Business Writing

Writing a Professional Business Report - A Guide

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https://evolang.info/business-writing/reports/how-to-write-a-professional-business-report

Evolang.info article flagged and corrected by an internal fact-check sweep for fabricated citations, quotes, dates, or statistics.

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Correction

Emir BaycanExpert Contributor

Correction history

Every accepted correction to this page is recorded with the exact change, so readers can see how the page improved over time.

  1. 19 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

    The quote 'The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place' is misattributed to George Bernard Shaw. According to Quote Investigator, there is no substantive eviden; The quote 'Easy reading is damn hard writing' is misattributed to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Per Quote Investigator, Hawthorne is not verified to have said this; the maxim is provisionally traced to Thomas ; The reference list cites Kaplan & Norton's Balanced Scorecard article with the wrong year, volum

    Before

    <blockquote> <p>&quot;The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.&quot; - George Bernard Shaw</p> </blockquote> [...] <blockquote> <p>&quot;Easy reading is damn hard writing.&quot; - Nathaniel Hawthorne</p> </blockquote> [...] <li><p>Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. (2020). &quot;The Balanced Scorecard - Measures That Drive Performance.&quot; <em>Harvard Business Review</em>, 98(1), pp. 71-79. DOI: 10.1225/92105.</p> </li>

    After

    <blockquote> <p>&quot;The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.&quot; - a maxim often attributed to George Bernard Shaw, though its true origin is disputed</p> </blockquote> [...] <blockquote> <p>&quot;Easy reading is damn hard writing.&quot; - a line long attributed to Nathaniel Hawthorne, though no verified source confirms he wrote it</p> </blockquote> [...] <li><p>Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P. (1992). &quot;The Balanced Scorecard - Measures That Drive Performance.&quot; <em>Harvard Business Review</em>, 70(1), pp. 71-79.</p> </li>

    Why: The quote 'The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place' is misattributed to George Bernard Shaw. According to Quote Investigator, there is no substantive eviden; The quote 'Easy reading is damn hard writing' is misattributed to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Per Quote Investigator, Hawthorne is not verified to have said this; the maxim is provisionally traced to Thomas ; The reference list cites Kaplan & Norton's Balanced Scorecard article with the wrong year, volume/issue, and a fabricated DOI. The real article is Kaplan, R.S. & Norton, D.P. (1992). 'The Balanced Sco

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  1. Correction 19 July 2026

    Emir Baycan: The quote 'The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place' is misattributed to George Bernard Shaw. According to Quote Investigator, there is no substantive eviden; The quote 'Easy reading is damn hard writing' is misattributed to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Per Quote Investigator, Hawthorne is not verified to have said this; the maxim is provisionally traced to Thomas ; The reference list cites Kaplan & Norton's Balanced Scorecard article with the wrong year, volum

    Proof record →