EAPP Reviewer: Position Paper and Evaluative Writing

Types of Reports

• Internal Reports: stay within an organization
• External Reports: also called "public reports", e.g., news reports in newspapers
• Short Reports: two-page reports, also referred to as "memorandums"
• Long Reports: longer than two pages, more formal than short reports
• Vertical Reports: for management or mentees, where direction of upwards and downwards comes into motion
• Lateral Reports: assist in coordination in the organization
• Periodic Reports: sent out on regularly pre-scheduled dates
• Formal Reports: meticulously structured, focus on objectivity and organization, contain deeper detail, and eliminate personal pronouns
• Informal Reports: short messages with free-flowing, casual use of language
• Informational Reports: carry objective information from one area of an organization to a larger system, e.g., attendance reports, budget reports, and financial reports
• Analytical Reports: show attempts to solve actual problems, usually require suggestions at the end
• Functional Reports: include marketing reports, financial reports, and accounting reports

Non-Prose Text

• Uses: present data in an organized and systematic way, allow readers to absorb information quickly, explain abstract concepts, provide only relevant data
• Examples: bar graphs, histograms, pictographs, line graphs, pie charts, tables

Report Paper

• A written document presenting results of an investigation, project, or initiative
• Purpose: inform, educate, and present options and recommendations for future action
• Types:
  • Informative Reports: provide factual information on a topic without analysis or interpretation
  • Analytical Reports: delve into data, facts, and findings to analyze a situation, problem, or issue
  • Persuasive Reports: aim to persuade the reader to take a specific course of action or adopt a particular viewpoint
  • Descriptive Reports: describe a situation, event, process, or phenomenon without analysis or evaluation
  • Technical Reports: highly detailed and structured reports focusing on technical information
  • Research Reports: present results and analysis of original research studies

Position Paper

• Types:
  • Evaluative: assess a particular issue, policy, or situation from a certain standpoint, offering a judgment or evaluation
  • Constructive: present a clear and reasoned argument in favor of a specific stance, aiming to contribute positively to the discussion
  • Expository: explain, illustrate, or clarify an idea, issue, or a set of concepts related to a specific stance or viewpoint
  • Comparative: examine two or more subjects by comparing and contrasting them in relation to a specific thesis or argument

Kinds of Reports

• Laboratory Report: explains and analyzes the results of an experiment
• Business Report: analyzes a situation and uses business theory to provide solutions or recommendations
• Case Study Report: an intensive study about a person, group, or unit, aiming to generalize over several units
• Project Report: an intensive, systematic investigation of a single individual, group, community, or unit
• Research Report: consists of recorded data prepared by researchers or statisticians after analyzing the information gathered
• Progress Report: updates information about a project, making it possible for management and clients to stay informed and adjust assignments, schedules, and budgets
• Design Report: documents the process and outcomes of a design task, communicating to the reader how well the problem has been understood
• Field Report: a documentation of analysis of particular phenomena, behaviors, processes based on theories and observations made by the researcher in the field