Outcome 2 - Produce complex written business documents (report)
Hello loyal readers, as promised, I have written up a blog
page with further info to explain the rationale for the second assessment, and
what is required for your formal report.
Please refer to my post class analysis all group e mails of
24th and 25th March 2026, and also the teaching and
learning materials I uploaded to your respective Moodle pages. In particular,
look at the exemplar reports which are really handy to help you write in a
structured, formal and well referenced way.
Also, you may wish to consult the recommended sources that
were highlighted by you and your peers in your respective meetings, as well as
the numerous links I have posted for you on the right-hand side of this blog, under
the aptly entitled header “Useful Links”.
Below are the technical details, and under that, within the
sub-title “Report Checklist” are some of the things I feel are important when
writing in a formal manner. They help to eliminate easy to avoid writing errors,
in my opinion!
The learner will provide evidence to demonstrate Knowledge and Skills by showing that you can: produce complex written business
documents.
The
text(s) should amount to a minimum of 1,500 words, not including references,
but can include appendices or associated or supplementary papers produced by
the learner.
The quality of the document(s) should be such that:
•
complex information is selected from relevant sources and conveyed accurately.
•
structure is logical, coherent and effective.
•
language and style are appropriate to context, purpose and readership.
•
spelling, punctuation and grammar are consistently accurate.
•
format and layout enhance communication.
•
reference sources are recorded as appropriate.
NB - as I noted in the class when teaching the topic of report writing and this assessment, if you are under the 1500 words for this report (like exemplar report 1 is), that is permissible, as you can use the formally written documentation you produced for the meeting assessment as evidence of writing.
The assessment will be conducted in open-book conditions.
The centre should ensure the authenticity of the learner’s work (see previous blog
post and refer to discussions in class week beginning 23rd March
2026).
Graphic materials, such as charts, tables or diagrams, may
be incorporated where appropriate and it should be clear when these are the
learner’s original work. The 1,500-word count will not include the list of
source references but can include any appendices, associated or supplementary
papers produced by the learner. These could be in the form of, for example,
annotated graphics, survey results, meetings papers or letters/emails. Sources
of information should be clearly recorded.
Report checklist
Some helpful hints on report writing worthy of mentioning are noted below. You may wish to use them as a working checklist. Now, you might think some of these action points are “first day at school” things, and you would be right, but I can assure you, I see a fair amount of these easy to fix / avoid challenged throughout an academic year!
Spell your name correctly - spellcheck can do you over, I have seen it so many times, ouch. It’s often the last thing you’d expect to be wrong, but it’s also the first thing a reader sees..
Spell my surname correctly please - Hetherington.
Make sure on the front cover you have at the very least these salient points - title of the report, word count, date of submission (5th or 6th May 2026 should be the date you use depending on which class you are in – the completed draft comes to me a week before to provide feedback on), your name, unit title (Business Communication) and an image (which is optional but should be appropriate).
Each section should be numbered on the contents page, just like the example reports - Background (optional) 1 Terms of Reference or Introduction depending on which term you prefer 2 Procedure 3 Findings (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) and so on. You don't need a background section, but you DO need terms of reference, procedure, content, conclusion, recommendations and sources sections.
Avoid using the word I in your report - 'the author recommends...', 'Stan Free was asked to write a report...', ‘after careful research, the writer of this formal report concludes…’ and so on. Think formally, always. Consult my short document on formal writing on Moodle / e mail too for supplementary assistance.
Add page numbers - you do this by going to insert page numbers, NOT add footers. If you do the latter, all the pages will look the same. The page numbers on the contents page should marry up with the page numbers in your report. Accuracy is the watchword here, just like the minutes you produced (to a very good standard, incidentally). Always think of the reader.
No contractions please - instead of it's, shouldn't, couldn't - it is, should not, could not. This helps to tighten up the formality of language use.
Referencing - this is a very handy tool, as I noted in my reflections in class and via Moodle last week, but you may have one you trust better. I believe this one to be one of the most user friendly versions: Free Harvard Referencing Generator - Harvard Style (teg.london)
Refs should look something like this as a working example:
Referencing Helpers Association (2026) How to reference like a pro, Available at: www.referencinghelp.ac.uk (Accessed: 27/3/26).
Just for luck, a reminder that Wikipedia is not permissible, nor are Bing and Google deemed to be 'references'. You already know the avoidable pitfalls of ChatGPT and the like…
Proofread and spellcheck your work. This helps to diminish any remediation you may need to do. In an ideal world your report will be good to upload to Moodle without change. But that isn’t happening for a few weeks yet, more about that nearer the time as a further reminder.
I’ll be supervising and assisting you in class as I did with the research for the meeting assessment, and there is no expectation that you work on your report outside of my classes; I have allocated plenty of time in timetabled sessions and of course, you have full IT access in S46 which is essential.
All the best and there is no shortage of info out there; you just need to piece the jigsaw together and summarise the needs of the sub-headings in your own words and adhere to how the report should look. I am looking forward to reading your work and liaising with you over the next few weeks. Many of you are completely up to date already which is great.
Mark
