HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY REPORT WRITING SKILLS?

The first step is to realize that your skills need to be improved! The second step is to understand that report writing is a process that involves many steps, including gathering, recording, and organizing the facts, then writing, and finally checking for errors.

 You may be better at some of these steps than others, so it is important to see where you need to focus your attention. If you are not sure, ask your supervisor or a co-worker for some suggestions. Here are some things you can do at each step of the process.

  BEFORE WRITING

• Use all your senses to gather information.
• Write down as many details as possible in your notebook.
•  Decide what information is important and what is not.
•  Make a plan for organizing the details, so that a reader can easily follow them.

You may want to make an outline on scrap paper.

WRITING

•  Write or print neatly. A report that no one can read is useless.
•  Follow your plan for organizing the details.
•  Read over your report as you are writing it. This will stop you from repeating

yourself and help the information to flow naturally.

•  Stick to the facts. Don’t add opinions or extra information that has nothing to do

with the incident.

•  Start a new paragraph when you write about a new witness, place, or time.

AFTER WRITING

•  Review the report through the eyes of a reader, not a writer. Imagine that  someone has just given you the report and you know nothing about the incident.

• Check to make sure that important details are not left out.
• Add quotation marks if you have quoted someone else. For example, Witness  Y said, “He had a long scar on his left cheek.”

• Make sure you’ve added periods and commas, so that it makes sense.
• Be careful when using words like he, she, their, it, them. It must be clear what they refer to

• Check your spelling. Get into the habit of using a dictionary. Keep a list of difficult words nearby for quick reference.

A professional is someone who is open to learning and who puts their full effort into the
tasks that they do. If you make an effort to write clear, detailed reports you will improve
with practice.

- See also at: http://www.tzjobvacancies.com/report-writing-skills-improve-your-skills