HOW TO WRITE A QUALITY REPORT
Because we are individuals with different likes and dislikes, consider your
reader when writing your report.
Turning your investigative information into a good report is like telling a
story. Allow it to unfold with a beginning, middle, ending or continuance.
Triggering a response by the TONE of your writing can produce positive or
negative responses. For example, we have all seen some of the postings on our
listservs. At times, the tone of the writer has evoked an immediate
positive or negative response.
Listen to the tone of several words below:
Obviously = Even an idiot like you would be able to figure this out.
It is my opinion = Since you aren't
capable of having one of your own, I will tell you mine.
You get the picture.
WRITING TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN A REPORT
We have all seen advertisements with too much technical information squeezed
into one small area. Not only is unpleasant to read but many times we stop
reading the ad entirely.
MAKE
USE OF HEADINGS AND SUB-HEADINGS
I
like to see right hand margins justified so that text is nice and even on the
right hand side of the document. Using Boldface and Underlining, places special
attention to areas in your report. Use double spacing between headings for a
clean symmetrical look to your reports.
Have
professional letterhead printed or create your own letterhead using good quality
paper.
Try and be objective when looking at your finished report.
Make sure you LOOK OVER ALL PAGES after printing, as text can shift,
headers can disappear, you name it, can and will happen. What you see on the
screen is not always what you get after you have printed out your
report.
USING DESCRIPTIVE EXPOSITIONS IN YOUR REPORTS
‘The stating of facts.’ How you say it makes all the difference.
Example of a Poorly Written Descriptive Exposition.
The subject's residence can be described as a brown stucco with tan trim house
that is in need of a paint job, with a two car attached garage.
It is a two story single family residence in what appears to be in a middle
income, influential neighborhood. The yard could benefit from a full time
gardener. There is one car parked in the driveway, a Honda Accord with CA
license plate number 5555555 blue in color and it has
four doors and is a 1995 model. It is unknown who owns this car. The time
is 5:30 a.m.
YIKES...
I invite you to e-mail me privately if this sounds like one of your reports.
INSTEAD...
Begin with a heading in CAPS, BOLD and UNDERLINED if you desire, with the
subject's name, correct address, including city and zip code, as well as home
and or office telephone number. NEVER put an old address or phone number in a
caption.
A Better Example
ROBERT W. SMITH, 3550 LINCOLN STREET, TEHACHAPI, CA
93561, 661 821-4411:
At 5:30 a.m., we arrived in the vicinity of the claimant's brown two -story,
single family residence.
A check with the Department of Vehicles revealed the claimant is the registered
owner of a 1995, blue four-door, Honda Accord, license plate 5555555 seen parked
in the claimant's driveway.
OPTIONAL INFORMATION:
The claimant resides in middle-income neighborhood, however, it appears the
claimant's yard has not been maintained for some time.
EDITING YOUR FINISHED REPORT:
As you are reading your finished report, make revisions by removing unnecessary
verbiage. Unless you are writing like Shakespeare, TO BE... should never be
used, i.e. He appears to be 6' tall.
FUTURE INVESTIGATION:
If you believe that additional investigation is warranted on a case, suggest in
a subtle manner of writing, the different avenues of investigation that could be
conducted. Then allow your client the choice of whether or not to proceed.
If appropriate, you may want to follow up with a telephone call. By discussing
the case in writing and on the telephone, you stand a better chance of an
approval to continue with additional investigation.
Remember this is also an excellent marketing opportunity to receive additional
assignments so don't pass this up!
COMMENTS:
When writing your Comments section, Don't Repeat your entire report summarize
it.
Last but not least, if you need help with your reports, e-mail or telephone me.
I'll be happy to help.