labeled to keep them straight, a formal report instead of a
memorandum is indicated.
8. Signature. The handwritten signature of the sender gives official status to the
memorandum and acknowledges the sender’s responsibility for the contents. The additional typed
name, required in the letter, is unnecessary in the memorandum, since the typed name already
appears in the “From” line. Some organizations consider the sender’s initials sufficient as a
signature, and these initials are written at the end of the body or at the end of the typed name in
the “From” line.
9. Identification Symbol. As in the letter, this symbol is composed of the signer’s initials
in full capitals and the typist’s initials in lower-case letters, with a colon (:) or solidus (/) between
the two groups of letters. If the signer does his own typing, the symbol ms (the abbreviation of
manuscript) is substituted for the typist’s initials.
10. Distribution Notice. Each recipient of the memorandum, other than the addressee, is
listed here. His name is usually sufficient. But if two or more recipients have the same name, or if
the recipient is outside of the organization, a department name (and sometimes company name
and address) also is required.
11. Attachment or Enclosure Notice. This element identifies any material that may be
attached to, or enclosed with, the memorandum. Such supplementary material includes
blueprints, calculations, charts, clerical forms, graphs, illustrations, letters, mathematics,
photocopies, tables, and test data.

LABORATORY REPORT

A. Definition. The laboratory report reveals data and findings from laboratory work, and
serves, with the laboratory notebook, as the official record of such work. These reports issue in
quantity from the laboratories of schools and industry. The material contained in the laboratory
report is the basis of the discussion, conclusions, and recommendations in the formal and informal
reports written later. A specimen laboratory report is given in Appendix 5.
B. Parts of the Laboratory Report. Various formats have been devised for laboratory
reports, depending upon the specific requirements of different organizations. Generally, however,
these reports contain the following elements: heading, report number, date, statement of object or
purpose of test, description of apparatus used, description of procedure followed, observations,
conclusions, and signature. These parts are discussed individually below.

1. Heading. A heading similar to that of the letterhead appears at the top of the first
page of the report. Usually, this is nothing more than the title “Laboratory Test
Report,” but occasionally it contains the organization name and location, especially
when the reports are sent outside of the organization.

2. Report Number. This is the serial number of the report and may indicate only the
position of the report in a filing sequence. It enables quick recovery of the report
and, along with the date, shows the position of the reported work (and the report
itself) relative to other work in a sequence.

3. Date. The date line should show the date on which the report was officially issued.
The unabbreviated form of the date is recommended (for example, January 9, 2001)
but some organizations sanction a simple numerical date (for example, 1/9/01).

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4. Object. This section describes clearly, but as briefly as practicable, the object or
purpose of the reported work. It should be revised painstakingly to correct any
ambiguity or vagueness.

5. Apparatus. All apparatus and equipment used in the performance of the work must
be listed, except for commonplace components the use of which is taken for granted.
When listing apparatus, give name of the equipment, manufacturer’s name, model
number, and serial or inventory number. This information will enable other
workers to set up the identical equipment if the test results subsequently must be
checked. If a piece of equipment was custom designed and/or constructed by the
reporter’s own organization, it should be given an assigned model number with the
organization’s name, or it should be designated “composite,” not “homemade.”

6. Procedure. This is a complete chronological account of the work and is one of the
rare appearances of narration in technical writing. The procedure section should
describe the work accurately and fully, in a step-by-step manner, but as briefly and
simply as practicable. To minimize ambiguity, full, rather than telegraphic,
sentences should be used (for example, The type A100 manometer was used to check
the bypass pressure rather than AIOO manometer used to check bypass
pressure).Although some slight overlap is occasionally unavoidable, the procedure
should avoid duplicating or overlapping observations and conclusions. Illustrations
are sometimes required in the procedure section. These are usually assembly or
wiring diagrams, flow charts, and functional block diagrams.

7. Observations. Here are recounted the observations made while the work was
performed. This is sometimes a narrative discussion. Oftener, it merely presents
recorded data, and comments on their significance (as in the specimen laboratory
report in Appendix 5). Analyses and comparisons sometimes are found in the
observations section, especially if the report is very short.

8. Conclusions. Like the same section in formal and informal reports, the conclusions
here enumerate the facts that may reasonably be reached from a critical
examination of the data. All conclusions must be supported by clear evidence given
in the observations section. The conclusions section must be closely related to object
(observe, for example, in the specimen laboratory report in Appendix 5 how the
conclusions portion answers the question inherent in the object section).

9. Signature. A responsible person, usually the one who did the work and Wrote the
report, should sign the report to make it official and to establish responsibility for
its contents. Sometimes this is a full signature. Often, however, handwritten or typed
initials are accepted (as indicated by the technician’s typed initials in the specimen
laboratory report, Appendix 5).

10. Additional Elements. Other sections which appear in some laboratory reports
include analyses, calculations, data, and recommendations. Separate Sections are
and calculations when the latter are too numerous to be included in the procedure
section, as they are in the report UI Appendix 5, and for data when they are too
numerous for the observations Section. Recommendations are made only
occasionally in laboratory reports.

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