Report Writing Made Simple
What you'll learn
- Save time when planning a report by knowing the essential questions to ask
- Increase the impact of a report by understanding its purpose
- Structure complex information and ideas confidently and quickly (under five minutes)
- Decide what sections to include in the report - and what should go where
- Delight readers by making the report easy to navigate and digest
- Create a visually attractive report that's kind to the eye
- Avoid the common pitfalls that damage your credibility as a report writer
- Know exactly what to include in your executive summary (and what not to include)
Requirements
- Access to word processing software
- Pen and paper
- It's helpful to have a specific report writing project in mind - but isn't essential
Description
Lacking confidence about your business report writing skills because you've never had any formal training in writing reports?
Panicking because you're supposed to be writing a business report and you've no idea where to start?
Sick of wasting hours worrying about how to knock all that research into a logical shape?
Or maybe you write business reports regularly but you're just not getting the results or feedback you'd like from your reports?
If any of these sound like you, stop worrying now! Because this course will take you through the process of business report writing - step by step and with downloadable cheat sheets.
What's more, your guide is a Cambridge graduate and teacher with years of experience helping people write business reports that have impact.
Report writing: take the pain out of planning and the sweat out of structuring!
For most people, the hardest part of report writing is getting started. In this course, you're going to learn how to shave hours, days or even weeks off the report writing process through intelligent planning. You'll learn what questions to ask so you're not reinventing the wheel when you sit down to write your report.
But best of all, you'll discover a miraculous technique that will completely revolutionise how you go about structuring your reports. I developed this technique while working with a client who had been tearing his hair out at that early shaping stage. With my help, in under five minutes he went from having no clue about how to order his report to imposing a clear, coherent, logical structure on his ideas.
I've since gone on to share this technique with other report writers and trust me they're always blown away by its power and simplicity. I can't wait to share this technique with you - and you'll be glad I did!
Report writing with impact to win readers over
But this course won't just save you time as a writer. It will also help you save your readers time - and they will love you for it!
The American novelist Elmore Leonard famously advised writers to leave out the parts that readers skip. And I'm going to be showing you how to leave out the parts of a report all, yes ALL, readers skip. The pointless parts every report writer thinks are helping readers, but are really hindering them.
And I'll be busting some myths about that all important executive summary. It's the only part of your report you can guarantee everyone will read, so you'll want to make sure it's as powerfully persuasive as it can be. I'll show you how.
Stand out from the crowd with a report that looks as good as it reads
Finally, I'll be showing you how to take your almost-finished report up a notch with simple design and layout tips from a seasoned design professional. You'll even discover one little design trick that's been scientifically - yes, scientifically - proven to boost your credibility and persuasiveness with readers.
So what are you waiting for? Let's get that report written today!
Who this course is for:
- Anyone who's never written a business report before and doesn't know where to start
- Anyone who lacks confidence in their report writing skills - either because they've never been formally trained in report writing or because they're not getting the results they want from their reports
- This course is not for students writing college reports. The emphasis is on writing reports in a business or bureaucratic context.
Instructor
A University of Cambridge tutor. A professional copywriter.
WINNER OF UDEMY'S AWARD 2019 FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
University of Cambridge tutor Dr Clare Lynch is an expert writer with decades of experience.
Clare hasn’t simply edited the work of other journalists at elite publications, such as The Financial Times. She’s also herself a hugely successful copywriter in her own right.
What's more, in October 2019, Udemy bestowed their Student Success award on Clare for her dedication to her Udemy students.
20+ years of writing experience
In her 20+ year career, Clare has crafted copy from scratch for elite clients in a wide range of fields, including lifestyle, retail, property, tech, pharma, finance and government.
Over the course of that career, Clare has honed her techniques for getting under any reader’s skin – and crafting messages that instantly resonate with the target audience. Techniques she now shares with over 28,000 students on Udemy.
Clare’s experience as a writer embraces a huge range of writing formats and styles – including case studies, white papers, feature articles, direct mail campaigns, web content, ad copy, video scripts, CEO speeches and brand messaging.
A blogging expert
And as the author of the popular blog Good Copy, Bad Copy, Clare herself has attracted hundreds of thousands of readers to her own writing. Good Copy, Bad Copy has been named on Copyblogger's list of 15 copywriting and content marketing blogs that will make you more money.
An award-winning teacher
What’s more, Clare has a PhD in English Literature and teaches at the University of Cambridge. She’s also a qualified and highly experienced corporate trainer.
So Clare isn’t merely an expert at her craft. She also knows how to communicate her expertise in a way that’s memorable, entertaining and addictively engaging.
That's why, in October 2019, Udemy bestowed their Student Success award on Clare for her dedication to her Udemy students.
“She is an incredible teacher that has a special unique ability of keeping her students minds engaged and hanging on her every word.” - BRAD MACE, UDEMY STUDENT
Take a look at some of the clients who've benefited from Clare's expertise:
Aberdeen Asset Management
Algomi
BNP Paribas
BP
Brunswick PR
Deutsche Bank
European Banking Authority
European Central Bank
The Financial Times
Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
Language Centre, University of Cambridge
Macquarie
Mavens of London
Microsoft
Misys International Banking Systems Ltd
Ofcom
Prince's Trust
Prudential UK and Europe
Royal Bank of Scotland
Sainsbury's
Schroders
TowerBrook Capital Partners
Tradition (interdealer brokers)
REA Group
UBS