Introduction
Report writing is an essential skill for professionals in almost every field:
accountants, teachers, graphic designers, information scientists (the list
goes on). That’s one of the reasons why your lecturers will almost
certainly require you to write reports during your period of study at the
University of Canberra.
A report aims to inform, as clearly and succinctly as possible. It should be
easy to read, and professional in its presentation.
Exactly what you include in your report and how you present it will vary
according to your discipline and the specific purpose of the report. Here
we give some general guidelines, but you should check with your lecturer
for more detail on what is expected.
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Reports and essays—what’s the difference?
A common problem is that students transfer what they have learned
about essay writing to report writing.
Both essays and reports need:
formal style
careful proof-reading and neat presentation
introduction, body and conclusion
analytical thinking
But there are some essential differences between the two.
A Report An Essay
Presents information Presents an argument
Is meant to be scanned quickly Is meant to be read carefully
by the reader
Uses numbered headings and Uses minimal sub-headings, if any.
sub-headings
May not need references and Always needs references and
bibliography/reference list bibliography/reference list
Uses short, concise paragraphs Links ideas into cohesive paragraphs, rather
and dot-points where than breaking them down into a list of dot-
applicable points
Uses graphics wherever Rarely uses graphics
possible (tables, graphs,
illustrations)
May need an abstract Will only need an abstract if it is very long,
(sometimes called an or if your lecturer asks for one specifically
executive summary)
May be followed by Seldom has recommendations or appendices
recommendations and/or
appendices
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Report structure
What follows is a generic structure for reports. Using this structure will
help to give your report the correct level of formality; it will also help to
ensure that you do not leave out anything important. However, the actual
structure required by your discipline may not be exactly what is
represented here - you should check with your lecturer.
A report should generally include the following sections.
(Sections marked with an asterisk (*) are essential: others are optional
depending on the type, length and purpose of the report.)
Letter of transmittal
Title page*
Table of contents
List of abbreviations and/or glossary
Executive summary/abstract
Introduction*
Body*
Conclusion*
Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices
Letter of transmittal
(only if specified by your lecturer)
This is a letter to the person who commissioned the report, in which you
effectively hand over your work to that person. Include:
a salutation (eg. Dear Ms Podolinsky)
the purpose of the letter (eg. Here is the final version of the report
on ‘Underwater Welding’ which was commissioned by your
organisation.)
the main finding of the report
any important considerations
an acknowledgement of any significant help
an expression of pleasure or gratitude (eg. Thank you for giving us
the opportunity to work on this report.)
Title page
This must contain:
the report title which clearly states the purpose of the report
full details of the person(s) for whom the report was prepared
full details of the person(s) who prepared the report
the date of the presentation of the report
Table of Contents
(usually only if the report is longer than, say, ten pages)
This is a list of the headings and appendices of the report. Depending on
the complexity and length of the report, you could list tables, figures and
appendices separately. Make sure the correct page numbers are shown
opposite the contents. Up-to-date word processing packages can
generate a table of contents for you.
Abbreviations and/or glossary
If necessary, you should provide an alphabetical list of the abbreviations
you have used in the report, especially if they may not be familiar to all
readers of the report.
If you have used a lot of technical terms, you should also provide a
glossary (an alphabetical list of the terms, with brief explanations of their
meanings).
Acknowledgements (if appropriate)
This is a short paragraph thanking any person or organisation which gave
you help in collecting data or preparing the report.
Abstract (Summary or Executive Summary)
An abstract is quite different from an introduction. It is a summary of the
report, in which you include one sentence (or so) for every main section
of your report. For example, you can include:
the context of the research
the purpose of the report
the major findings (you may need several sentences here)
the conclusions
the main recommendations
Write the abstract after you have written the report.
Introduction
Give enough background information to provide a context for the
report.
State the purpose of the report.
Clarify key terms and indicate the scope of the report (ie what the
report will cover).
Body
The content of the body depends on the purpose of the report, and
whether it is a report of primary or secondary research.
A report of primary research (based on your own observations and
experiments) would include:
Literature review (what other people have written about this topic.
See our webpage for hints on writing a literature review). The
literature review should lead towards your research question.
Method (summarises what you did and why). Use the past tense.
Findings or results (describes what you discovered, observed, etc, in
your observations and experiements). Use the past tense.
Discussion (discusses and explains your findings and relates them to
previous research). Use the present tense to make generalisations.
A report of secondary research (based on reading only) would include:
Information organised under appropriate topics with sub-headings.
It is unlikely that your report will discuss each source separately.
You need to synthesise material from different sources under topic
headings.
Analysis/discussion of the sources you are reporting.
Conclusion
Sum up the main points of the report. The conclusion should clearly
relate to the objectives of your report. No surprises please! (that is, don’t
include new information here.)
Recommendations (if appropriate)
These are suggestions for future action. They must be logically derived
from the body of your report.
Bibliography
(See our page on Using References for more information).
Appendices
An appendix contains material which is too detailed, technical, or
complex to include in the body of the report (for example, specifications,
a questionnaire, or a long complex table of figures), but which is referred
to in the report. Appendices are put at the very end of the report, after
everything else. Each appendix should contain different material. Number
each appendix clearly.
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Presentation of the report
The content and structure of your report is important; so is the
presentation and style. First impressions count, so consider these simple
tips to ensure your report is reader-friendly:
use plenty of white space
ensure the separate parts of your report stand out clearly
use subheadings
allow generous spacing between the elements of your report
use dot points/ numbers/ letters to articulate these elements
use tables and figures (graphs, illustrations, maps etc) for
clarification. Label them clearly and cite the source. These graphics
should relate to the text of your report; for example, Figure 1 shows
that the population of Bandung has increased dramatically since
1890, or The population of Bandung has increased dramatically
since 1890 (see Figure 1).
number each page (a neat header and/or footer makes your work
look more professional)
use consistent and appropriate formatting (you may like to follow
the report format supplied with your word processing package)
use formal language. It would be worth having a look at the
language which is used in other, similar reports to check out useful
expressions and terms.
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Common problems
Some common problems with research report writing that you should
take care to avoid are:
the inclusion of careless, inaccurate, or conflicting
the inclusion of outdated or irrelevant data
facts and opinions that are not separated
unsupported conclusions and recommendations
careless presentation and proof-reading
too much emphasis on appearance and not enough attention to solid
content.
