Report Writing

East Midlands Councils is holding a one day report writing skills seminar taking place on 28 March 2012 at our offices in Melton Mowbray.

The objectives of the session are;

By the end of the course, participants will be able to plan and produce reports that:

• follow a logical structure
• are easy to read and achieve a desired result
• look professional

They will also know how some Word tools can save them time.

Course content

Introduction to course and participants’ objectives

Planning and getting started

• The six steps to writing
• Defining the aim and thinking about the 'Buying Group' that you want to influence
• Getting started quickly and painlessly

Structure

• Reviewing Council templates
• Guidelines for other reports, eg proposals, investigative and progress
• Writing conclusions, recommendations and summaries
• Classifying information: options and rules
• Using 'Style Headings' and 'Outline View' on Word
• Using Word to 1) create the Table of Contents and 2) make long documents easier to handle
• Tips to help you to 'make your case'
• Paragraphs and headings: ‘What story are you telling?’

Writing clearly and concisely

• Using words that are correct, simple, necessary, specific and active
• Sentence length: how long is too long?
• Using bullet points and checking for parallelism
• Using positive language and focusing on solutions

Grammar, punctuation and spelling

• Looking at areas of concern
• The importance of punctuation
• Tips for improving spelling

Layout and presentation

• Page layout and typography
• Presenting facts and figures in an interesting and memorable way
• Using charts and tables

Revising, evaluating and close

• Checklists
• Proofreading – the ‘four-pass’ method
• Using the reviewing toolbar
• Reviewing actions from the course

Aimed at

Officers who would like to improve their report writing skills.

Venue

East Midlands Councils, Phoenix House,

Nottingham Road, Melton Mowbray,

Leicestershire, LE13 0UL

Costs

Local Authority Members £125

Associate Members £150

Non-members £170

(all prices subject to VAT)

How to book

To book your place please complete the booking form, either online or the electronic attachment.

Booking Form - 28 March 2012

Flyer - 28 March 2012

Terms and Conditions

For Further Details Contact:

Lisa Bushell at East Midlands Councils on 01664 502 640 or email lisa.bushell@emcouncils.gov.uk